Thursday, January 13, 2022

Decker: Changing the Play by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais {a review}

Decker: Changing the Play is the brand new release from Kayley Loring and Connor Crais. This football romance released on January 11, 2022. If you're looking for a sports slash workplace romance, then look no further. Go grab this book now!

"Sometimes it's better for everyone if you let something that's really important to you go."

At the beginning of this story, I found myself a bit annoyed with Hannah. I get it, she was grieving (in her own way), and was shocked by the news that she was now the owner of the Tomcats. But the fact that she went in so unprepared just didn't sit well with me. She seems like a smart woman, and even if you despise the sport, you're the owner. Step it up.

Thankfully as the story progressed my view of her changed. She grew into the person I wanted from the beginning. Maybe that was Decker's influence, or maybe it was her taking her job seriously and figuring it out.

As for Decker, I wasn't certain about him in the beginning either. I really think it was the meet cute that had my first impression of both characters not be so favorable. Decker is an amazing football player, and it sounds like he has matured quite a bit after his earlier years in the league. So that was nice to see. I also liked how he was so protective of Hannah, and didn't her to fail. He was her cheerleader day in and day out.

When the dramatic moment happened, I can honestly say my jaw dropped a bit. I wasn't fully expecting that to happen. Yet I can see the reason behind it, and how it was beneficial in the grand scheme of things. The only thing that annoyed me about the situation is that it all could have been avoided if there was clear communication. Instead it was done in secret, and hoping for positive results. Yes, I know, it's a romance novel and they'll pull the drama how ever they can. Why do so many book characters have issues with communicating clearly? 

Then there was the reunion, and it was predictable. I saw that coming, and I just wish it had been slightly different. But you can't get everything you want.

All in all, I really did enjoy the story. Hannah and Decker grew on me as the story went, and at the end I was rooting for them. Hannah ended up impressing me with her growth, and that pushed this story from a 3.5 rating to a 4.

Will I be continuing on with the Boston Tomcats series? Oh most definitely. I am looking forward to seeing Hannah and Decker as side characters in the future. Now to find out who the next book will feature. I have my thoughts, but you never know, Kayley and Connor could surprise me!

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts. If you are a fan of sports romance that is also set in the workplace, then I hope you'll consider picking up Decker: Changing the Play.

Laura


 
 

#12 Johnny Decker. Star quarterback for the Boston Tomcats. Two-time Super Bowl MVP...a decade ago. Nickname: Decker the Panty Wrecker.

I get tackled for a living by men who are built like rhinos. I could take the wings off a fly with a football from 30 yards away. (I wouldn’t, but I could.) Being a veteran quarterback means I’m a mentally alert, fine-tuned athletic machine who can make split-second decisions.

It’s my job to anticipate what’s going to happen next and adapt. But I couldn’t have anticipated the death of our beloved team owner.

His estranged daughter Hannah Strong is a finance nerd from New York. She knows less than nothing about football. Know what she didn’t anticipate? Inheriting the Boston Tomcats.

She’s stubborn, uptight, infuriating, and wrong about absolutely everything—from pizza to how to run my team. And I don’t want to talk about how good she looks in a skirt. Or daydream about how good she’d look out of it.

Really, I don’t.

I’m not Decker the Panty Wrecker anymore—I’ve changed.

I can’t stop arguing with her.

Or thinking about her.

I thought I had a winning play.

But Hannah Strong changed everything.




Add Decker: Changing the Play to your Goodreads TBR!


🎧 AUDIOBOOK Info 🎧

The audiobook will release in March!

It will be duet-style, performed by Connor Crais and Mackenzie Cartwright, featuring Ava Lucas and Ron Butler. 


ABOUT KAYLEY LORING
Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got a BFA in creative writing and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn't allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she’s an Amazon Top 25 bestselling author who is breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It’s an adjustment she’s happily getting used to.

Rest assured that her funny sexy sweet romances have no cheating or cliffhangers, and always have HEAs!

Connect with Kayley


ABOUT CONNOR CRAIS
Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife, two kids, and rescue greyhound. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.

Connect with Connor

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Thank you to Kayley Loring, Connor Crais, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Decker: Changing the Play.

Thief by S Massery {teaser}

 


Thief, the first book in the Sterling Falls series, by S. Massery is coming January 20th, 2022!

This dark, gothic, reverse harem romance will grab your attention! You'll find yourself wanting to know what happens next.

    

Blurb:

I wasn’t supposed to be at Olympus that night.

And I definitely wasn’t supposed to witness a murder – or be caught by the killers.

Hades, Apollo, and Ares run the mysterious, masked fight club, and they wield more power in this town than I could dream of holding. They destroy my life with one decree: Kora Sinclair doesn’t exist.

Sterling Falls was my chance to start over, but one night derails everything.

My scholarship, my job – gone.

I could run home, but giving up my dreams isn’t an option.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

When I can’t repay my debt to an unforgiving man, he gives me a choice. I can steal Hades’ mask, or he can take what I owe from my flesh.

But if I do, there’s no turning back. More than the fear of his threats, revenge drives my decision. I need to steal the mask.

After all, who better to become a thief than the girl they tried to erase?

EXCERPT
“Did you come back to watch Hades?”

“No.” I tip my head to the side.

“Is that what you really wanted to ask me?”

He straightens to his full height. He’s quite a bit taller than me, but I’m not intimidated by that. Even though his hands on my arms in the forest sit fresh in my mind, and their howls sometimes ring in my ears, I’m not scared.

What I should be is wary. Wary of pretty boys with masks and ill intentions. Of dark rooms and violence. Ares is the God of War. Of bloodthirsty rage. He takes my hand without asking and pulls me into him.

His lips touch my ear. “Come with me again, little flower. Your friends haven’t noticed your disappearance. And didn’t you have more fun with me last time?”


Add to your Goodreads TBR!


PreOrder Now! 

Amazon US | Amazon WW | Nook | Apple | Kobo



Are you wanting to visit Sterling Falls early?

If you said yes, visit S. Massery's website, and download the prequel, THRILL, now!



About the Author

S. Massery, AKA Sara, is a dark romance author from Massachusetts. She enjoys twisting, suspenseful tales with dark anti-heroes and sassy heroines.​

Her journey started when she was a little girl, dreaming of stories and frantically trying to capture her dreams on paper. She completed her first novel, Something Special, in 2018, and she has been unstoppable ever since.

Connect with S. Massery

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Broken Boys Break Hearts by JB Heller {a review}


Broken Boys Break Hearts is a new adult, second-chance, contemporary romance about learning to love and trust against all odds. It is a complete story and can be read as a standalone or enjoyed as book 1 in the Moments series. One-Click now to embark on an emotional journey of two opposites trying to navigate their way back to each other after years apart.

"How do you stop seeing yourself a certain way when it's all you've ever known?"

Huxley Haynes is doing his best to survive. His goal is to graduate high school early, and get out of Shiloh Springs. All his life he has been told that he ruins everything, that he's not wanted, and that it's all his fault. How can Hux not believe that when it's what is said to him on a regular basis? Thankfully he has his job, as well as photography, to keep him occupied until he can leave.

Enter Eliza Quinn. Eliza is part of the popular crowd. She's well know, and liked by everyone. She has a heart of gold. One other thing to note is that Eliza has always noticed Huxley. Even when he thought he was invisible, she saw him. She was intrigued. So when the moment presented itself for her to get to know him, she jumped in with both feet. And what she discovered was a man who thought so little of himself, but continually proved how amazing he is.

What happens next is a whirlwind romance that left both of them broken hearted. But when we jump forward 5 years, our couple is finally able to reconnect. But can they move past the pain of the past, and move forward together?

"Oh, trust me, I know I would end up hurting. But hurt and I go way back. I can handle it."

The way their reunion happened was so good. When an exhibit for Hadley was booked at the family hotel, Eliza thought nothing of it. Then when Hux found out where his exhibit was being held? He was worried. He had a feeling he'd run into her, and while that was everything he wanted, he wasn't ready. 

One last thing...this book does have a content/trigger warning for abuse (mental, emotional, physical). So if that is something you cannot read about, then don't grab this book. But to be fair, the abuse storyline is just a tidbit of the overall story.

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts on Broken Boys Break Hearts. I hope that you'll consider picking this one up!
Laura

Cover Design by Tall Story Designs
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster
Model: Lochie Carey

She wasn’t meant for someone like me. But I took her anyway…


Eliza Quinn signified everything I didn’t deserve.
I never should have talked to her, touched her, kissed her.

She made me want things I couldn’t have.
But I fell for her so hard and so fast.
Even though I knew we were destined for disaster.

Staying with her was never an option.
I was leaving Shiloh Springs, and not even she could stop me.

Five years later, I think I've moved on.
Then my manager books my next photography exhibition at the most luxurious hotel in New York City.
The Quinn Plaza, Eliza’s family’s hotel.

The second our eyes lock, I know two things.
1- I need her back.
2- She hates me…

Broken Boys Break Hearts was previously released under the title Time-Lapse.



Read for Free with KU
Add to your Goodreads TBR!



Meet JB Heller


JB Heller is an average Aussie housewife and Mumma in her early 30's. She lives on a mini farm with her family and a few cows, sheep, a parrot, cats, fish, dogs, and a butt load of chickens. It's JB's dream to one day add a llama to the mix and an alpaca or two.

She writes across several genre's including RomCom, Romantic Suspense and Contemporary. You can always expect a healthy dose of heat, intrigue and wit in her stories.

Monday to Friday you can find JB glued to her laptop weaving words or trolling Pinterest for her next potential muse. Come the weekend, it's family time. (And of course lots of reading and Netflix binges.)

Want to know more about JB? Check her out, you’ll be guaranteed a good laugh if nothing else.



Thank you to J.B. Heller, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with a review copy of Broken Boys Break Hearts.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Halfway Home by Maddie Taylor {a review}

Halfway Home by Maddie Taylor is now available! Oh how I enjoyed this small town, slow burn romance! You should definitely pick it up.

Everyone can see that Nate and Audrey love each other. Yet they both think their love is unrequited. If they could just stop for a moment, and really take a look at each other they'd see what's right in front of them.

"You two are the most oblivious pair I've ever come across in thirty-eight years on this planet. For all your much-lauded observational skills, Sheriff Dawson, if you had eyes, you would be able to see the girl is in love with you and has been since--well, forever."

Because of their inability to do so, they lost out on a lot of time together. The death of Audrey's Grandma is what brought her back to Halfway Nebraska, and also back into the life of Nate Dawson. Unfortunately the death of her Grandma has also brought Audrey's mom back into town. And where Kay Porter goes, nothing good comes from it.

While I did shed a few tears while reading the story, I also found myself chuckling a few times. Especially when Grandma Charlene made her presence known when Audrey returned home.

Loved the story, the setting, and the characters. I would love to return to this setting! I need to see Brad Dawson get his happily ever after. Okay I'd also love to see Nate and Aubrey in the background of his story. 

I hope you'll give this book a read. I truly enjoyed just about every moment of it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts,
Laura

Cover Art & Design by Fantasia Frog Designs

Is a chance at the love she’s always dreamed of enough to make her stay?

Nearly two decades after she left Halfway, Nebraska, Audrey Porter returns to the small town she once called home following the death of her beloved grandmother. With Nana gone, she must protect the family farm from her opportunistic mother. It isn’t long before she is reminded of all the reasons she moved away. Though she no longer lets the small-town gossips bother her, ignoring the rekindled feelings she has for her teenage crush proves more difficult.

For the last twenty years, Nate Dawson has been the hometown hero. High school football star, cattle ranching royalty, and now the county sheriff, he is admired, desired, and respected. But beneath his controlled, no-nonsense exterior is the tender heart of a young man who never forgot the girl who got away. With Audrey finally within reach, the smitten sheriff is determined not to waste his second chance.

As Audrey works through her grief, battles her mother in court, and wrestles with the decision to keep or sell the farm, Nate refuses to let her push him away. Will surrendering to the love she has always wanted bring Audrey home for good?

Now available on Amazon!

Add Halfway Home to your Goodreads TBR!



About Maddie

A USA Today and #1 international bestselling author, Maddie is a lifelong reader who became a romance junkie as a teen with her first romance novel, The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. From then on, she was hooked, and gobbled up everything she could get her hands on, whether contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi. If there was romance to be found between a strong alpha male, and a sassy, adventurous and ofttimes defiant yet loving woman, Maddie was all over it. As an author, she stays true to those themes writing steamy erotic romance, with a side of kink, and adding elements of intrigue, danger and suspense to her plots.

Maddie started writing as a hobby. Her stories stayed private while she raised a family and worked full time as a registered nurse. It wasn't until 2012 that she decided to take the plunge and submit her first book for publication: Captain My Captain. She went on to publish eleven novels the first year.

Follow Maddie Online!



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Thank you to Maddie Taylor, and Elle Woods PR, for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Halfway Home.

Monday, January 10, 2022

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