*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Rebel Hard (Hard Play #2) by Nalini Singh

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Rebel Hard
(Hard Play #2)
Author: Nalini Singh
Publication Date: September 18th, 2018

Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh continues her Hard Play series with a sweet, sexy romance featuring big, fat, OTT weddings, a meddling grandma, and a too-serious hero who needs to be unbuttoned…

Nayna Sharma agreed to an arranged marriage in the hope it would heal the fractures in her beloved family… only to realize too late that a traditional marriage is her personal nightmare. Panicked, she throws caution to the winds, puts on the tiniest dress she can find, and ends up in the arms of a tall, rough-edged hunk of a man who has abs of steel—and who she manages to mortally insult between one kiss and the next.

Abandoned as a child, then adopted into a loving family, Raj Sen believes in tradition, in continuity. Some might call him stiff and old-fashioned, but he knows what he wants—and it’s a life defined by rules… yet he can’t stop thinking about the infuriating and sexy woman who kissed him in the moonlight then disappeared. When his parents spring an introduction on him, the last woman he expects is her. Beautiful. Maddening. A rule breaker in the making.

He’s all wrong for her. She’s all wrong for him. And love is about to make rebels of them both.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

5 “My heart can barely take all these feelings” Stars

This is the best romance book I read this year. Simple, beautiful, touching, full of feels and sexy AF.

I’m so in love with this book and these characters I don’t think I have words to describe my feelings.

Nayna is the kind of protagonist that steals my heart from page one and refuses to give it to back to me even after the story is over. She’s such a gentle soul. A beautiful person that I wish was real and my friend. Her desire for freedom and adventure never gets in the way of her love and respect for her family, and that balance is just another reason to love her.

Raj is book boyfriend material at its best. Thoughtful, respectful, serious, committed, sexy, smart. I can’t even with this man. He’s ridiculously perfect in a way that should be annoying but totally isn’t. I love, love, love his relationship with his parents and siblings. He’s one of those men who learned that he should treat women with the same care and respect he wants men to treat the little sister he dearly loves. He owes up to his mistakes, fights for the people he cares and protects them in a way that doesn’t feel suffocating.

The chemisty between Nayna and Raj is out of this word. I felt every scene between them from start to finish. Their adorable, sexy and perfect together. It also helps that Raj was so out-of-this-world in love with Naya. The “man who madly loves the woman who is reluctant to commit to her feelings” always gets me.

The romance was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Aside from Nayna and Raj’s perfect relationship, I adored the family dynamic. It was a beautiful thing to see both Nayna and Raj interact with their own families and with each other’s parents, grandparents and siblings. Nayna’s grandmother is probably my favorite character aside from the main couple. She made me laugh out loud more than a couple of times. But in truth, I loved everyone in Nayna’s family. Same goes for Raj’s parents and little sister. In fact, I was dying to read a  YA book about Aditi, because she came across as such a smart and strong young lady.

And there were happy endings delivered like Xmas presents and I can't even bring myself to care that some were unrealistic. Real life is hard so books are allowed to give me as many happy ever afters as they want.

Honestly, I can’t think about anything I didn’t like in this book. Even the annoying sister-in-law had her place in the story and the third person narrative, despite not being my favorite in general, worked wonderfully here. The book was just that amazing!

Well, I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is can’t be more entertaining than reading this book, so stop and go get your copy.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

Release & Review - Intercepted by Alexa Martin

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Intercepted
Author: Alexa Martin
Publication Date: September 11th, 2018

Publisher: Berkley Books
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there's a new player on the horizon, and he's in a league of his own...

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights. 

Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation. 

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season.

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

3.5 “#NFLwivesarescary” Stars

As a fan of football and NFL-themed romances, I was looking forward to Intercepted, a book that got a huge amount of buzz before its release. The romance lived up to the hype, but I was so bothered by how women were portrayed in this story that I couldn’t fall entirely in love with the book.

Look, the protagonist, Marlee was fun and her voice was awesome, even with all the hashtags thrown in the middle. I loved that she was biracial! She was one of those “out there” people who loved their personality and didn’t make excuses for it, which made her easy to like. It also helped that this was written by a former NFL wife, which gave authenticity to the whole thing. There were some nice inside details thrown in there.

Gavin was a little grey for me. Not really alpha, not really beta, but still pretty hot and likable. Aside from that move near the end, he was thoughtful and respectful of Marlee. Together, Mrlee and Gavin had great chemistry.

If only based on the romance, my rating would’ve been higher. Problem is, Marlee pretty much hates and is hated/antagonized by practically every women she meets. Like I said, this is a debut from a former NFL wife, so I guess she knows what she’s talking about, but I still find it hard to believe every single NFL wife is a selfish, self-serving, problematic, bitchy person.

Thinking back, I can only recall two women that were nice to Marlee from start to finish: her best friend, Noami (a really great character), which doesn’t really count because being nice is part of the job as a BFF; and her new boss at a super cool bar she starts working at. Every other woman (and there were tons of them) antagonized her. The main villain was the wife of the former quarterback, and that rivalry worked just fine considering their loved ones position in the team, but it could’ve ended there. There was no need for every other woman to be portrayed as insufferable and selfish human beings. It really bothered me to see all the woman-on-woman hate.

#Taylorsaiditbest

So while I enjoyed the romance, the dynamics involving the main character and the other women in the story left a bitter taste in my mouth, preventing me from loving this.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Cover Reveal - Bulldozer by P. Dangelico

Title: Bulldozer

Author: P. Dangelico

Publication date: November 12th, 2018

Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance

Amanda Shaw has pulled it together. It’s taken a couple of years, a boatload of hard work, and a ton of self-discipline, but she finally has her problems in a headlock. Her yoga studio in the city has become so successful she’s opening one near the beach, and her relationship with her ten-year-old son is improving every day. The last thing she needs is a monkey wrench thrown into her smoothly running life.

Grant Hendricks is one big monkey wrench. The four time Defensive Player of the Year, three time NFL sack leader, and all-around football god has officially hit rock bottom. A devastating back injury means he may have to retire and that scares him more than doctors telling him that the next hit could leave him paralyzed. All he needs is a quiet place to think and his teammate’s beach house sounds like just the place. Problem is, the woman already living there.

 What happens when a single mother is forced to live with a grumpy, ailing football star? The smolder turns red hot, of course.

Pre-Order your copy today!

Amazon  US: https://amzn.to/2x9E4cb

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2Oi79da

Amazon CA:  https://amzn.to/2p3cTMQ

Amazon AU:  https://amzn.to/2NEZBUz

iBooks:   https://apple.co/2CNZ8eC

                Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2CKrFle

P. Dangelico loves romance in all forms, cuddly creatures (four legged and two), really bloody sexy pulp, the NY Jets (although she’s reconsidering after this season), and to while away the day at the barn (apparently she does her best thinking shoveling horse crap). What she’s not enamored with is referring to herself in the third person and social media so don’t expect her to get on Twitter anytime soon. Oh, and although she was born in Italy, she’s been Jersey Strong since she turned six.

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*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
Author: Christina Lauren
Publication Date: September 4th, 2018

Publisher: Gallery Books
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.

Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.

Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

Goodreads

Buy Link: Amazon

4.5 “Guide to Falling for you BFF” stars

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Christina Lauren’s early books, but between the releases of Dating/Hating You and Loved and Other Words, I went from reluctant to when is the next book coming, out, please?

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating only reaffirmed that feeling.

A friends-to-lovers romance, this book had everything I needed: a protagonist that was unique enough that I’ll remember her for a long time, an adorable love interest who stole my heart, enough banter to make me fall hard in love and tons of laugh out loud moments.

Hazel was one of the funniest protagonists I’ve come across in a while. She’s unapologetically quirky and she gets herself in the most embarrassing situations because of her lack of filter. I loved, loved meeting her.

Josh was Hazel’s opposite. More on the serious side, he came from a traditional family with traditional values, but as soon as he got to know Hazel better it was clear he didn’t care she saw life differently. He embraced her completely and never looked back, and that’s because the man had a heart of gold. Josh is one of those beta males who makes me believe there are still good people out there. The world needs more Joshes.

I was obsessed with their chemistry, with how their friendship developed and how they fell in love with each other so organically. There was nothing forced about their relationship. It was everything it needed to be and more. And the hot scenes???

The double dates were fun, some a little awkward, but still fun. Hazel and Josh’s relationship with her sister and brother-in-law made the book even richer. So did their relationship with their mothers. I only wished the ex-boyfriend plot had never happened. That’s probably my only complaint about this story.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was not only an amazing read, but it left me yet again anxious for what these authors will write next.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.

*Grabby Hands* Cover Reveal - Fall by Kristen Callihan

Title: Fall 

Author: Kristen Callihan

Publication date: October 3rd, 2018

Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance

     

The first time I met Jax Blackwood things went a little sideways.

In my defense, I didn’t know he was Jax Blackwood—who expects a legendary rock star to be shopping for groceries? More importantly, a blizzard was coming and he was about to grab the last carton of mint-chocolate chip.

Still, I might have walked away, but then he smugly dared me to try and take the coveted ice cream. So I kissed him. And distracted that mint-chip right out of his hands.

Okay, it was a dirty move, but desperate times and all that. Besides, I never expected he’d be my new neighbor.

An annoying neighbor who takes great pleasure in reminding me that I owe him ice cream but would happily accept more kisses as payment. An irresistible neighbor who keeps me up while playing guitar naked–spectacularly naked–in his living room.

Clearly, avoidance is key. Except nothing about Jax is easy to ignore—not the way he makes me laugh, or that his particular brand of darkness matches mine, or how one look from him melts me faster than butter under a hot sun.

Neither of us believes in love or forever. Yet we’re quickly becoming each other’s addiction. But we could be more. We could be everything.

All we have to do is trust enough to fall.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

iBooks and Barnes & Noble to come

Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal, best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

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