Tag Archives: 2 Star Review

Review: Player by Joanna Blake – New Adult Contemporary Sports Romance

Posted on by
Reply

51vNcL74s4L._SX309_BO1,204,203,200_

Player

New Adult Contemporary Sports Romance

By Joanna Blake

42052-goodreads

Synopsis

JOCK, SPORT, MEATHEAD, PLAYER. I hate them all. Especially this one. He’s rude, he’s crude and he thinks he is God’s gift to women.

James Fitzpatrick might have started out on the wrong side of the tracks, but his skills on the football field have brought him fame and glory. Now he’s forgotten where he came from.

Hell, he’s even forgotten me, the snot nosed brat from next door. So much so that he hits on me when he comes in to eat at the barbecue place I work at to pay my way through school. But the jokes on him when I turn him down in front of all his meathead buddies. No one has ever turned down James. There’s a reason he’s got a rep as being talented on and off the forty yard line. And now he’s determined to make me pay with a pound of flesh.

Thing is, I’ve got some moves he hasn’t seen yet. It’s going to be a long, hot season.

PLAYER is a stand alone book with a guaranteed HEA and no cheating!

2053a-amazon

2StarSun

 

 

Michel’s Review

I was looking for a fun light book to read.  There were a lot of posts in several of the reading groups I belong to on FB.  The readers were excited for this release.

Player by Joanna Blake is a New Adult Contemporary Sports Romance.  I love sports romance and I love new adult romance.  This book sounded like my kind of book.

Player is a short novel and can be read rather quickly.  Unfortunately I was disappointed with the book.  As a seasoned reviewer and blogger I look for several things in a book.  I look for good character development, a well executed plot, a good story flow – fluid pacing, good dialogue and interaction between the characters, and good editing.  If the book is entertaining and keeps me interested I can overlook some of these things.  After all when the first editions of Fifty Shades of Grey came out the editing was horrible and there were holes in the overall story.  Despite the issues, the book was good and readers embraced it whole heartedly.  I honestly don’t think that this is going to happen with Player.  There were too many problems I found within this book.

The overall plot for the story was good.  The problem was the execution.  It was rushed and seemed to follow the outline rather than creating a world where the characters come to life.  The chemistry between James and Nadine felt synthetic and forced.  Their heated moments almost felt clinical at times.  Their personalities didn’t seem to really connect in a personal and touching way.

There were other things that seemed too unrealistic.  An example is James football career as a college student.  Universities and Colleges are highly regulated concerning their athletes.  Sure they can give their players some perks but not the kind that James was receiving.  When he signed with the professional team, the Miami Dolphins, he insisted on getting Nadine into FSU as part of his signing package.  Sounds good but totally impossible in this story.  FSU is in Tallahassee, Florida.  That is about 480 miles north of Miami.  I think that it would be very hard for Nadine to commute to school and live with James in Miami.  I absolutely hate when an author does not research the story background to make a story realistic.  It insults the readers intelligence.

There were several editing problems throughout the book.  I highlighted several editing problems that should of been caught before publishing.  Readers are paying for this book with their hard earned money.  It doesn’t matter if this book is .99 or 2.99.  It reflects poorly on the author.  Many readers will refuse to read future books because of editing problems.

I really wanted to love this book but had to force myself to finish it.  I love adding new authors to my reading list.  I will not let this one book dissuade me from reading other books by this author.  She seems to have a solid fan base and reader love.

_________________________________________________

Author Bio:

joanna blakeJoanna Blake loves good old fashioned romance, men who open doors and work with their hands. Hot Blooded Heroes is a series of sizzling stories about True Blue American men and the women who love them. She’s thrilled to be collaborating with Pincushion Press on her new series! Come along for the ride!
XoX,
Joanna
*********

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

51vNcL74s4L._SX309_BO1,204,203,200_

Review: Playing Dirty by C. L. Parker – Monkey Business Trio- Book 1

Posted on by
Reply

playing dirty

Playing Dirty

Monkey Business Trio – Book 1

By C. L. Parker

8c83f-addtogoodreads

Synopsis

For fans of Bared to You and Beautiful Bastard comes the start of an irresistible new series in which competition is the ultimate seduction.

“Loaded with wit and snark, great characters, and lots of hot, steamy, naughty sex, Playing Dirty is sure to satisfy.”—New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner

Shaw Matthews plays to win, and he intends to snag a coveted partnership at San Diego’s hottest sports agency by signing America’s top athlete. Only one woman stands in his way: rival agent Cassidy Whalen. But eliminating the competition will be Shaw’s pleasure when he concocts an ingenious plan to seduce Cassidy and show the beautiful ballbreaker who’s the better man for the job. That is, until Cassidy turns the tables—and their steamy encounters start breaking all the rules.

Cassidy has worked hard to make it in a man’s cutthroat arena, and she isn’t going down without a fight, not even against the six-two alpha hunk whose rock-hard body awakens desires she’s never known before. As Cassidy shares night after night of unending passion with Shaw, the game begins to change. Now Cassidy stands to lose everything—unless a fiery contest of wills can become a winning proposition for two people who keep raising the stakes.

Playing Dirty is intended for mature audiences.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

2 Star jpg

Michel’s Review

What’s wrong with a little friendly competition in the work place?  Usually nothing unless the two competitors are vying for the same partnership.  When the stakes get higher, the two combatants will be fighting over landing the same client.  They will battle it out in the workplace.  They will take the competition to the next level with red hot monkey sex.  Each competitor will do anything to get the other to concede.  Let the battles begin.

Cassidy Whalen and Shaw Michaels are vying for the same partnership in the sports agency they both work for.  They literally hate each other.  In order to get the partnership one of them will have to land star quarterback “Rocket Man” Rockford to their client roster. Their competition becomes a brutal battle of witt, wills, and orgasms.  Although these two absolutely abhor one another, their sexual chemistry could compare to a volcanic eruption. A lot of hate sex and monkey business will send both into a tizzy.

The battle is on. The sheets are burning.  Cassidy and Shaw may end up destroying each other.  The only people finding bliss are their co workers. This book ends on a cliffhanger and I am not sure I want to continue with this series.

Playing Dirty had very little romance. Over 75 % of this book was hate sex scenes.  Both the characters were not very likable at all.  I felt the bad tension between them carried out too long. I just did not feel like there was any substance to the story.  It was a book of screwing each other into submission without regard.

Playing Dirty was not my kind of book.  I am sure there are other readers that will find this kind of push and pull entertaining.

Netgalleydisclaimer

________________________

Author Bio

c.l. parkerC.L. Parker is a romance author who writes stories that sizzle. She’s a small-town girl with big-city dreams and enough tenacity to see them come to fruition. Having been the outgoing sort for all her life—which translates to “she just wouldn’t shut the hell up”—it’s no wonder Parker eventually turned to writing as a way to let her voice, and those of the people living inside her head, be heard. She loves hard, laughs until it hurts, and lives like there’s no tomorrow. In her world, everything truly does happen for a reason.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

playing dirty

ARC Review: Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks- The Slow Burn Series-Book 1

Posted on by
Reply

Keep Me Safe

Keep Me Safe

The Slow Burn Series- Book 1

2cb3f-add-to-goodreads-button

By Maya Banks

Synopsis

A sizzling story of a woman who risks her life and her heart to find a wealthy man’s missing sister—the first novel in a sexy new romantic suspense series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks

When Caleb Devereaux’s younger sister is kidnapped, this scion of a powerful and wealthy family turns to an unlikely source for help: a beautiful and sensitive woman with a gift for finding answers others cannot.

While Ramie can connect to victims and locate them by feeling their pain, her ability comes with a price. Every time she uses it, it costs her a piece of herself. Helping the infuriatingly attractive and impatient Caleb successfully find his sister nearly destroys her. Even though his sexual intensity draws her like a magnet, she needs to get as far away from him as she can.

Deeply remorseful for the pain he’s caused, Caleb is determined to make things right. But just when he thinks Ramie’s vanished forever, she reappears. She’s in trouble and she needs his help. Now, Caleb will do risk everything to protect her—including his heart. . . .

 Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Michel’s Review

2 Stars

ARC provided by the Publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks was not what I was hoping for or expecting from a writer of her caliber.

Keep Me Safe is book one in the new romantic suspense trilogy The Slow Burn Series. This series features a group of brothers running a security firm and trying to find their kidnapped sister. Caleb Devereaux is determined to bring psychic in to help their search.

Ramie has a gift that wears on her soul. Once Caleb tricks Ramie into finding his sister’s location their story begins. They are mutually attracted to one another but continually deny their feelings.

As the story unfolds it does not seem believable. Caleb has that Alpha Male attitude and when he meets Ramie he instantly wants to protect her. While Ramie wants to be strong her weaknesses have a way of taking over her personality.

Even though this book was written from duo POV I found it very repetitive. The dialogue continued revolving in circles and kept the story from progressing. I also found that quite a bit of the plot, the characters, and series basis was borrowed from Maya’s other series. The brothers were similar to KGI, the security firm again similar to KGI, fortified mansion similar to KGI, Caleb’s personality similar to Burn character, and the secondary characters had familiar traits as well. Her leading female character appeared much more wishy- washy than her other leading female characters. Both leading characters in this series seem to fall flat and their personalities did not jump off the pages. The story moved at a slow pace and I found myself speed reading it rather than absorbing it. The repetitive dialogue spoiled the book. As I closed this book I was grateful to be finished and found no desire to read the next two books in this series.

I think Maya’s publishers/editors did her a disservice by allowing this book to be published. They should of demanded rewrites and better pacing. It feels like the publisher was banking on Maya’s excellent reputation and ability to sell books.

I have read all of Maya Banks books and I have to honestly say that the last three published books were subpar. She is an excellent writer and always delivers a good book. I am very sad to write this review.

Author Bio:
&nbsp:maya banksMaya Banks lives in Texas with her husband, three children and assortment of pets. When she’s not writing, she can be found hunting, fishing or playing poker.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

 

Keep Me Safe