Review: Pipe Dreams by Sarina Bowen

Series: Brooklyn Bruisers Book #3

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Pages: 336

Rating: 5 Stars

How I Got It: Christmas Gift

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports/hockey romance

Publisher: Berkley Books

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Mike Beacon is a champion at defending the net, but off the ice, he’s not so lucky. A widower and a single father, he’s never forgotten Lauren Williams, the ex who gave him the best year of his life. When Lauren reappears in the Bruisers office during the playoffs, Beacon sees his chance to make things right.

Lauren hates that she’s forced to travel with the team she used to work for and the man who broke her heart. There’s still undeniable sexual tension running between her and Mike, but she won’t go down that road again. She’s focused on her plans for the future—she doesn’t need a man to make her dreams of motherhood come true.

Lauren plays her best defensive game, but she’s no match for the dark-eyed goalie. When the field of play moves to Florida, things heat up on the beach.

One of Mike’s biggest fans doesn’t approve—his teenage daughter. But a true competitor knows not to waste the perfect shot at love.

Review

It should come as no surprise that I loved this because I'm obsessed with Sarina Bowen. I read like 20 minutes on my lunch at work and then the rest was one sitting on my couch. My cat really appreciated just being able to sit on my lap for 3 hours.

Lauren was a real treat. Over the course of the series, she has gone from random bitchy girl to great character. It's a nice reminder not to judge people by how they appear. Mike was cute and I liked seeing him with his daughter. He's a little too impulsive for me, but that's personal preference.

As an aside, I want to talk about Mike's daughter and her manny. Their names are Elsa and Hans. I see what you did Ms. Bowen. Although, I did keep thinking of Hans from The Mighty Ducks.

The romance was well developed and pretty emotional. My eyes definitely teared up especially for Lauren. This is a reunited lovers story which is one of my favorite tropes. I would have liked a little more talking before jumping back into bed, but it wasn't a huge issue.

It was also nice to see a little friendship growing between all the ladies of these books. I hope that continues into the next one.

Speaking of, it better come out in February. I need Nate and Becca's story!!! There isn't a cover on Goodreads yet, so I'm a little nervous it will get pushed back.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Review: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

Series: Brooklyn Bruisers Book #1
Format: Ebook
Rating: 4 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Hockey
Publisher: Berkley

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

 
Review

I really enjoyed this. I am still a little upset I had to pay $7.99 for an ebook. Traditional publishing has a lot of problems and that's one of them. But I don't hold that against Sarina Bowen.

Speaking of, there were a lot of issues I couldn't overlook. Typos I'm pretty forgiving of, but continuity errors really bother me. They tend to pull me out of the story. If you are a major publishing house there is no reason a book you release has several continuity errors.

Since I considered this an editing issue and this isn't self-published it doesn't impact my rating. But I needed to get it off my chest.

Onto the actual book/story.

I love a good hockey romance-especially with fantastic characters. Georgia is a kick-ass woman. She's very passionate about her job and is very ambitious As a young woman myself I admire her. And her dreams are no less valid than Leo's. He is also fun and very sweet. He isn't your traditional hockey hero and isn't afraid to show his love for Georgia.

The side characters were also well done. But this is Sarina Bowen-I shouldn't be surprised. I loved Silas and am sad because I feel like he will never get his own book. Nate and Becca though. I'm smelling sequel bait and it better happen because I need to know the story about those two. And Nate seems like he wouldn't be a traditional billionaire hero.

The romance was on the steamy side. Sometimes that can be a bit much but it worked. It helps that Ms. Bowen shows Leo and Georgia talking, too. Reunited lovers is one of my favorite tropes so that was a plus. One thing did feel a little rushed though.

I also loved seeing the other Trevi family members. D.J. is one of my favorite Bowen heroes. So, whenever he was around I was happy.

And now I have to wait until January for the next book. I don't want to wait!

Thanks for reading!
Holly

Review: Pucked by Helena Hunting

Series: Pucked Book #1

Format: ebook

Rating: 2.5 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Self-published

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

With a famous NHL player for a step-brother, Violet Hall is well acquainted with the playboy reputation many hockey stars come with. She’s smart enough to steer clear of those hot, well-built boys with unparalleled stamina. That is until she meets the legendary team captain—Alex Waters.

Violet isn’t interested in his pretty, beat-up face, or his rock-hard six-pack abs. But when Alex inadvertently obliterates Violet’s previous misapprehension regarding the inferior intellect of hockey players, he becomes more than just a hot body with a face to match.

In what can only be considered a complete lapse in judgment, Violet finds out just how good Alex is with the hockey stick in his pants. But what starts out as a one-night stand, quickly turns into something more. Post-night of orgasmic magic, Alex starts to call, and text, and e-mail and send extravagant—and quirky—gifts, making him difficult to ignore, and even more difficult not to like.

The problem is, the media portrays Alex as a total player, and Violet doesn’t want to be part of the game

 

Review

I’m going to be honest—this was a disappointment. There were some things I liked about it, but generally the characters were annoying and I felt the writing was immature. And the hockey parts felt under-researched.

Alex, the hero, was one of the better things. He was generally kind and nice. And not just to Violet. He was friendly to the other people/women in his life. This says a lot about his personality. Oh, and he was a big fan of consent which you just don’t see enough off.

But Violet pissed me off. She was very rude to her family and constantly over-reacted to things. God forbid she actually talk to Alex about something he does like a grown up. I rolled my eyes a lot during her chapters. And every time she talked about her beaver I cringed.

I was going to say more, but I don’t want to give more of my time to this. Although I may still read the next book because Buck seems OK and his relationship with Sunny might be cute.

Thanks for reading!

Holly