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As I continue on my exploration of sports romances, I landed on this fun football story. Tanner Cole had a career ending injury, and is need of some serious rehab.

Luckily, the therapist that had been helping him was no longer available so he gets to work with Jordan Mueller. She’s a woman, a really pretty woman, and is super dedicated to her patients. But Tanner isn’t interested in working with her, he’s too busy feeling sorry for himself.

But Tanner has no choice, and quickly realizes that despite Jordan’s sunny disposition, she is really working him hard. Then Jordan is forced to move rather suddenly out of her apartment and with nowhere to turn, Tanner lets her move into the guest suite in his mansion.

Lots of heat and lots of laughs make this a really terrific read.

Note: Kindle version available now, paperback comes out 11/28/17

10/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

NECESSARY ROUGHNESS by Julie Brannagh. Avon Impulse (October 10, 2017). ASIN B01ARKZN7M. 171p.

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A Bad Boys of Sports Novel

This is a standalone contemporary romance with some definite heat. I like how it was written with alternating viewpoints, we hear from Cassie and from Chase, and it’s always fun seeing where they are headed before they do.

Cassie and Chase have been best friends (without benefits!) for many years. She told him up front that she was not going to sleep with him, and the relationship worked for them both. Chase became a hockey star and Cassie became a high tech VP and they’ve been hanging out through good and bad relationships and Chase’s philandering ways.

But Chase is quicker to realize that he has developed feelings for Cassie, which he thinks she does not reciprocate. When she asks him along on a business trip to Vegas, things come to a head one very drunken night. What happens in Vegas follows them home and they have to work through a lot to find their happy ending. And they do, with lots of steamy sex along the way.

This was a one night read for me and a lot of fun – pure escapism. If you’re in the mood, go for it!

10/17  Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

BAD REPUTATION by Nicole Edwards. Loveswept (October 3, 2017). ASIN: B01N6OVQRJ. 273p.

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Los Lobos Series, Book 2

I didn’t know about this series and for some reason, my library didn’t get the first book so I’m starting here. (But I might have to buy it, I really liked this one!) Susan Mallery has become one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Her characters are always interesting, she writes good sex scenes, and I love her sense of humor.

Gracie was just fourteen years old when her father died and she fell madly in love with the 18-year-old hottie next door, Riley. At that age, four years makes a huge difference and Riley was not interested. But Gracie was nothing if not persistent, and the stunts she pulled to get his attention and to keep him from marrying his pregnant girlfriend were legendary. So much so that a series of newspaper articles about her kept the small town of Los Lobos enthralled but completely embarrassed her mother, who sent her off to live with an aunt and uncle.

Gracie never came home until fourteen years later, when her youngest sister was about to get married. The aunt and uncle died, leaving Gracie their home, and she started an uber-successful wedding cake business. Her sister is determined to have biggest, most ostentatious cake, and wedding, for that matter, even though she keeps calling it off every time her fiance does something she doesn’t like.

Alexis is the middle sister and the family drama queen, and she is convinced that her husband is cheating on her. He is managing Riley’s campaign for mayor, and Alexis convinces Gracie to spy on Riley’s house to see if her husband is really there. Of course Gracie gets caught, Alexis takes off and abandons her, and Riley demands an explanation of why his former stalker seems up to her old tricks.

Riley got divorced a few months after his marriage when he realized he was duped and his wife wasn’t pregnant. He left town after that, made his fortune and traveled the world. Unbeknownst to most of the town, his uncle, who owned the bank and left an estate of almost a hundred million dollars, left it to Riley with one proviso; he had to take over at the bank and become mayor of Los Lobos. Election season is underway but the standing mayor doesn’t mind playing dirty politics to keep his seat.

Gracie and Riley end up spending some time together, trying to find out what Gracie’s brother-in-law is up to, and find they enjoy their time together. They fall in love but there are obstacles in the way, not the least of which is someone tries to derail the mayoral campaign and destroy Gracie’s cake business.

There are a lot of laughs, some steamy sex scenes and a happy ending in this terrific contemporary romance. I read it in one night and highly recommend it.

10/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FALLING FOR GRACIE by Susan Mallery. HQN Books (April 25, 2017). ISBN 978-0373801954. 384p.

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Happily Inc, Book 2

This is second book in this terrific new series. I loved the first book, You Say it First, and this one as well.

Happily, Inc. is a small town in the desert of California, not too far from Los Angeles. It is a destination wedding town, and almost all the businesses in Happily, Inc. cater to making brides happy. In the first book we met the owner of the major wedding planner and venue, and this book is about one of her friends, Carol Lund.

Carol is the local game keeper. Her father and his brother opened a recycling center that is the envy of everyone, and part of the land they purchased they turned over to Carol. They’ve brought in some endangered grazing animals, like zebras and a giraffe. But the giraffe is lonely, the females generally live in herds, so Carol is trying to raise the money to bring in more animals, but it’s slow going.

The Mathias brothers are all artists that live in town, too. And they’re gorgeous, of course. Originally from Fool’s Gold, (another series) they’ve moved here to get away from their overbearing, abusive father. One of the brothers, Mathias, lives next door to Carol. She is well aware of his penchant for bridesmaids and his love ’em and leave ’em lifestyle. But they become friends, and eventually much more than that.

Malley creates a somehow believable fairy tale world in her books, and that speaks to her writing. Her characters are flawed and real and her plotlines always interesting. And occasionally steamy! This is another terrific read in what is becoming one of my favorite series.

10/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SECOND CHANCE GIRL by Susan Mallory. HQN Books (September 26, 2017). ISBN 978-0373799350. 384p.

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