🔖 REVIEW BLITZ 🔖 Playboy’s Reward by Gina Azzi

Playboy’s Reward by Gina Azzi

Release Date: October 27, 2022

Series: Tennessee Thunderbolts #4

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports

It was supposed to be one fake date…

When sexy-as-sin Harper Henderson launches profanities into the night sky from the balcony below mine, I’m forced to intervene. I may be a professional hockey player with a playboy reputation, but I’m also a good guy.

Charming and affable with unrivaled cheekbones and a lack of serious commitments (save for hockey), I make an impressive plus-one.

Volunteering to be Harper’s date to her dreaded ten-year high school reunion is easy. Pretending not to fall for her when our innocent kisses turn passionate is a little more challenging.

But when Harper returns the fake date favor and accompanies me to my parents’ anniversary party, everything changes. She garners my dad’s respect and effortlessly mingles with my childhood friends. She eases the familial pressure I drown under and makes me crave the things I used to laugh off.

Tangling up with Harper was supposed to be a fun way to pass the summer. So, why does it feel like she’s the real prize? The elusive, fleeting kind of real I’ve avoided for years?

And how can I prove that this playboy wants a different kind of reward? One that sounds a lot like commitment… 

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My Review:

As the fourth book in the Tennessee Thunderbolts Series, Azzi delivers a sizzling and entertaining read in Playboy’s Reward. This steamy sports romance will keep you reading until the very end.

At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Harper Henderson, it’s been a year since she moved to Tennessee, only a few minutes away from her childhood home. The very same home that she ran away from all those years ago after suffering the betrayal of two very important people in her life. There is still resentment for the town that saw her grow up and those around her, but after getting a job with the Coyote football franchise, Harper decided to move back. Now she is ready to move on with her life, but no matter what she does, there is still a sense of loneliness that she can’t shake. Then everything changes when she gets RSVP’d for her high-school reunion and when her incredibly good looking neighbor offers to be her plus-one. It’s was only supposed to be for one night, but being with Damien throws her off and Harper finds herself growing feelings for her hockey player neighbor that could end up breaking her heart.

As an NHL player for the Tennessee Thunderbolts, Damien Barnes, has the reputation of being a playboy. Coming from old money has also attracted the attention of many women, but that exactly what Damien has managed to avoid the most, drama. When his downstairs neighbor tells him about her upcoming high-school reunion and why she doesn’t want to go, he immediately offers to be her plus-one. Although they both agree to start a fake relationship, Damien knows that he doesn’t do relationships, but being around Harper has him questioning himself. He has been hurt in the past and he is afraid of how she is going to react to his world. It would take his parents’ anniversary to put that to the test.

I loved reading a Playboy’s Reward, the characters were charismatic and the story itself was entertaining to read. We have two characters who have been hurt in the past and they have to learn to trust in each other in order to get a shot at a future together. It’s through ups and downs that they are able to lean on each other and grow the community that they needed. I loved the ending, I would highly recommend checking out the story and the rest of the series! :)

***I received an advanced copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.***

My Rating: 4.5/5

Meet Gina Azzi:

I’m Gina Azzi, a book-obsessed, coffee-drinking, globetrotting, mama of soon-to-be three! I write sweet with a dash of spicy New Adult and Contemporary Romance full of good men putting in work to win the hearts of even better women.

A total Jersey girl at heart, I struggle with insatiable wanderlust and currently reside in Ontario, Canada with my family.

When I’m not dreaming up storylines or writing all the words, you can find me hanging with my littles, attempting to bake, or planning my next adventure.

Connect with me on social media or at ginaazziauthor@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Reading!

Xo,

Gina 

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🔖 REVIEW 🔖 Blackmail by Amelia Wilde

Blackmail by Amelia Wilde 

Release Date: August 2nd 2022

Series: Controlling Interest #1

Pages: 224

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Bristol Anderson will do anything to protect her younger siblings. Even if it means embezzling from the company where she’s a temp. No one will find out. And the wealthy owner of the investment firm will never notice.

Except Will LeBlanc doesn’t miss a thing.

He could call the police, but he has more interesting plans for her. In the copy room. On the conference table. Under his desk.

The coldhearted venture capitalist will make her pay back every last cent.

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Review:

Wilde delivers an intriguing start to the first book in the Controlling Interest Trilogy with Blackmail. This sizzling read had me hooked from beginning to end.

At the beginning of the story we get to meet Will Leblanc, a venture capitalist who has worked really hard to make his private equity firm a success. So much so that he is in talks of merging with a large organization, The Hughes Financial Services, who have offered him even more wealth and an executive title as well. But while Will should be focusing on the merger, his focus now is on trying to keep a secretary from leaving the job. He has gotten the reputation of not being able to keep his secretaries with his temper and demands.

Until one day that changes as a beautiful woman walks in having been sent from the temp agency ready to make his job a lot easier. Bristol is efficient and does her job really well. Yet, there is something about her that keeps him drawn to her. Will knows better than to get emotionally attached to her, but when Bristol confides in him about her con artist father, he knows that he has to find a way to protect her. He is shocked to discover that Bristol has con him and he vows to make her pay, by making her his. Little by little, she starts to shatter the walls around him and it frightens him to know that she will see the monster in him and never want anything to do with him again.

Bristol Anderson has always been protective over her siblings as they moved from place to place growing up. It’s her jobs throughout the years that have been able to help them financially. But it’s not enough and that results in her dad “borrowing money” to help them move around. When a man comes to collect the money her dad owes, things turn from bad to worse when he threatens her siblings’ lives if he is not paid back soon. Bristol doesn’t know what to do, her new temp job is not going to cover everything. She needs to think of something fast and that’s when her dad asks her to do what he has always done in order to protect those she loves. Bristol must steal from same company that has given her the job while she figures out a way to pay them back as well. It’s only supposed to be temporary, but Will is not one to mess with and she knows that she has been caught. But Will isn’t interested in firing her or calling the police, he has a plan of his own. One that could change the course of their lives forever.

There is so much to unpack from this book, from the storyline to the characters. Their chemistry is what kept me reading and as we got to learn more of their background stories, the more hooked I was with the story. We have a tortured hero who has been through a traumatic past and he is afraid of getting emotionally attached to Bristol. Her story and wanting to protect her at all costs is what drives him to want to keep her for himself. On the other hand, Bristol loves her family and will do anything to protect him, including the very same thing that she hates about dad. They are able to lean on each other and start to trust in one another. Until a turn of events threatens a potential future together. The story does end with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read what happens next. I would highly recommend checking it out as well as other works by the author as well. :)

***I received an advanced copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.***

Rating:

AUTHOR BIO:

Amelia Wilde is a USA TODAY bestselling author of steamy contemporary romance and loves it a little too much. She lives in Michigan with her husband and daughters. She spends most of her time typing furiously on an iPad and appreciating the natural splendor of her home state from where she likes it best: inside.

Amelia is a USA Today best selling author from northern Michigan. Be her friend!

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🔖 REVIEW 🔖 Ace of Diamonds by Alta Hensley

Ace of Diamonds by Alta Hensley

Release Date: October 4, 2022 by Dangerous Press

Series: Wonderland #3

Pages: 174

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Dark

The winner takes all...

I had her. She was mine. They took her away.

Lyriope Morelli is the dream I’ve been chasing. My obsession isn't gone, my hunger’s not satiated. I won't rest until I find her and claim her again. I won't rest until I've dragged her safely back to Wonderland.

Villains don’t get the happily ever after written for them in the story. And I'm the villain of this story--vicious and calculating, terrifying in my whims. Which is why, when it comes to my queen of hearts…

The game has just begun.

The warring Morelli and Constantine families have enough bad blood to fill an ocean, and their brand new stories will be told by your favorite dangerous romance authors.

WARNING: This book is intended for readers eighteen years old and over. It contains material that some readers could find disturbing. Enter at your own risk...

Amazon, Amazon INTL, Apple Books, B&N, Kobo, Google Play

My Review:

Hensley delivers an epic conclusion to the Wonderland Trilogy in Ace of Diamonds. The final showdown is finally here and it does not disappoint at all. A definite must-read!

Italy was supposed to be their sanctuary, where Nick and Lyriope could actually see a future together. But that quickly went downhill the minute the Morellis and Sidorovs decided to take matters into their own hands by arranging a marriage between Lyriope and one of the Sidorovs. Now the Morellis have taken Lyriope back to Bishop’s Landing, away from Nick as possible. Yet, Nick is not going to give up easily. He will do anything possible to get Lyriope back and fight for the woman he has grown to love.

No matter how much Nick hates seeing Lyriope be used as a pawn between the Morellis and the Sidorovs. She has made the decision to let things play out with her family in hopes that her dad finally sees her as part of the family. It would take a turn of events to make her see who her father really is and just how much her heart belongs to the one who claims to be the villain of the story, but in reality Nick has done nothing but be with her no matter what.

I absolutely loved reading Ace of Hearts, I can honestly say that it’s one of my favorite trilogies. From the characters to the Alice in Wonderland retelling references, this trilogy has it all. We get to see the characters develop and grow closer than ever. Nick is one of my favorite characters, he is just perfectly obsessive over Lyriope and the way he is ready to do anything for her really speak volumes of just how caring he is. The ending will leave you swoon and rooting for them, it’s truly special and not to be missed. I would highly recommend checking out the entire trilogy, you will not regret it! :)

***I received an advanced copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.***

My Rating:

About the Author:

Alta Hensley is a USA TODAY bestselling author of hot, dark and dirty romance. She is also an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author.

Being a multi-published author in the romance genre, Alta is known for her dark, gritty alpha heroes, sometimes sweet love stories, hot eroticism, and engaging tales of the constant struggle between dominance and submission.

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🌟 BOOK BLITZ 🌟 Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis by Melanie Munton {EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!}

Why Not to Date Your Nemesis by Melanie Munton

Release Date: October 4th 2022

Series: Shell Grove #2

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

There’s a new sheriff in town…
And he’s her worst nightmare.

Reason #1: Ben Crawford is Olivia Knight’s long-time arch rival. They’ve been sworn enemies ever since she wore overalls to school one day, and he asked her in homeroom where she parked her cow. Now that he’s back, it doesn’t appear much has changed. He’s still arrogant. He’s still trouble. And this time, he’s got a badge and handcuffs. Which will make murdering him and disposing of his body much more challenging for her.

Reason #2: Sheriff Ben has done a lot of growing up during his time away from Shell Grove. He went and got himself some muscles and tattoos, and has the nerve to wear that sheriff’s uniform absurdly well. For some reason, that’s all she can seem to focus on whenever they cross paths. All the nice changes he’s made, instead of how vehemently she’s vowed to hate his guts for all eternity.

Reason #3: The complicated connection that has forever entwined their lives doesn’t have a pleasant backstory. As adults, they should be able to forget what happened when they were teenagers and move on. But in a small town where everyone has long memories, there are reminders everywhere of the nasty events that destroyed both of their families years ago. And she’s not sure their growing feelings for each other are enough to forgive the sins of the past and carve out a future…together.

Ben has a secret. A big one. The longer he’s in Shell Grove and surrounded by people who know his sordid history, the more likely that secret is going to come out. But if it does, Olivia will never speak to him again. Which will not do. Because he’s finally realized that Olivia is the reason why he came back to town in the first place. And if he doesn’t want to lose her forever, he needs to correct the mistakes he made a long time ago and prove he’s not the NEMESIS she’s always thought him to be.

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{EXCERPT}

Ben was barely listening to the conversation around him since a familiar tingling sensation had started crawling up the back of his neck. It was the anticipation of getting eyes on Olivia, needing eyes on her. Making sure that no one was heckling her, that she was having a good time.

Oh, who are you bullshitting? You don’t want her having a good time with another guy.

It made him a bastard, but yeah. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if he saw her flirting with another man. Probably break something. Maybe whip out his cuffs and threaten to arrest some motherfuckers. Which was completely insane. He needed to bottle that shit up immediately before the crazy started to show on his face.

Something over Finn’s shoulder caught his attention, and Ben saw red.

He took it all back. There was a motherfucker that definitely needed arresting.

The one currently chatting up his girl.

Your girl? Since when, Benny?

Some douchebag wearing a blue button-up shirt with whales all over it was smiling at Olivia from ear-to-ear as they stood next to the food truck-turned-mobile tiki bar, Freaky Tiki. He didn’t recognize the guy, but he was openly flirting with the wrong woman.

“Be right back,” he bit out to his friends and took off storming across the sand.

He’d tried to control it. It wasn’t like they had agreed to be exclusive. They weren’t even dating, for Christ’s sake. But Ben acting on his jealousy toward Olivia had become a compulsion in a remarkably short period of time. Any man that showed the slightest interest in her, he wanted to pummel into the fucking ground. He knew it was selfish and irrational and completely unfair of him. But controlling that impulse—the impulse to do something and mark his territory—was as impossible as telling his dick to chill the fuck out every time it was in her presence.

He was closing in on them before he took stock of himself.

And oh, he really should have.

The county sheriff was barreling down on The Freaky Tiki like he was about to put somebody on their ass. People on the beach got out of his way and watched him with wide eyes, probably hoping they were about to catch something on their phones they could post on their socials. But he wasn’t going to get physical with the guy. Probably not. He was just going to intimidate the hell out of him until he put at least a good twenty feet between his body and Olivia’s.

Olivia caught sight of him approaching over Moby Dick’s shoulder, her face betraying her shock.

“Evening, Liv.”

Her companion jolted because yeah, Ben had snuck up right behind him and the guy hadn’t even noticed. Military training strikes again. It wasn’t like Moby Dick was a shrimp by any means, but Ben still had inches and pounds on him. In the physical sense, Ben didn’t feel threatened at all. But when another male started sniffing around Olivia…he saw everything as a fucking threat. A simple nod, an innocent smile. Any behavior that was targeted at her for the express purpose of showing sexual or romantic interest risked the possibility of Olivia nodding back at someone else. Of her smiling back at someone that wasn’t him. And oftentimes, smiling was a gateway to so much more.

“Hello, Sheriff.”

As casual a greeting as that was, her voice was anything but. The husky quality to her words belied an intimacy between them. A personal history.

He fucking loved hearing that.

She cleared her throat and yanked her gaze away. “Um. Colin, this is Sheriff Crawford.”

Moby Dick shrewdly inspected him for a few seconds before rising to his full height that was still an inch or two shorter than Ben’s. “Nice to meet you.”

When he stuck out his hand, Ben didn’t move to shake it. In fact, he didn’t address Dick at all.

To Olivia, he gritted out, “Could I have a word?”

AUTHOR BIO:

Melanie grew up in the Midwest, but she loves living in the Southeast (where the beaches are!) now with her husband and daughter.

Melanie's other passion is traveling and seeing the world. With anthropology degrees under their belts, she and her husband have made it their goal in life to see as many archaeological sites around the world as possible.

She has a horrible food addiction to pasta and candy (not together...ew). And she gets sad when her wine rack is empty.

At the end of the day, she is a true romantic at heart. She loves writing the cheesy and corny of romantic comedies, and the sassy and sexy of suspense. She aims to make her readers swoon, laugh out loud, maybe sweat a little, and above all, fall in love.

Go visit Melanie's website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!

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