Book Review: The Final Score by Jaci Burton

Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play-by-Play #13
Audience:  +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 12th 2017
My Rating: 4.5 Cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Contact, a star quarterback is torn between his love of the game—and the woman who may be the love of his life.

Nathan Riley is ready to follow in the footsteps of his famous football player father. He’s been drafted as quarterback for his dad’s former team, and his sports future is bright. When his friend Mia Cassidy moves to the same city, their years-long friendship suddenly sparks hot, reminding him of the one night they had together in college that he can never forget.

Like Nathan, Mia is from a sports dynasty family and embarking on an incredible new career—as founder of her own sports management company. Her friendship with Nathan means everything to her, and tossing sex into the mix again could jeopardize it all. But the chemistry between them has always sizzled, and it isn’t long before Mia realizes she wants more with Nathan than just late-night talks and pizza.

Passion has a funny way of changing the rules, and soon Nathan and Mia realize that to win it all, they’ll have to make an unexpected play for love.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Berkley and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

Play-by-Play is one of my favorite sports romance series out there, so whenever I hear that Jaci Burton is publishing a new book in this series I know I'll have an amazing time. My realization that The Final Score is about Nathan, Mick and Tara's son, however, made me delay my reading of this book for so long. I knew I was going to be emotional while reading this, and I'm here to tell you that I was right. I was an emotional mess. But I also had tons of fun.

Book Review: Mistletoe Games by Jaci Burton (ARC)

Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play by Play #6.5, 8.5. 10.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: October 18th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

No one brings the sexy out in sports like Jaci Burton, the author of the New York Times bestselling Play-by-Play novels. Now, she puts together a holiday hat trick with three novellas featuring the hottest sports around: baseball, hockey, and surfing—because hard bodies are always in season...

Holiday Games
For the high-achieving Elizabeth and her husband, baseball player Gavin Riley, failure is not an option. So when it comes to making a baby, they’re not about to let any holiday distractions get in the way of their necessary pleasures...

Holiday on Ice
It’s the season for giving and superstar hockey player Patrick “Trick” Niemeyer is ready to give dancer Stella Slovinski his heart wrapped up in bow. But he’ll have to melt the ice surrounding her heart to keep her from walking away...

Hot Holiday Nights
Christmas in Hawaii brings sports agent Tori Baldwin two presents: a young surfer at the top of his game and his business manager. But this hot threesome has to decide if the romantic wave they’ve caught is nothing more than a vacation fling, or the kind of love that could change their lives forever...

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or my opinion of this book in any way.

Jaci Burton's Play by Play series is the first series that made me fall in love with sports romance, so when I saw this book on Netgalley I might have danced and made a few raptor noises, due to my excitement.

Holiday Games was absolutely adorable, mainly because of Elizabeth. I love Gavin, don't get me wrong, but Elizabeth is my girl. She's such a badass character, and she's actually someone I'd love to meet in real life. I love that she's a woman who made it in a career that's dominated by men, and she's good at her job. And Gavin is such a sweetheart, like always. I loved reading about them, about how their story continues. I also love reading about Liz being more open to other people. I remember that when we first meet her, she's this cold woman, that will do anything to do her job as she sees fit, which sometimes wasn't a good decision. But Gavin changed her in a way, and I really enjoy reading more about this Liz.

Holiday On Ice is one story I've been dying to read for a long time. I've always been curious to know more about Stella. It's probably one of my favorite things about this series, the fact that there isn't just one sport that it's explored. In this case, with Stella, we see a glimpse into the world of professional dancing. Stella and Patrick are really great characters! Their chemistry is amazing, it's just the type of relationship that I'm used to reading in one of Burton's books. My favorite scene is when Patrick sees Stella dance for the first time. There's just something so incredibly sweet in that scene, I just love it.

Hot Holiday Nights is the last novella on this collection. Victoria, the heroine of this book, is another female sports agent and, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me, she actually appears in the second book of this series, alongside Elizabeth. I have to say though, I wasn't as in love with this novella as I was with the other two. I can't explain it, but to me it felt more like a holiday fling than a beginning of a love story. I do have to say I really enjoyed reading about surfing. The two heroes, Alex and Ben, are surfers. Ben was actually a professional surfer before he had an accident that prevented him from even playing the sport at a competitive level, while Alex is currently a professional surfer. I loved reading more about this sport, and I hope there will be more books in this series that include surfers. Like I said though, I didn't feel as if this was the start of a romantic relationship, but a really hot holiday affair.

As always, Jaci Burton knows just how to write a hot relationship, and how to get me interested in finding out more about certain sports. I am curious to see which character will get their stories told next, as well as which sport will be featured in future books.

Book Review: The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton

Author: Jaci Burton

Series: The Killer #1

Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Before the Special Forces hero has even unpacked his bags from twelve years of active duty, he's embroiled in murder—corpses bearing the brutal trademark he's seen only once before—on the worst night of his life.
The last time Detective Anna Pallino saw Dante Renaldi, they were in love. Now, he's part of the connection to a string of fresh homicides and a horrible assault Anna only survived thanks to him.
More than anything, Anna wants to trust Dante. But as the bodies and the coincidences stack up, Anna will have to decide, and fast: Is the man she owes her life to the very same one who wants her dead?

I've been reading Ms Burton's books for years now and I've never encountered a book that I didn't like. This book is no exception.

The first book in the series The Killer, The Heart of a Killer is a wonderful story of teenage lovers reunited, second chances and a serial killer. If there's one author that can make this story work, I think that's Jaci Burton. 

First of all, I loved the fact that I couldn't figure out who the killer was. I was absolutely shocked when the killer was revealed and even more when his motives surfaced. I did not expect that. And I think that's what makes a good suspense, or at least for me. The not knowing something. It's not suspense for me if I can anticipate, you know?

Second, the characters were amazing and complex. Dante was a bad boy as a teenager and twelve years haven't changed him that much. He's still a bad boy, only his lethal now. The army polished him, making him more dangerous, sexier and more mature. He is still in love with Anna, even after not seeing her for over a decade, and he's willing to do anything to protect her. He's also very fond of his foster brothers, even if he didn't keep in contact with them. I'm guessing he didn't do it because of the temptation of coming back.

Anna is very different than when she was a teenager. If she was shy and innocent and sweet before her attack, now she is tougher, more serious and more careful about who to trust. Even so, I think she too couldn't forget Dante, although I'm sure she tried. 

I think this series will be a very good one. I can't wait for the next book, see if we're going to find out more about Gabe. 

My Rating:

Book Review : The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play by Play #1
Blurb (from Goodreads):

The last thing event planner Tara Lincoln needs is the jet-set lifestyle of a football pro like Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand proved that Mick is an all-star-both on the field and in the bedroom.
Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a certified heartbreaker. But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind to catch this sultry vixen.

I can't talk about the book without first expressing my love for the cover. There are very few covers out there that do the book justice and this is one of them. It's very hard to find that perfect cover, you know? And it's sexy. I can't imagine a better cover for this book. And all the covers for this series are amazingly beautiful and sexy.

Now that I've covered that up, I can return to the book in question. When it comes to sexy books, Jaci Burton is one of the first authors that pops into my head. Not only are her stories sexy, they're funny and full of good characters. And her books aren't filled with unnecessary sex scenes, when you feel it's more sex than action. Knowing that, I was a little afraid to pick this book up. Why? Because of the sport part. I know nothing about sports. Not one little detail. So I putt it off for a few weeks, mainly to gather my courage and try to look past the sports details. I'm glad I finally managed to do so, because I liked this book a lot.

I loved the characters. Tara is such a strong woman. She's not one of those women that swoon at the sight of a famous guy and she doesn't seem to care about his pockets more than him. She's also a devoted mother. She's willing to sacrifice her happiness for that of her son and I think that says a lot about her. I totally understood her reasons for being weary of having a relationship with Mick. He's a famous guy and a relationship with him could have a bad influence on her teenage son.

Mick is one of those guys that don't change much once they become famous. He has managed to get away from trouble and I think that makes him a very strong guy. He's also sexy, or so he is in my head. He helps Tara's son when he makes a bad decision, knowing that by doing it he could be risking his career. I think this is what made me see him as a really nice guy and the perfect partner for Tara and the perfect father for her son. Maybe it's not much, but to willingly hand over a secret that could ruin his career forever to a 13 year old  means that he really wants to be a part of their lives.

I honestly can't say a thing I didn't like in this book. Well, there's actually one little thing that made me want to smack Mick, but I can't talk about it here, without going further into the second book in the series, Changing the Game.

I am waiting impatiently for the third installment, Taking a Shot, due March, 2012. Until then, I have all the time in the world to reread the first two books.

My Rating:

Book review - Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

He's a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She's a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen...
Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact--and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.
Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.
Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild..

I've been thinking about this first review. I kept wondering what book to review first, since in the past year I've read lots of good books. And then I saw Riding Wild on my bookshelf and I thought that this was the one that should get the first review.

I really loved this book. After all, the hero is a bad boy. You girls know the type, the boy your mommas always told you to stay away from. The one that skips classes in high school, who likes getting dirty working in a garage, who smokes and rides a bike. The type of boy "good girls" should always avoid. And that's Mac. He has the bike, he works in a garage, he steals and he's hot. But then something goes bad and he has to choose: does he want to go to jail or not? So he ends up working for the government and instead of ending up a bad boy behind bars he's a bad boy with handcuffs and a gun. Well, several... And he still has that Harley of his.

Enter Lily. Even her name says it: she's the typical good girl. The one wearing sensible shoes, the one that loves her daddy very much and doesn't do a thing against rules. When she meets Mac, they're both in high school. She's an innocent young girl falling in love with the bad boy, the one her daddy can't stand, of course. And so she realizes that the future she accepted, the one her daddy chose for her is not what she wanted: she doesn't want to be a lawyer, married with a boring man that probably doesn't know how to pleasure her like Mac did. So, after Mac breaks up with her just minutes after taking her virginity, she gets rid of that good girl image and, after graduating from the Academy, becomes a cop. Of course, daddy dearest doesn't like that one bit, so she moves from her hometown and becomes a PI. But something is still missing. Yes, she's independent. Yes, she managed to make her own decisions, but the bad boy she still loves isn't there. She still dreams of him and no other man can beat his memory.

So when Mac and Lily meet after ten years, both of them have to deal with their feelings for each other. Will they manage? Will they make it to the finish line together, or will they end up hurting themselves?

I really loved this story. Forget about the hot bad boy, forget about the very fast bike he's riding or about his handcuffs and his gun, this book is all about that first love, the one you can't forget and the one that you'll keep remembering for the rest of your life. This is why I'm giving this book 5 cups.