Brooklyn Bruisers #1
Be still my heart. Another hockey romance! It’s just what my romantic soul needs as I head into fall. I know this is typically football season but believe me, you will soon be on board with the Brooklyn Bruisers too!
This is a second chance at love book and it succeeds on all levels for me. Leo and Georgia were madly in love in high school. Everyone thought it would stick and they’d move out into the real world together. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Georgia is a survivor of sexual assault but it changed her relationship with Leo. They haven’t spoken since but that all that is about to change when Leo joins the Brooklyn Bruisers as the newest recruit and it’s Georgia’s job to introduce him as the publicist for the team. That is much easier said than done however.
The course of second chance romance never runs totally smooth but Leo and Georgia definitely give it a whirl. I swear, my heart went pitter-patter throughout this story (I know that is incredibly sappy to say, but the connection between Georgia and Leo just felt so RIGHT). Of course, they have both grown up and changed but in all the ways that matter, at their core, these two are still madly in love. Not that it is easy to get either of them to admit it.
This book is a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the Brooklyn Bruisers. Sarina Bowen is a master at guy talk and the conversations between Leo and his teammates shine in this story. In a totally manly way, of course! But truly, I always feel Sarina Bowen does a great job at creating authentic male dialog and that holds true for Rookie Move.
I don’t want to give too much away so I will simply say this book held my attention (almost) immediately. I will admit, I found the book somewhat of a slow starter, but as Leo and Georgia’s characters were revealed, their past together coming to light, and their future hopefully coming up rosy, well, I was quickly swept away in the book.
The hockey seemed authentic too. From what I can tell from Sarina’s online media accounts, she is a hockey fan so she knows what she is talking about when she interweaves hockey throughout the story.
Rookie Move is the first book in a promising new series. There are quite a few hockey romances on the romance market right now and while each of them has their strong qualities, I feel Rookie Move is the ultimate package. Strong romance, complex and clever characters, and a great hockey team at its core. This book should please any sports romance reader.
Rookie Move is available now.
ARC provided by publisher for review.
Other reviews:
How hot is Leo’s hockey card???
And if you’re looking for a little taste of just what Rookie Move is all about, I have an excerpt to share below.
“Come right this way,” Georgia heard her coworker and roommate Becca say, the clomp of her Dr. Martens echoing through the grand old passageway. “Nate is excited to meet you.” Becca was the owner’s assistant, and Georgia lingered half a second to wave her down and offer her a donut, too.
But Becca didn’t happen to look in Georgia’s direction as she led a tall man down the corridor. Something about his gait snagged Georgia’s subconscious. So she took a second look.
And that’s when her heart took off like a manic bunny rabbit. Because she knew that man. She knew the chiseled shape of his masculine jaw, and the length of his coal-black eyelashes.
Oh my God.
Omigod, omigod, omigod.
“How was your flight?” Becca asked him, oblivious to the fact that Georgia was spying.
“Not too bad. I got in late last night.”
The sound of his voice fluttered right inside Georgia’s chest. It was the same smoky sweet timbre that used to whisper into her ear while they made love. She hadn’t let herself remember that sound in a long time.
Now it was giving her goosebumps. The good kind.
“Welcome to Brooklyn,” Becca said while Georgia trembled. “Are you familiar with the area?”
“Grew up about thirty miles from here,” he answered while chills broke out across her back.
Holding her breath, Georgia eased her office door further closed, until only a couple of inches remained. She could not be caught like this—freaked-out and speechless, hiding behind a door.
The movement caught Becca’s eye, though. Georgia saw her turn her head in her direction and then pick her out in the crack where the door was still open. Becca raised one eyebrow—the one with the barbell piercing in it.
All Georgia could do was close her eyes and pray that Becca wouldn’t call out a greeting.
There was a pause before Georgia heard Becca say, “Right this way, please.”
Quietly, Georgia stepped into her office and shut the door. After flipping on the light, she let her briefcase and pocketbook slide right to the floor. Only the folder that Nate had given her was still in her shaking hands. She flipped it open, her eyes searching for the new player’s name on the page.
But she didn’t even need the paperwork to confirm what her racing heart had already figured out. The newest player for the Brooklyn Bruisers was none other than Leonardo “Leo” Trevi, a six-foot-two, left-handed forward. Also known as her high school boyfriend, the boy she’d loved with all her heart until the day that she’d dumped him. And now he was here?
“Thanks, universe,” she whispered into the stillness of her office.
Tagged: Sarina Bowen
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