M E Carter

Jason Hart is truly a sweetheart, swoon worthy lead and I totally loved getting to know the whole story through his POV. It gives us an intimate look into his love for the game but also realizing that it’s temporary, wanting to concentrate on his career without distractions but also being open minded enough to recognize a potential life partner.

Addison initially comes across as a shy, grieving widow but slowly we realize that she is actually low on confidence because of her past and mostly show more just worried about her little boy. Once she opens up to Jason, we see a much more relaxed, laidback and sassy version of her. The relationship here is not exactly instalove but we can feel right from the get go that there is a spark between them. I loved the slow progression of their friendship and love, their interactions and genuine feelings for each other.

There are also some amazing side characters here. Lindsay is a wonderful friend to Jason and I admired her for treating him like her childhood friend and not letting his celebrity affect their friendship. Her conversations with Jason and her daughter Emma are so hilarious, I laughed out loud in public. Jason’s teammate Duece is very goofy and behaves like a juvenile most of the time, but is also a great friend and always has his back. Addison’s father-in-law Mike is very protective of her and just wants her to have a better and happy future.

But the heart of this book for me was Jaxon. He is a little bundle of boundless energy who floors us with his sweet innocence but also tears us up with his genuine love for football and Jason. Every single conversation between Jason and Jax was so funny and adorable, I just kept waiting for more of them. Jaxon’s voicemails even when Jason loses his game are better than any motivational speeches ever. This book may be categorized as a romance novel but for me, it was totally about the beautiful loving relationship between a father and son. From the first page, I was completely rooting for Jason and Jax because they are too precious.

I would highly recommend the audiobook because Jacob Morgan does an exceptional job bringing Jason’s true personality to life. He gives every character a unique voice that reflects them which made the listening experience much more enjoyable. But I think his best work here is narrating Jaxon – he perfectly nails the performance as a supremely energetic, non-stop chattering, adorable seven year old boy. show less

Thanks for Andrea Johnston for an ARC of this book. As the norm, it doesn't disappoint. I laughed so hard my sides hurt. The things Todd said and wore...completely hilarious. The pineapple and jingle balls t-shirts are hilarious.

Donna Moreno was a lawyer until she left it to be an erotic romance writer full time. Now at the ripe age of thirty she is ready to find her "one" complete with a list of characteristics. She vents these frustrations to fellow author Aggi or as the world knows her show more Adeline Snow, best friends with Todd.

A case of writer's block brings her to a cabin in Idaho where she can find inspiration. But she's not alone.

Todd Chimolski works in real estate but also helps out his best friend in his free time. One of those hobbies is narrating Adeline Snow's romance novels. From the moment, he laid eyes on Donna Moreno; he was instantly attracted. He also knows that he's not the handsome gorgeous guy that Aggi and Donna write about. He's an average guy. He helps out people when he can, but he also makes a boat ton of money in his real estate company. Todd shows Donna what small town life is about.

Todd makes Donna laugh like no one has ever done before. But is he enough for her?

How can they overcome their differences to be together? show less

I hate to one-star a Smartypants Romance book, but this one just didn't work for me. Rian is overweight, so she starts working out at a gym. She's kind of the stereotypical jolly fat girl; she was okay as a character. We've seen Carlos before in the Knitting in the City series where he worked with Janie and seemed fine. Here though he's an egotistical gym-rat who only does one-time hook-ups with gorgeous women. Honestly, I don't understand why Quinn, Janie, Dan, or any of the others from show more KITC series would have anything to do with this guy. He's truly obnoxious.
I had no idea why Rian wanted anything to do with him. As other reviews mentioned, she had a lot more chemistry with Abel, her trainer. They would have been a much better pairing. As it is, Rian being with Carlos seems to degrade her character. Her sister was also obnoxious, carrying the bridezilla trope way too far.
Anyway, I still love the Sassypants books, but this one wasn't for me. show less

I have to be honest--I liked the book, but didn't love it. After reading the previous book in the series, I was looking forward to reading Matthew and Carrie's story. Something was lacking. While I loved most things about Matthew's daughter, there are a few issues I have as well. The girl sounds adorable, but not quite believable. Overall, the characters fell flat.
Carrie has her dream job, I mean not everyone loves cleaning up poop of animals. Ok, she doesn't either, but she does love show more taking care of the rescue animals especially the wild animals. She adores her hobby of reading and reviewing her favorite books. She has even attended a few book signings where she met her favorite romance authors and the cover models. One such model--Matthew Roberts. A swoon worthy specimen of a man. A man she needs to stay far away from. Not many guys are delighted when told that sex is off the table. Carrie wants to get to know the guy--know their compatibility before taking that leap. Rumors in the publishing world swirl. Matthew likes female reader attention a bit more than Carrie prefers.
Matthew Roberts has his hands full with a full time job, raising his six year old daughter and his side gig modeling. Life with a six year is never dull especially when the dog gets loose, a huge storm, and an injured squirrel lands in his yard much to his daughter's dismay. He calls the one person who might be able to help--Carrie. Everything about Carrie intrigues and fascinates him. He can't stop thinking about her. He has no desire to stop. The icing on top of his cake--how Carrie interacts with his daughter. His daughter adores Carrie almost as much as he does. show less