Review: Jock Blocked

Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Do you know what I love the most in the world, other than coffee and donuts at least???

THE BOYS OF SUMMER BABY!!!! Baseball!



So you can bet this was an automatic HECK YES for me to read, but let's get into the why…

What happens when you're the losingest (yeah, yeah, I know it's not a word but it's perfect for this one) team in baseball and their newest, and arguably hottest, player is about to ruin their chances of winning again by finally losing his V-card?



Don't know? Well, let me tell you! You get Jock Blocked by the exceptional Pippa Grant!

Mackenzie has soooooo many things that make you just laugh and sob a little for her, but come on! This is Parker's brother Brooks' book and YOU KNOW that means a return of the Elliott family group texts!!! These were just priceless moments in the story - THANK YOU FOR THAT!!!

I'm on Team NO SPOILERS, but you must know that this return to Copper Valley for a Fireballs story was EVERYTHING I was hoping it would be and it turned the virgin trope on its head! How many books have you read where it's the young, naïve girl who’s the virgin?



The correct answer is TOO FLIPPING MANY!!!!



I have read maybe one or two other stories where it's hero who's the virgin and not the heroine in M/F Romance and this was something so very needed because a) he's not super young and naïve, and b) IT'S THE HERO and Brooks is a super hot ball player so you'd think he'd be getting laid at every conceivable opportunity!

Brooks is trying desperately to lose his V-card now that he's been traded from New York to the Fireballs since he doesn't see where him playing any worse could be detrimental to the team and their chances of getting fans back and winning games. Enter Mackenzie Montana, the Fireballs' biggest fan (FIERY FOREVER!!!!) who knows her baseball and believes in superstition, good luck, and curses to cock block him in a flaming meatball mascot costume. Ridiculous? NO, it is PERFECTION! The fan culture that's brought into this story are not only hilarious, but totally on point. If you're a serious baseball fan you know you have superstitions and rituals that you have to go through for each game to keep your team's streak alive. Mackenzie nails these, she also nails how I felt when my singular mascot became several for my team.



Aside from the virgin trope, I had a hard time classing this because they're not really friends to lovers, at least not at first. They become friendly eventually, but their feelings are winning out by this point. They also aren't really enemies to lovers, but kind of because they seem to start that way - especially with how hard she's trying to cock-block Brooks just so he can keep hitting the ball! It's kind of a slow burn, but with laughter and some amazing moments with friends that show just how deep of a world Pippa has created. Whatever you want to class this as, make sure you class it as EXCELLENT and 100% worth your time!

Honourable mention for scene stealer awards go to Mackenzie's daddies (in and out of drag!), Coco Puff the dog because it's Pippa and it's an animal and she does those ridiculously well and we all know that, the Mascot Alternatives that are *NOT* Fiery (FIERY FOREVER!!!!!!), and the Elliott Family Text Messages.

Favourite Lines:

Oh, god, baseball forearms.

They’re lethal to women’s panties everywhere, because baseball forearms.

Plus you don’t want to know what the internet is saying about echidna penis. You really don’t.

Adrenaline surges in my veins, and before I can think better of it, I knock his phone away, kick it down the hall, shove him, and yell, “Fiery forever!”

And then I take off at a dead run.

This is the most insane conversation I’ve ever had, and my brother’s married to a woman who knows over a thousand euphemisms for penis and uses them liberally, and my sister’s autocorrected text messages need their own museum.

What happens at the club during curse-breaking stays at the club.

“How is a thing with a four-headed penis family-friendly?”

Tripp chokes on his drink, and the two owners share a secret look.

Dammit.

I want a secret look-sharer. Is that too much to ask?

Opening day should be a federal holiday, especially when opening day happens at home.

“What are you doing here?” I growl.

Yes, me. Mackenzie Montana. Growling at a baseball god.

Do not fuck with my family.

It’s not enough to cock-block him.

I have to make him believe the Fireballs can go all the way.

Dingo Bazookarooka hey macarena.

If you didn't know this was text from Parker - please for the love of all that's holy - go read Stud in the Stacks RIGHT MEOW!

I might’ve been actively invited to the de-cursing night at spring training—nope, still not telling what we did with the dildo—but I don’t know which of my new teammates is most likely to put bubble gum in my helmet or which one most deserves to have his car parked in center field before a game.

“You want to be a Fireball.”

He shifts his seat to face me again. “I am a Fireball.”

That’s a morning shot of joe straight to my clit. There is nothing sexier that a man could ever say to me. Ever.

I’m in for better.

I mean, not sex better. I still need him to hit a ball. But gah, am I tempted, because he did hit the ball after we masturbated together.

So tempted.

Honourable mention to Coco Puff's collar -

"I love you!"

"Smiling cures everything!"

"You're a winner to me!"

"Are you tired? Because you've been running through my mind all day!"

Lingering Thoughts…

I would read the heck out of a novella bout Mackenzie's daddies and how they came together. Stick that little plot bunny in your basket!




Go on and grab this baby today! Just because we can't watch baseball right now doesn't mean we can't read some excellent romances that touch on baseball culture. You won't regret one-clicking this one. Go on! Grab it!!!





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Review: Hitched

Hitched by Pippa Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

People… PEOPLE !!!!!!!!!!!

Is there anything better than going back to your favourite fictional small town to watch two of the most electrically charged (pun fully intended) people fall in love and get their explosive happily ever after? No, no there is not!



Welcome back to Happy Cat where the town is filled with handsome O'Dell brothers, cooky raccoons who dabble in Clown Costumes and garbage can surfing, hedgehogs who steal panties from clotheslines, and feisty women who are super fierce and sure of themselves and what they want! If you haven't read Hosed and Hammered, you don't really have to but….. I recommend them heartily! It helps to know what all the rest of the cast and crew of Happy Cat have been up to, especially those hunky O'Dell brothers! But Hitched is the fake relationship/marriage of convenience/friends to enemies to lovers that you've been waiting for, you just didn't know it. Ok, well it's at least what I was waiting for and sorry, not sorry but I LOVED it!!!!!

Lili Valente and Pippa Grant are the ultimate duo - they write so well together that I can't tell where one starts and the other ends - ladies, you really knocked it out of the park here and surprised me at the same time, and here's why…

This is where I should have a snappy comeback, because I know for a fact that Hope got married first.

But we don’t talk about that.

Ever.

Throughout the series, Hope St. Claire and Blake O'Dell have had this incredible chemistry - c'mon, you know I love my enemies to lovers bantering but what we all didn't know is that that this fake marriage isn't the first time that Blake and Hope have sauntered down the aisle. THAT'S RIGHT PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Blake and Hope were married before - drunken Vegas escapades for the win! - and it didn't end the way that Blake was hoping, hence some of the angst between them. Hope and Blake have bantered their way into our hearts - especially with her propensity for shorting out electronics - because their chemistry is just so… ELECTRIC!!!! And when they come together (pun definitely intended!) it was nuclear!!!!!



I called their HEA from the first moment I saw them together. I CALLED IT!!!!! They were perfect - their banter was PERFECT and you could just tell that the banter was something that was going to become a playful part of their romance.

This is Pippa and Lili. If you think there weren't wacky moments of hilarity, you are sorely mistaken. Sex toy bingo and Baby Goat Yoga???

His lordship the trash panda flips me off—I swear he does—and scampers around what’s left of the enclosure, making yogis and goats scream. He tosses aside mats and knocks down more of the fence in his quest for baby carrots, careless of the Zen and property he’s destroying as he literally steals snacks from the mouth of babes.

“George, STOP! Bad raccoon! Bad!”

When did the little beast get so fast?

How is he so fast?

He’s the size of three normal raccoons, but he’s dashing around like he’s half-cheetah, and of course the babies are freaking out in response.

You’re welcome, friends!

There are also some incredibly sweet moments, because this wouldn't be a true romance without moments that make you go…



And I'm not even thinking about the impromptu picnic in the tasting room, but rather little moments like when Hope sleepwalks straight into Blake's arms, and his sofa bed, and he's so kind and gentlemanly about it. Throughout it all she thinks that she just can't have him, that relationships are always doomed for her because she's a St. Claire and all their marriages are toxic wastelands. When Hope finally accepts that she isn't doomed to be alone but meant to be loved is beautiful. Just beautiful!

So let me share with you just a few of my…

Favourite Lines -

“Your parents love me, boo-boo-cakes,” Blake grits out through his own smile.

Doubtful—also, boo-boo-cakes?—but I beam at him.

My heart is achy and empty, like it’s hit that point in a good romance novel where all is lost, only the author died before she could finish the story. And now the two characters she left behind will live in limbo, in the land where happily ever after never comes.

Blake: She’s the one who demanded the annulment in Vegas, not me. She doesn’t think I’m marriage material, except when she needs something.

Clint: But you went along with it AGAIN, Mr. “Marriage is for Love.” So clearly you see an opportunity here.

Blake: An opportunity to make her as miserable as she makes me.

Clint: Not buying it, bro. You’re secretly hoping it works out.

“Actually, I make love more like a giraffe,” Cara says.

It’ll be fine, they say. No ghosts or demons or blood in the elevators or creepy twins this time around, and absolutely no one will go insane and try to kill you with an ax. They’re probably right, but I’m still not setting foot in that hotel anytime soon. Maybe ever.

Normally, he’s far too lazy and spoiled to actually hunt for his food. But I guess being on an ice chip and cricket diet since his run-in with the peanut butter has made George hangry. And hangry George is actually kinda terrifying.

Do not get between tired Southern mamas and Publix fried chicken on a Friday night. They will run over your feet with their cart and not even bother to bless your heart after.

"To give you what you really need instead of what I think you need, you know? And…listen better and shit.”

She laughs softly. “That’s the most important part, I hear. The ‘and shit’ part.”

“Go on, get,” he says, shooing the would-be cake bandits back toward the gate enclosing the backyard. “I’m serious. Mom and Dad used to raise show wieners. They’ve got a kennel plenty big enough for all of you.”

Only I get to make her moan like that, Mr. Taco.

“Chewpaca. You in, dude?”

Chewy hums and nods.

Hope giggles at their interaction. “I love how normal and down-to-earth your family is.”

“Al-poker!” Mom and Pop cry together, then burst into giggles, making all of us laugh too.

“Well, you were very heroic during the argument part. It was pretty hot.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his chest puffing up, making me laugh.

“Yes. But now you look like a rooster on the verge of a victory strut.”

“I’ll do that when we get home,” he says, wiggling his brows. “Naked. The way god intended.”

I can't wait for more from Happy Cat! This has been one of my most favourite series I have ever read - and while I hate seeing that it will soon come to an end (we only have one O'Dell brother left people!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!) but I know that it will be everything I could want and more!

One-click this baby today and fall in love with Hope, Blake and Chewpaca (his bonus epilogue is TO DIE FOR!!!!) and then you can wait with me for more from this hilarious cast of characters.



Seriously, I'm trying to be patient but gahhhhh!!!! I can't wait for more!!!!

Read this one - you're going to love it!



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Review: Damage

Damage by Mia Monroe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ohhhhhhh, how do I explain how much I love this story!!!

“Let’s go back in time to three years ago when I begged you to stay. Or how about when I begged you to let me come. You told me you didn’t want to be in my way. Well, Seppe, you’re in my way now. Go on with your life and leave me out of it. You’re good at that.”

Welcome to the second book from an author who’s becoming one of my autobuys - Damage: A Love in the City Novel is another fantastic read from Mia Monroe and she had me hooked from the first line! The promise of a second chance romance (yes, I love these too!!!) between a chef and a teacher/aspiring author was too strong for me to resist.

I loved the introduction to Nolan Brooks and the town of Beacon at the end of Deviate: A Love in the City Novel. You don’t need to have read it to enjoy Damage but JPK does make an appearance and his lovely other half Quinn is mentioned. I’m guessing this is a series of standalones set in a singular universe - Mia, please correct me if I’m wrong! I’m loving the town and the residents we’ve met so far, so I’m anticipating a fabulous series of stories that prove the only thing that matters is love and that love always wins. It definitely wins when the universe conspires against you!



Nolan Brooks was crushed when Seppe Stilo pushed him aside and took off to teach in Italy for a year. It was a dream chance, he would have never asked him to turn it down - he would have followed Seppe anywhere because he loved him that much. Unbeknownst to Seppe, and Nolan, he felt exactly the same way but somewhere in his thinking and planning for his future he’d never seen meeting the man of his dreams before all that travelling had happened. He didn’t recognize what was right in front of his face in the relationship he had with Nolan -

His hand grips the base of my neck, holding my mouth a prisoner to his, but I’d happily belong to him if he kissed me like this every day. This is more than a kiss. This is an experience. This is a beginning.

They had chemistry, a happy domesticity and yet… When Seppe leaves for Italy, he lets it all crash and burn because he doesn’t want to take Nolan’s dreams of being a Michelin star chef of his own restaurant from him to have him follow along behind him. Worst. Mistake. EVER! Watching them come back from that to find each other? Absolutely beautiful!



Can I just say, I love the friendship between Trina and Nolan? Everyone needs a friend to help them pick up the pieces and move on with life when their hearts get broken - Trina does this for Nolan beautifully. Their banter constantly made me laugh and her advice was touching and on point for someone who knew what Nolan had been like in the aftermath of the breakup.

“Unless you want to try talking to him.”

“I’ve had four shots. Ain’t no talking happening tonight.”

“Then you could angry fuck him.” She giggles. “Then kick him out in the morning. That would be so hot.”

I laugh. “For who?”

“You while it’s happening, and me when you tell me about it.”

There were so many great moments in here for both of them with Trina - that she could be a friend to both men, see that this was the great love of her friend's life and know that Nolan needed to actually deal with the pain and heal from their separation in order to see what they could have together in future was beautiful. She was like their wise woman and their biggest fangirl!

Nolan and Seppe still have a smoldering spark between them and they learn through honest talks and trying to rebuild a friendship first that they were always meant to be. This is a fabulous second chance story for that reason. It's not ignored that Seppe caused him pain when he left - they deal with those ghosts several times throughout their tale and many authors seem to have their characters "get over it" way too quickly. It takes them time to build some trust back and there are moments that shake that trust between them but they work through them by communicating openly and honestly.

I'm so in love with this series, I think you need some of my…

Favourite Lines -

”He was married. I was pissed when I found out. That’s not my style, you know.”

“Husband not cutting it at home?”

“Wife doesn’t have a dick.”

“Ooh.” I scrunch my face. “Hate that shit.”

“You and me both.”

His words may say we’re just friends, but his kiss says we’re so much more.

“Want to come over? Or I’ll come over there.”

“Come to me. Took my bra off. Not putting it back on.”

I laugh. “On my way.”

When the music starts and the first performer comes out, I try to ignore the growing desire to take him home with me tonight. We’re just friends. Who’s brilliant fucking idea was that? Oh, that’s right. It was my dumb ass.

“God, Brooks. Me too. So much. If you ever give me the chance I will blow your mind. I will love you so hard. You deserve nothing less than my entire heart. It’s yours.”

His bottom lip quivers, but he pulls me close and kisses me again. Soft, sweet, sensual kisses. “You’ve owned me since the day we met,” he whispers. “I love it, and I hate it.”

Pull up a seat and wait with me for more from this author - and one click this baby today!!!! You need these two in you life, you don't know it yet - BUT YOU DO!!!!



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