Thursday, November 19, 2015

review || ONCE UPON A POWER PLAY { release day blast } by Jennifer Bonds


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Entangled | November 16, 2015 | Sport Romance
Risky Business, book 2
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: BARCLAY PUBLICITY

He'll do whatever it takes to get her against the boards…

Sidelined by a potentially career-ending injury, the only thing hockey player Ryan Douglas should be thinking about is recovery. But after sharing a near death experience and a night of passion with a spunky brunette, the only thing on his mind is five and a half feet of sexy sarcasm. And he'll do whatever it takes to get her back in his bed--even if it means playing dirty.

Chloe Jacobs is done with fairytales. And men. She's kissed her share of frogs and what's it gotten her? Dumped by text--again. Determined to eighty-six illusions of romance and prove she's more than just a good-time girl, the last thing she needs is a pushy, arrogant hockey player testing her resolve. Especially one who's sinfully good with his hands and thinks date-by-blackmail is a perfectly acceptable social convention.

Ryan wants to play games? Fine by her, but this is one faceoff he's going to lose.
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{ about jennifer bonds } .

Jennifer BondsJennifer Bonds writes sizzling contemporary romance with sassy heroines, sexy heroes, and a whole lot of mischief. When she’s not writing or wrangling toddlers, she can be found curled up with a good book and a bottle of wine. Jennifer lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where her overactive imagination and weakness for reality TV keep life interesting. She’s lucky enough to live with her own real life hero, two adorable children, and a pair of rambunctious dogs. Loves Buffy, Mexican food, the Winchester brothers, and all things zombie. Sings off-key.

{ excerpt } .

Chloe eyed the shot of Patron that sat in front of her and decided she was done cutting Ryan a break. She was sympathetic to his injury, the paparazzi, and even his bitchy ex-girlfriend, but she wasn’t letting him off the hook entirely. He was still an ass. And if he called her—

“Half-pint princess, are you sure you can handle that shot?” he asked, his eyes dancing with laughter. He leaned over, crowding her with his massive body. Heat radiated from him, and thanks to her choice of dress, she was annoyingly aware of it, craving to touch that feverish skin of his. The man had balls, she’d give him that much at least. Not only did he have the audacity to blackmail her into this stupid date, now he was making fun of her. It was time to get back the upper hand.

“Sweetie, I may be small, but I can handle my liquor.” She brought his hand to her mouth and licked the stretch of skin between his thumb and forefinger, her tongue darting out seductively. Ryan followed her every move, his eyes glued to her as she sprinkled salt on the slick spot and grabbed a lime. Licking the salt from his hand with a slow drag of her tongue, she slammed the Patron and bit into the lime, sucking on it very deliberately as she withdrew it from her lips. The alcohol burned its way to her belly, taking the edge off her nerves. Trailing a manicured nail down his chest, she pulled out the sexiest smile in her arsenal. “I can go one for one all night long. Can you?”

Something dark stirred in his eyes. Lust. She was sure of it, even if she didn’t understand it. How the hell was she, Chloe Jacobs, sitting at the bar with one of the sexiest guys in the NHL eye-fucking her? She had no real basis for comparison, but he was pretty damn fine, so it was a safe bet he was at the top end of the hockey hottie spectrum. Were all hockey players this easy on the eyes?

Ryan swiped her beer and downed it in three quick gulps.

“Hey.” Her temper flared hotter than the hinges of hell. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

He was on her in a flash, spinning her stool and trapping her between his powerful arms, his palms braced on the edge of the bar. The hard muscles of his chest were pressed to her back, a stark contrast to her own soft body. He brought his mouth to her ear, nipping at her earlobe and tracing the inside of her ear with his tongue. A rush of desire surged through her, reminding her of the need he’d awoken deep within. She sighed, cursing herself yet again for responding to his touch like an unsatisfied virgin.

“I need you sober enough to say yes when I take you home and fuck you until you go mad thinking your body will come apart with pleasure. The first time will be quick. But after that? It’s going to take all night because I’m going to learn every single spot on this body that makes you moan. And I’m going to do it with my tongue.”

{ review } .

First off -- if you like sassy heroines? Chloe Jacobs is definitely for you. When fighting over the last lime, Chloe takes Ryan's once-over and shows him the way to the meat department. She was sassy and spunky and wanted his lime; right away, he knew she was one to watch out for. However, as much as he liked it, his true first impression of her was that of a self-important New York princess -- his words, not mine.

The spunk and banter during this grocery trip during a snow storm leads to some high action drama, which while was just the right amount of relief for the tense chemistry between our two leads, further went to show the spunk and sass Ryan had as well -- he gave as good as he got.

These two were so much fun to read. Chloe has her reasons for banning herself from men, notably jocks, but Ryan pushes past her walls. Equally, though, Chloe pushes past Ryan's walls, walls that he thought were firmly erected after a disastrous time with his best friend and (now ex-) girlfriend.

The writing was well done, the dialogue fun. I loved the chemistry these two had and the banter definitely was a driving force in this story. Definitely a fun read with just the right mix of steaminess and sweet -- but Ryan can do sweet when he tries.

{ giveaway } .

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