Hey y’all… Yay for Friday!!🎉

FRIDAY FAVES IS A LITTLE MEME WHERE I CAN POST ABOUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE BOOK RELATED TOPICS, INCLUDING VARIOUS TROPES, AWESOME HEROES, BAD BOYS AND BOOKISH STUFF!

*REMEMBER: ALL THE BOOKS FEATURED ON FRIDAY FAVES ARE BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ AND ADORED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED!

 

 THIS WEEK’S THEME:

Basketball Romance

Can you believe it’s been an entire year since our lives were flipped upside down and inside out? Now its March again! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy…

Did you know?

* the month of March was named after: “Latin Martius—aka Mars, the Roman god of war” which is why I’ll post some MILITARY romances

* Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (aka 3.14) so I’ll post about some romances featuring SCIENTISTS

* in the U.S. this month is also known as “March Madness” which is when a huge NCAA college basketball tournament is held so I’ll post some BASKETBALL and COLLEGE romances

 

Happy “March Madness!” My husband was a huge bball fan and Things 1 and 3 are too. There’s always a game on in my house during spring..🙄 I enjoy a good game too (Go Spurs Go!) but for some reason, I’ve only read TWO books with a hero who plays basketball. And they’re from the same author, in the same series! 

Most sports related books I’ve read are about HOCKEY and I’ve only ever actually seen hockey once in my life!!😆 

Guess I need to expand my horizons, huh?!?🤔

 

Long Shot (Hoops #1) by Kennedy Ryan

 

A Standalone FORBIDDEN LOVE SET IN THE EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF THE NBA…

Think you know what it’s like being a baller’s girl?
You don’t.
My fairy tale is upside down.
A happily never after.
I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.
I was a fool, and his love – fool’s gold.

Now there’s a new player in the game, August West.
One of the NBA’s brightest stars.
Fine. Forbidden.
He wants me. I want him.
But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won’t let me go.

*Some aspects of this story may be sensitive for some readers.

 

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LONG SHOT is book one in the Hoops series and is a contemporary standalone. It deals with some issues that may be a trigger for some!

August West is an up and coming NBA super star. When he meets Iris, there’s an instant connection. But their timing is off. They can’t pursue a relationship yet…and it feels like they’ll never be able to.

That was a purposely vague blurb of the book because I don’t want to give any spoilers away and really, I want to focus on the story. This is one of those books that reached into my chest, squeezed my heart and then sent it soaring with elation! WHEW! It is brutal. It is heartbreaking. It is intense. It is resplendent. It is enlightening. It is humanizing. It always saddens me how incredibly evil one person can be to another. But having said that, it also AMAZES me how much a person can overcome and endure. This is SOOO much more than a sports story! I’m not ashamed to say that I cried, more than once.

Now for the characters. First, I absolutely, positively ADORED August! Oh holy hotness! He was sweet and tender but he had this “forcefulness” about him. August was one of those charismatic characters that you can’t help but be drawn to. But for me, the real star was Iris. The things she went through, the atrocities she SURVIVED was edifying, illuminating, uplifting. I also loved the supporting cast, especially Iris’ cousin Lotus, she was a little fireball and I can’t wait for her story!

Yeah, Iris and August’s journey will definitely stay with me for a long time. Kennedy Ryan wrote another fantastic favorite for my READ AGAIN E-SHELF! Told from dual POVs with a happy ending. I received, read and voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

View all my reviews

Block Shot (Hoops #2) by Kennedy Ryan

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙠 . . .

𝗝𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗

If I had a dollar for every time Banner Morales made my heart skip a beat…
The heart everyone assumes is frozen over.
Her anger is . . . arousing.
Every glare from those fire-spitting eyes, every time she grits her teeth, gets me . . . well, you know.
If I had a dollar for every time she’s put me in my place, I’d be an even richer man.
I’m a successful sports agent because I assume “no” means you’ll think about it.
I’m sure what you meant to say is “Coming right up.”
They say even rich men don’t always get what they want,
but those men don’t know how to play the game. The trick is to keep them guessing.
Take Banner. She assumes she’s winning, but this game?
She doesn’t even know how to play.

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥

If I had a dollar for every time Jared Foster broke my heart, I’d have exactly one dollar.
One night. One epic fail. One dollar . . . and I’m out.
I’ve moved on.
I’ve found success in a field ruled by men.
Anything they can do, I have done better.
They can keep the field while I call the shots, blocking them when I have to.
And Jared has the nerve to think he gets a second chance?
Boy, please. Go sit down. Have several seats.
I’ll just be over here ignoring the man carved from my fantasies with a lust-tipped chisel.
Oh, I didn’t say the struggle wasn’t real.
But I’ve got that one dollar, and Jared won’t have me.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BLOCK SHOT is book 2 in the Hoops series and is a FRIENDS to lovers as well as an ENEMIES to lovers standalone romance.

Jared and Banner became friends at college. They connected over dirty laundry but that was broken very quickly. Ten years later, they both are successful sports agents so they run in the same circles. But Banner won’t give Jared the time of day. Jared decides that he’s tired of Banner shunning him and he ALWAYS gets what he wants.

I’ll be honest, I debated and stressed over this review. Not because this is a bad book but because it’s so flippin’ good! And one of the main topics deals with something that may be a hard NO for some. But I loathe spoilers and really, you must read the magic that is Kennedy Ryan in order to understand all of the intricacies of the storyline before you make a judgment.

Ok, with that warning outta the way, let’s get to some of the juicy details. First, Jared. Sweet Baby Thor, I loved that man! Was he faultless? Morally ethical? The consummate gentleman? Hell, no! And that’s EXACTLY why I adored him. Jared was unapologetically dedicated. He was bold and cocky yet completely honest about what he wanted. His character was flawed in so many ways and yet perfect too. Sorry, I know it sounds crazy!

Now, Banner. Oh, my sweet, sweet Banner. She’s the kind of woman that you deeply admire, the one you strive to be. She was confident and sure but that was something that she really had to work for. Banner was brutally honest, extremely driven and yet she had a beautiful soul.

Jared and Banner were completely opposite, on distant ends of the spectrum and still they were inexplicably drawn together. Their romance was unexpected but WOW…so explosive!

This is an excellent character driven story. It managed to thoroughly capture my heart and definitely set the bar high! It’ll be perfect on my READ AGAIN E-SHELF! Told from dual POVs with a happy ever after. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

View all my reviews

Both of these books are on my Read Again E-Shelf! Have a spectacular day y’all!💜