A small town, marriage of convenience, single dad, sports romance from USA Today Bestselling Author Willow Aster
Crazy Love
The Single Dad Playbook Series
by Willow Aster
Blurb:
Penn Hudson. Sexy. Intense. Gorgeous. The star running back of the Colorado Mustangs. Well-known playboy and consummate bachelor. We met in the Bahamas. I knew exactly who he was. He had no idea who I was. Yet for a few blissful hours, it didn’t matter. We had an unbelievable connection… Something special that held so much promise. Then I unexpectedly had to leave and never had a chance to say goodbye.
Fast-forward to today, when I am about to see Penn again, and he’s going to find out exactly who he was kissing in the Bahamas. I’m excited about my new job and returning to my hometown of Silver Hills. But seeing him every day won’t be easy, especially with the lingering memory of his touch and the attraction that still burns between us. When he faces an obstacle in adopting a young boy he’s mentored for years, I offer him a solution I never thought I’d make: A fake marriage. He needs to show stability and a squeaky-clean public image, and I figure, how hard could it be to play house? But as time goes by, nothing feels fake anymore.
I’d always planned on getting married for love, but sometimes we make once-in-a-lifetime sacrifices. I just hope I won’t be devastated in the process.
Crazy Love is book five in the standalone The Single Dad Playbook series.
Honestly, I don’t think I even read the blurb before signing up for this one so I was a smidge disappointed that we went the obvious fake marriage route. The trope can be fantastic but it can also be bad, depending on how it’s written, but I shouldn’t haven’t doubted Aster because she handles it like a dream. And really the story is about so much more.
It’s full of humor and feels, with adorable kids and a just as adorable dad Penn, and I couldn’t have been happier with how everything goes. Crazy Love is low angst and so satisfying as we get to be there while Penn figures out how to be a dad and a husband, from the first meet cute with Addy to the sweet ending for this adorable family.
I am so sad to see this series end. I absolutely loved these guys. The way that they support each other, stepping up when they needed to, giving themselves whole body to their kids and their women. And Penn is no different. He comes into himself so much here and I loved every minute of it.
Aster was a new to me author when I picked up my first Single Dad Playbook story but she quickly found a place on my must read author list.
A scorching hot, hockey, forbidden, billionaire romance from USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann …
The Wildest One
The Weston Group #2
by Marni Mann
Blurb:
I’m not the calm before the storm. I am the storm. And only she can tame my wild ways.
Hockey is my religion.
My body is my temple.
My only goal in life is to win another Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Whales, so women are just a sexy distraction.
Until her.
The fiery redhead I see across the bar while I’m at an away game.
With one look, I know I have to meet her.
With one touch, I need her beneath me.
With one bat of her long lashes, I want those eyes gazing up at me as she kneels before me.
And with booze flowing through my veins, I do something I’ve never done. I offer her a proposition—to spend a long weekend with me.
What is only supposed to be three nights of sizzling passion turns into much more, and when I leave for my next away game, I find myself wanting her in ways I’ve never felt.
She’s a young heart with an old soul.
My dream woman in every way.
The only thing I’ve ever encountered that my family name, talent and money can’t attain.
But there’s too much distance between us, and I realize that maybe we just aren’t meant to be.
Until a chance meeting skates us right back together and our time is suddenly now.
Except all of that changes when I learn the truth …
She’s forbidden, untouchable, and off-limits.
With my heart on the line, can I score the most crucial goal of my life, or will she realize that being with the wildest one isn’t worth the sacrifices she’ll have to make?
Mason Porter:Avalon Falls’ hottest single dad, my brother’s best friend, and the only man who’s ever broken my heart.
Oh, and now he’s my neighbor.
I came back to town without telling anyone—just me, a half-forgotten cabin I inherited, and the quiet hope that a few stolen weeks might be enough to outrun the pressure closing in from all sides.
I didn’t expect to run into Mason and his son by the creek. I didn’t expect him to keep my secret. And I definitely didn’t expect the way it would feel to slip into his life like I’d always belonged there.
Now I’m living next door, falling into a rhythm that feels dangerously close to peace. I watch his son while he works, cook dinner more nights than not, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
For a little while, it works.
Until it doesn’t.
Because this town has secrets, and I’m not the only one running from something.
Someone is watching me.
And the danger I thought I left behind might be closer than I ever imagined.
He was never mine to begin with.
But loving him now might cost me everything.
tropes: brother’s best friend small town single dad forced proximity who hurt you? one MF bed
I knew it was a risk venturing over to my new neighbor’s cabin during the storm.
After all, I barely knew him. All I’d learned from our chance meeting in the woods was that he was visiting the Adirondacks on a well-deserved vacation, he used to serve in the Army, and he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.
The last part definitely made the whole knocking on a near-stranger’s door offering food and flashlights idea more appealing.
When he invited me inside, I nearly said no. But there was just something about Erik that told me I could trust him. That if I didn’t accept his offer, I’d end up regretting it.
Then four masked intruders stormed the cabin, with both of us in it. And nothing could have prepared me for what would come next.
I should have been able to defend myself from anything.
I used to be Special Forces, after all. Now I work for one of the top private security companies in the country. But when Tatum’s life was threatened, I had no choice but to concede. To accept whatever was waiting for me after.
Waking up in the middle of the woods with an unconscious Tatum nearby wasn’t a promising start.
Finding out we’ve been dumped into the middle of a sinister game is even worse. A deadly game it’s clear we’re not supposed to survive.
But there’s no way I’m letting anything else happen to Tatum. I’m getting her out of here, no matter what it takes. And once we escape, I’m going to see her again. Because I’m not losing the first woman I could see a future with.
I think the blurb is a little off. I went into it thinking it would be mostly about them trying to survive, while falling in love of course, and then bringing the bad guys to justice. And it does happen, but not in proportions I expected. It was about 25% getting kidnapped, surviving, & then rescued. The next 50% or so was the guys working together to figure out who did it, helping Tatum come to terms with the experience, and falling for each other. The last bit was wrapping up their romance and everything that has happened & where their future is going. I enjoyed it but I think that there was a little disappointment over the limited action after that first bit.
Buuuut if I had gone into it with the proper expectations I think it would have hit even better. Because I like these two. Erik is sweet and caring, obviously loved by the guys on his team and their spouses, very capable in the field and eventually as a boyfriend. Tatum is amazingly strong, doing all the things to work through what she’s experienced, as well as being there to support Erik when he needs it.
Overall, Guarded From Havoc is a really enjoyable read but slower paced with less of the danger element that I expected. I just think that readers need to approach it as a slower paced romance and not the romantic suspense it originally comes across as.
(Part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.)
All I did was agree to be there for my best friend during a routine surgery. How could I have known his first words when he woke up would change our friendship forever?
To everyone else on campus, Lorenzo Rossi is the star football player with the promising future. To me, he’s the other half of my heart. My source of strength since I was a kid. Oh yeah, and the only man I’ve ever loved.
But he doesn’t need to know that.
Because Lorenzo isn’t just tall, dark and covered in hot tattoos, he’s perfection. Totally unattainable for a girl whose biggest accomplishment is landing a job cleaning aquariums.
Until the day Lorenzo goes into surgery… and comes out saying the words I’ve spent a lifetime longing to hear.
Suddenly I have everything I’ve ever wanted and one long, steamy summer to enjoy it—warm days under the sun with Lorenzo, hot nights in his bed, and scorching games of truth or dare.
But as sultry kisses give way to heartfelt words, a secret slips out… and suddenly our more-than-friends experiment is a game of all-or-nothing. Either I fight for the one thing I’ve always wanted, or I lose my best friend—and with him, everything I love.
He’s a European prince with over a thousand-year-old lineage and he hates her as much as he craves her
Alyssa
When I’m introduced to Prince Carl-Theodor Frederick Maximillian Christoph Albert Maria Johann Anselm 17th Prince of Saxony-Bremer and Lautenburg-Bornheim an-der-Elbe, I’m as breathless as his endless name. Something savage twists inside me. Gorgeous and charming as he might be, I don’t trust men like him, men who believe they’re a superior species, who wield near-unlimited power with the license of ancient nobility.
Instinct warns me to keep away or I might get burnt to a cinder.
It’s easier and safer to pretend he doesn’t touch me. So I use my imagination to dream up insults, abusing and defaming him and his family. Meanwhile, I try to avoid him.
Until I can’t, because he turns out to be irresistible. Soon, he has me on my knees before him, which, alas, is exactly where I want to be. But what does he want? Prince Hot and Cold, arctic ice and lava, he brings me to the edge of insanity.
Prince Carl-Theodor of Saxony-Bremer
At first sight, Alyssa blinds me with her beauty.
Then she wrecks my being like a derailed express train.
Never has anyone so deeply insulted me or my family. Rage transfixes me, my pride so deeply injured that it seems my heart bleeds into my innards.
Since my father died, I am Head, Protector, and Defender of the House of Saxony-Bremer. I won’t endure hearing my family slandered, then do nothing about it. I vow to avenge my bloodline, to pay her back in kind for her vicious words. I’ll make her hurt, make her taste her own medicine.
But hurting her f*cking turns around to hurt me. I can bend her to my will, but once she’s tamed, once she hurts like hell, her pain reaches out to me. Have I committed myself to a vow I can’t keep?
NOTE: This book has content for mature readers 18 and over.
A glimpse of her in the opera house made me a walking calamity. A dismissive smirk instead of her name scorched me. I’d hunt her down till I find and claim her as mine.
My fearless woman goes after her tormentor behind my back. A dangerous criminal who eludes Europol and Interpol. I must eliminate the enemy before he harms her.
I’m going to hurt her, but I’d rather kill our love than have my empress bound with the chains of a dead man who’d been her nightmare for more than ten years…
A P von K’Ory writes romance, psychological thrillers, and nonfiction. She loves diversity – it’s in her aristocratic DNA. She has won more than half a dozen prizes and awards from four continents. Her family stretches from the Nilotes of the Eastern African Nile Delta to Germany, France, and the Walloons (Belgium). She lectures Economics and Sociology in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. She’s married and has a son. Being migratory – and weather willing – she lives in Germany, France, Cyprus, and Greece.
I’m a fun, chill guy, but around Ty, all I can think about is winning.
Last year, his frat beat ours in the annual TaskFrat challenges, and even though I’m known for becoming Alpha Theta Mu’s prez as a joke, I take my responsibility to my guys seriously.
I refuse to let those fratholes take us down again.
Unfortunately, the only thing bigger than Ty’s inflated ego is his competitive spirit.
I’m supposed to be focused on defeating him, but soon, I discover there’s a spark between us.
Not something a straight guy should be saying about his straight rival.
It’s weird, confusing…and surprisingly hot.
I’m curious, and apparently, he is too.
Living the Greek life with my buddies, we’re always joking about what happens when you frat around.
Now Ty and I are about to find out.
CW: Frat Around and Find Out is a low-angst, steamy romance, but the characters’ backstories include grief over losing loved ones to cancer and dementia.
This is the first book in the Peach State Fratbros Series. Frat Around and Find Out can be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
I can’t put my finger on the exact reason but the pacing was somewhat off. I’m not against a slow burn story, and there was nothing too slow about this one, but … it won’t be for everyone, I guess. Ty & Lance go from friends to bi-curious pretty early on, move on to exploring things together, and then figuring out that there might be feelings involved too – pretty straight forward for this kind of story. But it’s low angst and a lot of steam & feels so not everyone’s thing.
This is the first by McCormack for me and based on the other reviews I’m guessing the previous stories had more drama? This one is not angsty, which is ok by me. Instead it’s a good mix of lighthearted fun, a supportive friend group, heat, and exploration of new feelings. There are a few side characters that have great potential so I’m looking forward to what’s next.
(First in the series and can technically stand on its own, but as this is a spin-off some familiarity with the Peach State Stepbros series might provide some additional enjoyment because some of the characters make an appearance.)
*****
Author Info:
Devon McCormack grew up in the Georgia suburbs with his two younger brothers and an older sister. At a very young age, he spun tales the old fashioned way, lying to anyone and everyone he encountered. He claimed he was an orphan. He claimed to be a king from another planet. He claimed to have supernatural powers. He has since harnessed this penchant for tall tales by crafting worlds and characters that allow him to live out whatever fantasy he chooses. Devon is an out and proud queer man living in Atlanta, Georgia.
Devon’s body of work ranges from erotica to young adult, so readers should check the synopses of his books before purchasing so that they know what they’re getting into.
Sleeping with the best man at my cousin’s wedding felt right at the time—he was a hot, available firefighter, and I was the tipsy maid of honor. It’s a rite of passage.
No regrets… until two pink lines flipped my world upside down.
Now I’m wildly unprepared and trying to hide my pregnancy in my small Alaskan town where privacy is a myth and gossip spreads faster than frostbite.
But wait, it gets worse.
Baby Daddy just came back to town—with a fiancée in tow.
And guess who she wants to plan their wedding?
Me.
Keeping the secret was hard enough.
Keeping my distance from the father of my baby? Impossible.
Just when I think I have it all figured out, he reveals his own secret that changes everything.
Author’s Note: There is no cheating in this book. Gasp! We would never.
This is such a slow burn. There’s confusion early on about what’s going on with Finn and why he’s back in town. (No cheating, they promised.) And I have such respect for how well Harper carries herself during those meetings. I don’t know that I could have done it. And props to Finn for doing the right thing (for him) when he needed to. It was so enjoyable seeing them get to know each other and figure out how to be co-parents.
I liked Harper – her insecurities and fear of the future as a mom. And I loved how Finn does so much to show her support and help her see herself as more than capable. He’s so good at pulling her out of her self-doubt spirals. So sweet!
Piper Rayne is a must read for me. The characters are always so well done – they feel like friends, people that are real and are making realistic decisions. Sometimes difficult & sometimes wrong, but always relatable. As always, looking forward eagerly to what comes next!
(Part of a series but Piper Rayne does a good job of making sure that you have all the needed info for each story so you can read them in any order.)
*****
Author Info:
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write “heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle” about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they’re married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they’re both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!
My pro hockey dreams are hanging by a thread. I need to have a great season, and that means no partying, no distractions, no fun. A grad student’s science experiment is the definition of no fun, so…okay.
Pros and cons of agreeing to this deal:
Pro: Positive use of free time. (At least, that’s what my agent says.)
Con: Malcolm is bossy, clumsy, and he doesn’t know the first thing about hockey.
But he’s also cute and he’s got a great sense of humor and—oh, no.
I cannot have a crush on the geek. No way. Not now.
Malcolm
Yes, I’m a serious student, but a hockey project is not serious. Who cares about big, hunky hockey players zipping around a sheet of ice at warp speed? Not I.
According to my professor, however, the only way to attain the required data is to study the specimen in his natural habitat, a.k.a., the ice rink.
Pro: My thesis should lead to a bevy of job offers.
Con: Jett. He’s impossibly big and gruff and handsome and disarmingly charming and—
Fine. Guilty. I like the jock…perhaps too much.
Lately, I find myself wondering if there’s such a thing as a one-time shot at forever.
One-Time Shot is a low-angst, geek-jock MM bisexual college hockey romance featuring a charismatic hockey star and an adorkable scientist.
My control was slipping, though. Every fucking thing about this guy turned me on and I couldn’t figure it out.
Malcolm was cute, not hot. He was quirky, not cool. He wasn’t athletic in the slightest, but he had more confidence than a lot of seasoned hockey players. He knew who he was and what he wanted. And he was willing to try something new to achieve his goals. I admired that kind of drive.
I just wished that I admired the curve of his ass in those khakis a little less as he moved to the small kitchen table and held up a pad of paper and a pen.
“I’m ready to begin. We didn’t discuss how much time to allot for these sessions, but I think forty-five minutes will suffice.”
“Uh…right. That works for me.” I licked my lips, tilting my chin toward the windows. Pull it together, Erickson. “Nice place, by the way. I like your plants.”
“Thank you.”
He blushed. An honest-to-God blush with pink cheeks and averted eyes. I found myself grinning again…for no particular reason.
“Do you have a green thumb?”
I half expected him to change the subject, get down to business, so he could throw my ass out the door in precisely forty-four minutes and twenty seconds, but Malcolm glanced at the plants, nodding as he sat at the table.
“I do. My parents have a large vegetable garden in their yard. I took charge of it from the time I was ten till I left for college. I switched out some of the less-yielding crops for lettuce, corn, and squash, and grew tons of tomatoes. They tend to it now. Sadly, not as well as I did.”
See what I mean about this guy?
“You’re bragging, Maloney. I like that confidence.”
Malcolm snorted. “I’m not bragging. I’m stating a fact. My parents are lovely people yet serial houseplant killers. The vegetables stand a better chance outdoors where Mother Nature can care for them till I arrive to save the day.”
“You’re funny.”
“Hilarious,” he confirmed, pointing at the chair across from him. “Shall we begin?”
“Sure.” I sat, shifting under the weight of his expectant gaze.
“I took the liberty of creating a short syllabus, including a diagram of a rink and an index of hockey terminology.” Malcolm pushed his laptop toward me. “I’ve memorized all of them. Quiz me if you’d like.”
I scrolled through his proposed outline covering etymology, history, tactics, rules, and a very fucking long glossary which included slang. “Whoa. Did you google this?”
“It’s a compilation of sources, each credited in the attached bibliography,” he replied.
“You made a bibliography.”
“Of course. One must give credit where credit is due.” Malcolm scooted his chair closer and reached over to scroll through a list of annotations. “See?”
Yeah, I saw. And I was a little pissed at myself for being so slow.
“You’re trying to scare me away,” I stated.
“No, I’m helping you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t see how this helps either of us. What do etymology and history have to do with measuring speed?”
“Well…nothing, but—”
“Here you have ‘biscuit’ and ‘biscuit in the basket.’ ” I gestured at the screen. “These are very unscientific terms, Maloney.”
“True, but I know those. The biscuit is the puck and putting the biscuit into the basket is to make a goal.” Malcolm beamed. “Correct, yes?”
My lips twisted in amusement. “Yes. Can you use this info in your thesis?”
He fiddled with his glasses. “Undetermined, but doubtful.”’
*****
Review:
Malcolm is aaalll the adorkableness that I could want. He’s awkward and sweet and caring and smart. He can be stuffy and old fashioned in his speech but he throws himself full bodied in things that interest him. Including Jett.
Jett may be an athlete and not as academic as Malcolm but he works hard for what he wants, for his future. He’s also got a good head on his shoulders, one that recognizes what a good thing he’s found in Malcolm.
These two shouldn’t work together but they do. They listen and open up to each other and they are willing to put everything on the line when they have to. I just … *sigh* love them together. It may have started out as research, morphed into something a little more intimate but soon it turned into something even more. Timing may not be on their side tho.
I adore Hayes’s books. I enjoy the sweetness mixed with heat, characters that just have me from the first page, and a HEA that never disappoints. I need more from her, and this series, as soon as I can get it.
*****
Author Info:
Lane Hayes lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing husband, who thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George, who’s pure mischief. Both provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst, humorous books Lane loves to write.
She’s been telling stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men who find love for a dozen years now and loving every minute. In her previous life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes…romance is much more satisfying!
Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate…in any order. Add a book and she’s set!My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers: https://bit.ly/3aIbMYg
Maren Moore is an Amazon Top 20 Best-selling sports romance author. Her books are packed full of heat and all the feels that will always come with a happily ever after. She resides in southern Louisiana with her husband, two little boys and their fur babies. When she isn’t on a deadline, she’s probably reading yet another Dramione fan fic, rewatching cult classic horror movies, or daydreaming about the 90’s.
Romantic Reads and Such 