Skin in the Game by Jackie Barbosa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars!
In high school, Angela Peterson wasn’t tall and gorgeous and she crushed on the high school quarterback just like everyone else. He only noticed her because she gave him some well timed advice that helped him go on to win the championship and eventually make a career out of football.
Years later, she’s the gorgeous woman who Cade singles out at the local coffee shop and invites out… not knowing who she is, but sensing he should know her.
Cade has struggled over the last few years. A shoulder injury has kept him out of the game and he’s returned to Harper Falls, MN as a favor to his high school coach… Help run his team while he’s dealing with some medical issues.
What he didn’t realize is that the girl he invited back to his hotel and spent one incredible night with, is the same girl who is planning on filling in as head coach herself… hopefully making the position hers permanently when the real coach retires.
There isn’t a whole lot to this book to be honest. I read the whole thing in less than 2 hours, and at one point I looked to see how long it was and I was surprisingly already at about 60%.
That said, the story was fun and light and other than a few dramatic moments was fairly sweet and even though a bit predictable, I liked it.
I really liked both Angie and Cade in this one and their chemistry was believable. It was definitely wonderful to see an author not pigeonhole her female lead. Angie was incredibly smart and analytical which made her job as a math teacher and a coach on the football team nice to see. What I didn’t like was the lack of action on her part when she was harassed by the other assistant coach. I mean, I get it, her explanation makes sense, but to see her stand by and ignore what he was doing left a bad taste in my mouth.
I’ve said before that I really enjoy the Brazen line from Entangled and this story is no different. I’m pretty sure I’ll be reading each and every one! Definitely pick this one up if you’re looking for something with wonderful chemistry and steam between the characters and a bit of football talk on the side.
Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’m totally a fan of Christine Bell for sure after this second book in the Dare Me Series.
Down and Dirty is Cat and Shane’s story. If you’ve read book one, then you know that Cat is Galen’s sister. She’s brash and spontaneous and always looking for adventure.
Shane just happens to be her brother’s best friend. He’s the guy who thwarted all her fun in high school and a total stick in the mud… or so she thinks. She just so happens to have had a crush on him and remembers the night he pushed her away.
The chemistry between these two was wonderfully written and incredibly hot. Cat thinks she just needs to get Shane out of her system then she can move on, but Shane has other ideas. He’s moving home now for good and he has his eyes set on Cat.
To be honest, I didn’t really like Cat all that much. Her reasons for staying away from Shane while valid, were incredibly weak. Regardless, Bell gives us a wonderful story with some great characters.
I’m excited to see where Bell takes this series and who we will see stories from. I have my bets on Courtney for one.
If you’re looking for a well written romance definitely pick up one of these from the Dare Me Series!
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