Walker

I’m definitely not looking for love, but I need a date. A fake date for a wedding.

Jade owes me a favor. Because I rescued her from a dumpster—don’t ask. Jade might turn my crank, but she’s hands off when it comes to men. She’s perfect.

Well, perfect until we’re stuck together for the weekend, and I can hardly keep my eyes, or my hands, off her. I can’t go falling for my friend’s sister. What’s supposed to be fake starts to feel as real as the fire burning up the sheets between us.

Jade is feisty and a master at keeping me at a distance. Funny thing though. I don’t mind a challenge, and I’m not about to back down.

Title: If We Dare
Author: J.H. Croix
Series: Swoon Series - Book 6
Pages: 223
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Enemies to Lovers
Hot Buttons: death of a friend by heart attack/stroke, previous sexual assault on heroine (happens prior to start of book) <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

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Short, sweet and sexy

3 stars

I enjoy J.H. Croix and her writing - you can always count on her to give you a sweet yet sexy story filled with the perfect amount of family, heat and heart.

This story contains a few of my favourite tropes - fake relationship, best friend’s little sister and forced proximity. And yet, it also really wasn’t any of those three in the end.

Our couple, Jade and Walker, going to the wedding of Walker’s best friend, Dave, actually takes up very little time in the book. So their fake relationship really only lasts a few chapters at most. In fact, the story fairly rattles through time with lots of stuff happening across days, weeks and months of Jade and Walker’s relationship. This is mirrored in the size of the chapters. Some are barely even a couple of pages long - and even the longest are relatively short. In some respects, that’s a great thing; it’s easy to keep reading just one more chapter. On the flip side, it also works against the book as it’s simple to pick it up and put it down without really spending enough time at each sitting to really become emotionally invested in the characters.

Speaking of the wedding - I was a bit annoyed at first about the Dave storyline (SPOILER - he has a heart attack on his wedding night. END SPOILER It felt like it was a cheap plot device in order to postpone the physical relationship between Jade and Walker - especially since it was never mentioned again…. Until it was. Yes, the Dave storyline was brought up again towards the end, at which point I wished that it had remained a cheap plot device, as it was too much for me. SPOILER: After cardiac surgery, Dave has a stroke and subsequently dies. END SPOILER Sure, shitty things happen in real life. I do want characters in books to feel real - and do want them to have challenges on their way to happily ever after - but I’m really not up for reading about upsetting and heartbreaking situations, especially when I’m looking for something light, bright and up-lifting.

I enjoyed both Jade and Walker as characters even if, like they didn’t really fit with how I’d anticipated they’d be (totally on me, I know!). Walker was quiet and reserved - and yet he wasn’t really. He seemed perfectly amiable and chatty with everyone - Jade, his friends, people he didn’t know. And Jade was a bit of a badass - except when she continually seemed to bemoan the fact that her brother would get all in her business. I like an over-protective brother storyline but the way Jade dealt with it - always furiously stating that SHE was in charge of her love/sex life - made it seem very bratty and that she did indeed need someone to look out for her. She was a tad insecure and probably about 2% badass at most. But I liked her for the most part. She certainly wasn’t offensive or divisive in any way. And she matched her nail varnish to her outfits at the wedding - so I knew we would be friends in real life!

There’s also the storyline about Jade’s prior experience with men that has caused her to swear of dating and sex for good. SPOILER: Her former friend had slipped her a date rape drug then presumably attempted, but did not complete, sexual assault. END SPOILER I felt this was only briefly dealt with and not with any huge depth that made me feel overly uncomfortable - but I can only imagine that it would be triggering for those with experience of similar circumstances. As it was, in Jade’s case, it wasn’t ever an insurmountable barrier to being with Walker.

This was a bit of confusing book for me to review. It was short, sweet and sexy - it even had a few moments that gave me butterflies in the tum - but I didn’t feel that the story arc was strong enough to inspire me all that much. I kept reading, and I didn’t forget about the book at any point, but all the barriers to getting together and having a relationship were… well… they weren’t really barriers at all. It was more the story of how two people got to know each other and fell in love. That’s fine, but give them a few truly difficult roadblocks along the way that jeopardise their relationship/future together - and NOT in the form of external factors that don’t add to the story in some way.

Overall an enjoyable book and definitely one that will be snapped up by those who’ve read the previous Swoon series books. (This books stands alone but many couples presumably from the previous books in the series either pop up in this one or are at least name checked) It didn’t set my world on fire, and had a few issues from my personal perspective, but a decent 3 stars for a good read.

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USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!

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When I met Ryan, I might’ve been trying to break into his basement.

It was for a good cause. I swear. Also, my dog broke in first.

Ryan Blake is jaw-dropping handsome, wealthy & cocky. Not quite my type. By some miracle, he doesn’t call the police on me when he catches me trying to rescue my dog. He even fetches a doctor for me. Don’t ask why.

I don’t figure I’ll see him again. Then, I do. Then, he kisses me. Once. Twice. Is three times the charm? To be honest, I swooned at the first kiss.

All swooning aside, we are seriously opposites. I wear cowboy boots and skirts. He wears suits and ties. He’s all New York City. I’m a Southern girl looking for a new start. We even talk at different speeds.

The list of things I don’t expect from Ryan is long. I don’t expect him to think twice about me. I don’t expect him to nearly bring me to my knees with a look. I don’t expect him to be so much more than I ever imagined.

I absolutely don’t expect to fall for him. So hard I’m skidding sideways just to catch my balance

Title: Sexy Suit
Author: J.H. Croix
Series: Cocky Hero Club - Standalone
Pages: 240
Genre(s): Contemporary, US, Opposites Attract
Hot Buttons: death of a sibling due to cancer (happens prior to events of novel), difficult family history (suggests abuse) <-- highlight to reveal (may contain spoilers)

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Sweet with Heat

4 stars

Sexy Suit is a new novel that’s part of the first intake into the Cocky Hero Club. These novels are all set in the new world inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward's series of standalone novels that started with Cocky Bastard. This particular story is part of the Stuck-Up Suit world and Graham and Soraya, the couple from that book, appear in this one.

If you’ve read Stuck-Up Suit, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to catch up with Graham and Soraya, and see how much in love they still are - and what they’re up to now. But if, like me, you’ve never read Stuck-Up Suit, then they just appear as any other supporting characters. Simply put, this book stands completely alone - you do not need to have read any other book to read and enjoy this one.

So onto the book - and goodness it was an enjoyable book.

I’ve read a little of J.H. Croix before and each time she manages to pull me into her stories with her wit, humour and sweetness coupled with deliciously dirty sex. It’s a bit like the book equivalent of seeing a ridiculously hot, naked man cuddling a cutesy wootsy puppy. All kinds of goodness in her writing.

It’s a bit of an opposites attract romance with our sassy Southern heroine - a fish out of water New Orleanian recently transplanted to New York - and our slightly grumpy, slightly assholish, bona fide New Yorker. While I’m putting them into distinct boxes, one of the best things about Addie and Ryan is that they’re neither one dimensional, nor stereotypical. Ryan especially has quite an obvious  progressive emotional transformation thanks to Addie - and Barnable, of course.

While this is a sweet, almost gentle romance, it does has its funny moments such as when Barnable breaks into Ryan’s house, and his antics in general. I love dogs, but it’s unusual to find one with personality in a book that doesn’t come across as cringey and twee. Not so Barnable. Other authors take note - this is how you write a dog into a romance!

And let’s not forget the sex scenes - which are smoking hot. Shove you up against the door, I must have you right now kind of hot. But there was purpose to them and each time something happened it did drive the story on. Not that that’s necessarily required for me with sex in a story - it just so happened that that’s the way it happened in this one.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters, story, love story, conflict - everything was on point and it was a fun read. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was because I felt it stalled ever so slightly at the 1/3 or so mark. It picked up again and rallied right up until the end, which was swoon-worthingly wonderful - which definitely makes me feel guilty for the 4 stars. Yet 4 stars is still a solid rating for a book that I can’t see anyone disliking. If you like Ms Croix’s writing, or are just looking for a cute and sexy New York romance, then this is the book for you.

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AUTHOR BIO!

 

USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!

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Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are excited to bring you the Cocky Hero Club: original works from various authors inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling Cocky Bastard series.

You've got lots of different types of story to choose from and although each are set in the world that Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward created, they all stand completely alone and you don't need to have read anything else, to read and enjoy any one of these tales.

So let's get cocky!


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Mrs. Ambrosia Bloomington, now a widow, is ready to start a new life amongst Mayfair elites without the overarching reach of her late husband, Mr. Harrison Bloomington.  With her trunks loaded safely onto her own private carriage, she’s ready to face the world as an independent woman in Regency London.

She does not, however, bargain for cocksure Frenchman, Mr. Charles Cochran Bateman coming along and turning her very ordinary journey into the adventure of a lifetime.

She does not bargain for his laughter, his enthusiasm, nor his Joie de vie.

And blast and fiddlesticks, she certainly is not expecting to experience the sparks that charge the air between them.

And, it seems, apparently, neither is he…

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They say opposites attract, but in this case, they might just combust...

HEATHER

Hermosa Beach seems to be the place for throwing together unlikely opposites.

My rooster Rowdy and his new crush, Pixy the goat.

Me and the obnoxiously cocky cowboy from Texas...

But unlike Rowdy and Pixy, there’s no way I’m going to fall for David Strickland.

Nope. Not gonna happen. I could never be with a man so completely opposed to everything I believe... no matter how hot he is.

DAVID

There couldn’t be two people more different than the beautiful little tree hugger and rooster rescuer Heather and me.

We can’t agree on anything, except that we disagree on everything—some times more heatedly than other times. And believe me, things are starting to heat up between us, in more ways than one.

She's the last thing I expected to find at an animal shelter in California. But now I found her, I have no intention of letting her go.

I just have to get her on board with that plan.

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She was the fruit of a forbidden tree, but nothing in this world was going to stop me from tasting her.

My name is Dylan Murphy, and I work for the rich and powerful of an exclusive Manhattan building. Graham Morgan was my first boss, but soon after I was working with some of the most famous entrepreneurs, business moguls, and movie stars in the city. They trusted me because I always followed the cardinal rules:

Never betray secrets. And never, under any circumstance, get personally involved.

I’d never dreamed of violating my professional mantra.

Not until she walked past me.

The look we exchanged that night set my body on fire, and I knew right then and there that no matter the consequences, she was going to be mine. But she was one of them—off limits and out of my league, but she was the kind of woman who I was willing to risk everything for.

I keep other people’s secrets for a living, but the biggest secret of all might be my own.

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Ex-fighter pilot, Logan Reid, is exactly the kind of man I despise. He’s a cocky jet jock, a former Navy Blue Angel, and full of all the arrogance that comes with being the best of the best.

I’m an ex-Zoomie, an Air Force tanker pilot. The rivalry between our sister services is nothing compared to that between fighter jocks and tanker pilots. We’re bitter rivals and I’m low-man (woman) on the totem pole

The last thing I need is to spend six hours at thirty-five thousand feet locked in a cockpit with the cocky captain. But I have no choice. I’m his co-pilot, and we’re taking the CEO of Montague Enterprises, and his family, on a mini-vacation to the Grand Caymans.

We have three days on the ground before we fly back.
Three long days in paradise and he wants to spend them all with me.

I have a thing for fighter pilots.
It isn’t animosity, exactly, but rather a deep-seated dislike. They get all the glory while the rest of us sit at the butt end of their jokes and wither beneath their ridicule.
I hate fighter pilots. There, I said it. I hate the arrogant pricks with a passion.

But after one look into those magnetic eyes, and the devastating wink which follows, I’m thinking of throwing caution to the wind. What harm can come from some innocent flirting? Besides, it’s not as if my job is at risk.

I’m not prepared for the air to sizzle when he’s close.
I’m not ready for our explosive chemistry when he touches my skin.
I’m not equipped for the fallout when our three days come to an end.
And I never expected to fall in love.

But all good things come to an end.
I wasn’t prepared when I walked away.
And I wasn’t ready for what came next.

He’s arrogant.
He’s cocky.
He’s determined to get what he wants.
And he’s refuses  to let this end.
He’s fighting for a forever…with me.

But, I’m not ready for our beginning.
He’s arrogant enough to prove me wrong.

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When I met Ryan, I might’ve been trying to break into his basement.

It was for a good cause. I swear. Also, my dog broke in first.

Ryan Blake is jaw-dropping handsome, wealthy & cocky. Not quite my type. By some miracle, he doesn’t call the police on me when he catches me trying to rescue my dog. He even fetches a doctor for me. Don’t ask why.

I don’t figure I’ll see him again. Then, I do. Then, he kisses me. Once. Twice. Is three times the charm? To be honest, I swooned at the first kiss.

All swooning aside, we are seriously opposites. I wear cowboy boots and skirts. He wears suits and ties. He’s all New York City. I’m a Southern girl looking for a new start. We even talk at different speeds.

The list of things I don’t expect from Ryan is long. I don’t expect him to think twice about me. I don’t expect him to nearly bring me to my knees with a look. I don’t expect him to be so much more than I ever imagined.

I absolutely don’t expect to fall for him. So hard I’m skidding sideways just to catch my balance.

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CONNECT WITH J.H. CROIX

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Getting fired and humiliated in front of everyone at my newly acquired secretarial job at Morgan Financial Holdings wasn’t how I’d seen my day going.

And then chaos—or maybe luck—ensured.

I was set up on a blind date, shocked that my former boss was giving me a month’s severance, and had the perfect interview lined up.

Maybe things were looking up for me after all.

And although finding a man should have been on the bottom of my to-to list, I couldn’t get Jason—the uber sexy blind date—out of my head. Sexy and confident—or maybe arrogant—he had me yearning for more with just a smoldering look and a smirk of his lips.

But when a night of drinking leads to getting in bed with him and having the wildest, most intense night of my life, I didn’t know if I should ask to see him again, or do the good old walk of shame.

And it’s when I walk into my interview the next day and come face-to-face with my prospective employer that the reality of my situation sinks in.

Because there, sitting across from me with that devilish smile on his face, that knowing expression of what we’d done the night before, is the one and only Jason, my supposedly one-night stand.

Looked like my humiliation wasn’t over just yet.

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Emma

When my best friend Aubrey asked me to tag along to an event with her, I never could have imagined that it would be the day that my life changed forever.

He’s arrogant and demanding and doesn’t take a hint. Landon Barker, the quarterback for the Hermosa Beach Trojans, is a player on and off of the field. He’s got his sights set on me as his next play, but I see right through him. Aubrey says I’m overreacting, that I should give him a chance. What she doesn’t realize is men like Landon don’t fall for the girl next door. That’s not reality. She got her fairytale, although it was a long road. Not all of us are that lucky.

Landon

She’s a friend of our new kicking coach’s wife. When I ask Chance for her number, he tells me I have to find a way to get it myself.

Nothing when it comes to Emma has been easy. She’s the first woman ever to turn me down, and that won’t do. However, as time passes, it’s about more than that. It’s about her smile, her laugh, and just spending time with her. She thinks I’m a player, and she’s right. What she doesn’t know is that I play to win, and her heart is the ultimate trophy.

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I’m a fighter.
At least that’s what my daddy always told me.
It’s in our blood.

Hard work, hustle, and a little Hennessey is the Reid motto.
He taught me to fight for everything I wanted in life.
Take down those who threaten the dream.

My dream is to marry the perfect man.
That man is my father’s best friend and I won’t stop until I have him.
And at Daddy’s wedding in Costa Rica, I plan to make that dream finally come true.
Then, my life will be smooth sailing.

Until a chance flight with an arrogant pilot throws me off course. 
Literally. 
Camilo’s decisions affect my future, and I can’t allow anything—not even a cocksure, ridiculously hot idiot—to stand in my way.

Problem is, he fights back.
Every battle I’ve won in life, he shoots down and exposes me for the fraud I am.
Trapped in paradise with my devilishly handsome nemesis seems like one of the seven circles of Hell…and, boy, is it getting hot around here. 

He’ll strip me of my armor.
Remind me of my past.
Force me to rethink my future.
And help me live in the moment.
Will he steal my heart too?

One thing’s for sure.
This girl won’t give up without a fight.

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Harper
I fell in love when I was sixteen. Landon was my entire world and I thought he would be my forever. But I was young and dumb, and with one error in judgement, I destroyed any chance of a future we could’ve had together, along with our hearts.

Twelve years later and I’m going through the motions of life, but not actually living. Which is why I let my friends, Bridget and Simon, set me up on a blind date. Turns out, it’s not so blind after all. Because the man sitting in front of me is the same man who’s held onto my heart all these years.

Landon
They call me a Clutch Player because I’m good under pressure and quick on my feet. I was also quick to fall in love. The first time it was with baseball, the second was with Harper. And for a short time I had them both.

Until I lost Harper and all I had left was baseball.

For years, I focused on my career. I had accepted that baseball was my one true love.

Until I saw her again. I never imagined we’d ever get a second chance, but now that she’s sitting right across from me, I know there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her go again.

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Carlina Perez is in way over her head. Unexpectedly jobless and fostering an exotic pet with an insatiable appetite, this pastry chef needs a new gig faster than she can whip up a batch of scones.  But when she’s tapped to serve as the personal chef to a haughty tabloid regular, she only considers the job out of sheer desperation. After all, Giorgio Acardi may be filthy rich and intoxicatingly handsome, but he’s also a first class scoundrel.

Giorgio Acardi has it all:  money, fame, an endless string of beautiful companions, and the respect of his colleagues and rivals. From the outside looking in, his life is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that he’s even got his eye on a new personal chef. She’s talented and gorgeous, and it shouldn’t make a difference whether she hates him or not as long as she does the job. But there’s something about Carlina that Giorgio just can’t resist, and he hasn’t enjoyed success by backing down from a challenge.

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CONNECT WITH RAISA GREYWOOD