"Kiss me. Just this once . . . please Walker."
Title: The Rival
Series: Looking to Score
By Kendall Ryan
Release Day: June 1, 2021
About the
Book
Dump my cheating ex? Check.
Land an amazing job with Boston’s professional hockey franchise? Check.
Fall stupidly in love with hockey’s favorite bad boy? Ugh.
After wasting years of my life with the wrong person, I told myself all I wanted was a little no-strings fun. Enter Alex Braun—a wealthy, handsome, notorious playboy who’s equal parts charming and dangerous as hell to my wounded heart.
After enduring a very public breakup of his own, the sexy player doesn’t want to be anyone’s forever. Too bad he barreled his way into my heart, instead of just my bed.
But
this professional athlete knows a thing or two about competing, and he won’t
let go so easily.
Purchase
Links
➜ Amazon US ➜ Amazon Intl. ➜ Apple ➜ Nook ➜ Kobo ➜ Google Play ➜ Audible ➜
About
Kendall Ryan
Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 100 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras.
Subscriber to the newsletter: http://www.kendallryanbooks.com/newsletter/
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I'm
not going to lie this review is really hard for me to write. Which isn't
surprising because I found the first 50 percent of this book hard to read. I
read to escape from reality for a few hours and this was all just too real. And
I know that a few reviews compared this to a Korean drama and it might be, I've
not seen any. But as an adoptee I was too busy feeling all those emotions.
It was so well written that I completely felt
all of those feels. I had a feeling that I knew what was coming and in parts I
did. In others I was too busy trying to figure out how this newest bombshell
would affect the information we had just gotten. And hoping that Hara could
catch a break long enough to deal with her emotions.
I
absolutely want to kill Jen for that ending. It wasn't enough, I need happiness
and sunshine and wedding bells and babies. For the last five percent I kept
praying for the page numbers to change so I could get another conclusion. I
feel like everything is still so unresolved and yet everything is resolved.
Just not how I wanted it to be.
When Murphy Landon, the New York socialite, runs off to Vermont with her bruised reputation and stylish wardrobe in the trunk of a used car, it’s the first time in her life she’s dared to turn her back on her high-society parents.
Used to grabbing a gourmet coffee whenever the urge strikes, Murphy finds herself on the other side of the counter, fumbling strangers’ orders...until a sinfully handsome thirty-three-year-old version of Ben Rooney from high school walks in.
The pair met years ago at a prestigious boarding school and became friends, but only behind closed doors. She’d been a spoiled brat, and he was a football player on scholarship. Ben tried to hide his crush on her, and Murphy set firm boundaries. After a prom night gone wrong, they’d gone their separate ways.
Now their circumstances are reversed. Ben is a successful surgeon. He’s come a long way from his parents’ humble maple syrup business. And Murphy is pouring his coffee? Is this a joke?
His first thought is that she should drive her gorgeous self right back to New York, where she can’t possibly break his heart. His second one is deep concern. His third thought is he wants a do-over of prom night. A very adult one…
With plenty of secrets between them, copious pure maple syrup, Ben and Murphy are in for a wild and sticky ride.
My Review
Purchase here:
Amazon: https://geni.us/FriendzonedAmazon
Apple: https://geni.us/FriendzonedApple
Kobo: https://geni.us/FriendzonedKobo
Nook: https://geni.us/FriendzonedNook
Google: https://geni.us/FriendzonedGoogle
EXCERPT
“Um, my Americano?”
My cheeks burst into flames. “Right.
I’m on it.”
Forcing myself to look down at the
counter, I made the drink. At least this wasn’t an order I could mess up. My
thoughts, typically a jumbled mess of espresso drink recipes, was now swirling
with memories of Ben then compared to the reality of Ben now . . . this new
version of him.
When I handed him the reusable mug,
he tightened the cap and said, “Thanks. You didn’t try to poison me, did you?”
Swallowing my pride, I shook my head.
“Of course not. I would never. Plus, Zara wouldn’t be too happy with that.
She’s a good one,” I said, the last part a whisper. She’d given me a chance,
after all.
“At one time, you did try.” He raised
a brow, alluding to the badly spiked punch at Burnett’s after-prom party.
I’d felt compelled to go to that
stupid party, determined to show my ex what a good time I was having with Ben.
Except, poor Ben got sick and spent the evening puking, and I was at a loss
about what to do with him. I’d never been very good at putting anyone else
first. After all, I’d never had to.
Ben took a long sip of his coffee,
mesmerizing me with the bob of his Adam’s apple. He cleared his throat, drawing
my attention away from his corded neck. “Not bad.”
Take that, Little Miss Perfect.
“Wow. Murphy Landon. In the Busy
Bean. On the opposite side of the counter than I bet you’re used to being, huh?
Tell you the truth, I’d never thought I’d see the day. You doing this,” he
waved his hand at the counter, “right here in Vermont.”
He stared at me with equal parts
fascination and contempt, probably because I let him get rip-roaring drunk and
make a fool of himself way back when.
“It’s an honest job,” I said, “and I
happen to need it. Anyway, I thought you were in a hurry, but now you have time
to make fun of me?”
I frowned at him, feeling the need to
defend myself when I didn’t owe Ben a single thing. After all, I’d come to
believe that he hadn’t always been honest with me. Not to mention, Ben was just
as guilty about lumping me into stereotypes as I had done with him. Right?
“Oh, I’m sure you need this gig. Like
you needed good grades in high school, as if you weren’t going to get into the
Ivy League from Pressman. Aw, sorry.”
He ran his free hand through his
hair. It happened to be his left, and I made the mistake of noting he wasn’t
wearing a wedding band.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” he said.
“This is such a shock, seeing you here, and I’m not handling it well. You look
good, Murph. Nice to see you. Honestly. I mean it,” he said, holding a hand up
as if he were swearing to it.
Series page:
https://hearteyespress.com/wotn#/busy-bean/
So,
I didn’t read the blurbs for any of these Busy Bean books before I jumped into
them and I really regret it. I love the world, all of the writing has been
awesome but, and yes there’s a but, I’ve found a few books that just don’t work
for me. And they aren’t for me just based on the fact they aren’t what I prefer
and so I don’t like them as much as I would like. Then again, I don’t know if
having read the blurb would have made much difference.
Initially
I was really liking Murphy, breaking away from the world she knew and striking
out on her own to prove herself. But as time wore on she kind of annoyed me.
Yes she was out on her own being the strong independent woman I liked, but she
was so set on proving herself to people that didn’t or shouldn’t matter that
she didn’t treat the people that did matter as well as she should. And to be
honest I felt like she was kind of half in things while she was waiting for her
“normal” life to recommence.
Ben
I just never connected with. He kind of resented Murphy for who she was ten
years ago while still wanting to sleep with her. And he got over that and
wanted to have a future with her while keeping secrets about himself. Having
the mention of a lady he had slept with a few times pawing at him before he
went on a date with Murphy was unnecessary and made me not like him even more,
like why was it even mentioned? But then he was kind of wishy washy, then he
was all in and then he was making plans for his future without having mentioned
it AGAIN.
I
guess I just never quite got the feeling that these two ever put each other
first. They were both just living their own lives parallel to each other and
then coming together. Even the epilogue was kind of them each with their own
secrets and her being surprised he remembered something pretty freaking major. Overall,
this just wasn’t the book for me, but oh well you can’t love them all.
Release Date: May 24, 2021
Blurb:
Love isn’t always a cakewalk ...
Gigi Hawthorne is starting from scratch. She just didn’t realize until her crappy car broke down that she was going to be doing it in a small town in Vermont. With an eye for design and some serious decorating skills, she’s managed to land a job making delectable treats for the patrons of the Busy Bean. Now she’s up to her elbows in sugar and flour, but her thoughts are never far from her gorgeous, brooding landlord.
Holden St. James swears he isn’t a recluse. He goes to the local coffee shop three times a week, doesn’t he? Yeah, maybe he never actually talks to anyone, but with a backstory of loss, pain, and regret like his, he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t be very good company anyway. Yet something about his new tenant makes him wonder if maybe it’s time to let someone open the oven door and release a little heat into his closed-off world.
But both are hiding secrets as dark as an espresso mocha cupcake and they’re not sure if they can trust each other. Will the truth break their delicate relationship into sad, sweet crumbs--or will it turn out to be the key ingredient in the recipe for a new life?
My Review
Purchase Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/CakewalkAmazon
Apple: https://geni.us/CakewalkApple
Kobo: https://geni.us/CakewalkKobo
Nook: https://geni.us/CakewalkNook
Google: https://geni.us/CakewalkGoogle
Sneaking another glance at him, she
smiled to herself noticing a scone on his plate. He hadn’t taken a bite yet,
and her chest filled with nerves as she thought about him trying it for the
first time. She wanted everyone to like the goodies she was making for the
café, but she really, really wanted Holden to like them. Maybe even like them
so much that he’d ask her to make some just for him, at home. An image of the
two of them in the kitchen together, covered in ingredients as he pressed her
up against the blue cabinets, flitted across her mind, making the nerves in her
chest morph into something else entirely. Was that…lust?
Stop it, Gigi…just because the way to a man’s
heart is through his stomach doesn’t mean you need to make an attempt.
Especially with that man.
The sound of coughing pulled her
attention back to the counter, where Officer Nelligan was still standing. When
he finally swallowed, he took a long swig of his coffee, blinking harshly, like
he was trying to forget a taste.
“Miss Gigi, may I ask what you put in
these?”
“Ummmm, usual scone ingredients?” she
floundered. “Flour, salt, cream, baking powder, orange zest, cranberries…”
“I’m not much of a baker, but I think
you might have mixed up your baking powder and your baking soda. A girl did
that in my junior high home ec class, and it tasted much like this—kinda
metallic,” Officer Nelligan said.
“What?” Gigi said. All feelings of
butterflies and lust were long gone now, replaced by sheer panic. She looked at
Officer Nelligan in horror, taking in the scone he’d just bitten into. The
apologetic look in his eye told her everything she needed to know—she'd screwed
up. Big time.
“Georgia.
I don’t know what possesses you to even try these things. It’s a
well-established fact that you just are not capable of cooking. Please stop
trying—you’re just making yourself look ridiculous,” Bradley’s voice said.
She shook her head, trying to clear his words from her mind, as she turned and
ran into the kitchen.
Sure enough, the canisters labeled
“baking powder” and “baking soda” were right next to each other. However, it
was the baking soda whose lid was off and sitting in front of it. That was the
one she’d used when measuring out her ingredients.
“Sugar Honey Iced Tea!” she
exclaimed, stomping her foot in frustration. She could feel Roderick looking at
her, but she didn’t have the heart to turn around and see the expression on his
face.
“Uh oh,” she heard Roderick’s voice
say over her shoulder. “That’s a bad day.”
Was she ever not going to screw this up? When
would she learn that she couldn't do this? No, what she couldn’t do was let
Bradley’s words get to her.
At least it was just Officer
Nelligan. He was used to seeing her at her worst at this point. He and
Holden.
Holden.
Holden had also ordered a scone. But
he hadn’t eaten it yet. Right?
Racing back up front, she skidded to
a stop in front of his table to find him mid-bite into the inedible treat.
“Nooo!” she cried. “Don’t eat
that—it’s…”
“A bit salty…” he responded, choking
it down.
Gigi could feel the tears starting to
prick at her eyes, but she wasn’t going to let anyone here see her cry. It was
no big deal. So she got the canisters mixed up. Happens to everyone at some
point, right?
“I’ll get you a muffin,” she told
him, turning back to the counter. Looking between Holden and Officer Nelligan,
she sighed. “At least it was just you two, right?”
“And Mr. Hughes,” Kirk said, not
looking up from the espresso machine.
“Who?”
“That older guy who bought six. Owns
Hughes Hardware store up the street.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” she
exclaimed before turning and running out the front door. She had to get to him
before he let his employees have any of them.
Deserting the café like this was
probably not her best move, but she figured after this disaster, she was going
to be lucky to even have a job.
Series page:
https://hearteyespress.com/wotn#/busy-bean/
I
really don't know how to review this book. I know it was a good story that was
well written, I also know that this week has been so stressful. So I didn't
love the book, and I took a lot longer to read it than anticipated and I didn't
really connect to the characters. But was that because my heads just everywhere
or is it just because Maybe this book just wasn't for me?
I
had moments where i was able to get wrapped up in the story and I really loved
the plot. I thought Holden was an amazing boyfriend until he was a huge bit of
a knob. And the first time I got it and felt terrible for him and completely
sympathized. The second time not so much. I liked that he loved his first wife
so much and I thought that might be an issue for me through the story, but I
never felt like Gigi was any less than or compared to. He loved his first wife
but he also loved Gigi and he was all in, no guilt, no reservations.
Gigi
I liked. But that's it. I liked her, next subject. I don't really have anything
else to say about her. So yeah that's where I'm at. I liked the few nods to
previous characters from the series and the True North world. I liked the
secondary characters and I'm looking forward to more of the True North world.
