5 STARS for Asa by Jay Crownover!

You never know which moment might lead to forever...

Asa Cross struggles with being the man everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn't change its spots, and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn't want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it;s easy to hit bottom when it's the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but also her partners life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends, she's trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation alone. Except she can't stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs, but his allure is too strong to resist. And she knows chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a copy just seem so wrong together... but for Asa and Royal being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

Review:
Say it ain't so.. the Marked Men series is ending. I have loved this series from the first chapter of Rule and it is one that will stay with me for a long time. I have to be honest here. I bought Asa the week it was released. I purposely put off reading it until this week, I just wasn't ready for this series to end!

Royal's head is a little out of the game. Her partner and best friend was injured in the line of duty and it has left her feeling a little out of sorts. Her behavior is a little out of sorts to say the least. She can't stay away from Asa, even though she knows she probably should. You would think that the fact that she had arrested him herself in the past would have extinguished any attraction, but that is so not the case. 

Asa hasn't had an easy life, he learned early on that manipulating people got him places, he used his looks and charm to achieve the things he wanted, even though sometimes, well most of the time what he was doing was illegal. He is trying really hard, for his sake and his sister to truly be the reformed man she believes him to be. He fights the attraction to the beautiful cop, but when something is meant to be, it will be. Once these two give into the inevitable  this story gets pretty steamy very quickly. 

In typical Jay Crownover fashion she pulls you in and makes you fall in love with another one of her Marked Men. Royal may be my favorite heroine of the series, I love that she is a tough cookie, but her weakness for a certain "bad boy" is not a flaw, it made her stronger in my eyes. He was what she needed to heal, she just didn't fully understand it right away.  

I gave this book and the entire series 5 Stars! Asa can be read as a stand alone book, but I recommend reading this entire series in order. Each book has a fresh feeling to it, but revisiting with old characters as their lives are integrated into the lives of the new characters makes the series even more special. I can't wait for more from Jay Crownover. She has firmly earned her spot as an auto-buy author for me! Her writing style is unique and her Marked Men are the stuff dreams are made of... well steamy hot, curl your toes dreams anyway! 

Buy Links:
Amazon  *  B&N  *  HARPERCOLLINS  *  iTunes

Author Info:
www.jaycrownover.com/
Amazon Author Page for Jay Crownover
Facebook
Twitter @jaycrownover

5 STARS for Chasing Jillian by Julie Brannagh!

Chasing Jillian
Love and Football # 5

By: Julie Brannagh

Releasing July 7, 2015

Avon Impulse

Jillian Miller likes her job working in the front office for the Seattle Sharks, but lately being surrounded by a constant parade of perfection only seems to make her own imperfections all the more obvious. She needs a change, which takes her into foreign territory: the Sharks’ workout facility after hours. The last thing she expects is a hot, grumbly god among men to be there as witness.

Star linebacker Seth Taylor had a bad day-well, a series of them recently. When he hits the Sharks’ gym to work out his frustration, he’s startled to find someone there-and even more surprised that it’s Jillian, the team owner’s administrative assistant. When he learns of Jillian’s mission to revamp her lifestyle, he finds himself volunteering to help. Something about Jillian’s beautiful smile and quick wit makes him want to stick around. She may not be like the swimsuit models he usually has on his arm, but the more time Seth spends with Jillian the harder he falls.

And as Jillian discovers that the new her is about so much more than she sees in the mirror, can she discover that happiness and love are oh-so-much better than perfect?

Excerpt: 
She hurried over to the laptop on the little desk in the kitchen, pulled up Google, and searched on Seth’s name. She sank into a chair while she read. He was six foot four, and she practically weighed as much as he did. Well, not quite, but still. She let out a long sigh. He was two years younger than she was. It also seemed Seth had been busy: He was single. “Very single,” according to one of the most recent fan websites she looked at. In Google Images, she found a series of photos of him with multiple tall, dark-haired women, each more gorgeous than the last.

Jillian shut the laptop lid with an irritated “click”, got up from her chair, and hurried into the bathroom. She’d stood in front of a full-length mirror so many times, but it always showed her the same thing. She wasn’t unattractive, but she could use a little more self-confidence and a lot more toning.  She wasn’t asking for physical perfection, but she’d like to make some changes. If she made a plan, started slowly and kept at it, she’d see a difference.  The biggest changes needed to start on the inside, though. Maybe if she got out a little more, she might meet a guy that was interested in her. Seth was gorgeous, but he wasn’t really in her universe. Jillian went into the kitchen, grabbed a frozen low-calorie dinner out of the freezer, ripped the cardboard lid off, and shoved it into the microwave. Dinner would taste a whole lot better if it was accompanied by half a bag of chips and some Ranch dip. But that wasn’t an option right now. She opened the refrigerator door to look for a fresh vegetable of some type.

She pushed the fridge door shut after a fruitless search and rummaged around in her apartment’s tiny pantry. She located a can of peas. Peas were good. Plus, there weren’t many calories in peas. Maybe she could fill up on them if the diet dinner didn’t cut it.

Jillian’s love-hate relationship with her body and food had started when she was little.  Most of the time, there wasn’t enough to eat. She ended up in a foster home at three years old after her mother died in a car wreck, and she was moved a few times before she entered elementary school. Things got a little better for Jillian when she was placed in a more permanent foster home, but she was still so hungry. No matter how much she ate, she wanted more.  When she was old enough to make her own money, she made sure there was more than enough, and that’s when the problems began. Even more than a diet or a new workout regime, she needed to focus on the great things in her life. She’d build a healthier lifestyle as a result. Even more than a diet or a new workout regime, change from the inside would last a lot longer. She wanted to build on the goals she’d already achieved and reach out for more of the things she wanted in life: A husband. A family. To belong.

Review:
If you are a fan of sports romance and/or contemporary romance and aren't reading the Love and Football series by Julie Brannagh, stop what you are doing now and start. Her football players are oh, so dreamy and her heroine's are BFF material. I am a fan of the ugly duckling/swan plot line, so I knew from the back cover of this book I was going to love it. The nice twist is that from the get go Seth isn't trying to change Jillian to make her more attractive, he supports her initiative to better herself. Helping her gives Seth a new focus and a new friend. I love the development of their relationship and how he seems to be come infatuated with her without any marked interest (that he can see) on her side. When these two finally come together it is scorching hot. If your inner cheerleader needs a new couple to root for, pick up Chasing Jillian! I gave this book 5 Stars and officially declare another TOUCHDOWN for Julie Brannagh!

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo  

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Author Info:

USA Today Best Selling Author, Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town near Seattle, where she once served as a city council member and owned a yarn shop. She shares her home with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons and a rambunctious chocolate Lab.

When she’s not writing, she’s reading, or armchair-quarterbacking her favorite NFL team from the comfort of the family room couch. Julie is a Golden Heart finalist and the author of contemporary sports romances.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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