Tis the Football Season

Football is a big sport to watch in my home and coincidentally I just finished two books about football players and the women they fall for that I really recommend.

The first one is by debut author, Marie Force called Line of Scrimmage. This sexy book is about a married couple of ten years who are ten days away from getting their divorce finalized. They have been separated for almost a year and Susannah Sanderson is about to breathe a sigh of relief because in less than two week she will be a free woman and able to marry her former high school boyfriend, Henry. Susannah is getting a divorce from Ryan, the start quarterback of the Denver Mavericks and overall MVP of the NFL. Ryan doesn’t want to go through the divorce since he is very much still in love with his wife. But the past year has been hard on them both because Susannah feels Ryan is selfish, especially since they lost their first child together when Susannah miscarried. That was the last straw and Susannah filed for divorce soon after Ryan went back to work.

Because the judge decided to wait six months to make their divorce legal, Ryan has a plan up his sleeve where he will move back into his home where Susanna still lives. He wants this remaining time with his wife and if she doesn’t agree, he will stop the divorce proceedings. Ryan basically blackmails Susannah into spending the time with him. Ryan feels he has changed and wants to show Susannah the new Ryan Sanderson. Susannah has no choice to go along with Ryan’s sneaky tactics. She thinks she is strong enough to be around Ryan and not fall for his charm, just like she did when she was in college.

Both Ryan and Susannah are hurting because of a lot of misunderstandings on their part. Susannah is not the typical trophy wife for a larger than life star like Ryan. That is what Ryan loves so much about Susannah, that she keeps his head on straight and brings him down to Earth. Ryan’s goal is to stay married to Susannah and through communication and some seduction on his end, he will show the love of his life how perfect things can be between them once again.

Line of Scrimmage is a nice romance, especially between a married couple. The love and passion between these two are still there, but there are some major issues they both have to work through. Ryan was never really accepted by Susannah’s family and Susannah’s friends, and her fiancé always tried to put seeds of doubt in her mind about Ryan because Henry always wanted Susannah back. Marie Force sure does know how to write a great hero with Ryan, who I fell for quickly, even though I did find Susannah to be a bit of a shrew at times. But when Ryan shut her up with his kisses, that was when things really go good between them. I am not a big fan of sports related romances, but this book was a treat and reminded me so much of Susan Elizabeth Philip’s writing and her own football series. Overall, a great romance with steamy sex scenes, and a lovely story between a married couple who still love each other dearly. (Sourcebooks, available now)

3 stars of out 5 stars

Bella Andre also has a new series out called the Bad Boys of Football and her latest in this series is Game For Seduction. Melissa McKnight works for her father, who is a very successful sports agent. Her dream is to be an agent herself, but her father doesn’t think she is good enough to be one. Yup, he is one of those parents who treats his child like crap. But Melissa wants to prove her father wrong. One of the McKnight Sports Agency’s biggest clients is the wide receiver of the San Francisco Outlaws, Dominic DiMarco. Dominic is a really great guy who doesn’t drink, party hard or sleep around. And ever since Melissa has been seventeen years old, she has been crushing after Dominic. But Melissa feels Dominic doesn’t even know she exists. How wrong she is.

Dominic wants Melissa, and badly, but since they work together and are professionals, he has this hands off rule. But it is getting much harder for him to not act on his desire for the lovely Melissa. And when Melissa tries to take on a new client all by herself, who is pretty much the ultimate bad boy of the NFL, Dominic takes it upon himself to watch over Melissa. Dominic is a tad jealous because he thinks Melissa will fall for this new upcoming star. So, he in turn offers himself as a client to Melissa. Of course he wants whole lot more where Melissa is concerned.

This is the only second book I have ever read by Bella Andre and it was one sexy, almost borderline erotic read. I absolutely love those stories where the heroine thinks she is not good enough for the handsome to die for hero. Dominic has these great set of morals, mainly because of something that happened to him when he was a teen. But when it comes to sex and with the one woman he wants, well, those self imposed rules he has placed upon himself are meant to be broken.

Game For Seduction is a pretty fast read with a romance that I really did enjoy. (Pocket Books, available now)

3 stars out of 5 stars

So there you have it. Two great romances with big brawny guys and the women who tame them off the field. Line of Scrimmage and Game of Seduction are perfect for those who want some light fun reading and of course some nice steamy sex. *G*

Katiebabs (KB)