Falling for the Fake Boyfriend: three dates, a few simple rules and a fake relationship that becomes too real

Falling for the Fake Boyfriend is the first book in the Clearview Falls University series by S.E. Rose and Sierra Hill. Emmett Hudson is trying to keep every aspect of his life in control as he thought he was doing a good job. That is until his coach pulls him aside and threatens to bench him if he didn’t get his grades up. He needs a tutor. Lucy Parker has no time for football players. Well, maybe for the one who she has been crushing on since high school. As she is assigned to tutor Emmett, they strike a deal. He promises to help her get his teammate’s attention if Lucy commits to being his fake girlfriend for three events as a way to keep their tutoring sessions a secret. Even with their rules in place, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real. 

Falling for the Fake Boyfriend is a sweet college sports romance with plenty of banter, laughs and spiciness. I enjoyed Emmett and Lucy as individuals as well as a couple. Despite the obvious title, the sparks between them flew pretty quick and they did try to keep to their agreement in the beginning. I especially enjoyed Lucy as she starts to come out of her shell. I enjoyed Emmett as the caring, yet private, young man. I also enjoyed their cast of supportive characters from the goofy teammate to the girly besties who see the sparks long before Emmett and Lucy do. Overall, I enjoyed this story and I will be continuing the series. It was a quick read as I was pulled into the romance of Emmett and Lucy. If you enjoy sweet college sport romances, I highly recommend Falling for the Fake Boyfriend. 

Falling for the Fake Boyfriend is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Agony: a football, best friends and secret love

Agony is the first book in the Entangled Hearts Duet by Kaylee Ryan. Cooper Reeves and Reese Latham have been best friends since childhood. They were inseparable until college. Tired of being in the friend zone, she made a move and it didn’t play out the way she had hoped. After college, Cooper plays professional football and leaves Reese behind with a broken heart. What she doesn’t know is that Cooper is in love with her. Refusing to ruin their great friendship, he didn’t act on his feelings. Even when he knew she felt the same, he pushed her away to preserve their friendship. The longer they are apart, the more he realizes that Reese is more than just his best friend but the love of her life. Now she is engaged and the thought of living without her is agony. 

I love football with a friends to lovers romance and Agony was filled with funny friendship banter, romance scenes and plenty of drama. The story quickly moves through Cooper and Reese’s college years. My favorite character was Cooper and while there were moments when I wanted to reach through the book and tell Cooper to just tell Reese the truth, like many of the other characters urged him to do, I understood his fear. I loved their supporting characters who added humor and a dose of reality when needed, even when it is not heeded. I could not put the book down and eagerly read through the day. It does end on a cliffhanger and I am so eager to read the second book for the continuation of Cooper and Reese’s story. I recommend Agony. 

Agony is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

False Start: when tutoring sessions turn romantic and leads to heartbreak

False Start by Piper Rayne is a prequel story to the Kingsmen Football series. Lee Burrows is the most popular guy on campus. The starting quarterback who needs tutoring. He is in trouble of failing his biology class and losing his scholarship. Enter Shayna, the quiet, studious introvert in his class. The study sessions start off fine until Lee starts flirting and acting jealous when he sees her with other guys and asking personal questions. When their tutoring sessions turn romantic, it is every girl’s fantasy and her heart is on cloud nine. Until she overhears a conversation that reveals the truth. Shayna vows that Lee Burrows will never hurt her again. Lee is determined to win her back. 

False Start is a quick romance story which ends in heartbreak; however, it immediately leads into the first book of the series, You Had Your Chance, Lee Burrows. Lee is a big man on campus; however, he does care about his education. He reluctantly agrees to tutoring until he is face to face with Shayna, then he’s all in. Shayna is the typical introvert who doesn’t believe a guy like Lee would ever look twice at her. As they spend time together, the sparks are evident. Just as their romantic relationship gets off the ground, Shayna learns a shocking secret that tears them apart. I look forward to reading their second chance. I highly recommend False Start. 

False Start is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

My Paper Heart: one summer and a life changing decisions

My Paper Heart by Magan Vernon is the first book in the My Paper Heart series. Libby Gentry has done everything she was supposed to. Getting into her top choice sorority? Check. Dating a hot guy from the biggest fraternity? Check. However, it all goes wrong when she fails out of college and her parents force her to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. The tiny town of Elsbury has nothing for her and she stands out like a sore thumb until she meets Blaine Crabtree, the small town charmer. As the two grow closer, Libby is faced with a seemingly impossible choice. A new opportunity arises in Chicago, she must decide to wait for Blaine or move on. 

I really wanted to like this story. Right off the bat, Libby is unlikable, shallow and vain. She tried to use her past as justification for her current behaviors and I just don’t buy it. And Blaine? Oh Blaine! His introduction in the story is not in the greatest light. And his reputation around town isn’t the greatest either. At one point, someone tells Libby that he is a playboy and will “sleep with any woman under 30.” WHAT?!?!?! By the end of the story, I was over their antics and back and forth that I didn’t care if they had any growth at all. Overall, I did not enjoy this story and I do not recommend My Paper Heart. 

My Paper Heart is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Claiming Carter: a steamy forbidden romance

Claiming Carter is the first book in the Waverley Wildcats series by Jennifer Bonds. Austin Reid has it all. A star quarterback with amazing talent, good looks and any woman he wants. The only thing he is missing is a national championship. When the team’s kicker is injured and the home opening game is three weeks away, he needs to find a replacement. He does so in an unorthodox way. He recruits one player from the women’s soccer team. Kennedy Carter is no jersey chaser. In fact, she hates football and football players. She is focused on finishing her degree. But with the possibility of a full-ride scholarship, she can’t refuse. Sparks fly between them from the get go. And the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the building fire. Can Austin convince Kennedy that he is not a typical football player? 

I love the game of football. I look forward to every season with anticipation. I also love a good football romance story. Let me say that it’s hard to find. Claiming Carter has it all. It is a sweet, steamy romance with fun, witty banter and personal growth. I loved both Austin and Kennedy as individuals and as a couple. I enjoyed a glimpse, even a fictional glimpse, of a football team behind the scenes which most football fans will never see. Even when the story was predictable, it is a romance after all, but it has the great romantic moments and the grand public gesture is so incredibly sweet. Overall, I loved this story. I stayed up well into the night in order to finish it. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy a sweet, steamy sports romance, I highly recommend Claiming Carter. 

Claiming Carter is available in paperback and eBook

Still Marching On: a young woman's fight for social justice

Still Marching On by Lynda Stephenson is the story of a young college girl at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She must fight against the injustice of the Jim Crow laws and as well as social practices which could keep her from following her dreams.

Frankilee Baxter is a young white college student at Athena College where her roommate, Eleanor, is African American. Together, they join the Civil Rights Movement when racial tensions are very explosive. Frankilee is the type of girl who likes to shock people and study their reactions. She begins to conduct social experiments and writing about her experiences. She is able to sell a few of her stories to the New York Times. She joins sit-ins at a local department store who refused to serve African Americans. She joins Freedom Rides which leads to time in jail. While she fights for social change, she must deal with the everyday issues at home. Her mom is sick. Her dad is having trouble with the bank. Her aunt is trying to bully everyone to follow her plan for the grandfather’s ranch land. And she falls in love with Calvin Morris, a law student who seeks the social change she does. Will Frankilee succeed in her dreams of journalism? Will she be able to forge the social change she seeks to see in the world? Will her dream of marrying Calvin come true?

I enjoyed Still Marching On. It is an interesting book with a passionate retelling of the Civil Rights Movement from a participant who seems so unlikely. The details the author put into the events are graphic but very real. You shiver as you know that person suffered injustices and cruelties as they fought for civil rights. Frankilee is passionate, rash, impulsive and ready to take on the social injustices. The debates between Frankilee and those on the other side and the opinions expressed are dealt with realistically. I highly recommend Still Marching On.

Still Marching On

in paperback for $27.95

and on the Kindle or the Nook for $6.99

Dream World: a story about finding love and yourself

Dream World: Tales of American Life in the 20^th Century by William Charles Kreb is a story about two young college students who are entering a world without their parents’ watchful eye and into the world of love, lust and expectations in marriage.

The story opens with Liz Anderson, 17, who dreams of going to college in another state and her parents make her wait. It isn’t until her 19^th birthday that she decides to go to Lake Shore College in Florida and assert her independence. The summer before school starts she gets a job as a tour guide at Dream World, an amusement park, which many students from Lake Shore work. It is there she meets, Willie Johnson, a young man who comes to Florida for spring break and decides to come back for college. He soon gets a job at Dream World. Liz and Willie casually date during that summer when something happens which leaves Liz hurt and Willie dating someone else. Willie soon realizes his mistake about breaking up with Liz and now he must fight to win back her affections as a new man enters her life. Both Liz and Willie struggle to find their place in the world, to form their own ideals and forge their own paths in life. Will Willie be able to win Liz back? Will someone win her heart?

I liked this book. I enjoyed the sparing between characters about life, love and marriage. Willie is the frugal man who wants love and marriage and Liz doesn’t know what she wants. The new man, Mike, is the typical egoistical pig who thinks he can get any woman because of his money.  I love the scene where Liz gives Mike a speech which shows him that she is not the kind of woman who falls in love (and bed) with any man just because he flashes money and a handsome smile her way. I love how she poked holes in his proposal when basically points out that he wanted a wife without the legal bidding marriage. She also shows Willie that if he wants her back, he will have to work hard to win her heart.  I also loved how the ending leaves the reader without a definitive answer if Willie and Liz get back together.

Dream World:

Tales of American Life in the 20^th Century 

is available on Amazon in paperback for $34.95