Blurb
Love and Other Games
is a collection of four sexy new adult stories centered around athletes
competing in the Winter Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane,
and Kara Leigh Miller. It releases October 1st from Swoon Romance in all
major electronic formats.
Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze
Amy
Pierce, the klutzy sister and manager of America’s Skating Sweetheart,
is used to being invisible. But when a friend drags her to a party near
the Olympic Village, Amy catches the eye of a sexy Norwegian ski jumper.
It’s a magical night, but an awkward next morning has her running.
Everyone
knows Erik Andresen’s best shot at an individual medal was back in
2010, before an injury pulled him from the competition. He’s there for
his team, but a hot night and a remarkable final training session have
him wondering if a gorgeous good-luck charm could give him another
chance at the podium. With a little bit of luck, these two might have a
shot at something worth more than gold.
Trouble With Gold by Melinda Dozier
US
snowboarder and notorious prankster, Ty (Trouble) Madsen is only
getting a taste of his own medicine when his Olympic teammates shackle
him to a fence wearing nothing but his boxers.
Reception
and protocol volunteer, Nadia Hoffman, gets up close and personal with
the sexy snowboarder to rescue him, but she’s not the kind of girl who
lets her hormones get in her way. A professional performance could help
her land her dream job at Olympics Committee Headquarters, but her new
assignment supervising the rambunctious US Snowboarding Team is making
that difficult.
Can she see behind the snowman in the community center bathroom and into the warm heart of the man everyone calls Trouble?
The Girl Behind the Gold by Aria Kane
Greek
aerial skier Lia Milonas’s parents are about to lose the family farm.
Saving it means medaling and landing a huge sponsor. While her
no-nonsense attitude has her well on her way to a medal, it hasn’t won
her a place in fans’ hearts.
“Come
back with a story that will make readers cry, or don’t come back.” This
is what Brandon James’ boss told him before he left New York to cover
the Winter Games for Moment Magazine. With a wink and a smile, he can
charm his way into any invite-only party, but that career-making story
is nowhere to be found – until he meets Lia.
The
two strike a deal that should get them both what they want – but
neither would have guessed they’d also find what they need.
Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller
Colton
Campbell thrives on the fast paced, adrenaline rushed lifestyle of
being an Olympic hockey player. Despite Brenna Jessup’s abhorrence for
the games and the athletes, she’s hand-picked as the official
photographer for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. When a faux pas by Brenna
almost costs Colton his career, she owes him. Too bad for her, Colton
doesn’t want apologies — he wants retribution! And he knows just how to
get it — and her — in the process.
My Reviews…
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!
Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier is the first novella in the anthology.
Nadia Hoffman is a
straight-laced, career-orientated Swiss woman who dreams of making her father
and family proud by landing a prestigious job at the official Olympics
Committee Headquarters. She meets US Snowboarder Ty ‘Trouble’ Madsen after his
teammates chain him up outside in zero degree weather as an initiation prank. They
are instantly attracted to each other but she refused to have anything to do
with a man known for causing trouble. Soon after, Nadia is upset that her
friends called her ‘no fun’ and decides to prove them wrong. So, instead of
following her head, she followed her heart and jumped into a free-spirited,
spontaneous relationship with Ty. What started as a winter fling soon turned
into something much deeper than either Nadia or Ty expected. Even though the
couple never said the words ‘I love you’, they clearly felt it.
The author wrote these characters with so much feeling that I easily identified with both Ty and
Nadia. I understand his need to have childish fun but he was also professional
businessman. I also understood why Nadia was so straight-laced—pride means everything
to her—and Ty was the perfect guy to help her cut loose.
The only issue I had with the
novella, which is a very little
issue, is that they fell head over heels for each other way too fast. Then
again, love at first sight does happen in the real world, and Nadia and Ty were
so perfect and great together that it made sense.
I really enjoyed this short
story.
Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller is the second novella.
Brenna Jessup despised the
Olympics and the athletes more than anything else. She believed that the
athletes are spoiled and that they only care for themselves. When the business
she works for lands a high-stakes deal, Brenna becomes the official
photographer for the US Hockey team against her wishes.
Colton Campbell, the newest
starting center on the team, is everything she despises. Cole is used to
getting what he wants, including women, but Brenna doesn’t fall under his
lustful spell. He’s determined to win her over using any means necessary. What
he doesn’t expect is that Miss. Prim and Proper fights back. After minor pranks
on each other escalates into Brenna accidently injuring Cole during practice on
the rink, Brenna finally lets down her icy guard and Cole acts human, instead
of an egotistical horn dog.
The author wrote completely
believable characters and the spark between them was flaming hot! I laughed so
much as Brenna found out what Cole did with her camera—God, I wish I had those
pics!—and I especially loved the scene when Cole and Brenna were stuck in a
closet for almost an hour.
The love that blossomed
between them happened gradually over the course of about a week. They got to
know each other on a level that most people didn’t see. Once she finally opened
up about why hated Olympic athletes, he finally realized Brenna was the woman
for him. Even though she was emotionally distant and unavailable, he taught her
that not all men are untrustworthy, that some men, like himself, can change for
the better. By doing so, she ended up taming the playboy and his wild ways.
My only problem was an editing
problem. I don’t understand why semi-colons were often used when commas would
have worked better. Then again, I read an ARC, so hopefully those little issues
were fixed in the final product.
Anyway, this was a great book.
The Girl Behind the Gold by Aria Kane is the third novella.
Evangelia Milonas is an
excellent skier but she’s so shy that she doesn’t have many fans and people
think she’s a snob. At first, so did I. She acted haughty and superior but you
soon learn that it’s all a façade. She’s a private yet very emotional person
with a caring family and a sense of honor. She’s the kind of person you’d want
for a best friend.
Brandon James had it rough as
a kid and now, as an adult, he’s determined to be the best at what he does. As
a journalist, top in his field, he’s not afraid to stomp toes and hurt feelings
to get what he wants—and he wants Lia’s story, with or without her approval.
He tricks Lia into trusting
him—which I admit was pretty clever and funny at first—but he started feeling
guilty about it too late in the story in my opinion. It really irked me that it
took him so long to realize what he was doing was very wrong and to finally
admit the truth, which he did only after
she found out from other sources. Yet, even though he started out as selfish,
he really came through in the end. He was her hero—just as he vowed to be. Without
his help, Lia and her family would have lost everything—their farm and pride—and
without him apologizing in the amazing way that he did, he would have lost her
forever.
I connected very deeply with
Lia. I loved the family dynamic and how much they supported her. She was so
mature and dedicated to her sport. I got the feeling that she couldn’t enjoy
skiing and being at the Olympics as much as she should have because of the
stress she felt to land a sponsor and to save the family farm. She went through
a lot of that worry on her own. Even though Brandon irritated me, I understood
his reasons and motivations for his lies. If I had been in his shoes, I would
have done the same thing. He was desperate for a great story to save his
career. The author did a wonderful job describing each character so well that
the reader just can’t help but understand and fall in love with both Lia and
Brandon.
The ending with this story
differs than with the other three. Lia and Brandon agree to spend the next year
together to work on a new project—their strong feelings for each other will
obviously bloom into love—but there was no guarantee of anything permanent after
a year. Of course, a HEA isn’t needed to make a great ending for a great story.
The book is perfect just the way it is.
Worth More than Gold by Ana Blaze is the fourth and last novella in this great anthology.
Amy Peirce met a charming,
drop-dead gorgeous foreigner at a party and the sparks flew. The next morning,
however, she woke up in his bed and he’s gone. Mortified by what happened, she
ran out as quickly as possible. It took sexy Norwegian ski jumper Erik Andersen
two days to find the shy redhead. Once he explained why he ‘ditched her’, as she
claimed, and they make up, they slow down their hot and steamy relationship to
get to know one another.
Amy is overly protective of
her little sister, who is a 17 year old Olympic figure skater; Erik doesn’t
expect to win a medal because of an accident at the last Olympics, yet he is
completely fine with that. He’s at the games to support his team and to watch
over his younger teammates. They both have dreams in life but they let other
people or things hold them back. Together, however, Amy learned to have fun and
Erik gained more confidence and improved his game.
Erik is adorable!!! I love
tall, blond men with a sexy accent. Amy and her best friend call him the Viking and that description fits—other than
Vikings having tempers. He’s so calm and peaceful. He’s also very blunt, which
makes him seem so innocent. He doesn’t speak English fluently so his conversations
with Amy were at times either funny or problematic. He doesn’t explain himself
well sometimes and she overacts, leaving him completely confused. The language
barrier was the greatest threat to their budding relationship. Other than that,
there wasn’t anything else standing in the way of their happiness.
The author did a great job
matching these two people together. They both are business-oriented—meaning she
has a business degree and he plans to open a ski school—so their future
together is destined. They just really clicked, even beyond great sex, and made
each other happy outside the bedroom.
I really loved this book.
Thank you, Aria Kane, Kara Leigh
Miller, Ana Blaze and Melinda Dozier for these wonderful stories.