Game On
Hometown Players #6
By Victoria Denault
Releasing October 10th, 2017
Forever
In Game On (Hometown Players #6) by Victoria Denault, Alex Larue is a total ladies man and the life of any party. However, it seems that Brie Bennett is immune to his charm and when she discovers that he's her new volunteer at the charity she runs, she isn't going to make things easy for him. Yet, the more time they spend together, the more they find they have more in common than they thought. Will Alex be able to win Brie over, so they have a chance at happy ever after; or will he lose the one woman that can help him overcome his troubled past?
Although I haven't read the previous books of this series, this story can easily be read as a stand-alone, and I've got to say that it's a story that provides utterly entertaining reading due to the wonderful main characters with their painful back stories and compelling dialogue that had me loving the hero and how he shows the heroine that there's more to him than being a guy that loves the attention he gets from women. The way this story started had me liking the hero immediately, because of how he is with his fans and then because of what happens with the heroine that teaches him that using a language besides English doesn't necessarily mean he's going to get away with talking about someone without their knowing. However, it was soon after the hero and heroine met that had me laughing, because of what the heroine says to the hero.
Both the main characters were enchanting and I loved the way they interacted, as they go from the heroine thinking he's a total player that she wants nothing to do with to Brie realizing there's more to Alex than meets the eye. Really, his past makes him the kind, caring man he is that would do anything to help others that had the kind of life he had growing up, which is proven by what he does for one of the secondary characters. Furthermore, the hero is confident and cocky when it comes to women and hockey, persuasive when he's determined to help someone and I liked how he won the heroine over with his honesty and passion for the charity Brie runs. While the heroine, she's resilient, kind, caring and I liked all that she's achieved when it comes to her charity. I also liked how she gets the hero to open up, especially when she realizes that they're not so different when it comes to what they've been through in their pasts.
Overall, Ms. Denault has penned a fascinating and wonderful read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was special and off-the-charts; the romance wonderful; the secondary characters were just as engaging as the main characters with their advice; and the ending had me liking what the hero was willing to do to make certain he didn't lose Brie, especially since opening up to her about his past sets him free in a way. However, it was the epilogue that wrapped this story up nicely, because of what Alex and Brie are wanting to do for one of the secondary characters and the surprise Alex has for Brie. I would recommend Game On by Victoria Denault, if you enjoy sports romances, the enemy to lovers trope, or books by authors Kelly Jamieson, Jamie Davenport, Kate Meader and Helena Hunting.
"I don't break hearts. I break headboards . . . "
When it comes to scoring in the pro hockey league, Alex Larue is crushing it-with the hot puck bunnies. He's the life of the party, the guy with all the jokes . . . and the one whose Party Guy mask keeps the real him well hidden. The last thing he needs is anyone finding out about his troubled past, or the nightmares that haunt him still.
Brie Bennett is less than impressed by Alex from the moment she meets him. And even though he insists on volunteering at the charity she runs, she doesn't trust him. He's hiding something...but so is she. She's not just the rich, privileged New York princess he thinks she is. The animosity between them is undeniably addictive and as their worlds keep colliding it becomes supercharged with something else - attraction. But if they stop playing games and let each other in, they both might lose.
When it comes to scoring in the pro hockey league, Alex Larue is crushing it-with the hot puck bunnies. He's the life of the party, the guy with all the jokes . . . and the one whose Party Guy mask keeps the real him well hidden. The last thing he needs is anyone finding out about his troubled past, or the nightmares that haunt him still.
Brie Bennett is less than impressed by Alex from the moment she meets him. And even though he insists on volunteering at the charity she runs, she doesn't trust him. He's hiding something...but so is she. She's not just the rich, privileged New York princess he thinks she is. The animosity between them is undeniably addictive and as their worlds keep colliding it becomes supercharged with something else - attraction. But if they stop playing games and let each other in, they both might lose.
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I look around at Alex’s
sparse apartment. There’s a sectional, an ottoman, but no chairs, bookcases or
pictures. The nook for his bedroom only contains one three-drawer dresser. His
bedside lamp is on the floor beside the bed because it doesn’t have night
tables. “You don’t seem to like things.”
He shrugs, and those deep blue eyes find mine. “I
don’t have a lot of things from my past worth holding on to.”
Oh, this man… I reach up and gently cup the side of
his face. He grasps my hand and I think he’s going to pull it away, but he
doesn’t. He holds it to his face and pushes into it. He’s like a puppy looking
for love, and I want desperately to give it to him. But he won’t let me.
“And you seem to want to throw away things now that
are worth holding on to.” I force myself to step back and start walking toward
the front door because if I don’t leave now I’ll let things happen that are
going to mean more to me than they should. Than he wants them to. But his words
stop me in my tracks.
“I don’t know how to be a boyfriend, Brie.” The look
of pure confusion on his face would be comical if we were still talking about his
inability to run a dishwasher. But we’re talking about feelings here. “The only
thing I’ve ever committed to was hockey and even it tried to reject me. Hell,
in a way every time I get traded, I feel like it still is. But it’s a thing,
not a person. Hockey doesn’t have a choice, but you do.”
I start to walk back into the kitchen as he turns away
from me to look out the window. “People who have had the choice to keep me in
their lives never have.”
Thank God he’s
turned away because I actually press my palm to my heart to keep it from
cracking. Holy shit. I have no idea how anyone would walk away from him – the
man and his big, broken heart –because what I want to do is run to him. “Give
me that choice and I’ll change your track record.”
He grunts and turns back to face me. “You’re this
amazing, stubborn, gorgeous woman who wants more than the one thing I know I
can give. And as much as I suddenly, for the first time in my life, want to try
and give more, I’m so fucking clueless as to how.”
I walk right up to him so we’re toe to toe. “You want
to know how? You just do it. You let me in. You take the chance, like you do
every time you step onto the ice. You don’t know if you’ll win or lose, but you
play the game anyway and you take the shots on net even if you don’t know if
you’re going to score. So tell me you want this. Take the shot.”
He nuzzles my hand and but then turns his face and
kisses my palm. When he turns back to me he looks so serious it’s startling. “I
want this.”
I smile. It’s
not big, but I feel it inside me from my toes to the roots of my hair. “Game
on?”
He smiles back, raw but darkly playful. “Game on.”
Victoria
Denault loves long walks on the beach, cinnamon dolce lattes and writing
angst-filed romance. She lives in LA but grew up in Montreal, which is
why she is fluent in English, French, and hockey.
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