Published by Avon on September 9, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey is back with an all-new enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating sports romance about a playboy hockey rookie and the disciplined softball pitcher completely immune to his charms.
Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate and fellow “orgasm donor” is his roomie—and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet. That is, until he meets Skylar Paige, division 1 softball pitcher, girl least likely to take anyone’s bull…and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms. Robbie might be dazzled by the badass pitcher, but Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him.
When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should just go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself. Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend/love coach at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?
Through a series of contests that require them to trust each other, Robbie and Skylar grow closer and closer until their fake relationship starts to feel like the realest thing they’ve ever known and the sizzling lessons in sensuality burn out of control.
But it’s all just pretend…right?
I was surprised when I learned who the hero was in this book. I admit, I did not read the synopsis because I have enjoyed all the books in this series, so OBVIOUSLY, I was going to read it. At first, I thought the hero was Madden, but then, Robbie came on the scene. I remembered him from previous books and was skeptical, but Bailey did a wonderful job allowing him to grow and be a worthy partner for Skylar.
They made a great team, and I had such a good time watching them work together for the Page Games. Skylar's family was wild with that competition, but it was fun backdrop for story. The way Robbie supported Skylar and stood up for her was a thing of beauty, and I cannot resist when the hero falls first the way Robbie did. The bonus was getting to spend time with other past Bearcat heroes. That's something I love to see in companion books.
It's interesting to see epilogues in stories like these where there will be a next book involving people from this story. This was a jump ahead epilogue (my favorite) which revealed certain things and made me think this could be the last book, but nope, another is listed on Goodreads. Neither here, nor there, it was a lovely epilogue which brought happy tears to my eyes. My sappy heart beat hard as I read it. Another Big Shots hit for me!
Published by Zibby Publishing on June 3, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
Does your past define your destiny? Told through multiple perspectives, rich with emotion and immersive dual timelines, The Summer We Ran weaves together a story of lost love, devastating secrets, shocking sabotage, and the painstaking decision two people must make in order to fulfill the futures they each desire.
In the summer of 1996, teenage Tess Murphy’s mom gave her two rules to abide keep quiet and stay out of trouble. Her mother landed a new job as a cook at an affluent Virginia estate and didn’t want anything to risk the opportunity, least of all her outspoken daughter. What no one saw coming was Tess falling deeply in love with the boy next door, high-society Grant Alexander.
Over a few wondrous and heat-filled months, Tess and Grant’s love blooms so ferociously it feels utterly impossible that anything can keep them apart, until tragedy strikes and the teenagers find themselves pained by betrayal with little hope to repair the damage that’s been done.
Now, two decades after their epic teenage romance abruptly ended in heartbreak, Tess and Grant are both running for Governor of Virginia, where secrets from that summer threaten to shatter their families, futures, and the love they once shared.
They fell hard and fast that one summer, and now, they are each other's opponents. Will their past get in the way of their futures?
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I am never sure how I will respond to books involving any sort of political storyline, but Ingram did a good job keeping the political talk low and really focused on the summer Tess and Grant fell in love and how that summer changed them forever.
Imagine facing off against your first love for the gubernatorial race. It was quite a sticky situation made even stickier by all the secrets they kept. I don't think Grant or Tess meant any harm. I believe it was such a painful chapter in their history which they just didn't want to revisit it. I feel the fallout was a bit extreme, but I was too wrapped up in this whole tale to care.
Lots of ups and downs and drama in this one. I really enjoyed it!
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