HARD HITTER - Sarina Bowen
Brooklyn Bruisers , Book 2
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-399-58345-2
January 2017
Contemporary Romance

Present Day Brooklyn, New York

As team captain of the Brooklyn Bruisers, Patrick O'Doul expects to get a few bruises. But now that he's a little older, the pain isn't as easy to bounce back from. So, in a moment of weakness, he purchases a few pills at a club that are supposed to help him out. Lucky for him, he broke the habit easily, and now he's free and clear. Not so luckily, the guy who sold him the drugs is the jerk threatening the team's massage therapist—a woman Patrick is not about to see hurt.

Ari broke up with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend weeks ago, but he's still haunting her. Despite changing the locks, he's still finding ways to get in the house, and under her skin. After a mixup involving their phones, Patrick O'Doul sees the texts her ex has been sending, and he's promised to protect her. The closer they get, the deeper her feelings grow for O'Doul. But there seems to be some history between him and her ex, and when it comes to light, it could be more than just their relationship that could suffer, but the entire team.

Sarina Bowen hits it out of the park—or in this case, slides it into the goal—once again with HARD HITTER. Despite Patrick's rocky recent history, readers can't help but fall in love with him. And while so many romances feature the woman falling first and the guy needing a little convincing, in this case Patrick knows Ari is special, and it's she who takes her time seeing the light.

The author shows off her knowledge of hockey and explains the ins-and-outs to readers without overloading them and the story. In fact, readers might even find themselves googling the nearest hockey team for game schedules as soon as they finish the book. With truly genuine characters, and spot-on banter, HARD HITTER is one for the keeper shelves.

HARD HITTER follows ROOKIE MOVE (Sept 2016), but can be read as a stand-alone. But be sure to keep an eye on the next book, PIPE DREAMS, coming May 2017.

Amanda Toth