4 Stars
Publisher: Random House Publishing, Loveswept
Date of Publication: March 27th, 2018
Genre: Romance, Sports
Series: Bad Boy of Sports
Bad Reputation – review here
Where you can find Bad Business: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Book synopsis (from Goodreads):
This player’s got a lot to learn if he wants to score . . . with the boss’s daughter.
Stone: Football is more than a game to me. It’s my calling. Becoming the Dallas Wranglers’ starting quarterback before I retire is a dream come true, but with a few wins under my belt, suddenly everyone wants a piece of me. And even though being in the spotlight has its perks—beautiful women, star treatment, more beautiful women—what really gets me sweating is the watchful gaze of my sexy-as-hell PR coach, Savannah Andrews. The catch? Her father is kind of my boss. . . .
Savannah: In my family, football is big business. When your dad owns an NFL franchise, you learn a thing or two about schmoozing, and from what I can tell, it’s not a skill in Jason Stone’s playbook. Sure, the veteran quarterback is literally larger than life. With broad shoulders, muscles on muscles, and a mouth made for kissing, he may be one of the hottest men in the league—and I should know. I’ve turned down enough players to start my own all-star team. But those guys just wanted to get close to my father. Meanwhile, Stone is getting temptingly close . . . to me.
Trigger Warning: None
My review:
Sports romances are a hot commodity lately. I have seen (and read) a bit of them. I enjoy reading about hot athletic men and the women that they are pursuing. I enjoy the sexual hijinks that happen between the pages. I enjoy reading them. There are some that have bored me. Bad Business is not one of those books. I was captured by Bad Business from the beginning.
Bad Business is set in Dallas, Texas. I have noticed that a lot of the football-related romances are being set in Texas. While I like Texas, that another state could be used. I mean, there are 50 other states to pick from. I am getting Texas overkill….lol.
Being a football romance, Bad Business’s plot is basic. Guy meets girl, has a one night and then is surprised that girl works on the team he will be QB‘ing for. Very basic and guess what, basic is good. I like basic. Sometimes I need a book where I don’t have to guess where the plot is going. The only guessing I did here was where Jason and Savannah would have sex.
I liked Savannah. But I couldn’t wrap my head around was why she didn’t come out and say who she was at the club. I did think that it was a bit unfair that she sprang her identity on Jason the way she did. I did feel bad for her. I also felt that she should have been more upfront with him about why she started to spend more time with him. When she did reveal it to him, I was waiting for the explosion. Which didn’t happen. It made that part of the plot feel almost anticlimactic to me. Other than that, I did like her.
Jason was the total package. He didn’t beat around the bush at what he wanted in a relationship (serious or sexual). He let Savannah know up front what she was in for and expected the same in return. Which is why I was surprised when he didn’t blow up when she revealed the reason she started hanging out with him, to begin with. I would have flipped my lid. I also loved how he handled the football troll. He handled him with class the entire book.
I loved the secondary characters in the book. They made the book more believable and fleshed out. The author did a great job with giving those secondary characters enough space to shine but not so much that they take over the storyline.
The sex between Savannah and Jason was hot. The author did surprise me with the light bondage scenes. I was expecting vanilla sex. Not complaining because I loved it. Nothing like having a book throw you a curveball. Having those scenes thrown at me makes me want to read more of Nicole Edwards books.
The end of Bad Business was your typical romance novel ending. All sunshine and roses. I loved the epilogue too. I had a huge smile on my face when I read that.
Pros of Bad Business:
A) Awesome, hot sex.
B) Was an easy read. I didn’t have to make a syllabus to follow the plotline
C) Main characters were relatable and likable.
Cons of Bad Business:
A) I wished that it was set in a different state. Don’t get me wrong, I love Texas but it is being overused.
B) Savannah not being honest with Jason from the get-go.
C) The sex scenes. While hot and I enjoyed them, I felt that it channeled 50 Shades of Grey a bit.
I would give Bad Business a rating of Adult. There are graphic sex scenes, mild violence, and language. This book would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 21. There are no triggers in this book either.
I would recommend Bad Business to family and friends. I would include a warning of the content. I would also recommend that people read book 1 before book 2. While this can be read as a stand-alone, reading book 1 would bring more understanding to book 2 (if that makes sense).
I would like to thank Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Bad Business.
All opinions stated in this review of Bad Business are mine.
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
