Tag: Liz Lincoln

Home Field Advantage (Milwaukee Dragons: Book 3) by Liz Lincoln

~ Jolie ~ 3 Comments
Home Field Advantage: A Milwaukee Dragons Novel by [Lincoln, Liz]

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, Loveswept

Date of publication: July 16th, 2019

Genre: Romance

Series: Milwaukee Dragons

On the Line—Book 1 (review here)

Swagger—Book 2 (review here)

Home Field Advantage—Book 3

Where you can find Home Field Advantage: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

Is the Dragons’ new wide receiver: A) a fallen NFL star looking for a comeback, B) the sexy player your boss wants you to write an exposé on, or C) the former love of your life?

For Milwaukee Dragons beat reporter Natalie Griffith, he’s clearly D) all of the above. Three years ago, Natalie’s bombshell report on her ex-boyfriend’s off-the-field scandals landed her the job she loves, but she still feels guilty about destroying his career. Now Quinn Lowry’s back, and he’s taking over her locker room, flashing his charming smile and reminding her exactly how hot they were together.

After two years out of the league, Quinn is sober and on the field again. He’s worked his ass off and he’s not going to blow his second chance, not even for the woman who broke his heart—twice. Having Natalie around is the last thing Quinn needs while he’s trying to prove he deserves to stay on the team.

Maybe one final night together will give them both some much-needed closure. But with Natalie’s boss pressuring her for another headline-grabbing scoop, can she admit to herself that she’s falling for Quinn all over again?

My Review:

First Line:

Even in a locker room full of professional athletes with bodies sculpted to perfection, only one would accurately describe Quinn Lowry’s shirtless torso: lickable.

Home Field Advantage—Liz Lincoln

I enjoy second chance romances. I also enjoy a character that has issues (be it an addiction or otherwise). So when I read the blurb for Home Field Advantage, I wanted to read it. I am glad that I did because this book was a great read.

When I first started reading Home Field Advantage, I didn’t get a good vibe from it. Natalie was too focused on Quinn for me to get any sense of who she was. Quinn came across as a bitter jerk who was aloof when it came to his teammates. But, as I continued to read the book, a miracle happened. The characters that I thought I had pegged changed. I loved it!!

The author did a fantastic job of showing how hard it was for Quinn to stay sober. Instead of glossing it over and making his recovery easy, the author threw obstacles in his way. I also liked that his recovery was linked with therapy. He could discuss what was happening that week with his therapist and feel better about it.

I wasn’t a fan of Natalie at the beginning of the book. But as I continued to read the book, I started to understand her. I understood why she ghosted Quinn after being together a year. She was terrified of being with someone like her father. It doesn’t excuse the article, though. I thought that was low. I also didn’t understand why she didn’t tell her boss to take a flying leap earlier in the book. It would have saved a whole lot of heartache and misunderstanding.

I liked Quinn. He captured my heart right from the get-go. His pain and anger at Natalie weren’t an over exaggeration. He had every right to be upset with her. He was slow to trust her, which again, I didn’t blame him for. I also didn’t blame him for flipping out when he saw her email. If I had the background that those two did, I would have done the same thing.

The romance angle of the book was right on. Quinn and Natalie’s feelings for each other never went away. That became clear when they started hanging out together. Their feelings went to a whole different level, the more connected they became.

Quinn and Natalie also had insane sexual tension. It radiated off them whenever they were near each other. That tension grew and grew until it exploded into one of the hottest sex scenes I have read to date. What impressed me was that the author was able to keep that sexual tension present throughout the rest of the book.

The end of Home Field Advantage was typical for this genre. Everyone got their HEA. I am wondering who the next book will be about? Matt and Cee? Oh man, I hope so because my heart was broken for both of them in this book!!!

I would give Home Field Advantage an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I reread Home Field Advantage.  I recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Swagger (Milwaukee Dragons: Book 2) by Liz Lincoln

~ Jolie ~ 2 Comments

Swagger (Milwaukee Dragons, #2)

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: September 18th, 2018

Genre: Romance

Series: Milwaukee Dragons

On the Line—Book 1 (review here)

Swagger–Book 2

Where you can find Swagger: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Goodreads synopsis:

“Tight end,” noun: 1. a position in American football, 2. NFL star Marcus James, 3. what any hot-blooded woman can’t stop staring at every time Marcus walks by.

Bree Novak is so close to earning her Ph.D. she can taste it, but she’s supposed to be writing her dissertation, not giving lectures while her advisor slacks off. The semester gets even crazier when veteran tight end Marcus James—Bree’s celebrity crush—enrolls in her “Intro to Physics” class. The man’s even hotter in person than he looks on Sunday Night Football. So why is Bree hoping he drops out? Maybe it’s because Marcus, with his cocky smile and chiseled body, is the ultimate distraction. . . .

Drafted out of college years ago by the Milwaukee Dragons, Marcus is taking advantage of a season-ending knee injury to finish his bachelor’s degree. Plus, thanks to a required science credit, he’s also getting to know the geek goddess who teaches physics. With brains and beauty, Bree is living proof that opposites attract. She’s even kind enough to give Marcus extra help with the material, as if she didn’t have anything better to do. And the more time Marcus spends with her, the more he realizes he’s not just crushing on his teacher—he’s falling for her.

Don’t miss any of Liz Lincoln’s mouthwatering Milwaukee Dragons novels, which can be read together or separately:
ON THE LINE | SWAGGER

My review:

Let’s start this review by looking at the cover. Mmmmhmmm. That is a fine specimen of a man right there. Definitely caught my eye on NetGalley when I was browsing Loveswept’s page. My only issue with covers like this, they overshadow the book and they tweak my mental issue of the main male character. And I have the same issues when it is the female main character on the cover. But, the cover did not overshadow the book. Nope. My mental image of Marcus was as good as the cover.

I was thrilled with how the author wrote Bree’s character. To have her teaching physics classes while working on her dissertation was empowering. But, the author didn’t make it easy for Bree. She showed exactly how hard it is for a woman to break into male-dominated careers. The attitude that her advisor and father had is unfortunately commonplace everywhere. I admired Bree for the perseverance in going after her dream and achieving it. I also could relate to her.

Marcus, oh Marcus. Is it possible that he can be brought to life from the book? Because I need someone like him in my life, pronto. I loved him. I liked his restraint with Bree. Even though he was attracted to her, he was willing to be her friend. He let her call the shots in the bedroom. He realized that he loved Bree before she did, which is amazing for a romance novel. Usually, the woman has the revelation first. When he screwed up (which I didn’t think was that bad), he gave Bree space. He understood that she was under a lot of stress.

I loved the secondary characters in this book. Bree’s friends were awesome. I wish I had a friend like Reina. I loved her spunk and love of life. I was a little peeved with Bree’s male friends. They saw how she was being treated by her advisor and didn’t do anything. Well, Kevin did something and Bree reamed him a new one. I have always said that secondary were the lifeblood of the book. And these were. They added more depth and humor to the storyline.

The chemistry and sexual tension that Marcus and Bree had were insane. You could cut it with a knife. I normally don’t do cheerleader chants in my head but I did with this one. I kept chanting “Do it, do it, do it“. I wanted them to have sex so that sexual tension and chemistry could be spent. But, once they did, it surged back up. The author did a fantastic job of keeping it up and going.

The sex scenes were beyond hot. That first sex scene was insane. Marcus had Bree screaming in pleasure. I had to put my Kindle down a few times and fan myself, the sex scenes were that good.

I do want to add that I loved that CTE was discussed in this book. CTE is something serious that athletes should worry about. I loved that Matt and Cassie had a foundation set up to do research on it.

The end of the book was great. The author did a great job at ending all the secondary storylines except for the one that involved Bree and her family. I got no sense of closure. I also wish that there was an epilogue. While Marcus and Bree made up, I wanted to see if they had their HEA.

What I liked about Swagger:

A) The cover

B) Bree’s career

C) Marcus

What I disliked about Swagger:

A) Bree’s freak out

B) Bree’s advisor

C) Bree’s family

I gave Swagger a 4-star rating. This is a sexy, fun read with relatable characters. Be ready for some steamy sex scenes!!

I would give Swagger an Adult rating. There is explicit sex. There is language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Swagger. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Swagger.

All opinions stated in this review of Swagger are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

On the Line (Milwaukee Dragons: Book 1) by Liz Lincoln

~ Jolie ~ 2 Comments

2.5 Stars (bumped up to 3 stars for NetGalley, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads)

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, Loveswept

Date of publication: April 17th, 2018

Genre: Romance, Sports

Series: Milwaukee Dragons

On the Line – Book 1

Swagger – Book 2

Where you can find On the Line: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

Is this man: A) a super-hot NFL player, B) the guy you’re sexting, or C) your new boss?

If you’re Carrie Herron, the answer is all of the above. First Carrie starts exchanging steamy text messages with the sexy single dad she meets in line at the grocery store. Then she lands a job—and a bedroom—as the live-in nanny for the daughter of the Milwaukee Dragons’ newest star. But when Carrie shows up for work and realizes that they’re actually the same guy, she has no choice but to try to keep things professional. After all, Seth Chamberlain is her boss now. Her chiseled, charismatic, oh-so-tempting boss. . . .

After getting traded from Houston to Milwaukee, Seth’s having a tough time keeping his head in the game, let alone setting up his daughter in a brand-new city. So if the only nanny his daughter will tolerate while he’s on the road is the gorgeous, cosplay-loving redhead he’s had his eye on, well, so be it. Surely he can resist Carrie until football season is over. But with her knowing glances and kissable lips driving him wild, Seth must decide whether he’s ready to put everything on the line.

My review:

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I went into reading On the Line thinking that it would be a great romance. And it was, for the first chapter. After that, the book bored me. I struggled to finish reading it. There was no zing with the main characters. To me, that is the most important part of a romance novel. The characters have to have a least some attraction to each other. Also, I like it when there are no dropped storylines. I can understand, and deal with, one dropped storyline. Things happen. But when there are more than one, then I start to get frustrated.

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Carrie drove me bat-poop crazy during the entire book. She collected more drama than a drama llama. First, she got fired from her job as a science teacher. Then her landlord is selling her apartment. Next, she cannot find a job. She keeps putting off the nanny job that her well-meaning friend keeps offering her. I was irritated with her then. But when she started working for Seth, my irritation levels went through the roof. She should have listened to her BFF or wised up sooner in the book. I did like some parts of Carrie. I like that she dressed up for LARP at Comic Cons.

I liked Seth. If Carrie was a drama llama, Seth was the exact opposite. He was a single parent trying to raise a 13-year-old girl alone. That alone bumped him up in my eyes. Then he met Carrie and I thought to myself “Did you lose your ever-loving mind?” For some, strange, unknown reason, he wanted her. He did try to keep her at arm’s length until the middle of the book. Then it was like he said “Eff this” and started banging her.

Maddy, Seth’s daughter, deserves a mention here too. I alternately felt bad for her and thought she was a spoiled brat. I felt bad for her because she wanted to know about her mother. Any questions she had, Seth refused to answer. No wonder she started to look for her herself. She did have a connection with Carrie but it didn’t stop her from having a fit when she found out about Carrie and Seth. The total 180 that she did on that subject made my head spin.

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I felt that there was a lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth. Everything seemed forced up to sex. It made me sad because the sex scenes were actually pretty hot. I couldn’t get into them.

I had an issue with the dropped storylines in On the Line. There were a few. Carrie’s brother and his connection to Seth. Carrie’s last job. Seth being unsatisfied in his career. I felt that the book could have been so much better if those had been resolved. Because, to be honest, it made the book very hard to read. I feel that those storylines could have helped flush out the plot and the characters.

The end of On the Line was a very typical romance novel ending. The plotlines were brought together and ended in a way that should have satisfied me as a reader. But with the way I felt about Carrie and the lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth, I kind of groaned.

Now saying all this about On the Line, I am looking forward to reading book 2.

What I liked about On the Line:

A) Carrie LARP’d. I don’t think I have ever read a romance novel where the main character LARP’d. Very refreshing.

B) Carrie’s education background. Came in handy several times in the book.

C) Seth’s dedication to his daughter

What I disliked about On the Line:

A) The book bored me.

B) Lack of chemistry between Carrie and Seth

C) Too many dropped storylines

I would give On the Line a rating of Adult. There are language, mild violence, and explicit sexual situations.

There are no trigger warnings in On the Line.

I would not recommend this book to family and friends. I would not reread On the Line but I would be open to reading other books by the author. I would also be open to continuing the series.

I would like to thank Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review On the Line.

All opinions stated in this review of On the Line are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**