Hard Stick (Breakaway, #1)

by L. P. Dover

• ASIN: B01E2H3M9C
• Publish Date: 2017
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 225
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

3.5 stars
Hard Stick is a good romance, with some suspense and quite a bit of heartache as well.

I sometimes found the character dialogues to be a little repetitive, even when they still felt quite natural.

[thebookdisciple]

This is not a sports romance. The hero happens to be a hockey player, but the story isn't really about that at all. Its really about a girl in the witness protection program. This book is really more of a contemporary romance similar to her Second Chances series, just about a hockey team instead of a football team.

Kristen picked the WRONG guy. Now, because of it, she is living in a town under a different name and has to fake her own death to try and get him to abandon his pursuit of her. Throwing a wrench in her plan? Kellan, the pro hockey player who comes into the bar/restaurant she works at. He makes no bones about his desire to get her to date him. She wishes she could, but dating is just not in the cards for her.

I have found that most LP Dover books read quick. She typically tends to jump right in and I appreciate that! There are a couple of characters from previous series' of hers (Armed and Dangerous, Gloves Off, Second Chances) but you don't need to have read it. For those of us who have read it, it is just a nice little cameo!

Kellan is not like your typical pro athletes. He isn't a puck bunny chaser. He isn't a man whore. He really is just a nice guy who happens to play professional hockey. He is...dare I say it...NORMAL! How could you not love him!? I wanted him to break through Kristen's barriers because he deserved happiness as much as she did. I am curious to see if the rest of the series keeps this more romantic suspense bend or if it becomes more of a sports romance story.

Ok, now having said that, let me address some of the issues I had. First, she got her degree in Interior Design from MIT. They don't offer degrees in Interior Design. Maybe she got a degree in Architectural studies...But still. You don't go to MIT to be an interior designer. That just doesn't make good sense. You go to a famous design school like Savannah Art and Design, Rhode Island Design, or something. Second, after her first date with Kellan, she tells him about her past, her name change, and faking her own death. WitSec rule number one is you can't tell anyone anything!

I did think the surprise twist was interesting. I hadn't even THOUGHT anything like that. However, the rest of the book is pretty predictable. Overall, this was a good story: good characters, good plot, but not great. I enjoyed it and read it in a few hours, but I probably will forget all about it among the sea of other books I read.

 

• POV: dual 1st


• Tears: no


• Trope: secret identity, on the run


• Triggers: Kristen's ex was emotionally abusive; it is not described in great detail since the story starts pretty much with her flight from him, but may be upsetting for some readers. 


• Series/Standalone: stand alone


• Cliffhanger: spoiler


• HEA: spoiler

Hawke by Sawyer Bennett, The Enforcer by Helenkay Dimon, The Hot Shot by Kristen Callihan...then you will probably like Hard Stick!

Hard Stick

See full review on The Book Disciple

[chymerra]

I had to sit back for a few minutes after reading this book because it totally is not what I expected. From the cover (which I am definitely not complaining about, I love abs) and the blurb, I thought it was going to be a light romance centered around hockey. And you know what, I was going to be OK with that because I have read and reviewing some pretty heavy books lately. Instead, I read a book that took me in the other direction. Now, I am not complaining about it (see my rating at the end of the review) but man, I wish that there was more of a hint in the blurb. Because this book is so much more than a hockey romance. I am going to add suspense and intrigue to my tags and to the genre group above.

I felt awful for Kristen. She had a boyfriend who was obsessed with her. He had people watching her and if her best friend, Cole, would come over….he would show up. She was crippled with fear until the night where she decided, with Cole’s help, that she was leaving. And then the unthinkable happened. The boyfriend ran Cole off the road when he was on his motorcycle….killing him. That’s when she disappeared and the FBI, who was aware of her boyfriend but couldn’t pin anything on him, put her in the witness protection program and then faked her death so she could be free….once and for all. Now, if that had happened to me, I would have issues with men and trust. Which she did but still.

I liked Kellan. He was just an ordinary guy. Well, ordinary if you consider that he was the captain of the Charlotte Strikers and was a buff, bad ass with a temper. What I liked was that he was 100% believable as the hero of this story. He was an ordinary guy who got the girl, learned her secrets and vowed to protect her. He was so alpha male, it wasn’t even funny and I loved it. I also liked that his issues were more true to life than the other books that I have read. His mother and himself had bad blood and guess what, she deserved his hate. Normally, you wouldn’t hear me say that but that woman was unbelievable. She did come through for him, though, when it counted and I guess that matters (still don’t like her).

The romance part of this book was off the chart. The chemistry between Kristin and Kellan was burning hot and when they did have sex, it burned a hole in my Kindle. Just kidding, but if it had been real, there would have been smoke coming off the sheets. When the romance turned to love (no Instalove here, it took a month or so), poor Kristin fought it so hard. Kellan didn’t and I liked that. He was one with his feelings but Kristin, understandable, wasn’t.

I also couldn’t get enough of the storyline with Kristin’s ex. He had to have been the slimiest, disgusting character that I have ever read. I will admit that I did guess about his connection to Kellan. I actually guessed it pretty early in the book, when they started dating. But it didn’t take away from the book. I will also say that he, the ex, got what was coming to him and I cheered when everything went down.

I loved the ending and yes, I ugly cried through it.

I can’t wait until I read Blocked (I just got the e-ARC from NetGalley). It is going to be Dallas’s story and I hope that it is as good as Kellan’s.

My questions for the next book:

Will Dallas get a girlfriend?

Will we see more of Kellan and Kristin?

What about the skating rink, will there be more scenes there?

How many stars will I give Hard Stick: 4

Why: Great storyline and great characters. I was a bit surprised that this was more romantic suspense than romantic sports but it did not take away from how good the book was

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex, violence, and language

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

[Cocktails and Books]

This book and I didn't really get along. I think it was because there was a guy with a hockey stick on the cover, but this was more of a romantic suspense book where the guy happened to played hockey. The suspense was good, the romance was OK, but in the back of my mind, I kept waiting for the hockey romance element.