Reviewer: Tracy First Step Forward by Liora Blake
Series: Grand Valley #1
Also in this series: First Step Forward, Second Chance Season, Second Chance Season, Ready for Wild (Grand Valley #3)
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: November 29th 2016
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Series Rating:
Pro-football player Cooper Lowry is off the field and into some trouble—in the form of a very alluring, very free-spirited apple orchard owner named Whitney Reed—in the first installment in Liora Blake’s all new Grand Valley series.
After eight seasons playing pro-football, Cooper Lowry knows all the right answers.
Is he stubborn, short-tempered, and impatient? Yes. Are jersey chasers more trouble than they’re worth? Absolutely. Has he ever imagined a life beyond the game? Nope.
Cooper has built an enviable career—the result of staying focused, working hard, and keeping his head on straight—even as his body takes the brunt. So when a hard hit during a Sunday home game leaves him in a dazed heap on the field, it’s nothing more than another day at the office. The only thing that’s different about this Sunday is a chance encounter with a certain fascinating, beautiful free-spirited woman. And some sternly-worded instructions from his coach to take a little time off and give his body the TLC it craves—before he does lasting damage.
Whitney Reed is a few months away from losing the organic fruit orchard she bought three years ago in the tiny town of Hotchkiss, Colorado. At the time, she was just looking for a place to get lost. Instead, she found a home, somewhere she could finally put down roots. Now foreclosure is knocking on her door—along with a grumpy, gorgeous football player who might be just what she never knew she needed.
Cooper Lowry is a professional football player who is a “veteran” on the team. He’s been in the NFL for 8 years and while his body is in top shape he’s definitely not as young as he used to be. At one game he gets tackled and ends up with a concussion. He is in the drugstore attempting to buy a large bag of Epsom salt but is having difficulty moving his body because his head hurts so badly. He is assisted by a hippie looking woman who is in old man flannel pajamas and socks – who’s absolutely beautiful. He pays for both his and her items, as a thank you, and goes on his way. The next day he runs into her and is even more enthralled with her.
Whitney Reed is a woman on a mission. She’s driven to Denver to attempt to get a loan that will save her orchard. She’s in arears and needs to get the money to save her farm before she has nothing left. She runs into the man who she helped the night before and finds him even more gorgeous in the daylight than he was in the drugstore. They talk and she offers him a jar of the apple butter she made and goes on her way. She doesn’t expect him to show up not long afterward at her home. He’s trying to take it easy with his concussion but all she wants to do is jump him.
The pair are hot for each other from the time they meet. The longer they spend together the closer they get but Whitney is worried about her orchard and Cooper is worried about his career when he gets hurt yet again. While Cooper is thinking of a future with Whitney he finds that she’s not being completely honest with him and it eventually causes them each to doubt what they have.
This book. It was so good! I almost everything about it. Was it perfect? No, but there was so much love, laughter, romance, and reality to truly be a great book.
Cooper and Whitney had such a fabulous chemistry between them right from the beginning that it grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I loved reading about them and their experiences; they were so damned cute together! Cooper was a fabulous blend of cocky, stubborn, loving man to Whitney’s hippie, organic, tree hugging relaxed self. Of course she was a bit stressed because of the whole orchard foreclosure issue but other than that she was pretty relaxed. Despite the differences between the two got along really well and had a great spending time together.
The humor, the love and the wonderful writing by Liora Blake made this a five star read for me. I recommend that you don’t miss this one.
Rating: 5 out of 5
oh what a pair these two are together!!! I do love a story with well matched characters and some sizzling chemistry. Definitely going to be adding it to my list for sure.
I’m about halfway through this and am enjoying it. Thanks for a fun review.