Author: Kelly Jamieson

Guest Review: Long Shot by Kelly Jamieson

Posted February 26, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Guest Review: Long Shot by Kelly JamiesonReviewer: Tracy
Long Shot (Last Shot #3) by Kelly Jamieson
Series: Last Shot #3
Also in this series: Hot Shot
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: February 27th 2018
Format: eARC
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Waitressing at a tequila bar on the beach in sunny San Diego may not be what Reece Kirkwell wants to do forever, but for now it’s perfect—other than the flashbacks to the tragedy she caused in Boston. And the fact that one of her bosses is a domineering, first-class manwhore who’s as stubborn as he is sexy. If he’d just listen to her, she could double his business. But it would also mean getting close to someone, and that’s a risk she can’t afford.

Cade Hardy’s partners at Conquistadors are like his brothers, but he’s the money man trying to keep them all afloat. To blow off steam, he’s been sleeping around a little. The last thing he needs is business advice from their crazy-hot new waitress. Cade can’t figure Reece out. She’s smarter than she lets on, and she doesn’t hide her disgust for his active sex life. But after he recognizes her PTSD symptoms, Cade is determined to save her . . . unless she saves him first.

Reese is a waitress in a tequila bar in San Diego.  She’s there for just a short time, but she doesn’t know how long.  Of course, the longer she stays, the more she wants to stay.  Of course, having Cade Hardy, her boss, as eye candy isn’t hard.  She just hates when all of his old conquests show up.  When Reese and Cade start becoming friends and then more, Reese isn’t sure what she should do.

Cade is a good guy but has had an incredibly hard life. He loves his business partners (and fellow former Navy SEALS) but he can’t love a woman.  At least, that’s what he thinks until he starts getting closer with Reese and finds that he doesn’t want just one night, he wants her forever.

This was a cute book and a great conclusion to this trilogy.  I wasn’t sure how Jamieson was going to handle Cade and his many women, but I thought she did a good job of showing us what a manwhore he had been, and also showing us that he was no longer that man.  I loved Cade and Reese together as they just always seemed like they were in sync.

The part of the story that dealt with Reese’s PTSD was very sad and I felt for her.  I was happy to see Cade dealing with it so well and not looking down on her for her issues.  On the flip side I really loved how Reese talked Cade about his family issues without pity but definitely understanding.

Overall this was a good story that I really enjoyed.

Last Shot Series

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: Hot Shot by Kelly Jamieson

Posted May 23, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Hot Shot by Kelly JamiesonReviewer: Tracy
Hot Shot by Kelly Jamieson
Series: Last Shot #2
Also in this series: Long Shot (Last Shot #3)
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: May 16th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Marco Solis knows that if he gets too close to people they disappear. His parents were deported back to Mexico when he was fourteen, his fiancée married someone else while he was in the military, and now his business partner’s spending more time with his girl than with Marco. For better or worse, that’s how Marco meets Carrie Garner. She’s legitimately model-hot. She’s also a nut—a wild, artsy, unapproachable nut. So why is Marco so interested in cracking her shell?

Although Carrie Garner is a natural in front of the camera, her dream is to make it as a photographer. Soon she’ll be heading to Spain for design school, and she’ll miss her best friend, Hayden, like crazy. She’ll even miss Hayden’s boyfriend, Beck—but she won’t miss Beck’s partner, Marco. Bossy, brooding, and annoyingly sexy, Marco really pushes her buttons, though he obviously wouldn’t mind pushing her buttons in an up-against-the-wall, hard-and-fast kind of way. The craziest part is, if Carrie lets him do that, well . . . she may never want to leave.

Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Marco owns a tequila bar with his friends Cade and Beck.  They were all Navy SEALS and now they work together once again.  Marco met Carrie when she came in for a tequila tasting with Hayden, who is now Beck’s fiancé.  He was attracted to Carrie from the first minute but Carrie shut his flirting down pretty much instantaneously.  He just figured that she thought he wasn’t good enough for her.

Carrie’s always been attracted to Marco but she doesn’t like to admit it to herself.  When Marco first flirted with her she felt like he just thought she was a dumb bimbo and blew him off.  As she gets to know him, now that they’re planning Beck and Hayden’s engagement party together, she sees that she was wrong about him.  Sparks fly when they’re together but Carrie’s leaving to go to school in Spain for 9 months so she’s not about to get involved with anyone.

Marco and Carrie decide to start a fling and will end it when she leaves for Spain.  Little did they know that they’d fall in love.  Of course neither are confident enough to tell the other so this leaves each of them heart-broken.

This was a cute, light read from Jamieson.  Despite the feelings that both Marco and Carrie carried with them about themselves I thought that the author did a great job of not dragging the story down with their issues.  They were talked about and definitely were a major focus of the book but when I read the last page I wasn’t depressed with a sad knot in my chest.  She dealt with both the hero and heroine’s  personal issues in a way that made it emotional but not over-bearing.

Marco was a fantastic character.  I really liked him so much as my heart went out to all that he’d been through in his life when he was an adolescent.  He’d moved on and made something of himself – something he could be proud of and it showed in his whole being.  I loved that he saw Carrie as others didn’t.  He saw in her the bright shining light she was and then made it even brighter with his love.

Carrie had some serious self-esteem issues even though she was a model.  She felt like the tall gangly kid she’d always been while growing up and didn’t see herself as gorgeous.  It wasn’t a vanity thing – wanting people to tell her she’s gorgeous.  It was the opposite, in fact and it was just how she felt. She also felt that since her entire family was into business and had great careers that she hadn’t done anything productive in her life – which wasn’t true at all.  I liked her character a lot as she worked on her self-esteem and the feelings of not being good enough for her family.

Overall I found Hot Shot to be a thoroughly enjoyable book and I’m looking forward to reading what happens with Marco’s friend Cade in the next book.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Dancing in the Rain by Kelly Jamieson

Posted April 7, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Dancing in the Rain by Kelly JamiesonReviewer: Tracy
Dancing in the Rain by Kelly Jamieson
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: April 11th 2017
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four-stars

A retired athlete meets the daughter he never knew—along with the woman who reignites his passions—in this powerful standalone romance from the bestselling author of Hot Shot and the Heller Brothers series.

Drew Sellers is drowning in broken dreams and empty beer bottles. Hockey was his world, until a bum knee reduced him from superstar to has-been. Then he learns that, thanks to a one-night-stand back in college, he’s the father of a preteen girl with major issues. Her protective aunt sees right through Drew’s BS, but “Auntie P” is no stereotypical spinster. With her slender curves, toned legs, and luscious lips, she has Drew indulging in fantasies that aren’t exactly family-friendly.

At another point in her life, Peyton Watt would have been all over a cocky alpha male who pushes all her buttons like Drew. Right now, though, she needs to focus on taking care of her niece during her sister’s health crisis, all while holding down a job and keeping her own head above water. Besides, Drew’s clearly no father of the year. He’s unemployed. He drinks too much. And he’s living in the past. But after Peyton gets a glimpse of the genuine man behind his tough-guy façade, she’s hooked—and there’s no going back.

Drew Sellers is having a hard time with life.  He was a pro hockey player but a bum knee forced him to retire very, very early.  Then his wife cheated on him with a fellow teammate and a divorced ensued.  He’s now listless and having constant pity parties – as well as starting brawls in bars just to get his adrenaline pumping.  He’s shocked when a woman waylays him outside his local coffee shop and tells him that he has a daughter.  He and the woman, Sara, had a one night stand many years earlier.  She hadn’t known his last name and though she tried to find him he had only been visiting her college.  When she saw his picture in a magazine she knew she had to let him know.  She offers him the chance to meet his now 11-year-old daughter, Chloe, which he has mixed feelings about.  Sara is dying and he’s not sure he wants to be involved with the whole sadness/drama.  Yeah, it makes him an asshole but at least he’s being truthful with himself.

Peyton is Sara’s sister and has taken time off of her work and life in New York to take care of her sister and Chloe.  She’s not sure about Drew but as time goes on she realizes what a good man he is.  When Sara declines and starts to be near the end of life, Drew is there for both Peyton and Chloe.  They know they should stay away from each other but soon they just can’t.  Unfortunately Peyton is planning on moving Chloe back to New York and then Drew will never see either of them.

Dancing in the rain is a very good but very emotional book.  By the time that Drew comes into the picture Sara is already steadily declining and it’s horribly sad. I have to say that Jamieson wrote that portion of the book so very well.  It was sweet and tender and I felt Sara’s death to the depth of my soul.  Yes, she’s a fictional character but this author made her so very full of life that I felt like I was losing a friend when she died.  Jamieson also wrote the aftermath of Sara’s death very well and very true to life.  Their emotions were running high and people tend to say stupid things when they’re upset.  This book was no different but the way that the author brought Peyton and Drew around was very well done.

I thought the book was so good and definitely recommend it.  You’ve obviously gathered that it’s a tearjerker so have your tissues read before you pick up the book.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Shut Out by Kelly Jamieson

Posted June 8, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Shut Out by Kelly JamiesonReviewer: Tracy
Shut Out by Kelly Jamieson
Series: Bayard Hockey #1
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: June 7th 2016
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The Bayard College hockey team isn’t where Jacob Flass thought he’d be a season ago. He was a rising star in the Canadian major junior league, cruising toward a spot on an NHL roster—until a single disastrous night on the town brought it all crashing down. Now he’s out of options, except for playing well, studying hard, and staying away from girls. He’s not supposed to be flirting with the hottest, sweetest chick he’s ever met. But how could he possibly stay away?

Skylar Lynwood knows that Jacob is out of her league. She’s just trying to go with the flow, which isn’t easy when six feet and four inches of total hockey hunkiness is making a play for her one moment, then giving her the cold shoulder the next. Skylar’s head tells her that this rugged athlete isn’t worth her time, but her body says something altogether different. Risking her heart for Jacob may be the craziest thing she’s ever done . . . but she won’t let him shut her out.

Jacob Flass was playing in the Junior League in Canada (where he’s from) but after an incident where he’s accused of rape (that he was not involved in) he’s kicked off his team.  Even though no charges are filed Jacob and his friends are made an example.  His hopes and dreams are quickly going down the tubes but his parents and coach find a solution to let him keep playing.  He’ll head to New York to a college there who wants him despite the scandal.  He agrees and heads off to Bayard University to become a sophomore.

Skylar is a sophomore at Bayard and her goals for the year include getting straight A’s and that’s about it.  The previous year one of her best friends committed suicide and she’d failed two classes.  She’s pre-med and though it’s really hard for her she keeps on because she determined to be seen as a success by her parents.

Skylar meets Jacob at a party and they hit it off so much that they almost end up in bed together but Jacob knows he has to keep his nose clean and on the straight and narrow in order to stay in the hockey program so he turns her down.  She’s not happy with being rejected so when they see each other again at the school’s pilot training program to educate students about sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking and to promote a non-violent campus.  Jacob isn’t comfortable with the program due to his recent past but he ends up learning a lot from the program. Skylar and Jacob work out their differences and at yet another party Jacob asks Skylar to be his pretend girlfriend to keep the puck bunnies away from him.

What starts off fake soon becomes real but they both keep telling themselves that it’s not.  As the year goes on Skylar opens up to Jacob about the previous year with her friend and his suicide and her emotions are all over the place.  Jacob gets scared and tries to stay away from Skylar but he finds he just doesn’t want to.  Of course when Skylar finds out about Jacob’s past it may be over even though he doesn’t want it to be.

This was an interesting story.  I liked how the author wove the story around Skylar and Jacob with their past and present colliding – even though as a reader we didn’t know it was happening until the end and how big of an issue it really was to each of them.  It was cool to see it all unfolding.

The romance in this story was pretty wrapped up in the sex life of the pair.  While it was sexy and fun I wish there had been a bit more connection out of bed in the earlier part of the book.  It was all light and fun until near the end and it was almost too much.  I realize that this is how Jacob perceived things as well and that’s when he got spooked because his fun had turn “real” but IDK, I just needed something more in the earlier parts of the book.

The story ended up being pretty good and I’m definitely interested enough to read the next in the series when it comes out.  I always love hockey romances so I can’t pass it up! 🙂

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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