Rowena’s review of Hot Property (Hot Zone Series, Book 4) by Carly Phillips.
Hero: John Roper
Heroine: Amy Stone
Grade: 4 out of 5
Just one short season ago, major league center fielder John Roper had it all: the looks—and personal life—of a sports hero and the public’s adoration. But this hot property’s lucky streak has run out. After a World Series disaster, fans diss him, shock jocks mock him and his dysfunctional family hassles him for money he really can’t spare. Now it’s up to him, and Hot Zone publicist Amy Stone, to get his life back on track.
Amy finds it’s easier said than done. What with the constant intrusions of his nutty family, a crazed fan playing stalker, and Roper’s refusal to put his own needs first, she’s starting to think that life in the fast lane isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But when the two retreat to a secluded lodge, the sexy center fielder throws Amy a curveball—one she never saw coming.…
This is the fourth book in the Hot Zone series by Carly Phillips. We meet the hero, John Roper in the second book in this series Hot Number, Micki’s book. Micki and John are friends and I was curious to see if he would get his own book. I’m really glad that I finally decided to pick this one up. I enjoyed it. One thing that you can always count on from Carly Phillips is a lighthearted romantic story featuring two great characters and if the book is part of the Hot Zone series then you can look forward to some hunky athletes.
I love athletes.
John Roper is trying to survive a shitty World series and he’s not a favorite among the fans anymore. He’s getting hammered on sports talk radio and the fans don’t love him anymore. It’s getting harder and harder to ditch his family who keep dogging him for money and he just can’t win with anyone. Especially Amy Stone, the sexy new publicist at Hot Zone. What does an athlete do when he needs to clear his head? He flies to a secluded cabin and takes the sexy publicist with him.
This book was a pretty fast read and I was happy with the story. I really enjoyed getting to know the John Roper that we didn’t get to see in the other books and I really enjoyed getting to know Amy Stone. I thought Amy was a great heroine, one that I could relate to even though I haven’t gone through anything she’s gone through. She was a very likable character and I thought she was a great match for John.
John was one of those sexy athletes that you can’t help but love. The confident way that he pursued Amy even after their disastrous first encounter was so smexy. I love the guys that are cocky but not too cocky and I thought that John was the perfect mix of arrogant ass and sweet softy. He made this story pop for me and made me happy that I took the time to read it.
The other characters were a great addition to the story as well. Even though John’s family drove me nuts, I didn’t hate them and Yank cracked me up and it was great to see Sophie and them again. This story is a lighthearted, steamy story that will have you smiling throughout the entire book. It’s the perfect read on a long weekend and I think everyone will enjoy this addition to the Hot Zone series. It’s not my favorite book in the series (that still belongs to Hot Number) but it was still a decent read.
Reading Order:
This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format.