SAFE BET (The Rules #4) by Monica Murphy-Review and Book Tour
SAFE BET
The Rules #4
by Monica Murphy
Genre: new adult,contemporary,romance
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2iBpT8e
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / ibooks /
About the book: Release Date January 10, 2017
Sydney Walker’s new job is perfect. As the live-in nanny to the most famous quarterback in the NFL and his beautiful wife, she couldn’t have it any better. Their kids are adorable. Her bosses are more than generous. Plus, there are hot football players at the house all the time. Life can’t get much better than this.
Until her life turns into an absolute nightmare. The media is abuzz with rumors that she and her boss Drew Callahan are having a torrid affair. Everyone knows the truth—except the public. So Drew’s wife Fable comes up with the perfect idea.
She creates a fake relationship between Sydney and one of the rookie players on Drew’s team. Wade Knox is forever indebted to Drew and Fable and readily agrees to the set up. Pretending to be in a romantic relationship with the hot nanny for a week—how hard can it be?
Crazy how it only takes one week for two people to fall head over heels in love…
••••••••
REVIEW: SAFE BET is the fourth installment in Monica Murphy’s contemporary, new adult THE RULE romance series. This is twenty two year old, NFL wide receiverWade Knox, and nineteen year old nanny Sydney Walker’s story line. SAFE BET features characters from Monica Murphy’s THE RULES and ONE WEEK GIRLFRIEND (Drew and Fable) series, and can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Sydney is Gabe’s (In the Dark #2) younger sister; Wade is best friends with Fable’s brother Owen (Four Years Later-Drew and Fable).
Told from dual first person perspectives (Sydney and Wade) with a couple of chapters from Fable Callahan’s POV, SAFE BET focuses on the ‘fake girlfriend’ premise following the media reports that Sydney is having an affair with her boss Drew Callahan. Weeks earlier Sydney found herself homeless and in need of a job when she lied to her millionaire parents about college-the fact that she didn’t intend to go to college at all. Fast forward and her brother Gabe finds our heroine a position as the nanny for one of the NFL’s hottest quarterbacks, but in the ensuing weeks Sydney will find herself immersed in a paparazzi scandal when images of her and Drew Callahan surface purporting the sports hero to be having a torrid affair with his live in nanny. Enter Wade Knox, the Niners’s newest recruit, and Drew’s friend, and the man who will steal our heroine’s heart. What ensues is the fake boyfriend/girlfriend arrangement that quickly turns into something more.
SAFE BET is a story of family, friendship and love; a ‘one week girlfriend’ scenario that focuses on distracting the media from the lies they have propagated in the hopes of taking down a professional sports hero.
The relationship between Sydney and Wade is one of immediate attraction but Sydney does not want to lose her job with an ill-timed affair with her boss’s friend. The ‘fake girlfriend’ scenario is perfect until the heart wants something more. The cross over between series brings familiarity and some backstory to fans of both THE RULES and DREW AND FABLE’S (One Week Girlfriend) series. It was wonderful to catch up with Drew and Fable, and their expanding family, as well as Owen and Chelsea, and his rising star. The premise is sweet and sexy; the romance is fated; the characters are spirited and lively. SAFE BET is a lighthearted story with passionate characters and wonderful happily ever after. There is very little external conflict affecting the couple’s relationship.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
“Drew!” Fable calls, waving him over. “Come meet Sydney.”
He starts to head over there and when he sends me a look over his shoulder, I reluctantly follow him. I really don’t need to be involved in this scenario, but I just can’t tell him that, can I? It would be rude. And I’m never rude to Drew and Fable.
Ever.
“Sydney, this is my husband, Drew. Drew, this is Sydney Walker. She’s going to be our new nanny,” Fable says, sounding pleased. She looks over at her husband with a little wince. “I hope you don’t mind that I went ahead and hired her.”
“Of course I don’t mind. I trust your judgment.” Drew turns to greet Sydney. “Good to meet you,” he says as he gives Sydney a firm handshake. She’s staring up at him, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide. Full on awestruck, which is typical. He’s a superstar. That’s how most people look at Drew when they first meet him.
“Hi,” she squeaks, her cheeks going pink as she releases Drew’s hand. Her gaze slips to mine, and then flitters away. But that one quick glance was like a sucker punch to my gut.
The nanny is beautiful.
I take a deep breath, shoving my hands in my jeans’ pockets so I won’t do something stupid—like try to grab her. She has pretty blue eyes and a full mouth that’s made for kissing. Her curves are even lusher than I first realized. She has full hips and a tiny waist and shapely legs. But I can’t worry about pretty nannies right now. I have to concentrate on work.
It still blows my mind that I might play for the NFL. That football is my job. I’m a lucky son-of-a-bitch.
“Sydney, this is Wade Knox. He’s an old family friend,” Fable says, knocking me from my thoughts. I blink and look down to find Sydney smiling up at me, interest clearly showing in her gaze. Hmm. “Wade, this is Sydney.”
“Hey Sydney.” I shake her hand, electricity pulsing between us the moment our palms touch. She jerks her hand away from mine as if I burned her. Guess she felt it too.
Interesting.
“Nice to meet you,” she murmurs as she takes a step back. Like she needs the distance.
Even more interesting.
We make small talk for a few minutes before Fable takes Sydney back to the house, and the moment the door shuts behind them, Drew’s talking.
“The nanny’s cute,” he observes, his voice way too nonchalant.
“Uh huh.”
“She looked at you like she thought you were cute, too.”
I roll my eyes. He never says stuff like this, so what’s his deal? “Cute? What are you doing? Trying to play matchmaker?” I send him a pointed look. “Give me a break. I don’t need the distraction.”
SLOW PLAY
(The Rules #3)
by Monica Murphy
Genre: New Adult, contemporary, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 13, 2015
Newly broke girl Alexandria Asher just wants to live a normal life. After her parents are sent to prison on embezzlement charges, she enrolls in college under her mother’s maiden name and tries her best to pretend she’s someone else.
Tristan Prescott is everything Alex is trying to avoid. A seemingly egotistical, lazy, rich jerk, she dumps her beer on his head when he comes on to her one night at a party. This only spurs Tristan into action. He loves nothing more than a challenge. And the beautiful Alex is exactly the type of challenge that intrigues him.
Despite her reluctance, Alex finds herself quickly involved with Tristan. Underneath that playboy exterior is a good guy, a sweet and sexy guy who she is undoubtedly falling for. What they both don’t realize is the actions of Alex’s parents are the reason for so much tragedy in Tristan’s family. And when Tristan discovers who Alex and her family really is, can he forgive and forget?
•••••••
REVIEW: SLOW PLAY is the third installment in Monica Murphy’s contemporary, new adult THE RULES romance series focusing on a tight night group of college friends. This is Tristan Prescott, and Alexandria Asher’s story line. SLOW PLAY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual first person points of view (Tristan and Alexandria) SLOW PLAY focuses on the building relationship between two college students –Tristan Prescott and Alexandria Asher. Tristan’s reputation as a manwhore precedes his introduction to Alexandria Asher. His acerbic personality, rude comments, and childish behavior are three strikes against our story line hero that continue to grow throughout the series. Alexandria Asher is a young woman who once had it all but her parent’s fall from grace has left Alexandria struggling to make it on her own. Meeting Tristan Prescott pushes all of her buttons because she is attracted to the man who gets on her nerves. What ensues is the growing love between two people who keep secret their dark and heartbreaking pasts where lies, betrayal and secrets will come to the surface and destroy everything they had together.
The attraction between Tristan and Alexandria is immediate but Alex has a difficult with Tristan’s less than appropriate behavior and sexual come-ons. Tristan is a man who goes for what he wants and he wants Alex in his bed and between the sheets. He is cocky and self centered; extremely gifted when it comes to the woman in his life. He is not looking for a relationship and in this the struggle between Tristan and Alex continues to grow. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense.
All of the previous story line couples play secondary and supporting characters including Jade and Shep (Fair Game #1), and Gabe and Lucy (In the Dark #2), as well as an assortment of friends, roommates and potential love interests.
The world building continues to focus on the love lives of several college friends. There is a wide assortment of personalities that allows for a continuous growth in the character development. There are several references to ‘Sex in the City’ and if you are a fan you will recognize most if not all.
SLOW PLAY is a sexy and intimate story; the push and pull of heartbreak and passion. The premise is enjoyable and pleasant ; the characters are passionate and animated; the romance is tender and encouraging.
Reviewed by Sandy
Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.
She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.
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