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TAKING A SHOT by Jaci Burton-a new release review by Marcie

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TAKING A SHOT by Jaci Burton

Taking a Shot
By Jaci Burton

I had never read anything by Jaci Burton before, but when TRC put the cover for Taking a Shot up I knew it was a book I had to check out. The main male lead is a professional hockey player and that’s my number one sport. I swear I was born in a hockey rink. Actually, I’ve been going to hockey games since in the womb so it’s in my blood. Nothing like watching a bunch of guys skating on ice after a rubber puck, jostling, fighting, roughing it up to score a goal. A very enjoyable way to pass an evening. So I had a feeling this book would be right up my alley. Not to mention the cover is damn hot. Okay enough of my ramblings about hockey, onto my review. 😉

Taking a Shot is part of Burton’s Play-By-Play series. I’ve only read this one and if it’s any indication for how she writes, she’s an author that can keep me interested in storyline and characters, especially of the athletic variety. Her athletes are definitely not lacking in the hotness department or stamina department, both on the playing field and the bedroom.

Ty Andersson is a professional hockey player who plays for the St. Louis Ice. He and his teammates have made it a habit of hanging out at Riley’s, a popular sports bar in town after home games. Ty had met the bar’s manager Jenna Riley through her brother Mick earlier on and now has become intrigued with her. There’s only one problem with that, Jenna has vowed to never date or fall for anyone involved in sports. Being the athlete he is, Ty never gives up on a challenge, and right now, Jenna is a challenge Ty has set his sights on.

Jenna Riley comes from a sports oriented family. Her two older brothers Mick and Gavin are professional athletes. Mick plays pro football and her brother Gavin plays pro baseball. On top of all that her family has always run one of the city’s most popular sports bars Rileys. No matter where Jenna turns there’s something sports oriented always popping up in front of her. From her brothers, to their friends, to work. She can’t seem to escape it. So when Ty Andersson walks into the bar one fateful night, Jenna decides that she needs to stay clear of him before something happens.

Jenna never saw herself becoming the manager of Riley’s Sports Bar, but after her father suffered a heart attack a year ago, she felt she owed it to her family to step up and take charge. In doing so Jenna put her plans and dreams on hold and never told her family about a secret talent she’s had all her life. It isn’t until Jenna starts seeing Ty that things begin to change for her. Even though she’s stated she’ll never date or fall for a guy involved in sports Jenna can’t seem stop the attraction or chemistry she feels for Ty.

As the relationship progresses Jenna keeps trying to convince herself she just hasn’t expelled Ty from of her system yet. It’s like she’s trying to exorcise some demon from her life, but instead she keeps falling further and further in love with Ty and doesn’t realize it, or at least won’t acknowledge it.

Not only is Jenna falling fast for Ty, but so are the walls she’s built up around herself. She starts to let Ty into her life more and more, even going so far as to confess her secret passion in life, singing and song writing. Ty convinces her to sing for him one night and from that moment on gets Jenna thinking that maybe she doesn’t have to put her dreams on hold or keep her singing and song writing a secret anymore. There’s only one problem, Jenna is afraid of failure. This fear of failing goes all the way back to the time she spent backpacking her way through Europe. She had joined up with a band and was living her dream singing in different bars and towns night after night until one day she was told she wasn’t good enough. From that day on she decided to keep her talent a secret.

Jenna isn’t the only one who’s built up walls to protect themselves, Ty has too, but for different reasons. Ty witnessed his parent’s marriage fall apart from an early age and decided that commitment and marriage wasn’t for him. He didn’t want to chance the same thing that happened to him when he was a kid to happen to a child of his own. However, the more time he spends with Jenna and her family Ty starts to re-think his ideas on love, marriage and commitment. He realizes that he’s falling for Jenna and maybe there’s hope for him after all. Ty realizes that if he can get over his fears of commitment and marriage, then maybe Jenna can get over her fears as well. Ty pushes Jenna to pursue her dreams and tell her family about her talent. Knowing this won’t be an easy task Ty is patient and allows Jenna to come to her own conclusions, even when she blows up at him and tells him it’s over. Being the ‘never back down from a challenge’ type personality Ty decides it isn’t over but gives Jenna the time she needs. In the end Jenna comes to realize she doesn’t want a life without Ty or her dream. She opens up to her family and sings for them, then tells them about her dream of running a music bar, where she can sing whenever she wants and promote other singers and bands. Being the supportive family they are, her parents and brothers are there for her and let her know they will always be. Once Jenna comes clean with her family and accepts who she really is she’s able to completely embrace what Ty has brought to her life and what they can be together. Jenna decides it’s finally time to go after what she wants and that’s a life with Ty and her music.

Being the hockey fan that I am I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Burton gives you action on and off the ice. It’s hot and heavy at times and other times very sweet and romantic. I enjoyed both characters and feel anyone who loves sports as much as I do will enjoy this book or any of Burton’s books in the Play-by-Play series. Even if you aren’t a sports nut you’ll enjoy this book too. Looking forward to back tracking now and reading the previous books in the series and then any future one’s she writes.

Play-by-Play Series reading order
-The Perfect Play
-Changing the Game
-Taking a Shot
-Playing to Win (Sept 4, 2012)

reviewed by Marcie

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INFAMOUS (Chronicles of Nick YA #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon-A New Release Review by Marcie

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Infamous By Sherrilyn Kenyon

Infamous is book 3 in The Chronicles of Nick. This is a YA series by Kenyon that follows Nick through his teenage years. If you are a fan of her Dark Hunters, then this series is a must read. Having read all the Dark Hunter books so far, and now reading Nick’s series there are times I feel like a ping pong ball. My mind keeps jumping back and forth between to the two series. I know how things have played out in the Dark Hunters, and am trying to wrap my mind around the events that are playing out in Nick’s teenage world, and how they will affect his present and future. I won’t lie to you and say at times I don’t get frustrated reading this series cause I do, but it’s not because I don’t like what I’m reading, it’s because I can’t figure out where she’s going with a certain storyline, or how something will play out when I know what’s already happened in the Dark Hunter series. Don’t worry people, it’s all good, it really is. It’s all part of the fun that Kenyon creates in her books with her wonderful characters and storylines. To me this is a sign of a great author because her writing keeps me coming back for more. Okay onto my review. 😉

The prologue of the book begins with Ambrose telling Nick more about their life. He explains how he’s able to come back in time to try and aid Nick so that he won’t make the same mistakes Ambrose has made. Nick is well aware now that he was born to be an instrument of evil. He can’t fathom that since he has never done anything evil and is against anyone causing evil or hurt to anyone. This part of Nick is in thanks to his mother and the human half of his DNA. Thanks to his mother and her upbringing we see that there is hope for Nick in the future and hopefully may be able to over come the darker side of his DNA. Enter Nick’s father Adarian. He’s the elder Malachai and evil to the core. If there was ever a father more deserving of Father of the Year, it would be him. Yes I’m being sacarstic, it’s so thick you can cut it with a knife. 😉 Adarian wants Nick dead before he comes into his full powers, or else Adarian will die at the hands of his son. Since the Malachai thrives on anger, evil intent, despair, etc he’s been quite content to live in a jail cell hiding from his enemies, namely Noir, all well biding his time to take out his son and consume his powers.

As the story begins chaos once again has erupted on the school grounds. Seriously, if I were attending that school, I think I’d be dousing myself in holy water and wearing crucifixes at all times. LOL!!! Someone has it out for the students in the school and has set up a website that is posting doctored pictures and false information about fellow classmates. At the time of this attack no one, not even Nick, Kody or Caleb realize it’s due to demon possession. Nick, Kody, and Caleb with the help of their friends Bubba and Mark over at the Triple B are working at finding out who this person is. Along the way however, trouble just seems to follow Nick in one form or another, literally. At one point Nick is being severely beaten by a fellow classmate who’s been possessed by a lower class demon and left for dead. Thankfully Kody is able to track him down and get him medical aid. Well Nick is unconscious he has no protection against his demon DNA and winds up visiting the one place Ambrose warns him about, Azmodea in the Nether Realm. At first this is a funny scene as Nick meets another demon Asmodeus, but it quickly turns dangerous for him. He learns where he is and hasn’t a clue as to how he got there. It’s during this little jaunt into Azmodea and a visit with Thorn that we witness Nick begin to tap into his Malachai powers, and see just how powerful he can be. At one point Nick lights up like a human torch and manages to fry some demonspawn. With the help of Thorn, Caleb and Asmodeus in the Nether Realm and Kody back in the human realm she manages to wake Nick up in time and bring him out of the Nether Realm. Later on in another unconscious trip to the Nether Realm we get to see Nick in all his Malachia glory, from his true form to his unlimited powers. It’s during this scene where Kenyon gives us hope for Nick’s future in his actions towards Kody. The scene had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what Nick would do, all well begging him to do the right thing.

Even though this book takes us down a darker path as Nick’s Malachai powers keep growing there are many bright spots along the way. We get to see more of Nick’s relationships with Kody, Caleb, his mother Cherise, Ash and Kryrian. There are many emotional moments with Nick and his mom and we get to see what Cherise went through well pregnant with Nick and then his birth. Their relationship and mother/ son bond is unbreakable and very touching. If it wasn’t for his mother there wouldn’t be any hope for Nick at all. Another bright spot in the book is meeting Bubba’s mother and getting more insight into his background and relationship with Nick. Bubba’s mom also played a vital role in Nick’s earlier life that we didn’t know about before. It’s these relationships and ties to humanity that I feel will all be beneficial to Nick if he’s to stay on the good path and beat his father and his Malachai heritage.

All in all this was an excellent book for both new readers and old(those who have read the Dark Hunter series) There are little snipits of information along the way that allow us faithful Kenyon minions to see where she is beginning to overlap the two series and bring certain storylines together. At one point I had a major AHA moment, but this moment didn’t come about right away. It was through a discussion I was having with a fellow Kenyon fan and the light bulb went off. Like I said earlier there are times I feel like a ping pong ball wondering how is she going to do that, can she rewrite that portion of the Nick’s life, etc. She keeps me guessing and wanting to read on. I know I’ve just finished Infamous, but I want to read Inferno now, I want the story to keep going.

READING ORDER for The Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon

1.  Infinity
2.  Invincible
3.  Infamous (March 2012)
4.  Inferno (March 2013)

Reviewed by Marcie

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