HOOKED ON YOU ( The Chicago Rebels #3) by Kate Meader-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour
HOOKED ON YOU
Chicago Rebels #3
by Kate Meader
Release Date: May 7, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, hockey, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /Amazon. uk / Amazon.au / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo /iBooks / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 7, 2018
The steamy Chicago Rebels series returns with this racy and sassy tale of embittered hearts, second chances, and going for the goal—on and off the ice.
Violet Vasquez never met her biological father, so learning he left his beloved hockey franchise—the Chicago Rebels—to her is, well, unexpected. Flat broke and close to homeless, Violet is determined to make the most of this sudden opportunity. Except dear old dad set conditions that require she takes part in actually running the team with the half-sisters she barely knows. Working with these two strangers and overseeing a band of hockey-playing lugs is not on her agenda…until she lays eyes on the Rebels captain and knows she has to have him.
Bren St. James has been labeled a lot of things: the Puck Prince, Lord of the Ice, Hell’s Highlander…but it’s the latest tag that’s making headlines: washed-up alcoholic has-been. This season, getting his life back on track and winning the Cup are his only goals. With no time for relationships—except the fractured ones he needs to rebuild with his beautiful daughters—he’s finding it increasingly hard to ignore sexy, all-up-in-his-beard Violet Vasquez. And when he finds himself in need of a nanny just as the playoffs are starting, he’s faced with a temptation he could so easily get hooked on.
For two lost souls, there’s more on the line than just making the best of a bad situation… there might also be a shot at the biggest prize of all: love.
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REVIEW: HOOKED ON YOU is the third and final full-length instalment in Kate Meader’s contemporary, adult THE CHICAGO REBELS erotic, romance, hockey series focusing on the men and women of the professional hockey team the Chicago Rebels. This is team co-owner Violet Vasquez, and team captain Bren St. James’s story line. HOOKED ON YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion. For fans of Kate Meader there is a slight cross-over with the author’s Hot in Chicago series with the cameo appearance of Alexandra and Eli Cooper (Playing with Fire #2).
SOME BACKGROUND: Upon their father’s death, estranged sisters Harper Chase, Isobel Chase and Violet Vasquez inherited the ownership of the struggling NHL hockey franchise-the Chicago Rebels. With only months remaining in the current season, the sisters are tasked with turning the team into a play-off bound franchise or risk loosing everything, including their father’s legacy, one piece at a time.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Violet and Bren) HOOKED ON YOU follows the building relationship between The Chicago Rebels co-owner Violet Vasquez, and team captain Bren St. James. Months earlier Violet hit on the stranger in a bar not realizing the stranger was the Chicago Rebels troubled captain, and essentially her new employee. With the death of her absentee father, Violet inherited one-third of the mantle of ownership of professional hockey’s struggling Chicago Rebels, and subsequently, along with two half-sisters she knew little about. But when troubled team captain Bren St. James found himself in desperate need of childcare for his two young daughters, Violet reluctantly stepped in knowing Bren didn’t feel the same way about her as she did about the handsome Scot. What ensues is the building relationship between Bren and Violet, and the potential fall-out as Bren’s past comes looking for a second chance forcing Violet to step aside to protect her heart and Bren’s future with his beloved daughters.
Bren St. James’ personal life had spiralled out of control but close to a year of sobriety finds our hero looking towards the future with the children he loves, and the woman that calls to his heart. Violet Vasquez had no plans to stick around past the current hockey season; falling in love was never on the agenda, but having her heart broken meant moving on was more of necessity than previously planned.
All of the previous story line couples and characters play secondary and supporting roles. We are introduced to Bren’s daughters, nine year old Franky, and eleven year old Cat, as well as Violet’s mother, whose own history with Violet’s father was nothing more than a one-night stand.
HOOKED ON YOU is a story of family and friendship; struggling against the demons from the past; romance and love. The premise is entertaining, encouraging and captivating; the romance is hot, erotic and intense; the characters are broken, colorful and real. HOOKED ON YOU is a sassy, sexy and heart-warming story; an energetic conclusion to an addicting series.
Reading Order and Previous Reviews
In Skates Trouble
Irresistible You
So Over You
Undone By You (2.5)
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
She blew out a breath that was half growl, picked up a can of Italian wedding soup, and examined the ingredient list like she was studying for a test. Why wasn’t she taking this opportunity to get under his skin using those taunts that tripped off her tongue like sensual ninja knives?
“Have I offended you in some way, Violet?”
Keeping her chin dipped, she shook her head, but it was a shake of disbelief, not of disagreement with his question.
“Violet, look at me.”
Glittering eyes snapped to his, in them a flash of something—a visceral response to his demand—but it was gone so quickly that even the rewind called him a liar.
“Has something happened?”
“Look, St. James, you and I have never meshed, so we don’t need to pretend to get along. We just ran into each other at the store and you ‘saved’ me from the unseemly interest of a fellow shopper. ¡Maravilloso! ¡Gracias! Now you can take your steel buns and your sexy scowl off in the opposite direction.”
Color flagged her cheeks, making her olive skin glow. She was furious, and he still didn’t know why. He was also furious, and he had a better idea of the reason.
She’d changed the social contract. They’d been moseying along with her teasing and taunting and flirting, and him acting like it was the worst thing ever to happen to him. Like Violet’s attention was a fresh slice of hell, because in a way it was. She reminded him of everything he couldn’t have. She reminded him of the man he used to be. His body came alive around her, and alive was dangerous. Alive was the opposite of numb, and numb was his best defense against the demons whispering in his ear.
One drink won’t hurt. Thirst like yours can’t be quenched with anything but whiskey.
If he allowed himself to want her, it was a slippery slope to succumbing to the demons at the door. Of course he couldn’t tell her this, so instead he latched on to her words.
“Steel buns?” There was also “sexy scowl,” but he figured he’d start with the ass stuff.
She rolled her eyes, then coasted those same eyes down his body, half hidden by the grocery cart. “As if you don’t know.”
“That I have an ass you could bounce a puck off of?” He twisted to check himself out. “S’pose I do, lass.”
She burst out laughing and muttered something in Spanish.
“What’s that?”
“Not for your ears, Scot.”
One day she’d tell him. One day, he’d get it out of her, preferably while her body arched into his and his body drove into hers.
FOLLOW:
Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemprary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.
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