Buy from Amazon ~ Buy from Barnes & Noble
Synopsis:
Angela Peterson was always the quiet, shy kid growing up in Harper Falls, crushing on the high school quarterback and honing her football strategy skills. Now grown up and coaching the high school team, she’s shocked when that same sexy quarterback returns to Harper Falls asks her back to his hotel room. And then tries to steal her job.
Injured NFL quarterback Cade Reynolds is in Harper Falls to take over as interim head coach, and he never thought the tall, blond bombshell he propositioned would offer up any resistance. Not to a repeat of the amazingly wild night they shared and certainly not to his coaching position.
But the Harper Falls High Eagles are Angie’s team, and even the hometown hero won’t take that away from her, no matter how hot he is. As the two engage in a battle of wits and wills, this is one game neither is prepared to lose.
My Review:
Skin in the Game is book #1 in Jackie Barbosa’s Play Action Series and this story definitely kicks the series of with a great start!
Angela Peterson can’t believe her eyes. Is that Cade Reynolds she sees sitting in her little hometown coffee shop? The very same Cade Reynolds NFL quarterback who she’d gone to high school with and had the biggest crush of her life on? What could he be doing back here? Before she can think of those answers, she finds herself sitting at the table with him and accepting an invitation to dinner…now she’s questioning of she should be upset that he didn’t recognize her from all those years ago. Guess she really had changed from the awkward, football fanatic teen he’d known back then.
Cade Reynolds, after being sidelined with an injury, is back in his hometown and ready to help coach his old high school football team at the request of the coach who’d practically raised him. It feels good to be back and feels even better to have met the beautiful blond at the coffee shop this morning. He has a nagging feeling he knows her from somewhere but surely he wouldn’t have forgotten a woman like her. Maybe he can learn more about the sexy high school math teacher over dinner….or room service if he has anything to say about it.
Well, the fates certainly have surprises in store for Cade and Angie. When they realize their history and realize they will both be coaching the football team, sparks start to fly. Their chemistry is undeniable and now, being thrown into a situation where they see each other and work together, they will have to decide if they have something between them worth throwing a pass at. With emotions, and careers at stake, hopefully it won’t end in a fumble.
What a great take on a contemporary romance! I adored the sporty spin on things! It was a fresh and interesting story packed with emotions, sexiness and fun. I really enjoyed Cade and Angie as characters and the chemistry between them was done just right. She wasn’t a starry-eyed gal mooning over the larger than life sports star Cade has become and Cade wasn’t a self-absorbed jock. He was humble when needed most and was really a heart-warming hero. The ending was absolutely perfect and played out like a chick flick and I loved it! Well done, Jackie!
If you’re looking for sweet and sassy with a sporty spin on romance, then definitely pick this book up! Thank you, Ms. Barbosa, for a great read!
Four Loves
About the author:
“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer when I grew up, but there were plenty of times when I wasn’t sure I ever would be. As it turns out, it just took me about twenty years longer to grow up than I expected!
On the road to publication, I took a few detours, including a stint in academia (I hold an MA in Classics from the University of Chicago and was a recipient of a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities) and many years as a technical writer/instructional designer for a data processing company. I still hold my day job in instructional design, but my true passion is writing steamy romances–both historical and contemporary.
I learned to believe in love at first sight when I met the man of my dreams twenty years ago and to believe in happily ever after when I married him. I live in Southern California with my husband, our three children, and an ever-changing menagerie of pets.”