Review and Excerpt Tour: The Hot Shot: Kristen Callihan

by - Wednesday, April 19, 2017


The Hot Shot (Game On #4)
Kristen Callihan
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Release Date April 18, 2017


First we were friends. Then we were roommates. Now I want more…

What can I say about Chess Copper? The woman is capable of bringing me to my knees. I know this about five minutes after getting naked for her.

No one is more surprised than me. The prickly photographer my team hired to shoot our annual charity calendar isn’t my usual type. She’s defense to my offense, a challenge at every turn. But when I’m with her, all the regrets and darkness goes away. She makes life fun.

I want to know Chess, be close to her. Which is a bad idea.

Chess is looking for a relationship. I’ve never given a woman more than one night. But when fate leaves Chess without a home, I step up and offer her mine. We’re roommates now. Friends without benefits. But it’s getting harder to keep our hands off each other. And the longer we live together the more I realize she’s becoming my everything.

Trick is… Now that I’ve made her believe I’m a bad bet, how do I convince her to give this player a true shot at forever?
This installment  takes place during the same time period as The Game Plan and features Dex's team mate in New Orleans, Finn Mannus.

Finn is the golden boy quarterback. He's confident, handsome, funny, and a bit cocky. When he meets photographer Chess Copperpot they start with some antagonistic banter, but by the time he is stripped down for pictures, so are his defenses...and they find some common ground.

They are opposites in some ways. He is all about hook ups and does not think he wants a relationship. She is searching for a real relationship, but is not into hooking up. She is a bit edgy, quirky, and analytical. He is easy going and has a bad boy image. The limelight follows him while she prefers staying behind the camera.

But they ease into a friendship anyway. She treats him like a person, not a celebrity. And due to circumstances, they end up as room mates. Their attraction grows, but so do their fears and worries. They never expected to find "their person," but doing the wrong thing could make them lose it. It's a big risk to be vulnerable and try for more.  They both have some issues that hold them back. Neither have really had relationships. And at times they each think they are a bad bet.

But they are faced with some serious situations that make things more intense. They will have to decide if they can handle them and fight for what they want, or if they are too afraid to take the risk.

This was a funny, sweet, sexy, and romantic friends-to-lovers story about fate and faith. Finn was such a good guy. He was generous, caring, protective, and loving. I loved seeing him realize what he wanted. He could say the swooniest things. My heart broke for him at times. I just really adored him. Chess was likable, but could be a bit frustrating with her doubts and fears and overanalyzing. But I understood where she was coming from. She lost a lot quickly and needed safety and stability. I liked them together from the start. They challenged each other, had fun banter, good chemistry, and a connection. They both really were in need of an anchor and someone to love them unconditionally but were affected by their fears.

It was told in both of their points of view. There were hidden layers in their back stories that added more depth, drama, and emotion. It brings back the New Orleans group Dex and Fi, Jake, Rolando, and North. There were some mentions of other old friends.  Her vibrant bestie, James was fun. There was angst. There was drama. There were parts that made me grip my kindle hard and gasp. It kept me entertained and emotionally invested.  I loved this couple and their story. I am looking forward to more in this series and Jake's story.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 
They are looking for opposite things: Chess Copper wants a relationship, Finn Mannus only does one night. They are opposites in many other ways as well. But minutes after meeting, they each are fighting an attraction. And even more surprising than the physical attraction, is their connection. Finn genuinely likes being around Chess and wants to spend more time with her.

I loved watching as Finn and Chess became friends and tamped down their feelings in order to keep the friendship they had growing. Chess always treated Finn as a person, not a celebrity, something he valued, especially as their friendship continued to grow. Chess wasn’t used to having people outside her very small circle she could count on and adding to that with Finn and his teammates kept her on her toes.

Finn and Chess each have reasons for keeping things on a platonic level, but situations arise and they know they can work together to make things easier. At least, on the surface it seems like things will be easier.

Finn was always such a gentleman. Though he has things going on that cause him pain, he is a protector and shields those around him as best he can. He hid his own problems well, as much of what we learn about him was a surprise to me.

Chess was an interesting one to read. She sees things often through her lens and being forced to step back from the camera for a time gave her a different perspective on what was important, particularly because of the reasons she needed some time.

Returning to the Game On world is always a pleasure and The Hot Shot is no exception. This is a fun, flirty, friends to lovers story that takes place at the same time as the timeline for The Game Plan. Several of Finn’s teammates play pretty big roles here, and seeing the bit’s of Dex’s drama play out in the background was fun. I loved Chess’s friend James, and though his role lessened as the story continued, I loved what she had to learn as a result of his distance. I look forward to Jake’s book and returning to this world once again.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Hook Up 
(Drew and Anna)
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The Friend Zone
(Gray and Ivy)
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The Game Plan
(Dex and Fi)
Add to Goodreads
Buy: Amazon | B&N | iTunes

     
KCauthor
KRISTEN CALLIHAN
Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal , best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

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