Kickin' It

(Red Card #2)
Rachel Van Dyken

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Expected June 11, 2019

Love breaks the offside rule in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken’s irresistibly sexy Red Card romance.

Successful, high-profile sports agent Matt Kingston thinks he can handle anything. Then soccer player Parker Speedman shows up at his door. She is young and gorgeous, has natural talent, and is looking for a team. She’s also a hothead with a punchy past who floored her last coach on live TV. Despite his misgivings, Matt agrees to be both her agent and her coach. Professional common sense says she’s off-limits. But what can he say about the raw attraction between them?

Parker plays soccer with her heart and soul. But after the events of the last year, she’s shaken. She’s already seen what a powerful man can do to a female athlete’s career. And her beloved dream is in the hands of a sexy, gorgeous man with the uncanny ability to slip past her defenses…and into her heart.

Now Matt and Parker are about to learn that when it comes to love, the only way to win is by breaking every rule they know. And by playing nice. Real nice. 

This is a forbidden, client-agent, little-sister's-best-friend romance plus more. It also has a darker edge to the story due to her painful past and is a story or empowerment.

But it begins as more of a feisty, flirty rom com with a grumpy, stressed out agent, Max.  His outgoing and impulsive sister, Willow, and her angry, best friend Parker are invading his home. Parker is a soccer player who has had a bad year and needs an agent to try to repair her reputation and score her a pro contract. And his sister is doing an internship with him to try to convince him to let her work for him as a sports agent.

There is antagonistic banter edged in flirting, an unexpected and forbidden attraction, and several reasons not to act on it.  And no matter how they feel, a relationship would not be professional.

He is all about control. She is chaos. But together they are fire. Matt has a big heart and good sense of humor under that overwhelmed and gruff exterior. Parker has a fragile core, but puts on a strong front. She is trying to deal with her issues as best she can, but her past still affects her and it is hard to outrun. But Matt pushes her to be the best and eventually breaks down her walls and learns more about her issues.

What happens when following one dream could prevent her from realizing another?

Despite the somewhat heavier topics underlying this story, it was also funny, sweet, and sexy. It was not as angsty and the first book. There was some bigger drama towards the end and I thought it might have been a bit much, but it did not bother me too much. But the topic is current and and relevant.

This can be read as a total stand alone, but it does bring back Slade, Mackenzie, and Jagger from Risky Play as supporting characters. They along with Willow they are quite a wild and outspoken group. They add the comic relief and sometimes the drama,  making Matt want to pull his hair out. But at the core of it are friendships and new relationships building that have enriched all of their lives despite the challenges. And it also has good messages of empowerment and the importance of good female role models.

Sports agent, Matt Kingston has his work cut out for him when his two best clients are also his best friends. His sister is heading to live with him and work as an intern, only when she arrives she has a friend with her who needs a place to stay. Parker Speedman is a soccer player looking for a new start. She is hoping Matt can help her find a new team while she is living with her best friend (and his sister) for a time.

I loved the addition of Parker to this group of friends. She can hold her own, even as she is working through the reasons she had to leave her previous team and trying to keep those reasons a secret. And her role as a women’s soccer player made her a great, timely lead. I was a little disappointed in Matt though. He always struck me as a workaholic, and I blamed his short attitude on the shenanigans of the guys he worked with. But in this, his own book, he transitioned from the cranky agent we met in the first book to a different personality so quickly that I felt like he wasn’t following his own character arc.

The storyline had a lot going for it though. I really enjoyed watching these two as they worked through the balance of working together and falling in love, dealing with the past and working on a future. This was a fun, forbidden romance with sports elements and a few heavily elements as well.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Risky Play
(Red Card #1)

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Our 4.5 star reviews

Even one-night stands deserve a second chance in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken’s novel of sporting desire.

What else can a virgin do when she’s ditched at the altar? Seattle heiress Mackenzie Dupont is treating herself to a single-girl honeymoon in Mexico and a desire to relinquish her innocence to a gorgeous one-night stand. Fake names. True pleasure. But when she wakes up alone, Mackenzie realizes just how much anger is left in her broken heart.

Suffering a tragic personal loss, pro soccer player Slade Rodriguez has his reasons for vanishing without a goodbye. Right or wrong, he’s blaming the beautiful and infuriating stranger he never wants to see again. They’re both in for a shock when Mackenzie shows up as his new personal assistant. And they both have a lot to learn about each other. Because they share more than they could possibly know, including a common enemy who’s playing his own games. And he’s not afraid to get dirty.

Now there’s only one way Mackenzie and Slade can win: to trust in each other and to stop hiding from the lies they’ve told, the secrets they’ve kept, the mistakes they’ve made, and the attraction that still burns between them.