Release Day Blitz: Park Avenue Player: Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland

by Kimbytx - Monday, September 23, 2019

Park Avenue Player

Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland

A Standalone Contemporary Romance

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Release date September 23, 2019

It started out like any normal day.

Then the fender bender happened.

The guy I collided with drove an expensive car and was drop-dead gorgeous. Too bad he was also a total jerk. We argued over whose fault it was and any other thing that came out of his condescending mouth.

Eventually, the police came and we went our separate ways. The insurance companies would have to figure things out. I had a job interview to get to anyway—one I was excited about.

Though that excitement changed to disappointment the moment the person interviewing me walked in. The guy from the accident.

Whoops!

Yeah, so I didn’t get the position.

The problem was, I really wanted it. No, I needed it. Anything to get me out of my current career and back into working with kids.

So, even though Hollis LaCroix was as intimidating as he was devastatingly handsome, I went back to see him and begged for a chance.

To my surprise, he gave me a shot taking care of his troubled niece.

At least my attraction to him wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. I wasn’t about to jeopardize my job or the strong bond Hailey and I formed.

But resisting the magnetic pull between us wasn’t that simple. (Then there was our little underwear game—don’t ask.)

We continued to flirt without crossing the line—until it finally happened.

This is the part of the story where we fall in love and live happily ever after, right?

Well, life has a way of throwing some major curveballs.

Ours was one I didn’t see coming.

Elodie and Hollis end up crashing into each other's lives and nothing will ever be the same. Hollis seems like a grumpy, alpha, controlling jerk with a pretty face. Elodie is intelligent, intuitive, and determined. These two push and challenge and annoy each other from the moment they meet. But as time goes on they find common ground and both begin building more of a relationship with his troubled niece, Hailey. And eventually they have the whole forbidden boss and nanny thing going. They have witty banter and their dynamics are full of sexual tension, games, and a building up a friendship and passion.

But these two have some issues with trust and abandonment. He is especially guarded about love due to his history. Under his armor is a truly caring, vulnerable man who is a bit lost and scared. So there is a lot of push and pull and false starts. He does not always think he deserves Elodie, making him get her hopes up then pull away. And he messes with Elodie's head at times. When they are good, they are really good. But when things get hard he has a tendency to get inside his head or run, while she is left with doubt and her own fears and self-worth issues.

But as the story progresses so do the twists and surprises. And in typical Vi and Penelope style, there is something that neither saw coming that gets both of their heads spinning.

This book hit all the feels and dealt with more than I was expecting. It is fun and sexy, but also emotional and angsty. It's about having faith, taking risks, fighting for what is important, and living life to its fullest. I loved the main couple and how they pushed each other and tried to help heal the other. The side characters were important to the storyline and added depth, and I enjoyed the different relationships. There is even a fun little cameo. This is definitely one of my favorite books by Vi and Penelope and their writing flows together effortlessly.

Elodie needs the job she is preparing to interview for. Her current job is a dead end and nowhere near the field she wants to be in. But her chances of getting this perfect job are crushed when she is involved in a fender bender on her way to the interview. It isn’t until she reaches the interview that she realizes the other party in the accident was none other than her interviewer.

Hollis is grumpy from the start. Guarded, short tempered, and focused on work, he needs a nanny but hasn’t found a candidate that fits with his spirited niece. He wouldn’t have hired the woman involved in his fender bender, except that Hailey seems to actually get along with her - something he hadn’t found yet.

Both are holding on to baggage from previous relationships, both have constant reminders of the pain in their past. Hollis’s ex-girlfriend did a number on him when she left, and he hasn’t moved on in the six years since. Elodie is still healing from a divorce that left her bitter towards men. Neither are looking for anything, even as they admit there is an attraction between them. Besides, as Elodie forms a connection with Hailey, Hollis knows he needs to keep Elodie around and a relationship will only complicate things.

But even as they both admit they aren’t interested in anything, the attraction builds and flirting turns into panty games, which only fan the flames of their attraction further. As they flirt with the idea of more, a twist pops up that neither of them saw coming. There were times that I grew frustrated with their back and forth games, but when the twist came up, I was fully invested. The build up of the end was exactly what I needed to be pulled back into the story.

This was a quick read full of heart. There was a lot going on, more than I anticipated as I reflected at the end. The side characters add a lot of depth to the story, and this is one of those books that needs these rich side characters for the main characters to face their fears. The twist at the end pulled a lot of things together that I hadn’t noticed hanging and I loved the journey the characters were on as a result.

Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

Vi Keeland

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

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Co-written Novels

The Rush Series (2 Book Series)