Tag: Jen Frederick

Book Review: Jockblocked by Jen Frederick

Posted April 4, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Book Review: Jockblocked by Jen FrederickJockblocked
by Jen Frederick
Series: Gridiron #2
Also in this series: Played
Published by Jen Frederick on February 11th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Point of View:Alternating First Person
Pages: 496
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon|Barnes & Noble
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

She’s always played it safe…

College junior Lucy Washington abides by one rule—avoid risk at all costs. She’s cautious in every aspect of her life, from her health, to her mock trial team, to the boring guys she dates. When a brash, gorgeous jock walks into the campus coffee shop and turns his flirt on, Lucy is stunned by the force of attraction. For the first time ever, she’s willing to step out of her comfort zone, but can she really trust the guy who’s determined to sweep her off her feet?

He’s always played around…

Entering his last year of college eligibility, linebacker Matthew "Matty" Iverson has the team captaincy in his sights. And it’s his for the taking, if he can convince his quarterback Ace Anderson to give up the starting position. Luckily, Matty already has an edge—the hottie he’s lusting over just happens to be Ace’s childhood best friend. Getting Lucy on his side and in his bed? Hell yeah. Matty is more than confident he can have both, but when he falls hard for Lucy, it’s time for a new game plan: convince the woman of his dreams that she’s not sleeping with the enemy.

It’s been ages since I’ve read this book but it was our book club book of the month for March, so I dug it out and read all about Matty Iverson falling in love with Lucy Washington again. I loved my re-read of this book. It was like coming home after a long day at work. I really enjoyed the chemistry, the romance and the dialogue between Matty and Luce.

So, Matty Iverson is about to be a senior in college and he’s low key over the party scene. He just won the national championship and like a champ does, he parties like there’s no tomorrow to celebrate his team’s achievement with his team and things get a lot out of hand. He’s all partied out and hooking up with random strangers all the time is getting old so instead of continuing the party, he starts hanging out by himself and hitting the books. He meets Lucy Washington and when she rejects him, he’s thrown for a loop. Matty doesn’t get rejected but there’s a first time for everything and it figures that the girl that finally interests him doesn’t return the interest.

Matty turns up the charm as he tries to get Lucy to go out with him. Lucy isn’t having it. She made a promise to her best friend J.R. “Ace” Anderson that she would steer clear of his football teammates and he promised to steer clear of all of her friends. Matty is persistent and Lucy is starting to cave because Matty is starting to show signs that he is a lot more than the person she thought he was and she likes who she is getting to know.

The romance between Matty and Lucy was a fun one. I loved seeing them flirt with each other, wear each other down and then come together like a giant ball of lust. They were such a fun couple and I loved how protective Matty was over Lucy and I loved how loyal Lucy was even when she was stuck in between Matt and Ace. There was a lot going on in this book and I loved being a part of all of it. Matt and Lucy were fun, Hammer, Sutton and Charity and the rest of the guys on the football team, they were all great.

The diabetic stuff with Lucy rang true and got the approval from my book club. There are a few diabetics in our club and they were impressed with the author’s knowledge and the way that it’s treated in the story. It was a part of Lucy’s life, the same way that it’s a part of theirs. It’s not entirely who they are but it’s a big part of their lives and they all thought that Frederick handled it all quite nicely.

Matt was our favorite thing about the book. He was a good, solid hero who wasn’t perfect and didn’t try to be. He was in love and let himself be in love. We connected with him as a person and with the stuff he was dealing with. Between the captaincy, the whole drama with Ace and then his budding relationship with Lucy, the way that he was with everyone completely won us over.

Lucy was strong and she was fun but most importantly, she was normal. Everyone would be able to see a little bit of themselves in Lucy and the way that she was in all aspects of her life was a lot of fun to read because she was complicated but she was real.

I can’t say enough good things about this book except Ace. Ace was such a shitty person. A shitty friend. A shitty teammate and we took a vote at book club and not a lot of people are interested in reading Ace’s book, haha. Poor guy. But this book? It gets a high recommendation from me because I loved the book, the characters, this world and the romance. You won’t be sorry if you pick this one up. It’s a damn good book.

Gridiron Series

Rating

4.75 out of 5

four-half-stars

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Buddy Review: Played by Jen Frederick

Posted October 25, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Buddy Review: Played by Jen FrederickPlayed
by Jen Frederick
Series: Gridiron #4
Also in this series: Jockblocked
Published by Jen Frederick on October 6, 2017
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Point of View:Alternating First Person
Pages: 278
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads

She's been playing it close...

Ara Martin and college football star Ty Masters have been best friends since the first day of school when Ty literally ran her over. She fell for him immediately, but having lived under the shadow of her famous father, she knows a relationship with irresistible Ty would only end in heartbreak. For four years, she’s kept her feelings hidden. But one drunken encounter weeks before graduation is about to expose Ara’s biggest secret and destroy her most treasured relationship. 

He’s been playing for keeps…

Ty is about to be drafted into the NFL, but his personal life is a mess. He’s got an agent he doesn’t like, a brother who can’t stop offering his opinion, and a beautiful woman he craves but can’t have. He can fire his agent and ignore his brother, but he’s not sure what to do about Ara. Ty’s been able to run down every quarterback he’s faced, but his sexy, stubborn best friend keeps slipping through his fingers.

Luckily, he's not one for giving up, and once he gets his hands on her, he's never letting go.

Played by Jen Frederick is the fourth book in her Gridiron series and it’s the story of Knox’s twin brother, Ty as he falls madly in love with his best friend, Ara.

Ty Masters is on the verge of entering the NFL draft and he’s got a lot on his plates. He’s got an agent that he’s not a fan of, bad press following him everywhere he goes because of a jealous ex-girlfriend and some pent-up sexual frustration because he wants his best friend and she has made it more than crystal clear that he is staying in the friend zone. He’s also dealing with the pressure of measuring up or doing better than his twin brother did the year before. Everyone has an opinion and Ty is bound and determined to do it all on his own.

Ara Martin is the daughter of a famous artist and like Ty, she’s determined to make her own way in the world on her own merit. She’s got a lot on her plate as well but the biggest hurdle of her senior year seems to be holding her best friend in the friend zone.

Rowena: Alright, Ames. Let’s do this. Played was good but not my favorite of the Gridiron bunch. I loved Ty though. Like, a lot. Ha! What did you think?

Ames: Same, it wasn’t my fave of the series but I still enjoyed it. I liked Ty – he was so gone for Ara. I like that he didn’t give up on her. And when he walks back into her apartments and says “Fuck the friendship seal”?? SWOON. I loved that.

I like how blasé Ara was about telling the twins apart too. And I liked how they both grew. She was a coward but she ovaried up and he relied on his brother when he really needed to.

Rowena: OMG, ME TOO! When Ty storms out and then comes back?? I read that part twice before moving on in the book. Swoon for real. I especially loved it because he was mad at her but he loved her too. Gah. Homie was going to fight for his girl.

I really liked Fleur. She was a great friend and support system for Ara. She’s the friend that everyone needs in their corner. She was there when Ara needed to get drunk and forget her problems and she was also there when Ara needed a swift kick in the ass because she was being dumb. Seriously, I love Fleur.

Same, and what she tells Knox at the coffee house? I wanted to stand up and applaud her. She had great reasons for being blase about telling them apart. Ara frustrated me more than Ty as far as them getting together but I’m glad she ovaried up and I loved the part where she calls Remy to help her and he’s like, nope. When he told her that he’ll still wear black with her on Wednesday? I laughed out loud. I loved it.

Ames: I liked Remy! And Fleur. They were good secondary characters that made Ara and Ty get their heads on straight when they needed to. View Spoiler » That cracked me up.

Rowena: LOL, yep. I loved how pissed he was that nobody told him. And I love his text messages to her,

“I know you think this campus is big enough that you can hide from me until graduation but you’re wrong. You might as well come home and face the music.”

I seriously love friends to lovers storylines and Jen Frederick does this one justice.

Ames: I know. Haha It had some good moments but there was just something about it that didn’t fully hit the mark. Ty was freaking hot stuff though.

I think that’s a good quote to show how Ty could recognize Ara’s BS and call her on it. At the same time be alpha enough to be uber hot and not come off as a douche. LOL

All right, I’m giving Played a 4 out of 5. It’s a friend to lovers romance which is my ultimate fave and I liked the characters. There were swoony moments, LOL moments and good character growth. I know I said this wasn’t my favourite of the series but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun book to read. It totally was!

Rowena: I’d give Played a 4 out of 5 rating because it was still an enjoyable book despite not being my favorite. There’s plenty to recommend it. I laughed, I happy sighed and I fell in love with the characters all over again. Good stuff.

Gridiron Series

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Eye Candy Friday: Matty Iverson from JockBlocked by Jen Frederick

Posted February 10, 2017 by Rowena in Features | 8 Comments

ECF

This week’s Eye Candy Friday guy is one that is near and dear to my heart because of this quote:

“I would have swallowed,” she says in a slightly piqued tone.

“I know, Goldie.” I sigh. I pull off my own T-shirt and regretfully wipe off the come. “But I don’t know what the carb content of my stuff is, and I didn’t want to fuck up your glucose measurements.”

I mean, I was already a fan of his before he said this but he’s a college guy that is all about getting laid and Lucy is diabetic and he didn’t want to mess up her numbers. Awww. Talk about romance. That right there is it. Ha!

Matty Iverson is up for the captain job on his football team but he’s got to do one thing to cement his captaincy. He’s got to get the starting Quarterback to agree to move to another position so that they can bring in a newer, younger Quarterback to the team. Matty didn’t even know if he wanted to be captain of the team but the coach

sees something in him and is testing him. Can he do whatever it takes to lead the team? Will he put the needs of the team above his own and do what is right for them instead of what is easy?

You find out all about that stuff if you read Matty’s book, Jockblocked. Here is his book information:

JockBlocked by Jen Frederick
Series: Gridiron #2
Also in this Series: Sacked, Downed
Release Date: February 11, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

She’s always played it safe…

College junior Lucy Washington abides by one rule—avoid risk at all costs. She’s cautious in every aspect of her life, from her health, to her mock trial team, to the boring guys she dates. When a brash, gorgeous jock walks into the campus coffee shop and turns his flirt on, Lucy is stunned by the force of attraction. For the first time ever, she’s willing to step out of her comfort zone, but can she really trust the guy who’s determined to sweep her off her feet?

He’s always played around…

Entering his last year of college eligibility, linebacker Matthew “Matty” Iverson has the team captaincy in his sights. And it’s his for the taking, if he can convince his quarterback Ace Anderson to give up the starting position. Luckily, Matty already has an edge—the hottie he’s lusting over just happens to be Ace’s childhood best friend. Getting Lucy on his side and in his bed? Hell yeah. Matty is more than confident he can have both, but when he falls hard for Lucy, it’s time for a new game plan: convince the woman of his dreams that she’s not sleeping with the enemy.

Matty is such a fantastic hero because he’s so young and he’s so normal. He doesn’t behave the way that you’d expect a romance hero to behave. He’s young, he’s immature and he’s in your face about all of that. The thing about Matty is that you see him grow from the immature little shit that we first met in Sacked. Falling in love with Lucy Washington is a huge reason for that growth.

I adored watching Matty and Lucy grow in love for each other. Matty’s personality is so different from Lucy’s and her being the best friend to the guy that he needs to demote on his football team made for a tricky courtship but Matty’s a determined guy and I loved seeing him go for it with Lucy.

This is how I picture Matty in my head:

Matty is fun, he’s determined and he’s so stinkin’ lovable. Here are some quotes to help you understand my mad love for this boy:

“And seriously, when did I become the omelet chef in this scenario? I’m not sure I even want to be captain, dammit. Responsibility makes the back of my neck itch. I’d much rather be one of the happy, oblivious sheep than the stressed-out shepherd who has to guide them.”

See? Such a normal boy thing to think, don’t you think?

“Hammer continues as if I haven’t said a word. “According to these Tantric sex gurus, you can make a girl come just by breathing on her.”

“I raise a skeptical eyebrow. “Breathing? I don’t think any woman is having an orgasm even if I gusted tornado winds into her pussy.”

“Not with that attitude you won’t.”

Crazy college boys. Ha!

“Now it’s my turn to be offended. “You said it was a study group.”

“And you believed me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Hell, maybe I shouldn’t venture outside the Gas Station. It’s too complex out here. “This is college, and study groups do exist. A lot. College is to study groups as libraries are to books. They go together.”

Ha, when girls are trying to hit on you and you’re not interested. You get offended. Matty was too funny in this scene.

There are plenty of reasons for you to want to get to know Matty Iverson. He has a great support system in his friends, he’ll make you laugh when the shenanigans he finds himself in and he’s just a caring and loving person who is hot as hell too. He’s a great character, one you’ll definitely want to know for yourself so check out his book.

Buy the Book

JockBlocked by Jen Frederick
February 11, 2016
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Series Order

Until next week…enjoy!

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Buddy Review: Twisted Palace by Erin Watt

Posted November 3, 2016 by Rowena & Bookish Ames in Reviews | 6 Comments

twisted-palace

Bookish Ames is one of my best friends and we used to buddy review books together all the time. We’ve slowed down on that so I’m happy that we decided to bring it back on our blogs. Our very first buddy review book is Twisted Palace by Erin Watt because it’s a book that we were both pretty anxious for and it’s a discussion worthy book so here is our review.

Twisted Palace by Erin Watt
Series: The Royals #3
Release Date: October 17, 2017
Publisher: Erin Watt
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 370
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

These Royals will ruin you…

From mortal enemies to unexpected allies, two teenagers try to protect everything that matters most.

Ella Harper has met every challenge that life has thrown her way. She’s tough, resilient, and willing to do whatever it takes to defend the people she loves, but the challenge of a long-lost father and a boyfriend whose life is on the line might be too much for even Ella to overcome.

Reed Royal has a quick temper and even faster fists. But his tendency to meet every obstacle with violence has finally caught up with him. If he wants to save himself and the girl he loves, he’ll need to rise above his tortured past and tarnished reputation.

No one believes Ella can survive the Royals. Everyone is sure Reed will destroy them all.
They may be right.

With everything and everyone conspiring to keep them apart, Ella and Reed must find a way to beat the law, save their families, and unravel all the secrets in their Twisted Palace.

Rowena: Twisted Palace is the third and I think, concluding book in the Royals series by Erin Watt. The Royals have certainly taken us on a crazy reading adventure and after the cliff-hanger from the last book, Broken Prince, I was really looking forward to digging into this one.

When we last left off with this group of characters, people were dying and coming back from the dead and our favorite punk ass, Reed Royal was the main suspect in a murder. There was plenty to tackle in this book and I went in without any hesitation.

So, what were your initial thoughts of the book?

Ames: To be completely honest, I was disappointed. The first two books were such guilty fun pleasures to read that I was really looking forward to see how it would all get wrapped up. Especially with the cliffhangers at the end of book 2! I was wondering who the baby daddy was going to be and I had predicted that this person was going to be the murderer. And that wasn’t the case at all! Plus with the introduction of a certain character, it really changed the dynamic of the story and took page time away from Easton and the other Royals. I would have rather seen Ella’s relationship develop even further with the Royal brothers than what happened with the new character. That’s what made the first 2 books enjoyable to me. Ella’s relationship with the brothers.

What about you, what were your initial thoughts?

Rowena: Same. This book was a let down for me because my frustrations from the first two books was completely different from my frustrations with this one. The guilty fun pleasures from Paper Princess and Broken Prince were missing in this one and there were so many things that I wasn’t a fan of. I would keep going but I would just be repeating everything you said so I’ll just say this. Ditto to everything you said. I feel the same way.

What were your thoughts on Ella?

I thought she was not the same Ella that we’re used to. This girl lived on her own, as a stripper and survived that first year of school like a boss and then this guy shows up and all of a sudden, she’s not that girl anymore. She’s this stranger with no backbone that is all whiny. No. Ella is strong and she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs. She was never about money or living off the Royals. She was very adamant about working and making her own money and the Ella that I admired the hell out of from the first two books was gone.

It was disappointing to see Ella come so far and then regress so much in one book.

Ames: I agree with you about Ella. And that’s all to blame on a certain character. He screwed it all up. And that’s the thing, with the first two books, these teenagers had little oversight from parental units and they came across as more mature and not really kids. And then bam, in this book it’s shoved in our face that Ella is a teenager and I found that hard to deal with.

The other thing? Two characters, Jordan and Dinah, that came across as real villains in the first 2 books were also changed in this installment. I missed Ella and Jordan going head to head. Ella really came out shining after encounters with Jordan and she didn’t get that in this book. Especially with her sneaking around antics…there was nothing to root for for her. Not even with the murder. Just so frustrating.

Rowena: Can we talk about how immature and bratty two grown ass men who were also NAVY SEALS were? Gosh, I wanted to punch both of them! Mostly the guy that shall not be named. He came onto the scene and just kind of took over and I hated how everyone just let him. I would have been like, “No bitch, you don’t run things here.”

The book as a whole was just disappointing to me. From Ella’s lack of spine, the other Royal brothers not getting any page time and the big killer reveal, the whole thing just felt flat and was so different from what I was hoping the concluding story would be.

I will say that my favorite thing about the book was the growth that we see in Reed’s character. When we first met him, way back in book 1, I liked him but I kind of hated that I liked him because he was such a dickhead. Especially to Ella and when they kicked her out of the car and made her walk home, I wanted to punch both Reed and Easton in the nuts. I was so mad and yet so intrigued by all of the chaos and just royally messed up characters but in Twisted Palace, Reed came full circle for me. I really loved seeing the change and just the maturity of how he carried himself in this book. Even when he was flying off the handle and beating people up, I still thought that he showed a lot of restraint. Well, more than we’ve seen from him before.

What was your favorite thing about the book? Did you have any? 🙂

Ames: Reed did show some improvement. But how tough was that to read about all the people saying things about him? I hated that but it shows how he’s changed from that guy he used to be. But still at the core he didn’t change that much, he’s still a badass and don’t you dare say anything about those he loves!

So even though the main plot disappointed me, I still found Twisted Palace readable and I wanted to see what happened to all these characters. What I truly enjoyed was how Ella was growing a circle of friends who were truly there for her. She came from nothing and having to rely on herself to opening up and learning that there are people who will have her back, no matter what. I liked that.

Rowena: Yeah, that was nice. Seeing Ella realize that she’s not alone in the world anymore was nice. I just wish Jordan wasn’t really a part of that in this book. They spent so much time being enemies that I really hated that she would help Ella in any way…even if it was to show her dumb ass roots to further her popularity.

I didn’t have any trouble reading the book so it was definitely readable, I just didn’t like a lot that happened in the book aside from seeing the guy Reed has become. The authors were correct in that this series did ruin me and in a really good way, I just wish that this book had lived up to the hype that I had going for it in my head. Oh well, you can’t win everything.

Rowena’s Rating


2.5 out of 5

What would you rate it?

Ames’ Rating


3 out of 5

Ames: I would have to rate it a 3 out of 5. I still found it engrossing even though it wasn’t what I expected. I love the Royals!

Author News

Erin Watt has more YA goodness coming our way soon. The cover reveal dropped on Happy Ever After that their new writing adventure is a contemporary YA featuring a rock star and the girl he pays to be his girlfriend. Check it out here.

when-its-real

When It’s Real by Erin Watt
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pre-Order the Book: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

From #1 New York Times bestselling author duo Erin Watt comes the addictive contemporary tale of a teen rock star in need of an image makeover and the teen girl hired to be his fake girlfriend.

Meet Oakley Ford-teen celebrity, renowned pop star, child of famous movie stars, hottie with millions of fangirls…and restless troublemaker. On the surface he has it all, but with his home life disintegrating, his music well suddenly running dry, and the tabloids having a field day over his outrageous exploits, Oakley’s team decides it’s time for an intervention. The result: an image overhaul, complete with a fake girlfriend meant to show the world he’s settled down.

Enter seventeen-year-old Vaughn Bennett-devoted sister, part-time waitress, the definition of “normal.” Under ordinary circumstances she’d never have taken this gig, but with her family strapped for cash, she doesn’t have much of a choice. And for the money Oakley’s team is paying her, she figures she can put up with outlandish Hollywood parties and a team of publicists watching her every move. So what if she thinks Oakley’s a shallow, self-centered jerk? It’s not like they’re going to fall for each other in real life…right?

Rowena: I’m so going to be reading this one. It sounds like another fabulous story!

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Top 5 Wednesday: Authors I’m Waiting on Another Book From

Posted August 10, 2016 by Rowena in Features | 8 Comments

T5W
So, I saw this on A Mismatched Reader today and it looks like something completely doable and fun to bring to the blog so I’m going to start participating in this (let’s see how long this lasts, ha!). It’s actually hosted by Booktuber Sam at Thoughts on Tomes and you can read more about this meme on the Goodreads Group here.

This week’s topic discusses authors we’re waiting on more books from. It was super easy for me since there are a lot of authors and books that I’m looking forward to.
 
 


1. Julie James.

Julie James writes smart contemporary romances with strong heroines and swoon-worthy heroes and she’s taking a lot longer writing her next book that was supposed to come out this year but got pushed back to next year and got a new title. That book is The Thing about Love and it’s the next book in her FBI/US Attorney’s series and I’m super stoked about it. I just know that it’s going to be a great one.


2. Jen Frederick.

I love Jen Frederick’s books. I’m completely addicted to them and I’m super anxious for the next book in both her Woodlands series (Adam!) and her Gridiron series (Ace ??!!@#@#$%@) We’ve got a few months before either of those books come out and I’m counting down the days, hours and minutes until they do. I’m mighty curious to see the redemption of Asshole Ace from Jock Blocked and I’m super excited to meet Knox’s twin brother Ty and see him in his element at his school. On the Woodlands side, Adam! Super sexy, bad boy tattooed Adam. I want! *swoon*


3. Elle Kennedy.

There are quite a few books that I’m waiting on from Elle Kennedy. The Goal is one, the last book in the Killer Instincts series (*sob*), the next book in the Outlaws series and that’s not even counting the book that I’m so thirsty for that she co-wrote with Jen Frederick, Twisted Palace.

I love me some Elle Kennedy and I need to know what went down with Tucker…and Sabrina. I need their story like yesterday and I think it’s probably one of the most anticipated books by me this year. I love this series and I already know that I’m going to love it (I mean, come on…it’s an Elle Kennedy book)…I just need it to be on my kindle app already.


4. Lauren Layne.

Someone Like You is the last book in the Oxford series and I’m looking forward to it because…LINCOLN!! It’s freaking Lincoln Mathis’ book. The guy that we’ve been swooning over ever since the Sex, Love & Stiletto’s books. Or, actually since his best friend Cole’s book (Irresistibly Yours, Oxford #1). He’s the extremely good looking bachelor that bangs all the girls and stays friends with them afterward. There’s always someone new and there’s a reason why Lincoln won’t commit to anyone and in freaking December, we’ll finally find out why. Yippy skippy!


5. Cora Carmack.

It’s been a year since All Played Out came out and I have been super anxious to get my hands on Stella’s book because Stella! OMG Stella! I need to know that she’s okay, that she ends up with someone deserving of her greatness and I really need to see everyone else from this series that I have grown to care for and love the hell out of.

I can honestly go on and on about this topic, list at least 6-7 more authors off the top of my head but this is a Top 5 not a Top 20 so I’ll cut it out but seriously, these authors are my go to authors. I love their stuff so I’m really looking forward to their books. I just wish they wrote faster. 🙂

Are there any authors that you’re waiting on books from? What books are you waiting on?

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