Falling in love with two new romance series has done wonders for my reading life. This month I finished reading Elle Kennedy’s Out of Uniform series and made my way through most of Helena Hunting’s hockey series, Pucked.
Somehow in November, I read 13 books on top of writing for NaNoWriMo! That’s pretty amazing for me. Obviously this month’s reviews are heavy on the romance.
Here is a glance into my reading life this November:
American Royals by Katharine McGee
I discussed this book previously in my November Quick Lit post. Long story short, Katharine McGee’s debut novel, The Thousandth Floor, is one of the reason why I now wait to begin series until all the books have been published. When I realized she was also the author of widely hyped American Royals, I couldn’t wait to read it!
In this alternate version of America, George Washington became king rather than president. Now in present time, Princess Beatrice has been preparing to become America’s first queen all her life. It’s only when her parents demand she find a husband first that she begins to find her role stifling. Twins Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson recently turned 18 and are figuring out their next steps while they struggle to balance public roles with their love lives.
I loved everything about this book except that it seemed too short! I flew through it. Now I have to decide if I want to remain on the long wait list for Majesty from my library or make the sequel one of my few book purchases this year.
Moonlight Over Manhattan by Sarah Morgan
My best friend recommended Moonlight Over Manhattan to me after I mentioned how much Sarah Morgan pops up on romance lists, especially holiday romances. I listened to it on audio, something I’m slowly getting back into. As a dog lover, introvert, and wishing for some holiday magic, this was a great pick for me.
Successful dog walker, Harriet is breaking out of her comfort zone by challenging herself to do something that scares her every day until Christmas. Workaholic ER doctor, Ethan has his life turned upside down when he volunteers to keep his sister’s dog, Madi, after she’s called away for an emergency.
Harriet is Madi’s regular walker. She’s shocked to find lonely Madi has torn up Ethan’s apartment and angered his neighbors with her barking. She wants to foster Madi until her owner can return. Instead Ethan, not wanting to let his sister down, proposes that Harriet move in with him to be Madi’s 24 hour sitter. Harriet accepts realizing the situation fits her challenge but neither one of them factored their chemistry into the equation.
This romance was cute and sweet and got surprisingly steamy toward the end. I enjoyed meeting many of the supporting characters and look forward to seeing if their own stories feature in this series. I would definitely read more from Sarah Morgan.
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
In this contemporary young adult graphic novel, Paige Turner has recently moved to New York City with her parents in the middle of the school year. She begins an art diary as a way to process and understand her new life and city. Once her new high school is back in session she makes friends with a group of kids who are all artists in their own ways. As friends and fellow artists they support and encourage one another to create. Eventually Paige gains the confidence to call herself an artist and also to begin her first relationship.
I had a few graphic novels waiting on my Libby shelf this month thinking they’d be easy reads to focus on if my brain was fired from NaNoWriMo. I loved Page by Paige! While it was easy to be absorbed into, the book’s message was so much deeper than I expected. The black and white artwork was expressive, beautiful, and detailed. I loved the whimsy that surrounded Paige’s thoughts and the joint art projects she created all over the city with her friends. It was fun, sweet, and thought provoking.
Out of Uniform Series by Elle Kennedy
Elle Kennedy’s Out of Uniform series follows a team of Navy SEALs. One by one the military men find the love, or in one case the loves, of their lives. Feeling Hot, story 7 and the first full length novel, was included in my November Quick Lit. I devoured the rest of this erotic romance series in a matter of days after. It was so good! The 6 novella and 4 novel series is currently available on Kindle Unlimited. Feeling Hot featuring Cash and Jen remains my favorite of the books.
Getting Hotter by Elle Kennedy
Getting Hotter tells Seth’s story. He is the smart ass and resident grump of the group. Raised in Las Vegas with a showgirl mother and now a Navy SEAL, there’s very little that surprises him. When Miranda moves from Vegas to San Diego to open a dance studio, Seth’s mother asks him to look out for her. He has been lusting over Miranda from the moment he met her back in Vegas so he’s happy to take this opportunity to get closer to her. What he didn’t factor in was her six year old twins. He hates kids. When Miranda’s apartment floods forcing her and her kids to go stay with Seth, sparks of sorts fly.
While this one had some steamy scenes and humor, it was probably my least favorite of the full length novels. I wish we could have seen how they met in Vegas. There are also some underlying tragedies that caught me off guard.
Hotter Than Ever by Elle Kennedy
Hotter Than Ever was another new experience for me. This story follows another teammate, Dylan, who is charismatic, easy going, and recently dealing with a complicated relationship with his “roommate” Aidan. While at his brother’s wedding, he winds up having to play hero to the bride, Claire, a woman he doesn’t even like, when the groom deserts her with no explanation. Angry and humiliated, she agrees to go to San Diego with him to recover for a few days to escape the pity and concern of those around her. Things get even more complicated when Claire realizes she’s attracted to both Dylan and his roommate, Aidan, and her attraction is returned.
This book introduced me to the term throuple, where three people have agreed to be in romantic, loving relationship together. I’ve never read about a triad relationship before. Elle Kennedy wrote a believable situation with three amazing characters who fall in love. It’s impossible not to adore these three.
As Hot as It Gets by Elle Kennedy
As Hot as It Gets tells Jackson’s story. This Navy SEAL has watched all of his teammates find love and settle down and now he’s ready for that too. But after a string of blind dates and set ups by his friends leads to only crazy hilarious stories, he’s about to give up hope. Enter Mia, a gardener working two jobs trying to finish raising the teenage brother her flighty mom dumped on her. While Jackson is determined to date her, Mia has no room in her busy life for a relationship along with a disinterest in sex altogether. One kiss from Jackson changes that and they slowly move from a no strings fling into the possibility of more.
This was my second favorite novel in the series. It was sweet that Jackson being the only SEAL who wanted to settle down had his story conclude the series. It was fun to see how his and Mia’s relationship developed. They were quick to apologize when wrong and support one another with their family baggage. I also loved Jackson’s alter ego. He’s a patient southern gentleman on the outside, but as the warning goes he’s “wickedly ungentlemanly in the bedroom”.
Helena Hunting’s Pucked Series
I stayed up way too late reading this series from Helena Hunting. I’m reading the last book now and can tell I’m going to have a serious book hangover when I finish it. I heard about the first book, Pucked, on an episode of the What to Read Next podcast. I never would have thought hockey players or sports romance would be something for me, but with Helena Hunting’s writing style it definitely is! She packs humor, steam, and heart melting moments throughout. I love the Pucked family of characters!
Pucked by Helena Hunting
Violet is well acquainted with the playboy reputation of many hockey stars. She has a famous NHL player as a stepbrother. But when her family forces her to go to one of her stepbrother’s games, she’s surprised to discover Alex, the team captain, is as intellectual as he is athletic. With a complete lapse in judgement Violet has a one night stand with Alex. At least she thought it was only for one night, but then Alex starts to call and text and send her gifts. He wants to date her but Violet isn’t sure she can trust him with his player reputation. It’s a reputation he claims is misconstrued by the media.
I am so glad I gave Pucked a try. I don’t know what I was expecting but Violet’s raunchy humor blew me away as much as Alex’s sweet side. The humor in this might not work for everyone. I could see where some readers might find it immature and Alex’s stalker tendencies in the beginning were a little over the top, but as their love story progressed these two won me over. They are two weirdos who are definitely meant for one another and provide the backbone for the series.
Pucked Up by Helena Hunting
The second book in the series, Pucked Up follows Miller aka Buck, Violet’s stepbrother, as he tries to overcome his bad reputation with women to make a relationship work with Alex’s sister, Sunny. They struggle to learn to trust one another while dealing with long distance, family disapproval, and Miller’s past.
The relationship between Miller and Sunny is so sweet. After Violet’s depictions of Miller in the first book, I wasn’t sure how this second one was going to go with him as the hero. This book is only told from Miller’s point of view. I really wish we had Sunny’s too. It made it a little hard to relate to her. I would have liked to get inside her slightly innocent, dog loving, yoga teaching, vegan head.
Pucked Over by Helena Hunting
Oh my god! Pucked Over tells the story of my favorite couple, Randy and Lily. Randy is my new book boyfriend. I don’t know if it’s because of the beard and tattoos which is just my type (hello husband) or because he’s a little bit crazy both on the ice and in the bedroom – his last name is Ballistic!
Lily is just out of a seven year relationship and after a run in with Randy at Alex’s cabin (featured in the last book), their chemistry convinces her to give “just having fun” a shot. Randy is more than happy to be Lily’s rebound since he knows he isn’t cut out to be anyone’s boyfriend. They make a deal to tell the other if things stop being fun or get too intense. But what happens if they’re so wrapped up in one another they don’t realize that until it’s too late?
Again I was so happy to fall in love with Lily’s character after she didn’t come across so great in the second book. She’s sweet, independent, and hardworking – nothing has come easily to her. I loved that this book takes place during the hockey season and we get to know a few new characters. Plus the attraction between them is both sizzling and fun. This book is seriously hot, goofy, and romantic.
Forever Pucked by Helena Hunting
Forever Pucked is the sequel to Pucked. It follows Alex and Violet during their engagement. In previous books, we saw that Violet is not doing well handling the pressure from their mothers to have a huge wedding. She literally breaks out in hives whenever the topic comes up and didn’t make it through their engagement party. Alex is trying to give her space to set a date at her own pace but an accident on the ice throws some unexpected twists and turns their way.
Violet’s antics got on my nerves a little bit in the last book, but being inside her head again reminded me of why I like her. Alex came across as heavy handed and bratty in the beginning of this story, but these two work through it and come out stronger in the end. Family, friends, and teammates feature strongly throughout the book. It was so fun to catch up with my favorite characters and get a peek at how their lives and relationships are evolving.
Pucked Under by Helena Hunting
This shorter book is a sequel to Randy and Lily’s story, told from their point of views again. In Pucked Under, Lily is adjusting great to her move to Chicago. She has a job she loves and she and Randy are living together. With the off-season for hockey coming to an end, all the couples head to Alex’s Chicago cottage for a last relaxing weekend. Randy is looking forward to the chance to shake the anxiety he has over the season starting and having to spend so much time apart from Lily. Sex and shenanigans ensue for all over the weekend away. When they return home though, Randy has a surprise house guest and all his worries resurface.
Of course I loved this opportunity to catch a glimpse into Randy and Lily’s relationship! I didn’t mind Randy’s caveman tendencies while trying to get a handle on his anxiety over being away from Lily. Those two are crazy in love and in the bedroom – or perhaps bathroom, as they’re known for.
Pucked Off by Helena Hunting
Pucked Off follows Lance Romero also known as Lance “Romance”. This book has a different tone from the others in the series. It’s a lot darker and deals with serious issues such as past trauma and abuse.
Lance is still seriously hung up on Tash, the team’s trainer, after the fallout of their fling. The story reveals in the first chapter that the two had a very unhealthy relationship. I would actually classify it as abusive.
When Lance gets injured in a bar fight, he must see a massage therapist before he’s allowed to play again. This is torture to Lance who hates to be touched. Enter Poppy, a character we’ve met before, who knows Lance from childhood. He still doesn’t recognize her but for some reason he can handle her touch. Lance even gets used to it and may like it. When he’s forced to continue massage therapy into the season, he pleads with Poppy to keep treating him. They continue to grow closer as he tries to deal with his demons.
Lance and Poppy’s story is very sweet. It was interesting getting inside Lance’s head after his previous presence in the series. I didn’t like this one as much as the others but I still couldn’t put it down until I knew how everything would work out for these two.
What did you read in November?
