{"id":69466,"date":"2023-03-30T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=69466"},"modified":"2023-03-29T07:47:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T11:47:42","slug":"release-arc-review-duke-faking-the-play-boston-tomcats-3-by-kayley-loring-connor-crais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=69466","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Duke: Faking the Play (Boston Tomcats, #3) by Kayley Loring & Connor Crais"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Duke: Faking the Play by Kayley Loring and Connor Crais is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

An opposites attract, celebrity\/sports fake romance that is funny and sexy, with epic banter and chemistry, and a gorgeously heartfelt romance. It\u2019s lots of fun and such an entertaining read.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon US<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon CA<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon AU<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Universal<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Audiobook will also release March 30th with Connor Crais and Desiree Ketchum narrating. Featuring Mackenzie Cartwright and Evan Parker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n

\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

#4 Callum Duquette. Placekicker for the Boston Tomcats. Former underwear model. NICKNAME: Duke.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I thought the most annoying thing about being a single dad was that my friends were always trying to find me a date. Until a sassy British ray of sunshine bumps into me at a bookstore. One accidental butt grab, a viral photo, and a lot of misunderstandings later, I find myself in a fake relationship with a movie star.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019ve got my friends off my back, but the cheeky Brit has complicated my life even more.<\/p>\n

She calls me the Duke of Grumpville.
\nI call her movies the end of civilization as we know it.<\/p>\n

She calls my job \u201cthe wrong kind of football.\u201d
\nI call her the one thing on Earth that can make me lose focus and control.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s getting harder to pretend I still want this to end after my team\u2019s game in London.<\/p>\n

I thought we were only faking it.
\nBut getting to know the real Millie Darden changed everything.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, I loved this book! An opposites attract, celebrity\/sports fake romance that is funny and sexy, with epic banter and chemistry, and a gorgeously heartfelt romance. It\u2019s lots of fun and such an entertaining read.<\/p>\n

Callum \u2018Duke\u2019 Duquette is a kicker for the Boston Tomcats NFL team. He\u2019s a single father to an \u201c eleven going on <\/i>Dad-you\u2019re-a-constant-humiliation-risk \u201d<\/i> year old, he\u2019s known to be a bit of a grump, and he\u2019s constantly avoiding his friends\u2019 well-intentioned romantic set-ups. His life takes a dramatic twist when he runs in a gorgeous girl in a bookshop, and an almost-fall turns into a viral paparazzi shot, and suddenly the whole world thinks he\u2019s in a relationship with a hot, young British actress.<\/p>\n

Millie found fame in a Harry Potter-esque movie series, and is now shooting a new film in Boston. She\u2019s also madly avoiding her meddling family\u2019s plans to set her up for her brother\u2019s upcoming wedding. Her run in with a sexy stranger in a bookstore puts her in an awkward spot when she learns that he\u2019s a local sports star, and their awkward clinch looked like a whole lot more than it was. And as much as she enjoyed being wrapped up in his arms, she\u2019s keen to deal with it as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d like to have your people post an explanation of our unfortunate, very impersonal, non-canoodle incident on your official IG account, I\u2019d be happy to use mine to clear up any misconceptions as to why I was clinging to your gluteus maximus.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd trying to rip off my shirt.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, well, perhaps your publicist can articulate exactly why it looked like you wanted to make sweet love to my face.\u201d
\nHe smirked. \u201cRight back atcha.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The attraction is there, and when they realise that they could use the situation to get their friends and family off their backs, they decide to help each other out, going along with the story already in the media, and fake being in a relationship and attend some important social functions together. Side bonus \u2013 they get to spend more time together, which is good news, but it\u2019s something that neither of them want to assess too closely, because they have plans to end things amicably a few months down the line. Hehehe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve only starred in one of them so far, but I\u2019ve watched enough romantic comedies to know that you are in grave danger of falling madly in love with me.\u201d I placed my hand on his muscley, tatted-up arm. \u201cBut you must resist. Do not fall for my abundant charms.\u201d
\nThe tosser didn\u2019t even blink. \u201c\u2018Kay. Let\u2019s exchange numbers and I\u2019ll be on my way.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From there, it\u2019s a fun, playful ride of sarcastic banter, teasing, flirting and all-too-real PDA. Their wild attraction makes it all the more flirtatious and exciting, and things get even more complicated because Duke\u2019s young daughter is a mad fan of Millie, which means their relationship moves from public photo ops to including quiet family nights in. Millie brings a spark of life into Duke\u2019s boring world, she makes him happy, makes him laugh, and he soon realises just what he\u2019s been missing in his life. Millie is falling just as hard, and it\u2019s a gorgeous watching everything change for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to stop pretending that this was just a fake relationship or a fun fling that isn\u2019t meant to last. It may have started that way, but that\u2019s not how I want it to stay, and I certainly don\u2019t want it to end.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They laugh together, they talk openly and honestly, and the chemistry absolutely sizzles! And when they inevitably cross the line, the sexy time is hot, steamy, nicely emotional, and a reflection of everything that\u2019s growing between them. They have some issues to face, but the feelings are there, and they are strong, and nothing is going to stand in the way of these two getting their HEA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be with you, and I want to think about you without thinking about when this will end, and I want to love you without limits \u2026 I don\u2019t want to stop falling in love with you. I don\u2019t want to pretend anymore.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is such a gorgeous love story that made me laugh and swoon. I fell in love with these characters, and loved watching grumpy Duke\u2019s world get turned upside down by bright and perky Millie. The characters from previous books do make an appearance, but you can easily read this book as a standalone \u2013 just don\u2019t miss out on the rest of the series, because each book is such a fantastic read!<\/p>\n

I loved it \u2013 4.5 stars!<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the authors in exchange for an honest review.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Boston Tomcats<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0 \"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Decker: Changing the Play (#1)<\/strong> (Decker & Hannah)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Dash: Rushing the Play (#2) <\/strong>(Dash & Charlie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Duke: Faking the Play (#3) <\/strong>(Duke & Millie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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About Kayley Loring<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got a BFA in creative writing from a Canadian university and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn\u2019t allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she\u2019s breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It\u2019s an adjustment she\u2019s happily getting used to.<\/p>\n

Rest assured that her funny sexy sweet romances have no cheating or cliffhangers, and always have HEAs!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0FB Reader Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audio Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0BookBub<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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About Connor Crais<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife, two kids, and rescue greyhound. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instagram<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Duke: Faking the Play by Kayley Loring and Connor Crais is live! An opposites attract, celebrity\/sports fake romance that is funny and sexy, with epic banter and chemistry, and a gorgeously heartfelt romance. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,1132,9,1036,58,29],"tags":[59,1354,1342,1140,48],"class_list":["post-69466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","category-fake-relationship","category-romance","category-single-parent","category-sports-star","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-boston-tomcats","tag-connor-crais","tag-kayley-loring","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Duke.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-i4q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}