{"id":76517,"date":"2024-10-01T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76517"},"modified":"2024-10-03T08:14:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T12:14:49","slug":"new-release-slap-shot-surprise-cherry-tree-harbor-5-by-melanie-harlow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76517","title":{"rendered":"New Release & ARC Review: Slap Shot Surprise (Cherry Tree Harbor, #5) by Melanie Harlow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slap Shot Surprise, an all new opposites attract, steamy, small town hockey romance from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is LIVE! <\/strong><\/b><\/h4>\n

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Released – October 2024
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Amazon\/KU<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Discreet Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Model Paperback from Melanie’s website<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

In my defense, I thought the plane was going to crash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Otherwise, I never would have blurted out those embarrassing things to a perfect stranger.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did I mention he turned out to be a scorching hot superstar of professional hockey?<\/span><\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the plane lands safely, I rush off, praying I\u2019ll never have to face him again. My luck holds out for less than twenty-four hours, when I realize he\u2019s a groomsman at the wedding I\u2019m attending.<\/span><\/p>\n

We end up having a drink and a good laugh about my panicked confessions, and when he invites me up to his room for some no-strings-attached fun, I say yes. After all, a headboard rattling one-night stand with a guy who knows how to put the puck in deep isn\u2019t something a bookworm like me ever thought she\u2019d experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither are those two little pink lines.<\/b><\/p>\n

Now what\u2019s crashing are all the plans Joe Lupo and I had for our lives\u2013separately.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, we\u2019re totally wrong for each other. He\u2019s commitment-phobic and completely focused on his career. And I want to plant roots in my small town\u2013with someone who chooses me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love? It\u2019s out of the question.<\/b><\/p>\n

Until Joe Lupo lines up his shot and aims straight for my heart.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

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

Mabel and Joe meet on a plane and when she thinks the plane is about to crash, she mentions some embarrassing things that she would have never revealed if she didn\u2019t think she was going to die. She is thankful when they touch down safely, and thankful she won\u2019t have to see him again to relive the embarrassment. However, fate brings them together again when Mabel sees Joe again at a wedding. Able to laugh things off, they enjoy the evening and it ends in a one-night stand. They go their separate ways but two pink lines bring them back together again.<\/p>\n

Mabel is shocked when she discovers she is pregnant, and she knows that Joe is busy with hockey and doesn\u2019t want to mess up his life with a baby. She does tell him about the baby and though she doesn\u2019t expect anything in return, Joe surprises her in the best way.<\/p>\n

The pregnancy is a shock and Mabel and Joe know it\u2019s best to keep things platonic as the pregnancy complicates things enough. However, they have chemistry, and oh my goodness, Joe is so swoony and sweet I couldn\u2019t wait for Mabel to give in because how can she resist him?! Everything he does for her induces butterflies, and his support – he\u2019s just so great from the beginning and they weren\u2019t even together.<\/p>\n

I loved that the story is realistic. Mabel and Jow don\u2019t just dive into a relationship because of the pregnancy. Also, like in real life, everything isn\u2019t perfect. They live in two different cities, and are in different places in their lives. His job doesn\u2019t allow for a lot of free time and she is busy herself.<\/p>\n

Still, these two are great as friends and even better together. They are amazing while navigating a new future. I loved Joe\u2019s feelings when it came to the baby growing inside Mabel and also how he truly sees her. And she never wanted to change him and accepted him for who he was, even though he ended up realizing what truly matters in his life. I loved that there is commitment, compromise, and growth along with all the love they share.<\/p>\n

This is a fun, sweet, swoony, and sexy surprise pregnancy story that was well-written and thoroughly enjoyable. It\u2019s a fantastic addition to the series and it was so great being back in Cherry Tree Harbor.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

*ARC generously\u00a0provided by the author*<\/i><\/p>\n

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Cherry Tree Harbor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

Runaway Love (#1) <\/strong>– (Austin & Veronica)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

Hideaway Heart (#2)<\/strong> – (Xander & Kelly)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Make Believe Match<\/strong> (#3) <\/strong>– (Devlin & Lexi)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Small Town Swoon(#4)<\/strong> – (Dash & Ari)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Slap Shot Surprise (#5)<\/strong> – (Joe & Mabel)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Melanie Harlow\u00a0<\/span>likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in.\u00a0When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Ted, Lasso, Schitt\u2019s Creek, and Fleabag. <\/span>She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.<\/p>\n

Melanie is the author of the BELLAMY CREEK<\/a> series, the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS<\/a> series, the ONE & ONLY<\/a> series, AFTER WE FALL<\/a> series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE<\/a> series, the FRENCHED<\/a> series. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.<\/p>\n

Sign up for Melanie\u2019s NEWSLETTER<\/a>!
\nSign up for monthly text alerts: Text HARLOT to 77948<\/p>\n

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FACEBOOK<\/a> | AMAZON<\/a> | BOOKBUB<\/a> | WEBSITE<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

PINTEREST<\/a> | INSTAGRAM<\/a> | TWITTER<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Check out more great reads on our Melanie Harlow Author Spotlight<\/a>!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Slap Shot Surprise, an all new opposites attract, steamy, small town hockey romance from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is LIVE!   Released – October 2024   Amazon\/KU\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Discreet Paperback\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Model Paperback from Melanie’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75753,"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":[290,65,9,29],"tags":[59,1465,308,344,48],"class_list":["post-76517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-news","category-lol-funny","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-cherry-tree-harbor","tag-melanie-harlow","tag-new-release","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\/2024\/08\/Slap-Shot-Surprise.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jU9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76517","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}