{"id":76533,"date":"2024-10-02T13:52:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T17:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76533"},"modified":"2024-10-13T12:31:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T16:31:22","slug":"new-release-the-romance-line-love-and-hockey-2-by-lauren-blakely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76533","title":{"rendered":"New Release & ARC Review: The Romance Line (Love and Hockey, #2) by Lauren Blakely"},"content":{"rendered":"

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the next standalone hockey romance in her Love and Hockey series, THE ROMANCE LINE! <\/b><\/em><\/h4>\n

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The Romance Line<\/strong>
\n(Love and Hockey, #2)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

by Lauren Blakely<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Released – 2 October 2024<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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This sexy, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy\/sunshine, forbidden workplace romance brings all the feels, heat and spice and is now available in all formats including the special edition hardcover and free to read in Kindle Unlimited. Check out the excerpt below and one-click your copy of this steamy, hockey romance today!<\/b><\/h4>\n

Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

The first rule of handling PR for a hockey team? Never hook up with a player.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That shouldn\u2019t be a problem since the last man on earth I want to give an image makeover to is our goalie. He\u2019s infuriatingly hot, famously grumpy and lives to spar with me after every game.<\/p>\n

But shining up his rough edges is my path to landing the promotion I desperately need, so I grit my teeth and do my job. No matter how hard he makes it (especially with that sexy smirk and cool blue eyes.) As we travel from pose-with-a-pet photo opps to cuddle-a-kitten fundraisers, we bicker like it\u2019s foreplay.<\/p>\n

Turns out it is.<\/p>\n

Because as I get to know the man behind the broody iceman exterior, it\u2019s me that melts \u2013 right into his arms as he devastates me with a kiss that turns into the hottest, most forbidden night of my life.<\/p>\n

Only once\u00a0<\/i>turns into\u00a0every night\u00a0<\/i>as Max shows me how much he wants to take care of me. His possessive touch makes me feel adored for the first time in my life.<\/p>\n

But the man is entirely off limits and I can\u2019t risk my job for more of those soul-deep kisses.<\/p>\n

Because the only thing worse than hooking up with a player is falling head over heels for him.<\/b><\/p>\n

Find\u00a0The Romance Line <\/em>on GOODREADS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

4 \u201cSay yes\u201d stars!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Romance Line<\/i> is a fun, fresh grumpy\/sunshine story. Everly and Max are such a great pair and bring laughs, love, and heat to their story.<\/p>\n

Max is a hockey goalie who has trust issues because he was burned in the past by an ex girlfriend. He left social media and doesn\u2019t like being in the spotlight or giving interviews. However, his “likability quotient” is way down and now the GM of the team wants him back in the spot light to increase it so he doesn’t lose any more sponsors.<\/p>\n

Enter Everly, the team’s PR person. She is here to help and will do anything to get the job done.<\/p>\n

Everly and Max have been getting on each others nerves since we met them. They seem to rub each other the wrong way but in a funny way. \u00a0There’s definitely sexual tension sizzling between them even if they deny it and they do a good job at keeping their interactions to a minimum. \u00a0Though, when Everly has to work directly with him, they know they are going to spending a ton of time together.<\/p>\n

These two are definitely attracted to each other but neither let on how they feel and they are determined to keep things strictly professional. She\u2019s going for a promotion after all, and he doesn\u2019t really want to dive into another relationship. However, it’s only a matter of time before Everly and Max stop fighting the pull they have on each other.<\/p>\n

The banter was fantastic and their interactions kept a smile on my face. They have such a good time together and the more they hang out the more they learn to trust the other. I loved seeing them open up and truly understand where the other was coming from when it came to the past and why they feel the way they do about relationships and getting involved with another person. It takes a lot of trust and watching them learn to trust the other\u00a0was beautiful, especially with Everly. Her confidence and power grew as the story progressed and it was amazing.<\/p>\n

This author does a good job at combining tropes and I loved the forbidden aspect of the story and was excited to see what challenges arose with their growing attraction while working together. I love sports romances and enemies to lovers, too, so this story has many of the tropes I love. It was a bit long but I did enjoy getting more of the secondary characters and am hooked on this group.<\/p>\n

I went back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook and thought the audiobook was well done. It was narrated by Vanessa Edwin as Everly and Teddy Hamilton as Max and I thought that these narrators really brought the story to life. I felt the emotion from both of them and didn’t want to stop listening. Their voices complemented each other well and I loved the duet narration.<\/p>\n

Overall,\u00a0The Romance Line<\/em> is great addition to the\u00a0Love and Hockey<\/em> series and I can’t wait for more. \u00a0These characters are fun, fresh, and lovable. \u00a0Bring on the next book,\u00a0My Favorite Holidate.<\/em><\/p>\n

*eARC\/ALC generously provided by the author*<\/i><\/p>\n

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Excerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cJust let me walk you to the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d she says, her palms raised in surrender.<\/p>\n

I set my hand on her back again. A slight shiver seems to run through her when I touch her. I try not to let that go to my head. Or my dick.<\/p>\n

But as we go, I spread my fingers wider across the silk of her shirt. Press a little harder. Rub a little more. Curl my thumb around her waist. Register every hitch of her breath.<\/p>\n

By the time we\u2019re at the top of the steps, my hand feels too right on her back to let go. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I have<\/em> made my point, Everly.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turns to me, facing me, so I have to drop my hand from her back. Her gaze is wary but intrigued, her eyes flickering with questions. \u201cWhat\u2019s your point exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said earlier, if this was a date I\u2019d walk you to the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not. You keep telling me it\u2019s not.\u201d It\u2019s like she\u2019s trying to catch me on a technicality, or maybe to push me into admitting something. She doesn\u2019t make a move to go inside. Her gaze is locked on mine, and the air is charged between us. It crackles with anticipation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right. It\u2019s not,\u201d I say, weighing how far I\u2019ll go. What it\u2019ll cost me.<\/p>\n

She rolls her lips together, then breathes out, like she\u2019s centering herself. \u201cAnd you did it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue,\u201d I say. Like I could do anything else with her. I couldn\u2019t have stopped myself from showing up at The Spotted Zebra tonight if I\u2019d tried. I couldn\u2019t have resisted driving her home. I couldn\u2019t have refrained from walking her up her steps. Now we\u2019re standing in the warm October air, the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, the ocean hugging us. And I\u2019m not walking away\u2014not with her closer than she\u2019s ever been. I look at her lush mouth one more time, then her gorgeous eyes. <\/em>\u201cAnd if this were a date I\u2019d kiss you at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s quiet, but her lips curve up. \u201cThat\u2019s not what you said at the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wait. I\u2019m confused now. \u201cThat is <\/em>what I said,\u201d I point out.<\/p>\n

She crosses her arms, shaking her head, but she\u2019s smiling and it\u2019s flirty. Inviting. \u201cNo, Max. You said you\u2019d devastate me with a kiss.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it. That\u2019s enough. Just f*&k it. F*&k everything. \u201cI guess I\u2019d better start.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Love and Hockey<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

The Boyfriend Goal (#1)\u00a0<\/strong>– (Josie & Wesley)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Romance Line (#2)<\/strong> – (Everly & Max)
\nReview<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Proposal Play (#3) <\/strong>– (Maeve & Asher)
\nReview<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Girlfriend Zone (#4) <\/strong>– (Miles & Leighton)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audiobook<\/a><\/p>\n

The Overtime Kiss (#5)<\/strong> – (Tyler & Sabrina)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Flirting Game (#6)<\/strong> – (Ford & Skylar)
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

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

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A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that\u2019s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She’d love to give you a free book today so check out her WEBSITE<\/a> and grab one today!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her NEWSLETTER<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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WEBSITE<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0<\/b>FACEBOOK<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0<\/b>TWITTER<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a><\/b>
\nGOODREADS<\/b><\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0BOOKBUB<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Check out our LAUERN BLAKELY AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT<\/a> for more amazing reads!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the next standalone hockey romance in her Love and Hockey series, THE ROMANCE LINE!     The Romance Line (Love and Hockey, #2) by Lauren […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[290,9,29],"tags":[59,56,1580,344,48],"class_list":["post-76533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-news","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-lauren-blakely","tag-love-and-hockey","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\/The-Romance-Line-1.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jUp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76533","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=76533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}