{"id":79461,"date":"2025-07-10T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=79461"},"modified":"2025-10-02T09:09:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T13:09:45","slug":"release-arc-review-crazy-love-single-dad-playbook-5-by-willow-aster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=79461","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Crazy Love (Single Dad Playbook, #5) by Willow Aster"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Crazy Love by Willow Aster is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The final book of the Single Dads Playbook<\/i> series, and Willow Aster has delivered the swooniest, sweetest and most heartwarming romance! Single player Penn meets his match in this fake marriage, insta-family story that absolutely stole my heart!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

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

Penn Hudson. Sexy. Intense. Gorgeous.
\nThe star running back of the Colorado Mustangs.
\nWell-known playboy and consummate bachelor.
\nWe met in the Bahamas.
\nI knew exactly who he was.
\nHe had no idea who I was.
\nYet for a few blissful hours, it didn’t matter.
\nWe had an unbelievable connection\u2026
\nSomething special that held so much promise.
\nThen I unexpectedly had to leave and never had a chance to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to today, when I am about to see Penn again, and he’s going to find out exactly \ud835\udc64\u210e\ud835\udc5c he was kissing in the Bahamas.
\nI’m excited about my new job and returning to my hometown of Silver Hills.
\nBut seeing him every day won’t be easy, especially with the lingering memory of his touch and the attraction that still burns between us.
\nWhen he faces an obstacle in adopting a young boy he’s mentored for years, I offer him a solution I never thought I’d make:
\nA fake marriage.
\nHe needs to show stability and a squeaky-clean public image, and I figure, \u210e\ud835\udc5c\ud835\udc64 \u210e\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc5f\ud835\udc51 \ud835\udc50\ud835\udc5c\ud835\udc62\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc51 \ud835\udc56\ud835\udc61 \ud835\udc4f\ud835\udc52 \ud835\udc61\ud835\udc5c \ud835\udc5d\ud835\udc59\ud835\udc4e\ud835\udc66 \u210e\ud835\udc5c\ud835\udc62\ud835\udc60\ud835\udc52?
\nBut as time goes by, nothing feels fake anymore.<\/p>\n

I’d always planned on getting married for love, but sometimes we make once-in-a-lifetime sacrifices.
\nI just hope I won’t be devastated in the process.<\/p>\n

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Get your sneak peek and read the prologue here<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

(author’s website)<\/p>\n

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

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

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

The final book of the Single Dads Playbook<\/i> series, and Willow Aster has delivered the swooniest, sweetest and most heartwarming romance! Single player Penn meets his match in this fake marriage, insta-family story that absolutely stole my heart!<\/p>\n

From the previous books in the series we know that Penn is an NFL player, and the odd man out in his friend group. In the self-named \u2018Single Dad Players\u2019, he\u2019s not a single dad, though he does mentor an 11-year-old boy, Sam, who he has grown to love and is trying to adopt. And unlike his friends who are all now in committed relationships, he\u2019s also a bit of a player.<\/p>\n

Penn and Addy meet while vacationing and share an instant attraction. They only just start to explore their wild chemistry when their evening is cut short and they lose touch. It\u2019s months later and neither of them have been able to forget about the other, and then Addy shows up in Penn\u2019s small town. Not only that, she\u2019s the new nutritionist working with his team. They are stunned to see each other again, and even though the chemistry between them still sizzles, they know they need to keep their distance. But when Addy gets caught up in Penn\u2019s world and meets Sam, she realises that she may be his only chance to get the boy out of a terrible situation and give him the home and family that both he and Penn are desperate for. She proposes a marriage of convenience to increase his chances of adoption and, desperate to do what he can for Sam, Penn accepts.<\/p>\n

It’s a fun set up, and this book is full of sweet, swoony goodness from the very beginning. There is no drama, no angst, no stupid behaviour, it\u2019s just Penn and Addy together and figuring out how to make it work. They come together so easily, their connection is undeniable, and they find themselves slipping into their new roles with ease and a feeling of \u2018rightness\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m kind of loving this life we\u2019re creating together.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, it doesn\u2019t take long before their simple arrangement changes, and the romance is gorgeous! Sweet and sexy, Penn and Addy come together with open hearts and no reservations, and though it\u2019s easy, it\u2019s no less intense, and God, I love these two together!<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to ever let you go,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cPlease don\u2019t,\u201d I whisper.
\n\u201cDo you mean it?\u201d His eyes search mine and I nod.
\n\u201cWith all my heart.\u201d
\n\u201cI love you,\u201d he whispers. \u201cGod, I can\u2019t believe that I found you and that I love you so goddamn much.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The emotion is absolutely there, with lots of moments that had me clutching my heart, and honestly, when you think about this kind of storyline \u2013 this book delivers on every moment you could possibly want to see! From the romantic moments to the building of a family, I was completely swept up and read this book with a goofy smile on my face and all the happy feels.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a journey, but it\u2019s a happy one, and this is a really easy, feel-good read, and honestly, was just what I needed.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of character crossover with the previous couples of the series, and I loved seeing them again, and watching them all interact. They all have each other\u2019s backs without question, and the bonds between them are just gorgeous. Having said that, you could also easily read this one as a standalone if you wanted to (but don\u2019t miss the other books, they\u2019re all so good!).<\/p>\n

Such a gorgeous read, I loved this book \u2013 5 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Single Dad Playbook<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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

Mad Love (#1) <\/strong>(Weston & Sadie)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Secret Love (#2) <\/strong>(Henley & Tru)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Reckless Love (#3) <\/strong>(Rhodes & Elle)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Wicked Love (#4) <\/strong>(Bowie & Poppy)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Crazy Love (#5) <\/strong>(Penn & Addy)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

\"\"<\/p>\n

Willow Aster is a\u00a0USA Today\u00a0Bestselling author and lover of anything book-related. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband, kids, and rescue dog.<\/p>\n

Connect with Willow:<\/p>\n

Website\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Tiktok<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Bookbub\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Pinterest<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

  Crazy Love by Willow Aster is live! The final book of the Single Dads Playbook series, and Willow Aster has delivered the swooniest, sweetest and most heartwarming romance! Single player Penn meets his match […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1132,9,1036,58,29],"tags":[59,48,1575,1105],"class_list":["post-79461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fake-relationship","category-romance","category-single-parent","category-sports-star","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-review","tag-single-dad-playbook","tag-willow-aster"],"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\/2025\/06\/Crazy-Love.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-kFD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79461","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=79461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}