The Romance Line is book 2 in the Love and Hockey series and follows Sea Dog goalie Max and Sea Dog publicist Everly.
About The Romance Line
Everly is up for a promotion, but her next project could make or break her chances. What project could be so important, you ask? That would be a complete media makeover of the grumpiest player on the team.
Everly is not pleased about this new assignment, but being the proactive, positive person she is, she sets her mind on only succeeding. She puts together a plan to take pictures of Max doing community events and posting them on his social media. After meeting with him to find out what he considers fun events, she sets up the photo opportunities. And some of these sound really fun.
During all of the time they are spending together, they are both starting to open up to each other. She tells him about a trauma in her life. He tells her about what really happened with his ex-girlfriend. They are slowly growing closer.
Until one night. When they give in to their attraction, she tells him this can only happen this one time. There is an unwritten rule about fraternization with the players. And she does not want to jeopardize her chances at the promotion.
Everly knows Max’s weaknesses. So when they are doing a community outreach to deliver food to a senior center and he is speaking with a man, she sees his facial expression change. She knows something is wrong, and she needs to provide damage control.
But Elias is on a mission to capture the good, the bad and the ugly. He argues with Everly that the picture is part of the outreach event. But she insists that the photo be deleted as their job is not just to promote the event, but also to protect the players.
Later that night, Max explains to her what happened at the senior center and why it affected him so much.
Obviously, their relationship did not end at one night. Unfortunately, they are not as careful about being seen together. His teammates know he is seeing her. Her friends know that she is seeing him. But neither of them has come out to management.
But someone is watching them. Someone who does not want Everly to get the promotion. But this person is also keeping secrets of his own.
Impressions
I love the little gifts that Max sends to Everly. And even though he plays the grump, he really is a big teddy bear who has feelings that can be hurt and shattered. I felt Max and Everly were real. They are dealing with physical and emotional trauma that defines how they act and respond to others.
I absolutely do NOT like Elias. I find him condescending to Everly while sucking up to the players and management. In addition, he is constantly throwing around the fact he played hockey in college and all of the things he did with the team. I just found him extremely distasteful and untrustworthy.
And that little nugget that Ms Blakely dropped at the end of this book has me jonesing for the next book.
Narration
It is always a joy to listen to Teddy playing a gruff hockey player. This is the first book this year I have had Vanessa Edwin in my ears and I forgot how much I enjoy her voices. She makes each character their own.
Availability
The Romance Line is available for FREE in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase in all formats on Amazon.
Series Listing
- The Boyfriend Goal (Love and Hockey Book 1)
- The Romance Line (Love and Hockey Book 2)
- The Proposal Play (Love and Hockey Book 3)
- The Girlfriend Zone (Love and Hockey Book 4)
About Lauren Blakely
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’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
Connect w/ Lauren:
Website: laurenblakely.com
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