5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smoking Hot Read, August 19, 2007
This review is from: Hard And Fast (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)
Lisa Renee Jones sets the pulses pounding in her sexy story for the Blaze Line, Hard And Fast.
Reporter Amanda Wright has a new job as a sports reporter for a Los Angeles paper. Her first assignment is to cover the ins and outs of the LA Rays baseball team. Amanda's first meeting with ace pitcher Brad Rogers makes her almost forget why she is in the locker room.
Brad Rogers is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. His contract is coming up and he is trying not to let his shoulder injury show to management. He can't get the delectable reporter out of this mind. Brad pulls out all the stops to get Amanda into his bed.
Amanda tries to fight her attraction to Brad but it's a losing battle. Will her heart survive when she finds out the secret Brad has been hiding?
Lisa Renee Jones story Hard and Fast is what the Blaze line is all about. It hot, sexy and a great story to boot. The scenes between Amanda and Brad are all out smoking hot and they also are rife with deep emotions. I will be looking for more from this author.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Let Down, February 26, 2011
This review is from: Hard And Fast (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)
Amanda is a sports reporter, Brad is a pitcher. Brad has a secret which Amanda discovers the first time she meets him. Brad is up for contract renewal and his secret could destroy his chances of being re-signed with the LA Rays.
I spent the entire book waiting for a plot twist that never came.
*******************SPOILER ALERT******************
The synopsis stated: "...Then she discovers Brad is hiding a big secret that could make her career--or blow his. And suddenly she has to choose: the best story of her life... or the best sex!" That never happened. From the very beginning she promised Brad to keep his secret (an injured arm) and that was the end of it. She never once contemplated writing about it or betraying his confidence. Ever.
There were so many underlying issues and angst between characters that led you to believe that there was going to be some big denouement moment of revelation and redemption. It never happened. I waited for a big scandal involving either: steroids (since so much of the book concentrated on it), Brad's pitching arm, Brad's bet with one of the other pitchers re who could bed Amanda first, or Amanda and Brad getting caught in their affair (which would have jeopardized both their careers). But nothing happened in any of these circumstances.
These were all dramatic complications which created a build up and then there was no climax. WTH? Everything just kind of resolved itself and went away with a poof.
To me, this book was like paying money to watch a PPV boxing match with a title on the line. There are press conferences and each side talking smack about the other and the audience is built up with excitement of what a great match up it's going to be. The two come out of their respective corners, gloves raised and mouth guards in place, the bell dings, the fans hold their breath waiting for the first punch and instead, the fighters hug each other and call it a day. That's what this book was like.
All in all, I gave it three stars for the expectation, character descriptions, and the build up, and deducted two stars for the juvenile dialogue and disappointing outcome to the conflicts outlined.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 Klovers! Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques, July 20, 2007
This review is from: Hard And Fast (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)
Amanda's dream of becoming a sports reporter for a major newspaper has finally come true - a dream that is going to go up in smoke very quickly if she can't deliver the goods. Leaving her job covering high school baseball in Texas behind to move to Los Angeles and cover Major League Baseball is a no-brainer, but the heat is on when her editor pressures her to hit one out of the park with her first story or high-tail it back to Texas.
Her first night covering her newspaper's home team, the Los Angeles Rays, proves eventful in more ways than one. She exchanges barbs with her competition, proves her mettle to the team, and discovers the team's star pitcher is hiding an injury to his pitching arm. It's the kind of story that could make her career, but lose her the respect and cooperation of the team. More than that, it is a situation that Amanda identifies with all too well. Determined not to break the team's trust, she hides the secret from her editor, who sets her on the path of an even riskier - one her predecessor/competitor is already hot on the trail of - steroid use by one of the Rays' team members.
Brad knows better than to get involved with a reporter - the press hasn't exactly been good to him for the last year. But he can't help but be drawn to the beautiful new reporter for the Tribune, even when she scares the heck out of him by telling him she knows he is playing injured. She says she won't print the story, but he is still reluctant to trust her - especially with his contract up for negotiation this year. Still, the attraction between them proves irresistible, although each have more than enough reason not to act on it. And soon that attraction develops Hard and Fast into something more...
I will admit it. I had never really thought I would be interested in reading a Harlequin novel. Years of hearing stereotypical ideas of these books had me believing them to be fluffy, sweet little romance novels that were not exactly my cup of tea. I didn't look down on them - just did not believe they were the kind of stories that suited my reading tastes. Boy, was I wrong! Thanks to Lisa Renee Jones, an author who I am already a big fan of, I read Hard and Fast, from the Harlequin Blaze line and will tell anyone without reservation that I loved it!
I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I have previously read by this author, and this book was no different. Yes, the romance was sweet, but with none of the `virginal princess in the tower' feeling I had expected from Harlequin. No, this book had all the sexy heat I had found in Jones' other work, much to my delight!
Brad and Amanda are very down to earth, realistic characters. Their fears, their motivations, and their situation were all very believable, as were the obstacles that kept them from easily settling into a romance together.
Brad is the kind of sports hero women fantasize about - a star pitcher with soap star looks and a killer physique, complete with down-home Southern charm and a penchant for going after what he wants - in bed and out. His fear of discovery is palpable as he struggles to pitch a memorable year and cement his contract with the Rays.
Amanda is a great role model for women - she has faced the kind of adversity that would break some people, yet still forged ahead and found a new path for herself, in which she has succeeded admirably. Through it all, she has retained her compassion, and refuses to build herself up by using the misfortunes of others. It is no wonder Brad can't keep his mind or his hands off of her!
Which brings me to a stereotype I am very pleased with - the happy ending Harlequin is known for. Lisa Renee Jones wraps up this story with a tidy little ending, resolving any potential loose ends that could derail our couple, and leaving her readers with smiling faces and warm hearts! If you love hot little romances with multi-layered characters, then you will not want to miss Hard and Fast!
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