Customer Reviews

Hard And Fast (Harlequin Blaze)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

This is the first time I read Lisa Renee's books and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I like the story, even though it was short, the characters were well rounded and left you wanting more.

Amanda Wright was an up and coming sports reporter. It was her first assignment, to get to know the Ray's players and get a few stories for the local paper. When Amanda stepped into that locker room, she did not expect to feel such a strong attraction towards Brad, the star pitcher. Getting involved with an athlete discredited her as a reporter, her reputation would be ruined and so would her career.

Brad Rogers is the star pitcher with the Rays. With an expiring contract, Brad cannot afford another scandal that will mess up his career and getting involved with the new sexy reporter meant trouble. Can they both keep themselves away from the attraction they felt? You must read it to find out.

There were many other characters in the book as well, adding to the plot. Story was sweet, sexy and steamy!!!! Made you forget it is a Harlequin Blaze series and not a 400 page book. Wish there was more! Looking forward to reading more of Ms. Jones books!

I've been waiting for this one since Lisa announced the sale at her blog and I wasn't disappointed.

Hard and Fast is hot, funny, sweet and really well told and I loved every word. In short, it's what I love to see in a category novel and wish I saw more often. It simply reinforces my opinion that Lisa Renee Jones is a wonderful author and I can't wait to see more from her!

While yes, Brad is hot - it was Amanda I really loved in this book. Smart and driven, a woman who is career focused but not stereotypically cold at all. She's compassionate as well as ambitious and I appreciate seeing heroines like this.

Okay now, get to writing, we need more!

I'm not going to write an entire overview since that's already been covered, but would like to say that Lisa Renee Jones has written characters who are intelligent, caring and sensitive, both with very definite ideas about what they want for themselves, now and into the future. Neither is looking for love, and isn't that always when it hits you the hardest? Fun baseball scenes and locker room talk are excellently incorporated into this book and it will especially make for fun summer reading while you watch the boys of summer on television! Add all of that together with an abundance of deliciously passionate romance and you have a beautifully crafted love story - a home run, so to speak!

This was my first read by Lisa Renee Jones and, yay, it was excellent. How come I've never heard of her before? Why am I "complaining"? Do I really need to add more authors and books to my TBR? Well, I guess I do! :)

Amanda Wright is finally living her dream. She's the new sports reporter for the Los Angeles Tribune, with her own semiweekly feature column in the sports section. On game days - and we're talking about the Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Rays here - she gets space in the paper no matter what. She's hit the big time, and she's got to show her new boss she can deliver what it takes to keep her position. Getting involved with a Rays player is definitely not the way to do it, as it would damage her credibility as a reporter and ruin her career, but what if one particular player is too hard to resist?

Brad Rogers, the star pitcher for the Rays, has a reputation as a bad boy and has learned the hard way not to trust reporters. He's nice and friendly with them, aware that they're a "necessary evil", but he knows better than to let any of them close - especially now, with his contract up for renewal, his agent telling him to play it cool and stay out of trouble, and the big secret he's hiding... Getting involved with the Tribune's new reporter is everything he shouldn't do, yet the attraction might be too strong to resist.

With their careers at stake, his secret hovering over them and a scandal in the making that her boss pressures her to investigate, any relationship between Brad and Amanda is doomed to failure. Or is it?

That's the basic premise of this book, one of the best HQ Blaze stories I've ever read. I must say that the book description is a bit misleading, because Amanda was never torn between revealing Brad's secret and having an affair with him. That was settled pretty early in the story, when she let him know that she wasn't going to reveal that he'd been hiding an injury. She wasn't the kind of reporter who did everything to make a good story no matter whose career got hurt in the process. The conflict in their relationship was rooted in their individual and antagonistic careers, and that was harder to overcome than the "simple" revelation of a secret. Brad was a ballplayer and Amanda was a sports reporter assigned to cover his team, none of them was likely to change their career so how could there be any future for their relationship?

I absolutely adored Brad and Amanda. They were very well drawn, with realistic motivations and fears, and had great chemistry. I loved the fact that they didn't let lust take over their senses right off the bat, even though they acknowledged the mutual attraction. That was a great way to build up sexual tension and, bonus point, move along the plot, as Brad and Amanda had believable reasons to want to keep their relationship strictly professional. So when they finally got together, there was more than just sex on the table bed, and I could feel it.

Brad was the ultimate sports hero. He was 6'3", blond, blue-eyed and had a "deliciously muscular body, with sculpted pecs and nicely defined abs." Yum! Quoting Amanda, "The man was a walking sex god." He was also charming, fun, loyal, and very persuasive when he went after what he wanted. His decision to keep his injury a secret was perfectly understandable, and so was his wariness around Amanda. I got a little angry with him near the end of the book, when he momentarily took the coward's way out and hurt Amanda in the process, but even that was understandable under the circumstances. He did have a lot on the line there.

Career-driven women can be tough to portray in a sympathetic manner in Romancelandia, but Amanda had the right balance between professional ambition and ethics. She could have revealed Brad's secret and made her name known nationally, but that wasn't how she worked. She was smart, determined, and strong without being pushy. She could have made Brad grovel a little more when he apologized for his behavior near the end of the book, but I guess she was more forgiving that me. :)

All in all, I really loved this book and have no complaints about it. Great characters, interesting plot, sizzling love scenes and a sigh-worthy HEA. What else was missing? Absolutely nothing!

Lisa blends all three of these together perfecty. Her characters are believable and lovable but at the same time have their own flaws and stories. One of the best things about her characters is that they have an elemental thing in common. This ties into th plot which by the way is definetly thought out. I love her story because it kept me hooked and guessing right up until the end . The sex was hot and the romance was great... I have read a lot of blaze authors and so far Lisa Renee Jones is my favorite. I really recomend this to anyone who enjoys a harlequin blaze. I also recomend her book Santa baby, if you read and like hard and fast.
------ hazel stairwash

wow. one of my favorite harlequin blaze novels so far! i am a huge baseball fan and this story just added to my fantasy! highly recomened!!

Hard and Fast by Lisa Renee Jones

4 stars
Lisa Renee Jones creates a sweltering romance, which fittingly adheres to Harlequin's Blaze Line collection. Amanda Wright lands this exciting new job as a sports reporter for a Los Angeles paper. Being aware of how this job could be a breaking point in her anecdote for success. Unexpectedly she comes face to face with a challenge. Brad Rogers is that challenge. Amanda struggles to reconfirm her duties of sticking straight to the core of the business. How could she? With Brad's fantastic scrumptious looking body, Amanda finds it quite difficult to take her mind off her need to indulge in a passion that has been suppressed. Brad has his reservations not to pursue Amanda based on his initial undeniable attraction to her. Until now, when the stakes become high and the game requires that steadfast hard edge, there are more plays in the game. Yes, this swift read will take you on a sizzling hot adventure ride. Nevertheless, it has the tender and romantic elements displayed by characters that are full of meaning.

Reviewed by Monica at Bookaholics Romance Book Club