Customer Reviews

Knock Me for a Loop

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

 

 

I have been waiting anxiously for this book, the 3rd installment in a series, by Heidi Betts. The main characters have had their relationship explained through the first 2 books, although I believe this would work as a stand alone.

Zack and Grace were engaged, but due to a misunderstanding are now apart. Knock Me for a Loop is their journey to reconnection. I loved Zack...he was very well drawn. I felt his pain, and his frustration with Grace's unwillingness to even give him a chance to explain. As he moves toward actual depression, he suffers a series injury, and Grace is enlisted to help him recover. As he recovers, he and Grace get a chance to explore their still explosive feelings and desire for each other.

I really like Heidi Bett's writing style. She weaves (or knits, as the case may be) a terrific story, flawless and funny dialogue, good POV, but you have to be willing to accept a few far fetched plot vehicles. I was willing to suspend belief because I like her writing style, but I got hung up on 2 points, which is why this is rated 4 stars and not 5.

***************SPOILERS FOR KNOCK ME FOR A LOOP AND TIE ME UP, TIE ME DOWN***********************

Grace kind of made me crazy. In Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, Grace surprises Zack in his hotel room at an away game. Turns out there is a barely dressed woman in the bed. Grace storms out, and serious freaking mayhem ensues as she destroys most of Zach's property and steals his dog. Never mind that he has been portrayed as totally devoted to her for most of 2 books by this point, never mind that she shuts him down and assumes the worst without giving him a chance to explain. Let's be honest, would he have really let Grace in the room if he knew there was a strange woman in the bed? I think Zack forgave Grace too easily. We get a decent background on her, which helps to explain her trust issues, but I still think she was way over the top in her reaction.

2nd point - Grace's reaction and continued reaction. I can see that running off and not answering Zach's calls for a few hours, days even, MAYBE weeks, could be a believable reaction. But eventually the anger would wear off and logic would take over. Again, WHY would he have let Grace in the room in the first place, with no hesitation, if Zack had known the other woman had taken up residence in his bed while he was showering? In Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, I was kind of hoping Zack would have Grace arrested for all of the damage she caused. I would not have been surprised if Zack had said good riddance to the crazy woman Grace became. Instead, we find out he has tried everything he could think if to just get her to talk to him. Zack seems too good for Grace, and I never really got past that.

It was nice to catch up with the other couples from the first 2 books, both of which I really enjoyed. I really liked a lot about this book, too, when Grace and Zack were getting reaquainted. They sizzled. But everytime the past events was alluded to, I found myself getting a little irritated. All in all, though, enjoyable book and a good end to a great trilogy.

anybody would put up with Grace's behavior or want her back. Even harder to believe that she wouldn't face any criminal or civil charges for what she did. Amazing that her friends and Zacks friends seem to accept her violent behavior and nobody worries about Zacks well being. Grace's upset was at first understandable but not for the entire length of the book. Since we've all understood from the beginning that Zack is innocent it gets a little tired by the end of the book that Grace hasn't admitted it. Even worse is the way the book ends. After leaving Zack completely clueless for weeks, he thinks she's left him, she has the nerve to say "he doesn't get to write me off just because I needed a little time to think." Since she can apparently treat him however she wants & he'll still limp back begging for more I don't get why he can't drop her when she abandons him without a word for weeks. Who would put up with that? When she finally apologizes Zack notes that begging for absolution isn't his Grace's style even though he begged for weeks over something he didn't do. Of course he immediately forgives Grace after her 1 short apology. Betts would never write this exact story in reverse because who would forgive a hero who behaved like Grace or approve of a heroine as spineless and whipped as Zack?

I hate Grace with a passion. I tried really really hard to like her. I really did, but she's a...not a good person. She's selfish. She hurts people. She's self centered.
I CANT STAND HER.
Who gets engaged to someone and then just turns around and leaves because another woman is in your mans bed and doesn't let him explain AT ALL? In reality it probably be exactly what it looked like, and in reality when he says that he didn't sleep with another woman he's probably lying. But the whole thing that gets me is that she just walked away without listening to him. And she doesn't even look into the facts. Zack let her into the room. Wouldn't a guilty man try and keep you away from the other woman. And even if you are going to do something like that it does not give you the right to turn around and crush his property. And all the while he DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG. He's a poor say who's in love with a woman with whom I cannot stand. Not only does she do all of this but she comes back into Zack's life and acts like they dont have this big issue in which she thinks he's a scum bag. And dont even get me started on the fact that she stole his dog, and changed his name. Not to mention the fact the she does admit that her boyfriend might not have cheated and it doesnt seem to bother her in the least that she destroyed his car among other item's he owned when he might not have done anything wrong.
I also dont find Zack that funny. He says something and the characters laugh and I just dont find the humor. I dont think he has much of a backbone. If you find your ex in your apartment after all that she's put you through then you should just kick her butt out. He almost acted like he derserved all of this and he didn't even sleep with another woman.
I don't know how the book ends because I had to stop reading it.
Maybe some people find this kind of book to be funny but I dont, and I dont think I'll give another one of her books a shot either. Maybe they are good, but anyone who can write characters like this... Nope. She's on my DO NOT BUY list.

In the last installment of Heidi Betts, Chicks with Sticks series, Grace Fisher and hockey player Zack Hoolihan were engaged to be married. While Zack was out of town with the team, Grace decided to go to where he was and surprise him. Well, the surprise was on Grace because when Zack opens the hotel room door Grace sees that he isn't alone and the person in his room is definitely not a hockey player. Now months later, Grace has still not forgiven Zack even though Zack has adamantly stated his innocence. Grace knows what she saw and she saw a half naked woman in his hotel room. That equals cheating in her book and there is nothing anyone can say to make her change her mind. And then something happens to Zack during a game.

I have laughed out loud more than once while reading Heidi Betts' Chicks with Sticks series. Until Knock Me for a Loop. The reason? I simply could not stand Grace Fisher. I found her to be spoiled, hateful, unreasonable, and arrogant. Those attributes didn't sit well with me and while I adore most everything Ms. Betts releases, Knock Me for a Loop isn't one of them. I couldn't understand Zack's wanting to be with Grace even though she treated him like he had a deadly disease and smelled bad. Grace never let him talk, she never listened to him, and she simply decided that he was lying. I personally wish Zack had found someone else - Grace Fisher definitely didn't deserve him, that's for sure.

Knock Me for a Loop did just that. I just wish I had liked the heroine. If non-listening and stubborn heroines attract you, then Knock Me for a Loop is the book for you. I won't be reading it again.

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Talk show host Grace Fisher goes to the hotel to visit her fiancé hockey star Zack Hoolihan only to find him with a naked woman. Outraged, Grace penalizes him with a life suspension when she publicly ends their relationship.

Already mentally down after losing Grace and playing poorly, Zack injures his knee and his placed on the injured reserve list. He feels like a loser knowing his beloved distrusts and loathes him though he never cheated on her and his professional hockey career is over. However he has renewed hope when his Grace visits him.

The third magic yarn romance (see Loves Me, Loves Me Knot and Tangled Up In Love) continues the misadventures in love between Zack and Grace. Ironically readers know Zack is innocent as we know he has no idea how she got into his room while on the road but mentally (and physically) hurt by his beloved's distrust of him. Grace's outrage of his betrayal of her could fuel a major city for years. This tale is well written and entertaining though why Zack tries to win back his love instead of moving on as she cross checked him with a high stick and refused to listen to him. Still fans will appreciate this fine contemporary sports romance wondering whether Grace can believe Zack is faithful to her.

Harriet Klausner

I had high hopes for Knock Me for a Loop, the final book in this trilogy by Heidi Betts and three women who love to knit. Much beloved talk show host Grace Fisher and her former fiancé, star hockey goalie for the Cleveland Rockets, Zack "Hot Legs" Hoolihan made quite the impression on the last book, Loves Me, Loves Me Knot mainly because the way Grace reacted when she found a hockey groupie in Zack's hotel room. She went ballistic, thinking he cheating on her, even though Zack denied it to the skies. I was very interested in seeing if these two would work things out and get back together, but in Knock Me For a Loop, I found Grace and Zack to have no chemistry and their interactions were beyond dull. Zack has a major Pete Pan complex and is a slob, while Grace is the total opposite. Unfortunately these two don't have enough of an interesting attraction to one another, and by the middle of the book I was close to giving this the good old label of DNF (do not finish).

Grace as a woman scorned was exactly what I enjoyed about her character. She refuses to be walked all over even though Zack has begged and pleaded with her that he is innocent. And when Zack has a very bad accident on the ice and hurts his leg, he feels his life is over. He misses Grace desperately and soon eats and drinks his sorrows away. He doesn't even have his trusted dog, Bruiser for support, who Grace stole, renamed Muffin and dresses in pink sweaters and booties she has knitted. While Zack spends his days watching soap operas, eating junk food and secretly knitting, his two best guy friends are sick of seeing him this way. Grace does still care for Zack and against her better judgment, tries to help him get back on his feet again. She even moves in with him, which Zack thinks is a great sign for their future. But Grace still feels she can't trust Zack. These two begin to talk, and become friends again. Zack wants to take their friendship to next level and have her back as his lover and fiancé. But Zack needs to grow up and come clean with her and show that he isn't a cheater and does respect Grace, so much so that he may even let her in on his new knitting hobby.

Knock Me for a Loop should have been a sexy and fun read about former lovers reuniting, but because the action and interactions between Zack and Grace were very low key and again no convincing displays of attraction between the two, I found myself very bored. I am not a big one for flashbacks, but in this case, I would have liked to see a few of these scenes of when Grace and Zack first met, their courtship and eventual engagement. We are told that these two really heated up the sheets when they were a couple, but there was no inclination to this fact, even when Grace decides to give into her sexual frustrations and have that one night to remember with Zack. Why just one night? Grace is still convinced that Zack was a low down dirty dog and slept with a hockey bunny. Only when Zack does something drastic, and perhaps if he had done this action from the beginning, then there would no drama and upheaval in both their lives, does Grace change her mind. But then we wouldn't have a story and this very profound moment is supposed to fit because isn't until the very end, giving out lovers their happily ever after.

This was a major miss for me and I was wishing for a bit more. Lack of passion and the mundane personalities of Zack and Grace left much to be desired.

Katiebabs

Tangled Up In Love
Loves Me, Loves Me Knot

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

A CK2S K2 Recommended Read!

"Amazing" Grace Fisher and Zack "Hot Legs" Hoolihan have been practically inseparable since their first chance meeting. However, everything changed when Grace surprised Zack in his hotel room one night and found another woman in his bed! (see Loves Me, Loves Me Knot) Zack swore his innocence but Grace, furious and heart broken, went straight to her friends in her knitting group for solace.

Fast forward several months...

Grace and Zack are through but poor Zack is so miserable since Grace trashed his Hummer, his apartment, and stole his dog. Unable to concentrate on anything, a random accident on the ice has Zack severely injured and too depressed to do much about it, convinced his hockey career will never be the same. Only Grace has what it takes to bring him out of his funk. Now they are together in forced proximity for the length of his recovery and their mutual attraction still sizzles. Now Grace is wondering how Zack still has the ability to "Knock Me for a Loop" in love.

I went back and forth as I was reading between praising Grace for sticking to her guns in her belief Zack cheated on her, and wanting to smack her for being so darned stubborn. I think my reaction was pretty representative of Grace herself as well. She is so hurt about Zack's believed betrayal that all she can think about is making him hurt as much as she did. Yet, as the story progresses and Zack's story never changes she starts to remember everything she loved about him and wants to believe him in his claims of innocence. Naturally, this causes for some extreme tension and conflict between the two as they spend so much time together during Zack's convalescence and recovery.

Zack is one to melt a girl's heart so it's no wonder Grace can't resist him. He's the strong and sexy type, highly successful in his hockey career... and madly in love with Grace. When she believes the worst of him, he is just as heartbroken as Grace, being lost without her shining light in his life. His depression is increased by the fact that Grace stole his St. Bernard, Bruiser, renamed him Muffin, and proceeded to attempt turn him into a sissy dog with all the pink sweaters with matching booties she's knitted for him.

One thing that can't be denied no matter what misunderstandings there are between Grace and Zack, is that they still have a lot of pent up attraction to one another or they wouldn't be wondering so much how each one has managed to Knock Me for a Loop. Readers can look forward to plenty of humor filled minutes as they curl up with this good book and read from beginning to end.

Heidi Betts has a way of writing highly sensual, greatly amusing stories that lure you into the story and keep you prisoner until the story is finished. Knock Me for a Loop is a wonderful example of this skill. Her slogan for the series "a funny, sexy yarn" fits perfectly. Knock Me for a Loop is a laugh riot with some megawatt sensuality between former lovers Grace and Zack. Of course, a little bit of magic never hurts and Charlotte is back, weaving her own spell with her spinning wheel to help these reluctant lovebirds find happiness again.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, January 2010. All rights reserved.

Heidi Betts's Knock Me For A Loop concludes the charming and funny sexy yarn series.

Talk show host Grace Fisher thought she had everything going for her. She had a job she loved, great friends and a sexy hockey fiancée. When Grace walks in on what she thinks is Zack being unfaithful she explodes. She calls off her engagement and relies on her knitting friends to have her back.

Zack Hollihan swore up and down that he didn't betray Grace and their love. Nothing he says or does is changing her mind so Zack's decides he must move on with his life. But everything is thrown up in the air when Zack is severely injured in a game. His friends try everything to get him motivated by nothing is working. So they call in the big guns, Grace. They think Grace is just what he needs to recover.

Grace isn't sure she is the right person to motivate Zack. But she is willing to put her feelings aside to get him back on his feet. Grace moves into Zack's apartment to give him round the clock care.

Grace and Zack forge a fragile friendship that has them both reliving what went wrong all those months ago. Zack is determined that he isn't going to let this golden change pass him by. Grace is beginning to question why she was so determined to believe the worst of Zack.

Knock Me For A Loop has two characters you find yourself rooting for Zack and Grace. They both have a journey the reclaim what they had but it's worth it to find true love. I am glad I found this author, her books are keepers.

Well is was late night - could not put it down. This is Grace and Zack's story - they were engaged until she walked into his hotel room and found a another women in his bed. Zack is a star hockey goalie and always told Grace that the groupie broke into his hotel room & he did even know she was there... Something happens (not going to tell you) and Grace & Zack find themselves exploring their relationship - with a little magic.

Check out the whole "Chicks with Sticks" series Tangled Up In Love - Book 1 and Loves Me, Loves Me Knot - Book 2.

If you enjoy this genre check out some of my favorites;Just One of the Guys (Hqn), Slow Heat (Berkley Sensation) and Talk Me Down.

Knock Me for a Loop is the enjoyable third book in a trilogy by Heidi Betts. It definitely worked as a stand alone novel as I have not yet read the first two. It centers around the rekindling romance between fabulous talk show host Grace Fisher and her ex-fiance and star hockey player, Zack Hoolihan. Apparently, in the previous novel, Grace stumbles upon one very naked "puck bunny" in her beloved's hotel room. Not cool. So what does she do? She dumps his sorry butt and trashes his home. She even has the gall to take his Saint Bernard. Now, I don't really condone all this silly business- it makes our lovely lady a little annoying. I mean, come on, take the high road. But! We all have our weaknesses, so I won't fault her that. ;] Grace is determined, hot headed and will not let a man walk all over her. I love a woman scorned. Now, don't think for one second that our slobarific athlete didn't deny the situation. Zack pleaded, called and text Grace until the cows came home that he didn't do anything, he has no idea what the puck bunny was doing in his hotel room. Hmm..? Likely story!

After months of being separated, Zack gets badly injured during a game. He sends himself into a deep depression, missing his physical therapy, not getting out of the house... something needs to be done. Now that his friends are feeling guilty and don't want to be around him- they encourage Grace to check in on him. Turn him into the old Zack. Skeptical, she does it. She even brings the dog back. It is nice to witness Grace rebuilding her trust in Zack even though he has a lot of growing up to do. There is an undeniable spark between Grace and Zack as they rekindle their love, but there wasn't as much chemistry as I was hoping for. The book also wasn't as *steamy* as I had anticipated after reading reviews for the first two books. That didn't take away from the story, just would have added to it. ;]

No real action until nearing the end of the book, but this was still a sexy, sassy story. Rating this only a 3.5 though I have heard from others that the first two books are even better and I will be adding those to my TBR pile. I absolutely adored the author's writing style, it was easy to glide through. Quick, refreshing read- and isn't the cover absolutely adorable? I love her covers for this series. Not to mention the title is fun too!