Blog Tour – Review Courting Kate by Tori Kron

 

blogtourHello bookish friends and welcome to my Blog Tour stop for Courting Kate by Tori Kron hosted by XpressoBookTours. Today, I’ll be sharing my review for this satisfyingly fun and entertaining sports romance story. divider3



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Courting Kate
Tori Kron
(Panthers Players, #1)
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: June 23rd 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports

Slapped with court ordered community service for brawling—again, Miller Cassidy, the Indianapolis Panther’s star player, is forced into laboring under stodgy non-profit supervisor, Kate Gallagher. Her saving grace—she happens to be best friends with Stella, the woman he’s been chasing for years.

Despite the masses falling for his charm, Kate doesn’t care for Miller’s notorious reputation or his flippant behavior. But wanting to impress her strict boss, she agrees to a trade that could give them both a shot at success.

Propelled into an unlikely alliance, Miller finds himself taking a defensive stance when he sees beyond Kate’s hard exterior. And Kate is equally thrown off guard when she discovers there’s more to Miller than games.

But is love worth sacrificing friendship? And can Miller let go of the feelings for Stella he’s held onto for years?

In love and basketball, it’s five fouls and you’re out, and every play counts.

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Adorably Sweet, Deliciously Fun, and Delightfully Entertaining 

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Courting Kate by Tori Kron is an adorably sweet, deliciously fun, and pleasantly entertaining sports romance that played with my emotions a bit, but a sure win in my heart!

I’m used to reading steamy and sexy adult sports romances, but I was surprisingly intrigued and wonderfully engaged with this book. Don’t get me wrong… there are some swoony moments and even a scorching hot kissing scene, but this one definitely leans toward being a clean adult romance novel. That being said, the story certainly does not disappoint and there are some amazing and spine-tingling FEELS. Maybe not as many as I would like, but enough that I was captivated the entire time and finished reading in less than 10 hours.

The storyline is engaging in many ways, but it’s far from perfect and there are quite a few things that bothered me. I also kept thinking that there needs to be something MORE with the character developments, the relationships, the conflict, the romance, and just the overall feel of story. To me, it seems like the story is always just one step away from being a 5 hearts read. The ending is rushed, felt a bit too convenient for a HEA conclusion, and again, I just wanted something more to happen. Nevertheless, those are just minor nuisances and definitely did not ruin the fun for me. I still thought the story as a whole is charming, funny, and entertaining. I really liked the drama, the sweet tender moments, and the romance. I also liked that the plot is fast-paced and I enjoyed every single scene that made smile, swoon, and ache in a lovely way.

The characters, while not as fleshed out as I wanted, felt genuinely realistic and that made them likeable. I adored both Kate and Miller and rooted for them so hard. Stella has a strong personality and she’s usually the type of character that I wouldn’t like, but in the end I did and I appreciated what she did for Kate and Miller. I liked Kate’s other best friend, Rin, and I wished she had more scenes in the book. Kai is just so stinkin’ cute and funny and I just wanted to give that boy a big hug and cuddle. Miller’s sister Reagan and teammates make brief appearances too, but not enough for me to decide if I really liked them. They’re okay and quite interesting, but I wanted a tad bit more interactions with them. Deacon definitely intrigues me so I can’t wait to read his book.

The romance is enjoyable and I knew in the beginning who I wanted Miller to choose. Kate and Miller make such a great couple and they both deserved to be with people who brings out the best versions of themselves. I liked their chemistry, their playful bantering, and just how good they are for each other. I also really loved the way their relationship developed into something romantic overtime and even though it’s quite slow-burn, I thought it’s satisfyingly real and perfectly relatable.

A delightfully fun and clean sports romance, Courting Kate by Tori Kron had me quite smitten that I found myself glued to the pages and unable to stop reading. Even though I wanted more throughout the story, I still had fun reading this book and felt happy with how the story played out until the very end. I definitely cannot wait to read the next book and find out what’s in store for two characters that are hiding their relationship. I definitely sense a forbidden romance there and I’m totally all for that!

I recevied an advance reader copy of this book from the author and publisher via XpressoBookTours in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. divider4

tourschedule2

June 24th
Crack A Book Cafe >> Guest post
The Avid Reader >> Interview
A British Bookworm’s Blog >> Review

June 25th
JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder >> Interview
Book Lovers 4Ever >> Playlist
Sunny Shelly Reads >> Review
Incidental Inspiration >> Review

June 26th
Viviana MacKade >> Guest post
A Dream Within A Dream >> Excerpt
diary of a wannabe writer  >> Review
Love in a time of Feminism >> Review
Twirling Book Princess >> Excerpt

June 27th
So Few Books >> Interview
Lisa Loves Literature  >> Review
Adventures in Writing >> Excerpt
Live Through Books Blog >> Review

June 28th
Cranky TBC >> Review
Sincerely Karen Jo >> Review
Novel Nerd Faction >> Review
The Musings of Author Jeanne St. James >> Excerpt
Readers Retreats >> Excerpt
Smada’s Book Smack >> Review

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Tori Kron has spent ten years educating middle school students in the art of English writing. She is a proud graduate of Purdue University, where she discovered a love for nearby Chicago and the adventures that awaited within. When Tori isn’t in front of the classroom, you can find her working with fellow authors in the Midwest Writers Guild or traveling the world with friends. In between excursions, she happily resides in Evansville, Indiana with her husband and son.

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Blog Tour – Parental Guidance by Avery Flynn

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“A fantastically fun, HOT love story.” – Kendall Ryan, New York Times bestselling author

Parental Guidance, an all-new, sexy and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Avery Flynn, is available now!

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All I want is to play hockey on the Ice Knights, instead, I’m in a viral video for all the wrong reasons and my mom—yes, my mom—has taken over my dating apps. Then, when I think it can’t get any worse, the fates deliver Zara Ambrose, a five-feet-nothing redhead with more freckles than inches and who’d rather be anywhere other than on a date with me.

Now a bet with her friends and my PR nightmare have us both stuck in this go-on-five-dates-with-the-same-person hell situation. But if we band together, we can get the whole thing over with and go on with our lives. It’s perfect! No feelings. No future. No fuc— *ahem* fun. No naked fun.

What could go wrong? Nothing—as long as I remember the rules. Don’t notice the way she looks in a dress. Don’t react when she does that little shivery sigh thing whenever we touch. Don’t think about the fact that she’s never had a toe-curling orgasm that wasn’t self-delivered and just how badly I want to change that.

Five dates—that’s it—and then we go our separate ways. At least, that was the plan.

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Download your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2VGNZ41

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2Lc2R9Y

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ParentalGuidance

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“So why are you on Bramble?”

She took another small bite from her roll before answering. “My best friend is blackmailing me, and my dad wants a SAG card.”

That was definitely not the answer he’d been expecting. “And I thought my reasoning was twisted.”

“I’m sure it all makes sense in Gemma’s head,” Zara said. “She thinks I work too much and need to loosen up. She’ll let me be her plus-one to go meet a collector if I do the Bramble five dates thing. And my dad? Well, let’s just say he’s never met an unlikely plan he didn’t think he could pull off.”

All the possibilities this created sped around inside his head until one broke free like a perfect fast break late in the third period when the game was on the line. All he had to do was put the biscuit in the net.

“So neither of us really wants to be here,” he said. “We’re each other’s solution to getting back to our regular lives as soon as possible.”

It was fucking perfect. Petrov’s job with the team would be safe for another season—well, as safe as he could be, considering he didn’t have a no-trade deal in his contract.

Zara, though, didn’t seem to be seeing the genius of it, going by the suspicious look she gave him as she took another bite of her roll. Instead of giving him a straight-up no, though, she started eating. The words—okay, begging pleas—were bubbling up inside him but for once, he kept it in lockdown. He wasn’t about to rush this play, no matter how it had every nerve in his body jinglejangling.

Finally, she used her napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth, straightened her spine, and looked him dead in the eye. “We’d have to have ground rules.”

“Sure. Whatever you want.” Ice Knights season tickets? He’d make that happen. A photo op with her dad’s favorite player? Done. Whatever it took, he’d do it.

“This isn’t a real or fake relationship, it’s a temporary alliance,” she said without an ounce of humor in her tone. “I’m not pretending to be your girlfriend or the random chick you’re banging this week.”

“Agreed.” All of that sounded like it would cause more problems than it would solve anyway. “I’ve got a condition. Dressing up is not required. I’m not putting on a suit.”

The best thing about the off-season was not having to strangle himself with a tie multiple times a week just for a bus ride to the rink or a plane trip to another city. Coach Peppers was old-fashioned about doing things the original way.

“Fine.” Zara held up three fingers. “The third stipulation is that I’m not putting on a good attitude. If it’s been a crappy day, I don’t have to pretend to be a manic pixie dream girl.”

He snorted. “No one who’s met you would believe that. You’re a little salty.” That was putting it mildly based on her attitude when she showed up for their date.

“I have my reasons.” She added another finger, so she was holding up four. “Oh, and no making love. Sex?” She paused and looked him over quickly. “Maybe. Emotional, heartfelt, staring-each-other-in-the-eyes making love? Not gonna happen. No offense, but you’re not my type.”

What the hell? Not her type? He was a professional athlete making millions. He’d been led to believe he was everyone’s type.

“Not a problem, since I don’t think we could see eye to eye while having sex unless you magically grew a foot,” he said.

“You’re not into being creative?” Zara rolled her eyes. “I guess that’s expected for someone who has probably had women throwing themselves at him for years. You haven’t ever had to work for it.”

Caleb had no idea what to say to that. He’d been punched square in the face by the most feared goons in hockey and it hadn’t knocked him as senseless as this little five-foot-nothing of a snarky woman had done with a few choice words.

“I have one more rule,” she said, reaching for another roll. “Five dates and we’re done. Period. Do we have a deal?”

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abouttheauthor

AveryFlynnUSA Today bestselling romance author Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.

She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory books. It wasn’t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin’s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn’t long before the local book stores’ staff knew her by name.

Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.

 

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Instagram: @AveryFlynn https://www.instagram.com/averyflynn/

Website: http://averyflynn.com

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Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to add this book on your TBR!

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