Showing posts with label karen erickson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label karen erickson. Show all posts

Monday, November 4, 2013

Review: Game for Trouble (Game for It #2) by Karen Erickson

Game for Trouble (Game for It, #2)

Publication Date: October 28th 2013 by Entangled: Brazen
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the Book:

He’ll play dirty to get what he wants… Willow Cavanaugh would be happy if she never saw cocky football star Nick Hamilton again. Sure, their fling was the hottest she’d had, but he’s way too much of a playboy to settle down with one woman. Plus, she’s got her heart set on a piece of real estate for her catering business—and Nick owns that property. Nick may be at the top of his game, but all he wants is a second chance with Willow. When he offers to sell her his commercial space if she agrees to a series of dates with him, their chemistry is so scintillating that jumping back into bed seems like an inevitability. But Willow’s decided all’s fair in sex and blackmail. Little does she know, Nick’s playing to win…and she’s the prize.

My Thoughts:
Game for Trouble was a sweet second chance romance with plenty of push and pull, and just the right amount of steam.  This is the second book in the Game for It series and I loved it just as much if not more than the previous one!  

Willow had her heart broken when she was nineteen by an up and coming NFL star, Nick.  Fast forward six years and he’s back in her life when her best friend marries his best friend and fellow teammate, Jared. Every since they’ve crossed paths again, he’s hell bent on getting into her pants again, and she is SO shutting down that action.

He was a man who could have anyone he wanted. He’d already had her once and dumped her. Why would he want her again? It made no sense. Yet here he was, whispering in her ear how much he wanted her, needed her…

She’s grown since that passionate summer where they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, whenever and wherever they were. She’s grown in confidence and smarts, and she’s not about to let her hormones get the better of her now. Willow prides herself on being an independent and strong woman.  She’s built a business from the ground up without daddy’s money, and that’s her main focus now. Willow just needs to secure the perfect business property so she can take her business to the next level.  Little does she know Nick is the property owner!

Nick made one of the biggest mistakes in his life when he let Willow go six years ago. He wants her back on a permanent basis.  He’s been trying to wear down her defenses but she keeps shutting him down. When Nick finds out he owns the property that Willow has been stalking, and salivating over, he plans on using the deal as his way in. She needs a better price, and he needs her to give him the time of day.  All’s fair in love and war, right?  I guess we’ll see.

Willow was a tricky character for me to like at first.  She kept pushing Nick away—hard, but after seeing how much Nick hurt and affected her by leaving six years ago I could see why she wanted to protect her heart.  She was madly in love/lust with him and the years that have past haven’t diminished her strong feelings.  When a girl thinks a guy is only interested in getting into her pants and then moving on, she has to put her guard up, and that’s exactly what Willow did.  Unfortunately her body can only take so much temptation:

“Stop touching me,” she whispered when he hadn’t answered, his fingers still on her face, his thumb grazing the corner of her lips. “I like touching you. I want to do more than touch you.”

Umm….YES, please!!!

Nick was a sweetie with a big heart!  I just adored him.  He had a humble, laid back attitude with down home charm (love a Southern accent! *sigh*) He’s persistent, thank goodness, because Willow gives him quite a fight.  It’s a good thing he’s got charm, good looks and skills that could melt the ice in any snow queen’s heart!  These two have a fiery hot attraction with scenes that could light up anyone’s kindle (or Nook)!

Game for Trouble is a feel-good, sweet and sexy romance with the HEA we all crave, sure to lift your spirits and put a happy grin on your face!  Karen Erickson scores another win with this installment! 


Now I’m wondering who will be in the next story; wholesome, good boy, Flynn?  I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

4 Suns







Game for It series (click on cover for Goodreads link) :

Game for Marriage (Game for It, #1)    Game for Trouble (Game for It, #2)





About the Author:  I’ve always loved the written word. From being one of the best readers in my kindergarten class to penning romantic stories that never ended about my favorite band members (Duran Duran!) in high school, I always had a feeling I wanted to write. It just took me a while to seriously pursue it.

With the birth of my third child came a realization – it’s one thing to talk about writing a book, another thing entirely to do so. So I decided to go for it and in 2005 I began my pursuit in writing toward publication. After completing a few clunkers that should never see the light of day, I was first published in 2006. I currently write for Samhain Publishing (sexy, glamorous contemporary romance), Entangled Publishing’s Bliss Imprint (sweet, small town contemporary romance), Avon Impulse/Harper Collins (historical romance) and Carina Press (historical romance).

On a personal note, I’m a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite with my husband and three children, the dog and way too many cats.

Connect with Karen Erickson:



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Review: Game for Marriage (Game for It #1) by Karen Erickson

Game for Marriage (Game for It, #1)


Game for Marriage by Karen Erickson
Published January 11th 2013 by Entangled Publishing (Brazen)

About the book:
He’s going in deep to make her his…

Struggling artist Sheridan Harper never imagined she’d spend a sizzling night with Jared Quinn, the smoking-hot star quarterback of her local professional football team, the San Jose Hawks. And she’s even more shocked when Jared’s publicist offers her a proposition: a fake marriage to keep Jared out of the gossip mags. Being that close to Jared would be too tempting, so to protect her heart, she insists on secretly including a clause forbidding sex between them.

Jared just wants to keep his starting QB job and keep it in San Jose. His reputation as a ladies’ man has landed him in the headlines one too many times, but there’s something about his kind, passionate new wife that tempts him beyond reason. Any sort of intimacy between them is completely forbidden, but as their bodies fall in deep, will their hearts follow suit?


My Thoughts:

What a sweet and sexy book! It had everything I love in a good romance - with the added element of football, another favorite pastime of mine!

Sheridan Harper is a struggling artist, trying to make ends meet while keeping open the studio she inherited from her grandmother. Jared Quinn is the star quarterback for the local NFL team, who has the reputation of a ladies man. They meet at a local event where the sparks fly and they end up spending the night together, not expecting anything more.

But Jared's publicist has other ideas. He proposes that Sheridan poses as Jared's wife for a year to help clean up his image, before he gets fired from the team. Sheridan sees it as an opportunity to pay the bills and grow her business and she agrees - with the stipulation that they include a no-sex clause in their agreement. This prevents her from getting too close and falling for the womanizer who inevitably will break her heart.

These two have a chemistry that's so sweet and sexy they can barely resist each other. And while they get to know each other - Sheridan finds out just how much she respects Jared for how strong and loyal he is. Not to mention sexy, possessive, and gorgeous! And Jared sees in Sheridan the sweet, caring, and talented person that she is and falls deeper and deeper for her. Of course, as expected, complications will arise that put a damper on their arrangement - but the angst in this book is so short-lived and painless that it didn't bother me at all! It was well worth it to have the perfect, wonderful ending.

This book had a great combination of romance, steam, and wit - without the cheesy lines or over-the-top descriptions of their sexual encounters. It was just perfect enough to get your heart pumping and make you swoon. I adored these two and their story - and can't wait for the next book in the series, which I expect will be about their friends, Nick & Willow.

5 Suns


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Review: Jane's Gift by Karen Erickson

Jane's Gift
Jane's Gift by Karen Erickson
Published on October 25, 2012 by Entangled Publishing
Purchase: Amazon
About the book
A devastating house fire cost Jane Clark nearly everything: her husband, her confidence, and her looks, with the physical scars marbling her body. Now, two years later, she’s living and healing back in her childhood hometown of Lone Pine Lake. The upcoming holidays are the perfect opportunity to bring some Christmas cheer into her young children’s lives, starting with a visit to the firehouse, where her brother’s best friend has offered to help quell their residual fears.

Lone Pine’s resident playboy, fire captain Christian Nelson is happy with his single-guy lifestyle. He’s an everyday local hero, so he’s never wanting for attention around the holidays. But when Jane Clark shows up, Chris is immediately drawn to the beautiful widow—even though kids and commitment have never been his style.

Despite her brother’s warnings about his friend’s playboy status and dangerous occupation, Jane can’t help but fall for the gorgeous fire captain. The holidays are a time of new beginnings, but can two scarred people find the strength to let go of their pasts to live in the present, when a lifetime together might be the sweetest gift of all?
My Thoughts:
This book is exactly what I needed.  Lately I have been all about the creepy and well you know sometimes a girl just needs some good ole fashioned romance.  Jane's Gift delivered a wonderful story that was light on the drama and heavy on the sweet and steamy.

Jane's Gift is a touching story that really hit home for me.  It is about a mother of three trying to pick up the pieces after losing her husband and home to a terrible fire.  It has been two years since the accident and Jane finds out that maybe moving on is not such a bad thing after meeting the resident hottie fire chief.  Christian is all kinds of yummy and what happens between the two is beautiful and very lovely.

This story was so much fun. I enjoyed that it wasn't heavy on the drama, but still had conflict in it.  I appreciated that the author didn't drag out certain things because I was craving something with heavy romance and Jane and Christian definitely delivered.  I will definitely keep a look out for more books by this author!
4 Suns