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Jami Davenport presents Game on in Seattle, a new series featuring Seattle sports teams, hot men, and strong women.
He trusts his gut, she trusts her numbers, and neither trusts the other, as a billionaire's mission to bring hockey to Seattle clashes with his passion for the woman who holds his heart.
Ethan Parker, a billionaire determined to bring a professional hockey to Seattle, will stop at nothing to realize his dream. After signing an agreement to purchase another city's team, Ethan is anxious to make the move to Seattle, but a gag order by the League forces him to keep the sale a secret until the season ends, leaving him no choice but to go undercover as a consultant to study his team during the playoffs.
Lauren Schneider, Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the Giants hockey team, gets no respect from the team's testosterone-loaded staff. When Ethan bursts onto the scene, full of charm and genuinely interested in her opinions, she shares the team's weaknesses and discovers a weakness of her own--for Ethan. But when his true identity is revealed, and he starts cleaning house based on her unwitting input, his betrayal cuts deeply on both a professional and personal level. Bound by an employment contract, Lauren reluctantly moves to Seattle to work for the newly christened Seattle Sockeyes and her sexy, infuriating boss.
Lauren and Ethan must come to terms with their passions--for the team, for hockey, and for each other. Will their situation build a frozen wall between them, or will their love burn hot enough to melt the ice shielding their hearts?
A Review By Wendy
3.5 Coming Clean Stars...
* * * 1/2
I happen to enjoy sports themed books. I can appreciate the focus, desire and need to be great; also respect the sacrifices made. There can be a type of honor in sports if done right. There is also the aspect of business, though, which can sometimes tarnish all those efforts.
This books touches on both of these things as well as another huge challenge: women in positions of power in sports leagues. It really doesn't matter which sport it is... women have a hard time rising to levels of real difference in most sports. In this book,it is Hockey.
Lauren is the Giant's team facilitator... she is the Assistant Director of Player Personnel. She does so much more and has worked hard to overcome the bias of the sport. Oh, she knows bias, alright.... her dad is a legend of the sport and the only time he connected with her was when she showed an interest in what he was drilling into her two brothers on the ice. Lauren tried to make her dad proud by learning everything she could...and it took... She is the expert of stats, players, trends and the future of the ice. She scouts and picks out talent before anyone can recognize it... but when she talks of methods to win or talent to pluck from other teams... no one listens... or if they do ... they steal the ideas and get credit for them because they are guys. She loves her team... wishes to make advances and modernize decision making but it falls on deaf ears. This team is in trouble. The Florida city is not embracing Hockey and the Hockey league is tired of carrying it financially.
Enter Ethan... Hockey fan to the max. He is the young guy who never gave up the love of the sport. He wasn't talented enough to turn pro, even experienced teasing about not being a jock as a kid... so he switched to football- but his love is Hockey... and he has vowed to bring it to Seattle. He comes from a family who has always given back to the community and this is Ethan's goal. He has lined up the investors and the Giants are for sale. He closes the deal and is elated...there is just one little problem... there is a gag order- no talking about it to anyone. If the deal comes out in the press too soon- he loses the team and everything he has worked for is gone in an instant.
Ethan needs to see what is what with the team- who to keep...who to trade and who to fire... The only way is to lie... present himself as a consultant hired by a third party to see how everything is with the team. He will infiltrate, learn everything and do it with Lauren's help unbeknownst to her. She will assist him per the league's dictates.
This brings Ethan and Lauren together...she has a feeling something is up.... the players have the same vibe and Ethan cannot share anything... will they all be able to make the transition to Seattle intact... will the chemistry these two have hold them together once the lies told come out.... only time with tell.
This is a new series and there are a few characters which were introduced to hook you for more books. It was a fun pleasant read.... but there was a lot of repetition of how much he hated misleading her, about who he was and how this was not the way he would usually do business. It got to be too much for me.
Other wise, it was a fun book with insight to the female dilemma in sports.
A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Giveaway
About the Author
An advocate of happy endings, Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare. She works in computer support in her day job and juggles too many balls, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review Skating on Thin Ice.
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