Friday, April 11, 2014

Blitzing Emily by Julie Brannagh ~ Review

Source:  Received an eBook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 All's fair in Love and Football...

Emily Hamilton doesn't trust men. She's much more comfortable playing the romantic lead in front of a packed house onstage than in her own life. So when NFL star and alluring ladies' man Brandon McKenna acts as her personal white knight, she has no illusions that he'll stick around. However, a misunderstanding with the press throws them together in a fake engagement that yields unexpected (and breathtaking) benefits.

Every time Brandon calls her "Sugar," Emily almost believes he's playing for keeps—not just to score. Can she let down her defenses and get her own happily ever after?


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18053051-blitzing-emily?from_search=true

http://www.amazon.com/Blitzing-Emily-Love-Football-Novel-ebook/dp/B00DB3AA3Ahttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blitzing-emily-julie-brannagh/1115554763

My Thoughts


 

3 1/2 stars - Football player with yummy abs, you know it!

First Impressions...

I love football.  I love romance stories with football players.  I love pretend relationships that become more.  So, yeah, this one sounded great.

The Characters...

I love Brandon.  Never saw his player side just the sweet side.  He may not have been looking for a relationship when he scooped Emily up and took her to the hospital after her fall but he sure found one.  He took care of her.  He made her laugh.  He stood up to her diva ways.  What really won me over was how he was always so quiet and controlled when he was angry.  I actually think that's more scary than yelling and it impressed me.

Emily really is a diva but her opera singing ways are pretty fun mixed with an NFL defensive end.  I did want to shake her a few times but she got over it eventually.  She does need to learn some football though.  This football lover was not pleased with her lack of plays.

Emily's parents where strange.  Her dad mostly annoyed me but I did love her sister.  She's the star of book two so that should be fun.

The Story...

 Mostly I enjoyed this story.  There was this strange quality to it that had me tilting my head and staring at my iPad.  Honestly, the story felt like it was a month long but actually spanned about a year.  The story was stretched to fit and I felt like I missed things along the way.  Two weeks would go by and the only real indication was the phrase "two weeks later".  I just found it odd that this couple in this situation would have nothing noteworthy in two weeks.  I guess I either wanted it to last a month or wanted to know the details.

Could I Put It Down...

I raced through the first half of this book.  It's a long one at 496 pages but the first half zipped by.  The second half was a little harder.  That's the time when I noticed the passage of time issue I was having.  I'm thinking that the book could have lost a hundred pages and been a lot better.  But in the end, I did read it in two nights.

In The End...

I enjoyed Brandon and Emily's story.  The incident where the boy scouts found them was pretty darn hysterical.  People who love sports players with yummy abs mixed into their romance will love this one.


About the author:

Julie Brannagh has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She lives in a small town thirty miles east of Seattle with a wonderful husband, two uncivilized Maine Coons (Mojo and Oscar) and a rambunctious chocolate Lab named Moose. She loves to write, but she loves books even more.

Julie is represented by Sarah E. Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency. Sarah sold Julie’s Seattle Sharks series to Amanda Bergeron of Avon Impulse in November of 2012. BLITZING EMILY (first book of the series) will make its debut in January of 2014. RUSHING AMY will follow on February 11, 2014, and CATCHING CAMERON will be published on May 6, 2014. Julie signed a second contract for two more books and a novella in the Seattle Sharks series in April of 2014. Those books will be out in October, 2014, late November, 2014, and May of 2015.

When Julie’s not writing or reading, she enjoys the same things everyone else does: Sports, music, movies, visiting with friends, and the occasional cupcake.

https://www.facebook.com/JulieBrannaghhttps://twitter.com/julieinduvallhttp://www.juliebrannagh.com/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7127296.Julie_Brannagh



6 comments:

  1. You had me at yummy abs lol I have this one on my kindle, glad to hear it is a fun read overall. Great review!

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  2. Interesting pairing but I am surprised at how long this book is. Almost 500 pages? And it's contemporary romance? Whew! I would be anxious to finish it too.

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  3. Dang, that's a long book! A football player and opera diva sounds interesting for sure. Glad you liked this!

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  4. Interesting combo, but it sounds sweet. You know I love my athlete's too, so I'm definitely interested in this.

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  5. Great Review Val :) I love football players with yummy abs!!! This story sounds interesting, and I agree with you the angry, quiet person scares me a lot more than the one that's yelling! This story sounds good, but a bit long. I like my stories not too short, and not too long. Ideally around 200 pages.

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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  6. I really love sports themed romances. This sounds pretty good, though I think the time lapses would be kind of weird to. Great review.

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