Taking A Shot (A Play-By-Play Novel #3) By: Jaci Burton

 

      The last thing Jenna Riley needs is more sports in her life. While her brothers are off being athletic superstars, she's stuck running the family's sports bar, whether she likes it or not. Then in walks pro hockey stud Tyler Anderson. As much as Jenna would like to go to the boards with him, she's vowed to never fall for a jock-even one as hot as Ty. 

     Ty, intrigued by the beautiful bar owner, becomes a regular. He senses that Jenna wants to do something more with her life. And as he gains her trust, the passion between them grows, as does Ty's insistence that Jenna should start living for herself. With his encouragement, Jenna starts to believe it, too...

     But first, Jenna has to figure out what she wants, what she needs, who she loves, and if she has the passion and pride to take a shot at having it all-including Ty...

     I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Taking A Shot, I had thought about reading the Play-By-Play series before but for one reason or another never did. So when I finally decided to give this series a try I skipped over to the third book in the series as this was the first book that seemed interesting enough to give a read. As someone who didn't start reading from the beginning of this series I don't feel as though I missed anything too important that makes it hard to follow along with the story. I appears as though each book is a standalone with only referencing the couples from the previous books. As for the story itself it was a decent read, there wasn't too much drama or craziness going on with the story but I enjoyed it enough to want to continue on with this series. 

Mangled Minds (The Harkwright Trilogy #2) By: B C Morgan

      Luna's second year at the prestigious Harkwright Academy is about to begin. Within those walls Luna has faced many challenges and she can't help but wonder: can she survive this, and still be the same girl she was when she began?

     This year Luna has even more trails to face; from attending the retreat after being claimed by Aeron, to seeing the infamous Harkwright Prince, with no more disguises in place. 

     The cards may not seem stacked against Luna right now, but can she stay in the Harkwrights good graces without losing herself? Will Luna continue to see this place as nothing more than a means to an end, or will it offer her the things she never even knew she wanted? 

     One thing's certain, it's gonna take more than a batch of baked goods to get Luna through this!

    I enjoyed reading Mangled Minds just as much as the first book in this series. I just could not get enough of it and managed to complete this book in no time at all. I cannot wait to read the third and final book to this trilogy when it comes out next year. But at the same time I am kind of sad that this series is almost over.

Hollow Hearts (The Harkwright Trilogy #1) By: B C Morgan

     Harkwright Academy, the place where dreams can come true. A three year stay will award you with an education that will rival any college and enough money to aid you in whatever career you choose to take. 

     Luna is applying to give her mom the life she deserves, to fund her sister's medical bills and so she can be sure to have the only thing she truly wants. 

     For her family Luna will give them her time, her soul and her body, but she will never give them her heart. This place is going to test Luna and the guys very well could break her, but they won't keep her down forever. 

     Hollow Hearts was a quick late night decision read. I had just finished reading a hell of a book and needed a break before moving onto something else. I had read the sample for Hollow Hearts and it was late at night so I thought why not? Since Hollow Hearts was a chance reading I didn't have much expectation once I started reading. To say I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I enjoyed reading this book would be an understatement. I actually enjoyed reading Hollow Hearts so much that I went ahead and downloaded the next book in this series as well as added the third to my wish list to read once it comes out. 

Forbidden Fate (Crowne Point #3) By: Mary Catherine Gebhard

      Story only had one rule: don't fall in love with the cruel prince. She broke it. When the clock struck twelve, she went back to being a servant. He promised to let her go with her heart in pieces...but Grayson Crowne always was king at breaking promises. 

      Story refuses to let Grayson lock her in a tower. She has no choice but to take the only out offered her - another cruel prince. Refuge in a man she loathes. Rescued from the man she loves. 

      Story wanted to forget Grayson, forget Crowne Hall, and hide, however fate has other plans. But if Grayson and Story are fated, then their fate is forbidden. Their happily ever after will only end one way...in a heartbreak. 

       I have been waiting to read Forbidden Fate since I finished reading the previously book in this series, Stolen Soulmate, the beginning of Grayson and Story's story. I remember not being able to put the previous book down and I thought that would be the same with Forbidden Fate but that was not the case. I just could not seem to get an into Forbidden Fate at all. 

      One issue I have with Forbidden Fate is that I went into this book thinking it was the conclusion to Grayson and Story's story but apparently that was not the case and there is yet another book that will be coming out. One major pet peeve I have with stories like these is when an author says a series will have a certain number of books in it, whether its supposed to be a standalone or a duet, and then the author changes it. It's always a change with more books not less and its times like this when I really think the author sees a series is popular and wants to capitalize on it. More times than not this does not work in the authors favor as the story loses something when they try to drag it along and adds information that does not necessarily have to be included. And that's exactly what happened here, there was not nearly enough happening in Forbidden Fate to have made it worth adding another book to this series. I could barley get through this book because it was all just useless information. 

      With that being said, do I want to continue on with this series and find out what happens next for Grayson and Story? I don't know and a one of the reasons is the price, the price was not worth paying for this book let alone paying the same price for this next book that I am already indecisive about.

      Another reason being, nowhere does it state that this next book is the last one for Grayson and Story. What happens if I go into this one, not like it and then find out there's one more book to this series?

      Overall would I recommend this series, no because as much as I enjoyed the first book I didn't enjoyed this second one at all. And again I don't think the price was worth this reading especially when you consider how hard it was for me to get through. It's weird for as many positive reviews I have seen regarding Forbidden Fate I have to agree with the few negative reviews I seen.