Recommendations from Peggy for May 2014.

In order to bring some more variety to my blog, I have asked some of my bookish friends to tell about the books they have in the past month, and to give us a recommendation. Today’s post is made by Peggy from Belgium.

Peggy:

I have read 9 books in the past month, and the 2 books I enjoyed the most are:

1. On the surface - Kate Willoughby



2. Blood past - Samantha Young




The one I can recommend to all Aurian’s readers is:

Kate Willoughby – On the surface



Book one of In the Zone
NHL player Tim Hollander lost his temper one time and threw a water bottle at an abusive fan. After "Bottlegate," he's traded to the San Diego Barracudas, where he'll need to keep the bad publicity to a minimum while proving he can still compete with the younger guys on the ice.
Erin Collier is a pediatric nurse who's never seen a hockey game, but gets in line for Tim's autograph at a PR event in hopes of impressing the doctor she has a crush on. When an obnoxious fan gets pushy toward Erin, Tim rushes to defend the pretty stranger, throwing a punch in the process.
Grateful for the rescue, Erin agrees to stand by Tim during the resulting press conference and host him at a hospital charity event. Their chemistry is palpable, and soon their lives are intertwined. But Erin doubts a hockey player is capable of anything resembling a real relationship. And if Tim can't get her to see beyond what's on the surface, they'll never last longer than a single season...


This was the first book that I read from Kate Willoughby. I must confess that the reason that I chose it, was because I love reading stories about ice hockey.
So when I saw this book, it immediately caught my attention and I started reading it the moment I got it.

NHL player Tim Hollander just moved to San Diego. His old club traded him to the San Diego Barracudas after an accident with an abusive fan. First he’s very mad about it. He has play with his old club for many years and now they abandoned him.
But then he starts thinking that it could be a good thing. This could mean a fresh start for him. So he decides with his 2 old friends (who now also play for San Diego Barracudas) to do their best and to prove to everyone that they can still compete with the younger guys on the ice.

Then one day Tim meets Erin Collier, a pediatric nurse. She works in a hospital and has a ‘secret’ crush on a doctor, who also works in the hospital. But so do many of the other nurses, so in order to get his attention she decides to get an autograph from a San Diego Barracudas player. Erin knows nothing of ice hockey or NHL players but the doctor is a fan. So she gets in the shortest line of the two (it’s her break so she doesn’t have much time) and that happens to be the line for Tim. But things go wrong when the person before her in the line gets pushy. At the end Tim rushes to her help and gives the man a punch in the face.

Afraid for bad publicity the club give a press conference where Erin stands by Tim’s side and this isn’t the only time she helps Tim out. When he gets sick, she remains with him. Tim really likes Erin (she doesn’t act weird about the fact that he’s a famous NHL player) and he wants to get to know her better. At first Erin keeps her distant because of the ‘bad’ reputation that a NHL player has but the more she gets to know Tim, the more she likes him.

Tim shows her who he really is and that he really wants a serious relationship with her. He wants a home with her. Erin also learns more about ice hockey, a game she knows nothing about. Their relationship grows but there is one great obstacle, Tim lost someone very important in his life and that pain is still great. Because of that loss, he made a big decision and that decision could cost him his relationship with Erin.
Does Erin love Tim enough to accept his decision? Can she overcome her uncertainty?
Or will Tim lose her in the end?


I really liked this story. It is a sweet romance about two people who find each other and fall in love. Tim was a sweet guy and I liked Erin also very much. And I also enjoyed the other NHL players and the ice hockey games. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

Aurian: Thanks for the recommendation Peggy! It sounds like a lovely sports romance, and how fun to find out you love Ice Hockey. Is that sports big in Belgium?

How about you, reader, do you enjoy sports romance? Did you read this book or author before?

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian