Review and Giveaway: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen

Rookie Move

by Sarina Bowen

The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series.
 
In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold...
 
Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.
 
Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

Excerpt

“Come right this way,” Georgia heard her coworker and roommate Becca say, the clomp of her Dr. Martens echoing through the grand old passageway. “Nate is excited to meet you.” Becca was the owner’s assistant, and Georgia lingered half a second to wave her down and offer her a donut, too. 

But Becca didn’t happen to look in Georgia’s direction as she led a tall man down the corridor. Something about his gait snagged Georgia’s subconscious. So she took a second look.

And that’s when her heart took off like a manic bunny rabbit. Because she knew that man. She knew the chiseled shape of his masculine jaw, and the length of his coal-black eyelashes.

Oh my God.

Omigod, omigod, omigod.

“How was your flight?” Becca asked him, oblivious to the fact that Georgia was spying.

“Not too bad. I got in late last night.”

The sound of his voice fluttered right inside Georgia’s chest. It was the same smoky sweet timbre that used to whisper into her ear while they made love. She hadn’t let herself remember that sound in a long time.

Now it was giving her goosebumps. The good kind.

“Welcome to Brooklyn,” Becca said while Georgia trembled. “Are you familiar with the area?”

“Grew up about thirty miles from here,” he answered while chills broke out across her back.

Holding her breath, Georgia eased her office door further closed, until only a couple of inches remained. She could not be caught like this—freaked-out and speechless, hiding behind a door.

The movement caught Becca’s eye, though. Georgia saw her turn her head in her direction and then pick her out in the crack where the door was still open. Becca raised one eyebrow—the one with the barbell piercing in it.

All Georgia could do was close her eyes and pray that Becca wouldn’t call out a greeting.

There was a pause before Georgia heard Becca say, “Right this way, please.”

Quietly, Georgia stepped into her office and shut the door. After flipping on the light, she let her briefcase and pocketbook slide right to the floor. Only the folder that Nate had given her was still in her shaking hands. She flipped it open, her eyes searching for the new player’s name on the page.

But she didn’t even need the paperwork to confirm what her racing heart had already figured out. The newest player for the Brooklyn Bruisers was none other than Leonardo “Leo” Trevi, a six-foot-two, left-handed forward. Also known as her high school boyfriend, the boy she’d loved with all her heart until the day that she’d dumped him. And now he was here?

“Thanks, universe,” she whispered into the stillness of her office.

My Review: 5 Stars!

I was so excited to hear that Sarina Bowen was going to start a new series with a tie-in to her Ivy Years series, a series that I have devoured and LOVED each and every book (and audiobook!) from.

Although Leo Trevi was not a major character in any of her prior books, his brother DJ was, and we had been told a little of Leo and Georgia's back story in The Fifteenth Minute, book 5 of in the Ivy Years series. DJ actually talks to Georgia and gets some advice in this book.

But luckily, Leo and Georgia get their own book in Rookie Move. I have to tell you there is not one single thing to dislike about Leo Trevi. Not one, I swear! He is the perfect man, and it was actually circumstances that drove he and Georgia apart and once you read the story, you feel for him and can see why he has been pining away for her for years.

But I also saw why Georgia became the way she was, and how hard it was for her to get past the events from her past. I adored that Georgia was a strong, independent woman who had learned she could take care of herself.

The two of them together are amazingly hot- their chemistry is off the charts, and even though Leo was so desperate for Georgia, I loved how patient he was with her.

Second-chance and sports romances are two of my favorite tropes, and Rookie Move brought the two tropes together beautifully! I cannot wait to read the next book in this series- Hard Hitter, about team captain Patrick O'Doul, will be released January 3, 2017.

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Wishing Leo's Rookie card was a real thing that I could add to my collection! Ha!

from netgalley.com