Release Blitz & Book Review: Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan

Falling Hard
by Lexi Ryan
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #4
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: May 23th, 2017

Blurb:

An NFL player with a secret past, and the one woman with the power to turn his world inside out…

Former actress Emma Rothschild is partying in Vegas in disguise. But I’m not fooled. Five years ago, I knew that body better than my own, and I haven’t forgotten a single detail—not the curve of her hip beneath my hand or the hitch in her breath when I kiss her neck.

When Emma’s unexpectedly left alone in Sin City, I agree to spend the weekend with her. As friends. Why not? If I can knock down the toughest guys in the NFL, I’m strong enough to keep my hands to myself, even if she is the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.

Emma is part of my past—years so shrouded in secrets that not even my best friends know the truth about who I am. I’m a single dad now and not interested in revisiting my old ways or trying to win back the only woman I ever let close enough to break my heart.

But this is Vegas, where all bets are off, and with Emma, nothing ever goes as planned…

***

“A sexy, sweet, oh-so-emotional second chance romance that will make you believe in the power of fate and forgiveness.” - USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente

***

FALLING HARD is a sexy and emotional novel intended for mature readers. It’s the fourth book in the world of the Blackhawk Boys, but can be enjoyed as a standalone.

Football. Secrets. Lies. Passion. These boys don’t play fair. Which Blackhawk Boy will steal your heart?

Book 1 - SPINNING OUT (Arrow’s story)
Book 2 - RUSHING IN (Christopher’s story)
Book 3 - GOING UNDER (Sebastian’s story)
Book 4 - FALLING HARD (Keegan’s story)
Book 5 - IN TOO DEEP (Mason’s story, coming fall 2017)

Buy now:
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CA: http://amzn.to/2rou26x
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B&N: http://bit.ly/2qB3CwV
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2r2dm4S
iBooks: http://apple.co/2q81tpz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2qB3ugU

Excerpt:

“You’re too beautiful,” I tell her. I run my thumb along her jaw. “Too fucking beautiful.”
“I’ve missed you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”
My stomach clenches and I shake my head. “Don’t think that. It’s a lie. It’s what I wanted you to believe. Don’t bring that lie into tonight.”
“How was it a lie?” She grins up at me, and I know a full confession would erase all the happiness from her face.
“When we were together before, I wasn’t the man you thought I was. I wasn’t good.” It’s the closest to the truth I’ve ever given anyone about my past.
“So you don’t want me believing you’re good?”
I pull her hips tightly against me as I exhale in frustration. She still thinks this is some kind of joke. “I’m different now, but then…”
She lifts onto her toes and flicks her tongue against my ear. “Don’t be so different. I like you a little bad.”
I groan and stop dancing. I don’t know how much longer I can do this without diving over the line. “Is that permission to stop being your friend?” I’m obsessed with knowing if she tastes as sweet as I remember. And if I swipe my tongue over the sensitive spot beneath her ear, will she gasp like she always did?
She shrugs and grins, and the dance floor tilts off balance. It’s crowded, and we’re surrounded by writhing bodies, cocooned in the crowd. I turn her in my arms so her back is to my front and settle my hand against the soft skin of her midriff. She arches her back and rubs against me.
I sweep her hair to the side, and when I press my lips to the long, smooth column of her neck, she trembles against me.
“Are you okay?” I ask against her ear. “Is this okay?”
“I—I’m not sure…”
“Tell me what you want. Not five years ago. Not tomorrow. What do you want right now?”
She reaches back and threads her fingers through my hair to guide my mouth back to her neck.
I don’t hesitate. I kiss and suck on that tender skin while we move to the beat.
The rest of the room fades and one song blurs into the next. A waitress comes by selling shots, and I buy two, one for each of us, and we lock eyes as we throw them back. At some point, I’m vaguely aware of Bailey checking on me, but my focus is one hundred percent on Emma, on this night that takes me back to when I was eighteen and so fucking in love it hurt. Tonight, Emma isn’t the woman who once broke my heart. She isn’t the girl who wrote me off with a simple goodbye note and apologies I didn’t want. Tonight, she’s a dream, my fantasy in the flesh, my reward for surviving the hardest year of my whole life.
When her face begins to blur, I realize I’m way more drunk than I ever intended. I need to sober up or I’m not going to remember a minute of this night. “Want to get out of here?”
She nods, takes my hand, and leads me out of the bar and down the hall to the elevators. My watch reads a quarter past two.
“Let’s get some food,” I suggest, but at the same moment, an elevator dings and the doors slide open.
Emma grabs my hand and drags me inside. “I don’t want food,” she says, punching a button.
I spin her around and press her against the wall. “What do you want, Em?” I drop my hand to her side to skim my knuckles over her skirt, and she widens her stance to part her thighs. “Fuck,” I whisper. I shouldn’t do this. Not here, not when any moment someone could join us on the elevator, not when we’re both so damn drunk it’s a wonder we can stand upright. But shouldn’t is so much weaker than want, and I want to touch her more than I want anything right now.
I’m faintly aware of the soft beeping of the passing floors as I slide my hand up her skirt and cup her between her legs. She gasps, and I rub my fingers over the damp lace of her panties, teasing her swollen flesh.
When the elevator stops and the doors slide open, she grabs my wrist and holds me still. “Please,” she whispers in my ear. “Please. Don’t stop.” Then she tilts her hips and rocks against my hand. I couldn’t refuse her if every person in the hotel was watching us.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE BLACKHAWK BOYS SERIES:

Spinning Out
by Lexi Ryan
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #1

Buy now:
US: http://amzn.to/2oYXSMP
UK: http://amzn.to/2bOBcYt
CA: http://amzn.to/2oEL2Qv
AU: http://amzn.to/2ptH2H4
B&N: http://bit.ly/1rEGlrP
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1QET3ea
iBooks: http://apple.co/21zIOhK
Google Play: http://bit.ly/23lXwda


Rushing In
by Lexi Ryan
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #2

Buy now:
US: http://amzn.to/2peRKAl
UK: http://amzn.to/2bWBVqy
CA: http://amzn.to/2pY4nxP
AU: http://amzn.to/2cbDaDY
B&N: http://bit.ly/2bOYQF8
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2c1ZjCT
iBooks: http://apple.co/2c5cfqb
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2c1ZjCT


Going Under
by Lexi Ryan
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #3

Buy now:
US: http://amzn.to/2oEKV7x
UK: http://amzn.to/2hmOGPJ
CA: http://amzn.to/2oEJOoj
AU: http://bit.ly/2c1ZjCT
B&N: http://bit.ly/2c1ZjCT
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fPyoJJ
iBooks: http://apple.co/2czq40t
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2h2Nykf


COMING SOON:

In Too Deep
by Lexi Ryan
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #5

Pre-order here:
iBooks: http://apple.co/2oFvHQt

About the author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles, Lexi enjoys reading, sunshine, a good glass of wine, and rare trips to the beach. Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and neurotic dog. You can find her at her website: http://www.lexiryan.com/

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Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Review:

I loved Keegan since I first read about him in the previous books and I was so excited to finally get to know his story. Although I love all of the Blackhawk boys, I think I always loved Keegan the most. (I’ve read Rushing In and Going Under so far.)

'When he took his shirt off, I almost choked on my tongue. That amount of muscle on one man shouldn't be legal, but there he is, a living speciman of strength and beauty just inches from my finger-tips.'

I was really excited when I started reading this book because hey, it’s Keegan’s story!! Finally!! From the other books, I was used to some drama with lots of fun parts. In this book there were a lot more serious topics and this might’ve been one of the reasons why I liked it so much.

The story jumped back and forth between the present and five years ago where everything started. And although five years passed and both their lives changed a lot, their feelings never faded despite all of their secrets.

The Story:

They haven’t seen each other for five years, now Emma and Keegan meet unexpectedly in Las Vegas. Both haven’t been able to forget each other in all those years but this isn’t a happy reunion because even though they plan to stay on friendly terms, a drunken night in Vegas doesn’t let them go back to their old life as if nothing happened.

Buried feelings come back to the surface and secrets come back haunting them. Can they ever sort out what separated them five years ago?

Thoughts:

My heart belongs to Keegan. He’s a troubled soul with an ugly past overshadowing his pure heart. I loved him so much. He tried to be better and he wanted to learn from his mistakes but he got blinded from bad people trying to manipulate him. At least that’s how I think of this woman, she who must not be named. HaHa

He was always too good to Olivia and I never understood why he just couldn’t let her go. She was a gold-digging and selfish woman. It was heartbreaking to see him sad over Olivia’s rejection in the previous books. You cannot imagine how relieved I was when I knew that she wasn’t going to be the one for him. Thank you!! I hated her so much that I wanted to punch her. Such a b*tch! I always disliked her.

I loved the writing, I loved the story but not everything was perfect. The story felt a bit long somewhere in the middle of the book. I was annoyed at Emma for dragging this out so much and for not talking to Keegan about her secrets. I mean, come on! How can all that happen and you live like that and still keep your secrets? I understand that it’s hard to talk about secrets; why else would they be secrets in the first place; but she could have said something without telling everything to ease his mind and their situation. This was something that really bothered me some bit. I also would have liked to read some more of Keegan with Jasmin. Everything else was really good even though I could have done without the crazy bitch but there had to be something other than just hearts and flowers right?

Well, another great story in this series and another Blackhawk boy taken. I’m looking forward to Mason’s story! Yay!

-- I received an ARC of this book from Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review. --

My rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
View all my Reviews