Review - - Wild Ride

Wild Ride
by Breezie Bennett
South Florida Riders - Book 1
Publisher: Palm Island Publishing
Release Date: October 18, 2019
Reviewed by PJ
    

A smoking hot wide receiver with a tattered reputation. A feisty tomboy with dreams of being a sports agent. Can he build his brand with a fake fiancée? Can she snag the promotion she desperately wants? Sure. If he can keep it in his pants and she can resist taking the ride of her life. Fall in love with Leo and Frankie as their romance slides from fake to forever.






My thoughts:

Debut author Breezie Bennett hits the ground running with this fast-paced, steamy, contemporary romcom set within the world of professional football. I'm a self-admitted football junkie who loves romance which makes Frankie's and Leo's story my own personal catnip. I was immediately pulled into their lives and those of their friends and associates within Bennett's (fictional) South Florida Riders professional football team. Bennett's deep well of football knowledge is clear and lends authenticity to the story while her well-developed, multi-layered characters keep things lively.

I've always been a pushover for a sexy, bad-boy jock and Leo certainly fits that bill. At first, he's all flash but I like how Bennett slowly allows the reader - and Frankie - to discover the layers within. I also like how he evolves over the course of the story without losing the essence of who he is. I enjoyed Frankie a lot. She's a woman who knows what she wants in her career and is willing to go after it but she also has layers. And baggage. I love that she owns her sexuality and enjoys the physical expression of it (there's some serious sizzle going on here) but I appreciate her vulnerability when it comes to relationships. She has good reason to be cautious. Frankie's also a life-long tomboy who's never really tapped into her "girly" side. There's plenty of humor and a bit of self-awakening during her fake engagement transition. The first-person point of view, alternating between Frankie and Leo by chapter, took me a bit to adjust to but once I was into the flow, I really enjoyed being in each of their heads - and getting to know them - as the story progressed.

Bennett's dialogue is fast-paced and sassy - and also salty.  There are more than a few f-bombs however they always feel organic to the characters, never gratuitous. This is an author writing what she knows: twenty-something characters who are realistic and relatable.  The sex is steamy and Bennett had me (happily) reaching for a fan more than once during those scenes - but she also made me laugh with her well-timed humor and touched my heart with the satisfying emotions that gradually develop between Leo and Frankie. In the end, she gave me a Wild Ride I was happy to take. 

Breezie Bennett is a fresh, new voice in contemporary sports romance. I enjoyed Wild Ride and am all in for more football, heart-tugging romance, snappy banter, and smoking hot chemistry in future South Florida Riders stories. 

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Do you enjoy sports-themed romances?

Were you a tomboy or more of a girly girl? 

If you are a football fan (like me), who are your favorite teams?