Monday, September 7, 2015

Excerpt and Review: Sacked (Gridiron #1) by Jen Frederick

Rating: ★★★★ 3/4 stars
Date published: September 6th, 2015
Publisher: Pear Tree LLC
Synopsis: What he wants he gets... 
 
Knox Masters is a quarterback's worst nightmare. Warrior. Champion. And...virgin. Knox knows what he wants--and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he's set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she's the sister of his fellow teammate, but that's not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one.  
 
...but he's never met her before. 

But Ellie isn't as sure. She's trying to start a new life and she's not interested in a relationship...with anyone. Beside it's not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother's teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.  

Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.





Excerpt


I lock my legs to keep from falling over and pull out the biggest barrel I have. “Masters, there are things about me that if you knew you wouldn’t want to spend another minute in my presence.” 

He considers my words, the silence taking on a heaviness and part of me already aches for what I could have if I was just any other girl at Western. “Have you killed anyone?” he finally asks. I can feel his eyes assessing me and I keep my gaze averted afraid of what 

I’ll see in his moss green gaze.

“No.”

“Have you slept with my brother?”
“What?” I can’t prevent myself from gawking at Masters, who’s smiling as he asks the question. “No! God, I’ve never even met him!”

“Are you catfishing poor athletes from Auburn? Wait, don’t answer that because I don’t think I’d find that objectionable. Oh, I have it—” He snaps his fingers. 

“This isn’t a joke, Masters.”  

He tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Until you tell me what it is, it’s not a reason to be apart either.”

I suck in my lower lip to prevent throwing myself at him and telling him to take me. 

“Why?” I ask helplessly.

“Because I like you.”

He grips me by the chin and lays down gentlest, sweetest kiss. In that kiss he tells me everything. That he wants me. That he’s willing to take it slow. That he’s not giving up. 

He kisses me as if this is the only thing he wants to do for the next ten hours.

His lips barely move but I can feel everything in me surge toward him. The short wedges 
I shoved on this morning suddenly feel precarious. I grip his shoulders to steady myself and then find myself rising up on my tiptoes to press deeper against him. He hauls me flush against him until I can no longer touch the floor.

His one hand palms nearly my entire back while the other angles my head for better access. He may be a virgin, but the guy knows how to kiss. His tongue is finding places inside my mouth that I didn’t even know would feel good. 

All the pent up desire that has been boiling in me for days comes pouring out of me. I attack him with my next kiss, biting his lower lip, sucking on his tongue.  Against my belly I can feel the hard ridge of his erection. 

“God,” I breathe as he abandons my mouth to trace the line of my jaw with his lips. He growls in response and pushes me back against the bookcases but I don’t even mind that the shelves are biting into my back. I just want more.

And he gives it to me. We cling to each other, feeding off of each other’s seemingly endless need until I hear a gasp and then a muted giggle. And those two faint sounds somehow manage to break through the haze of lust and bring with it the realization that 

I am in a very public place. I wriggle against him and he sets me down reluctantly. 

“We’re in the bookstore,” I say in a scandalized voice. 

“You’ve never kissed a guy in the bookstore before?” He grins, the wicked mischievous one I’m beginning to associate with something tremendously naughty. “There’s a first time for everything.”



What I Thought:

This book is pretty close to perfection. Its got all the hallmarks of the great sports romance novels: humor, heat, emotion, chemistry, and a great story. It's also one of the first, if only, football sports romance novels to star a defensive player as opposed to an offense. It also features characters that aren't typical of the ones you tend to find in these types of stories. 

It's not often your male superstar is a virgin. You read that right. He's never had intercourse and the women on campus have taken it as a personal challenge to be the one to break his will and become his first. I love how principled Knox is. He's a virgin by choice and he's not going to stop being one until he finds something meaningful. He's not religious, but he is picky (thank goodness). He's this beast on the field, but off field he's very well aware of how talented he his, but he's also a great guy. He takes care of his friends and team mates, but also Elsie once she comes into his life.

I loved Elsie as much as I did Knox. She's confident except when it comes to facing her parents (who I did not like at all). She's got an amazing relationship with her brother, Jack who is on the team and who also has a promising future. Elsie is smart and comfortable with who she is and what she wants. She's also in total disbelief the biggest man on campus is a virgin. There were moments when I loved her almost as much as Knox did and then there were times when I wanted to shake some sense into her. I understood why she was being ornery and difficult, but I didn't like it, especially when it didn't have to be the issue she was making of it.  

Knox and Elsie were fantastic together. They ooze chemistry and I loved seeing Knox pursue her. Knox showed Elsie the same dedication and attention he showed to his beloved game and I totally loved that. I loved how no matter what, he didn't let her secrets or the fact that sisters were off limits to keep him from her. He wanted her and knew she was the one and he was going to do what it took to get her. As someone who doesn't really believe in love at first sight, I was totally able to believe it was possible for Knox. I loved how Elsie was skeptical of how doggedly Knox was asserting she was the right girl for him too. It made the story and his intense attraction to her seem believable. He was as determined to make her his as she was desperate to keep her secrets and not be his. I also loved the way Elsie supported Knox. She might have been wary of him, but once she figured out he was genuine, she was totally on board.

If you can't tell, I really loved this book. It had my attention from the first page to the last. There were lots of laughs and also many emotional highs and lows as well. I loved the team's camaraderie and would love to read about some of the other players or even Knox's brother. My love for sports romance is very well established. I'm so excited that another great writer and fan of the game decided to write a series set around a college football team. I couldn't get enough of this book and I can't wait to get back to this world!


Purchase Links


 Kobo


About the Author
jen frederick bio.jpgJen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and one rambunctious dog.  She's been reading stories all her life but never imagined writing one of her own. Jen loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at jensfrederick@gmail.com.

*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*

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