Bombshells by Sarina Bowen Series: Brooklyn #5
Published by Tuxbury Publishing on April 13, 2021
Pages: 280
Format: ALC
Narrator: Patrick Zeller, Desireé Ketchum
Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
Genres: Sports Romance
Amazon Audible
The women's league is in the house! And Brooklyn will never be the same again for Anton Bayer and the team…
This is my last chance to ditch my playboy reputation and finally fulfill my potential. So I’ve made three rules for our biggest season yet: no boozing, no women, and no scandals.Especially that last thing.
So who do I befriend on the very first day back at the rink? An amazing female hockey player. I want Sylvie in a way that’s more than just friendly. I crave her. But I have a championship to win, and so does she.
Then she gets her heart broken by my teammate, and I make the foolish mistake of comforting her in the best way I know how. Our night together sets off a string of sins.
Nobody can know about our affair, especially my overprotective teammate. I can’t let anyone see into my greedy little heart. Not even her.
The things I want from her, and the things we’ve already done? If anyone knew, there’d be bombshells.
Contains: a defenseman with dreamy blue eyes, a female goalie with bad ideas, a major battle of the sexes and a swimming pool scene...
Sarina Bowen delivers another hit in her long-running Brooklyn Bruisers/Brooklyn series. Bombshells spins something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue into a delightful sports romance.
Something old: Eight or so standalone stories into the series and I’m still in love with my Brooklyn Bruisers pro hockey team. What a colorful cast of characters. Their significant others are just as wonderful—if not more—and I was happy to steal another moment with them. We met Anton Bayer aka “Baby Bayer” in Sure Shot, and I respect the mature man he has become.
Something new: The women are in the clubhouse! Rebecca Kattenberger is the proud new owner of the Brooklyn Bombshells, a professional women’s hockey team. The changes it brings to the Bruisers organization are eye-opening and humorous—from the pay disparity between the men’s and women’s leagues to the men’s reactions to boutique shower gel in their locker room. Sylvie is a goalie for the Bombshells and an all-around gem.
Something borrowed: There are echoes of the well-known best friend’s sister trope used here, but leave it to Sarina Bowen to put a spin on it. Anton has vowed to make hockey his sole focus this season after earning a reputation the previous year for partying and womanizing. His attraction to Sylvie is an unexpected complication, especially since she is like a sister to Anton’s teammate, Bryce Campo, and therefore off limits. Or does Bryce have romantic feelings for Sylvie himself? Whether it’s a love triangle or a forbidden romance or both, I’ll let you figure out.
Something blue: Sylvie is still mourning the loss of her mother. I enjoyed the creative way her mom’s presence is felt throughout the story.
The progression of the romance between Anton and Sylvie is sweet, hot, and simply wonderful. I also appreciated the Bombshells side of the story. I liked getting to know the women, seeing them bond as a new team, and the way Sylvie fights to keep her position. This book is highly entertaining, and I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Bombshells.
About the audiobook:
The Bomshells audiobook is phenomenal. I’m unfamiliar with Patrick Zeller’s previous work, but I haven’t been this impressed by a vocal performance in a long time. He gives a distinct voice to each character, and the words are delivered with great emotion. I’m no expert in accents, but my one complaint is that his French accent sounds Russian/Spanish to me at times. Desireé Ketchum is a new-to-me narrator as well, and she is flawlessly expressive. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook.
Recommended for fans of:
Hockey
Sports romance
Girl power
Hairpins
* I received an Advance Listening Copy of the audiobook to voluntarily review. *
Excerpt from Bombshells
My thighs ache, probably from yesterday’s workout. But I’m also deliciously sore in some places I didn’t know I could be sore.
Behind my shuttered eyelids, the night isn’t over yet. If I stay in this dreamlike place, I can relive each thrill that Anton gave me. Each stroke of his magic hands across my bare skin.
As first times go, I realize I’ve hit the jackpot. His obvious skill and devotion to female pleasure make me a very lucky girl.
But that wasn’t last night’s biggest surprise. It wasn’t just the thrills and chills. It was the heady emotional journey that we seemed to take together. His kisses tasted as hungry as mine. His touch was reverent, his words desperate.
Maybe it’s all in my head. A girl can imagine a deep connection that isn’t really there.
I’m a pro at that, actually.
But it felt so real. Even after the last groan and gasp had passed, Anton’s kisses didn’t stop.
As I floated down from the extreme high of sexual pleasure, his lips continued to trace my neck, and gentle hands smoothed over my hips and down my back.
That part—the aftermath—was just as beautiful to me. I’d never wanted it to end.
Eventually, he’d gotten up to visit my bathroom. I’d heard him running the sink and washing up. Then I’d braced myself for his departure. His team began an eight-day road trip this morning. It’s not like he had a lot of extra time to share.
But he hadn’t thrown on his clothes and left. Instead, he’d come back to the bed, straightening out the covers we’d tossed around during our sex fest.
Then he’d lifted the covers and slid in beside me.
Feeling blessed, I’d rolled to meet him in the middle, where strong arms wrapped me into the sweetest embrace.
We hadn’t spoken much. I’d felt too dreamy for casual conversation. And I don’t know what I would have found to say besides wow and thank you and please feel free to do that again.
My silence had also prevented me from blurting out the news that the whole experience had been a first for me. That’s nobody’s business but mine. And Anton doesn’t need the burden of dealing with my strange life choices.
I didn’t want him to know, because it would have changed everything. He didn’t baby me. His brand of aggressive, bossy, emotional lust was a real eye-opener.
But only metaphorically, because I refuse to open my eyes.
Although I’d already cheated once, when I’d rolled over to discover that Anton had left me a note—short and sweet and just as perfect as our night together.
Sylvie—you are a sleeping beauty. There aren’t words to describe last night. Except maybe “Wow.” I will call you tonight. —A.B.
And there was a smiley face. When I’d read the note, that smiley face had matched my own.
“Sylvie,” comes Fiona’s voice through the door, followed by a knock. “Are you still in bed?”
“Yes. So?” I cover my eyes with one arm, as if the extra barrier could prevent the day from arriving.
“Get up. We have to go to brunch.”
I search my memory for anything related to brunch and come up empty. “Why? Shouldn’t you be at work?” I stretch lazily.
“It’s Sunday. Get up. You have twenty minutes to shower and get dressed.”
“Or else?” I do not understand the urgency.
“Or else I will combust from all the questions I have for you.”
Uh-oh. Fiona seems to know that I wasn’t alone in my bedroom last night. Maybe she heard Anton leave. But I’m not about to tell the whole team about my wild night. “It’s just going to be you and me at brunch, right?”
“If you don’t get up, I’ll start inviting other people.”
“No!” I throw off the comforter. “Fine. I’m getting up.”
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About Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen is the award-winning author of more than thirty contemporary novels. She has hit the USA Today bestseller’s list nineteen times and counting. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.
Sarina is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. She lives with her family on a few wooded acres in New Hampshire.
Sarina’s books are published in over a dozen languages on five continents.
The way you did this review was super cute! I loved it!
Aw, thank you!