CBR15Bingo – Picture This block
In one book, the main character is a famous actor. In the other book, two main characters are professional athletes.
CBR15 Passport: The book is set in Ireland.
C*ck Blocked (Blockers Book 1) by K.C. Kassidy
Gray, an American actor living in London, is wrapping up his final season as the straight heartthrob of a period television drama. He is happy in London and is mostly comfortable with his lot in life. However, as a next step, he wants to become a screenwriter. His assistant rents him a room in a quaint B&B in the Irish countryside. He wants to spend a quiet month alone, working away on his screenplay far from distractions and people (including his his rabid female fans). He is bi but is still firmly closeted for the sake of his straight, leading-man persona.
Niall, the grumpy farmer and dutiful son, is responsible for running his ailing father’s farm and B&B with his sister and her family. Niall is a retired national Irish rugby league player and is out. Since coming out, he has dated only one person seriously, and that ended badly when the guy he was seeing (another rugby teammate) decided he wanted to get back together with his ex-girlfriend and get married.
Soon enough, Gray falls for the big, beefy, gruff, sensitive Irish farmer. Niall falls for Gray but wants to protect his heart knowing that Gray will soon return to his life in London. Tropes abound but love wins in the end.
I give this book two stars because I love “fish-out-of-water” and “sensitive, family-centric characters who must move past their heartbreak of the past to find true love” tropes. The sexy parts are sexy but I actually enjoyed the story more for the characters and the idyllic rural Irish setting.
Teamwork (Hot Ice # 4) by Lily Harlem
Lol, this book. Fiona, a single, physical therapist, is flown from her native Wales to Miami to provide one-on-one targeted therapy for Raven, a grumpy, injured American hockey player. At first, Fiona falls for his hunky, sunny teammate Todd, but inevitably she is drawn to the sullen bad boy. It turns out that both men want her and don’t require her to choose between them. Sexy threesome shenanigans ensue. What I found hilarious about this book (and there are plenty of things to laugh about) is the level of detail the author goes into about the types of physical therapy treatments and the benefits of hydrotherapy. I also loved that she made the scenes describing the treatment sequences realistic and compelling.
This book is absolutely ridiculous and Raven, the sullen bad boy, is a real and true dickhead with no redeeming qualities other than being protective. He is a jealous, territorial, uncommunicative, and homophobic asshole. Todd is a big golden retriever who likes to run around and play with everyone. Why he or Fiona put up with Raven’s emo bullshit is anyone’s guess.
This book deserves one star for competently describing the types and benefits of physical therapy. The sex scenes were hot but the story was blah.
I got these books as part of June’s Stuff Your Kindle Day on romancebookworms.
Yay! Happy half-cannonball to me!