REVIEW: Hard to Hold by K. Bromberg

In Hard to Hold (Play Hard #2) by K. Bromberg, UK football star Rush McKenzie is used to the press making up grand stories about his supposed wild ways, on and off the pitch. But the latest scandal is one with enough bite to it for his managers to send him to the States and lay low for a while. Rush’s loyalty to his teammates and a promise he made in the past to someone who rescued him might just be his downfall. Then he meets Lennox Kincade. Knockout looks with her sexy curves, long legs and huge…brain. She’s Rush’s dream come true. Too bad his time in the US has an expiration date. Because he’d love to see if their insane chemistry could lead to something even more.

‘Lennox quiets the shouting in my head. She placates the rebellion that fights from within. She makes me wish…that there didn’t have to be lies and secrets between us.’

Lennox knew when she started working for her family’s sports management company that being a woman in the sports world would be tough. She just never thought it would be so easy for others to believe the lies spread by the male agents who feel threatened by her and her sisters’ competency in their job. Sad but true, even in this day and age. When Lennox finds a way to put the rumors to rest and score a major client for her family’s business, she jumps at it. But working with Rush McKenzie has her all tied up in knots. She knows she has to keep her attraction and growing feelings out of their working relationship. Although, as Lennox gets to know the real Rush, how kind and broken he is, she begins to search for a way to have her career without sacrificing her personal life.

“Don’t let the tattoos and rep fool you, folks, because Rush McKenzie is a softie at heart.”
He gives me a wink and presses his lips to mine. “Shh, don’t tell anyone.”

K. Bromberg introduced us to a new hero to admire–and crave!–with Rush McKenzie in Hard to Hold. If his tragic backstory doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, then his outrageous flirting and honorable ways with equally sexy Lennox will certainly set your heart on fire.

“Careful, Nox,” he murmurs. “You’re playing with fire here.”
I lean in closer so my lips are at his ear–his body tensing in anticipation is a seduction all in itself–and whisper, “You ready to burn with me, Rush?”

K. Bromberg always writes a solid story and has relatable characters, even if they can sometimes be a tiny bit over the top. With Rush and Lennox, the issues they faced and the demons they were dealing with from their past were something that seemed genuine and was what drew me to both of them so fully. It will be sad for readers to live through Rush’s troublesome youth via flashbacks scattered through the story, but it made me proud of the guy he became and how compassionate he truly was under all the tough guy bravado. Seriously…Rush had the biggest, most wonderful heart. *sigh*

Lennox, now, she was in quite the predicament. I’ve got to be honest that I waffled back and forth with her bemoaning how she was treated because of her beautiful looks. It was a little angsty and ‘woe is me’. But I completely understood when it came to Lennox’s career as a sports agent, how that would be a detriment where she was immersed in what amounted to a boy’s club. She was definitely tenacious. And quite adept at her job, earning the loyalty she got from her clients as she fought tooth and nail to keep their careers and lives on track.

It was while Lennox took some time away from her family–who were loving but nosy–that she had a steamy meet-cute with Rush and fell for him, even though there was the possibility of crossing professional lines. But theirs was an honest connection. One that Lennox and Rush had no chance of ignoring. So what happened between them felt fated and oh so right–even if they were both holding something back from each other that could change things if the details got out.

Hard to Hold was no hardship to read. Tantalizing romance between a swoon-worthy damaged hero and a feisty heroine trying to make her mark in a male-dominated world certainly made for a sinfully delicious good time. Definitely recommended.

Book Info:

Publication: Published December 1st 2020 | Pub: JKB Publishing, LLC | Play Hard #2

The contract with Major League Soccer was supposed to help repair my damaged reputation.

Then I discovered that I’d made a deal with the devil: the player I’m supposed to recruit is none other than the bad boy, star Premier League footballer, Rush McKenzie.

British. Tattooed. Sexy. A man currently at the center of a huge scandal.

The goal? To convince him to stay in the States.

But what’s wrong with a little fun in the meantime? No strings. No sweet nothings. Just a way to pass the time while we’re both struggling to prove our true selves to the world.

If someone found out our relationship was anything more than professional, it would only serve to prove all our critics right.

***

I never should have agreed to take the fall.

But I did and I’m a man of my word.

Even if it means risking everything I’ve worked for.

The only bright side is Lennox Kincade.

Gorgeous. Defiant. Rumor-tainted. Totally off-limits.

Sharing a house with the gorgeous sports agent should have been a fun distraction from the turmoil. Someone to help pass the time while the tensions back home die down.

But what started as nothing, ends up as something I never saw coming.