REVIEW: The Romance Line by Lauren Blakely

The Romance Line by Lauren Blakely: The first rule of PR is do not hook up with your client and no one lives by this rule more than Everly does. Career driven and goal focused the only thing on her mind is getting her promotion and making a name for herself in the PR business, too bad the best way get her hands on this coveted promotion is to work with none other than the grumpy hot goalkeeper Max Lambert. Well there is no chance that she will find herself falling into Max’s bed even if he has the sexiest smirk and coolest blue eyes. Well that was the plan anyway, until she got to really know the real Max…

After a bad and very public break up, Max vowed never to talk to the press again and for the most part this had been working for him until he began losing sponsorships because of his rough around the edges public persona. Now Max has no choice but to get over his media issues with he help of Everly, if he wants to maintain any positive endorsements… only problem now is the more Max gets to know Everly the more determined he is to win himself the heart of a girl he didn’t even know he wanted…

I loved this book! I loved the first book and I loved The Romance Line just as much, truly Blakely has a special way of crafting the most perfect and consuming sports romance. This book was the perfect grump meets sunshine and grump falls hard romcom. There was loads of banter, giggles and some steamy moments. I can safely say that The Love Hockey series has firmly secured a place in my favourite sports romance list after reading this book.

Both main characters were really easy to love and root on. Everly was such an incredible leading lady, I really liked her drive and passion. She was all business but with a smile. I really liked that she had so much passion for what she did and she was determined to achieve all of her goals, even if there was a bit of an uphill battle. I also liked getting a bit of insight into her past and understanding her reasons for being so career driven. Now for our swoon worthy grump of a hero, I just adored Max. The more we got to know the man behind the grump the more I liked his character. He was romantic and protective and had so much of sassy snark. Even though he is largely haunted by his past, he was the most kind and caring hero you will find. I loved the way he loved on Everly, he just knew that she needed to feel unconditional pure love and he was ready to give that to her without restriction and I loved this about our hero.

The chemistry between these two was just perfection. They had banter and sass for days that only built up the combustable tension brewing between them. And let me tell you once these two get together it is steamy hot! I loved their sneaky almost forbidden encounters and all the passion and heat that vibrated off them whenever they were together. While there was loads of sexual chemistry between this couple, I also really enjoyed getting to see them lowering their walls around each other and in doing so helping each other to emotionally heal from old wounds. It was truly beautiful getting to see two broken souls coming together to help each other heal and find love again.

Now if you had already read the first book in this series, you will know that the SeaDogs are an absolute hoot, and if really what are you waiting for? I loved getting to see all of the guys again and seeing them getting up to all of their hilarious antics. There is so much of potential for so many of the SeaDogs to get their own books and I truly hope this is going to be a nice long series with many books. Also I loved getting to see Max do the charity kitten bit, this was just the cutest!

If you love sports romances as much as I do then you really do not want to miss reading this book. The Romance Line was the perfect combination of grump meets sunshine, slightly forbidden work romance and loads of steamy goodness. A total must read!

Book Info:

Publication: September 9, 2024 | Lauren Blakely Books | Love and Hockey #2

The first rule of handling PR for a hockey team? Never hook up with a player.

That shouldn’t be a problem since the last man on earth I want to give an image makeover to is our goalie. He’s infuriatingly hot, famously grumpy and lives to spar with me after every game.

But shining up his rough edges is my path to landing the promotion I desperately need, so I grit my teeth and do my job. No matter how hard he makes it (especially with that sexy smirk and cool blue eyes.) As we travel from pose-with-a-pet photo opps to cuddle-a-kitten fundraisers, we bicker like it’s foreplay.

Turns out it is.

Because as I get to know the man behind the broody iceman exterior, it’s me that melts – right into his arms as he devastates me with a kiss that turns into the hottest, most forbidden night of my life.

Only once turns into every night as Max shows me how much he wants to take care of me. His possessive touch makes me feel adored for the first time in my life.

But the man is entirely off limits and I can’t risk my job for more of those soul-deep kisses.

Because the only thing worse than hooking up with a player is falling head over heels for him.