There was something about that first score, and not just on the football field.
The First Score, an all-new, best friend’s brother romance from Amie Knight is available now!
Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide | Paperback
Blurb
I loved all of life’s firsts, which was why I’d been saving mine for one girl, my older sister’s best friend — Hazel Jones.
She was tough and sarcastic with walls around her heart as tall as a football stadium, but I knew she was the one for me.
Desperate times called for desperate measures and I’d have done anything to make her mine.
Like create a fake online persona.
Lie about my age.
Pretend I wasn’t some naive virgin.
And catfish the hell out of the love of my life.
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Review
4.5 stars!
Oh, I love this book! A deliciously slow burning friends-to-lovers / best-friend’s-brother romance that is sweet, sexy, and beautifully romantic! A little different from the usual contemporary romance, this book has some delightful little twists that make it so completely adorable and create a really gorgeous read.
Oliver Knox is the younger brother of Scarlett (heroine from The Red Zone). The two of them are extremely close, and together with Scarlett’s best friend, Hazel, they have been the closest of friends since childhood. The only thing is, Ollie is desperately in love with Hazel and has been for years… to the point where he has never been interested in any other women and is now a 21 year old virgin still pining after the only girl for him.
“It’s easy not to have sex when the only girl you want to have sex with his friend zoned the hell out of your ass.”
Hazel is feisty, funny, and a bit of a hot mess when it comes to relationships. Her family life was messed up, and it’s left her with a bucketload of issues, but she could always count on Ollie to be there for her. He’s been her rock through so many hard times, and he knows her better than anybody else – holding even more of her secrets than Scarlett. But she’s never quite felt good enough for either of them.
Oh my God. Why was he being so sweet? Why was he always so perfect and I was a royal fuck-up? Never mind, I knew why. Because Oliver had always been wonderful and good and kind. I’d always been me – completely undeserving of Oliver’s goodness.
Ollie has been biding his time, waiting for Hazel to see him as something more than just a friend, but he’s getting tired of waiting. So, he creates a fake online profile – an older, experienced man – where he flirt with her the way he wants to, desperate to get her to see exactly what they could be together.
“You deserve everything, Hazel. And I’m going to prove it to you, consequences be damned.”
It’s such a fun set up, and Amie Knight writes it so well! Ollie absolutely stole my heart as the sweet, caring, funny, understanding, patient, loyal and dedicated man who knows his heart, and who is prepared to fight for his girl. He may be sexually inexperienced, but he’s confident, and a huge flirt, and I pretty much melted through this whole book, and damn, I want an Ollie of my very own! And when he decides it’s time to turn it on…. Swooooooooooooon!
“You could have any girl in the world.”
He laid his forehead to my right temple, his hands still held to the sides of my face delicately, and whispered right into the shell of my hear, “But I don’t want just any girl, Hazel.” He leaned in even closer until his lips were a breath away from mine. “I want you.”
He’s so brave! And when he finally makes his move, it’s all kinds of hot. But Hazel has issues, and feels that there are so many things standing in her and Ollie’s way. It’s an emotional journey for them, and while it could have gotten overly angsty, Ollie is just perfect, letting Hazel have her time, and being there for her whenever and however she needs him.
“Have I ever once let you fall?”
Her tender gaze fell on mine, years of friendship swirling in their brown depths. “Never.”
*dreamy sigh*. I could gush on and on about the perfection of this man so I need to stop before I do just that.
This is such a gorgeous romance! Ollie and Hazel are just perfect together. We get to see moments between them from their past and I could feel the strong connection between them even from when they were teenagers. They have fun, they tease, their chemistry is electric, and the emotion is high, and though it may not have been easy, I loved watching them find their way together.
Every minute I’d spent waiting for Hazel had been worth it. I would’ve waited a thousand times over to experience this.
The timing of this book plays out alongside The Red Zone – before, during and after, but it’s not spoilery and you could read this one as a standalone, just be aware that there is crossover. We are also introduced to Hazel’s absolutely fabulous grandfather, who is freaking hilarious, and a total scene stealer.
I finished this book with a big grin on my face, feeling swoony and satisfied. I loved it!
4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summerville Sports Romance
The Red Zone (#1) (Lukas & Scarlett)
Review
Buy: Amazon
The First Score (#2) (Oliver & Hazel)
Review
Buy: Amazon
The Final Play (#3) (Mason & Glory)
Review
Buy: Amazon | Paperback
Excerpt
“Thanks so much for taking her home, Hazel.” Ollie nudged me to get my attention and I turned to look at him, not having much choice in the matter now. I couldn’t be rude. It was a mistake. The green of his eyes was deeper today, less brown. I knew it was the jersey. It was always that way. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face and he ran a hand through his hair like he always did. I knew it was a habit of his, just like I knew so many other things about him.
“You owe me.” I tried lightening the mood like I had with Scarlett. I nudged his shoulder but only came into contact with a pad.
Dragging his bottom lip into his mouth, he raked his teeth over the fullness and his eyes heated. He leaned his face close to mine. “You name it and it’s yours, brat.”
My face flamed and my mouth watered. Lord, he was a terrible flirt and by terrible I meant amazing. I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and stepped back.
“Cut it out, Olls. Quit giving her a hard time. She came all this way so your ass would have a way home tonight.” Scarlett attempted to save me.
He eyed me. “Oh, I haven’t even started giving her a hard time yet,” he said before walking backward down the stadium steps, hot eyes still on me. I was thanking whatever gods were listening that he was walking backward. Please, God. Spare me that ass. I couldn’t handle it after his damn lip trick.
“You’re shameless, Oliver Knox,” Scarlett called down to him.
She wasn’t wrong. Oliver flirted with all the women. I never could tell if he had a preference for a certain kind of girl. If it walked and had tits and a vagina, he flirted.
“Bye, ladies,” Oliver said loudly and jangled Scarlett’s keys over his head before doing the most awful thing in the world to me—he spun around and gave me his ass. And God, was it a marvelous ass. Immediately my eyes ate it up. Was there anything better than a hot ass in some football pants? It was round and firm and high and I bet I could have bounced fifty quarters off of it. But I didn’t have any change. Damn. That was just my luck.
I was being mesmerized by the twin all white globes when they stopped just barely and my eyes diverted up to see Oliver looking over his shoulder and smiling. Damn him. He gave me a slow wink before continuing down the steps at a trot.
The tease. The bastard. He knew how good-looking he was. It didn’t matter a bit that he was my best friend’s brother or that he was a year and a half younger than me. Oliver Winston Knox was fine on a regular day, but in a football uniform he was the stuff dreams were made of. My dreams to be exact.
About Amie Knight
Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to ’90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.
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