Title: Red Card
Author: Carrie Aarons
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: February 14, 2016
Blurb
She spent five years planning a future that will never exist. He spent five years trying to erase a past he can’t forget.
London is Leah Watson’s fresh start. When she secures the perfect internship during her study abroad semester, with an infamous celebrity public relations firm, she is determined to forge her own path - one that is nothing like her life back in Oklahoma. That plan is tested when British football’s bad boy, Killian Ramsey, decides that she's the one he wants and he's playing for keeps.
Will she put her future on hold - again - for the type of man she swore she'd stay away from?
Killian is one bloody good football player. After a tragedy shattered his entire world, the cocky and arrogant face he puts on for the media is a complete lie. When he meets Leah, his heart starts to beat for the first time in years. But when the feelings get too real, his perfectly constructed facade starts to slip.
Will he risk it all to be with her - taking whatever penalties are thrown his way - or will he play it safe?
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Excerpt
Trying to dash off to find the British Prince of Moodiness proves difficult in the six-inch stilettos the stylist had strapped onto my feet. I didn't wear clothing like this. I was the Oklahoma girlnextdoor, cute and pretty in my sundresses and boots. I didn't do skintight, short or heeled. I could hear the snickers of the PR handlers around me as I stumbled like a baby calf off of the carpet in search of my responsibility.
Turning down the block and moving away from the mayhem, I spotted a tall figure in the shadows. I'd read enough about Jack the Ripper before coming over here to be spooked, but then I saw the shine of a metal flask being raised to the lips, and I could only take one guess as to who that was.
I marched up, as best as I could in the shoes. "You need to come back and walk the red carpet."
Killian's skyblue eyes twinkled with sly amusement and barely restrained anger. "Oh, and you're going to make me, huh America's Sweetheart?"
The smell of what I'm sure was overlyexpensive whiskey blew across my face as he exhaled. He pretended to give an air of nonchalance, but I could read his body language better than he thought I could. He was so coiled and tense, he gave a cobra ready to strike a run for its money. Rage and sorrow poured off of him in waves, blanketing the dark side street in misery so abundant that I could feel it down to my bones. And something else. I don't know why it struck me, perhaps because the emotion was running through my veins as well. But this man...he was lonely.
"You're cheeky, I like that." He raised the flask in a salute to me and tilted his head back as the amber liquid disappeared into that appealing mouth. Damn it. This bad boy with a bad attitude was not going to ruin my career or my time here. I was done letting people decide the future for me, sweeping me along in the current just because I let them.
I knocked the flask straight out of his hand, sending little droplets of whiskey landing on both of us.
"Listen you jackass! I don't know who you are. In fact, I don't care if you're the Prime Minister of this country! This job, I really need it. I'm taking this shot and succeeding at it if it means I have to put my blood, sweat and tears into it. And some London bad boy parading his pissed off attitude around for the world to see is not going to stop me! So button your jacket, plaster a smile on, and get on that carpet!"
My breathing was ragged, all of the energy I'd saved up to get through the event suddenly spent. Jetlag, homesickness and heartbreak were taking over, and I could feel the pull of all three from the inside out.
The leer on Killian's face only proved that my tirade was all for nothing.
And then he moved. It was a blur of motion and speed before my back was against a brick wall. He'd pinned me, like a wolf circling in on their prey. Nervous tremors washed over my flesh, and I could hear the roaring in my ears. I was half afraid he would actually rip my throat out for speaking to him that way. The other half of me was too incredibly aroused to care.
Turning down the block and moving away from the mayhem, I spotted a tall figure in the shadows. I'd read enough about Jack the Ripper before coming over here to be spooked, but then I saw the shine of a metal flask being raised to the lips, and I could only take one guess as to who that was.
I marched up, as best as I could in the shoes. "You need to come back and walk the red carpet."
Killian's skyblue eyes twinkled with sly amusement and barely restrained anger. "Oh, and you're going to make me, huh America's Sweetheart?"
The smell of what I'm sure was overlyexpensive whiskey blew across my face as he exhaled. He pretended to give an air of nonchalance, but I could read his body language better than he thought I could. He was so coiled and tense, he gave a cobra ready to strike a run for its money. Rage and sorrow poured off of him in waves, blanketing the dark side street in misery so abundant that I could feel it down to my bones. And something else. I don't know why it struck me, perhaps because the emotion was running through my veins as well. But this man...he was lonely.
"You're cheeky, I like that." He raised the flask in a salute to me and tilted his head back as the amber liquid disappeared into that appealing mouth. Damn it. This bad boy with a bad attitude was not going to ruin my career or my time here. I was done letting people decide the future for me, sweeping me along in the current just because I let them.
I knocked the flask straight out of his hand, sending little droplets of whiskey landing on both of us.
"Listen you jackass! I don't know who you are. In fact, I don't care if you're the Prime Minister of this country! This job, I really need it. I'm taking this shot and succeeding at it if it means I have to put my blood, sweat and tears into it. And some London bad boy parading his pissed off attitude around for the world to see is not going to stop me! So button your jacket, plaster a smile on, and get on that carpet!"
My breathing was ragged, all of the energy I'd saved up to get through the event suddenly spent. Jetlag, homesickness and heartbreak were taking over, and I could feel the pull of all three from the inside out.
The leer on Killian's face only proved that my tirade was all for nothing.
And then he moved. It was a blur of motion and speed before my back was against a brick wall. He'd pinned me, like a wolf circling in on their prey. Nervous tremors washed over my flesh, and I could hear the roaring in my ears. I was half afraid he would actually rip my throat out for speaking to him that way. The other half of me was too incredibly aroused to care.
"I am bad. But I'm not a boy, I'm a man. Have you ever been with a man, little lamb?" He chuckled darkly, leaning his entire form into me and pinning my hips with his hands. "No, I don't think you have."
Author Bio
They say those who can't do, teach. Well, Carrie has no hand-eye coordination, and her idea of romance is a Netflix marathon complete with Thai food. So, she writes sports romance novels instead.
Beginning her writing career as a journalist, Carrie wrote about real-life crime and scandal before turning to the fantasy world of fiction. She lives with her husband in an apartment they are constantly outgrowing.
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This author is completely new to me, and I'm so glad I decided to give her book a try. Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that I'm obsessed with Sports Romance. So obviously it goes without saying that this book was calling to me. I'll read just about anything in the genre, but throw in the fact that the hero is a hot athlete with a British accent, and I was jumping to get my hands on a copy.
After a long string of passable but not overly exciting arcs, this book was a nice refreshing set of pace. To be honest, I was a little concerned in the beginning whether or not I would be able to handle the hero. Fair warning, he's a complete and utter ass. Some readers really go for that type of hero, but I'm extremely picky when it comes to that, and it doesn't always work for me. He fits douchebag to a capital D and thoroughly full of himself and I'm not playing around about that.
I didn't get paid to kiss babies and spoon fed people shite in speeches. I was paid to play football and win championships for my club and our country. And I did the job well.
I found myself mentally wanting to commit character murder in the first few chapters. But...thankfully in the end he was more than redeemable which is what I always look for in these types of heroes.
This book is about Leah Watson, a college student starting a PR internship in London and Killian Ramsey, the tortured football bad boy whom she's assigned to handle with the press. Leah is somewhat of a naive one thrown in with the sharks of the entertainment and sports industries. She thinks this is her fresh start after a hurtful betrayal by her ex, but she's about to get much more than she bargained for.
Killian falls in lust at first sight with her, and he only grows more intrigued by her harsh rejection. She isn't the slightest bit tempted to be one of his temporary, nameless women (okay, so maybe a little tempted). He's so intrigued by her at their first event together, that he makes sure that she's assigned solely to him for all future press events. He figures it's only a matter of time before he wears her down. Figuring out what makes her tick will be an added bonus, because he can't seem to stop thinking about her despite his aversion to letting emotions in with the opposite sex.
Leah Watson is like a Rubik's Cube. Every time I think I've got her figured out, she throws me another side, infinitely complicating my plan to seduce her. She's a challenge, and those don't come along often in my life now.
These two had some combustible chemistry together with plenty of dirty talking by Killian. The tension was just delicious between them, I was cheering for them to get it on, and let me tell you-they didn't disappoint.
Heat. Sweetness. Perfection. Want. Desire. I think of all of these things as I move my lips over hers. Not even in a kiss, but more of a taste. A swipe of her lips, as if I was licking sweet cream off the corners of her mouth, savoring each delicious moment.
I had a couple of issues with the story, but nothing too major that took away from my overall enjoyment.
1) The emphasis on their age difference.
Now, it just so happens that the age difference between the h/H is eight years-the same between me and my husband. Some people may feel that this is significant and/or an odd pairing. Personally, I just don't see any issue whatsoever. So when he's thought of and referred to as much older on numerous occasions...I didn't get it. The man is 30 years old, not old enough to merit that title. Their relationship was even referred to as "taboo" which I really didn't get.
2) His thoughts for not wanting to go public with their relationship
To me, his reasoning didn't add up. (view spoiler)
My small complaints aside, I was happily ensconced in Killian and Leah's world and was rooting for their HEA until the end. What I loved about this book: the writing was fast paced and effortless to sink into. During a time when I was finding it hard to escape into my books easily, I picked up Red Card and read it almost entirely in one night. It was light, hot, and satisfied my athlete romance addiction with ease. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future, this was a pleasant surprise that was worth the gamble.
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