First Step Forward by Liora Blake (Grand Valley #1)
Released: November 29, 2016
Contemporary/Sports Romance
Pocket Books

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: Fucking Hugh Grant movies. They’re like the earworms of romantic comedies. I’m stuck in a place, half-hard, and all I can think is: I’m just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to do something, anything, to make his cock stop hurting.

Seriously. Fuck off, Hugh Grant.

Cooper Lowry is a wide receiver for an NFL team in Denver. When he suffers a concussion after a big hit in a game, his trainer pleads with him to take a few days off and recover. Cooper is stubborn and would rather suck it up, than take a day off, but when he wakes us with his head pounding out of his skull, he realizes he may not be able to practice. Shuffling to the drug store to get some epsom salts, he runs into a woman wearing her pajamas.

After Whitney’s dad died, she spontaneously bought a run-down orchard, with big dreams of fixing up the place and growing a ton of fruit. But with a bad winter, and a late frost, her fruit harvest is barely existent. Running into bill after bill, with no end in sight, she heads to the city to get a loan – but she gets denied. It’s while she is here, she runs to the drugstore in her PJ’s (it’s right next door to the hotel she is staying in) and she meets Mr. Sexy football player. The next morning they meet again, and Cooper finds out what town her orchard is in. When his trainer tells him to spend a few quiet days to recover, Cooper decides to hunt down the sexy woman he met in the drug store and shows up at her house uninvited. (that sounds creepy but it’s not in the book!)

A while ago I read Blake’s, True series and it was good. I was excited to see she is starting something new and I really enjoyed this book. Good chemistry, super sexy, good banter and just a fun story. Cooper is a NFL player and he really felt like one. We get to see him play in some games and meet some of his teammates. I think he has been in the NFL for eight years, which is a long time for that profession. He is a little more on the bad-tempered side and can be a little stubborn and impatient – but who wants a perfect hero? He gets mad when he gets hurt, and is always living life on 100% full throttle ahead.

All Whitney wants to do is grow fruit and sell it. Simple really – but her orchard is a lot of work and when the weather doesn’t cooperate, it’s hard. She is so cute – a little unorganized in life in general. Hard worker but with bills piling up, she just can’t dig her way out. This all leads to Cooper offering a loan, something Whitney does not want from him. Grumpiness from both sides ensue.

This book also has great sexual tension:

Voice lowered, she leans even closer.

“If you want me, Cooper, I’m right here. All you have to do is come get me.”

Ah, Christ.

Fuck it.

Fuck waiting. Fuck savoring. Fuck relishing.

One rough yank and I’ve got her right on the edge of the dresser, off balance so she has to grab my shoulders. I press the tip to her opening and try not to pound right in on the first stroke.

A fun, sexy contemporary. I can’t wait for another one.

Grade: B+

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