Helena Hunting created a sweet, horrific, funny tale in Hooking Up.  Amalie is delightful.  She's smart and sexy and full of contradicting behaviors.  Too many bad decisions motivate her to make a good one for a change.  Marry the guy everyone thinks is a great catch but ignore a serious lack of compatibility, especially sexually, and become a different person to please this man.  From the outside, she's got a great life and has even convinced herself she's happy.  It takes the worst humiliation to wake her up.

The book will make you laugh, an entire suitcase of sex toys at the airport security screening, for instance, and you'll cry and sigh.  The characters are very well defined and perfectly likable or despicable as required.  I so wanted to see Amalie find her happiness with a guy who fit with her and made her happy.  Lexington was yummy.  He's sexy, hotter than heck and so dang nice to Amalie.  I wanted him for myself!

I can recommend this delightful book to any reader especially those that love a happily ever after ending.

reviewed by Jem

3.5 stars. Sexy read that could have been cliche, but surprisingly wasn't. Revenge sex leads to revenge love and acceptance. It takes a minute for the characters to come around but you can't blame them. Normally I would be annoyed but everything just makes sense, as much as it can in a world where the groom would do what he did in earshot of the entire wedding party. Worth a read.

I love a good book that involves wedding but with a wedding starting off like Amalie Whitfield’s? Maybe not so much… well, at first… It was supposed to be the day of her dreams, a momentous occasion that she would remember forever. She would remember alright but not at all in a positive light.

It was a complete debacle of mega proportions. Her marriage didn’t even last a day but it sure did provide an amazing opportunity for better things to happen. What amazing-ness you might ask? Two words. Lexington Mills.

Good grief, I can not even begin to tell you how much I adored this man. If anyone could get Amalie out of her slump it would definitely be a guy like Lex. Attractive, charming, passionate, intelligent and driven – and can tolerate Amie crazy, what more can I woman ask for?

I loved these two (almost) together. The covert sneaking around sure made the affair that much more explosive but in the end, it was great to see how their relationship evolved as it was meant to be from the very start.

Again, I can not compliment Helena Hunting enough for delivering such an entertaining, laughing out loud, light-hearted, beautifully written RomCom. Needing some good ol’ laughs with your romance, choose this one!

3.75 Stars

Well I have to say I think this book was more steamier then Shacking Up. Now we have Ruby’s bestie, Amie, who is engaged to the brat known as Armstrong, who is Bane’s cousin. As we know the wedding doesn’t go as planned and Amie takes off on her honeymoon alone but she doesn’t stay alone for long.

I enjoyed this story and the feels because there were a lot of feels. I wanted to punch Armstrong so much throughout the entire book, if I’m being honest I wanted to punch him when we were introduced to him in Shacking Up. Poor Amie went through a lot and luckily for her she had very nice hottie to help her out.

This book was hysterical!! Amie had me in stitches with her attitude and language. Her and the hero of the story were perfect together. I couldn't get enough of him. I would 100% recommend this book looking for a good laugh with a heartaching story that ends with an HEA.

Book Review

Title: Hooking Up
Series: Standalone
Author: Helena Hunting
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
Cliff Hanger: No

4.5 Stars

*This story is for mature audiences only. Contains explicit scenes and language intended for adults 18+

Synopsis:
Amalie Whitfield is the picture of a blushing bride during her wedding reception–but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of proclaiming his undying love, her husband can be heard, by Amalie and their guests, getting off with someone else. She has every reason to freak out, and in a moment of insanity, she throws herself at the first hot-blooded male she sees. But he’s not interested in becoming her revenge screw.

Mortified and desperate to escape the post-wedding drama, Amalie decides to go on her honeymoon alone, only to find the man who rejected her also heading to the same tiny island for work. But this time he isn’t holding back. She should know better than to sleep with someone she knows, but she can’t seem to resist him.

They might agree that what happens on the island should stay on the island, but neither one can deny that their attraction is more than just physical.

Filled with hilariously scandalous situations and enough sexual chemistry to power an airplane from New York City to the South Pacific, Hooking Up is the next standalone, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from Helena Hunting, the New York Times bestselling author of the Pucked series and Shacking Up

My Thoughts:
I really loved this story! I thought I enjoyed Shacking Up, but this story has it beat it! This book can be read as a standalone, but if you get a chance, read Shacking Up to get Ruby (Amalie’s best friend) and Bancroft’s (Lexington’s brothers) story. They are terrific and hilarious secondary characters. The names in this book are awesome!

I laughed so much! What a disaster and awkwardly funny wedding reception! Amalie had met Lexington at a social event, he was charming, flirty and gorgeous. He looked like the bad boy that she always fell for. She needed to stay away, but she agreed to have a drink with him. When he went to bar, Armstrong (Lexington’s cousin) steps up and asks Amalie to dance after he bad mouths Lexington. He tells Amalie that Lex is no good and soon after Amalie starts her relationship with Armstrong. She thought he was husband material. Good job, not a bad boy, from a prominent family, but boy did she get it wrong. Lexington has watched her from afar and felt he missed his chance, until that fateful day at her wedding reception when her new husband was overheard over the PA system having sex with someone other than his new bride. Chaos ensued, cue the hilarity. Amalie escapes to Bora Bora for her unhoneymoon by herself. Guess what? Fate stepped in again. To get away from all the family drama, Lexington heads to Bora Bora for business and he is sitting next to Amalie. Sparks begin fly! Talk about hot chemistry!

Okay I can’t say anymore. There is so much going on in the story. It’s such a funny, sweet, tender, heartbreaking, and anger inducing story! I loved every page. Amalie is such a great character. She is sassy, strong and when she gets on a roll it’s anarchy Amie. I absolutely adored Lexington! He is everything Amalie could have ever dreamed of except she was still married to a man who only thinks about himself. Armstrong wouldn’t sign the annulment papers and is obnoxious! I wanted to reach through my iPad and throttle him on more than one occasion. This book had me from the start and I couldn’t put it down. I read until the wee hours of the morning. It really was that good!

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an honest review.

A hot and sexy laugh out loud read. This was an amazing Helena Hunting book. If you are a big fan of her hockey series then you will highly enjoy this one. I mean who wouldn't when it comes to her writing. I loved this one. Amie is sexy and sassy. Every bit as loveable as she was in Shacking Up where you first meet her. I love that you get a little bit of Ruby and Bane from Shacking Up in this one. You start to wonder why she never truly sees Armstrong clearly until.....Yep not saying it. Also wowza I'll take mister Hottie Hook Up any day. Hooking Up is an amazing read you really can't go wrong with this one.

I went into this book thinking it would be hard to top the awesomeness that was Shacking Up and boy was I wrong! This book had me completely hooked right from the first chapter - I couldn’t put it down, the drama, the emotions, the absolutely amazing chemistry and the Forbidden nature of the story made it the very best kind of read! 5 stars doesn’t do it justice!

Amalie finally realized what an unfaithful, cheating asshole Armstrong is, unfortunately she already married him. On her wedding day she hears her new hubby getting a blowjob from another woman. Amalie thought that she should be with Armstrong a seemingly good honest man that was the total opposite of the “bad boys” she usually dated. There is a Mexican saying that goes, “We can see faces, but not inside others hearts.” She made a mistake in thinking that golden boy Armstrong was the honest stable man she needed.
Lexington has been in competition with his cousin Armstrong since they were kids. He never felt he had really lost until Armstrong stole Amalie from him. Figuring that Amalie would be happy with Armstrong her backed off but since Armstrong F-ed up, he is done being nice. He was a perfect gentleman in refusing to be Amalie’s revenge sex the first time, but now finding themselves in Bora Bora, they are both done holding back from the intense attraction they feel towards each other.
I loved the chemistry between Amalie and Lex. OMG that scene at the airport was hilarious, I felt my own face burning up with embarrassment. Thank god, Lex came to the rescue!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2178118327

3.5-4 stars

Hooking Up was an enjoyable read. It was funny, it was sweet, it was sexy. The chemistry between Amie and the hero was over the top. He was just the perfect man for her. They were so good together and I enjoyed every moment they shared. The interactions and banter were great. I loved the hero-he really made the book for me. Just the best sigh. There were definite laugh out loud moments, ones that had me smiling and swooning, and ones that had me not so happy. I also enjoyed seeing Ruby and Bane from Shacking Up in the story-with the connection it made sense and definitely made it more great. There were parts that it did drag for a bit but overall this was an entertaining story that I really liked.

WOW!!! Hooking Up is one of my favorite romantic comedies! I knew I was in for a treat from the very first pages of the book. One decision Amie makes at a party will influence the rest of her life. She decides to go out with Armstrong instead of Lex. Not one of her better decisions. Her heart will be broken, but fate will intervene and her heart has the potential of being put back together again if she will just trust it.

I LOVED these characters. I simply adored Lex, and it wasn’t just his drop dead good looks. When I first met him, I like Amie, thought he was just a flirt and playboy. We were both so very wrong. He is a flirt, and OMG, he can be downright dirty. What made him irresistible to me was his capacity to love. That is evident in his relationship with his family, especially his mother. Once he gives his heart to someone, it’s theirs. Lucky for Amie, it’s hers if she will accept it.

Amie is someone I would want as my best friend. This woman is HILARIOUS, beautiful, and intelligent. I wanted to kill Armstrong, her husband, for hurting her the way he did. However, I felt like he did her a favor. She became another person when she was with him. She became someone she thought her parents would approve of and someone to make Armstrong look better. That is no who she is…she is full of color, and with Armstrong, she lost her vibrancy. After the wedding fiasco and her trip to Bora Bora, she begins to find her old self and possibly someone even better. Yes, she embraced her Anarchy Amie side again, but she also has a sweet side. Lex appreciated everything that made Amie who she was.

“I don’t ever want you to feel tethered in this life again. I just want to keep your heart safe, baby.” ~Amie

OMG!!! There were so many hilarious scenes! The airport scene was priceless!!!! I haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time. While there was a lot of humor within the pages, there was also a lot of emotional times as well. Lex and Armstrong’s competitiveness was hard to read at times, especially when Amie became in Armstrong’s game. Amie and Lex were unsure of who they were supposed to be. Lex was attempting to prove himself as a responsible adult to his father, and Amie had to do some soul-searching to discover who she really was, not someone her parents thought she should be. The decisions she made concerning her relationships were heavily influenced by her parent’s marriage. Together, she and Lex figured out who they were meant to be as a couple and as individuals. I’m certainly glad I got to take this trip with them.

***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***

Hooking Up is one of those rare books that is hilarious, heart warming, and a wee bit raunchy.

It's impossible to go wrong with a book by Hunting and Hooking Up had a lot going right with it.

I loved the character of Amalie. She is spirited and smart and attempting whole heartily to successfully adult. Of course, to be a responsible adult it's important for one to suppress an overabundance of moxie. Her attempt at tailoring her behavior and choices to be a more acceptable daughter leads to heartache and humiliation at the hands of her seemingly perfect boyfriend. As any fan of true crime can tell you, a guy who seems to have everything going for him can still be a sociopath.

Amalie's hero was likable and well written as well. He was charming and thoughtful and a balm to getting betrayed by her jackass ex. I enjoyed Amalie's journey of getting over her ex and falling in love with her hero and felt like they both deserved their happily ever after.

This is a great book for anyone who needs a pick me up or for any fan of contemporary romance.

I was eagerly anticipating this book and I was not disappointed! Amelia was a fun, no-holds barred kind of person once she escapes the clutches of her evil husband. I truly enjoyed the journey of self-discovery and Amelia's zero tolerance for shaming and penchant for fun. Once she jets off to her own honeymoon, she meets her an unlikely companion and I was living for their bantering. It was hot chemistry and sparks flew. The antics were there and I just wish it was longer.
This is a good read for readers looking for a romance pick me up.

There is a LOT of hooking up going on in this book. A fair share of sexy times, for sure. Poor Amalie, humiliated in the worst of ways and left to pick up the pieces. Her ex is certainly a douchenozzle, too. Wow, Helena can write a seriously unlikeable character.

Anyways, so this is partly a story about her overcoming all this and learning to listen to her heart. And also a story about hooking up and it turning into so much more. It's funny, sexy, and quite an entertaining read.

The main love interest she is with is way sweeter and genuine than anyone gives him credit for. I loved these two together. This was enjoyable and can be read as a stand alone but also goes well after reading Shacking Up.

Wow! This book had the perfect mix of humor, romance and hot sexy love scenes. Amie was meant to be together with her special someone so with time, a little bit of luck and fate stepping in they found their way past some rough times right into each others arms. Helena Hunting has a wonderful way of letting the reader feel the emotions that her characters are experiencing.

This book is nearly the perfect romance. The only thing that could have made it better for me would have been a longer ending to see a little more of their HEA. Maybe we will see them again in the next book.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy provided by St. Martin Press/NetGalley.

I adored this book, story and characters!!! it was just a page turner for sure!!! I was happy to see them get their HEA and how the story flowed so naturally!

Amie has just had the most humiliating experience of her life when her brand new husband cheated on her during their wedding reception. She ends up running away on the honeymoon and runs into the man she had thrown herself at after she found out about her husband.

Amie is the best friend of Ruby from Shacking Up and both she and Bane make an appearance. It was really nice to see, across both books, how much Ruby and Amie support and care for each other. Female friendships are sometimes not a big focus in books or seem to have an antagonistic edge to them. Ruby and Amie, though, provide unconditional friendship and love to each other.

I don't want to give too much away about Amie's solo honeymoon, but she doesn't stay alone for long.

Hooking Up has a lot of heat, romance, and humor. I did like Shacking Up more, but found moments that made me laugh a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For far too long, Anarchy Amie has been leashed…confined in the restraints that Armstrong forced upon her when they started dating in order for them to be deemed a ‘respectable’ couple in the eyes of the social elite.

And what does Amie get for meeting all of Armstrong’s demands??? Sub-par vanilla sex, fake orgasms, and a marriage that would have never happened if Armstrong’s true nature was revealed and if Amie didn’t feel the need to find a ‘good boy’ to tame her crazy ways.

But what’s done is done and in the aftermath of what will go down in history as the Wedding Reception from Hell or Blow-Gate actually provides Amie with an opportunity to release Anarchy Amie on the beaches, in the dance clubs, and in an all-inclusive luxury hotel in Bora Bora and find a way to work through the humiliation and heartache that she feels with a hook-up of the hottie variety and as fate would have a certain Sexy Lexy is in the same location, and he is more than willing and incredibly able to free Amie from the conservative shackles that still bind her due to marriage and help her exhibit her less than class self in the dirtiest and naughtiest ways.

Ever since Helena Hunting introduced Lexington Mills to readers, I’ve been impatiently waiting for his book and then when I read Hunting’s contribution to Eye Candy and witnessed how Lex gravitated towards Amie and the chemistry that sizzled between them despite pencil-dick Armstrong’s claim on her, I became a one-woman cheer squad for Lex and Amie to explore their mutual attraction and boy does Hunting give them the perfect setting to be one another’s ‘temporary diversion’ and maybe even more if Lex has anything to say and do about it.

I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to a bevy of kickass heroes in the worlds that Helena Hunting creates, and I’ve adored the lot of them, but Lexington Mills is in a class of his own. I love how much of a paradoxical man Lex is; some people perceive him as a ‘good-time guy’ with not much substance, and while he tends to play up that idea, only doing what he HAS to do and nothing more, Lex is not that simple of a man. There’s a depth to him that few see because they choose not to and their opinion of him does not matter to Lex because he knows the kind of man he CAN be and he proves that with how he handles his business while in Bora Bora and when he returns home and how he shows another side of himself to Amie – the side that allows her to be herself and to explore how free Lex makes her feel just by simply being around him.

I would choose Anarchy Amie over reserved and demure Amalie every single time. I can’t say that I blame her for going with Armstrong because he does appear to be the ‘safer’ choice and the complete opposite of the bad boys she dated in her wilder days, but she should have gone with her gut instead of feeling like marrying him was the best choice to make. But once she’s done with Armstrong, she’s DONE and Helena Hunting does a fantastic job of transforming Amie into the woman she was before Armstrong, which is exactly who she has always been at her core and it’s the woman who Lex can’t get enough of, even when their sexual liaisons were not supposed to continue once they returned to their ‘normal’ lives.

Armstrong definitely gets the douche award for everything that he is and for every single despicable and demented word and act that he says and does to Amie and Lex. If there was one man who deserved to catch every STD on the face of the Earth, it would be him because he is that much of a slime ball.

Helena Hunting definitely has me HOOKED on her stories and her characters and I can’t wait to see what she brings readers next!

4.5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)

4.5 stars!

I adored Amelia in Shacking Up and was thrilled when I heard she was getting her own book. I never liked her fiancé, Armstrong, and I knew here was so much more to her story than the awful life she was destined to have with him.

Amelia, also known as Amie, had sworn of bad boys when Armstrong walked into her life. Her past boyfriends caused nothing but trouble and she thought Armstrong was exactly the kind of “good guy” she needed. In the end though, she found out he was all kinds of wrong. At their wedding, she hears first-hand what an asshole her new husband is, and angry, embarrassed, and heartbroken, she flees.

"I can’t believe my forever lasted less than twelve hours. I can’t believe the man I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life loving couldn’t be faithful to me for even one day."

We got to see an entertaining glimpse of Amie and Lex together in Getting Down: A Shacking Up novella and we could feel a spark between them even though Amie was with Armstrong, Lex’s cousin. When all hell breaks loose at Amie’s wedding, she is all about giving Armstrong a dose of his own medicine by hoping into bed with the first available guy which happens to be Lex. Unfortunately for her plan, Lex isn’t about to take advantage of her.

After her nightmare nuptials, Amie goes on her honeymoon solo and finds herself on the same flight as Lex. They end up spending time together and while Lex said no once before, now on Bora Bora, they are headed for a big yes!

“Let Anarchy Amie out of the cage for a few weeks. Get reacquainted with your wild side.”

Hooking Up was just what I wanted for Amie’s story. Sweet, swoony, sexy, and hilarious, this unique rom com was entertaining from the first page to the last and had a nice forbidden aspect thrown into the mix. I loved the setup of the story and thought it flowed easily and realistically. Amie and Lex are well-developed characters with depth and great personalities. I loved Amie since the first time I met her. She is beautiful, feisty, and used to show off her crazy side, dating bad boys and getting into trouble. However, her Anarchy Amie days came to an end the moment she started dating Armstrong. He tamed her behavior and turned her into someone she isn't.

When everything exploded, I felt her anger and hurt, her confusion and sadness. My heart broke for her because of the pain, humiliation, and heartache she experienced. She was strong, brave, and handled all the despicable things Armstrong put her through wonderfully. I am so glad she saw the light even if it crushed her at the time. I loved watching her true self come out when she is no longer tethered to Armstrong. She has no filter especially when she gets a little alcohol in her system and everything that comes out of her mouth is hilariously entertaining. I could see how easy she is to be around and how fun she really was.

While Armstrong was the biggest asshole known to man, Lex is the complete opposite. He isn’t perfect but he is such a good guy. Totally swoon worthy, kind as can be, and a total gentleman, he treats Amie with nothing but care.

“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I try to compartmentalize the emotions I don’t seem to have control over.
“Let him make you feel anything less than perfect. He has no idea what he’s given up. That he had you at all is a travesty. He doesn’t deserve any part of you, least of all your heart.”

He brings out the best in Amie and I loved how she lets go when she is around him. He is encouraging, supportive, and puts her first, and I loved when he goes after what he wants.

“I assure you, there’s nothing nice about the things I want to do to you, the ways I want to have you.”

Amie and Lex are so good together. They aren’t prepared for the feelings that develop and I loved watching them fall for each other. The progression of their relationship was well-paced and though it all happens fast, I believed the strength of their connection.

"It’s not a very coordinated kiss. It’s messy and teeth-clashing. It’s want and need. It’s possession. Hers and mine."

They have all the sweet, mushy stuff that makes your heart flutter as well as the electric chemistry that sets the pages on fire. When they bring out the naughty, sexy side of their relationship, it is hot!! Steam isn’t all that Amie and Lex share though, they are also hilarious together. After the initial shock of what went down, the moment Amie and Lex are in the same room, the funnies begin. The awkward, embarrassing moments were entertaining and the airport scene had me laughing-out-loud. I couldn’t keep from cracking up every time the tickle trunk was mentioned. Amie and Lex just work. They are honest and open, and though they have some challenges to work through, their actions didn’t bother me at all. I understood why everything happened the way it did and I was very happy with the two of them together.

Each of the secondary characters played a wonderful role in this book. I loved seeing Ruby and Bane again showing their unconditional love and support for Amie and Lex during the difficult times. The villain of the story was also well developed. Can I just reiterate how much a hated Armstrong? I seriously hated him! The things that came out of him mouth were appalling. There is a long standing rivalry between Lex and Armstrong and the tension that surrounds them is tangible. I loved that we finally learn why they don’t get along and it makes me understand the hostility they share. Everything that comes to light just proves how much better of a guy Lex is compared to Armstrong. His heart was in the right place all along and I loved watching him get the girl.

The heartwarming epilogue was true to Lex and Amie’s characters, and I loved how the story play out. Overall, it was a fantastic romantic comedy and would love to see more of this amazing bunch of characters. I loved it!

*ARC generously provided by the author and St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*