I was intrigued by Hot & Heavy because of the yoga teacher heroine. A veteran of many a meat-market yoga class, I thought perhaps these were my people - falling in love (or something else) in downward dog. The description is somewhat misleading, though. The book really isn't about yoga, and the heroine is not your typical yoga teacher. That’s not bad; I quite liked the book anyway. The title, on the other hand, just as advertised. Hot & Heavy. Which it is.

To say Sage grew up with a free-spirited mom is an understatement. She wandered from place to place and man to man, sometimes leaving in the middle of the night. Sage has compensated by being the exact opposite. She’s an accountant who happens to teach yoga - because she manages her mom’s yoga studio. Nonetheless, it is more than a little out of character for her when she hooks up with an extremely hot guy at a bachelorette party, having explosive sex in a shadowy hallway.  Unaware that she is a heroine in a romance novel, she dismisses the man and the experience, and is sure she’ll never see him again.

Shawn Wilson is much less dismissive of the bachelorette party encounter. Something about the woman really got to him. He has his own issues, of course. He's a highly-paid wide receiver for the San Diego ‘Lightning’, and his risk-taking behaviors are in danger of getting him in trouble. Not risky like bar hook-up risky; risky like cliff diving. He’s been warned about stuff like this before, and when his teammate’s wife notices him nursing a sore shoulder, she recommends yoga as a way to help heal the injury. She happens to be Sage’s best friend, so she sends Shawn in Sage’s direction.

Shawn is naturally famous and very recognizable - and he'd also much rather keep his injuries quiet, so he requests private lessons. The fact that he is very attracted to Sage and eager to repeat the bachelorette party sex definitely factors into his request as well. Ordinarily Sage would be inclined to refuse, but the yoga studio has recently been drained of a large amount of cash by Sage’s flaky mom, so she names a ridiculous price that she’s sure no one would pay. Shawn, being a rich NFL player, writes her a check.

That's kind of where the yoga starts and ends, which is okay. On the surface this is a story about a yoga teacher and a football player, but underneath that it’s about two people who are very attracted to each other but possibly have incompatible neuroses. After her nomadic and chaotic youth, Sage craves structure and security. Her choice to become an accountant was very deliberate, and putting numbers in order suits her. The need to run interference and pick up after her mother is on-going. Shawn, on the other hand, has reasons for his dangerous risk-taking. His mother and sister died in a car accident when he was young - on the way to drop him off at football practice. And while he doesn’t exactly blame himself for their deaths anymore, he feels closest to his mom when he’s on the edge of danger. Like him, she was a bit of an adrenaline junkie; cliff diving, mountain climbing, free diving in the ocean - all these things make him feel her presence.

When things progress from secret yoga to girlfriend/boyfriend territory, their competing childhood needs (that have followed them into adulthood) start to collide, and one dangerous incident pushes Sage over the edge. Can their love survive these differences?

You can probably guess the answer to that one. What is love if not accepting that a person - and his or her baggage - is worth it? The question as I reader ask, is whether it’s worth it to you. On the balance, I’d weigh in on the pro side with this one. This isn’t a brilliant or ground-breaking book, and it might not be the yoga studio romance I thought I signed up for. However, I enjoyed the very steamy (if at times a little over the top) sex scenes and I liked the characters. I think a really good opening can count for a lot, and Hot & Heavy has a steamy and fun start. It got me interested, it was sexy and funny, and it set up the characters and their personalities perfectly.

I liked both Sage and Shawn. The reasons for their various hang-ups made sense, but they didn’t weigh the book down. The story is told in the first person, alternating points of view, which. I liked and which worked well. I also liked Sage and Shawn’s friends, some of whom have been in earlier books and some of whom will likely be in later books. I have to tip my hat to Tracy Wolff, who - unlike many authors in this day and age - knows how to include past and future characters without being so heavy-handed as to be irritating. I’m fresh off two books where the characters practically walked in shouting “Hi! My name is HEROINE FROM BOOK THREE! Are you interested in me yet? Did you already meet HERO FROM BOOK ONE? You haven't?!? We’re here so you will buy all these books!” I’m over it.

The only real issue that I had was that while there is a real, genuine, believable conflict between the hero and heroine, there isn’t enough time and space to truly resolve it in a believable way. It’s wrapped up with a neat little bow, but I didn’t really buy it. It's not like I feel like I need to wallow in the angst of their problems, but I don't really want to see them brushed aside as easily solved and essentially unimportant. Saying something won't be a problem any more doesn’t make that a reality. My honest assessment is the these two probably need a good seventy-five more pages to really hash this stuff out, and the rush made what good have been a really good book a mostly good book.

That complaint aside, I found Hot & Heavy to be sexy, fun, and entertaining. I’d actually read the other books in the series given the chance, and that’s saying something.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

Shawn is a pro football player who loves seeking a thrill. Whether it be free climbing, cliff diving or free diving, Shawn can't wait to seek his next adventure. What Shawn didn't expect is that a one night stand in a bar would lead to the thrill of a lifetime. I loved the connection Shawn and Sage had. He was always looking for an adventure and she was very down to earth. The two had great chemistry.
I have read many books by Tracy Wolff and this one definitely did not disappoint me.

Shawn and Sage
She's an accountant also running her Moms yoga studio. He's an athlete with a injured shoulder no one is supposed to know about. They meet at a bar. They eye each other back and forth. He doesn't understand why she won't pursue him. All the ladies fall for his moves. She's about to give in, when he sends over drinks for the ladies. She takes the drinks wrong, as an insult. She runs to the restroom. He follows her. The have a heated discussion that turns into a heated encounter. She won't give him her number or let him input his number. She's different, he can feel it, but she won't give in.
Days later he's being set up for therapy for his shoulder, who is Sage. She has no idea, he suspects it might be her, but not sure.
He's a risk taker and she's not. Will they make it work?.....

This is such a fantastic follow up in the Lightening series. The characters are exciting and fun. While these characters appear to be complete opposites they are very much alike. They are both kind of lost and trying to find their places in the world. Even though the places they are right now seem to have almost been chosen for them if they weren't there then they would have never connected. I know which character I'm hoping comes next in the series but I know that wherever this adventure takes us it's going to be a wild ride!

A read that feels more sex than substance, this novel is big on the hot but not so much the heavy. While there is nothing wrong with two consenting adults enjoying each other, there is little to invest the reader in the couple. Again, there is nothing wrong with raunchy erotica but it’s even better when the reader can become invested in the characters and their relationship, and feel the heat between them rather than just sex because the characters are so attractive.

That being said, the story is straightforward and moved at a good pace, even if some parts were predictable. The characters also were fleshed out with baggage and background, even if the reader doesn’t become invested in them.

A good read for those who enjoy erotica with enough plot to try to explain the leads relationship.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I enjoyed this book. One yoga teacher, who knows nothing about sports, hooks up a star football player and then leaves him without a backward glance.

Sage doesn't take chances. She doesn't hook up with random guys. And she most certainly doesn't get it on with random guys in the back of club. When she does all three in one night, is it any wonder that she practically runs from the bar and back to her safe little world?

Shawn loves taking chances. The adrenaline rush takes him to places that he can't find normally. And at the height of it, he feels closer to the mom and sister he lost when he was a child. When he takes a chance and follows the woman he's been eyeing in the bar all evening to the back, he can't believe how right it feels to be with her. When she leaves him without a backward glance? He's not sure how he feels about that.

Sage's encounter with Shawn is quickly forgotten when she realizes her flighty mother has once again left her holding the bag. Everything she's done since she turned eighteen is with the goal of being safe and secure. She had enough of living like a gypsy when she was growing up and she never wants to be homeless or hungry again.

Shawn comes back into her life at the right time – she desperately needs help and he needs someone to help with his back problem. Low-key help. Reluctant to spend more time with him, she names an outrageous price and is stunned when he agrees to pay it for her to help him.

The relationship quickly turns from all business to pure pleasure. Sage can't believe she's dating a professional athlete, one that could easily date anyone he wants. Shawn thinks that Sage hung the moon.

A lack of communication between Sage and Shawn derails their fledgling relationship. Shawn has to learn to take others’ feelings into consideration and learn to talk about the demons that haunt him. Sage's childhood issues play a huge part in her reluctance to enter into a relationship and to trust people.

I wish that the author would have explored Sage's relationship with her mother more. I really think that there is a lot going on that would have helped the reader really understand Sage and her trust issues.


Mary – ☆☆☆☆☆
Sage is at a bachelorette party and would rather be anywhere else, until she sees the most beautiful man she has ever seen sitting at the bar. When they make eye contact, Sage thinks that she is out of his league and tries to stop looking in his direction. But it is hard to do. When he sends over a round of drinks for the group, Sage thinks that he is making fun of her and it really makes her sad and she runs for the bathroom but before she reaches the bathroom, a strong hand grabs her. It turns out to be the sexy guy from the bar.

Shawn is the football player that most every woman knows who he is, except for Sage. She has no idea who he is. While Shawn thinks that he has given her all the signs for her to make the next move, the sexy girl at the bar just isn't taking the hints. When she runs towards the bathroom after he sends a round of drinks, he has to find out what is wrong. They get hot and heavy in the alcove in the hall and when it is all over, Shawn wants her number so he can take her out to dinner and she refuses.

While Shawn is an adrenaline junkie, Sage is just the opposite. She doesn't think anyone should risk their lives just for the rush. But if she stops and thinks about it, her feelings are because of the way she was raised. And Shawn is chasing his demons from his past. When Shawn does something that scares Sage, will she be able to forgive him, or will she just walk away?

Can Shawn and Sage get past the fear and demons they both are running from? Will they be able to make a relationship work? Will the future be bright for them both? Can they both share their past with the other so that they will understand why they do and act the way they do?

I love this series and I think Shawn and Sage are my favorite couple so far. I can't wait to see who will be in book three. If you are looking for a new author or haven't read Tracy Wolff yet, start on this series, or any series for that matter. I love all her work and look forward to reading more from her.


Lee’Anne – ☆☆☆☆
I quite enjoyed this standalone read. Shawn and Sage are both likeable characters who are fighting off demons from their past while trying to live their day-to-day lives. Sage, after being dragged to a bar by friends, breaks her rule of only have two drinks and winds up having a quickie with Shawn outside the bathrooms at the bar. Knowing it can’t go anywhere, when Shawn asks for her number, Sage denies him and splits. Then when Shawn needs a yoga instructor to help with his football injury, his friends recommend Sage and the two wind up hot and heavy.

I loved the beginning of this book and the way that Shawn is down to earth instead of cocky like most athletes you read about. The ending felt rushed and I’d have liked more from their story, but hopefully we’ll see Shawn and Sage appearing in future Lightning books!


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second in the series, and does include elements from the first book, but would be a strong standalone too.

Both Sage and Shawn have been deeply affected by their pasts, and the chemistry between them threatens all the coping mechanisms that they have developed over the years. Sage is thinking about taking a risk, Shawn may have found a solution to his need to take them. This opposing reaction in the face of lust and impending love is an entertaining one to observe, and ties in well when the worlds that they inhabit collide.

I enjoy a good sports romance, and the therapy is often a part of the story, but rarely yoga, so it was fun to learn a little about the possible moves and help it could offer – and was amusing when Shawn realised that Sage really didn't know anything about him or his fame.

This is a fun new addition to the series; thank you, Tracy Wolff.

I just read Hot and Heavy by Tracy Wolff. ( I received an advanced copy from NetGalley) All I can saw is AWWWW its a total rom-com and I loved every minute of it! I hope this gets made into a movie it is so cute! Its your typical shy girl meets the super hot guy and they instantly fall in love ....every girls dream basically

This was a great hot read. Sage and Shawn are great together. This is a great read from the wonderful Tracy Wolff. What better story than a yoga instructor and a football player that likes to take chances. The great thing about this read is there was a story to it. I highly recommend picking this book up.

I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. To give Wolff some credit, the main reason I don't like romance novels is because the man is an absolute tool. In actuality, Shawn was not a tool, and in fact I really like him. I didn't really like Sage, which is so weird. I usually always love the woman! By the end of the book, I thought it was cute, but during the book I was so frustrated with their stupidness. It also felt like a whole bunch of sex with little emotion. We don't need anymore Fifty Shades, I want some actually good writing and good plot. I did like this book though. The end was definitely my favorite and made me like it.

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

Shawn and Sage meet and it is heat at first sight. Although Sage thinks she will never see Shawn again she quickly realizes that Shawn has other plans.

What should have been an easy reunion quickly gets out of control when Shawn's past and present keeps rearing its ugly head. The real question is...will Sage stay around long enough to help Shawn fight his demons … or will her own demons keep popping up ruining everything before it ever starts? Read and find out!

Overall a great book. I loved the imperfections that they both had. It made them seem less fictional and more human. This story was great, I am not going to lie tears did fall but at the same time there was a lot to laugh and smile about. Very good read.

I could not put this book down, It started with a bang and just kept going. Sage & Shawn had difficult childhoods, and while they are very different personalities they find they are a perfect match for each other.

This was a quick read for me and it was ok. A bit too insta and lacking in anything but sex which I wasn't really expecting. The premise was ok I just didn't feel much depth. The writing was fine and I like the author this one was just too shallow for me.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to leave an honest review. This is the second book in Tracy Wolff's "Lightening" series and the only one I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Especially since this is the first time I have ever read this author. It was very well written and had an excellent plot line. Definitely a fun, feel good romance. I also liked how Tracy tied in the characters from the first book and for the next book. Love the feeling of family that you get from the main and secondary characters.

This book follows Shawn, the Lightening wide receiver and all around adrenaline junkie, and Sage, a yoga instructor/accountant. Sage is jaded from her childhood when her mother would move her from commune to house to city or just leave her with random friends. All she wants in life is stability which she still finds difficult while trying to keep her absentee mother's yoga studio afloat plus do her other job. Shawn needs Sage to help him rehab his back after cliff diving in Mexico. Sage wants nothing to do with the risk taker but other than that small flaw, she finds that Shawn is really kind and considerate. Shawn has his own reasons for acting the way he does and finds it hard to stop his risk taking ways. One incident where Shawn scares Sage is one too many. Will they be able to work out their differences or will they walk away?

Really good book and an easy, fun read. I would definitely recommend and I cannot wait to read the other two books in the series.

This book was so much fun. A new author to me, but one who will be a new must read! Can’t wait to read more!

I really enjoy Tracy Wolff's stories and Hot & Heavy didn't disappoint. Sage & Shawn have an instant attraction that grows even against heir better judgments...opposites can attract ;)

I was disappointed by this book. I enjoyed the first book of this series and was interested to see what was in store for next one. But in the end it fell short for me. I felt like it was hard to get into the flow of the book.

*this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review*uu

3.5-4 stars!
The second book in the “Lightening” series, brings together two people who scream “opposites attract”!
Shawn is the football stud, hasn’t really settled down, and partly because he’s chasing personal demons. After losing his mom and sister in a tragic accident, he can’t get past his guilt that it was caused because of him. This guilt and desire to feel connected to his mom, leads him to his daredevil ways. He’s impulsive, pushes his boundaries, and keeps people at a comfortable distance. He meets Sage, who of course, happens to bethe best friend to his best friend/teammate. Sage isn’t what he usually goes for, but their inner bond pulls them together.
Sage helps marinating her mother’s yoga studio. She grew up with a flighty mother that never provided roots for them, and Sage grew up feeling like she never knew when/where their next destination would be, let alone if her mom would come back for her. This has created this ‘self protection’ personality in Sage, and has built a wall around her heart. One night she meets that gorgeous guy in a bar, fully expecting to go outside her bubble and never see him again. Shawn, has other plans and isn’t letting her get away.
Their relationship is quick-very quick, in all matters. I liked the ‘opposite attract,’ but it also didn’t seem to do much for me. Some parts-specifically sex scenes-were way too wordy for me. I liked, not love the story/couple. I wish there would have been more around the sport as well.

Hot and Heavy is just what you would expect from a Tracy Wolff romance. With Shawn alway out for the extreme challenge and Sage alway trying to keep things normal and basic, who would think these two opposite’s would attract. Very Hot and heavy.

This was okay for me. The writing itself flowed well, but I was a little frustrated at the lack of actual romance between the main characters. I love a good sex scene as much as the next girl, but there wasn't a whole lot besides that with Shawn and Sage's relationship. Then they're all of a sudden in love. A little far fetched for me. It was very annoying that Shawn couldn't see what he did affected other people besides him. Don't get me started on Sage's mom. She was something I can tell you that. I'm not a fan of anyone who is a parent, and doesn't really care how their child feels. This was a first for me from this author, but I would give her another read.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

Hot & Heavy is a perfect title for this book, hot people with heavy baggage and steamy love making. Shawn and Sage both have their own demons that are holding them back from a lot of things in life. While this was a quick read for me, I really enjoyed the characters and the story. It's a perfect summer book to read while getting your tan on, just make sure you have a cool drink with you! Sage is a very strong independent female, with a past that has done more damage than she realizes. Shawn is football hero who's reckless lifestyle has more to do with his own baggage than he realizes until it's too late. When they meet the first time it's like lightening in a bottle and while one tries to run from it, the other will do anything possible to have it again.