If you've been reading romance for a while, then you know the legend that is Nalini Singh. While everyone is head over heels in love with her urban fantasy/paranormal series, I have a softer spot for her contemporary romances. They are all about the characters and the achingly swoony romances that develop between them. Reading Love Hard was the perfect way to spend a relaxing day for me and no, I'm not just saying that because the male love interest of this book is a single father a.k.a my romance novel catnip.

Love Hard opens up with a beautiful wedding of two characters from the previous books. To say that I loved the entirety of this first section of the book surrounding the wedding would be an understatement. Yes, it was very very romantic, but it was seeing the beautiful family dynamics and the powerful friendships that truly made it memorable. The wedding was also where Jacob reunited with the bad girl from his childhood, Juliet. Sparks immediately flew between the two as their physical chemistry was blazing hot. This attraction to each other only seemed to explode further throughout the wedding and the rest of the book. It's this palpable chemistry that kept me glued to the pages of Love Hard. I also found both Juliet and Jacob to be such endearing characters. They were opposites in many ways, but they somehow fit well together. Several factors led to some hesitation on Juliet's part for getting together with Jacob including her troubled teenage years, the fact that the mother of Jacob's daughter was her best friend, Callie, and Jacob's fame as a rugby player. It was hard for her to resist the magic and charm of Jake though and I don't blame the woman one bit. Jacob was what I like to call book husband material. He was swoony and entirely too delicious for words. He had to grow up very fast after Callie passed away shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Esme. His goal in life was to ensure Esme's happiness and protection, and his bond with that little girl was the most precious thing ever. Romances that deal with dead best friends and their loves can be somewhat icky, but Nalini Singh handled it beautifully here. Jacob and Juliet have long conversations about Callie and the role she played in their relationship, along the way building up their emotional connection. I won't lie, there were a few times when I shed a tear or two because Jacob had this way with words and he was so so good at proving to Juliet that she was his future. *swoon* I'd be remiss to not mention the most amazing fictional family, the Bishop-Eseras. They defined everything good about a loving and supportive family and I just want them to adopt me (even though I do love my family too).

It took zero reflecting on my part to rate Love Hard 5 stars. It wholely deserves it, in my opinion. I know I will be re-reading my favorite parts of Love Hard, over and over again. :)

I had a hard time getting into this one. It read a little too saccharine, and the pacing was too slow with so many characters introduced that it was hard to follow. I never really felt these two as a couple, and I had wished there was more tension between them. Maybe I should have read the first two books in the series first. Didn’t work for me, but cozy romance readers would be a better fit for this read.

Jake and Callie were high school sweethearts and when Callie got pregnant they made the best of the situation. Callie's best friend, Jules, and Jake have a contentious relationship but they get along for her sake. When Callie dies suddenly Jake has to raise their daughter on his own. When he and Jules meet up a few years later they are instantly attracted to each other despite their rocky past. Enjoyable enemies to lovers romance.

Nalini Singh is a new author to me and one that I will read again. Love Hard is part of a series that follows a New Zealander family that is involved with rugby. Jake became a young, single father when his high-school sweetheart unexpectedly passes away leaving him to raise his daughter, Esme. Juliet was Esme's mother's best friend in high school but had mostly lost touch with the family when she was sent away years ago. Juliet and Jake reconnect at a family wedding and sparks fly. The two had always had tension and exchanged barbs when together in the past and they find that present day is not different. But there is a new romantic awareness there that they hadn't had back in the day. Can they overcome their differences to form a solid relationship?

I liked this book. It was well written and fun and I found myself wanting to know more about Jake's family. I was able to read this as a standalone but do know it's part of a series. My only complaint is that it felt a bit too easy and neat. I would have liked to feel the tension a bit more between the two. The story was enjoyable, though, and I did really like the characters. Definitely an entertaining read!

This book was an utter delight! I love this author's words so much, and this book was no exception.

Jacob Esera is a highly popular rugby star, and a single dad of a 6-year-old girl, Esme. His high school girlfriend got pregnant when they were 18, but shortly after the baby was born, Calypso passed away unexpectedly. So, with the help of his large and supportive family, Jake has raised Esme on his own. After everything that happened, Jake likes to keep things on the straight and narrow, with as few risks as possible. But, he works hard to not stifle his daughter, though he fights the urge to wrap her up and keep her safe constantly. When he runs into an old classmate from high school, the bad girl who was always in detention, in the unexpected setting of his older brother's wedding, he's shocked by his attraction to her.

Juliet Nelisi has not had an easy life. She grew up with an aunt who had no use for her, and when she got in trouble one too many times, she was shipped off to Samoa to live with her super strict grandparents to finish high school. She's never really felt loved, or needed, or a true part of a family, so she fell victim to a lying, manipulative man, and she married young. He was a pro sports star, so her whole life, marriage, and divorce, were in the tabloids, no matter that she didn't want anything to do with the spotlight. She's now single, with a great career, and amazing friends. While serving as a bridesmaid for one of her friends, she runs into a blast from the past, and can't believe how things have changed.

Jules and Jake had an awesome love-hate banter, that turned into surprised flirting, and ended up with them fully falling for each other. I loved their spark of connection, especially when they both were so shocked by it. They really were made for each other, and watching them slowly figure that out was just awesome. They just fit each other, and Jules loved Esme so much too, and vice versa, which was so great.

There were so many fun side characters in this story, especially Jake's family. If you were a fan of this author's book Rock Hard, you'll be as THRILLED as I was to see the couple from that story have their wedding at the beginning of this book! T-Rex and Charlie-mouse FOREVER!! Gabriel, the groom, is Jake's oldest brother, and it was just lovely and had me happy crying before the 10% mark! Jake really has the best family, and they took Jules in as their own right away.

Jules' ex-husband Reid was a disgusting pig, and a lying sack. I hated him with the fire of a thousand suns! What a complete douche wizard. The drama that he caused was terrible, and I hated his stupid, lying liar girlfriend too. To be honest my only complaint in this entire book was that I would've liked to actually see him getting the punishment for all his nefarious actions!

Overall this story was about 2 very different people learning how to weave their lives together, and trust the connection between them, regardless of what consequences they might face. I loved their love for each other, and for Esme, that sweet little girl. I cannot recommend this book, and this entire series, highly enough. They are just so completely great!

I'm somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars for this one. Is this the best Nalini Singh out there? No, it's not, but honestly... I've pretty much never read a book from her where I didn't have a good time, and this is no exception. It's simply that when an author's body of work is so strong, it's hard to stand out in the crowd! That said, I absolutely loved opening the book with Charlie & Gabe's wedding (it was like seeing an extended extra epilogue & I swooned), and I quickly got on board with Jules & Jake as a pair. There's a lot of "hang out" time with the B-E clan, which at times is at the expense of the plot, but I really enjoyed getting that quality character time. All in all, this hit a lot of my buttons for a cozy contemporary, and as I said, I never walk away from a Nalini Singh book without a smile on my face. Now for Danny to get his HEA! (pretty clear who that's going to be with ;))

I love this book! The first 2 chapters were hard to get through. I haven't read the 2 previous books but you get a good introduction to the whole Bishop-Esera family. Jake and Juliet are not really friends back in high school, but they had a friend in common. But years later she pops up at, another friend they have in common, wedding. Their banter picks up like not much time has passed. There is an instant attraction. They become friends when they have to work together but then things progress and it gets hot! You quickly fall for them. I didn't want it to end. I cant wait for Danny's book. But in the meantime I'm gonna have to read the previous 2.

I’ve only dipped my toes in the Nalini Singh waters (she has two massive paranormal romance series), so I wasn’t at all sure what I would be getting when I requested an arc of Love Hard from NetGalley. I also knew that I was dropping into the third book in a series, which is a spin off of another series, none of which I had read either. The prologue was fine, but the first couple of chapters worried me. I was afraid it would be a boring read. At some point, I don’t remember exactly when, it grabbed me and I had to put it down at 1 am so I could get some sleep. When I woke up 6 hours later I immediately started reading again. I had to force myself to stop in order to go get coffee.

Jacob Esera is a single father. As teens, he and his girlfriend, Callie, got pregnant, and while their daughter was still an infant, she died in a viral meningitis outbreak. Because he has a large supportive family, he was able to care for an infant, finish school and become a professional rugby player, like his older brother. At his brother’s wedding, he sees Juliet Nilisi, a former classmate and Callie’s best friend. They had an antagonistic relationship as teens and it seems like that’s going to continue, except for that pesky attraction.

This was a fast, enjoyable read. A couple of things make it stand out though. One is that Jake has been to therapy and while he carries grief from the death of his girlfriend, he doesn’t carry a torch for her. He and Juliet are able to address that ghost like compassionate adults. Both Jake and Juliet were forced to become adults early, and it’s lovely watching them lay down their burdens for each other. I can’t stress enough how nice it is to read about a man who has already gone to therapy and brings that knowledge with him into his new relationship.

Love Hard comes out on March 10th and is a lovely read. I am intrigued enough to want to read the earlier books, but I didn’t feel like I was missing vital information. I received this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sigh. I love Nalini Singh's heroes. Jake is no exception. I loved seeing Gabriel and Charlotte's wedding as well.

Jake and Jules were so fun together. Really enjoyed this story.

Unfortunately , this book didn't work for me ..
I couldn't finish it

The author's writing style was actually pretty good , but I couldn't connect with the Story ..

DNF at 25%

I was really excited about this one, but I couldn't finish. The characters are attending Jacob's brother's wedding and all that has happened in 25% is a bunch of internal dialogue as to why they shouldn't like each other and some spoken jabs and bickering. They are still at the wedding reception at 25% in, in a quarter of an hour, maybe 4 hours have passed. It is just too slow for me.

Nalini Singh does it again. Honestly I’ve never seen her publish anything that was not excellent so this is not a surprise. I loved that this book shows a single working dad, I loved that he had loving and healthy memories of the late mother of his child, but was ready to love again. I get tired of the “shattered hero” trope so it was great to see a hero mostly dealing with his grief in a healthy manner. The loving family he enjoys is always a great aspect of the book and I thought it was great how much the heroine wanted to be a part of not just his life but a part of his family too. There was enough extra drama to liven things up, but just seeing these two normal people falling in love in a healthy way was so great.

4.5⭐
This is my first book in the Hard Play series so, I did find it a little difficult to get into but once I got a sense of the family dynamics, and who was who I was sucked in, and quite frankly, I'm a bit of a sucker for single parent romance, especially when it's a single dad and this was a great one, as Jake's relationship with his daughter Esme was adorable, and the circumstances as to how he became a single parent were a little different to anything I've read before.

Furthermore, I loved getting to know Jake and Jules, who were sort of friends in school and I particularly loved the dynamic between the pair, especially with the way they started having preconceived ideas based on what they were both like in school. Still, that all changed as they got to know each other properly and learned what made each other tick, and I genuinely liked all the different facets these characters had.

And with a great supporting cast, plenty of hot rugby players, not to mention plenty of heat I was easily hooked throughout and Love Hard genuinely was an engrossing, entertaining, and family filled romance that was extremely hard to put down, which is why I would happily recommend it to others.

For a story about a single dad falling for his baby mama's best friend from before she passed, this was surprisingly lower on the angst scale than I expected. I haven't read the other books in this series so I don't know how it compares to them, but I found both Jacob and Juliet to be sweet and sincere.

Jacob was fiercely protective, and so was his whole family. Once they care about you, they watch out for you. His daughter was a very loved little girl. Not perfect, just pretty realistic of how a kid her age would be. And Juliet was remembered by Jacob as a trouble maker, but she was just going though stuff when she was younger. Well, now too, but she handles it like the fierce woman she is.

This was sweet and enjoyable. The love scenes were well written and hot, and I'd totally read the other two books already out and the one on the way.

I love Nalini Singh and her contemporary romances are wonderful. Jake is a single dad who has forgotten how to relax and have fun. He and Juliet never quite got along in high school but as he learns more about her, he realizes her bad girl image is a mirage. Singh’s characters are so complex in relatable ways. I want to get to know them as much as I want to follow their journey together. This was a wonderful love story.

I have said it before and I will keep on saying it, I LOVE her books! Whether its her fantasy series or contemporary or thriller, I know I am just going to love it! This is the 3rd book in the Hard Play series that follows 4 brothers, in this story we are following the third brother Jake who is a professional rugby player and single father. At his brother's wedding Jake is paired with his high school nemisis Juliet. I loved the chemistry between these two and I am a sucker for a good enemies to lovers story. One of things I loved in this story was that it was on the slower side for a romance but once they decided to be together there was no conflict or miscommunication to separate them or have them work thru. I also loved Jake's relationship with Esme, she was his priority thru the entire book and all decisions he made he had her mind, talk about swoon worthy! I am so excited for the next book and can't wait to read Danny's (the fourth brother) story. I highly recommend this book!!!!

A lot of people probably know Nalini Singh because of her paranormal romances but she also has a couple great contemporary romance series that I love. Love Hard is the latest steamy and heartfelt romance in Nalini Singh’s Hard Play romance series.

A beautiful story to go with a beautiful cover.

Jacob Esera is a young single dad and star rugby player. Juliet Nelisi is his old nemesis from high school. Neither one expected the sparks when they meet back up as adults.

I absolutely adored Jake and Jules. They might beat out Gabe and Charlotte as my favorite couple. They may have snarked at each other but it was never mean or hateful and it became clear it was their way of fighting their burgeoning attraction. And when they finally accepted it, along with the connection that developed between them, and were willing to be vulnerable with each other? My heart absolutely melted.

There’s a bit of drama involving Juliet’s jerk of an ex, but it furthered the story in that it allows the connection between her and Jacob to deepen and for him to show the depth of his commitment to her.

I loved getting to visit with the Bishop-Esera clan, especially the fact that we got to witness Charlotte and Gabe’s wedding. Having read their story and enjoyed their journey to falling in love, it was a special treat. (Rock Hard is Gabe and Charlotte’s story)

I loved the rugby scenes; they definitely made me want to learn more about the sport.

I can’t wait for Danny’s story.

Sports romance fans will enjoy this fun and sexy contemporary romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars for this single dad romance!

Jacob has been a single father since he was a teenager ... when his wife died shortly after giving birth to their daughter. Six years later Jacob is a rugby star and raising his daughter with the help of his family. Juliet hasn't had a family that loves her since her parents died when she was a teenager. As a lonely teenager Juliet becomes friends with Callie, who is bright light and is Jacob's girlfriend ... and Juliet can't stand him. Before Juliet finishes high school, she is forced to move to her grandparents house and looses touch with Callie. Six years after Callie's death, when Juliet and Jacob's paths cross, they both feel an undeniable attraction that they don't know what to do with.

It was a nice switch that the female lead was the bad a$$ and the jock was the sweetheart. My heart just broke for Jacob having to loose his childhood sweetheart unexpectedly. Esme (Jacob's daughter) was just so cute and came out with some really funny lines. I was really cheering for Juliet, Jacob and Esme to become a family. I haven't read the first two books in the series ... so I'm gonna have to go back and read them and can't wait for Danny's story in the next book.

I received an early copy courtesy of TKA Distribution through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Jake finds love with Juliet!

Rugby player Jacob (Jake) Esera has been a single parent to his daughter Esme since his teens after the death of his girlfriend Cally soon after Esme was born. Jake and Cally had been friends with Juliet Nelisi when they were in school but Jake hadn’t seen Juliet until she was paired with him at his brother’s wedding.

Love Hard by Nalini Singh is a wonderful read where you get to catch up with characters from other books and to finally see Charlie and T-Rex from Rock Hard (Rock Kiss Book 2) married. Jake and Juliet find true love after the death of Cally and the disaster of her first marriage which is all in the book that you really need to read.

I’m hoping for more books covering Danny and maybe Aroha and Harry but that is up to the author but I’m crossing my fingers!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the 3rd book in the Hard series. I was really excited to read Jake's story and it did not disappoint.
While I loved seeing Charlies and Gabriel's wedding, the beginning was the slowest part of the book and was unsure about Juliet and Jake. I was not really feeling the connection. But after the first 15- 20%, I really enjoyed this book while the characters developed chemistry.
My favorite part of these books is definitely the Bishop Family! I just love how welcoming and tolerant everyone is. This was again a feel-good romance I devoured in a single day!