I love a romance and this was perfection! This author has quickly become a favourite of mine! A great well written book with great chemistry

I apparently missed it even gotten this one? It’s too late sadly to download and receive for review unfortunately

KISS HARD is about Daniel Esera. The young Esera sibling and current hockey superstar. This was one I didn’t know I was highly anticipating, honestly. And this book gets right into it! Daniel is best friends but sort of enemies for years of Catie River. A badass athlete on her way to winning Paralympic gold. While they are out on the town she realizes Daniel has been drugged and she takes over to protect him. Both his health by rushing him to the hospital, and his reputation by faking a relationship as the reason they left alone.

As much as these two got on each other’s nerves, it was clear they were always there for each other. So in my mind this was the perfect friends to lovers. The transition of their relationship to acting on physical attraction was just perfect.

I love the Esera family and always enjoy seeing more of them. Even though Daniel didn’t dethrone my favorite, I still really loved him in this book. He’s just perfect for Catie. He’s there to hold her up and help her succeed, never holding her back. Loved that about their dynamic. He always knew the right thing she needed and that just showed how much he cared and watched throughout the years and how much she meant to him.

This book was all the goodness and sexiness I wanted wrapped up in the perfect fake dating sports romance. Frenemies to lovers. Just so sweet and adorable!

What are you waiting for? Go pick up KISS HARD. You can read it even if you haven’t read the previous books in the series. Although take it from me, you don’t want to miss a second of the Esera family.

Kiss Hard was a quick and easy love story with good disability representation. It was extremely fun to read about a female MC who is the athlete. The writing was good and the plot was easy to follow. This was my first novel by Singh and I will definitely read more.

I love a good frenemies to lovers book and this was a good example why. The tension and slow burn between Catie and Daniel was off the charts!

Catie is such an inspiration to women all over the world. She is a dedicated and passionate woman who isn’t afraid to go after her goals in life.

Kiss Hard
Hard Play, Book 4

I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: CC Public Library
Dates Read: 9/8/23 - 9/11/23
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Justine O. Keef

The Characters:

Daniel Esera:
Catie River:


The Story:

I am deeply regretful that there are only four Esera brothers and that they are all taken. Also, they are fiction, but I still want one of my own. If I can‘t have a brother Catie having one seems fair. She is awesome and I would love to see the things she and Daniel get up to in the future.

The Random Thoughts:

The characters in "Kiss Hard" are not mere figments of imagination; they are living, breathing entities that invade your thoughts. Singh has a knack for creating individuals who are both relatable and extraordinary, leaving you entranced by their vulnerabilities and captivated by their strengths. What sets this book apart is its ability to delve into the depths of desire and sensuality with unapologetic intensity.

Nalini Singh never fails to write a solid romance with so much heart a feeling you can't help but be drawn in.

Now, I have been pretty inconsistent with this series as I've only read the two most recent and haven't gotten to the former two yet so... I definitely missed some of the backstory of these two. I think I've read in other reviews that this is covered in Cherish Hard (book 1). I don't think I missed too much and could still follow the bouncing ball as far as this book.

I am pretty much a huge sucker for a for a good enemies or frenemies to lovers story. There's just something about all the irritation sparking it up that does it for me. Danny and Catie definitely had that going for them, well as much as they could being that they were family friends and all. I liked how their dynamic was very much I can pick on this person but you can't sort of thing. Also, the way Danny accepted Catie for who she was and only checked to see how she was with her prostheses/disability but didn't baby or treat her differently. The two of them being super sports stars was fun and added an extra layer to their dynamic.

Overall, I loved the dynamic of these two, and how they changed from adversaries to each other's person was fab. It was good being back in the Bishop-Ezra family and seeing how they all still interact and show up for each other is great. Great book. Great steam. Always a great author. Definitely recommend.

*Big Thanks to Nalini Singh, the publisher- TKA Distribution, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

OMG the way Danny loved Catie was extraordinary. It’s a gentle love story that starts as childhood nemesis and then distance and time played a factor. I love love the way they found companionship in each other. usually that’s not focused on apart from the attraction and love. And the disabled rep was God-tier.

The characters in the book were is intriguing, as always, Nalini Singh never fails to intrigue and entertain. I know before even starting one of her books that it will be awesome..

I can't really ever say anything bad about Ms. Sing's books. I have read her Guild Hunter Series. Psy-Changeling Series. rock Kiss Series and now her Hard Play series and she never disappoints. This is the next book in the Hard Play series featuring Daniel and Catie. Full of mischief, laugh-out-loud moments, and a beautiful slow-burn romance, that I could not put down! Loved it 4.5 stars

4.5 stars

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, but it doesn’t influence my opinion of the book nor the contents of this review in any way.

Nalini Singh is a favorite for a reason, but somehow I let my high expectations for this release make me too nervous to pick this up right away. As the finale to the Bishop/Esera clan romances, I just didn't want this to end. It's such a warm and loving family, and I feel so warm and loved whenever I pick up one of the Hard Play (or Rock Hard) books. As Rock Hard was my first foray into adult romance (purely on accident), I couldn't have picked a more quality author and series to be my go-to comfort stories and introduction to romance, in general.

This book just sings warmth, love and comfort, but it's far from boring. Catie and Danny are each other's "nemesis," so the banter and teasing is IMPECCABLE. But they're also within the same family group (Catie's sister married Danny's brother, see Cherish Hard ) so they've never not supported and trusted each other.

Danny is a rugby player and Catie, a double amputee, is a runner for then Paralympics. Both are professional athletes on a national and international public stage and experience a lot of external pressure, and when circumstances make it necessary... there is a bit of fake dating to get themselves out of a situation 🤓🤓

"Shaking his head, he returned to get himself a glass of milk and his own plate of cookies. Because he knew Catie wouldn't share hers. Then he sat at the other end of the couch, and they ate cookies and drank milk like any other hot young twenty somethings who were having a flaming affair."

We were there when Danny and Catie met (see see Cherish Hard ) and we're not really there for the rest of their "friendship," as it is. But Singh does an incredible job of building us into their friendship, so we can see how they've built such a strong foundation for their friendship and frenemy-status to blossom into an incredibly strong and stable relationship. There is emotional damage to work through (isn't there always), but it far exceeded any expectations I could have had for a sports romance.

Beautifully written and full of wonderful main and side characters, this book is the clever, warm, comforting and witty story to pick up when you need a hug 💛

I apologise for not sending this through sooner, I am doing my end of year book clean up and realised I had saved the review but had not posted it. Completely my fault and I'm sorry.

Review has been posted to Goodreads as originally intended.

Thank you so much for providing the eARC, it was a wonderful read.

There is just something about angsty characters that are convinced that they hate each other so much that those feelings turn into love that really just do something for my little reader heart. I also weirdly appreciated that while there was drama that added to the plot it all felt necessary, and also that the characters were likable individually as well as together. OH and the fact that it was a sports romance with representation. Overall if you cant tell this was a complete win for me and Nalini Singh can get hard to work writing my man please and thanks.

First novel I am reading by this author. I enjoyed the writing and it was easy to get into. The female main character is great and the couple as a whole was great. I will definitely read more by this author.

I don't usually like romances with athletes but Nalini Singh has never let me down. This was a very fun read with a delectable romance.

I can never pass up a Nalini Singh book. This one exceeded all of my expectations and I think I have a new favourite now. 5 Stars isn't enough. Loved it.

I love Nalini Singh and a good enemies-to-lovers story. Combine them, and you get an incredibly fun rom com in Kiss Hard. Catie and Danny's relationship is caring and loving, one that avoids many of the tired tropes some romances still pit fall into. Catie, who happens to be a double amputee, is written with respect and sensitivity by Singh which really makes the story and characters come to life. A new favorite, for sure.

Thanks to Netgalley and TKA Distribution for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
As a die-hard fan of Nalini Singh’s HARD PLAY series, I was thrilled to get my hands on the latest book, KISS HARD.

Paralympic running star Catie and rugby phenom Daniel have demanding training schedules, as well as their own reasons for staying away from romance. Not exactly friends, but not exactly enemies, they keep each other at arm’s length until a shocking crime and a freak snowstorm push them into a fake dating relationship to save their respective public images. It’s a bad idea to fall in love as Catie’s career is taking off and Daniel’s is faltering; they’ll have to grapple with who they are in public, who they want to be in private, and what they’ll sacrifice for each other.

To me, this book felt like a bit of a departure from the author’s usual style – there’s less pining and gentler emotional peaks and valleys than the previous books in the series. If you love a hot cinnamon roll, look no further than Daniel Esera, rugby god with a flair for baking. Catie’s day-to-day life as a high-performance athlete and public figure who’s also a double amputee is approached with sensitivity and care.

Daniel’s career uncertainty and his reaction to being physically vulnerable were handled in a way that fit in with the overall tone of the book, which is soft and sweet with a crisis that doesn’t fling us into the depths of despair. I think a lot of readers will appreciate this book as a classic Nalini Singh with a soft new twist.

Rugby player Danny and Paralympian runner Catie have been friendly rivals since they were kids. But when Danny's career is put in danger, Catie is the first to step up to help by pretending to be his girlfriend. The more time they spend together, the more they realize just how real the feelings between them are.

Singh's spin on the rivals to lovers trope is one of my favorites I've read recently. Danny and Catie have always shared a deep mutual respect, but never would've called each other friends. Their dynamic as competitors was established when they were kids and they've never questioned it. But as they both realize their attraction, it opens them up to seeing that beneath the playful jabs, a friendship had been forming beneath their noses. They know each other so deeply, see each other so clearly, and once they embrace that it makes their chemistry electric.

I also really liked the way Singh wrote the evolution of their rivalry. It's clear that it's always been playful and never done with malice, but it also needed to evolve as their relationship did. Teasing was a foundation of their initial connection with each other and Singh finds ways to keep that competitive banter, but allow it to shift in tone and nature as they grow closer.

This is the fourth book in the Hard Play series and definitely benefits being read in order since family connection is such an important element, and readers who start with book one will have a better sense of the characters at play here. I've been eagerly waiting for this couple's story since the beginning, and really loved both Singh's treatment of them. I think this means its time for me to move onto the Rock Kiss series!