While I didn't love this one quite as much as I loved Taking Shots, I did still really like it. :) I loved that the main character, Fallon, was so sassy, and I think I loved pretty much everything about Lucas. ;) haha He's a character that you can see has had a lot of growth from the guy you see in Fallon's flashbacks. I'm gonna refrain from talking about the other character that I absolutely adored because he's not mentioned in the description and I don't want to spoil his entrance...but when you meet him, you'll love him too and you'll know exactly who I'm talking about! ;D

One thing that made Trying to Score so different from Taking Shots was that this one had flashbacks, which I really enjoyed, and I thought that they were a fantastic way to bring in parts of Fallon and Lucas's past. I especially loved getting to see the differences between Fallon and Lucas then, and Fallon and Lucas now. Also, I absolutely love Fallon's name! :D I also really loved the chemistry and banter between Fallon and Lucas. They have some major sparks!

I really liked the story, too. I especially enjoyed Lucas trying to woo Fallon back. I did think that at times Fallon's reasoning was flawed, and that the drama between the two was maybe a little drawn out...but I totally understood her reluctance to take Lucas back. She had the issues she had with him, and other people to think of, but she also had some serious trust issues with the male figures in her life...her relationship with her father was awful, so I got why she didn't really want to let Lucas in again. She was scared, and her daddy issues definitely played into it all. I would've actually liked to see Fallon's relationship with her father improve in Trying to Score, but since the next book is supposed to be from her sister Audrey's perspective (or so I've heard ;D), I'm hoping that will pop up in the next book.

Another thing I loved about this one was that Elli and Shea show up! :D I loved getting to see what happened to them after Taking Shots, and that we got to see how happy they were! It was awesome, especially since they appeared a lot more than I had hoped they would! :D

If you want an addictive and dramatic sports romance this will be perfect for you, especially if you enjoy seeing characters change over time. I really liked this story, and if you haven't read Taking Shots yet, I definitely recommend you check out that one, too. :)

Sadly this series just gets harder for me to get into as the years pass, my mind likes to wander. They are just so long and almost too in depth for me if that makes sense.

Trying to Score was a fun, intense, and sexy addition to the Assasins series by Toni Aleo. Despite being one of the NHL's top players, Lucas Brooks is miserable. He's never gotten over Fallon Parker and when he's traded to the Nashville Assassins team he is ready to make up for lost time. However, Fallon is not one that forgives easy. She is a hard-working, relatable character that I enjoyed. The dialogue between Fallon and Lucas in the beginning is tense, the bickering between the two is both humorous and cringe-worthy. There is no denying their explosive chemistry though, and Lucas is just straight-up hawt. Trying to Score was brimming with full of drama and angst, and whole the internal dialogue tended to be a bit much at times, I adored this tale and look forward to more from the series!

I didn't read the first book in the series and didn't feel lost so that is a plus. I didn't know it was part of a series until I looked up the book.

I thought this was an overall sweet story. It had its ups and downs and at times I found myself going crazy wanting to scream at her, okay it happened more often than not.
In the end it wasn't a horrible read I did want to see how things were going to turn out. It was alright.

Warning: This review contains spoilers!! and bad words!!!

I downloaded this because the cover is hot and it features hockey players. Sadly it was a disappointing read. Had I realized it was a secret baby plot, I probably wouldn’t have requested it. I hate secret baby plots unless the heroine has a very good reason for keeping the kid a secret. Like, she tried to tell him but couldn’t find him. Or the kid is a week old and she lost touch, but tries to find him. When the kid is 6 and she’s refusing to tell daddy because she’s all wrapped up in how she feels? That doesn’t work for me.

Sadly, that was the case here. Fallon met Lucas when she was in college. They spent two blissful years together, until the day she walked in on him in bed with her roommate. Heartbroken, she leaves college and heads home. The problem? She’s pregnant. And she knows it. She decides she isn’t going to tell Lucas because he’s a cheating bastard and he’d probably just leave his kid like he left her.

Lucas is heartbroken when he realizes he cheated on Fallon. He was a mess, constantly drinking and using prescription drugs. After she left he got his life together, but it took some time. When he sees her 7 years later, he knows it’s his chance to get her back. Except he discovers Fallon’s secret – she’s been hiding his kid from him.

When Lucas confronts Fallon, she shows zero remorse for keeping his kid from him. She doesn’t apologize or offer to make amends. Instead she throws out wild accusations about the type of father she knows he’s going to be – the type who leaves and doesn’t support his kid – refuses to take child support and in general acts like a raging bitch.

To make matters worse, Lucas was a total doormat. At some point you have to say to yourself “this chick is a crazy bitch and I’m wasting my time”. He should have reached that point around page 15. He never did. Not in 350 pages.

Fallon was a bitch. In a complete role reversal, the hero was the doormat and the heroine was an Alpha-Bitch. She was wishy-washy in her feelings and actions, except her bitterness and anger. Those stayed consistent throughout the book. Right up until the very last page as a matter of fact. Why was Lucas so determined to be with her? It made no sense to me. She kept his kid from him, treated him like crap and in general needed to take a long walk off a short pier. I mean, I get her not wanting to be wit him. He cheated on her. But to keep his kid from him and say he’d be a shitty father because he cheated on her? That doesn’t work for me. Especially since her kid was the one who was suffering because of her hurt feelings.

Added to that, the writing was filled with inconsistent dialogue and characterizations. One minute she was broke, the next she was refusing help because she didn’t need help from no one or nothing. Today she’s sorry she’s hurting her son and wants him to know his dad, yesterday she wanted nothing more than to keep them apart to protect her heart.The dialogue was strange, too. As the novel wore on, the speech went from refined southern bell to crazy southern redneck. “you ain’t gonna” and etc. It took me out of the story.

As if that weren’t enough, there was a weird sub-plot with her sister. The sister seemed pretty kickass until she hooked up with a guy who told her she was fat and hurt her in the bedroom. She refused to tell Fallon or Lucas who it was. Unfortunately Lucas figured it out. She begged him not to tell Fallon until she could do it herself – she had every intention of staying with the abusive guy, which makes absolutely no sense at all – and of course she doesn’t, so the whole thing was used to bring about the final big confrontation between Lucas and Fallon. I have no idea where that came from or why we had to read about it. It was silly and made no sense.

Normally I can overlook small typos or little idiosyncrasies in the plot. But when the story isn’t holding my attention I tend to focus on all the negative. That’s what happened here. The story was way too long and bogged down with constant repetition. At around 2 in the morning, I realized I still had something like 200 pages to go, so I opened the contents and skipped from chapter 16 to 28. I didn’t skim at all. I just jumped from chapter 16 to 28. I felt like I missed nothing. It was like I hadn’t even skipped a page. That doesn’t say good things about the story.

I did like the sister enough (weird abusive guy thing aside) to start her book. Sadly a few chapters in it already seems to be more of the same (minus the secret baby plot). I’m going to stick with it a big longer, but I’m wary now.

I’m totally bummed. I had such high hopes.

Rating: 1 out of 5.

I LOVE second chance romance stories. Trying to Score was an enjoyable read. I loved that Fallon and Lucas had to work to get the love they wanted. I definitely wasn’t crazy about some of the characters and I found the book to be way too long.