Hat Trick

My Rating:

4.5

Favorite Quotes:

“He turned and shut the door behind him, leaving her mad, sad, disappointed, relieved, and exhausted, all in one thick clot of emotion.”

“But his presence in her new life, in her new workspace, now made her so jittery she thought she could climb the walls and cling to the ceiling like a cat.”

“She shut out the sound of the woman’s high-pitched bleating. She knew that tone. She’d adopted it herself many times and in many situations, but had dropped it thanks to Sophie, who’d told her that first time they’d met that if she didn’t stop sounding like a trophy wife at a fundraiser they’d have to cut her loose.”

“This isn’t the 1950s Marcus… or… France. You don’t get to have a wife and a girlfriend, sorry.”

My Review:

I have read 4 Liz Crowe books in a row, 800 some pages all told. I think it is time to check into rehab… or at least schedule an EKG and a spa vacation. I have enjoyed my sojourn with the Black Jack Gentleman series, but my heart seems a bit worse for wear. I have decided that Liz Crowe thrives on melodrama and conflict, she has it mastered. She also seems to have a contest with herself for creating a more infuriating and self-destructive a-hole than she had previously crafted for the book before. The main characters that populate the Black Jack Gentleman series seem to be the kings of stupidity and bad decisions. These bad-boys are hot-heads, selfish, and stupidly engage in random yet unbelievably hot sex rather than pursue the partner they actually want. I dub Ms. Crowe the queen of smartly written and intelligent smut - as she never fails to bring volcanically hot sensuality that leaves me… dehydrated. She is undoubtedly a keen observer as her books are richly detailed and highly insightful of her characters inner mechanizations, personality traits, and private musings. Although while her storylines often frustrate and antagonize me, she always wins me back by the epilogue. I adore her, but she certainly makes me work for it.

Liz Crowe seems to have this ability to write stories that make me want to throw my kindle. God, I love them. Declan MacGuire is the Scottish defensive forward hired for the Black Jack Gentlemen’s soccer team. He seems a little shy and one of the more polite players. Emily Keller is new to the PR department and is going through a divorce. There’s an attraction between the two of them, but life’s circumstances always seems to keep them apart.

“Emily knew better than to get all fan-girlie over any of these guys. But something about the whole thing with Cassandra today had set her on a strange path. One that would not let her stop staring at the man’s strong legs, his broad back, his perfect, grab-able ass. She shook her head and looked away, locking eyes with none other than Cassandra herself. Emily forced herself to smile and give a friendly little wave before turning to Sophie again.”

This is another Black Jack Gentlemen story that I loved. Even though the characters keep making these heinous choices, I still end up wanting it to all work out in the end. If I could have, I would have smacked Declan up the side of his head to the moment he saw Cassandra. How could he be so blind? And Emily’s husband, Marcus? He needs smacking too. Other than those two characters, I adored Emily and Declan’s story and by the time I reach the epilogue in her books, I usually love Liz Crowe again too. The people are incredibly flawed, but aren’t we all flawed in life? If the story were all hearts and roses I most likely wouldn’t have enjoyed the ending quite as much.

I definitely would recommend reading Hat Trick. It’s a wild ride that makes you want to kick someone but hang in there. These soccer guys usually score a good one in the end.

Like all of Liz Crowes books this book had me crying, laughing and everything in-betweeen. I liked Emily, she was a great Heroine. she was strong and i like that in a heroine. The hero was just down right sexy! we need more of Heros like him!
The plot was different and amazing!

Fantastic book! Long haul but worth the time. What I loved most about this book was that it wasn't instant love. There was an attraction but they waited. I'm not sensitive to cheating themes thank god because this book was loaded with it. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1332230209?book_show_action=false

Love Declan. I love how he was so nice and yet when he couldn’t see past a mistake he spiraled downward and felt he wasn’t good enough. Even when he was being a jerk he was trying to be good.

This is a addictive book. Declan and his teammates have you truly smiling and entertained. They are fun loving when needed, serious when called for but always loyal to each other. Declan, Gabe and EMily will have you smiling as they show love and loyalty to each other in supporting each other and helping each other grow and become better in friendships, love and teammates.

Liz Crowe does a great job in her portrayal of Declan as a great guy but troubled by his past and just wanting to find love while showing Cassandra for what she really was as well. Emily was a great mate for Declan to find his way to. She wanted to be equal in a relationship, be appreciated, supported and loved unconditionally and that is what declan wanted as well. They both also wanted respect from their partners. They wanted to life their partners up and be there for them.

This is the wonderful story that has some some moments like the vampire halloween party, serious moments that show you what support can do for a person and how people find their way out of dark times with it and become stronger people, tender moments that have you rooting for Declan and Emily to make it and find each other, and sad times when you root for the character to pull through and become what you see them as. Liz Crowe does a great job at bringing the characters to life and the story shines through with the emotionally character driven plot of Declan finding love and strength in his struggle to find love, himself and become a better person. Of Emily finding the strength to become who she desires to be and stand on her own. Of love shining through and fighting its way to make the characters stronger and better.

A story of love and support. Of the journey of one man and one woman finding a way to start over and find love that will make them shine and better. A fun story that has series aspects brought to light as characters face down their fears, their weakness and become stronger people for themselves and others in a way that allows their love to shine and become a beacon of beauty and kindness.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Rachael – ☆☆☆
I'm actually torn about this book. I liked it more than the last two in this series, but I still had a lot of issues with it.

The books have a LOT in common (unprotected sex with just about every woman they meet, unexpected pregnancy, someone injured, men making stupid choices they know they shouldn't, HUGE time jumps, missing important events in main characters lives), however, they also have overall differences that happen.

I would say the author has a lot of promise because although there is a lot of similar things between books, I still found myself reading. I almost hated both main characters because they were just stupid. They made choices they both knew weren't smart and then kept with them for years even if they knew they were bad ones and made them miserable.

Simply, I'd like to see some surprises... get away from the same things. Sure they come in different orders and from different angles, but still, they are all essentially the same and I saw all of them coming from a looooong way away.

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth in the series – and you could read it as a standalone, but would enjoy it even more if you had some of the other characters backgrounds.

This was the toughest read for me – and it took so many turns that I really didn't know how it would work out! It follows two characters who are attracted to each other, but just not at that place in their lives, and seemingly never will be. It deals with some very difficult issues, in a forthright and direct manner, which I found refreshing.

Ms Crowe is a talented author who is not afraid to push boundaries, and make the reader think. This series has definitely achieved that so far for me – I hope there are more to come.

My Thoughts about the Black Jack Gentlemen series: Man On, book one – this M/M story grabbed a hold of me from page one and never let go! Nicco is the 29 year old veteran soccer bad boy and Parker is fresh from college graduation. We see these 2 very different men from very different backgrounds learn to live with and like themselves while fighting an attraction to each other. Nicco feels that he would not be good for Parker because Parker is young and naïve and is still fighting his sexual identity. Parker has always been a yes-man and a pleaser and this rebellion (ditching med school to play soccer) is the first time that he’s taken something for himself and disregarded others feelings while he did it. This author writes a story that she led us through at a steady and believable pace. These 2 men did not take their feelings for each other lightly. They did not act rashly or disregard how a relationship between the 2 of them would affect the team and their pro sport images… There was a lot of story fit into 134 pages and I hung on every word! Am I the only one who love love LOVES a three years later epilogue??!! It’s amazing how gratifying a “three years later” epilogue can be and how gut wrenching and heart stopping a “three years later” part 2 in a book can be. How can books in the same series be so incredibly different and yet all tied together? For me the first book is a page turner m/m book, the second book, Red Card, is about a love lost that literally tore my heart from my chest and pulverized it into the ground… I ugly cried… snot-running, boohoo cried!! I wanted to take Metin and wrap him in bubble wrap and protect him from the world that had treated him so so badly! I think the authors note on the book description explains things best, Red Card is “A saga of family dynamics and gender politics that cuts across cultures and circumstance, Red Card illustrates the human capacity for forgiveness through the life of one man as he attempts to rebuild his shattered existence.” Shut Out is book 3 and it takes a look into the bdsm world and shows two people who are scarred from their pasts but they are trying to find a future together. Sophie and Brody are destined to be together. The road to get there was tough but oh so sweet when it finally happens! And finally book 4, Hat Trick, is another saga along the lines of book 2 that was written in the vein of gut-wrenching realism that made me want to go into the pages of the book and thump Declan in the head and rip the hair off of Cassandra’s head! Good grief this author knows how to take her characters, and by default the reader, through the halls of hell before she even thinks to give them/us a HEA… To me a good book/series is one that makes you feel and cheer and cry… this series is all that and more! Now excuse me while I embrace my book hangover and try to recover from the ‘feels’!
- See more at: http://thebookreadinggals.com/series-review-black-jack-gentlemen-by-liz-crowe/#sthash.XuHN7hq2.dpuf

3.5 Stars Declan MacGuire falls in love WAY too easily. The sexy, bad tempered soccer player needs to get his life together. Despite warnings about his girlfriend, when he catches her having sex with another teammate, his mind sees red and he loses control over his temper. Ultimately he ends up physically hurting someone, usually his girlfriend. He may not want these things to happen but they always do. It also leads to angry, unprotected sex. He leads a drama filled life of booze, sex and anger. All the while, Emily, as the PR person for the BJG, is always chasing him around trying to fix him.

I failed to see a love connection between Declan and Emily. They behave like friends who flirt. Even the flirting did not lead me to believe they would ever connect as soulmates. Emily seemed to want him way more than he wanted her, even though Emily was having her own problems at home with the husband that she thought was an ex-husband turned out to still be her husband and he wanted a second chance.

All the books in the series are fantastic but this one made the least sense to me as far as the two main characters go. I love the series and can't wait to see what comes next for the BJG soccer team.

I was not compensated for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed is my own.

I was given a copy of Hat Trick from NetGalley for an honest review and this is the review.
If books that contain swear words and some hot sex scenes do not offend you this book may be a book that you will enjoy. Seeing as how neither offend me I did enjoy Hat Trick even though it was the first book in the series that I have read.
The one thing that I did find a bit disappointing about the story was how long it took Declan and Emily to finally get together. I thought the book was about them but for most of the book is focuses on other relationships and I found that a bit disappointing not that there was not any sex going on in those relationships but I wanted to see the Declan and Emily relationship that the book blurb eluded too.
The rest of the story was okay as well. I found the entire book enjoyable and not just the romance factor. I liked soccer team storyline and the entire book and that is why I am giving it four of five stars because it was a bit more then just a romantic story.