I love how Down & Dirty started with a Murphy's law morning for Emerson. As she prepares for her first day at her new job, her car won't start, she gets an Uber driver going well too slow, and tops it off by being splashed by a puddle, leaving her drenched, all before making it in the door!

While I am typically not a fan of instalove, this one was on overdrive in their realization about their feelings. As other reviewers have mentioned, the storyline was great, but the backgrounds of the characters could have been expanded quite a bit more to strengthen the story. Overall, it was a quick, but enjoyable read.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-copy for honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I liked the chemistry and spiciness between Emerson and Hunter, bot overall the book felt rushed.

Emerson is trying to make it on time to her new job but her car won't start and Uber driver won't drive fast enough to her work. It's first day at San Diego's Real Estate agency working as secretary until Hunter Browning happen to her.
San Diego's football team Lightning's Quarterback Hunter Browning was looking for a house and he met his match when he splash puddle to gorgeous red head heading into real estate office. When he realizes she was heading the same place he couldn't miss this opportunity to get to know her. As soon as he faced her, she had handful of words to him and she didn't care who he was. Now she intrigued him more and he had to get to know her.
When Hunter was requested for Emerson to show him houses, Emerson couldn't deny his request since she was broke and this opportunity may help her financial status.
Now they have to face each other until Hunter finds his new home. While they are looking at the houses, they weren't only looking at houses. They are instantly falling for each other.
Hunter is running out of time with his sister and he doesn't know what to do.
Will Emerson find his dream house and save his soul??

I loved banters between Emerson and Hunter and I loved how strong Emerson was. It was great first book to the series. I can't wait to read about his buddies and her best friend.
Thanks to netgalley and Lovewsept for ARC in exchange for honest review.

How much do I love Emerson and Hunter? <3

Emerson needs this new job and the hotshot QB is not going to get in the way of her making this work... Except now she looks like a drowned rat, is late, and has pissed her new boss off before she has even started. Hunter knows what he wants and is clinging to it like a life raft in uncertain waters. Why can't he get his real estate agent to listen to him? It looks like Emerson might be just the right person to listen to his needs... In a house and beyond. Is chemistry all there is between these two? With heartbreak on the horizon, will Hunter be able to cling to a fragile new love?

This is a great start to Ms Wolff's new series!

Emerson Day is really having a bad day on the first day of her new job. Her car won't start so she has to call an Uber to get to her new job. She finally gets to her new job and then she gets splashed by a water puddle by an arrogant hot shot who thinks he owns the world. Then to top things off once she gets inside to her new job who does she find that she has to work with in order to help him find a new home but arrogant quarterback Hunter Browning and he's not taking no for an answer. Hunter decides he wants Emerson and pulls out all the stops to get her. Hunter puts out the image that he has everything under control when his world his really falling apart. Emerson turns out to be his stabilizer.

Down and Dirty is a standalone with humor, hotness and romance. Hunter is an NFL Quarterback that hires Emerson as his real estate agent, with other things on his mind besides Emerson finding him the house of his dreams.....Hunter has secrets that could totally change the score not in his favor......Overall a good read

I easily started into this book loving the first encounter between Hunter and Emerson. The situation was just hilarious and had me laughing out loud. I also loved their flirty bantering and I was immediately intrigued with both characters.

Emerson was a fun girl who I liked a lot. I liked her down to earth character as well as her always having an answer for Hunter's cocky sayings.
Hunter was the typical football player: tall and handsome, a slight arrogant touch and full of himself but he was always the gentleman and simply a great guy.
Together the two were amazing and I loved every minute with them.

I never expected this book so emotionally touching but by the end the book had me in a crying mess.

I am really looking forward to the next book in the Lightning series.

Down & Dirty and oh so deep. Something I've learned about Wolff is her writing is profound as is her characters. This story has some sexy scenes but what romance doesn't? I connected so well with Hunter and Emerson. I'm already looking for my next novel by Wolff.

I fell in love with Tracy Wolff’s writing when I read her Ethan Frost series. I LOVED that series so much so I decided to take a chance with Down & Dirty. This was a touchdown!!

In Down & Dirty we meet Hunter, an NFL QB, and Emerson, a real estate agent. When Hunter decided to look for a new home, Emerson is his gal! I loved these two characters together. They were a perfect match. The push and pull that they had with each other was perfection.

What I liked the most about Down & Dirty was that I got to see a totally different side of Tracy and her writing. It solidified to me that she is now a go to author for me! I am looking forward to seeing how this series plays out.

~ Review by Heidi Pharo

So let me just say that Tracy Wolff doesn't just write super steamy romance novels, her characters are deep, way deeper than you can imagine. Emerson and Hunter have the most unimpressive meeting ever, but the relationship that spurs from that meet cute (wasn't that cute if you ask any of them) is just wonderful. I have to say that I really liked just how amazing of a man Hunter turned out to be, and how Emerson was able to compliment him so well.

Loved this book even though it made me cry. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

Great emotional yet funny read. Love the banter between Emerson and hunter. Loved their first meeting. Recommended read

If you love sports romance with heat, witty dialogue and characters that stay with you long after the story is over, read this! Hunter is not your ordinary football player and it is super sexy. Emerson is trying to make ends meet and finds herself destined to be with Hunter despite her attempts to avoid him.

Sexy. Fun. Emotional.

Don't miss this must read book. I can't wait for the next installment!

This was a fun and sexy read. It sucked me right in and I couldn't stop reading it. Just what a person wants from a hot and steamy romance. Great bedtime read!

This is Book 1 in the "Lightning" Series. This book is a fast paced romance, very entertaining and really hot! Very enjoyable!!!

Hunter and Emerson are wonderful characters and the chemistry between them is amazing!!!

This book is well written, the plot is entertaining and I had a great time reading it!!!

I voluntarily reviewed this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley

4 It's A Pass That Wins The Game Stars!!!

This is my first Tracy Wolff book and what a great beginning for a new to me author. This book has all the things I'm currently drawn to; Insta-Love, Sports Themed, Cocky Alpha Hero, a Heroine that doesn't fall for his crap but definitely loves his dirty talking attitude!

Emerson and Hunter are so good together because they balance each other out. Their beginning is less than auspicious but it gets so much better the more I read! The story is pretty well developed and the pace is perfect. Hunter did everything he could to woo Emerson and once she fell, she fell hard!! But it's not all sunshine and roses for our couple and they have some hurdles to get over thanks to one of their pasts.

Overall, I'm so happy I took the chance with this book and can't wait to see who's next in this series!

Down and Dirty by Tracy Wolff
Book #1: Lightning Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
My Review:


Emerson Day is broke and in desperate need of her new job so showing up late and soaked from head to toe isn’t making the best of impressions. Walking in pissed off and outraged at the ass who contributed to both of the above certainly isn’t helping especially considering that ass is multi-millionaire quarterback, Hunter Browning.

Hunter Browning is the golden boy of the NFL. He’s the League’s most successful quarterback, he’s gorgeous, according to the tabloids, he’s quite the ladies’ man, and based on Emerson’s own personal experience, he’s a colossal ass. Except, that same colossal ass did a really nice thing when he insisted Emerson be the one to show and sell him his new house. The commission from the sale will be huge and take Emerson from desperation to comfortable living for a very long time. While the gesture may seem sweet, it has put Emerson in even hotter water with her new boss. With the knowledge she’s likely going to be fired after her first and only sale, Emerson dives in with both feet and gets far more than she’s prepared for.

To say the first day of house hunting is a disaster doesn’t even come close. Emerson can only go by the list given to her by her boss and it becomes clear immediately her boss is an angry idiot. Hunter isn’t interested in any of the homes he’s being shown and if Emerson can’t figure out what it is he wants, she’s not even going to have a sale to go with her firing. Ever the persistent (and stubborn) one, Emerson pokes and prods until she understands what it is Hunter needs and wants. The fact that poking prodding came with a panty-melting kiss, makes Emerson all the more determined to help the man who is not at all what he initially appeared to be. There is something real lurking beneath the surface of Hunter and despite all the red flags and warning bells going off in her head, Emerson can’t help but like him.

It seems the whole world knows everything there is to know about Hunter Browning except the reason he needs a new home and needs it quickly. By some miracle, he’s managed to keep at least one part of his personal life completely personal and more’s the better for it. Some things, painful and inevitable things just aren’t for public consumption. Hunter can’t deny he’s attracted to Emerson and within just a day he understands he needs her for more than a one-night stand. Emerson is feisty and confident, strong and capable, and immune to his particular brand of BS. She gives just as good as she gets and the attraction between them is utterly undeniable. Hunter finds Emerson irresistible and given the personal crisis he is facing, she is also a balm to his soul. It’s crazy fast, but Hunter is certain Emerson is meant to be in his life as something more than just a realtor. For a few weeks things between Hunter an Emerson are simply perfect and then the inevitable happens and Hunter’s world is turned upside down. In his grief, Hunter tries to destroy what he has with Emerson, but he underestimates both her persistence and her stubbornness.

The Bottom Line: Well, didn’t this book turn out to be the surprise of the year for me!! When I chose this title from Netgalley, I did so because I thought I was going to get a purely sexy times kind of read with a superficial cast of characters and a nothing more than decent plot at best. I truly thought I knew what I was getting into with this read and I was OK with it. As my granny used to say, “Fooled you, zebra!” In truth, I was in no way prepared for this book. Down and Dirty is so much more than just a sexy time read and I was pleasantly surprised. There is real substance to this read including a solid and extremely emotional plot (I effing cried!), characters who are fully resolved and very real, and some sexy times that don’t take over the read, but enhance the plot and make sense to the characters. I am also a big fan of proper epilogue’s and Down and Dirty has an excellent epilogue that furthered Emerson and Hunter’s HEA and left me completely satisfied with this book. Thank you, Tracy Wolff for proving I can still be surprised by a book 😊

We have a down on her luck, feisty woman who doesn’t take anything from nobody…even if that nobody is all star quarterback Hunter Browning. Emerson is ready to start her first day on the job as a real estate receptionist/agent and has had everything that can go wrong happen to her. It starts out with her unreliable car picking now to become unreliable once again to arriving to work late because of a very cautious uber driver and last but not least for the start of her first day she steps around a big water puddle only to have some idiot pull into that puddle splashing water all over her outfit making her look like she is entering a wet t-shirt contest a fact that Hunter doesn’t feel too bad about. Emerson does not go all swoony over Hunter which only peeks his interest more.

Emerson and Hunter have an insta-love thing going on but it’s done so well that for those of you who don’t like insta-love, this story doesn’t make you feel it because the author has done a great job of building on her characters. Ms. Wolff also had some pretty heavy hitting issues taking place in this book as well that only bring you closer to Hunter and Emerson. This is a “feel good” book that takes you in and doesn’t let you go until the very end. I will definitely pick up another book by Ms. Tracy Wolff.

This book was received as an ARC from NetGalley for a freely given and honest review.

Down & Dirty is such a sweet, sexy football story, with a hint of grief thrown in for good measure. Emerson is late to her new job on her very first day. Her car won't start, so she Ubers it, which takes forever! Then when she gets to her real estate office, some jerk has the nerve to race up, park like an idiot in front of her and splash her all over when he runs through the puddle in front of the sidewalk. Sigh...yeah, then there's the fact that said idiot happens to be Hunter Browning, 6'5", 260 lb football god, Super Bowl MVP, Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback of the San Diego Lightning. So what if he has "shaggy dark hair, bright green eyes and laser-cut jaw perenially covered with several days' worth of stubble." He's still a jerk, and he turns out to be a condescending jerk who calls her sweetheart and throws $100 at her to pay for her dry cleaning, all without apologizing. So, she's not happy when her boss informs her that Hunter has demanded Emerson be the one to show him homes to purchase, she doesn't want to spend any more time with him, even if he is insanely hot and she could really use the commission she'll make off a $20 million sale.

But, you just know all that snark and banter the two throw at each other is just a cover for their wild attraction for each other. And when he decides to pursue her because she "silences all the pain deep inside me, that beats back the fear and the rage that have been a part of me for so many months, that gives me the chance to just be. To just breathe." Emerson just can't resist him. Not because he's hot, but because he turns out to be sweet and a little vulnerable beneath his sex god façade, and genuine, not at all the arrogant playboy she had assumed he was, and he makes her feel safe and secure.

I loved Down & Dirty. It's so sexy, and Hunter turned out to be so much more than the standard issue football playing womanizer I had thought he'd be. He was suffering so much, had so much pain, and he just couldn't seem to allow Emerson to take care of him the way she felt she had to. I felt so badly for the poor guy. And Emerson, damn, that woman is awesome! So sweet, and feisty and funny and strong. She's the kind of woman we aspire to be, and want for our own BFF. When she and Hunter meet, their chemistry is electric, and only gets stronger as they get to know each other more. Kudos to Tracy Wolff for this sweet, sexy read. Now, if Tanner (Hunter's teammate and best friend) or Shane (Hunter's other teammate and friend) have stories coming, I will definitely 1 click them!

Sooo much potential and I really wish the author went for it. I think Tracy Wolff has talent in building characters, adding a wee bit of drama to deepen the romance, fun dialogue BUT she seems to cater to what she/publishing team thinks is hot and trending right now. Her sex scenes felt so overdone, awkward and unnatural. It was very manipulative and not necessarily sexy. I kind of think had she got straight vanilla, instead of trying to add a bit of kink, it would have flowed better. That sculpture garden has got to be the most uncomfy place ever. As an overall story, I just didn't fall for it.

Loved this steamy, sports themed romance! I loved the characters and the writing was very good! Another great book by Tracey!