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Nancy Metsch's Reviews > Hard Stick
Hard Stick by L.P. Dover
Hard Stick (Breakaway, #1)
by L.P. Dover (Goodreads Author)
5292089
Nancy Metsch's review
Mar 25, 2017 · edit

it was amazing

L.P. Dover takes mystery to a whole new level in this book.
There's an old saying you cant help who you fall in love with, BUT you also cant help falling out of love either. Mitchell Blackwell is a cocky arrogant man who always gets what he wants. BY. ANY. MEANS. NECESSARY!!! If you get in his way say your prayers
Kristen Robinson is just a woman who fell for the wrong man..NOW she wants to be free.
Kristin and her best friend Cole live in Boston and works for a top firm in the city. Cole doesn't like ot trust Mitchell. He has known Kristin their whole lives and thinks of her as a sister. He only wants the best for her.
Something happens to Cole and this cause Kristin to high tail it back to North Carolina where she and Cole grew up. Life will never be the same for Kristin...This is when we meet the sexy as sin Kellen Carter. Captain of an NFL team. Hard as she tries Kristin just cant keep saying no to Kellen and thank goodness cause they make a great couple.
Together they faced a hell of a ride with Mitchell on their heels. BUT they made it through. Kellen is amazing

4.5-5 Stars!! I loved this book! It was like a mix of Romance, Mystery, Thriller, with a bit of Horror & Erotica!! I loved the surprises/unforeseen twists & turns in the book too!! I think it was well written & flowed together nicely! I'd love to read more about the other guys on the team & their love lives!! I definitely recommend this book! It has just the right amount of romance/erotica & background info on each character!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

Sweet and sexy. Lots of chemistry. Characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, but otherwise a lot of fun.

L.P. Dover's Hard Stick kept me on the edge of my seat! I could hardly put the book down!

WOW! Literally that is the only word tat comes to mind...i don't believe I've ever read a book by this author before. If this book is any clue as to what her other books are like, I'll be reading those for a while now.

When I started reading I was a bit hesitant on which road this book would go down. It is a mix between sports romance and crime. Usually I am used to reading one or the other, but I believe this book was just a perfect mix. The first half I felt was focused on developing Kellan's character, his background and how he comes about meeting Kristen. I think the dual POV's helped out a lot during this book because it was as if we were reading two different stories.

Kristen is a little bit more of a mystery. I feel like the story started as soon as we flipped the first page and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The only thing that confused me with her character was that she was so unwilling to meet someone and then she ends up being so dedicated to making things work with Kellan. I get why it happened in the story but her thoughts were very conflicting.

Mitchell was an added element that was semi predictable. I mean obviously he was going to come back! The "FBI" in this book sucked. I say that as nicely as possible. I think they dropped the investigation on Mitchell like three different times? That bugged me but I understand why it needed to be added to the story at their respective times.

I really enjoyed this book, it took me a few days to read which isn't typical but I've been particularly busy this past week. I highly suggest this book if you're a fan of: sports, stalkers, crime, and death....dun dun dun

Let me start off by saying , this book will not disappoint!. This book has it all from death, betrayal ,kidnapping ,love, desire,and everything in between. It will grab you from the beginning and keep you well entertained through the entire book. The chemistry between all the characters is so believable , it makes you fall in love with them.. This a fast read that I found myself wishing that certain parts would have lasted a bit longer. A great 4 star read!

Kristen is a woman on run after Mitchell, an obsessed man who happens to be married, refuses to quit stalking. She ends up in a town far away, but is always looking over her shoulder. She does everything she can to stay under the radar. The problem is Mitchell is still looking for her and will do anything he can to get her back, no matter what it takes.

Kellan is a professional hockey player who has been trying to get Kristen to go out with him for a long time, but since all hockey players have the reputation of being players and Kristen is not a puck bunny, she always turns him down. Until one day, she decides to give him one date just the stop his advances.

This book is about a woman being stalked by a man that is very connected, a man who always gets what he wants and will walk over anyone in his path to get it, and a hockey player who is tired of being a player and just wants to settle down.

This story is a suspenseful, humorous, sexy story, with a twisted stalker and an ending you don't expect. I really enjoyed reading it, and will definitely check out more stories by LP Dover.

When I got this book, I thought it was going to be a hockey romance book. It wan not and it was more of a mafia/crazy ex book more than anything. That is not my type of book. So, in all honesty, I did not finish this book because for me it dragged. Just not my cup of tea!

I really wish I enjoyed this story more then I have, its hardly any thing about hockey and all about mafia. a little too much drama, for my liking and not enough cheese! I love cheese, I love insta everything, I love drama but with in means, I just could connect with this story or the characters. I found it to be very bland, way to much going on for me to stay focus.

This book was almost a 5 because I loved the characters, even the bad ones were well done! I especially loved glimpses of characters from previous works! However, this was not a hockey book and it wasn't even great on the few hockey details. Very few professional hockey players drive themselves to away games. duh. Sorry, I digress. This was more of a stalker situation. It was well done, realistic (minus the hockey and the over abundance of efficient FBI agents) and the pace/flow/plot were great. I barely put it down. So, minus some hockey bait and switch disappointment, this was a solid read. I hope we get more of the hockey team (Dallas and the reporter!) and less drama.

An interesting story wth some strong characters. Kristen is in a relationship with a rich, besotted and obsessed businessman (basically he's a bit of a whacko). When his craziness comes to the surface Kristen has no other option but to change her identity and start her life over again. With the help of the FBI she starts afresh and is getting into the swing of small town living when she finally succumbs to the charms of Kellan carter, the Captain of the hockey team. Kellan (and a few of his team mates) have been pursuing Kristen for almost a year, she works in the local bar they frequent. She has however, been putting off there advances, mainly due to the fact that she was stereotyping them. Things are looking up for Kristen, but just when she started to let her guard down, her past comes back to haunt her in the worst way. With some cringeworthy twists and turns, some sexy scenes with a super hot, super perfect hockey player, I found this story highly enjoyable. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me at all. I thought I was going to be reading a hockey romance book- but honestly it was more drama than anything. It should have a new cover, synopsis and be put into the "mafia" or crime category instead.- it's kind of deceiving to readers

I really enjoyed this book. It was a loosely based hockey book in the fact that the hero of the story was a professional hockey player and that his teammates, games, practices, schedule, away games, role on the team and his history was all included in the book. But this book was really about the heroine and her involvement with a hockey player. I saw the author catching some grief online about this not being a sports romance but i found it was and included a good amount of his career as well as hers, but no, it was not the main focus of the book...the heroine and her past were, and her involvement with a hockey player currently and in the future were.

I had absolutely no problems getting caught up in this book and the characters and the storyline. I loved it. I really enjoyed the strength that she built up in herself and how independent she became, yet she was still able to be soft and lean on her friends when needed and see the positives in life.

When I started "Hard Stick" I almost stopped for fear I had the wrong book. I looked at the cover and reread the description again. Wait. This book was supposed to be about hockey right? Something was off...this was NOT what I was reading about at all.

I'm not going to spoil it for you but I'm extremely pleased that I stuck with it through the first 4 chapters. It set the stage for the second part of the story, which still isn't really about hockey at all (sorry to disappoint the sports fans in the crowd). However, I guarantee you will still love this book if you enjoy strong characters, a bit of intrigue, action, and love, all within the sports environment. It may seem like a book about hockey, but it's really a book where the hockey players help to make it come alive.

I highly recommend this book to those who like a little bit of everything in their reading. (Full disclosure: If you have any triggers around domestic violence, this probably isn't a book for you.) I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

ARC Provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book was loosely a hockey book in that Kellan Carter played for a hockey team and his friends were hockey players on this team. But there isn't really much hockey in the book.

That said, what drew me in was the damsel in distress we had with Kristen Robinson. She's just out of an abusive relationship and has relocated successfully. She had some hoops to jump through to get the crazy to stop following her but she seemed to have managed it. After meeting Kellan in a bar she's working in, she tries to stay away from him but ends up going out with him.

I had a really hard time finding the connection between these two people. Kristen was a nice enough person and Kellan was a good guy but this story didn't really do it for me.

Kristen is in a relationship with a married man, Mitchell. She realizes that the relationship is doomed by his lies and constant controlling of her every move. She attempts to break up but he becomes violent and threatening. The story switches to a year later as she tries to carve out a new life away from Mitchell. Enter a handsome hockey player, Kellen. I found the plot to be unrealistic and unbelievable. The worst part of the book was Kellen calling Kristen, "Buttercup " throughout the story. I think that pet names used by men to women early on in meeting and not even dating yet are misogynistic and repulsive. The author tries to make Kristen appear to be strong and independent but she runs away from her bad relationship to Mitchell (pretty unrealistically) and gets star-struck by the handsome face of Kellen. Really can't recommend the book for these reasons.

Hard Stick by L.P. Dover will be available June 13, 2013 by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I loved this book! A great romantic/suspenseful story with a HEA (And it also involved sports which is always a plus with me) I really liked the author's style of writing. Not wordy trying to drag out the word count. Just straight and to the point for an exciting story line that engages the reader. The story got me choked up multiple times while reading. There is a death early on, and even though you don't read much about the character, it makes a big impact. Reading of Kristen and Kellan falling in love. And then when Kristen is abducted by her ex that she has been running from the beginning of the story. There are multiple twists in the book and I love that it keeps it interesting until the very end!

Kristen is on the run from a dangerous man that will do anything to keep her in his possession. When she settles down in small town North Carolina, she is introduced to the mega hockey star Kellan, who wants Kristen for himself. A fun read that I wish had a bit more hockey in it, but overall a great piece of brain candy.

Kristen is on the run from an obsessed boyfriend with control issues and a murderous past. Kellen is captain of his hockey team and finds himself drawn to Kristen. Will she ever be able to settle down and allow herself to love again?
This story has it all. Intrigue, romance, sports, humour ...just what you would expect from an L.P. Dover novel!