I am OBSESSED with these characters and Helena Hunting! Honestly, I first read the Chapter 1 Reveal of Hooking Up and was like WTH??!?!?? How have I never read a book by this author before???? And I was hooked so I hurriedly downloaded the Shacking Up audiobook and eBook because Jacob Morgan reading a book is just OMG sex on a stick! So after I devoured <b>SHACKING UP</b> and <b>GETTING DOWN</b> Novella in the <b>EYE CANDY Anthology</b> - I was finally ready for Amalie's story.

<b><i><blockquote>"Armstong was another poor decision in my history of bad boyfriends, and I'd made him a permanent one."</blockquote></b></i>

Check out the HOOKING UP CHAPTER 1 REVEAL HERE ----> https://bookwormbetweenthesheets.com/hooking-up-by-helena-hunting-first-chapter-reveal/


The first chapter which you can click above, pretty much shows you how Amie's wedding bliss is anything but a nightmare. A Honeymoon for 1 is just what the doctor orders for Anarchy Amie along with some extra special baggage that she takes along on her island getaway from reality.

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I don't want to give anything away as to who she encounters as Hottie Hook Up and how Armstrong and Amie's secret Hook Up compare and compete for her heart/mind. Helena does a fantastic job showing how Amie's headspace is all out of sorts from Armstrong's selfish actions and his manipulations.

<b><i><blockquote>"I know what I want, and I know exactly how I feel about you. As soon as you figure it out, we can figure us out."</blockquote></b></i>

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Hooking Up is the perfect, sexy romantic comedy that you crave! With plenty of fun between the sheets and the banter out of the sheets! Helena KNOWS how to write a steamy romance that you just fall in love with the characters and fight for their happily ever after. I am so enamored with these characters is it wrong to beg for more of them????? I will just have to go discover the PUCKED Series now as this series was my first reads from the author. I can't wait to devour more of her steamy, romantic books!

<i>"An ARC was given from the publisher in exchange for an honest review"</i>

I don't know how a story packed with so much fun, so much sexy, can pack such an emotional punch, but this one does it. No angst, just some real feelings from both our leads

Poor Amie, hitched to a man who was supposed to be her rock, and he just ended up being her downer. Armstrong, as she realizes throughout the book, is an illusion she created. Bless her though, she doesn't play into his games, she never falls for his attempts at manipulation, and she stays true to the Amalie that she is, the one she knows, the one that is right for her

She is scared though, and that doesn't go away, even at the end. She has made so many choices in life that seemed like the wrong ones, even when they seemed right. She doesn't trust her heart, but she is extremely lucky to find someone who gets that, gets her. She can worry all she wants, because he only wants what is good for her, the real her, and loves her for everything that she is and can be

When it all falls apart, he is there. When she needs to escape, he is there. When she flees in fear, he gives her time. When she tries to hide, he brings her out. When she is scared, he holds her and makes it all right. He shelters her, he pushes her, he knows her, and he loves her. At the end of the day, she is the same for him. Because they hide from the world, they get to flourish in their relationship without outside forces pressuring them. He is perfect for her, and she for him, and they learn they only need each other to be happy - and that is all either of them ever wanted!

3.5*
This book started off with a bang - groom caught doing something he shouldn't over the PA system - need I say more! Amie quite rightly is hurt and the man she just married is a douche! He didn't get his comeuppance in my opinion.

This leads her to take her honeymoon alone, where she is joined by someone that allows her to be who she really wants to be rather than the demure woman her "husband" turned her into. This carries on when they get back - not straight away - they tried to stay away from each other - the other man is close to the family so it is quite messy.

She has some doubts in trusting her feelings due to the douche - but all comes good in the end. The H is everything anyone would wish for sigh.

Just under 4* as it did drag a bit in the middle, but an enjoyable read.

Honestly, when I look at all of the components of this book I feel like I should not have enjoyed it as much as I did. There are so many aspects of the plot that I am tired of and just seem so overused and lazy (the heroine out to prove herself through her relationship, a maniacally crazy ex, forced proximity through crazy coincidence). Whatever my logical brain may have to say, I still enjoyed the hell of out reading this. It was hot and funny. This was only my second book by Hunting because I did not love the first book of hers that I read but I will be going back to see what I have missed.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First let me start by saying I am an avid fan of Helena Hunting, I have read all her books and I particularly like the pucked series. That be said I think that this might be her best book yet. In Shacking Up Amalie was a bit downtrodden and I found it hard to connect with her, in this book we meet Anarchy Amie and she is fantastic. A woman who can punch a man in the testicles is some one worth getting to know. .As per the author's wishes I won't reveal the name of the hero, but oh my goodness, he is something. he has Randy Balls level of stamina and he is as sweet and caring as Alex Waters. I loved this book so much I read it in 2 days.(It would have been 1, but life got in the way.) More please.

A good read - a fun setting, great characters and i felt the connection between the two leads. The story was good and believable. The scenes in Bora Bora made me yearn for a mojito and my towel.

The wider cast were both brilliant and interesting, which made for a richer story. I really liked the comparisons between the two mothers, and the brothers and cousins.

However I felt the story dragged a bit in the middle and I had to focus on reading, so greater pace and stonger editing would have been better.

This is my first book by this author and I will read another one for sure. But I had thought from her other book reviews thought it would be funnier. There were some great scenes e.g. Airport security and her drunk comments but I thought it would be funnier.

THIS. BOOK. BLEW. MY. MIND.

I can't quite process this book. I still need more time to gather my thoughts but overall it is captvating, fun, interesting and a mind blowing experience to read.

I will have a full review on release day.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5 * rounded up. Off-putting and irrelevant cover photo.

After her wedding reception goes horribly wrong (see blurb) Amelie decides to go on her honeymoon to Bora Bora alone. Except that the man sitting next to her on the plane (completely coincidentally, on a business trip) is the man who witnessed her humiliation in the most detail.

I enjoyed this story; the wedding reception scene is truly excruciating and Amelie and her new man are sweet together. The part set in Bora Bora consists of Amelie drinking extraordinary amounts of champagne and having a lot of sex, but fortunately once back in the US something resembling a plot re-emerges. I never felt I quite got to the bottom of who Amelie really was and what she had seen in Armstrong, her appalling husband, but I hated Armstrong so much I would have applauded her doing anything that made him suffer.

This book had so much promise. I had been anticipating it since the end of Shacking Up. While I enjoyed it, I just didn't love it and it left me wanting more.

I really loved how free Amie was with her sexuality. She didn't hide who she truly was and what she enjoyed once she was free of the hideous Armstrong. I just wish her confidence the bedroom translated to confidence in her feelings for Lex. Amie and Lex had some intense chemistry between the sheets. They burned up every page and every scene. The problem with that is that's all they did. This book was heavy on the sex, but lacking in substance. I still don't know who Amie and Lex truly are and that frustrates me. We didn't get any glimpses of them outside the bedroom while they were falling in love in Bora Bora. I wanted and expected more….and just didn't get it.

Regardless of my thoughts, Hunting remains one of my must read authors. This is a random miss is a long list of hits

I expected nothing less than perfect from Helena and that is exactly what I got. I have been clamming for a book about Amie since Ruby's. After reading Eye Candy I had high hopes for the hero.

Without giving much away if you've read Shacking Up then you already hate Armstrong and dare I say Brittany. But after this you just really really loath the guy. We never do get the satisfaction of his complete demise. A glimpse yes, but we all want him to be just completely gutted. The high points are the dick punches, the small dick references, and the under performance that he gives.

UGH I want to talk about *********. How just absolutely perfect he is. One of the best #bookboyfriends around. But I do not want to give a thing away.

I was completely happy that Amie didn't go all dark side after that humiliation. That she holds her own at every turn. Though having Gwendolyn get hers would have been nice too.

As with all great books, I want more. I want more beyond what there is. I don't want to come to my own conclusions about the future I want to "see" the future. I want beyond the HEA.

This really is only 3 stars as for me I found the story was ok but a little long drawn out and lacking in the humor you'd normally associate with an Helena Hunting book.
The story is based on a vendetor between Lex and Armstrong who are cousins and Amalie who meets them both at a party and gets herself caught up between the two of them over a matter of time. I found the story to be lacking in any real drama apart from the one obvious event in the story that changes Amalie's life and after that the story is just one long sexcapade while Amalie is in Bora Bora. I wanted to see a lot more drama from Armstrong if he is supposed to be that egotistical and uncaring and even though the sex scenes were hot I wanted there to be a lot more story going on in the background.
I will say that I would normally devour one of this authors books in a day and this one I had to keep coming back to it as it was slow at times and I would loose interest if I read it for too long. Not my favorite of Helena's books i'm afraid but I suppose you cant like them all.

Funny, sexy, and sweet.


A wedding that ends oh so wrong. A rebound that’s meant to only be a hook up. Falling in love again after being hurt in the worst way. An unstable ex who won’t let you move on. An island getaway. A hidden family feud. Angst. Fun. Sex.

If any of that sounds good to you, you should ABSOLUTELY read Hooking Up. I really enjoyed this story. It’s fun, but still also emotional. The hero has a bit of mystery surrounding him for readers of the first book. I have to keep his name secret (ohhhhhh) but I will say that I REALLY enjoyed him. He was the perfect book hero. Funny and take charge without it being OTT. He comes in exactly when Amalie needs him, and helps her through this cruddy place she is in.

The heroine, Amalie, is in a bad place during this book, and to be honest it was hard to get to know her outside of what the hero would claim about her. This story IS a standalone, but ties into the book that came before, Shacking Up. From other reviews I’ve read it seems you get to know the heroine a bit better in that book, so even though you don’t HAVE to read it. I recommend that you do, because maybe it will help you figure out Amalie’s motivations in this book a bit more. I actually plan to go back and read it, because Hooking Up was so well written, and such a perfect sexy romcom to read.

This book isn’t SAFE by the rule book of romance standards, but safe can sometimes be boring, and Hooking Up is anything but.

ARC provided through NetGalley

5 Awesome Stars

I read Getting Down in the Eye Candy anthology before diving into this so that I could get the full experience of the series. I loved the short story interim between Shacking Up and this book.

I was always curious about Anarchy Amie and why she was suppressing who she really was in the first book, which so concerned her childhood best friend, Ruby. You get to find out why in this installment. Though Amie's not too far off from who she is with Armstrong, she definitely learns to speak her mind again and be the woman she wants to be, instead of who someone else wants her to be.

Amie learns who Armstrong really is. Her blinders are taken off... and in a most embarrassing way. So she has to do a lot of soul searching, with the help of a special someone, to learn to trust herself and her instincts again.

One of the things I love the most is that Amie has been taking self-defense for a long time and she uses it in this book. I loved every moment of her standing up for herself.

I loved getting to see the progression in Bane and Ruby's story as well as Amie and her new special someone.

I'm hoping this isn't the last of these very funny and sweet couples.

What do you do when your husband is caught in a compromising position with someone else during your wedding reception? Do you run away and hide or do you latch onto the first male you see for revenge sex? But what happens when he won't have sex with you? This book had it all...great characters, a storyline that hooks you in from the first opening pages and parts that make you laugh, make you angry and make you cry. Once again, Helena Hunting writes a story that is a must read and that will not disappoint.

Shacking Up was a pleasant surprise for me. It was funny, witty and had a really sweet slow-burn romance. I was excited to find out that Amie, bff of the previous heroine, was getting her own book as her fiance was a dipshit. Hooking Up opens up at Amie's wedding during which her dipshit of a husband gets a blow-job, that gets broadcast over the loud-speaker. Hurt, and angry, Amie throws herself at Lexington, who proceeds to reject her ... but for gentlemanly reasons. Fast forward a few days, and Amie decides to go on her honeymoon solo and surprise surprise, guess who she finds out is also on his way to Bora Bora? Though I liked both Amie and Lexington quite a bit in Hooking Up, I wanted to love them more as a couple as I did Bane and Ruby in the previous book. The two have PLENTY of sexual chemistry together - seriously, so much so that they nearly burned up my Kindle with their sexy times tension - but I feel like we hardly got to see them connect on an emotional level? A good portion of Shacking Up was sex and don't get me wrong, I like some good sexy times scenes as much as any romance book lover out there, but I also read romance for the actual romance, so you know, the connection, the banter and the companionship. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much of that here. It was also missing the humor that I adored in Shacking Up. All that being said, I still found the book to be very much readable, mostly because I enjoyed Helena Hunting's smooth writing. If you don't mind a book that's more focused on the smut, then I definitely recommend this one.

Yes, Yep and Yeah Baby! I was anticipating this book so much, and it met my criteria for 5 stars completely. We first read about Amie and Lex in Shacking Up and got a little insight to when they first met. Then we got some extra teasers with Eye Candy and the Halloween Ball that is mentioned in this book. So I couldn't wait to read more, and I have affectionately renamed them Willy Wonka and Sexy Lexy!

Poor Amalie thought there wouldn't be any trouble being with a vanilla man and she wouldn’t embarrass her family again. Oh boy was she wrong. She could have been Anarchy Amie all along and had a lot more fun. It is funny how you can be the most confident woman, but with the wrong man can set you back and doubt your self worth. Regardless, I loved Amie in all her capacities. She was a charmer, dedicated and loyal woman who just wanted someone that she could revere with. I believe she would find that in Lexington if there wasn't so much baggage, and I am not talking about her bag of tricks. Lex has such a tender sole and I loved how he was a devoted family man who protects the ones he loves. He was also flirty with a dirty mouth! The chemistry was electric and I was drawn in with their banter and felt for them while douchebag Armstrong was playing games.

This is a standalone novel and I would even say a second change romance / rom-com. I would recommend you read Shacking Up as well, only because those characters are awesome as well. I have a feeling that the third Mills brother Griffin might be next in line with an Up book. Can not wait.

*I received a copy for an honest review.

<b>COVERGASM ALERT</b>

Holy hotness. That cover though?! I needed a hour to just take in the greatness!.

Moving on though.... know this review will be vague so there's no spoilers. Well at least not from me anyhow.

We know from the blurb that it's Amalie's story. I love her as a character she's fantastic! Relatable with human flaws but also funny sweet and a whole lotta saucy.

It's a rollercoaster Journey for her but I cant deny I enjoyed the hell outa that ride. Going into the story you get peak at how the main characters meet briefly before jumping headfirst into an explosive start. You feel the raw emotion immediately and my heart hurt for her but I also couldnt help but find humour in her reaction. That girl is a firecracker who needs to come a warning label cause when she kicks off you better run.

The story is packed full of emotions from anger and betrayal to smoking hot chemistry and endless amounts of laughter. You get craziness with garden sheers, awkwardly hilarious airport debacles and smoking hot lovings that will have you panting with need. Throw in a seriously disfunctional family, secret affairs and a fair few throw downs and y'all have your selfs a few hours of fictional bliss.

Its kind of forbidden, a good dose of disfunctional, a whole lotta hilarious and yes it's fucking hot. The story line is great with a few added surprises to keep things interesting. It's cute and a little angsty. I connected to the characters and there struggles. I rooted for their happiness and sighed in utter contentment at their ending. It's set at a great pace where nothing is rushed or misplaced. It's just an all round fabulous read. And I whole heartedly recommend it.

I kindly received this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hot and hilarious. Hooking Up was the escape I needed from more serious reads. At times you'll find yourself laughing out loud and others fanning yourself. You don't have to have read Shacking Up to enjoy this one, though they're related. Recommended for rom-com readers who like their romance on the racy side.

I very much enjoyed this story. I found the author’s writing style easy and pleasant to get into. There are some key themes of faithfulness in relationships, a steady character, and being empathetic with and vulnerable to your partner. The “villain” was satisfyingly unpleasant. The romance was tender yet heated. I thought there was much more growth and finding-of-self for the heroine, and the hero was a warm and strong anchor for her journey.

I absolutely loved Hooking Up by Helena Hunting.

First met Amalie in Shacking Up and I gotta say I hated her boyfriend Armstrong. He seemed like the worlds biggest dickhead and sure enough he is and then some.... So many times I wanted to junk punch him.

The very first chapter literally had me yelling obscenities and wanting to inflict bodily harm on multiple people. LOL And poor Amalie she definitely didn't deserve what happens to her in this book but at the same time I gotta say I am sort of glad it did, because she deserves so much more. Amalie was doing what she thought would be best for her and her family. But I felt like she was suppressing who she really was which is fiesty baddass and I loved that side of her the most.

But wait for it, because Lexington OH MY GAWD Lexington he is the full package. Bad boy on the outside deliciously sexy with tats that make your mouth water and on the inside his thoughtfulness will make your ovaries explode. He gets a bad rap IMO or is it rep I dunno lol but regardless he's not all that he is made out to be by others and to me he is the knight in shining Armour.

This book had me all excited for Amalie and Lex. If any deserved to have a happy ending IMO it is these two. Throughout this book these two are absolutely sinfully hot together. They compliment each other so well. The sex is amazing and the backdrop to their time together is nothing short of romantic.

Of course there are some issues that get in their way and it left me aching a bit as they are almost in a forbidden relationship so to speak. I found myself devouring this wanting to find out whether or not these two can get the ending they deserve.