t's been a while since I've read a publication from Helena Hunting but her unmistakable style is evident from the beginning.

I love Amelie. What woman wouldn't expect fidelity from her husband? But to be so brutally and publicly betrayed, especially on your wedding day...well Amelie is not prepared to accept her husband, or his betrayal without fighting back.

In her fight back, on her non-honeymoon, she 'hooks-up' with a desirable, attractive man who sees to her every need. Not only does he manage to fulfil her sexual desires, he's also attentive and sweet outside the bedroom. A holiday romance you could say.

The storyline is fairly predictable in that Armstrong, the douchebag husband, tries to win back the affection of his 'wife'. She holds strong though and doesn’t break under the immense pressure she's being put under by him and his lawyers.

The holiday and its romance are over, but Amelie and her 'holiday fling' both have difficulty in coming to terms with the end of their relationship. Could it possibly work away from the sun-kissed Bora Bora?

The journey to her HEA is passionate, funny and downright cruel in places but Armstrong, you can be rest assured gets what's coming to him and so do Amelie and her hero.

I'll definitely be going back to read the story of Amelie's best friend and her fiance.

A must read for Helena Hunting fans for sure!

Yet another super book from Helena Hunting and this one gave me all the feels and all the laughs. There were some moments that had me cracking up, and although the situation Amie found herself in wasn't really very funny at the start of the story, the author manages to mix everything just right!!

If you've read 'Shacking Up', you will know we met her in that book. She's the best friend of Ruby. Amie is engaged to Armstrong and we meet her at their wedding. A wedding that has all happened rather quickly but as we see in the book it doesn't quite go to plan. And oh my, Armstrong is the worst character ever... The further throughout the book you read, the more and more you will despise him!!! Ugh!

Lexington (who is Armstrong's cousin - and biggest rival!!) is a wonderful swoonworthy character, and a brilliant hero I this story. He's thoughtful, kind, considerate and pretty darn hot too! The way the two characters come together in this story is sweet and sexy, with some brilliant humour throughout which really will have you laughing out loud.

And also, let me add, there is some serious heat and passion in this book too!! Oh my word these two main characters are PERFECT for each other, both inside the bedroom and out! *fans self*

This is a must read book, for all fans of Helena Hunting, new or old... This can be read as a standalone.

If you had a chance to read Shacking Up then you know exactly who are Amalie and this book's beau, Lex, are. If you don't, now that is completely fine because the books are designed to be standalone. How do I know this? Well because I didn't read it before picking up Hooking Up. 

What drew me to the book was the blurb (ok it was really the cover but really who doesn't get sidetracked by a good cover). Who doesn't enjoy a good wedding drama, escaping mistakes, and dabbling in a whole lot of forbidden love & attraction in a book? I did... do(?)! Which is EXACTLY what we get in this book. Amelie and Lex attraction burns through the pages and if I wasn't reading this book on kindle but paperback then I'm pretty sure the pages wold turn smoke up or even burn up. I often do get a bit bored while reading the hook up parts and occasionally skip ahead but I found Helena Hunting's imagination refreshing. Just for that Helena gets 5-Beans from me!

Overall, Amelia & Lex's work towards their HEA was painful to read through. I'm not kidding it was actual work! However, the love birds knew just what was at stake to make their HEA come true.

The secondary characters do deserve a mention as they are the reason why I am going back to Shacking Up to read Amelia's bffs' love journey with Lex's little brother.

So please do yourself a favor and pick up Helena Hunting's latest book ASAP. Enjoy!

Yes, this is fiction: Hot guy running a high-end hotel empire and gorgeously curvy gal doing runaway bride from psycho (she never saw it coming... pun intended) groom is a stretch in real life, but you'll be rooting for what should've been our main couple all the way. I was quickly into the book with it's fun dialogue and tone, which made every time I had a chance to get back where I left off in my NetGalley copy, a happy reunion.

great chemistry. well written. Amie and Lex one of the sweetest couples I've read in a while.

Loved this book. Anarchy Amie is strong after what happens at her wedding and makes the best out of an awful situation. Some hot and crazy sex helps too. Amie made the right choice to go to Bora Bora after her disaster of a reception. If it is true that what happens in vegas stays in vegas it definitely is true about Bora Bora.

Armstrong is still the awful man he was in the other two books, but this story gives you more background of his youth. Even with everything you learn, you still dont wish him well.

Thank you Helena Hunting for another great book. Each one I read just gets better and better.

Helena Hunting created a sweet, horrific, funny tale in Hooking Up.  Amalie is delightful.  She's smart and sexy and full of contradicting behaviors.  Too many bad decisions motivate her to make a good one for a change.  Marry the guy everyone thinks is a great catch but ignore a serious lack of compatibility, especially sexually, and become a different person to please this man.  From the outside, she's got a great life and has even convinced herself she's happy.  It takes the worst humiliation to wake her up.

The book will make you laugh, an entire suitcase of sex toys at the airport security screening, for instance, and you'll cry and sigh.  The characters are very well defined and perfectly likable or despicable as required.  I so wanted to see Amalie find her happiness with a guy who fit with her and made her happy.  Lexington was yummy.  He's sexy, hotter than heck and so dang nice to Amalie.  I wanted him for myself!

I can recommend this delightful book to any reader especially those that love a happily ever after ending.

reviewed by Jem

3.5 stars. Sexy read that could have been cliche, but surprisingly wasn't. Revenge sex leads to revenge love and acceptance. It takes a minute for the characters to come around but you can't blame them. Normally I would be annoyed but everything just makes sense, as much as it can in a world where the groom would do what he did in earshot of the entire wedding party. Worth a read.

I love a good book that involves wedding but with a wedding starting off like Amalie Whitfield’s? Maybe not so much… well, at first… It was supposed to be the day of her dreams, a momentous occasion that she would remember forever. She would remember alright but not at all in a positive light.

It was a complete debacle of mega proportions. Her marriage didn’t even last a day but it sure did provide an amazing opportunity for better things to happen. What amazing-ness you might ask? Two words. Lexington Mills.

Good grief, I can not even begin to tell you how much I adored this man. If anyone could get Amalie out of her slump it would definitely be a guy like Lex. Attractive, charming, passionate, intelligent and driven – and can tolerate Amie crazy, what more can I woman ask for?

I loved these two (almost) together. The covert sneaking around sure made the affair that much more explosive but in the end, it was great to see how their relationship evolved as it was meant to be from the very start.

Again, I can not compliment Helena Hunting enough for delivering such an entertaining, laughing out loud, light-hearted, beautifully written RomCom. Needing some good ol’ laughs with your romance, choose this one!

3.75 Stars

Well I have to say I think this book was more steamier then Shacking Up. Now we have Ruby’s bestie, Amie, who is engaged to the brat known as Armstrong, who is Bane’s cousin. As we know the wedding doesn’t go as planned and Amie takes off on her honeymoon alone but she doesn’t stay alone for long.

I enjoyed this story and the feels because there were a lot of feels. I wanted to punch Armstrong so much throughout the entire book, if I’m being honest I wanted to punch him when we were introduced to him in Shacking Up. Poor Amie went through a lot and luckily for her she had very nice hottie to help her out.

Book Review

Title: Hooking Up
Series: Standalone
Author: Helena Hunting
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
Cliff Hanger: No

4.5 Stars

*This story is for mature audiences only. Contains explicit scenes and language intended for adults 18+

Synopsis:
Amalie Whitfield is the picture of a blushing bride during her wedding reception–but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of proclaiming his undying love, her husband can be heard, by Amalie and their guests, getting off with someone else. She has every reason to freak out, and in a moment of insanity, she throws herself at the first hot-blooded male she sees. But he’s not interested in becoming her revenge screw.

Mortified and desperate to escape the post-wedding drama, Amalie decides to go on her honeymoon alone, only to find the man who rejected her also heading to the same tiny island for work. But this time he isn’t holding back. She should know better than to sleep with someone she knows, but she can’t seem to resist him.

They might agree that what happens on the island should stay on the island, but neither one can deny that their attraction is more than just physical.

Filled with hilariously scandalous situations and enough sexual chemistry to power an airplane from New York City to the South Pacific, Hooking Up is the next standalone, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from Helena Hunting, the New York Times bestselling author of the Pucked series and Shacking Up

My Thoughts:
I really loved this story! I thought I enjoyed Shacking Up, but this story has it beat it! This book can be read as a standalone, but if you get a chance, read Shacking Up to get Ruby (Amalie’s best friend) and Bancroft’s (Lexington’s brothers) story. They are terrific and hilarious secondary characters. The names in this book are awesome!

I laughed so much! What a disaster and awkwardly funny wedding reception! Amalie had met Lexington at a social event, he was charming, flirty and gorgeous. He looked like the bad boy that she always fell for. She needed to stay away, but she agreed to have a drink with him. When he went to bar, Armstrong (Lexington’s cousin) steps up and asks Amalie to dance after he bad mouths Lexington. He tells Amalie that Lex is no good and soon after Amalie starts her relationship with Armstrong. She thought he was husband material. Good job, not a bad boy, from a prominent family, but boy did she get it wrong. Lexington has watched her from afar and felt he missed his chance, until that fateful day at her wedding reception when her new husband was overheard over the PA system having sex with someone other than his new bride. Chaos ensued, cue the hilarity. Amalie escapes to Bora Bora for her unhoneymoon by herself. Guess what? Fate stepped in again. To get away from all the family drama, Lexington heads to Bora Bora for business and he is sitting next to Amalie. Sparks begin fly! Talk about hot chemistry!

Okay I can’t say anymore. There is so much going on in the story. It’s such a funny, sweet, tender, heartbreaking, and anger inducing story! I loved every page. Amalie is such a great character. She is sassy, strong and when she gets on a roll it’s anarchy Amie. I absolutely adored Lexington! He is everything Amalie could have ever dreamed of except she was still married to a man who only thinks about himself. Armstrong wouldn’t sign the annulment papers and is obnoxious! I wanted to reach through my iPad and throttle him on more than one occasion. This book had me from the start and I couldn’t put it down. I read until the wee hours of the morning. It really was that good!

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an honest review.

A hot and sexy laugh out loud read. This was an amazing Helena Hunting book. If you are a big fan of her hockey series then you will highly enjoy this one. I mean who wouldn't when it comes to her writing. I loved this one. Amie is sexy and sassy. Every bit as loveable as she was in Shacking Up where you first meet her. I love that you get a little bit of Ruby and Bane from Shacking Up in this one. You start to wonder why she never truly sees Armstrong clearly until.....Yep not saying it. Also wowza I'll take mister Hottie Hook Up any day. Hooking Up is an amazing read you really can't go wrong with this one.

I went into this book thinking it would be hard to top the awesomeness that was Shacking Up and boy was I wrong! This book had me completely hooked right from the first chapter - I couldn’t put it down, the drama, the emotions, the absolutely amazing chemistry and the Forbidden nature of the story made it the very best kind of read! 5 stars doesn’t do it justice!

3.5-4 stars

Hooking Up was an enjoyable read. It was funny, it was sweet, it was sexy. The chemistry between Amie and the hero was over the top. He was just the perfect man for her. They were so good together and I enjoyed every moment they shared. The interactions and banter were great. I loved the hero-he really made the book for me. Just the best sigh. There were definite laugh out loud moments, ones that had me smiling and swooning, and ones that had me not so happy. I also enjoyed seeing Ruby and Bane from Shacking Up in the story-with the connection it made sense and definitely made it more great. There were parts that it did drag for a bit but overall this was an entertaining story that I really liked.

WOW!!! Hooking Up is one of my favorite romantic comedies! I knew I was in for a treat from the very first pages of the book. One decision Amie makes at a party will influence the rest of her life. She decides to go out with Armstrong instead of Lex. Not one of her better decisions. Her heart will be broken, but fate will intervene and her heart has the potential of being put back together again if she will just trust it.

I LOVED these characters. I simply adored Lex, and it wasn’t just his drop dead good looks. When I first met him, I like Amie, thought he was just a flirt and playboy. We were both so very wrong. He is a flirt, and OMG, he can be downright dirty. What made him irresistible to me was his capacity to love. That is evident in his relationship with his family, especially his mother. Once he gives his heart to someone, it’s theirs. Lucky for Amie, it’s hers if she will accept it.

Amie is someone I would want as my best friend. This woman is HILARIOUS, beautiful, and intelligent. I wanted to kill Armstrong, her husband, for hurting her the way he did. However, I felt like he did her a favor. She became another person when she was with him. She became someone she thought her parents would approve of and someone to make Armstrong look better. That is no who she is…she is full of color, and with Armstrong, she lost her vibrancy. After the wedding fiasco and her trip to Bora Bora, she begins to find her old self and possibly someone even better. Yes, she embraced her Anarchy Amie side again, but she also has a sweet side. Lex appreciated everything that made Amie who she was.

“I don’t ever want you to feel tethered in this life again. I just want to keep your heart safe, baby.” ~Amie

OMG!!! There were so many hilarious scenes! The airport scene was priceless!!!! I haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time. While there was a lot of humor within the pages, there was also a lot of emotional times as well. Lex and Armstrong’s competitiveness was hard to read at times, especially when Amie became in Armstrong’s game. Amie and Lex were unsure of who they were supposed to be. Lex was attempting to prove himself as a responsible adult to his father, and Amie had to do some soul-searching to discover who she really was, not someone her parents thought she should be. The decisions she made concerning her relationships were heavily influenced by her parent’s marriage. Together, she and Lex figured out who they were meant to be as a couple and as individuals. I’m certainly glad I got to take this trip with them.

***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***

Hooking Up is one of those rare books that is hilarious, heart warming, and a wee bit raunchy.

It's impossible to go wrong with a book by Hunting and Hooking Up had a lot going right with it.

I loved the character of Amalie. She is spirited and smart and attempting whole heartily to successfully adult. Of course, to be a responsible adult it's important for one to suppress an overabundance of moxie. Her attempt at tailoring her behavior and choices to be a more acceptable daughter leads to heartache and humiliation at the hands of her seemingly perfect boyfriend. As any fan of true crime can tell you, a guy who seems to have everything going for him can still be a sociopath.

Amalie's hero was likable and well written as well. He was charming and thoughtful and a balm to getting betrayed by her jackass ex. I enjoyed Amalie's journey of getting over her ex and falling in love with her hero and felt like they both deserved their happily ever after.

This is a great book for anyone who needs a pick me up or for any fan of contemporary romance.

I was eagerly anticipating this book and I was not disappointed! Amelia was a fun, no-holds barred kind of person once she escapes the clutches of her evil husband. I truly enjoyed the journey of self-discovery and Amelia's zero tolerance for shaming and penchant for fun. Once she jets off to her own honeymoon, she meets her an unlikely companion and I was living for their bantering. It was hot chemistry and sparks flew. The antics were there and I just wish it was longer.
This is a good read for readers looking for a romance pick me up.

There is a LOT of hooking up going on in this book. A fair share of sexy times, for sure. Poor Amalie, humiliated in the worst of ways and left to pick up the pieces. Her ex is certainly a douchenozzle, too. Wow, Helena can write a seriously unlikeable character.

Anyways, so this is partly a story about her overcoming all this and learning to listen to her heart. And also a story about hooking up and it turning into so much more. It's funny, sexy, and quite an entertaining read.

The main love interest she is with is way sweeter and genuine than anyone gives him credit for. I loved these two together. This was enjoyable and can be read as a stand alone but also goes well after reading Shacking Up.

Wow! This book had the perfect mix of humor, romance and hot sexy love scenes. Amie was meant to be together with her special someone so with time, a little bit of luck and fate stepping in they found their way past some rough times right into each others arms. Helena Hunting has a wonderful way of letting the reader feel the emotions that her characters are experiencing.

This book is nearly the perfect romance. The only thing that could have made it better for me would have been a longer ending to see a little more of their HEA. Maybe we will see them again in the next book.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy provided by St. Martin Press/NetGalley.