Cherish Hard

Hard Play, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: After reading Rock Hard I was curious about Gabriel’s brothers and I’m so happy Ms Singh has decided to tell their stories.

The Characters:

Isalind Magdalena Rain-Stefansdottir: Isa’s upbringing was ridiculously/needlessly lonely being the only child of people who were much too involved in their own lives to be bothered by raising a child. She wasn’t abused and she was taken care of but she was neglected by her parents...horribly. As an adult Isa has taken on the role as caretaker for her younger siblings (one half sister, one step brother that was not let go after their parents separated) She never wants them to feel as she did growing up and dearly dreams of having a family of her own.

Sailor Bishop: Is not without his own demons. When he looks in the mirror he sees much of the man who left his family behind without a thought of their well being or a penny in the bank. This leaves Sailor with plans to make sure he is never that kind of man but when he meets Isa he realizes his plans are nothing without her love in his life.

Catie, Nanya, Harrlow, Jake, Gabriel

The Story:
Told in alternate points of view Isa and Sailor have a few run ins before they can become the couple they are destined to be. I’m glad Sailor had the tenacity to hold on throughout Isa’s insistence that they wouldn’t make it. I’m also glad he sees that is little caretaker also needs someone to take care of her.

The Random Thoughts:


The Score Card:

description
4 Stars

Romance isn't dead! Sailor Bishop certainly proves that in this all-new contemporary romance series by Nalini Singh. Oh, how I wish more men like Sailor existed in the world. This guy is completely swoon-worthy and the romantic part of him is just one among many that I loved about this guy.

Most 23 years olds could barely figure out what they want in life but not Sailor. He had his eyes set on building his very own landscaping business independently from the ground up.  It was as if nothing could deter him that is up until he caught glimpse of his spitfire - Isa Rain.

Isa Rain was just as driven as Sailor. She too had her life planned out and a man younger than she wasn't any part of it. This wasn't the only thing that was getting in the way of her plans -the family business, particularly her mother wanted so much more of her.

In Cherish Hard, we witness such an unlikely couple pursuing their dreams and aspirations and while at first, they were doing this on their own eventually they become an infallible team. What I loved most about this book was how important family was to both of them.

Overall, I thought Cherish Hard was a fantastic book. Nalini Singh is truly something else... it doesn't matter if she's writing urban fantasy, paranormal or contemporary romance you are bound to fall in love with the characters and their stories.

I love the whole Rock Kiss series but Rock Hard was definitely my favourite so I was thrilled when I found out that Nalini Singh was writing a spin off series about the rest of the Bishop/Esera brothers. They're such a tight-knit family so I was really looking forward to getting to know everyone better. If you've read Rock Hard then you'll have already met Sailor and Isa because Cherish Hard is actually set before Gabriel and Charlie's book but it was really fun to go back and see how they met and became a couple. It was also interesting to see a different side to Gabriel from back when he was still single and to get to know the other brothers a little better too.

Isa comes from a wealthy and very driven family and her mother is determined to see Isa follow in her footsteps and take over the family business. All Isa really wants is a peaceful life though, she'd much rather focus on her career as a teacher but her mother uses her younger siblings to emotionally manipulate her into doing what she wants her to. Sailor comes from a very different, much more supportive family, one who supports him and has helped him follow his dreams to become a landscape gardener. He's been so busy focusing on his business that he doesn't have time for romance but that all changes when he meets Isa and he's determined to prove to her how great they would be together.

This was such an enjoyable story, the romance between Isa and Sailor was really sweet and I liked that there wasn't much drama between them as a couple, any stresses on their relationship come from outside factors but they work together to deal with their issues and sort things out like sensible adults. I felt so sorry for Isa, her mother was such a nasty piece of work but luckily she had a great bond with her siblings. She was really like a replacement mother for them and I loved the way Sailor stepped up beside her to help them when they were in trouble. I also enjoyed seeing the Bishop/Esera clan welcome Isa and her family into the fold. I can't decide which brother's story I'm more excited about but I have a feeling I'm going to love them all so I guess it doesn't really matter!

Nalini Singh has been an auto-buy author for me ever since I got hooked on her Guild Hunter and Psy-Changeling series so I'm happy that her contemporary romances are just as brilliant as her paranormal ones.

I typically love Nalini Singh, but I actively had to fight my way through this book and it is hard to pin down why. I think, at first, the main character Isa was just a little too self-effacing and Sailor was a little too perfect.
Cherish Hard is the backstory to secondary characters from Singh's previous work, Rock Hard. Sailor is the younger brother of Gabriel, the hero of Rock Hard. Sailor is driven by a fear of failure and letting down his family, like his biological father did. He wants to expand his landscaping business and is willing to work night and day to make it happen. However he meets and falls for Isa Rain, the daughter of successful CEO's, who wants nothing to do with workaholics as she was basically abandoned as a child due to their ambition.
As I stated earlier, I had a lot of difficulty forcing my way through this book. I know romance typically is a wish fulfillment thing but by the time Sailor punched Isa's high school/college crush turned enemy I had to put it down. Plus there are some stylistic choices that keep throwing me off. The repetitiveness of descriptive words - hard hard - blue blue, started driving me crazy once I noticed them. I put the book in frustration and picked it up a few months later because I have difficulty not finishing books. I'm relatively glad I did because Isa started demonstrating some backbone and Sailor started showing relatable flaws but I don't think I'll be doing a re-read.

Review left on BN.com and Amazon.com as SJC Reviews

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
Sailor is determined to prove to himself and his family that he is nothing like his father. He will work himself to the bone and won’t let anything get in the way of his plan. But when he is approached by a beautiful redhead in the school parking lot and she kisses him silly, Sailor starts to think there might be room for more than just work. It is not until after she runs away that Sailor realizes that that was the woman who has been haunting his dreams for the last seven years. Thank goodness he is a patient man and knows where she works because he plans on picking up where they left off.
Both Sailor and Ísa are sweet and determine. They bring out the best in each other and show each other that sometimes love isn’t hard if you don’t fight it. I really enjoyed Cherish Hard and I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & The Knight Agency in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Nalini Singh is a new to me author and I can’t wait to read more of her work. Cherish Hard was the perfect book for me to start with. I am kicking myself for not reading a book by this author sooner.

If you’re like me and love a good romance this one is for you. It was a sweet, lighthearted read that will pull you in from page one. Isa is ready to find a man who will love her and start a family of her own. She can’t seem to keep her eye off the gardener.

Sailor has always dreamed of having a successful landscaping business. After a kiss from a sexy red head he wants more. He is the kind of man who takes charge and goes after what he wants.

I loved all the characters in this book. If your looking for a sweet romance this is the book for you. It will have you swooning! I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Sailor get blown away by the hot curvy redhead who just kisses him and then takes off while he is working at a school. After several chance encounters Sailor convince Isa to give him a chance to be the man she needs. Isa has always had to be the parent to her step siblings and is looking for the person to make her fell she is the center of his world.
Singh creates the world of the Bishop-Eseara brothers that makes you want the next one. Her world building makes me want to visit New Zealand to see it for myself.

This tells the story of Sailor and Isa. They have briefly met years before at a party where Isa got brutally dumped. But when they meet again and reconnect, it’s almost fusional.

The characters were ok. I liked Isa a lot more than I liked Sailor but they were both pretty okay. I also really liked the side story with Isa’s best friend.
The beginning of the story was pretty interesting and I was feeling pretty excited to read this.
However, it ended up being pretty underwhelming.
The story didn’t live up to my expectations. The romance fell flat pretty fast and I could barely feel the spark anymore, it started to annoy me even and I often found myself skimming the sex scenes… I think maybe it lacked drama... or something?
I don’t know… Except how bored and disappointed I ended up...

Sailor and Isa each have their own hang-ups from their childhoods and birth parents. They spend a lot of time trying to prove themselves or navigate their still tenuous parental situation. When they run into each other and have an instant attraction, they must determine if this is something worth compromising on. Their chemistry is awesome; Ms. Singh knows what she's doing! Loved this book and continue to LOVE this author.

Nalini Singh is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her books are auto-buys for me. She can publish her grocery list and I'll most likely buy it. I've been with her throughout the 17 books long (and counting) Psy-Changeling series, since the Guild Hunter series, and I was with her all the way when she wrote her first contemporary romance series called Rock Kiss featuring sexy rockstars. And now we have Cherish Hard, the first book in her brand-new contemporary series, and yep, here I am.

First thing I have to mention is Nalini Singh's writing style. She has a very distinct way of writing, certain turns of phrase, a unique way of describing something, and you know right away you're reading a Nalini Singh novel. I adore her writing style, which makes me enjoy the overall story all the more.

Cherish Hard is a spin-off of the second book in the Rock Kiss series, Rock Hard. In Rock Hard we met my book husband Gabriel Bishop, and his family. Gabriel has three younger brothers, and they will be the focus of the Hard Play series. We start with Sailor Bishop. When we met him in Rock Hard he was already happily married to Ísa and they have the most adorable daughter. Cherish Hard takes us way back to before they got married, to the night Bishop first sets his eyes on Miss Ísa Rain. To the worst night of her life.

Ísa was publicly dumped by her douchebag boyfriend in front of all their classmates at a party. Bishop, who was a couple of years younger than her and was at the same party, had been checking out Ísa and noticed her abrupt departure. He goes after her but didn't catch up to her. Fast forward years later, and they reconnect once more at the parking lot where Isa works with a passionate kiss between two strangers and the story takes off from there.

I really enjoyed Ísa and Sailor's characters. They were well fleshed out, and I like them as individual characters and as a couple. I especially liked Ísa character because at first meeting she comes off as soft and inexperienced, a wide-eyed innocent (really, this is typical of Nalini's heroines), but then, the more you get to know her you see the steel beneath the seemingly soft exterior. Ísa may be inexperienced when it comes to sex and love, but she's no pushover. She does care a lot about her siblings, which her mom, a formidable businesswoman, had no problem exploiting to get Ísa to do what she wants. As for Sailor, he had a goal and a vision for his landscaping business and he's going to work his hardest to get there, which involved pitching his business proposition to, who turned out to be, Ísa's mom. Forced by Ísa's mom to work in her company, Ísa and Sailor found themselves in very close quarters and having to work together.

Watching Ísa and Sailor's romance develop was wonderful. I especially liked the later half of the book when they had to spend more time together and their romance finally gets going after some false starts. Of course, things get very steamy between these two.

Cherish Hard is a fantastic start to this new series. I am so excited to read about Sailor's other brothers. When I first met them in Rock Hard I had hoped that Bishop's rugby-playing brothers will get their own books and here we are! Thanks Nalini! It was great getting more insight into Bishop and Sailor's family because their love for each other and their camaraderie was one of my favorite things from Cherish Hard. Nalini Singh really does family and showing the love between the members really well and you, as a reader, just want to be part of this family unit too.

Cherish Hard was a win for me. If you haven't had a chance to check out Nalini's contemporary romances yet, I think Cherish Hard is a good place to start.

I have chosen not to review this title. As always, I appreciate the opportunity.

Thanks,
Laura

The story was very good it had many different ideas and the way Ms Singh was able to work them out to give us a happen ending was very impressive. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. The only problem I had with the story was I wanted to know what happened to her best friend story. The story was too short.

3.5/5




This review may sound a little awkward
I mean, it’s Nalini Singh, so I had really, really high expectations!

That’s maybe the reason I give this book “only” a 3.5 stars

It was well written, it was sweet, and also quite poetic, I just wished it would have been hotter or “filthier”…

Maybe I was in the mood of something more angsty or filthy, or smutty, I don’t know…
I expected more “steamy” stuff and less “sweety” prose.

But I have no doubts this book will have a great success, because you just can’t deny Nalini’s talent.

I just needed a less “sweet and poetic” read, and an Heroin I could connect more with…I often wanted to grab Isa and shake her a little…I almost got bored with her trusting issues… And there was a little too much family drama sometimes.

On another hand, Sailor was just perfect. He may have saved the whole story for me.

All in all, a sweet and poetic read, but I expected more from this amazing author.

This reviewer is trying to cherish her romantic reading time a whole lot more lately. For that reason, I consider it more valuable and am trying not to waste it. So I’ll get right to it and be blunt to save us both time. The writing here was not as good as I expected. I also didn’t find the characters rationale at times all that sound, nor their actions particularly credible. (I.e., the heroine is shy but she is going to go skinny dipping at a party in an effort to become “unshy”.) I wanted to tap her on the shoulder and say, “Don’t be stupid, honey. Just be yourself. Getting arrested for public nudity isn’t the answer to your problems. Besides, regardless what the TV shows says...Orange isn’t the new black. You’d look awful in an orange jumpsuit.”

Then there is the scene where they haven’t even spoken yet, but she’s just been ogling the hero via a window. Then almost agrees to have random sex with him in the backseat of his pick-up as she walks by him to get to her car. They were strangers at that point, btw.

At the words, “She was starting to really, really like Sailor. Not just his body. Him.”, I was very skeptical about continuing, because I was completely dumbfounded how the heroine could think that when she had not spent any significant time with him. He was unrealistically charmed/obsessed/infatuated with her, after not even technically meeting her seven years ago. Sound romantic? Well, oddly, I just didn’t find it so. Again, she didn’t know him well enough to like him more than just for those eye candy, manly muscles, folks. At least not at 22% when she uttered that mental monologue to herself. Sure, they were both sweet characters, but I just wasn’t overly connecting with this romantic tale, which is a dang shame since he was a doting/caring kind of man. The whiny, always calling in a ridiculous panic best friend didn’t help matters. She needed to woman up and solve her own problems.

Here’s to hoping others really enjoy it. At 30%, I felt I was forcing myself to read. At nearly 70%, I couldn’t justify continuing, despite the heroine now coming across as savior of everyone else’s person woes. So together she could teach, run a corporate board room, etc. So why was she portrayed stupid and shy in the beginning? Her earlier portrayal now just doesn’t make sense. I agree with others who were quite fond of the hero. I just needed more of an intriguing storyline.

Title: Cherish Hard, Series: Play Hard (Book 1), Author: Nalini Singh, Pages: 372.

(I received a free advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No type of compensation was given to this reviewer. There is no relationship or affiliation between the reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

I had the luck opportunity to read the whole Rock Kiss series and my favorite favorite book of the series was Rock Hard. After that book all I wanted was the rest of Gabriel's brother's to get their stories. And here is one about Sailor, Gabriel's younger brother!

Sailor Bishop is in the process of getting his landscape business off and running. All he needs to do is land a deal with the crafty giant to landscape their new idea. He has a plan and a goal and he will not be distracted. Until a fiery woman from his past kisses him in the parking lot and disappears. Isalind Rain loves poetry, her siblings and does not want to be invovled in the family business. After years of back and forth her CEO mother blackmails Isa into being the VP of her company for the summer. When Isa randomly kisses the hot gardener at her school, she turns both their lives upside down.

Isa and Sailor are super cute. Isa's parent's are super successful in their professions and both have been married multiple times, so she has several siblings that have been acquired in her family. She will do anything to take care of them because of the neglect from her parents. So Isa is an awesome person. She tries not to smother her little sister and takes on her mother over her brother. She doesn't like conflict but she will do it to take care of the people she loves. She is ready to settle down and worries that because Sailor is younger than her, he's not.

I liked that Sailor was not Gabriel. He can be just as demanding but it a different way. I loved everything about him, how he had a crush on Ísa at sixteen, how hard he fought to be with her even when she ran from him not one, but three times, determined to win his redhead even if it meant chasing her down again. He has a couple moments of idiocy but he figure it out all by himself and makes changes. I liked how he takes care of Isa because she's taking care of other people.

This book had a great cast of secondary characters. I loved Ísa’s siblings and we got to see more Sailor’s family, who is amazing with little Jake and Danny. Also Gabriel pre Charlie-mouse. I also really enjoyed the secondary romance between Isa's best friend, Nayna and Sailor's friend Raj and I wish we could have gotten a book for them. They are funny and cute.

I loved this so much that I immediately started Rock Hard for a reread. Can't wait for the next book.

<a href="http://nalinisingh.com">Nalini Singh</a> has a new spin-off from her <a href="http://bookbinge.com/reviews/series/rock-kiss/">Rock Kiss</a> series called the <a href="http://bookbinge.com/reviews/series/hard-play/">Hard Play</a> series and Cherish Hard is the first book. It features Gabriel Bishop's younger brother, Sailor Bishop and Sailor is out to get the girl that got away from him when he was 16 years old and she was running away from a party.

Years later, Sailor runs into that same pretty redhead at her place of employment and a second chance presents itself...he's not going to let her get away a second time. He's busy as hell trying to build up his landscaping company but sometimes life hands you a love that you just have to find room in your life for.

Isa is a grown adult these days and a far cry from the humiliated young girl she used to be but when she hears from her ex-boyfriend that did the humiliating back in college, she's thrown and then she throws herself at the sexy landscaper on her walk to her car after work. Once that happens, her life changes big time.

Nalini Singh really shines at writing paranormal romance and she's really doing her thing on the contemporary romance front as well. I have enjoyed every single book that I've read by this author and after reading this one, I'm super anxious for more. I'm crossing my fingers that we won't have a long wait for Nanya and Raj's book and I'm also really excited that we're going to be getting a diverse romance from Singh. I just know that she's going to knock their romance out of the park and I'm so here for it.

But back to Sailor and Isa. What a sweet romance theirs turned out to be. I enjoyed getting to know both Isa and Sailor and seeing them overcome their insecurities and finding a way to be together despite their doubts.

Sailor was a great hero who just kept getting better and better as I turned each page. I loved his determination to be better than his father and set his own mark on the world without the help of his friends or family. He had goals and a dream of building something on his own and that was admirable. I loved seeing him try to figure out how to have it all. The business, the family and the love. It wasn't an easy ride and he spent a lot of time trying to convince Isa that they belonged together and when all was said and done, I was super thrilled that all of his hard work paid off.

Isa had a lot of things that she was dealing with over the course of the book. She had parents who were never really parents to her and she was doing her best to keep her family together by forcing her parents to act like parents to her younger siblings. She was her sibling's champions and I loved that Sailor saw how she spent so much time taking care of everyone in her world and he wanted to be the one to take care of her.

Nalini Singh wrote another wonderfully entertaining romance about two people who wound their way right into my heart and set up shop. I'm super excited about the next book and am wondering who else will get their stories told. I'm hopeful for the teenagers in this series to grow up and get their stories told because Isa's sister and Sailor's brother? I'm low key shipping them.

I seriously want Singh to write forever and ever. She has the writer's touch and I just love her work to pieces. I definitely recommend this one, it's a good one.

<strong>Grade: 4 out of 5</strong>

Such a great beginning for a new series!I enjoyed it a lot, it was sweet and cute! Cherish Hard made my heart swoon!!

“I’m no poet, Ísa. I can’t give you fancy words. But I know what we have is special. It’s worth a fight.”

Isa and Sailor meet or just pass each other when Isa is at her bottom and that flash of the moment meeting becomes an unforgettable one for Sailor. Years later they see each other again and this time Sailor is not letting her go. Both Isa and Sailor are so dedicated to their families and dedicated to each other.For such a young man, Sailor was smart and determined and I loved that he was easily intimidated by strong women. I admired the fact that he was willing to work hard to get what he wanted out of life and didn’t want to depend on anyone else for help.

It's not a surprise now when I say that Nalini Singh is my top favourite author because I say it every chance I get. I had been waiting on the edge of my seat for this book/series as soon as I read about Bishop's siblings in Rock Hard. Sailor and Isa are introduced in Rock Hard and I instantly wanted to read their story, so I was very grateful to hear that Nalini Singh announced that there were going to be more books for the siblings as well!

Isa is an heiress to her mother's company. But she doesn' want to be the CEO of the company, all she wants is to do settle down and live a simple life. I loved Isa's character because she was so strong and in spite of being an heiress and rich, she had a heart of an angel. Her character was very relatable. She loves her stepbrother and half-sister deeply. No parents issues involved in her love and dedication to them.

Sailor wants to turn his landscape services into a proper business and he is ready to work hard for it. He never wants money to be a problem because he was scared in his childhood by his father because of the money. I loved his character because he is so mature and understanding despite being young. He lives a simple life. He loves his family and loves his work.

Isa and Sailor meet or just pass each other when Isa is at her bottom and that flash of the moment meeting becomes an unforgettable one for Sailor. Years later they see each other again and this time Sailor is not letting her go. Both Isa and Sailor are so dedicated to their families and dedicated to each other. Sailor was the best, he was so good with Isa's sister and his own siblings. He is completely and irrevocably in for Isa. He is ready to do anything for her and Isa for him. Despite the age difference, both characters were very mature and understanding. It was amazing to see them fall in love. The storyline, the writing and the characters everything was perfect.

I always love it when guys grovel after making a mistake and I am always complaining when they don't grovel enough BUT I discovered that I love it when there is no such situation only to begin with. The guy doesn't have to grovel if he doesn't make any mistake, Sailor realises where he's headed with his desire to work nonstop and just handles a certain situation so well, the U-turn away from the cliche and all the drama was the best scene ever! Communication is the key people! Gabe won my heart in the first chapter itself and so did Sailor! These brothers know the way to a girl's heart!

I loved reading about Isa and Sailor's families. Meeting all the family members was fun, I want some more of those Bishop camping scenes. I just feel like visiting New Zealand and seeing all the places mentioned in the book myself for real. I can't wait for the next books in this series and I already have some tentative pair in my mind too! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sweet romance. This book can be read as a standalone.


*Thanks to the author for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.*

CHERISH HARD is the first book in a spin off of the Rock Kiss series and Ms. Singh is such an auto-buy author for me that I didn’t even bother reading the blurb for this. Once I cracked it open, imagine my surprise that this book features the brother of my favorite hero from the original series and I believe we may even see the rest of the Bishop siblings find their HEAs in this new series! Beyond ecstatic! FYI this is set back in time a bit because Gabriel Bishop is not the successful entrepreneur (or even rugby player) that we know him to be in the Rock Kiss series. All that being said, you don’t have to read that series to enjoy this so, jump right in if you want.

This starts out with Sailor Bishop at sixteen, sneaking into a college party and being mesmerized by the beautiful redhead dating one of the rugby players. And while he’s salivating for the older chick, her boyfriend breaks up with her quite publicly and she flees not giving him much of a chance to even get her name. Now years later, he’s running his own landscaping business and has no time for women. Except when he runs into said redhead who’s working at a school he has a contract with.

Nalini Singh knows how to write heroes that will melt your heart. Whether they’re of the uber-alpha variety or the guy next door. In this one, she writes the perfect real guy in the perfect real romance. While this wasn’t a cookie-cutter relationship and there’s many things about them that stand out, the relationship and the progression between Sailor and Isa felt real. He’s just an everyday kinda guy trying to make his business a success to give his family a better life. Isa is a woman that has had to overcome a lot of personal issues. Body image, family acceptance and love, wanting to make something of her life on her own and following her own path. I think there are admirable things about both of them and it was nice to see them let go with each other and have the others’ support.

I’m also a sucker for a good younger man story and while the age difference between them isn’t huge, I still loved that it was addressed and how Sailor’s confidence blasted right through it. Because while there are many things I loved about Sailor, including his sexy thigh tattoo and his romantic cactus presents, his confidence was drawing me in like a beacon.

This book will make you smile and will make you swoon. You won’t be able to resist its calling! And I, for one, I’m anxious to get more in this new series.

It's been a while since I lost myself in a Nalini Singh book. I'll need to rectify after being blown away by this gem I dove into.


Sailor was a book hero that is everything I'm looking for. He's first of all totally loyal to everyone he cares about. He's strong, capable and dependable. He's sexy like you can't even imagine..





Isa was sucked in by his intense magnetism and these two danced an inevitable waltz that took them to the most precious hea you'd ever want.



There were way more than one love connection going on. There's all the family members on both sides. So many personalities and various depths of familial conflict and unwavering support. The Dragon, Jacqueline, well I'm not sure what to think. She was someone I really couldn't understand. But by the end she grew a bit and it all worked out.


Isa was truly one amazing heroine and Sailor cherished her exactly like she deserved.
What I loved SO MUCH was that Sailor's brother Gabriel is the hero in
Rock Hard

See My Review HERE
and if you haven't read that book
YOU NEED TO NOW!
I really plan on moving more of this authors books up my tbr. Especially if they have loyal heroes with low drama.
Wonderful romantic and sexy read.


#SafeRead #PerfectHero