I am a big fan of this author duo and was looking forward to reading this book by them. Not to mention pretend couple is one of my favorite tropes. I really liked Ben. He was just a little too nice and a little naïve. It wasn’t really explained that he was kind of shy until late in the book so it was a little weird to me. I really liked Ryan too. She is a survivor. I really liked her as a person. On the surface and in the story, Ben and Ryan are a couple that I could really see together. Just something was missing in this book for me. It didn’t have the usually Elizabeth Hayley spark I like. I did like the conflict and resolution to this story, even with Ben and his brother though I think David is a douche. I was really engaged in the story but it was just missing something for me. I still think this was a good book and would recommend it to a friend.

Reviewed by Kini
Favorite Quote:

This kiss was a promise— a promise that there could be more. That their story didn’t have to only be about a hockey player and an escort. It could be about Ben and Ryan. And that would be more than enough. It would, in fact, be everything.

The blurb for this book got me with it’s description of a fake romance, one of my favorite tropes. Also at first glance I thought this was a male/male book because the MC’s are named Ryan and Ben, but Ryan is a woman.

Ben, is a professional hockey player, and is in need of a date to his brother’s wedding. His family doesn’t fully approve of his career and his mother likes to meddle in his dating life. Obviously the best option is to find and hire an escort to go to the wedding with him. His friends suggest they go to the strip club because strippers are also escorts, at least according to one of his friends. Ben isn’t a fan of this idea but gets dragged to the club anyway. Pretty quickly he decides the idea is stupid and makes plans to call an escort service the next day.

Our heroine Ryan is down on her luck. She is working at a strip club as a waitress but doesn’t like the way the customers are treating her so she walks out. After she walks out of the job, she takes a few moments outside to think and reflect on what she is going to do next. She then gets struck in the face by a door opened by Ben. An interesting meet-cute with a heroine with a bloody nose and a hero that thinks the heroine is an escort and then propositions her to be his date for a wedding. Of course she accepts.

Ben mistakenly believes that Ryan is an escort, but she needs the money and thinks that Ben is an okay guy, which he is. They quickly forge a relationship that is more than a guy who hired an escort. One of the things in a fake relationship trope that I love, but also sometimes hate is how long it takes for the MCs to give in to their mutual attraction. Luckily, Ryan and Ben give in early on and have hot sex. I was glad they got that off the table quickly. I enjoyed seeing their romance grow from lust to love.

I’ve read a lot of hockey romance and this one gave me something different than all previous books, Ben is a man of color. I can not recall ever seeing a brown hockey playing hero. I was very curious to see how Ben being a person of color would be portrayed in the story. Or if it even would be. It was such a minor bit of the story, I thought for sure it would come up in relation to his profession. According to Wikipedia, the NHL is 93% white, so it seems like an easy (in so much that it is clearly an issue) and almost necessary topic to address, but not necessarily make it a huge topic in the book. Other than the description of Ben’s skin color as being brown, the only other mention of his blackness is that his family was the first black family to be members of the local country club. Ryan’s ethnicity is mentioned, her mother is Cuban Italian, it is unknown about her father. Her mother was neglectful and Ryan left home at 16. It made a little more sense for her ethnicity/culture to be understated because she really didn’t know it. But for Ben to  have absolutely zero struggles that a person of color could potentially have while participating in a predominantly white sport/industry was just weird. It fell flat.

Overall it was a solid read. It was sexy, it was funny. There were definitely some eye-rolling moments, but not enough for me to stop reading. The conflict was not too dramatic and the characters come to their senses and figured their shit out fairly quickly. I believed in the love story between them. There’s some interesting friendships built and I will be curious to see if there is a next book and who gets paired together. There was no on page hockey happening, so if you are looking for that, this book is not for you. I will keep this author on my radar for future books.

Grade: C

It is no secret I love hockey romances! This author was one who was new to me, but I will definitely be looking for more. It was very well written and flowed nicely.
Ben is a hockey player who desperately needs a date for a wedding. Ryan is just desperate enough for money that she agrees. But when real feelings start to develop will they have it takes to make it real?
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

This is a series about three bet friends: Jace; Gabe and Ben. Each star athletes in their own fields, they have also been best friends since college. In the first book they are invited to join an exclusive sportsmens club - think more teen boy heaven than anything sinister - which serves as their go-to place to discuss man stuff and play pool/ darts without being bothered by fans and groupies.

This book centres on Ben Williamson, one of the few black men in hockey and certainly the most successful, yet to the rest of his family he is somewhat of a disappointment because they wanted him to be a lawyer or a doctor. His mother has just guilted him into being best man at his elder brother David's wedding, to Ben's childhood sweetheart - yep, his brother and his girlfriend cheated behind his back and now (admittedly six years later) they want him to be the best man? His friend Gabe, who admitted appears to be playing with only half a deck of cards sometimes, suggests Ben hires an escort to go to the wedding with him - that way he doesn't look like he is still pining over Natasha AND he avoids his mother setting him up with some worthy but unattractive daughter of a friend.

Showing a surprising lack of common sense they guys go to Daisy's, a fairly low rent strip club, looking for a high end escort and are naturally disappointed, but when Ben steps outside he literally bumps into a woman who might very well fit the bill. Ryan Cruz is a woman barely scraping by, alone since she was 16 years old she has held a series of low-paid jobs, the latest one as a waitress at Daisy's ends when she smacks a customer for getting handsy and the manager refuses to take her side. As she is leaving the building the door slams back into her face and she sees the most attractive guy she has ever seen, when he thinks she is an escort she sees a way to make some much needed cash, after all she is sleeping on a friend's couch, and agrees to accompany Ben to his brother's wedding.

Things really spiral from there, Ben soon realises the enormity of pretending to be a couple in front of his friends and family, who will all want to interrogate Ryan about everything so he suggests a series of intense 'getting to know you' sessions over several days, then he suggests she moves in with him temporarily. And mostly it's because they need to know more about each other for the wedding, mostly. But of course the real fun begins at the wedding!

This kind of reminds me of the film Pretty Woman, especially the shopping scene. But Ben is nothing like Richard Gere's character, in fact he is the kindest, sweetest guy ever.

My only criticism would be that Ben's family was portrayed one way at the start of the book and another way at the end of the book, maybe the first impression was coloured by Ben's feelings rather than reality and the the later impression was more reflective of the way things really were. Also, I got really irritated that all of Ben's family thought HE ought to apologise to his older brother/ make the peace when his brother had NEVER once apologised for stealing his girlfriend and yet still seemed to get himself cast as the victim.

Nevertheless, I stayed up until 3am to finish this book so a great sports romance with a sexy, caring hero and a sassy, funny heroine. I can't wait to read Gabe's story - I bet it's a doozy.

I really had a hard time connecting with the story or the characters and I feel bad for giving this reciewc

​​​​​4.5 Stars!

Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to read some well-written "relationship of convenience" romances, and The Proposition by Elizabeth Hayley is a really good one. The characters are well-developed and easy to get to know. The plot moves along at a steady pace and there was never a moment that I wanted to put the book down. This book is a modern day fairy-tale, and I couldn't help myself from thinking about the film "Pretty Woman" during a few of the situations.

Ryan Cruz is a beautiful and savvy young woman, in spite of being basically homeless, penniless, and on her own for quite some time. After being fired from her waitressing job in a strip club, she runs smack into Ben Williamson, a professional hockey player. Ben is good-looking and successful, and he needs a date for his older brother's wedding in a few weeks. In fact, Ben was looking to hire an escort for the family event from hell, and after a quick conversation, offers Ryan the position. Ryan does not share with Ben that she is not an escort, because she desperately needs the money he is offering, and sex is not a condition of their arrangement. As they get to know each other, they fall in love. However, Ben's inability to filter the words that come out of his mouth almost destroys what they have, in addition to the already precarious relationship he has with his family.

I truly enjoyed this slightly emotional and entertaining book. To begin with, Ms. Hayley opens the story with a very exciting chapter, which sets the tone to this mostly upbeat read. Secondly, family and good friends are very important, and I liked how effortlessly Ryan and Ben dealt with each scenario that they were faced with. Their sexy times are hot, both in and out of the bedroom. Ben's reasoning for avoiding his family, especially his brother, was well-founded, and their lack of empathy was difficult to understand. This is the second book from Ms. Hayley's The Players series and it can read as a standalone.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you Net-Galley, publisher and author for the ARC of this story. No form of payement was received.

This is the first book I have read by Elizabeth Hayley. I will be going back and reading Players book 1. This is a book 2 in the Players series but it can be read as a standalone.

I am going to start with what I didn't care for about this book. Its a hockey as you can see from the cover but it all takes places during the off season. I wish it had hockey in it, as I was in the mood for a hockey romance.

I loved Ben and Ryan. I enjoyed getting to kwow them as they got to know each other. There was times I wanted to tell Ben to zip his lips and at the same time I wanted Ryan to fight for what she wanted. This is a good story about getting to know someone and finding ways to deal with the little things as well as the big things. I wanted more of thier story, I will looking for book 3 in this series to see if we get a little more of these two in the book. I loved the secondary characters and look forward to reading about them.

5 Stars at this laugh out loud story!

Even though Ben plays hockey in the NHL he is a disappointment to his family ... they think he should quite playing games and get a real job. To top it off, 10 years ago his brother stole is girlfriend from him and now they are getting married. He is NOT going to this wedding alone, so he decides to hire an escort to accompany him for the weekend so he can show his family that he's over Natalie and David's betrayal. Ryan is a waitress at a strip club ... or should I say was ... she just quit because she was tired of the customers trying to sample her goods. So now does she not only sleep on a friend's couch, she doesn't have a job. But when Ben opens the back door to the strip club to get some fresh air, he hits Ryan with the door. Ben believes that Ryan is an escort and hires her to be his "date" for the wedding and because Ryan needs the money, she lets him think she's an escort and takes the job. For the next couple of weeks they try to get to know each other so their relationship will seen real to Ben's family. And the antics that follow ... well you'll just have to read them to believe them.

I laughed so hard at times, there were tears in my eyes and I had to put the book down. And then there were times that my tears were for other reasons. The banter between Ryan and Ben is hilarious and even though their lives are completely opposite, they fit together just right. I highly recommend you take their journey ... you won't regret it!

I received an ARC copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Love sports books? How about books about guys who really are nice (and sexy and athletic and charming). How about books which have the perfect level of realistic drama? Well, this book should be right up your alley. I'm a sucker for sports books, especially when the guy is nice. I'm new to this author (well, authors), but I can definitely say that their writing style is quite attractive.

I loved these characters. Even though Ben is a pro athlete, but he's not perfect. He's sweet, but he's also real and flawed. Despite all of this, he's not over the top; he's the boy next door who went pro rather than a caricature of a man. I think this made me appreciate him all the more. His relationship with his brother and himself brought extra elements to the story, making the plot feel complete.

Ryan faced a lot of adversity in her life, but I admired her grit. She never let her misfortunes dictate her life. Sure, she's much rather not have to do her current job, but Ryan is a survivor above all. And she's a perfect match for Ben.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to future books from Elizabeth Hayley!

Professional hockey player Ben is running out of options. His brother’s wedding is approaching at breakaway speed and he needs a date or every relative he has is going to try to set up with “nice” girls at the wedding. Don’t they realize that he needs to focus on his career and that doesn’t include being distracted by a woman?

Ryan is a waitress at a strip club and her temper has just gotten the better of her when one of customers wanted more than drinks from her. After a confrontation she ends up with no job, living with a friend and no light at the end of the tunnel until she meets Ben.

Ben decides he needs a date and his best option is to hire one. When he approaches Ryan he believes she is an escort and offers an arrangement and Ryan sees this as her opportunity to get out of the mess that her life has become. Their journey definitely had its ups and down as trying to get to know someone with their family watching every move is not the easiest situation to maneuver, especially with the dynamics of this family.

The story has a little drama, a few chuckles and some self discovery as well. This is my first book by this author but I would definitely read her future books. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read. The characters are well rounded and the story is sweet, cute and emotional. Ben and Ryan are together for all the wrong reasons and you want them to stay together for all the right reasons.

Ben Williamson is a famous hockey player looking to hire an escort to bring to his brother’s wedding, Ryan Cruz is a down-on-her-luck waitress. Each character has a problem requiring a quick fix, Ben needs a date to withstand a few days with his nosy, pretentious family and Ryan needs money. Ben trusts Ryan to keep their arrangement quiet, although he has a lot more to lose than her.

I loved watching these two characters fall for each other. Although they try to cover what happens between them as an arrangement, they can’t deny the attraction they are feeling. Ben isn’t comfortable in his own skin and he has a long standing feud with his brother. He is impulsive and tends to do things without thinking about the consequences. It took Ryan’s free spirit, selflessness and affection to break through his walls and show him that he deserves love and needs to free himself from the past.

This book is the second standalone in The Players series, it is well written and the development of the characters is interesting. Although the plot was predictable, the ending was satisfying. I’ll definitely be reading more books from these authors in the future.

Elizabeth Hayley continues to be a writing duo that I can always count on to create a phenomenal story that will make me laugh, that will deliver me with dynamic characters to love, and that will give me a fantastic reading experience. Their Players Series has delivered all of that and more, and I was beyond excited to get back with Gabe, Jace, and Ben as it was Ben’s turn to find the one woman who would change everything. With everything I love about a sports romance perfectly woven together with an enrapturing romance, The Proposition was the exact book I needed to read right now.

It was a book that felt good to read through every page, it was a book that had me loving what I was getting with these characters, and it was a book that delivered an extremely enjoyable story with so much fire, connection, and vibrancy through every word.

Elizabeth Hayley once again delivered a book that made me laugh, that made me smile something fierce, that gave me real characters that equally made me swoon while being completely believable, all while crafting a story that was enjoyable through every turn of the page. What I love about this series is how it perfectly couples so much together. It gives you a sports romance and what it means to be with a professional athlete, it gives you an authentic love story between two seemingly opposite characters, and it gives you a story that manages to be light and so very engaging and so easy to connect to.

The Proposition was another fantastic and fun addition to this series, and it has me all kinds of excited to get more time with all of these characters and to see where the next book will take them all.

Ben was a character that completely melted me from the start. What I loved about his character was that he was this tough hockey player with a heart of gold. He was strong, yet sensitive. He was real, yet had this allure that made me want him and love him even more. He was sweet and genuine and kind, and he thought of others, which practically made me molten lava in his hands. He was also so easy to root for through this story because I felt so much for what I got with him and his story. The way that Elizabeth Hayley makes him a man that will simultaneously turn you on, while also stealing your heart made him the best in my eyes. He also made me swoon something fierce, and even though he isn’t perfect, he was pretty much golden in this book with what I got with him.

Ryan had some serious fire and gumption to her. She was a girl who wasn’t afraid to take a chance, to put it all in, and to just go with it. I loved that about her, and I loved how she was a character who wasn’t afraid to risk it all. I really respected that about her, and I especially respected that after learning her backstory and all that that girl had gone through in her life. Elizabeth Hayley does the most fantastic job of letting you know how she became the woman she is in the present of this book, how she found herself the escort to a professional hockey player, and how she ended up feeling what she did. Ryan was real, vibrant, and just so easy to connect to, and that is just part of what made her such an outstanding female character to love and root for.

The overall premise of this story follows Ben and Ryan, two opposites, who find themselves in the middle of a proposition to help each other out. He needs a date to his brother’s wedding, and she needs a job stat in order to stay above water. What ensues between them over the course of this story is more than either of them bargained for. Their sexual chemistry is off the charts, what they start to feel for one another soon becomes more real than either of them were prepared for, and the more this story progresses, the more they both start to question what this proposition of theirs got them into. I loved the story itself, and I found it to be so enjoyable, consuming in a very real way, and something that just gave me so much to love.

One of my favorite parts of this series is getting to be back with the fantastic and funny as all get out characters that make up this world. The banter and friendship between Gabe, Ben and Jace is the absolute best. Those three crack me up so much, and I loved getting every single moment with them was I read this book. The three of them made me cry I was laughing so hard, and through it all I so completely felt how they were all there for each other, and how they would do whatever it took to be there for one another. I loved how Elizabeth Hayley perfectly balanced giving me that as I read this book. Not to be outdone, Camille’s character was a gem too. That girl had me dying laughing just as much as I was with the guys, and the way her humor and one liners added to what I got in this book was fantastic. The supporting characters of this series just made reading this book even more fun and enjoyable, and it added to everything I got with these characters in this story.

Elizabeth Hayley perfectly balanced giving me so many moments that had me laughing in the most memorable way, while also creating the fieriest heat between Ben and Ryan. The way their writing brought it all to life, the way they perfectly balanced making me blush, making me laugh, and making me feel every breath of connection and fire these characters shared for one another is just one more thing that had me loving every word of what I was reading. Elizabeth Hayley found a way to deliver it all in this book to create such an outstanding read. The way they so seamlessly weave all of that together had me in every word of what I was reading, had me living every fantastic word, and had me just eating up every moment I could get with these characters.

The Proposition was another phenomenal addition to this series. It was a book about what happens when you meet that one person you never expected in the craziest of situations. It is a story of two people who would never have met normally, but can’t seem to fight the intense connection they share, no matter how many boundaries they try to put in place. What you get with Ben and Ryan in this story will give you the two of them, will give you their proposition and all its consequences, and in the end, will give you one helluva love story.

This book gave me it all. It had the humor, the heat that made me blush and melt, and it had the vibrant characters that made this a memorable and overall enjoyable story that I loved. I have loved getting more of this series, and this book has me even more eager for Gabe’s book to see what this series will bring all of these characters next.

If you are looking for a phenomenally written book, with dynamic and memorable characters, then do yourself a favor and run yourself to this book this very second!

This story was entertaining. The chemistry between the two main characters was unexpected and fun. The storyline was easy to follow. This is the second book in the series and it was great hearing about previous characters. I would recommend this bogok. Although it is in a series, it can be read as a stand alone.

This was a DNF for me. I tried to connect with the chargers but couldn't. I'll try this author again for sure though.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

This Players novel features Ben, the hockey player.  It is a stand alone novel and you don't have to read the first one to read this particular book.  In the beginning Ben allows his crazy best friend, Gage, to talk him into hiring an escort to his brother's wedding.  He can't go stag - as his mother will have set him up with another one of her friends daughters.  That's not happening.  Plus there's no way he can attend the wedding without a date for other reasons.  

Ryan is a waitress at a strip joint.  She really would like something to go her way for a change.  When she meets Ben and he offers her a proposition she can't refuse she surprises herself at what her life has become.  She's living with a friend and now has a job she'd never thought she'd see herself doing.  

As their time together progresses Ben and Ryan develop feelings for one another.  It's during this getting to know you stage that I found the book to lag.  I had a hard time staying focused on the story and just wanted to skim through.  I didn't however!  I did read the whole book.  I liked the outcome of the story.  It just seemed to drag on a bit.  

These two only had one really bad patch.  The drama leading up to it would drive just about anyone to foam at the mouth and say things they didn't mean to say to anyone - much less a whole room of people.

When you pick up The Proposition by Elizabeth Hayley I encourage you to read it to the end.  I think you'll enjoy the book overall.

I have chosen not to finish or review this title.

Thanks,
Laura

Unfortunately for me this book was written in. Style that I don’t really get along with and am not a fan of in the romance genres, but nonetheless I gave it a go and and it took me a few days to read.
It was a story, in my opinion, that has been done better, but it was still alright. The characters worked well and the story unfolded with little drama

2.5 / 3 Stars

Donna
4TLOReading

Had a hard time getting into the flow of the storyline. I was very interested when I read the summary about the book, but just felt like the pace of the book took some time getting use to.

For me, this book can practically be divided into two separate parts. The first 30% I had some issues with so began questioning if I was a good fit for this author’s writing style. Despite, for the most part, I did enjoy book 1, The Bet. However, when Ben and Ryan, the main couple, actually started interacting as a real couple, it was like a switch was flipped, and I was now all in to see them get their HEA.

You see, at 15%, the writing felt somewhat stilted, and I wasn’t feeling a connection between the characters. But my main issue was the set-up scenario regarding Ryan. To have her let Ben, the rich/hockey player hero, think she was something she was not cheapened her character and credibility in my eyes. It didn’t match the just established moments ago portrayal of a sassy/feisty leading lady who valued her self-dignity and pride over money enough she would quit a job when customers got handsy, even though it could mean homelessness for her. I expected better of her. Like an “Excuse me? Are you talking to me? You think I’m a what! Oh, no, you did not just say that!” Then go from there. I had to forced myself to shrug it off and just let it go, folks.

At almost 30%, I was growing to detest Ben’s family, even though we were only given a brief glimpse of his brother David’s jealous, snarky streak and his mom’s nagging nature, to the point I wanted Ben not to go to the wedding altogether, let alone be the best man. In fact, I wanted him to tell them to kiss his big fat hockey stick and walk out the tux store door. No, this good guy hero, despite his bad judgment of falling for the fake girlfriend idea his friends cooked up, doesn’t stand up to his family. He’d rather lie to them and risk his career by getting caught up in a scandal.

Fortunately, there was more to each of their untold past history and things were not as they seemed. When the real reasons behind Ben’s dysfunctional family came to light, they all actually seemed more real and genuine, especially towards the end. Ben truly was a good guy and seemed to always try to be the better man. I even ended up viewing David and their mom in a different, more favorable light, as well.

Ryan ultimately did come across as a strong person considering the hardships and lack of love/family she has endured. She did zone in and quickly picked up on Ben’s inner conflict and soon came to care about him and his predicament.

As a lover of relationship angst, I certainly enjoyed the ending when a certain someone had to make amends and grovel, begging for a second chance.

Book 3 will feature good natured Gabe and a past lady love that will likely at first seem like she is using him. Here’s to hoping there will be much more to that sport journalist heroine’s story than it first appears. Knowing how this author usually turns the tables, I’m betting we can pretty much count on it.

Title: The Proposition, Series: The Players (Book 2), Author: Elizabeth Hayley, Pages: 252, stand-alone but part of a series, good guy hero, sad past/strong/enduring heroine, some very graphic smexy scenes, soon fall for each other. Rating: 3.5 stars

Book 1 - The Bet (Jace & Aly), 6/27/17, Pages: 272
Book 2 - The Proposition (Ben & Ryan), 10/31/17, Pages: 252
Book 3 - The One Night Stand (Gabe & Rachel), 12/17/17, Pages: 272

(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, nor is there any relationship/affiliation between the reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

I really liked this book and I am sad that I did not read the first in the series first....but I will now haha.

I really like all of the characters and how they flow so well with each other. Ben was a Pro-Hockey player without being pretentious or overly narcissistic. Ryan was a down on her luck waitress that meets Ben and doesn't instantly go crazy money hungry fan girl. I really liked this about them. They had immediate chemistry that lasted through out the book. I really really really wish there was a epilouge but since there will be a third book maybe I will get to hear about their HEA in (what I assume) Gabe's story.

Overall a really good read!