This book was very close to being a "did not finish" for me, though I struggled through. It did help me solidly realize that my taste runs in the romantic comedy direction, I need the banter, the playfulness and the laugh out loud moments. Compared to a more direct, drama-based read.

Some things that didn't work for me, but that I thought could possibly be worked on:
* The point of view switches sometimes between paragraphs, leading to a very jerky, unsmooth read. Sticking with one perspective for a whole chapter, or until clearly indicated line-breaks might be helpful.
* The pacing felt very rushed. While it does take time for the characters to get together, that build up was lost by the tone of the book. It felt more like there was a checklist of things that had to happen before the characters could be together, and that checklist was being ran through in the effort to get to where the author wanted to be.
* Character development. While they both had potential, it didn't seem like there was the time to develop them as individuals, which for me made it so that I wasn't very invested in them. Rakell definitely had a more interesting backstory, but even then...

Especially with the "to be continued" ending, this read a lot more like a fanfiction or fictionpress type story. For me, it lacked the structure for a novel. However, I would say Amari definitely has some room for growth in the story department, but could definitely have the potential to get there!

If you're just reading for some spicy romance, then the second half of the book is for you!

Austin Heat strikes me as the kind of book you read on Kindle Unlimited that doesn’t have a lot of joy or depth, but it can get the job done if you’re low on exciting titles. I didn’t care about these characters or the story, but it’ll work if you’re really looking for something acceptable.

I did not finish this book. I’m not sure if it was the author’s writing style or the story itself but I just couldn’t get into it. I will not be leaving a public review.

This story was hot and steamy almost too much so. Rakell has a lot of unresolved issues that need fixing and Jake might be the one to help her do it.

This one was really not for me. The writing wasn’t my favorite and felt a bit more suited for YA rather than open door adult contemporary romance. It is very long for a contemporary sports romance and ends on a cliffhanger where it is not clear what the heroine will do next and whether or not the couple will have a HEA.

It might be for you, though! You may want to pick this one up if you love: 🤠Austin TX 🏈Sports romance 🔥 open door romance 💪 reformed playboy trope

Jake is an NFL player with a "certain" reputation. Rakell is desperately trying to get herself out of the escort life. The two find each other at the same gym which they work out at. What initially starts as harmless banter begins to take on a physical form. However, both carry secrets that might derail them before they begin.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought Rakell had a lot of sides to her and was always interested in what she’d do next even as broken as she is. I also love that she is an Australian native. Jake is really trying to get his act together and you can see how much he wants to be better. I am looking forward to the remainder of the series.

I really wanted to like this book, it is set in my hometown and that is always fun. The characters just weren't believable, too many things going on in this-he is a NFL player, a rancher and wants to be a high school English teacher too? And she had so much baggage that it was just beyond belief. Not for me.

I loved this book to an extent as it was a slow burn for me and for me I have to have the action and story fast paced to not wanna dnf the book. I however didnt and it was good just a slow burn on my end.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Jake is in Texas and hopes to change his image. He loves football and hopes he can live a quiet life. When he meets Rakell he is immediately smitten. The two of them together can set off fireworks. A good read.

I loved the premise for this book. However, Rakell is unbearable. I honestly wanted to punch her in the face several times. Jake seems like a saint compared to her. The authors choice of words seem elementary half the time, “ferociousness” instead of ferocity, using “nonchalantness” instead of changing the sentence to use nonchalantly properly. I don’t even care what happens next in this series. I tried to care about Rakell, knowing she is in a tough position but the repeated use of “dissociate” really got under my skin. I feel bad for Jake.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and or the author for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Slow burn.

The concept of Austin Heat is good but I feel the lack of character development and writing style throughout the book could of been better.

I really have to start paying attention. This is part 1 of an incomplete series. My biggest pet peeve.

Austin Heat by Amari Nylix
This is a series starter and it ends in a cliffhanger! Will Rakell stay? Will she disappear into the ether? Will Jake push too hard or will he accept how skittish Rakell is? Will Jake wait for Rakell to be emotionally ready? Ahhhhhhh!

I enjoyed these two emotionally stunted people. They both have Issues with a capital I! This book is Emotional with a capital E, Steamy with a capital S, and very Interesting.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

On the surface, this book brings the spice and passion that can exist between two people who barely know each other. However, if you sit with the main characters, Jake and Rakell, for a bit, you see the fallibility in their wanting to be on an intimate level but not wanting to make themselves vulnerable to potential heartache. Amari definitely started to peel back the layers on these two individuals leaving me primed for her next book in the series

I liked the book it wasn't my cup of tea because I don't really read sport romance much. But I did enjoy it. I love the characters and how they bond together. It was a slow burn but it's okay I pushed through it.

Overall
The storyline is awesome and well put together and even though it wasn't my cup of tea like I said I enjoyed it. Keep up the amazing job

Entertaining, and engaging spicy novel with relatable and fun set of characters!! Jake and Rakell are pure love . I loved it

Austin Heat was a book I had to push myself to get through and, overall did not enjoy as much as I hoped I would.

There was A LOT of telling in this story. Rakell felt this, Jake was that... This book was not edited or edited properly. There was an excess of explanations of gym exercises and a background of the MCs lives, but an underwhelming amount of character development and enjoyable scenes. I wasn't rooting for anyone at the end of the book, except for it to be over. There were so many things that were repeated, i.e., Rakell's physical appearance (her tooth in particular), and I felt that it needed to be cut. We get it, we don't need it mentioned in every chapter. I didn't enjoy the banter; I was as confused as Jake and Rakell were during their early gym conversations.

Another issue I had were the little icons of the fire in between scenes in the chapters. First, it's so close to the Tinder logo; it made me uncomfortable. Second, they were overly inserted in places they didn't need to be. There were so many scenes that could have continued without them being there.

There's unfortunately not much that I enjoyed in this book, except maybe the scenes with Jake's niece and nephew. I usually want to continue a series after, but this was the first book I don't feel I want to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to review this free arc in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed the strong characters in this book! I found myself rooting for the two main characters, but I also understand Rakell's dilemma. I am excited this book is the start to a series and can't wait to see where Amari takes these characters as the series progresses.

I was excited to read this as an ex-Austin resident and sports romance junkie. However, I ended up DNFing it at around 15%. There was a level of frenetic energy that I was getting from the first part of the book. It made the reading feel a bit rushed, and I had a hard time focusing on the book. In addition, I couldn't keep all the names straight/who was who this early in the book. I imagine that there's a good story here and it could be a lot of fun, but I couldn't get past the chaotic feeling of the early part of the book.

I wanted to like this book, but I found myself just wanting to get it over with. Then, when I finally got to the end, I found out it’s the first of a series and nothing has been resolved. It was too long, the characters are not well-developed, and the storyline jumps around. It was not well edited, either. If I had to read about the FMC’s eyetooth one more time I was going to lose it! I like when a book continues into the next in the series but at least SOMETHING has to be resolved to keep me reading the series. This was just a let down.