I'm really enjoying this series. Ari and O'Doul were very sweet. I loved how she softened him. He became less of a recluse and began to think of his team as his family rather than simply co-workers. Ari's backstory was a bit dragged out, but that did not change my love for the two of them together. Can't wait for more! :)

I’ve read and enjoyed most of your Ivy Years series, so it was natural to move on to the Brooklyn Bruisers series when it began with Rookie Move – the two series are even related! I liked Rookie Move, but not as much as the Ivy Years books I read; I gave it a B-. I put this down to my apparent preference for New Adult books being set in college (I thought Rookie Move was still nominally NA, since the protagonists were 24-25). I also thought the plot was somewhat bland.

Still, I had no hesitation about continuing the series, especially when there were several intriguing potential pairings telegraphed in the first book. I wasn’t necessarily expecting Book Two to be about Brooklyn Bruisers team captain Patrick “Doulie” O’Doul and the team’s massage therapist Ariana Bettini, but the excerpt at the end of the first book piqued my interest.

O’Doul was a bit of a cipher in Rookie Move; gruff and tough on that book’s hero, Bruisers rookie Leo Trevi. Ari didn’t play a big part in the first book, that I can recall; besides being a massage therapist she led the team in the new-agey yoga sessions encouraged by the team’s owner, young tech billionaire Nate Kattenberger.

As Hard Hitter starts, O’Doul is finally, reluctantly showing up to a massage session with Ari, an appointment he has put off many times. O’Doul doesn’t like to be touched, which immediately sent up red flags for me. Ari is actually able, with sensitivity and consideration, to get Patrick to relax enough to get something out of the massage. He has a sore hip flexor that can inhibit his game play, so the massage is an important therapeutic tool to help him succeed on the ice (especially important because the Bruisers are in the playoff hunt with a dwindling number of games remaining in the season).

O’Doul grew up in Minnesota in a series of foster homes after his mother died and his father went to prison. He is pretty closed off, with no close friends or romantic attachments (beyond the occasional one-night stand). As a child he gravitated first to a local boxing ring, hoping to be able to defend himself against the older kids in his group homes. Later he found hockey and with it his calling. He’s played for the past 12 years professionally, and even though his role as team enforcer has started to wear on him physically and mentally, he can’t really imagine another life.

Ari is Brooklyn born-and-bred, those she’s the only member of the extended Bettini family left in the borough now. She lives in her Uncle Angelo’s house and takes care of it; he lives in Florida. Ari would have a pretty great life – a dream job just a short walk from a home in a fashionable New York neighborhood – were it not for one thing.

Ari has just had a bad breakup with her boyfriend of eight years, Vince. She kicked him out of her home after an altercation left her with a broken foot. Ari and Vince had a pretty good relationship for a long time but the past few years have been rough; his businesses (he owned a nightclub when he and Ari met) have gone downhill and he became excessively jealous and controlling about the time Ari spent at work and her travel schedule with the team. The accident that injured her foot was the final straw; Ari is embarrassed, even a bit ashamed, that it took her so long to kick Vince to the curb.

But Vince isn’t going easily; he keeps showing up at her home and one day Ari realizes he’s running some sort of operation out of her garage and has changed the locks on her. She’s furious but feels helpless; she’s afraid of doing anything that will escalate the situation and embarrassed that she let things (as she sees it) get so out of hand. I thought this was a pretty good depiction of how a strong woman can find herself in a bad relationship and have difficulty disentangling herself.

O’Doul gets sucked into Ari’s drama inadvertently when he ends up with her phone and sees the threatening texts that Vince is sending her. From there, their relationship deepens, but she’s wary about being the team employee who dates a player; she also feels like having just gotten out of a long relationship, she should probably not jump into something else. O’Doul has his intimacy issues, as well, and another personal reason for wanting to stay out of Ari and Vince’s drama.

I liked both Ari and Patrick, and would have rooted for them to get together, but…in the end I actually did think her point about not jumping into another relationship was valid. I mean, I know this is a romance, and we’re supposed to know that it’s okay; they’re meant for each other and will have their HEA, blah blah blah. But maybe Hard Hitter was just realistic enough that I thought of Ari not solely as a romance heroine, but as a realistic figure; a relatively young woman who spent basically her entire 20s with one guy and needed some time alone to figure things out.

My other issue was about the lack of an issue – specifically Patrick’s. As I mentioned, he is first presented as someone who dislikes being touched, and I assumed that was tied to some sort of abuse in his past. The reality was less dramatic, and while that was fine, it ended up highlighting for me that Patrick was pretty thin as a character. He had a very troubled childhood and is clearly, at age 32, very cut off from people. There’s no indication that he’s done any work on himself or gotten therapy or even recognizes that there are things missing from his life. Then he gets to know Ari and just sort of…gets over it. He’s fine. He realized he likes having a girlfriend, and gee, why not make friends with the other hockey players, too and invite some people over to his apartment for once?

Look, not every romance hero needs to be angsty but a romance hero that is presented as angsty and troubled, should, I think, have his issues dealt with in the course of the book. Instead, Patrick becomes the pursuer pretty early on, and Ari and her ex-boyfriend problems and fears regarding a new relationship become the focus of the conflict. It felt out of balance to me, and again, highlighted that Patrick wasn’t that developed as a character. (The same could be said about Ari to a degree as well, because ultimately she never dealt with any of her relationship stuff except to decide that it didn’t really matter because Patrick was great and she shouldn’t turn down a chance at love because she stayed with a loser for eight years.)

Maybe this is another reason the Ivy Years series worked better for me – I don’t expect 20-year-olds to be as developed as people (and so perhaps as characters). When the characters are in their late 20s and early 30s, I expect them to be better rounded and to have had more life experiences, rather than feeling like they’ve been in suspended animation until the book opens.

Criticisms aside, Hard Hitter was as readable as every other Sarina Bowen book I’ve read, and I did like the characters, so grading it is a little tricky. I think I’ll settle on a B, and hope the next one (not apparently Nate and Becca’s story, dammit) feels better developed to me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this titles. Unfortunately this book archived before I was able to download it and I will not be able to submit a review at this time.

I LOVE this series and the more I read, the harder I fall. I'm actually a bit upset with myself for waiting so long to really dive into it. Sarina Bowen is such a gem of a romance writer and I adore a good sports romance. This is just a deliciously addictive match made in hockey romance heaven. So much fun to read, sexy and sweet, I just loved it.

I love Sarina Bowen, but this story wasn't for me. I found it hard to get into and I had to push myself to read. This is the only time I have ever had to do that with a Bowen novel

Hard Hitter is a wonderful addition to this series. I loved seeing the soft side of O’Doul that Ari brought out in him. I also loved Ari and the bond she had with some of the other girls in the book and their friendships. I liked the chemistry between Patrick and Ari as well. They brought out the best in each other and I loved reading about it.

After loving the first book in this series, I had way to high expectation of this one and was left a tad disappointed in the end.

I will start with the things I enjoyed in Ari and Patrick's story and this first and foremost, Patrick himself. He is such an interesting characters - an athlete towards the end of his career, tired of always having to play the enforced, physical and mental exhaustion overshadow his love of the game and he is not longer enjoying what he does. It was refreshing to see an older player and gt his perspective on the game unlike most sport romance where the focus is new and upcoming sportsmen, young, full of strength and hopes and dreams. Patrick gives us an insight into how playing professional sports at the top level has impacted his whole life. His past and his aversion to physical touch was an unexpected element in the story which I found fascinating though in my opinion it was not handled in the best possible way. Getting cure by the power of true love didn't ring true for me.

I also rather enjoyed the way the team's dynamics were presented and the friendship between the female characters was so important and I appreciate it so much.

Moving on to the thing that didn't work very well for me in this story. first is Ari who I found annoying and getting involved with a player while being the team's yoga instructor seemed unprofessional to me. The whole plotline with her ex-boyfriend was over-the-top and too contrived for my liking. I wanted to feel more sympathy and understanding for the difficult situation she was in but rather I kept thinking she appeared too naive, purposefully blind to some many things happening around her.

I also have some misgivings about the romance between Ari and Patrick. It felt too much like mixing business with pleasure and I was really off-put by that. Still, there were tender, intimate moments between them which saved me from totally disliking it.

Overall, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. It has it's moments of brilliance and I truly enjoyed some aspects of it but in the end it was just a 3-star read for me.

I've had this book for awhile but never picked it up. Until this week when I went on a Sarina Bowen binge read. In one day (okay it was really a Sunday but still...) I read all of her Ivy Years books (If you haven't read these you need to LIKE RIGHT NOW) for which this series is a spin off. After the last book in that series I had to re-read Rookie Move...and then Hard Hitter and Pipe Dreams.

and O.M.G. I'm so freaking in love with Patrick O'Doul.

Like really really really in love with him. I would dump my book husband (Judd freaking Lauren from Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling Series) for him. Okay...maybe not dump Judd, I'd be in a Triad with them. Yeah, a Triad.

I wasn't much of a fan of his in Rookie Move, but I wasn't even two chapters into this book when everything changed and I was in love with him. Because man oh man, when they say still waters run deep, they are talking about Patrick O'Doul. He very much has his reasons for why he is the way he is. Reasons that had me wanting to just love all over him. And when he falls for Ari, well you'll just have to read it for yourself.

Ari is a great heroine. There is a lot going on in her life and she has zero desire for anything permanent with Patrick. While she appreciates having him in her life and by her side while everything is happening to her, she doesn't necessarily need him. She's determined to stand on her own two feet for once in her life and be without a man. To bad she has a determined hockey player in love with her.

And because this is a romance, they get their HEA and I for one absolutely loved how it happened.

What I love about Bowen's books and why I think everyone should read her, regardless of whether you like sports or not is her character development and the fact her characters are so freaking relate-able.

Bowen has landed a permanent spot on my auto-buy list.

Grade A

A truly tug at the heart sports romance...many times the touching dialog took my breath away. Case in point, Patrick speaking to with so much emotion Ari:

"The only reason I spend time with you is because you’re important to me. You’re everything that I want, and everything I need. You already have my heart, and I don’t want it back. You understand?”

Everything about Patrick was about being a protector...whether it was on the ice, or protecting Ari from the evil elements from her past that are still stocking her. While Ari was hesitant to give her heart again because of her past, Patrick slowly broke down her walls. The dynamics between these two was appealing on many levels...the heart, the head, and their devotion to each other.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series...I suspect it'll be just as touching as this one.

This book was provided by the Publisher and Netgalley, I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Excellent Book! I highly recommend it to those addicts who need adventures with their romance!!

4.5 stars

I thought Hard Hitter was a well balanced sports themed romance. Although the storyline isn't anything new it was interesting and kept me turning the pages. I appreciated that the book wasn't filled with unnecessary drama.

Both Patrick and Ariana were well written characters. They had great chemistry that seemed to jump off the page. I enjoyed reading how their relationship grew from instant lust to friendship to lovers.

I like watching hockey but I never thought about the emotional aspects that a player, especially a fighter, faces. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes take from our main character in the book.

Review copy provided for a voluntary review.

Review is on Amazon and Goodreads now, it will go live on our websiter 3/8/17.

Sarina Bowen is one of those authors who writes books I cannot put down once I start reading them. Pipe Dreams was no exception to this rule. Even though I know nothing about hockey I find myself fascinated by the story because it is so well written. The whole Brooklyn Bruisers series is a must read.

I am reviewing this book based on an ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

This review will be posted on Romance Reviews Today (romrevtoday.com) in February 2017

HARD HITTER - Sarina Bowen
Brooklyn Bruisers, Book 2
Berkley
ISBN: 978-0-399-58345-2
January 2017
Contemporary Romance

Present Day - Brooklyn

As team captain of the Brooklyn Bruisers, Patrick O’Doul expects to get a few bruises. But now that he’s a little older, the pain isn’t as easy to bounce back from. So in a moment of weakness, he purchases a few pills at a club that are supposed to help him out. Lucky for him, he broke the habit easily, and now he’s free and clear. Not so luckily, the guy who sold him the drugs is the jerk threatening the team’s massage therapist - a woman Patrick is not about to see hurt.

Ari broke up with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend weeks ago, but he’s still haunting her. Despite changing the locks, he’s still finding ways to get in the house, and under her skin. After a mixup involving their phones, Patrick O’Doul sees the texts her ex has been sending, and he’s promised to protect her. The closer they get, the deeper her feelings grow for O’Doul. But there seems to be some history between him and her ex, and when it comes to light - it could be more than just their relationship that could suffer, but the entire team.

Sarina Bowen hits it out of the park - or in this case, slides it into the goal - once again with HARD HITTER. Despite Patrick’s rocky recent history, readers can’t help but fall in love with him. And while so many romances feature the woman falling first and the guy needing a little convincing, in this case Patrick knows Ari is special, and it’s her that takes her time seeing the light.

The author shows off her knowledge of hockey, and explains the ins-and-outs to readers without overloading them and the story. In fact, readers might even find themselves googling the nearest hockey team for game schedules as soon as they finish the book. With truly genuine characters, and spot-on banter, HARD HITTER is one for the keeper shelves.

HARD HITTER follows ROOKIE MOVE (Sept 2016), but can be read as a stand alone. But be sure to keep an eye on the next book, PIPE DREAMS, coming May 2017.

This review pertains to Hard Hitter, by Sarina Bowen, Book #2 in the Brooklyn Bruisers series. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the chance to read and review. Sarina Bowen is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, and I smile when one of her books is on my reading list. Her books are heartfelt and authentic, while at the same time dealing with so heavy themes. Hard Hitter was a fantastic read with moment in which you are laughing out loud to almost crying from the characters backstory. You cannot help but cheer for these characters to get together, and the main story(along with the secondary characters-Becca & Nate). I cannot recommend this book enough, and although you could read as a standalone, you'll want to read rookie move first. I cannot wait for the next installment! Highly recommended!!

The second in the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey romance series, Hard Hitter focuses on team captain Patrick O’Doul and team masseuse and yogi Ari Bettini. O’Doul is the quiet, mysterious, stalwart team enforcer, taking hit after hit and entertaining the hockey crowds with fights each night. But now the team trainers are forcing O’Doul to get massage therapy because he’s experiencing serious pain during the lead up to the playoffs.

Enter Ari, who has been through a terrible and recent break-up, and is trying to swear off men. Her touch and calm demeanor take a bit to get inside O’Doul’s head, but once it does…their chemistry ends up being off the charts.

But there are some serious skeletons in the closet and Ari and O’Doul need to figure out how and if building a relationship will work… while their pasts threaten to tear them each apart.

I really enjoyed Patrick and Ari’s story. Darker than Georgia and Leo’s from the first book, Hard Hitter focuses on strong characters with a lot of baggage. I appreciated the amount of time Sarina Bowen committed to having them sort out all of their issues. The narrative is in third person, but each chapter alternates between Patrick and Ari’s viewpoints, and they’re both just…really good people who need each other.

Patrick’s story is haunting and frustrating, and I loved how much of a contrast there was between his public persona and his private one. In particular, his views on fighting in hockey, and his opinion of himself just felt so authentic. Ari, meanwhile, is in a really really awful situation with her ex, who’s essentially stalking her. She really questions herself and her opinions throughout the book, and I appreciated that Bowen allowed her to be that cautious and vulnerable.

I also adored the secondary characters – we get to see a lot more of Leo Trevi and Georgia Worthington from the first book, as well as Becca, Nate, Lauren and some of the other players on the team. I loved how naturally they all fit into Ari and Patrick’s world.

Can we talk a little about the love scenes, because they are some of the most…interesting that I’ve read from Sarina. Let’s just say that the characters take full advantage of the benefits of a character’s occupation. It’s creative and sexy.

There are definitely moments when Hard Hitter gets much darker than you expect it to – there are issues with drugs, addiction, domestic abuse and more that get dealt with. It’s not a super light read. Yet the romance really works, and like the mysterious O’Doul himself, takes a bit to get to know. You’ll be glad you did, though, because there are funny, sweet, kind, and sexy moments that will make you swoon…and make you wish desperately for the next book in the Brooklyn Bruisers series.

Let me begin by saying that I loved this book. I have been in a sports romance rut lately and found myself just checking books off a list without feeling attached to them. And this book broke that rut. It had strong characterization, memorable characters and an ongoing storyline that left me genuinely interested in what is coming next. Sarina Bowen is now on my auto-buy list.

Patrick O'Doul is the team captain, sniper and enforcer for the Brooklyn Bruisers. As a veteran, O'Doul is feeling the physical and emotional pressures to keep up for his team but mentally, he is exhausted. The team manager has insisted that he start massage therapy to loosen this muscles and improve his mental health but Patrick is reluctant to open himself up to massage.

Ari Bettini is focused and justifiably proud of her work with the Bruisers as a yoga instructor and massage therapist. She respects the players and knows Patrick needs help relaxing both his body and mind.

More than anything, both of these characters are sweet and understandable. Patrick is seemingly a rough guy but as the book goes on, you see how his childhood has made him skittish, not rough and his role as enforcer has left anxiety and exhaustion in his psyche. But he allows himself to fall for Ari and his confusion and obvious eagerness to make her happy is a sight to behold. Ari is understandably wary of being involved with Patrick. Her professional standing is important to her and she just got out of an abusive relationship and wants to stand on her own two feet for a while.

These characters have grown up conversations with each other, where they express their problems and try to work through their issues without some Big Misunderstanding. The happy ending is hard fought and deserved.
Hard Hitter was a lovely, surprising read and I will absolutely be on the look out for other Sarina Bowen books.

Grade A-

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

No rating - DNF at 30%
Unfortunately there was nothing in this book that grabbed me and pulled me into the story. Rookie Move was just an ok read for me and I was hoping for more in this one and just couldn't get into the story. I don't know if its because of my mood but I found myself skimming a lot and I don't love doing that in books because I feel like I am missing something.
I think that for now I will have to pass on this book and the rest of the series as it doesn't seem to be for me :(

3.5 Stars

My Hard Hitter thoughts, & quotes

I do quite like this series. It's a sports romance which is my guilty pleasure but there is also something about this series that doesn't have me over the moon with it.

This time around we have the loner Patrick and the team's therapist Ari. In Rookie Move we get some indications that Ari's having some trouble in her personal life and in Hard Hitter we get to find out what it is. For Patrick he has his issues and especially with touch but Ari works her magic and helps Patrick professionally and personally.

For Patrick he was quite the loner but when he dives in its no hold bar with him.

"I only want you, Ari. For this and all things."

"I'm so gone for you," he ground out, still laughing. "I've got it bad. It might take me years to convince you I'm a good guy, but I'll never stop trying."

Again it was super cute and filled my sports genre need but I was still left with wanting more. I think after Him and it put my expectations through the roof and now I'm left a bit disappointed but that's on me. However, that in no means affects me continuing this series, which I have full intentions on doing so.

Sports. Hot guys. Sizzling romance. What more can a girl ask for?

I liked the romance as well as the additional time with the team. I didn't love Ari on her own, but I did like her with Patrick. They has great chemistry and I liked what a standup, get-it-done kind of guy he was. Bowen always delivers.

4 out of 5

I know I'm always gonna get an entertaining read with Sarina Bowen books. Her heroes are my crack. She writes the most well-meaning hotties around! ha! And it's hard not to love them, because when the fall, they fall hard...and it makes my heart swell.

Patrick O'Doule is another swoon-worthy MC. Though he's closed himself off from pretty much everyone around him his entire life, the 'love of a good woman' helped open him up and an opened-up Patrick is one to adore.

Ari, the heroine, is both strong, stable, and yet easily relatable, and I really liked her. The pairing of the two, and especially their intimate and HOT interactions, made this a fun book to read.

I'm loving this series, btw...