Review: To Win Her Love

Title: To Win Her Love
Author: Mackenzie Crowne
Series: Players #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel
Available: August 4th

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To win the game, they’ll have to risk losing their hearts…

When a bizarre child custody stipulation pits popular sports blogger Gracie Gable against football superstar Jake Malone, losing the battle for her twin nieces isn’t the only thing Gracie has to worry about. Forced to live for three months under the same roof as the sexy tight end, will she fall prey to his flirtatious pursuit? Or worse, will the skeletons in her closet destroy her chance for the love and family she so desperately wants?

Neglected by his parents as a boy, Jake doesn’t believe in happily ever after. Yet living with Gracie and the twins might be enough to change his mind—and his womanizing ways. But when the press unearths a scandal from Gracie’s past, will he lose the one woman he was ready to open his heart to?

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Source: ARC from Lyrical Shine (Kensington Books) via NetGalley

Oh, this was fun. Smart woman with secrets coming up against the pro football player with baggage with a couple of cute kids and a crazy collie sandwiched between them – what’s not to love? I really liked Gracie. She’s a smart woman who’s worked hard to get where she is and who desperately wants to look after her nieces. She’s understandably protective of them at the beginning, but I love that she never tries to stand in Jake’s way when it comes to him getting to know them. As I said, she’s smart, but she’s also caring and fun, and her dog Murphy is brilliant.

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like Jake. Not only did he use the traditional troll fall back of making personal remarks about a woman’s appearance when losing an argument on the internet, but his initial thoughts and behaviour towards Gracie really did not endear him to me. He’s arrogant and entitled and wrong. However, he did improve as the book progressed. I loved seeing him getting to know the twins and the way he gradually won Gracie over was nice too. The pair of them make a good team and I enjoyed watching their relationship progress.

Or rather, I did, until they slept together for the first time and then the plot took a massive time jump and basically ignored that side of things for a prolonged period. After the sweet initial build up to their relationship, I found the time jumps a bit of a jolt, if I’m honest, and much though I loved Gracie’s best friend Max (even more than Jake), it might have been nice to have had more Gracie/Jake scenes than ones where Max steals the show.

However, I did like the way Gracie’s secret unfurled. I narrowed it down fairly early on to two candidates, but just when I thought I knew for certain, something would come up that made me question again. It’s cleverly handled right up until the reveal and add that to the too-cute ending and I found myself thoroughly enjoying this read.

If you like a romance with a hint of sporting prowess, a touch of heat and a couple of cute kids thrown in as a bonus, then you can’t go far wrong with this. It’s fun and flirty in all the right places and has a lovely romance at the heart of it all. A perfect pick-me-up after a rough day. I look forward to seeing where the series heads next.

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To Win Her Love is out August 4th!
Visit Mackenzie Crowne for more details.