From the author of sexy romantic comedies comes the story of a meddling grandmother searching for lifelong love. For her hockey player grandson… I own Aphrodite’s Boutique, a store that I adore with all my heart, and which is at risk of being replaced with a condo development. Losing the boutique also means the loss of my wishing-well fountain. The proceeds from it go to a local center for … wishing-well fountain. The proceeds from it go to a local center for underprivileged kids.
To save them both, all I have to do is pretend to be Travis Hamilton’s girlfriend.
Sounds simple enough. Right?
Except he and I have a history together…but he doesn’t seem to remember me.
****
My feisty, well-meaning grandmother raised me after my parents died, but now she’s determined to help me find The One. But when most women I meet tend to be only interested in my hockey-player salary, why bother?
Only a fake girlfriend will deter my grandmother’s matchmaking scheme.
Too bad the one woman who can help me is the sexy redhead who wants to assist me as much as she wants her eyeballs dunked in hot sauce and barbecued.
To convince her, I promise to help her with her own dilemma. And to sweeten the deal? A Magic Mike number, with my teammates, to raise money for the community center.
But sometimes fire and ice really do mix. Now I have to decide if love is in the air—and if together, Emma and I make something hotter. Something stronger. Something real.
Decidedly with Love is a standalone romance. All the books in the series can be read in any order.
“Be warned dear reader, this book will have you giggling and blushing as you devour it”—Subclub Books
“I laughed with this book, but also cried a lot”—Blog on the Run
more
When a fake date becomes real love!
Dress designer Nala Johnson is a workaholic, and her passion has been making dresses for girls with challenges but only way her grandmother and the company would fund the clothing line was by finishing her bucket list she made in college. Slight problem, one of them was a date with a hot hockey player and to find a husband and she wasn’t even dating anybody!
Hockey player Eli Lawson needed a fake date to get his family off his back for his cousin’s wedding so when Nala’s friends bought her a date at a charity auction, he thought that maybe they could help each other. Just what could go wrong with pretending to date while finding Nala a husband?
Decidedly with Wishes is a fun and entertaining romance where Nala is a fish out of water trying the items on her bucket list!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the 3rd book in this series and is Travis and Emma’s story. Travis is a hockey player who will do anything for his grandma, and when she is determined to find him his soulmate, he takes matters into his own hands and convinces Emma to become his fake girlfriend. Emma is more that reluctant to agree to this deal as they have a history which he seems to have forgotten about. This is a fast paced, light-hearted, fun, entertaining and humorous tale, which in my opinion only, felt a tad to rushed in places, however, I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I recommend for all.
Decidedly with Love
by Stina Lindenblatt
Narrated by Tim Paige, Isabelle Ruther
series By the Bay #3
There is nothing better than a man who wants to please his grandmother. To keep her happy, Travis needs to bring home a girlfriend. When he meets Emma, their is some friction, but she needs some help, and if she will pretend to be his girlfriend, the rewards will fix her problems. Life is never that easy though. Will they be able to pull the wool over Granny’s eyes? Will feelings get in the way? Who will come out unscathed? Stina Lindenblatt writes another laugh out loud romcom that has a story impossible not to fall in love with. Travis is quite the character. Determined not to be the man who ever settles down, this man certainly can romance with the best of them. Emma finally finds the will to let her guard down. I love watching her blossom. And Granny, what a woman! She steals the show with her shenanigans. It’s a fun listen and great addition to the By the Bay series.
Narrated by Tim Paige and Isabelle Ruther, we are treated to a wonderful performance. Perfect comedic timing, these two make a fantastic team. Each voice matches the personality of the character and their voices compliment each other so well, it makes the story flow with ease. Another enjoyable audio!
https://bit.ly/3kQLY1k
Emma & Travis’ book was absolutely amazing. These two started off on the wrong foot. He makes her mad but then afterwards figures out he needs her for a fake realtionship to keep his Granny happy, because his Granny is always trying to set him up. No two people are better suited for each other than Emma and Travis. They both have sad backgrounds in their life and both have trust issues. However, if you put your faith in the right person, then you will get out of a relationship what you put into it. This is a beautiful love story, it is extremely well written and entertaining. An absolute must read!!!
I love fake relationship stories and I think Stina Lindenblatt completely rocked this troupe with Decidedly with Love! Travis and Emma’s story was amazing! I loved all the characters especially Travis’ grandma and her friends (I want to be his grandma when I grow up). This story is so well written – I was able to read it in one sitting! LOVED!!
The Hockey Romance Writing Gods are alive and well and this book ‘Decidedly With Love’ by Stina Lindenblatt is a second chance/sports romance lovers dream come true.
Travis is a charming, even if a little jaded, well-intentioned, sexy as sin, professional hockey player. You feel his energy on every single page of this book.
Emma is a slightly damaged product of the foster care system and has difficulty opening up to people. She runs a “romance” shop and is wary of men.
The two strike a deal. She’ll be his fake girlfriend so that his gran will stop her matchmaking schemes and he will secure her lease, paint a mural for the youth center near and dear to her heart and convince his teammates to put on Magic Mike performance all to raise money.
Neither are prepared for the earth shattering physical and emotional connection they share. Their road to happily ever after is a given and reading it was an absolute pleasure. All the stars for this wonderful book. I look forward to reading more by this incredible author.
This is the third book in the series. If you haven’t read this series you are truly missing out. The characters are so great. I love the secondary characters just as much. Travis and Emma had me so invested in their story right from the beginning. Travis and Emma make a deal to pretend date for honorable reasons, but what happens what feelings start to feel all too real? I mean this book had me sold right from the first page with it’s Harry Potter reference. Just ask my family and friends I’m a Harry Potter nut so I enjoyed all the Harry Potter references through out the book. This book had me laughing and happy sighing through the whole book. Travis’ grandma reminded me of my grandma a lot. She would be all over how Fanny celebrated her 80th birthday. This is a make you feel good story. I can tell you it makes you want to read more from this series. I can’t recommend this one enough.
Sometimes I drive myself mental with how crazy I make myself over the smallest of things. So I finished all the ARCs I had to immediately review and had a few due in a few weeks and had to decide what to read next. But nothing was grabbing me so I decided to read the next ARC due. Until I realised it was part of a series and I had only read part of it. And I fixated on the books I hadn’t read. Despite having a kindle full of books and a KU subscription I found myself having to pay $5 for a book because my brain wouldn’t let me read anything else. Gah.
Luckily for me this was a really easy to read book. The whole story just felt cozy. There was no major dramas and all the characters were really likable. I just enjoyed everything about it.
Travis and Emma were both really sweet. They each had their own reasons for being closed off from getting into a real relationship. And for both of them they were genuine, understandable reasons that I couldn’t fault them for. But luckily for us Nanna Fanny made Travis open his eyes and see what was right under his nose.
So even though I started this book a little annoyed with myself I am really glad I sucked it up and read this book. And now I am going to dive straight into the next book in the series.
Loved the characters and the plot. Thank you. Highly Recommend. Thanks!
I love a good hockey-related story. Such fun with the grandmother match making.
Gosh, I forgot how fun Lindenblatt’s writing is. The By the Bay series is full of interesting, quirky characters that have some serious hang-ups. Decidedly with Love is book #3 in the series and focuses on Travis, one of Josh’s teammates, and Emma, the owner of Aphrodite Boutique. Emma is a totally new character that is introduced in this book. Travis is a fave from the very first book. Decidedly with Love is a quick, easy-peasy, light and breezy read that is pure entertainment and just plain fun. While we were introduced to Travis’ grandma, Fanny, in a previous book, she gets star power in this one. She definitely shines through this whole story! And even more fun? She’s joined by a couple of cohorts who are just as bright. If you want a relaxing and fun read pick this one up!
Very enjoyable
A hot hockey player. A woman that owns a sex shop that focuses on women. A matchmaking grandmother and her 2 best friends. Throw in a little strip dance for charity, and you have all the makings for a crazy good time, right?
This story started with a guy that just wants his grandmother to stop trying to set him up. He cooks up a crazy scheme with a couple of his friends and it goes from there. Of course, nothing good can come from a scheme this off the wall.
Emma and Travis are both playful, fun characters. I enjoyed reading all about their crazy path to love. Travis thinks he is happy with his life just the way it is. Emma knows that she wants more, but doesn’t know how to get it. But they both have issues stemming from their childhoods that keep them from being in a relationship.
Let’s not forget Travis’s grandmother and her friends. They are hilarious! I could not get enough of them. I think I laughed throughout most of the story, from their antics.
This was a fun read, with just enough serious thrown in to keep it interesting. Definitely worth the read. Although there are visits from characters from previous books in the series and mentions of previous events, this story can be read as a standalone.
This is the third book in the By the Bay series and can be read as a standalone. The characters from the first two books make appearances as they are friends with Travis. You don’t have to read the first two books for this story, it just is fun to know the other couple’s histories.
Emma Lovejoy is a fun heroine with a tragic past. She was abandoned as a child and grew up in the foster care system. She owns her own love store, Aphrodite’s Boutique, and peddles everything from erotic scented candles and massage oils to adult sex toys and movies. She is beautiful, sweet, sexy and funny and she believes in love and wants to have someone love her. Her clients love her and that includes three grandmothers who frequent her store. Emma has a fountain that is similar to the Trevi Fountain in Rome to include Aphrodite. She also has a side job writing a love column for a local paper. Dear Dr. Lovejoy. Very few people know that Emma is the author and no she isn’t a doctor. The antics in the store are hilarious and the grandmothers are characters. One of them belongs to Travis, the hero.
Travis is a professional hockey player for the San Francisco Rock and he loves his life, to include his single status. He lost his parents when he was still in high school and his grandmother was there to help pick up the pieces. They are very close, and she is after him to settle down and have a child. She wants a great grandchild before she dies, she is 80 but doesn’t act like it. Travis wants his grandmother to quit trying to fix him up with women, so he comes up with a plan to find a fake girlfriend. He chooses Emma for reasons I won’t go into because you need to read the book to find out the rest of the story.
This is a sweet, funny, and sexy feel good love story. The characters had amazing chemistry and I loved their journey to get to their HEA. There were parts that I felt bad for the characters. The story flowed well and there were a few stomach plummets. I was totally engaged and involved with the story and characters. I really loved the characters and the secondary characters added a lot of comic relief! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I highly recommend it. It’s definitely worth the read!
A hot hockey player. A woman that owns a sex shop that focuses on women. A matchmaking grandmother and her 2 best friends. Throw in a little strip dance for charity, and you have all the makings for a crazy good time, right?
This story started with a guy that just wants his grandmother to stop trying to set him up. He cooks up a crazy scheme with a couple of his friends and it goes from there. Of course, nothing good can come from a scheme this off the wall.
Emma and Travis are both playful, fun characters. I enjoyed reading all about their crazy path to love. Travis thinks he is happy with his life just the way it is. Emma knows that she wants more, but doesn’t know how to get it. But they both have issues stemming from their childhoods that keep them from being in a relationship.
Let’s not forget Travis’s grandmother and her friends. They are hilarious! I could not get enough of them. I think I laughed throughout most of the story, from their antics.
This was a fun read, with just enough serious thrown in to keep it interesting. Definitely worth the read. Although there are visits from characters from previous books in the series and mentions of previous events, this story can be read as a standalone.