A Favor for a Favor

Stevie Bowman is having a bad day. She had delays on her flight home, broke the wheel on her suitcase, and found her boyfriend humping another woman in their apartment- and, oh yeah, it’s her birthday. Yay.

Her brother, NHL captain of the new Seattle expansion team, saves the day by offering her his penthouse condo, but even that gets messed up by a rude and obnoxious neighbor wearing underpants and a big… attitude.

Bishop likes his sleep. He works hard to prove his value on the new expansion team- especially since his place as captain was usurped by his arch nemesis, Rook Bowman- and caring for his diabetic brother. He doesn’t need a pain-in-the-ass puck bunny showing up at Bowman’s (who’s married, by the way) in the middle of the night. Funny thing though, when he lays into her, she shoots it straight back to him even though he’s over a foot taller and twice her size. He kinda likes that. Not to mention, she’s got one hell of a… temper.

Stevie is determined to put the past behind her and focus on her new career as a sports rehab physiotherapist. She needs to prove to her brother, and herself, that she doesn’t need his help, so when Bishop injures his groin at a game, she reluctantly agrees to a favor for a favor. She helps him get back on the ice ahead of schedule, and he’ll write her up a recommendation. Except, a hot attraction threatens to derail their plans and ruin everything.

This book was so much fun to read that I had to go out and buy the next in series!

Favorite Lines
Did he just say my face is a boner-killer?

A Favor For A Favor- Helen Hunting

“A mistake becomes a choice when you make it more than once. Looks like maybe you should’ve thought about the consequences before you made yours.”

Hunting, Helena. A Favor for a Favor (All In) (p. 41). Kindle Edition.

The dialogue is raunchy at times, but it suits what I would expect from a hockey player and Stevie has two brothers and works in the sports industry, so again, it works. It takes a backseat to the humor anyway, which is outrageous!

Bishop is a sweetheart under all his bluster, while Stevie is vulnerable and trying hard not to show it. They make the perfect pair.

I give A Favor for a Favor 5 lovely kisses- This is a fun read!

“His man stick is pretty much broken. I’m not getting a ride out of this, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

This story is so much fun! I giggled and blushed and giggled some more. The mistakes, misunderstanding, and mishaps were so entertaining, at least on my end. Not so much for the colorful characters that were exchanging favors among other things.

Their first meeting was quite memorable and started them on the wrong foot. They traded attitude and insults and there was no turning back from those bad first impressions. I had such a good time anticipating their every encounter… wondering what underwear he’d be wearing. Did I mention that he’s got a thing for graphic boxers briefs? If you don’t believe me, just ask him and he’ll tell you. “My underwear is a thing.”

Some girls have all the luck. Why can’t I ever end up with a sexy hockey hunk for a neighbor? Especially one that has a sense of humor and likes to flash his assets? But, I don’t begrudge her, I like her too much. It can’t be easy having a brother that’s a professional hockey player, right? Never having privacy or knowing if your friends are real or just using you to get to him. So, it makes sense that she prefers to stay far away from the limelight. It’s not surprising that the jerk across the hall has no idea who she is. I couldn’t wait for him to finally figure it out!

The snark and sexual banter between them were so funny and HOT! Of course, she had to put her hands all over those muscles to help him rehab after his injury. Yes, it was very hard but somebody had to do it. Might as well be her, right? Though I’m sure there’d be a line around the block if he was taking volunteers. I loved this latest addition to the All In series and can’t wait for A Secret for a Secret. The line forms here…

*5 Stars*

ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review.

This has fast become one of my favourite series. I’m loving getting to know these characters and also getting glimpses of our faves from the Pucked series (which I still really to need to finish btw, shame on me!).

Stevie and Bishop have the most awkward and aggravating meeting, and then many of their interactions for a while after that are all based off of that initial run in, and assumptions about one another. I really loved when they finally found out who the other person actually was, and then started to get to know one another.

Stevie has a lot of personal things going on, and her own insecurities have added to that, and I think Helena wrote this really well. To live your whole life with a famous brother has to take it’s toll, and it was great to have a character such as Stevie, and to see her wanting to come out from under that shadow, not being a character to use her brothers fame and fortune to get her ahead.

Bishop also has some personal things going on, mostly to do with his brother (who I would totally love a book for, even though by the end we get some details about his personal life). I actually really liked Bishop, as much be has a gruff and at times rude kind of personality. Underneath all that he’s a sweetie in his own way, and definitely a fantastic character.

Cannot wait for more from this series, another fabulous read from Helena Hunting.

A Favor for a Favor (All In Book #2) by Helena Hunting is a contemporary romance that will have you laughing out loud and/or teary eyed more times than you can count throughout this fun and entertaining read. This is the second book in the “All In” series featuring alpha professional hockey jocks from Seattle’s new expansion NHL team, but it is easily read as a standalone romance.

Stevie Bowman is excited to surprise her boyfriend returning from her trip early to her and her boyfriend’s new apartment in time for her birthday. But the surprise is on her when she walks in and finds him in bed having sex with someone else.
Her brother, Rook helps her out by letting her live in his team apartment he is not using while she gets back on her feet. As she stumbles in late at night, she wakes her neighbor, who is not happy to be woken up. Stevie just wants to hide and get away from this jerk of a neighbor.

Bishop Winslow cannot believe his strait-laced team captain is keeping a side piece in his apartment. He already hates that Rook was made team captain instead of him and this makes it even worse. Imagine his surprise when he finds out the mistress is actually the hot younger sister.

Bishop suffers a severe groin injury in the very first pre-season game. Stevie offers Bishop a deal. She will assist with his rehab so he can return to the ice sooner, if he will give her a letter of recommendation which will help advance her career in sport physiotherapy. Can they keep it strictly professional?

I absolutely love Bishop and Stevie. They are perfect examples of “do not judge someone because you don’t know what they are going through privately.” The underwear war had me laughing out loud.

I am fast becoming a huge fan of Helena Hunting’s romances. The characters are realistic, full-fleshed and the dialogue is pitch perfect. She captures the sex appeal and down-and-dirty language and foibles of young professional male athletes. The women she creates are strong, but surprisingly quirky and/or have an emotional impediment that I would never think would work as a match for these men and yet each is the perfect match.

I highly recommend this contemporary romance and author!

A Favor for a Favor is now my favorite hockey book of Helena’s! I loved how real the characters were. I loved the build of their friendship. It’s my favorite trope and Helena did it superbly! A huge recommend from me. Also, it was really funny too. *wink wink*

C’est toujours un régal de lire une comédie romantique d’Helena Hunting et ce second tome de la saga All in a tenu toutes ses promesses. Dès les premières pages , le ton est donné car les joutes verbales seront de mises et les tenues de combats au rendez vous. Vous n’allez pas vous ennuyer une seule seconde avec A favor for a favor .

Stevie Bowman est la petite soeur de Rook alias RJ que nous avions découvert dans le premier tome sur lui et Lainey. Ce dernier revient de loin car ce serial séducteur s’est enfin posé et est heureux avec sa femme et son fils Koby. La situation sentimentale de notre héroïne est quant à elle loin d’être géniale ! Après avoir eu une relation à distance , elle arrive à Seattle pour faire une surprise à Joey son petit ami mais c’est elle qui aura une sacrée surprise et elle sera des plus désagréables ! Le pire est qu’elle va devoir continuer de travailler à ses côtés car elle entame sa formation pour devenir kiné dans le milieu sportif. Joey est une vraie tête à claques et il m’a donné plus d’une fois envie de le baffer. Il mettra tout en oeuvre pour pourrir la vie de notre héroïne et on espère qu’elle trouvera en elle la force de le confronter une bonne fois pour toute. Stevie a toujours tout mis en oeuvre pour ne pas être sous le feu des projecteurs et ce ne sera pas chose facile avec la notoriété de son frère. Ce dernier ne semble pas conscient du poids qui pèse sur les épaules de sa soeur et je l’ai même trouvé assez égocentrique dans ses propos. Il n’est pas mauvais ou égoïste mais il ne conçoit pas qu’elle puisse mener sa vie comme elle l’entend. Il veut certes la protéger et il va le faire très maladroitement.

Stevie n’est pas une jeune femme faible et elle sait ce qu’elle veut dans sa vie. Quand elle est vulnérable , elle va faire la rencontre de son cher voisin et les premiers échanges seront très tendus. Les quiproquos et les préjugés sont donc à l’origine de situations comiques dont nous allons nous délecter. Elle va accepter de lui rendre service en échange de sa “protection” contre l’affreux Joey. Elle sera indéniablement une aide précieuse à un moment délicat de la carrière de notre joueur et la relation qu’ils vont réussir à tisser est vraiment très intéressante à découvrir. On attend avec impatience les moments qu’ils passeront ensemble car on sait qu’on passera un bon moment avec eux. Nous allons donc espérer qu’ils puissent s’entendre sur la longueur et qu’ils pourront affronter main dans la main les obstacles qui vont se mettre sur leur chemin. Stevie pourrait bien aussi trouver sa place dans le groupe des femmes de joueurs et j’ai pris plaisir à revoir Violet qui n’a toujours aucun filtre et qui nous promet donc encore de délicieux moments.

Bishop Winslow est un joueur de hockey que nous allons découvrir dans ce tome. Il est nouvellement arrivé dans l’équipe et il n’a pas encore digéré le fait que Rook ait obtenu le poste de capitaine qu’il convoitait. Leurs rapports sont très tendus et ils n’iront pas en s’améliorant car chacun campera sur ses positions. Ils ont de forts caractères et cela pourrait faire des étincelles sur le glace. Ils devront mettre de côté leur différent s’ils veulent souder leur équipe et même Alex Waters aura du pain sur la planche. Une blessure va lourdement l’handicaper et si on a envie de rire de cette blessure si particulière , on sent qu’il souffre atrocement. Le fait de devoir être loin de la glace va aussi jouer sur son mental et ce grognon va devoir prendre son mal en patience.

Si en apparence , il semble être un homme à femmes, il faudra gratter le vernis pour découvrir qui il est vraiment. Il est évident qu’il a une colère grandissante en lui mais il va devoir la canaliser s’il veut avoir des dialogues construits et constructifs avec Stevie. Il s’occupe aussi de Nolan , son frère et c’est intéressant de voir que la relation de nos deux héros avec leur frère respectif apporte son lot de tension et d’inquiétude supplémentaires. Nolan a quelques soucis et abuse de la notoriété de son frère pour attirer les femmes dans son lit. Bishop est au final maladroit quand il s’agira de protéger ceux qu’il aime mais heureusement il pourra compter sur Kingston pour tempérer les choses mais aussi lui ouvrir les yeux sur des notions amoureuses qu’il ne maîtrise absolument pas.

Bref, si vous lisez en VO, foncez découvrir cette nouvelle saga All In car vous ne le regretterez pas. J’espère vivement pour les lecteurs français qu’une traduction VF sera disponible prochainement car Helena Hunting nous offre une romance sportive comme on les aime avec de l’humour, de l’adrénaline , du hockey et de la sensualité. Le cocktail est explosif et on en redemande encore et toujours. Le prochain tome sera sur Kingston et j’ai hâte de retrouver cet univers si addictif.

A Favor for a Favor gets off to a rocky start with a way less than cute first meeting between the hero, Bishop Winslow, and heroine, Stevie Bowman. Bishop is a teammate of Stevie’s brother, Rook, and they have their own antagonistic relationship that definitely colors Stevie and Bishop’s at first. While there wasn’t any romance going on between them in the beginning, there sure was a whole lot of attraction.

Stevie Bowman, a recent grad school graduate in physiotherapy, has had one heck of a bad day. She arrives home a few days early to celebrate her birthday with her boyfriend and gets her own very unpleasant surprise. With nowhere else to go, she heads to her brother’s empty penthouse in the middle of the night, looking every bit of the hot mess her life has suddenly become. The last thing she needs is a super-hot guy in his underwear giving her a wicked tongue lashing for the inadvertent ruckus of her arrival. She dishes it right back, and the tone is set between the two of them.

Bishop is struggling to settle into his new team. His plate is full dealing with his younger brother’s health issues, and he’s being shuffled around on the ice. As if all of that isn’t enough, he gets sidelined the first game of the season with a massive groin injury further complicating his efforts to fit in on the team. He discovers his assumptions about Stevie were way off base, and she proposes a mutually beneficial favor for a favor arrangement. She’ll double up his PT to get him back on the ice, and he’ll give her the glowing recommendation of a professional athlete to bolster her new career.

Stevie begins rehabbing Bishop, and the sparks between them start to fly. I loved their snappy banter, but even more than that I loved how they didn’t rush to act on the chemistry between them. They kept it mostly professional, but the more time they spent together getting to know each other, the more their walls came down. Stevie has struggled with the attention she received as a result of her brother’s fame, and now as an adult, she is fanatical in her efforts to avoid it. This couple grows a lot during this time, and I loved watching them become friends while fighting their attraction to each other.

A Favor For A Favor was a fun take on a quid pro quo scenario, and Helena Hunting brought the heart, the heat and the humor in this swoony, sexy and sweet enemies-to-lovers romance. A Favor For A Favor by Helena Hunting gets 4.5 smooches from me!
~Danielle Palumbo, Red Cheeks Reads

Although I love Rook and Lainey…Bishop…omg! He is EVERYTHING. The handsome jerk you can’t help but want to get close to. Stevie is such a cutie with her pastel hair and spunky personality. The two together? And flirting and trying not to be together? I swooned over the peephole games and play fighting. I really enjoyed this funny, crazy addictive page turner.

I was incredibly lucky enough to selected to receive an advance copy of this book to read and review. So thank you so much for that Helena Hunting and team! I loved Lie for a Lie, it was fantastic and RJ and Lainey were the best or so I thought until I read Stevie and Bishop’s story. I read the whole entire book with a smile on my face because it was just that awesome. Despite a rocky start with some rather creative insults aimed at Stevie and a subsequent underwear war (this was genius) Bishop is hurt and turns to Stevie for help getting back on the ice. The chemistry ignites but Stevie has a intense dislike for being in the public eye and at times I definitely wanted to grab her by her shoulders and shake some sense into her because you really can’t get better than what she and Bishop have. Oh and we get some Violet and Alex thrown in there for good measure how can you be mad at that? I didn’t want this book to end. I am so very much looking toward to reading it again when the audio book releases.

I love Stevie!! She has such great sarcasm to counteract Bishop and a-hole attitude. They meet when she is trying to get into her temporary accommodations after catching her boyfriend cheating on her. Murphy’s Law was in full effect for Stevie that night. Bishop thinks Stevie is the mistress of the person who the Penthouse belongs to. However, the apartment belongs to her brother, but that has not been explained. Weeks go by before all is revealed. Bishop plays on the same NHL tesm with her brother, and they hate wach other.
Stevie is s physiotherapist so when Bishop gets hurt, she offers to help rehab him. This is the beginning of their truce. During this story we get more Rook & Lainey and Alex & Violet. Violet will always be my #1!!
This is a must read.