She’s my sun and moon.My stars, my air, my sunshine.She’s every heartbeat.There are two kinds of women in the world – those I can bang, and those I can’t.My teammate’s sister?She’s a can’t.I moved in with her to protect her from a nasty ex, not to be the next guy in line.She’s the brains.I’m the brawn.She’s the fruit.I’m the sausage.She talks too much.I don’t talk at all, if I don’t have to.… the fruit.
I’m the sausage.
She talks too much.
I don’t talk at all, if I don’t have to.
Should be easy to resist her.
But every minute I spend with Felicity is another minute she gets under my skin. She makes me feel like something more than a dumb puckhead with a big Zamboni pony. And it’s getting harder to remember why I need to keep my hands to myself.
Beauty and the Beefcake is a vegan-friendly standalone romantic comedy featuring a hockey player whose vocabulary is the only thing smaller than a hockey puck, a book smart but aimless ventriloquist with too many voices in her head, a dilapidated old house that may or may not be haunted, and no cheating or cliffhangers.
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3.75’s.
I love it when a character that is quirky and somewhat odd finds their HEA. What we get here is double the happiness. Felicity is smart, genius smart but hasn’t had time to find where she fits in. She either has multiple personalities, just joking – she’s a comedian with her dummies and venting, a ventriloquist who also has four degrees, but her dream job is to work for the Thrusters, in any capacity. Ares is a hockey player like his twin, Zeus. They are now on separate teams which not only hurts Ares soul being apart from him, but Zeus was his voice, literally. Ares doesn’t say much, one word answers which can be more powerful than an essay. There are other deep reasons why he is silent, but you need to discover that yourself. But I loved him, he didn’t say much but when he did it was meaningful. I saw him, just as much as Felicity (and Lucy, Tim and Harold! ) I did find this book to be a little jumpy and it was slow at times but I also feel these two are one of my favorites in the Pippa Grant universe. As with the other books, there are bonus epilogues you don’t want to miss, the last one was the best! Now on to the next PG book.
5 Gentle Giant Stars
Beauty and the Beefcake is the third book in the Thrusters Hockey series by Pippa Grant. I’m not going to lie I’ve been dying to read this one. Ares has been in so many of the previous books that I was really looking forward to his story.
He’s the quiet type that doesn’t say much and a moving mountain with no brains. Those people who think this couldn’t be more wrong. He says what he needs to say and that’s it. Ares is my new favourite hero and there is so much that I love about him.
“I exist,” I tell Felicity. That’s why Mars is big. Because I still exist. Even when I think I’m nothing.
Felicity is a walking disaster. Every man she goes out with turns into a stacker when they break up. She gets hit on left and right and doesn’t seem to know why. She has such a high IQ but yet after 4 degrees she still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up!
She’s the piece I didn’t know I was missing. The words to my melody. The ice beneath my skates.
Felicity’s brother asks Ares to move in with her and look out for her. Murphy also asks his sister to let Ares move in so she can help him recover from a foot injury thing get interesting.
The right three words have more impact than ten thousand wrong words,
Along with a secondary characters that are delightful and Nanos’ ghost she what more could you want. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I discovered Pippa Grant’s books. Highly recommend this book.
Beauty and the Beefcake is the third book in the Thrusters Hockey series. Felicity is one of the Thrusters’ biggest fans, has been dying to get a job with them, and finally has an in by helping Ares with an injury. They are completely intrigued by one another, but a relationship between them should be off limits. Will logic win between these two, or will their hearts take over?
Oh my goodness! This is my new favorite book from Ms. Grant! For one main character who talks with grunts and gifs and the other with a super high IQ and low attention span, I didn’t know I could feel this much reading a book. Ares and Felicity completely stole my heart and I absolutely adore them! Ares is so strong, so silent, but communicates so much. I loved his haikus, I loved how protective he was, and fell for him as we realized how deep he truly was. Ugh, I swooned so hard for him! Felicity was absolutely adorable! She tried so hard sometimes, was goofy at others, and while she was so book smart, she wasn’t very people smart. I thought they complimented each other so well! They had amazing chemistry, I giggled often at how they interacted, I cried so hard for the last 30% of the book (both sad and happy tears), and you seriously can’t help but cheer for their happy ending! I love this book! I will reread this book often!
RATING 4.5 STARS
Beauty and the Beefcake is by Pippa Grant. This is a stand alone but the characters do appear in Pippa’s other books. This is a sports rom-com with tons and tons of heart. Two characters, both feel like they don’t fit in anywhere, like no one sees them or gets them, except each other.
“Without hockey, I’m nobody. Without hockey, there’s nothing making me okay. Nothing making me right.”
Ares Berger, twin brother of Zeus Berger, the hockey playing brothers. One loves the spot light, gets all the endorsements. And one doesn’t speak. That is Ares. Ares’s life is hockey. He’s six foot nine and is known as The Force. Ares doesn’t feel it necessary to waste air on words unless completely necessary. So, because of his size and lack of conversational skills, people think he doesn’t have a brain. They just see him as a jock. Women want him for what he can do for them. They don’t care about who he is. But now Ares has a high ankle sprain and is out of the game until it heals. He doesn’t need to heal. He can play with the pain. His team needs him. He needs his team.
Felicity Murphy is twenty seven years old and is a genius. She has several degrees in varying subjects. The latest degree she is pursuing is as a physical therapy assistant. Felicity’s brother is Nick Murphy, a pro hockey player for the Copper Valley Thrusters, the same team Ares is on. Felicity grew up with hockey. All she has ever wanted is to find some sort of job for the team, anything at all. Maybe her latest pursuit will finally get her in. Felicity has trouble fitting in. As a child she found she could vent her feelings by using different voices, she could talk without moving her lips. Now she uses her ventriloquist act for open mike nights and for every day venting. Her alter personalities are always on the ready. Felicity has another problem, one with men. She has terrible taste in men, such as her latest ex that won’t leave her alone.
“Ares Berger is under my skin. And I don’t know how to get him out. Or if I even want to.”
Felicity’s brother, Nick decides that having his teammate, Ares, move in with Felicity is the perfect solution. Felicity can watch Ares to make sure he takes care of his injury. And Ares can protect Felicity from her crazy ex boyfriend. What Nick might not have counted on is the attraction between Ares and Felicity.
“I’m very glad you exist.”
“I’m so glad I exist too.”
“She is everything. Makes me feel like I’m something. She makes me something.”
First, both of these two pretty much broke my heart. Getting into Ares head was both beautiful and painful. He felt so alone and lost sometimes. But with Felicity, he just felt seen, he felt like he was more. And Felicity, she really was so strong, even though she just didn’t know it. But Ares knew it.
“She owns me. She’s the piece I didn’t know I was missing. The words to my melody. The ice beneath my skates.”
Yes, there are plenty of silly antics, plenty of possible eye rolls, but these two characters really got to me. I just wanted to wrap them both up in a huge hug. Well, maybe just one leg since that’s all I would be able to hug since Ares is so big! This was such a sweet, sexy, fun romance, sure to make you sigh, swoon and smile. And that’s what reading is all about, right?!
“I’m finally where I’m supposed to be. Where I never thought I’d find. A home, for my heart.”
I love Pippa Grant! And Ares & Felicity are my favorite Couple!
What’s not to love about a hockey player named Ares who only speaks when he wants and Felicity! Great read!
Laugh out loud funny!!! Love Ares!!
What an intro into the Thrashers! Ares and Felicity have chemistry! Pippa brings her A-Game to the ice with this story. She introduces us to a team, but also a family. Ares is the protector who falls for his teammates sister. Felicity is the comic relief needed in every situation and together they are gold. I laughed along with them and fell in love right along with Felicity. Her emotions ran the gamut and their passion was rewarded tenfold! Can’t wait to read about the rest of the team!!
Ares may not say much, but he can speak for hours with his looks. He is the silent twin to Zeus’ loud mouth. Hockey is all Ares has, or so he thinks. He feels like he’s the dumb one because when he was younger he could hear right. So he became shy and let Zeus speak for them both.
Felicity was brilliant and quirky. She talked through puppets because she hated it when it was quiet. So she honed her skills as a ventriloquist. She grew up with a protective brother who’s whole life was hockey. She always knew she wanted to work for the Thruster’s hockey organization. She had to grow up fast as she graduated High School when she was 14. She had soo many failed careers because she just never fit in. Once again she was finishing her college degree as an assistant PT. This will finally get her job with the Thrusters.
Ares and Felicity were thrown together. The silent handsome hockey player and the talkative smart beautiful sisters to Ares best friend.
WOW! This story was just…WOW! I loved Ares when we first met him in Mr. McHottie. I knew he was misunderstood and the perfect man under his grunts. The way Pippa wrote Ares and Felicity’s love story was just perfect! I loved uncovering Ares’s layers and finding out why he was the silent type. And I loved how Felicity finally found herself and became who she was supposed to become.
Great story and Ares will always be one of my top Book Boyfriends!
There’s a lot going on in this book. It’s told in a lot of different “voices”. There’s only the two main characters whose viewpoints we’re seeing from. But, with Felicity especially, we also get to hear the story through the personalities of her ventriloquist puppets. All of these different voices, and the fact that about two thirds of Ares’ dialog is inferred through “speaking glances” makes it tough to keep track of what’s going on at times. The first three quarters of the book felt a lot like The Three Stooges do Hockey Night. It was funny, but it was repetitious and got a little old after a bit. But that last quarter? This is where the gold was for me. The story digs in and revels in all the emotional angst. It brought me to tears seeing these one-of-a-kind people diminished by the opinions of others to the point where their own self-esteem was affected. The ending was utterly ridiculous, but it was just so much fun.
4.5 Stars
I really liked this one. Ares is unlike and other character I’ve read. Actually I can say the same about Felicity. I loved all her voices, it added so much fun to the story. I did’t know what to think about Ares at first (intentionally done by the author as part of his character) but once he revealed himself on the pages I adored him so much. They truly were perfect for each other. And I adored Loki too. Now I have to go back and read the other related books.
Just knew with Ares fell, he would fall hard, after all when a giant doesn’t talk he has to do something…right? Felicity is all kinds of crazy, crazy good, crazy sweet, crazy because her brother is the goalie, and especially crazy because her ex-boyfriend has turned into a stalker bordering on assault. She has moved into their grandmother’s house and Nick moves Ares in with her while Ares is on the injures list and not playing, that way he can watch out for her and she can help him heal while working on her physical therapy assistant degree. Perfect match? Maybe too perfect. These two are great together. She talks too much with all the voices in her head that come out of her mouth and drive him crazy but a good kind of crazy. Just the right amount of heat, snark, and comedy to keep me listening from beginning to end, room to room, until I lost patience with interruptions. Definitely a recommendation from me!
I’ve been on a real Pippa Grant kick lately. Nobody does humor and heat like she does. I wasn’t sure what the stoic Ares would be like as a hero, but seeing behind the mask so to speak was so SO glorious. He is totally that “sees what needs doing and does it without having to be asked or told” kind of hero that I go gaga over. And THE VOICEMAIL. My heart. No spoilers, just read it.
Ares with his grunts and gif’s definitely saved all his words for Felicity in the end. The progression from strangers to friends to lovers was comical and lovable and corky. This was a fun story and world to sink into.
This story is not only funny, but gets you in the feels! A quiet mountain of a man and an extremely intelligent woman. Oh, and Lucy, Tom, and Harold. Haha!!! I loved this story, with its beautiful HEA.
Beauty and the Beefcake
By: Pippa Grant
Narrated by: Wen Ross, Virginia Rose
I can’t get enough of Pippa Grant! Each book I listen to makes me laugh, and fall in love with the characters! This one is especially fun, as it has a variety of personalities in our heroine, Felicity. She is an amazing ventriloquist, who has been trying to find herself. Now with a crazy ex stalking her, she needs some protection. Ares is an injured hockey player, a man of few words, who needs to rest and heal. Who better to be put together? This set up is so good, with the talkative Felicity, misunderstood, and underappreciated she is a woman we can all find something in common with. Ares, with his one word grunts, his persistence to be on the ice, and just his feeling of the underdog makes it impossible not to love him. And the fun, the laughter, the insecurity, the protectiveness, the monkey and the puppets made for an amazing listen!
With this incredible cast of characters, an amazing team needed to be cast. And a better one could not have been found. Virginia Rose was so good, I could not stop laughing. Her many voices for the many personalities that Felicity transmitted through her puppets were so good! I was in awe and kept laughing out loud! Ares needed a deep growlie man, and Wen Ross is the perfect pick. He can portray that alpha male with a grunted one word answer, and we know exactly what he wants! Together, this dual narration came through with such humor, steam and love, it is one you have to one click!
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This is one of my all-time favorite Pippa Grant’s books. Ares, who doesn’t speak much at all, stays with one of his teammates’ sister, who is brilliant with multiple career tracks and a tendency to attract guys like no other. Ares stole my heart – along with the heroine’s heart – and the heroine is incredibly witty.
I have to be honest and say it took me awhile to finally read this book, it was mostly because I didn’t quite enjoy Zeus and Joey’s story all that much and the thought of a ventriloquist was really not up my alley, but I really do want to kick myself now. I absolutely adored Ares and Felicity! Something about the gentle giant that hardly speaks yet speaks without words was fascinating to me (and his uses of emojis were hilarious). Felicity on the other hand is the complete opposite, she talks too much and she can be kind of a nut, I loved her. I actually just loved them both so much, individually and also together. They are perfect for one another, they completely understand and know who the other really is.
This was a fantastic book, so many laugh out loud moments, so many swoony moments and whole lot of sweetness too. I do have to mention Loki, the support monkey, he was hilarious and has his own way of communicating. I loved it all and definitely recommend this one.
So, I admit it. I totally started this series out of order. But this one came up on my Kindle recommendations, and between the dude on the cover and the description of Ares in the blurb (non-talkative, heroine’s off limits, the brawn to her brains), I had to read it.
Now, I’m going to admit. I was maybe a tiny, little bit skeptical about a hero named freaking Ares, with a twin brother named Zeus. I think I’ve read one, maybe two authors in my life who could pull off having heroes named after gods, and those were still in paranormal romances. Where they probably WOULD have been gods. But then we meet Ares. It was like checking off a list of Eden’s hottest things ever.
Huge? Um… 6’8. 350 mother-pucking pounds.
Quiet? Dude only talks in grunts and random words and weird-ass gifs.
Protective? YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT.
Alpha without being an asshole? Well, I read this book twice in two weeks. So…yeah. Pretty much.
Obsessed with the heroine? He. Leaves. Her. A. Voicemail. The man who doesn’t talk, and the entire world (oh, did I forget to mention he’s one of the absolute greatest hockey players of all time? And that’s not even a brag. He’s totally that good, knows it, without being cocky about it. Because he doesn’t think he has anything in the world to offer anyone if he isn’t on the ice) believes he can’t even tie his shoes by himself–seriously, he even has it in his contract that he doesn’t have to talk to the press–leaves her a voicemail. After she broke his heart.
I know what you’re thinking. She broke his heart?? Yeah, she did. But…remember my thing about heroines deserving their heroes, too? Never once did Felicity do anything that wasn’t specifically to take care of Ares. So when I say that Ares is probably my absolute new favorite book boyfriend of all time, and Felicity is perfect for him, that’s the biggest compliment I can give her.
So, after reading this, I went back and started with Mister McHottie, Ares’ sister Ambrosia’s story. When I was done devouring that one, I immediately grabbed Zeus’s The Pilot and The Puck-Up.
Then after that, read the prince’s story, Royally Pucked, before I had to go back and re-read Beauty and the Beefcake again.
And I’m not even going to pretend I won’t read Ares and Felicity’s story at least one more time before the end of the year. Seriously, if you haven’t read Pippa Grant’s stories, GO DO IT NOW. Then sign up for her newsletter, because you guys. She sends bonus epilogues for all of her books.
originally posted at edenashe.com/blogPippa Grant Beauty and the Beefcake
Loved Ares and Felicity’s story. Sweet and funny but also steamy. Loved their happy ever after. Such a great read. Definitely recommend.