HarperI fell in love when I was sixteen. Landon was my entire world and I thought he would be my forever. But I was young and dumb, and with one error in judgement, I destroyed any chance of a future we could’ve had together, along with our hearts.Twelve years later and I’m going through the motions of life, but not actually living. Which is why I let my friends, Bridget and Simon, set me up on a … set me up on a blind date. Turns out, it’s not so blind after all. Because the man sitting in front of me is the same man who’s held onto my heart all these years.
Landon
They call me a Clutch Player because I’m good under pressure and quick on my feet. I was also quick to fall in love. The first time it was with baseball, the second was with Harper. And for a short time I had them both.
Until I lost Harper and all I had left was baseball.
For years, I focused on my career. I had accepted that baseball was my one true love.
Until I saw her again. I never imagined we’d ever get a second chance, but now that she’s sitting right across from me, I know there’s no way in hell I’m going to let her go again.
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Landon and Harper just about broke me. I went through their ups and downs right along with them. I didn’t even realize I was almost done with the book until I got to the epilogue. It’s angsty with some drama but with lots of love and passion. I’ll admit, I got sentimental right along with Landon and Harper towards the end and cried. Yes, I cried. You’ll know why when you read this; because you have to read this!!
Landon came into her life when she needed someone the most, he was the shoulder she needed to lean on, the supplier of laughs to lighten her heavy load… and before long the owner of her young heart. Harper and Landon thought they had the world in their hands, thought they’d be together forever, then Landon’s baseball career came calling and suddenly he was hours away, and Harper was alone. Self doubt began to move in, loneliness took over, and costly mistakes were made… and suddenly they were no more.
Life hasn’t turned out for Harper quite like she planned, now twelve years later she is essentially starting her life over, with a lot of baggage in tow. Her friends think she needs a man in her life, and while she can admit their right, she also has her reservations about it too… her last round with a man didn’t end too well. She reluctantly agrees to a blind date, and the moment she arrives at the restaurant and sees who is waiting for the breath is stolen from her lungs… it can’t be. It’s the second chance she never thought she’d get!
Clutch Player is a story of first loves, second chances, and letting go of old wounds. Landon and Harper were the perfect pairing, the love and attraction they had for one another was immediately evident, but there was also this magnetic connection between them that ignited so much feeling from the pages. I loved watching these two fall for one another in their teens, then my heart broke right along with their’s when it didn’t pan out, but never fear they fixed what they broke by the last page. It’s been a while since I have had a story get to me like this one did, the words grabbed a hold of me and just wouldn’t let go, every chance I got I was racing to my kindle and diving right back into their world! I loved every single second of this one, it was absolute perfection from beginning to end! Highly recommend!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.
Oh my glorious gods, this book really tripped me up. This book absolutely rocked my socks off. Everything about this story was perfect to a T.
This was my first time reading a book from this author and I was greatly impressed with her writing style. It was so welcoming and natural. I was flying through the pages. I really loved the way that the author chose to tell the story. She starts the book off with the main characters in their teens and it worked really well for this particular story. It really solidified the emotions, feelings, and bond that the two main characters had with each other. The plot of the story was perfection. I loved every moment of this story.
These characters really captured a piece of my heart. They were so well developed and had such amazing character development. I loved how relatable the characters were. I really felt a connection with them. I also really loved all of the secondary characters, including the children in the story. I loved the representation of both friendship and family.
This is one romance that you will feel to your core. Harper and Landon have such an intense bond that you can feel it in the air. Their relationship always felt natural. They have explosive chemistry with one another as well. I was rooting for these two from the very start.
Overall, this is a beautiful second chance romance that will melt your heart. This is an emotional story that really packs a punch. It’s an impeccably written story that will be sure to capture your heart like it has mine. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Only Nikki Ash can make me sob, swoon and scream at my kindle repeatedly. I swear I get so freaking attached to every character she writes. And I don’t mean attached in like an “awwwww, I love them!” way, I mean attached in a I’m totally obsessed and will cut a b!#ch if they try to so much as breathe on me when I’m reading one of her books kind of way. (I’m a totally, mostly sane person…really)
Annnnnnyhoo, less rambling about my obsessive love and more rambling about why Clutch Player is faneffingtastic. Immediately you’re pulled in to Landon and Harper’s world. I was instantly loving Harper the second I started reading. Even young Harper was someone I would have been friends with back before I was an old biddy cackling over book boyfriends in my leggings and hoodies. She was sweet, she was smart and she was just all around adorable. Young Landon however I would have had to throw my love for Harper out the window for. No young man should be the swoony. It’s just not fair to my old heart.
If that’s not enough reason to get you grabbing this book right now, let me tell you, these two grow up and add a HUGE, GIGANTIC mountain of heat onto all that sweet. Their story hits you repeatedly with emotional punches then soothes your soul with beautiful romance in a way that will blow your mind.
Gah! Landon is soooo dreamy
Man, what a way to kickoff my CHC journey.
Nikki Ash knocked it out of the park with this one.
Sweet, steamy, sad, heart breaking, heart warming – it had ALL THE FEELS.
LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it.
I absolutely adored Clutch Player. This is my first book by Nikki Ash and it won’t be the last. This second chance romance was perfect in every way. The characters, the storyline, the emotions….. perfect!! It has been quite some time since I read a book from this trope and it certainly reminded me why I love them so much!
If I hadn’t had to sleep, then this book would have been read in one sitting. From the very first chapter I was hooked and this story just flowed so perfectly that I didn’t want to put it down. Harper and Landon are meant for each other. They meet, fall in love and then life decided to throw everything at them in order to keep them apart and at times their situations broke my heart.
Harper is an incredible person – There is nothing that I wanted more for her than to be happy. She’s kind, caring, thoughtful, considerate and always puts others before herself.
Landon is nothing short of perfection – He made me swoon so many times throughout the story and if I could, I would swap places with Harper in an instant!
This incredible and realistic story brought out every emotion in me. I had to reach for the tissues at times because along with some heartache this is a book filled with love. I have to say that Clutch Player is beautifully written in dual POV, allowing us to understand and feel what both Harper and Landon were going though and I felt that the secondary characters added to the story perfectly too.
I would recommend this book for you to read without hesitation. Be prepared for some laugh out loud moments that gained me some funny looks and as I’ve already mentioned please have those tissues to hand. I know that you will love this story just as much as I do.
Holy shizzle, Nikki Ash! Pretty sure you’re a romance murder because you’ve killed me with this amazing romance and I’m not about to be the only one! I’m so beyond in love with this story, these characters, the writing, and perfect amounts of feels. Clutch Player is truly Nikki Ash at her best.
Landon and Harper are amazing. Ahhh-mayyy-zing. Yes, said exactly like that. That’s how amazing they are. I swear to Jesus, Nikki Ash has a gift for writing heroines that are relatable, likable, and easy to root for. Harper felt like one of my girls. And if I loved Harper, I plain ol’ was eating out of Landon’s fiction hand! The man was swoon-central! I absolutely loved the delicious baseball player through and through. As if that wasn’t enough the chemistry, connection, and HEAT between Harper and Landon is stellar. STELLAR. Gah, I could go on and on, but seriously just get this book now! Don’t TBR it, just GET IT! Five stars, must read, top 10 of 2020. It’s like that!
Dear gods, Nikki Ash you’ve outdone yourself! I’ve literally just put my kindle down, having read this book in one sitting, through the night, as I couldn’t wait to see what was gonna happen with our lead characters.
Of the books I’ve read by Ms Ash to date, Clutch Player is without doubt my favourite. I thought the Imperfect Love series gave me all the feels but hell, this pair had me on an emotional rollercoaster….. there were tears, so many damned tears, of heartbreak, relief, happiness and joy…. – i lost track of how many tissues I went through reading this – I finished the book a snotty nosed mess, but in the best over-the-moon way!!
This was an exceptional story of first, true love and I adored Landon and Harper, they were so meant to be together and I loved watching them fight for their second chance.. their story from initial meeting, through friendship, love, it all going horribly wrong to them reconnecting was well written, engaging and believable.
True love doesn’t always run smooth and choices and actions made in your youth can change lives in the blink…. reading about their mistakes hurt my heart, but sometimes you have to grow and learn to be able to be the person your meant to be!!
Clutch Player is packed with humour, heart, hurt, love and heat. That epilogue, bloody hell, I couldn’t get through it dry eyed!!
The characters are great and likeable – adults and kids – though there was one that I wanted to throat punch from around chapter one… but that’s kudos to the author for writing so well that she pulled those emotions from me for a fictional being!!
This is one of my top read of the year so far and without doubt a 5* must read book – if I could I’d give it a higher rating I would without hesitation!!!
Clutch Player
Nikki Ash
5 Stars ++++
What an amazing second chance romance! Awesome read!! Very well written. Keep my interest throughout. So perfect and addicting!! Highly recommend!!
“Clutch player: an athlete who is good under pressure and performs highly impossible plays in a quick and almost impossible amount of time.”
“He’s right. This is Landon. The guy I love. My best friend . Everything we’ve done so far has been amazing because it’s with him.”
Landon and Harper’s story was truly entertaining. From teenagers to adults, their story was full of a lot of love, loss and angst. Nikki Ash proves once again why she’s a master at single parent books. Her books tend to be really easy to ready with all the juicy bits we readers love. Great read.
Wow. In true fashion, this author made me LOVE her book and the story she wrote. The characters i was hooked to and wanted to know how everything ended up. I read so much of this book in a short amount of time! Landon… swoon! He was such a sweet guy. I loved how much of a good friend he was to Harper. The relief i felt when certain characters were gone was so much. I should feel bad but they were rotten. Better gone. The ending to this book was fabulous! Seriously everything and more!
Harper and Landon were a couple until a bad choice tore them apart. Harper is just existing since that time in her life twelve years ago. Landon went on to become a baseball player. Harper goes on a blind date and it turns out to be Landon. The two have much to catch up on and discuss since Harper is a single mom. A story full of heartache, love and laughter.
4.5 Home-Run Stars!
This was the PERFECT 2nd Chance story. It was fun, sweet, sad and sexy ~ so addicting and easy to fall into. I loved Harper’s character and was happy that even though life took her off path, she did her best and still followed her dreams even if it was 12 years later. Landon – what was there not to LOVE about this sexy Baseball player? I hated what happened to young Harper & Landon, but it made their reunion all the better. Simon and Bridget were the BEST friends imaginable.
I jumped at the chance to read this series and wow
Landon and Harper has love when they were younger then it was gone and years later they get a second chance without knowing it was going to happen, my heart hurt in some parts and in others wow Niki Ash you rocked this book.
This second chance / single mom romance was really, really good! Landon Maxwell is definitely a charming hero. He’s amazing with his thoughtfulness, dirty mouth and pure adoration of Harper. Definitely another must read Nikki Ash book!
Landon and Harper fell in love in high school, he was a senior just about to enter the draft and she was a junior with another year left. When he left the tried to make it work long distance but the distance became too much and one lie led to one bad night that changed both their lives forever. Now 12 years later they come face to face again and neither one can deny that the feelings never died.
Aside from Landon being the sweetest man ever, I think my favorite thing about this was we got to see their relationship develop the first go around. I love when second chance books do that instead of telling me that it happened and fell apart. I adored that we got to see their young love develop and fall apart. For me it helped me understand and love their reconciliation all that much more. I adored Landon and Harper and it was super fun to see Simon and Bridgett again. I thoroughly loved this book and would highly recommend.
You can always trust in Nikki to deliver the heart and gut wrenching moments as well as the heartfelt and emotional one. And even though I’ve Nikki’s entire backlog and more or less knew what to expect, this story STILL blew me away.
Told in dual POV, the story follows Harper and Landon, from the high school, innocent first love to a scorching hot, soul mending, second chance! When they first fell in love, the forever kind of love but life threw then a few curveballs that tore them apart and changed the course of their lives forever. Meddling friends and fate brings them back together and it’s like the last almost 13 years never happened. They picked up right where they left off. And I BELIEVED that! The writing was THAT good and the chemistry between the main characters was off the charts.
The story was heartfelt and raw and emotional and sizzling hot and it got to me right in the feels. Reading the Clutch Player had me feeling content for some unexplainable reason, but I won’t question it. I just need more of that.
It was so so nice seeing Bridgett and Simon again after reading the British Bedmate a few years back, one of my favorites in the OG Cocky series. And Vi and Penelope’s characters and universe were woven into the story so seamlessly and so true, that you really didn’t notice that they were written by a different author or that they were name-dropped on purpose.
All in all, I really enjoyed Nikki Ash’s venture into the Cocky Hero universe and it was a worthy entry to the new Club!!! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have Hunter’s story and fingers crossed we get it.
Clutch Player is a second-chance, single parent standalone book part of the new Cocky Hero Club Series.
Review Snapshot : I absolutely loved EVERYTHING about this book. It’s an easy read without ANY unnecessary drama, and it grabs a hold of the heart right from the start. I highly recommend it.
Nikki Ash is a new to me author and you can bet that I’ll be reading MANY more of her novels after this one. Clutch Player is everything I needed in a romance; it’s a lighthearted and easy read (the drama is so low that readers never have to “worry” about what’s going to happen or come between the characters), the swoon level is at an all time high throughout the ENTIRE book, and the characters are extremely likeable and charming. Seeing some of my favorite secondary characters from another favorite book (BRITISH BEDMATE formally known as Dear Bridget, I Want You by Vi Keeland and Penelope ward) was an added BONUS.
The book starts out when Harper and Landon are still in high school. Being able to see them when they first met and HOW they came together and fell in love really made this book special. Their high school years only lasts for the first 30% of the book, bit it adds a unique touch to the story that I think many readers will appreciate.
Next, we fast forward 12 years later. Both are living totally separate lives until fate steps in and brings them back together. Harper is a divorced single mom of two children and Landon is a retired major league baseball player. They are complete opposites in respect to how their lives changed in their 20s and early 30s, but does that mean they can’t reconnect on their deep and undying love for one another? NOPE. Now some may think this is a spoiler but honestly, it’s not. This is a romance book after all, and we know the couple will eventually come together. However, it’s HOW this happens and the events that lead up to it that makes it special. Readers will SWOON and be absolutely delighted with their love story! I know I was!
If you haven’t read this one yet I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s an easy read but one you won’t forget.
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If you like second-chance stories and have NOT read Clutch Player, by @authornikkiash , you need to simply STOP EVERYTHING YOU’RE DOING right now and go grab it.
Truste me: you don’t wanna miss this one. This is a story that’ll give you ALL the feels and leave you on cloud nine — hence me being here writing this review at 2am after having just finished reading it.
Landon Maxwell has reached one of the highest places on my book boyfriends list. Not (only) because he’s a fine and successful millionaire baseball player, but (also) because he’s the white knight that REAL women expect to have in their REAL lives. Especially after some ordinary relationships that lacked passion, desire, the butterflies. Landon brings IT ALL to the table since day one, even at an early age. His strength of character is what stands out the most.
Harper is an amazing heroine mainly because she is extremely relatable. She is responsible, empathetic, has her life planned and acts towards those goals.
Together, they feel strong and so much in love that they don’t expect to ever go their separate ways. But fate had its own agenda…
This book has positively touched me in so many aspects that it would take me forever to describe how much I loved it.
Nikki Ash nails it when it comes to creating relatable characters and for once I felt that I could be the heroine, and not only dream about being one. She grants us a high quality real-life romantic story and, instead of escaping reality through a book, Clutch Player brought me to my reality in the best way possible.
More of Nikki Ash, please! Like… right now!
I fell in love when I was 16. Landon was my entire world, and I thought he would be my forever. But I was young and dumb, and with one error in judgement, I destroyed any chance of a future we could’ve had together. This was a lovely second chance love story with some very hot sex and a wonderful emotional chemistry between the characters and a lovely sweet story line.