Vaughn Johansson is the Nashville Assassins’ star player. He’s brash, cocky, and talented. And he isn’t afraid to let anyone know it. He lives his life on his own terms, never forming romantic attachments, and only allowing his very closest to see his true, caring self. Brie Soledad has the weight of the world on her shoulders. As the staff reporter for the Assassins, she balances her … high-profile job and its heavy travel schedule with being the sole provider for her adult brother with Down syndrome. Sure, she’d like to find love. But who has time for that when there are bills to pay?
Brie has been the match to Vaughn’s gasoline since the day she first held out her microphone to him. They strike sparks off each other, keeping their friends, the team, and the Assassins fans in stitches. Brie’s refusal to fawn over Vaughn sets his teeth on edge and his blood boiling. Especially in that body part…
Brie’s been let down by love before, but she knows she deserves nothing less than real, forever love. Vaughn’s past has left deep, hidden scars, and there are some secrets he cannot bear to reveal. As much as Brie wants him, Vaughn may be too big a risk for her wary heart to take. But he is at his best under pressure. When the delayed call is in effect and he has no choice but to score, Vaughn always delivers.
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Vaughn and Brie have an ‘enemies’ working relationship, each knows how to push the other ones buttons. When her brother Rodney starts looking for a new living opportunity, Brie finds that Vaughn has a side very few people see.
At times I got so frustrated with Vaughn, but time and patience eventually wins out. Brie is a strong independent woman who got my respect.
Read: 5/21/17
Delayed Call was the eleventh book in the Assassins series by Toni Aleo revolving around the Nashville NHL team.
Vaughn Johansson was the star forward with the killer wrister. He was gorgeous, the jokester and never took anything seriously. Yet, we found that he also had a heart of gold but he came with a ton of baggage.
Brie Soledad was the beautiful Assassins reporter that got under Vaughn’s skin. Or was it that Vaughn got under Brie’s skin…yea that too and they fought like cats and dogs.
True to Aleo’s style, she sent us on a journey of discovery and healing before Vaughn and Brie could truly move forward. And for extra enjoyment, several of our favorite characters from the previous books made appearances.
The storyline was well written with well developed characters. The only major drawback was the editing errors. There were more than I felt was acceptable; focusing primarily on missing, extra or incorrect words.
Additionally, I liked the premise of the story but Vaughn and Brie were a little immature for me. Although they were NA so it was somewhat refreshing to see the lighthearted humor from an innocent age. Not my typical humor but it worked ok for me most of the time.
Within the storyline, Aleo tackled the tough subject of Down’s syndrome including the challenges, affects upon the family, the ongoing decisions and the associated costs. It brought depth and complexity to the storyline. I’m not intimately familiar with Down’s syndrome but it appeared realistic from a possible perspective. I would imagine in today’s society that it could be a hot bed for abuse and fraud if the right options aren’t thoroughly explored. Through Aleo’s writing, I could feel Brie’s anxiety over making the best long term decisions for her brother; yet to also stay within her budget and not send them into bankruptcy.
Lastly, I loved how Aleo intertwined plots from different series. You don’t have to read them all in order to follow along, but it’s a bonus to her loyal readers. It’s like an inside joke. In Delayed Call, it took me awhile to realize that one of the subplots, Wells, Vaughn and Jensen’s best friend, was one of those bonus treats. Wells was gay and his ex was Matty, Audrey’s asshole brother in Hooked by Love (book three, Bellevue Bullies). I’m expecting a book for Wells now, but I’m not sure which series we’ll see it in or exactly how it will play out.
What was obvious was that Delayed Call was a total set up for Jensen and Wren, which I’m assuming will be the next book in the series. I’m not a huge fan of either one yet so I’m hoping they will get grit and strength once their own story is revealed.
All in all, Delayed Call was entertaining. I continued to enjoy Aleo’s writing style and character development. Kudos to Aleo for adding another good story to the series.
I really enjoyed “Delayed Call” by Toni Aleo. Move over Shea and Ellie – I have a new favorite couple. These two cracked me up from the first page to the last and had me crying hard somewhere in the middle. The writing was outstanding and the story line unique and pulled at my heart strings.
This is such an entertaining series that I’m dreading the day that it comes to an end. In the meantime – I’ll keep enjoying each one that comes along.
This is a great addition to your book collection. You should grab the entire series if you don’t already have it.
Happy reading…enjoy!
I absolutely love Toni Aleo’s Assassins series. It was my first venture into “sports romance” a couple years ago. Who doesn’t love a man who is taking the hits and scoring on the ice and off?? If you haven’t read on of Toni’s books you are missing out and seriously how can you do that to yourself. Well Delayed Call is no different!!!
We have hotter than should be allowed, Vaughn Johansson, a hockey player (duh) who doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t let people get too close. He isn’t looking for love. Then we have Brie Soledad, a hockey reporter. You’d think this girl had everything she wanted. Wrong!!! She was hard working but had no time for a social life. Her every second was taken up by work or Rodney, her little brother.
On camera these two clash. Made to ask questions that a two year old could ask, Brie wanted to ask the questions no one was asking and Vaughn was over answering the easy everyday questions and thought if Brie couldn’t challenge him why should he answer.
So how did these two come to any understanding or mutual respect?? Rodney!! I can’t tell you how or why, then. You’d have no reason to pick up the book. It’s a sassy, sexy, sentimental story. You fall in love with The characters. Vaughn is the ish but my heart was totally won over by Rodney.
Toni Aleo has yet to let me down with an Assassin’s book and I look forward to her next one.
As usual, Toni Aleo knocks it out of the park! This was a true enemies-to-lovers story with scorching tension and attraction between Vaughn and Brie. Honestly, every fight they had felt like foreplay! However, underneath the attraction, the trust between them took a while to grow. Vaughn had to overcome the losses and betrayals in his past. Brie had to learn to trust Vaughn and depend on him. Overall, an excellent story and a good introduction to new Assassins’ players!
‘Delayed Call’ is the 11th book of the ‘Assassins’ series by Toni Aleo. As expected from Toni Aleo, it was a great story. Toni Aloe is one of my favorite authors. I read all her books and most of them I read more than once I heard about ‘Delayed Call’ I was looking forward to release date and finished it the same day. If you are wondering why I am writing this review this late, because life got kind of busy and I couldn’t find the time. But I benefited from this because in order to write a better review, I re-read the book. Yeah, I know I am crazy LOL!
For those who haven’t read the book, I will do my best to write this review without giving too much away, so I won’t ruin the story for you. Back to the story. Our hero and heroine for the book are Vaughn Johansson and Brianna Soledad. Vaughn, aka JoJo/JoHo, is one of the star players of Assassins hockey team. He is cocky as hell, talented, hot, confident and warm-hearted. Brianna, aka Brie, is the team reporter for Assassins. She is smart, sexy, passionate, kind and really feisty. Brie is one of my favorite heroines in the ‘Assassins’ series. Seeing her relationship with his brother, Rodney, who suffers from Down syndrome, was really hearth warming.
Vaughn and Brie have a love & hate relationship and cannot tolerate one another. While Brie hates interviewing Vaughn, Vaughn always finds a way to ruin her interviews. While the banter between them is hilarious, their chemistry is off the charts. Even though they cannot tolerate each other, some events push them to set aside their difference and start to tolerate one another. Once they start to get to know each other, they realize how much they have in common. It was great to see how they bonded through Rodney and Nate Way. Even after they become a couple the banter between them still goes on and will put a smile on your face. Unfortunately, their relationship is not full of rainbows and smiles. Due to their pasts, they both have issues to get over. Watching them to help each other to get over these issues were both sweet and heart breaking. While their pasts brought me to tears, the banter between them put a smile on my face. Are you curios about Nate Way, how they bonded, and their pasts? Then I suggest you to start reading the book ASAP
If you are looking for a sweet, fun, sexy and emotional read ‘Delayed Call’ is definitely for you. I cannot pass without mentioning that I love how in all her books Toni Aleo includes the importance of family, friendship, trust and love. I cannot wait to read the next book of the series.
Would I recommend this book: Yes.
Would I re-read this book: Already did.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
P.S. I hope 12th book of the ‘Assassins’ series will future Jensen & Wren or Wells & Matty. I am still hoping that Matty, who is the evil twin of Avery from ‘Hooked by Love’, is a decent guy with a lot of issues and hoping that Wells will be his happily ever after
P.S.S. Also it would be great to read a M/M novel written by Toni Aleo.
The review was originally posted on: http://miabookaddict.com/
I love Toni Alex books!