A jock, a journalist and a second chance . . .MacKenzie Decker was a question Avery never got to ask, much less answer.They met when she was a young reporter fueled by ambition, and the ink on Deck’s first NBA contract was barely dry. Years later, they’ve climbed so high and lost so much, but one thing hasn’t changed. The attraction that simmered between them in a locker room before is still … before is still there. With success like theirs, everything has been possible . . . except them.
That was then.
But what about now?
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This was the first book of Kennedy Ryan I have read and it was very enjoyable.
Man I don’t know how she did it, but Kennedy Ryan managed to write a sincerely “whole” feeling story in a short novella. This is only the second book that I have read of Kennedy’s, but once again she has made me feel the story deep in my heart, as corny as that may sound. Her writing is beautiful and so, SO damn meaningful. She tackles hard issues with poise and grace and it’s just icing on the cake that a perfectly steamy romance is included! I LOVED Deck and Avery! Their angst and heartache was so real I just wanted to wrap my arms around both of them and hold on tight. These characters have so much depth, it’s hard to adequately explain. I loved the extra chapters for the other Hoops series characters too! Ugh! So many feelings! Wonderful novella all around. 5 stars all the way!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! All the FEELS . What is better than catching up with our favorites from stories past! This short heartwarming Stand alone novella has given us the short story that originally published in the Team Player anthology ( so damn good ). We have TWO bonus short stories! Feel the warmth and love nothing is making me happier right now. Can you feel the smile .
This was a great introduction to Kennedy Ryan for me. I love a great one-that-got-away storyline and although novella in length, this story packed a lot of character development and complexity with just the right amount of emotional angst. I look forward to reading the other two stories in the HOOPS world.
Hoops Holiday: A Hoops Novella by Kennedy Ryan is a slow burn, contemporary romance told in dual POV.
Avery and Decker met ten years ago and had an instant connection, but due to professional obstacles and bad timing, nothing came of it. Fast forward ten years to the present and they wind up working together as Deck fills in on Avery’s talk show for three weeks while her co-host is away.
They still have an undeniable chemistry, and Deck is determined to finally get his chance with her. Avery is struggling to overcome some things she experienced in her last relationship. She’s interested in him, but not ready to start anything. Decker is sweet, compassionate and patient with her.
I loved this novella and enjoyed how Avery and Decker’s story developed. As a fan of Long Shot and Block Shot, I especially loved the Christmas bonus material featuring both Iris & August and Banner & Jared. It was a treat to catch up with them.
Even as a novella, this holiday romance managed to pack an emotional punch that kept my heart soaring. It had me feeling as if I was on an emotional roller-coaster, of sorts, in the best possible way.
I felt transfixed as the story between Avery, the fiery and determined sports reporter, and Decker, the hot shot, professional basketball player, unfolded. The connection between these two characters was undeniable from the first page until the very last sentence.
As she does ever so brilliantly, Kennedy manages to weave pertinent social facts and topics with great relevance into each of her stories, framing it around a story that pulls you in. I found myself never wanting it to end.
If you are looking for a beautiful story that will make you not only believe in love again but in the Christmas spirit, I highly recommend this book for you. It was a triumph all around.
As Always, Happy Reading!
“5/5 Beaming Brains!” – Lit-Up My Mind
OMG!!!!! I LOVED this Novella so HARD!!!! Kennedy Ryan NEVER disappoints when it comes to writing a book that will hit you in the FEELS!! We first met Deck and Avery in the Team Player Anthology, now we get them again with an extended story, PLUS bonus epilogue stories from Long Shot AND Block Shot!!! Could this get any better????
Deck and Avery are two people who are destined to be together, unfortunately life got in the way. fast forward 10 years and fate brings them back! These two,,, *SWOON*
The only problem I had was that I wanted, no, NEEDED more!!! GAH!!!
Author Kennedy Ryan never fails to captivate you with her writing. She has a way with telling a story that makes you FEEL like you’re living right inside the pages. I highly recommend this book!! I promise it’ll grab you by the heart and SQUEEZE you!
This was a good, quick read. The writing flowed well, and I liked the characters. Deck and Avery meet, and then it’s 10 years before anything happens between them. I didn’t really understand Avery’s anger toward Deck after 10 years, but I think it had more to do with everything she had going on in her life, and less to do with him. Deck was a good guy, and I liked him for Avery. Avery needed to work through her guilt from her previous relationship, so it wasn’t a quick start for them. The ending was sweet, and although I would have liked for them to be further in their relationship, it was still a HEA.
I voluntarliy reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
I enjoyed this novella but it wasn’t as holiday-ish as I thought it was going to be. I loved the dynamics between the characters and their interactions with each other. It was sweet in all the right spots and equally as steamy when it needed to be.
Great novella…just not the holiday vibes I anticipated.
THIS IS DECK AND AVERY’S LOVE STORY
First, you HAVE to read LONG SHOT & BLOCK SHOT, before you read HOOPS HOLIDAY….MUST!!!!
Thus far, we have only known MacKenzie “Deck” Decker as president of basketball operations of the expansion team for which August West played, the San Diego Waves…And Deck and Avery Hughes were just peripheral characters in LONG SHOT & BLOCK SHOT…..But HOOPS HOLIDAY is their story and it begins BEFORE the actions take place in those two books…..
In HOOPS HOLIDAY, we get to see how Deck, a 2nd season pro baller and Avery, a reporter, meet, fall in lust, and go on with their separate lives….Years later, when they meet again, Deck is not letting her get away again, no matter how much she fights it or how long it takes…..
Don’t forget the Stocking Stuffers from LONG SHOT & BLOCK SHOT…. SOOOO!!! GOOOOD!!! Not just the Stocking Stuffers…the whole book is GOOD….Kennedy Ryan….I….just …love her books……
I don’t know how Kennedy Ryan does it everytime, but she nailed this novella. Novellas are always really hard for me because I feel like some of the story is left on the table. Deck and Avery’s story was not only a full story, but full of the heart and emotion that Ms. Ryan is known for. This novella not only put me in the holiday spirit, but helped to knock me out of my book funk. The bonus scenes from Block Shot and Long Shot were also perfect and I loved reconnecting with these characters. Awesome read!
Y’all….y’all, this is so freaking good! Avery and Decker are fantastic characters. I immediately fell in love with them both and their story has humor and heartbreak.
Decker is the hot basketball player and Avery is a sports journalist. Their first meeting is absolutely hilarious and it had me routing for them all the way. I really wish this wasn’t a novella because I so want more of these two, it’s wonderful!
*Review by Michelle
Y’all….y’all, this is so freaking good! Avery and Decker are fantastic characters. I immediately fell in love with them both and their story has humor and heartbreak.
Decker is the hot basketball player and Avery is a sports journalist. Their first meeting is absolutely hilarious and it had me routing for them all the way. I really wish this wasn’t a novella because I so want more of these two, it’s wonderful!
“ . , .”
No one packs quite the emotional punch like Kennedy Ryan. I’m not sure why I continue to be surprised by the fact that her stories have such an emotional impact on me, but I am…and they do! Avery and Decker are such strong, bold characters. I fell in love with them from the very start! Their journey is a rocky one, but no less beautiful and moving. I can’t believe how many FEELS were packed into this novella! Ms. Ryan delivers an absolute showstopper!
is a novella in her absolutely INCREDIBLE Hoops series. This can be read as a standalone, but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the first two books in the series, and . If you’re looking for sexy, angsty, witty romances that will make you blush, swoon, and feel ALL THE THINGS, stop what you’re doing and pick up every single one of these books!
by Kennedy Ryan is !
https://amzn.to/2R5GmFr
I loved Avery and Decker’s the second change at romance. They met years ago but the time wasn’t right. They both went on to live their lives but in the back of there minds they both wonder what if. When your heart finds that person it just doesn’t forget. Decker is hired to fill in on Avery’s sport show and he knows his time is limited to ship away at the protective case Avery has around her heart. So eh works on trying to break her down. Decker has matured a lot from his days as a rookie in the NBA he just has to get Avery to see him for the man he is today. I love Kennedy Ryan’s characters are very real and relatable.
I really loved this short novella read that was also included in the Team Player anthology but with some new content!
Deck is heading to the big leagues when he and Avery meet. She’s a reporter that needs to cover his story but things don’t go as planned and they part ways. Now years later, Deck is just out of his marriage and they meet again. They’ll have to work together but Avery has been through a rough time and doesn’t want Deck too close to her but the attraction between them is something she can’t seem to fight and when Deck pursues her, maybe they’ll get the beginning they both finally want…
I’m a fan of the Hoops series, and Full Court Press is a great addition. I really enjoy that this series has such strong women and supportive men. Full Court Press is an enemies to lovers romance that focuses on overcoming challenges and the power of forgiveness. It was also nice to get updates on the couples in the earlier books. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.
Another amazing tale plus bonus content from Ms. Ryan. I am not a traditional fan of sports romance. But Kennedy is converting me. I adored the chemistry between Avery and Deck. And the bonus scenes from characters I already loved were the icing on my decadent cake.
HOOPS Holiday by Kennedy Ryan
Nice sweet novella! I fully enjoyed and loved! This is so packed full for it being a novella! I myself have not read all the novels in the Hoops series but I will definitely will have to catch up on them!
Amazing holiday novella! Do recommend!
I’m super chuffed Hoops Holiday is my first story by Kennedy Ryan—it is packed with depth, emotions, soaring love, heart-wrenching loss, undeniable passion and second chances, all wrapped up within this sweet short story. Reading this wonderfully written narrative makes me even more excited to eventually read Long Shot.
“We both have pasts and we’ve both had pain, but what we’ve never had was each other.”
Avery Hughes has flawless charactersation. She’s a bundle of everything admirable—an intelligent and motivated woman of colour, determined to make a name, a change, within a testosterone dominated industry. Her experiences with hurt and loss are showcased with such attentiveness. And her story is depicted with an abundance of detail, it allows readers to empathise with her emotions, understand her feelings and believe in her actions. She’s such a complex and rounded character with so many realistic and relatable qualities!
“I shouldn’t toy with him, but it’s kind of fun watching a man so notoriously pursued by women making excuses to spend time with me, even though I’m not exactly sure what he wants.”
Beyond the irresistible charm, handsome appearance and NBA legend identity, there’s so much behind Mack Decker. I’m stunned by his raw honesty, kind-heartedness and sensitivity beneath the easy-going nature he exudes—it is damn easy falling in love with precious Decker.
Decker and Avery’s connection is intense; the chemistry undeniable and ever-burning. Full Court Press is capable of becoming a narrative rich in substance, despite being a novella, because of this couple’s relationship that emerges and changes with such a profound amount passion.
“In the end, other people can’t complete us, but can love us in our brokenness if we let them. There is a happiness you find with another when you’re first happy with yourself.”