You’ve known Harper Allen and Jakob Titov since you met them in Taking Shots. You know their story already, right? Ha! You only think you do. In One-Timer, they’ll tell it for themselves. Harper has been hurt so many times, and she has no interest in anything more than a one-time thing, but Jakob Titov has other ideas. He is looking for his forever. He has his sights set on a girl who is so good … girl who is so good at blocking his attempts, she could be a star goalie in the NHL. Jakob is persistent, though, and he knows what he wants: Harper—forever. together, he knows they’ll make one hell of a team.
The last twenty years have been even better than they could have dreamed. But when their daughter comes home, informing them she’s giving up everything for a boy, they know it’s past time to tell the truth about the shutout they scored all those years ago to get where they are.
It wasn’t easy. But sometimes, that one-time thing leads to a fairy-tale kind of ending.
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When a potential family crisis occurs we get a look back at how Harper and Jakob met and fell in love. We have only ever seen them as secondary characters in the books and I’ve always wanted to more about them. It was so refreshing ti read a male POV where he falls fast and heavy for a woman who has commitment issues and he goes all out to woo her. We see not only their struggles in their marriage but also we get an insight into other characters problems also. This was an emotional retelling of their story but it was also funny and poignant. I loved seeing them through the eyes of their daughter who is facing her first love and heartbreak but who only wants a love like her parents. A beautifully written novella that introduces us to more next generations characters.
Loved loved loved getting to read the full story of how Jakob and Harper came to be. They were always in the background in Elli and Shea’s book, Taking Shots, but you until now we didn’t get their full story. I loved how Harper kept trying to push Jakob away and that just made him want her more, and prove to her that what they had was real and going somewhere.
Toni Aleo scores with One Timer (Nashville Assassins #17); this is Harper Allen’s and Jakob Titov’s book. It starts out with their daughter, Allison, wanting to give up college and follow her boyfriend to Texas. Her parents sit her down and tell her their story. I love that it takes place simultaneously as the first book in the series, Taking Shots. Taking Shots is Elli Fisher’s and Shea Adler’s story. Harper and Elli are best friends and at the time of both stories they worked together. Jakob and Shea are also best friends and line mates on the Assassins; each of the couples met at the same time. I have been following this series since Taking Shots came out. I loved learning Harper’s and Jakob’s past and hearing Elli’s and Shea’s story from a different perspective.
Toni Aleo did a wonderful job with this novel. As always, it is skillfully written and heartfelt. I love that the book includes snippets of the Assassins’ kids. The ending makes the perfect segway for her Nashville Assassins: Next Generation series. I’m looking forward to Posey Adler’s story, Power Play. I appreciated hearing how Allison and Posey got their names. I recommend this book to people who enjoy sports romances. Followers of the Nashville Assassins series will not want to miss this book. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book.
Oh my, this book stole my heart. I loved Harper and Jakob in Taking Shots and now getting to hear their whole story, melted my heart. Harper was always stubborn and knew she wanted nothing serious. Then you had Jakob that knew the moment he saw her that he wanted her for keeps. Jakob knows what he wants and goes after it until he can get Harper to acknowledge what is going on between them. This story was beautiful and the way Jakob fights for what he wants will steal your heart and want your own Jakob. Jakob and Harper have you hooked from the start with their chemistry and tell their story to their daughter in hopes it will open their daughter’s eyes. I could not put this down, Jakob and Harper will have you falling all over again for them. Definitely read this story!
Holy Shizzz! All this time I thought I was in love with Lucas Brooks, I am, but damn Jakob comes in a very close second!
Dreamy and so damn swoon-worthy! I love a man that knows what he wants and fights for it.
Absolutely love Harper and Jakob’s story! So hot and romantic, it will definitely give you all the feels!
I’ll never have enough if the Assassin series. Can’t wait for more!
This novella was super cute! We get a little of the present day second generation, which completely excites me for the next book. But this also takes you back to the beginning. Harper and Jakob are super cute together and I totally loved Jakob’s confidence in himself. Seeing him wear Harper down and win her over was super sweet and romantic, not to mention the amount of steam between the two of them. This novella was short but packed a punch.
This book is love letter to their daughter Allison to understand the meaning of true love. Harper wants to have fun. Jakob wants to find love and settle down. It is love at first sight for Jakob. Harper is guarded she will not give him the power to hurt her. Jakob will not take no for an answer. Jakob appreciates she is making him work for her heart. Jakob wants Harper to fall head over heels for him. Harper is his ultimate prize. I love this story of how Jakob wears Harper down. They love each other during rough times and never gave up on their love. Every-time a read another book from this series or spin off I fall in love with the characters all over again I did not want this book to end. I cannot wait for Posey and Boone’s book.
When Ally comes home ready to leave school and all that she has worked so hard for to follow her boyfriend, Harper and Jakob take a trip down memory lane to show her that relationships are hard. That the work is a two way street and settling for someone who is willing to make you leave everything for them is not necessarily the perfect person. Harper and Jakob have been through a lot in the time they have been together but they never gave up on each other. Which has produced a love that Ally is desperately searching for.
This story was a great love story taking us back to the beginning and elaborating on a side story that never was fully understood. Also bringing in the story of how Elli and Shea’s love story began.
As a series follower who read all the books through, it was fun to go back and remember the young Assassin’s who started it all.
*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ***
4 Stars
Whilst One Timer may be the seventeenth title in The Assassins series, it essentially takes us back to the very beginning retelling the romances of Harper Allen and Jakob Titov, who found love alongside Ellie Fisher and Shea Adler in Taking Shots.
I’ve been fascinated by this pair from the very first title and thoroughly enjoyed discovering how they found their happy ever after.
Harper is a driven, determined, head strong and self sufficient woman, who doesn’t need a man to make her life complete. She meets her match in Jakob who is successful, determined, driven, patient, kind, caring and compassionate. When he decides that Harper is his one true love nothing will stand in his way.
One Timer has Toni Aleo’s signature blend of heat, heart and humor along with witty and engaging banter, and I cannot wait for the next addition to this series.
This book brought back so many memories of the first book I read of the Assassin’s. It was more Ellie and Shea’s book and I absolutely fell in love with them. I’ve kept with all of the books and was super excited to see that I FINALLY get to see Jakob and Harper’s story!!!
It brought a smile to my face in places and sad in other BUT Jakob finally gets through to Harper how much he wants and loves her. They go through a lot to get through where they are today and they’re going to share that with their daughter to hope that they make her see reason. Will it be enough though? What will she think when she finds out it hasn’t all been rainbows for her parents?
Loved this addition to the Assassin family.
Toni Aleo’s Nashville Assassins series is one of my favorites and I love that we were able to get more of the backstory of Harper and Jakob in this novella!
Harper and Jakob have been characters in the Assassins books since the beginning, but we never have gotten their full story until now. When they met, Harper was not looking for anything long term. Jakob on the other hand was head over heels from the first moment he laid eyes on her. We get a glimpse into the ups and downs of their relationship and how even though Harper is afraid of being hurt, she’s so drawn to Jakob that she can’t do anything else but give in.
Toni Aleo did a fantastic job of weaving the story of Harper and Jakob’s courtship with the lessons they are trying to teach their daughter Allison in present day. This was a story we’ve all been clamoring for and Aleo definitely delivered!
This story turned out exceptionally better than I expected! Even tho technically, there’s already a HEA before we begin, the story still captivated both my mind and my heart! AND, what an excellent idea for a story, right?! Your daughter comes home to tell you she’s found the love of her life and is moving way across the country and quitting her entire life plan. What’s a parent to do?? READ THIS STORY AND FIND OUT!!
The looking back concept to drive home a point in the present was pure genius on the part of the author, in my opinion. We got to read how an established couple got to where they are today in a format that allows for less development so it’s a #win no matter how you look at it. LOL Honestly, while I was reading I kept think “this chic is genius with this story!” And it put a smile on my face! But that’s just the skeleton of the story. The meat of the story also put a huge smile on my face and my heart.
I loved everything about this and now I’m sorry I haven’t really kept up with this series in the last five years or so. But I’m going to change that soon!!
One Timer is the perfect love story for when you find that once in a lifetime love!
Is the road easy? No! Worth it? Yes!
Jakob knew from the moment he laid eyes on Harper that she was it for him. He just had to convince her that he would stay and love her.
We get to hear Jakob and Harper tell their story to their daughter, Ally in order to steer her away from making a huge mistake. Ally wants to have a love like theirs, but she only sees the fairytale happy ending. She didn’t realize the ups and downs they overcame to get where they are now.
If you are a fan of Toni Aleo’s Assassins series than you already know Harper and Jakob and this book will give you a chance to fall in love with them all over again! This is a great addition to the series, but can be read as a standalone.
Enjoy!
If you are looking for a story to remind you that love gets better with time, then this book is for you. Harper and Jakob’s story was a small tiny story that was in Taking Shots where Elli and Shea found love. Harper and Jakob are the best friends of Elli and Shea and their story just got kind of swept into that book. I am really glad that these two got to tell their story again and at the same time they were getting to tell it to their daughter so that she could learn what it meant to wait for a man that was worth “giving up everything you have worked for like a college scholarship” and follow him.
Jakob has always been one of my favorites because of how he treats Harper. She is his princess. This is not just a book about Harper and Jakob, but about their family. It is like most families with teenage daughters who find the love of their life and feel like their parents don’t know anything. The only thing that Jakob and Harper can do is to tell their story to show just how real relationships work and how similar Harper and Ally are. Ally loves her father and knows he is amazing so she has to ask how to get that for herself.
What a gem! Toni Ale0 really did a fabulous job! If you have not read the Assassins series and watched these players and their families interact and grow up, you should do it. You won’t regret it.
Get the inside story from the people who lived it. Past and present collide to create the sweetest of love stories. Though a little rough around the edges, One Timer is all heart. Aleo gives readers a couple worth rooting for despite the odds. From a questionable beginning to an unforgettable ending, Jakob and Harper are as unpredictable as they are lovable.
One Timer took me back and I fell in love all over again with one of my favourite hockey series the Nashville Assassins because this novella ticked all my boxes, it may be a quick read but it is certainly packed full of emotion and I’m sure it will leave all of this authors fans wanting more.
One Timer is Harper Allen and Jakob Titov’s story, a couple who we have met in previous books but now it’s their turn to tell us the full story behind the live they share as they try and steer their 20 year old daughter on the right path to love and romance…….
A book written in present day but also taking us back to when Jakob and Harper met all those years ago as they try and talk their daughter out of running of with the love of her life a man named Taco!!!!
This book has it all, it’s emotional, it’s witty and I loved reading how this couple fell in love all those years ago as well as seeing where life has taken them too now. I was captivated and as I said at the start of my review this book really had me falling all over again for the wonderful characters and their life’s of the Nashville Assassins. Great addition to the series but it can also be read as a stand-alone although I’m sure once you start you will want to read everyone’s story.
I’ve always wondered about how this couple met and got together! I’m so glad Toni decided to write this story! its steamy, sexy and heartwarming, just as all her other stories! I love the Assassins!
After having her heart broken so many times Harper Allen had sworn off love and relationships, and took on a more care-free approach to relationships… a one night and then your gone kind of approach.
Then Jakob Titov came skating into her life and proved to her that all men aren’t bad, that he is one she can depend on, and the one worthy of her heart. And for the last twenty years he has shown her every bit of that and more.
Now married, with two children, they are living their best lives… that is until their daughter comes home and drops a bomb on them. She has worked so hard to accomplish all of her dreams, and now she wants to walk away from all of it for a man, a man that isn’t good for her. But proving that fact to her is a little harder than they thought. Now they must show her that a love like theirs takes work, and she can have that kind of love someday, but first she has to find herself.
One Timer is the story of Harper and Jakob, a couple that has been married for the last twenty years. This story retraces the steps of their relationship, how they met, and the path that brought them together. These two didn’t fall easily, it took hard work, patience, and learning to trust, and they hope by telling their story they will save their daughter from making the biggest mistake of her young life. I loved the progression of this one, the natural feel it had, it was a beautifully layered and realistic feeling story. It’s a heart-squeezing kind of story, one that will have your heart in your throat at times, and the tears welling… but there is also happy moments to be celebrated too. I really enjoyed this one, it’s words were touching and the journey they took me on was good for my heart too!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
Getting into the head of an amazing couple is fun. Learning about their struggles and knowing that their start wasn’t picture perfect makes them feel real. I loved learning about how these two started out. I actually felt like I was sitting right next to Ally listening to them. I couldn’t help but love this couple. Yeah, there were moments that I wanted to strangle Harper but she even made it hard to hate her. She was so vibrant and full of love. Jakob was amazing. He knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to fight for it. I can’t say I blame him either. In fact, this book makes me want to go back and read Shea and Ellie’s story.
The only issue I had was the timeline when it came to the kids. Allison is supposed have half a year left in college. Yet Posey, the Alder’s second child, has already graduated from college. She’s supposed to be younger than Allison yet it seems like they are the same age. It was a little confusing. None of that took away from the main story though.
This was a feel good love story with no angst. It felt like every day life. It was perfect for a lazy day. *I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.*
OMG! I’ve been waiting for the real story of Jakob & Harper FOREVER!!! I’ve wanted to know their backstory since Taking Shots and now I FINALLY have it!
Finally finding out just how The Romantic Russian won over the Queen of No Commitment had me was TOTALLY worth the wait!
I loved going back into the past to the beginning of their relationship, and the beginning of The Assassins, along with them, their family, and the team in present day. This may just be a novella, but it gives you all the feels and swoons of a full length novel.
Whether you’re a long time Toni Aleo fan or someone new looking to dip your toe into some hockey romance, this is the novella for you! Oh! And it makes a perfect Christmas gift!