The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series. In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold… Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, … trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.
Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast….
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I totally fell for this entire series. Read them in order or listen to them like i did. Didn’t want the series to end. Loved that all the characters were in all the books so you really feel like you know them and are rooting for them. Have read her other series as well. Love Sarina Bowen’s books.
Start of a fun hockey series
I had already read Brooklynaire, and was reading Bountiful, which made me want to go back to the beginning of this series, and I’m glad I did. Sarina Bowen’s books are funny and sexy. I’ve really enjoyed everything of hers that I’ve read and look forward to reading more.
**5 Stars**
If you’re a hockey romance fan, this book is for you. I was so excited to read this book because of how much I love Sarina’s writing. Like all of her other books, Rookie Move did not disappointment. It sucked me in, it gave me my happily ever after, involved hockey and had a second chance love… What more could I ask for?
Georgia, Gigi, is the PR person for the Brooklyn Bruiser, a new and upcoming team in the NHL. I think she is my favorite leading female in a hockey romance. She’s a killer and does all she can to be the best that she can. When the love of her life comes back when she least expected it, she has many different feelings and thoughts approach, but she took it all in stride and more happiness was achieved. Opening her heart up again, to the one person who has always had it wasn’t in her plan, but sometimes life happens.
Leo, after a sudden trade from the AHL league to NHL, he knew this was his chance to make it big. What he wasn’t expecting, was his high school girlfriend and her dad to be involved with the team he was traded to. After a shakey first press conference, he wasn’t sure how the season would go, but knowing he wanted to be successful he gave it his all, on and off the ice. Winning Gigi back, wasn’t part of his plan, but he wanted it to be a major part of his future.
I loved Leo and Gigi’s story. Going into the book, I knew I was going to love it because Sarina wrote it, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I was going to love it. She successfully achieved overcoming demons to let love win. She let the reader get fully involved with the characters and pulled them in. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
I like reading Sarina Bowen books.
This is now my third Sarina Bowen book and I’m quickly getting addicted to her work. In fact, I barely skimmed over the blurb when I read it. I just knew that I liked her other work so I just immediately knew I was going to read it.
Georgia Worthington is finally starting to make a name for herself as the interim publicist for the NHL’s Brooklyn Bruisers. She’s been working hard to make sure that she lands the position permanently. With that comes super organization and a particular demeanor to ensure the respect she knows she deserves. This means that some people think she comes off a bit cold. On top of that, her father has just been hired as the new head coach, so they have to figure out that right balance of professionalism. Seems easy enough. Until she gets hit with the mother of all whammies.
Leo Trevi has grown up as a hockey player all his life. It’s in his blood. All he’s every wanted was to play in the NHL major league. So when he gets the call up, he’s more than ecstatic. That is until he finds out that his new coach is the father of the girl who left him with a broken heart. It’s been almost six years since he’s seen Georgia and he knew seeing her again was inevitable now that her father was going to be his new coach. What he didn’t know what she is also his publicist and will have to be by her constantly. Will he be able to overcome the heart break of her leaving him and put that aside or will it consume him and interfere with his NHL dream?
I can sum up why I liked this book in one word. Leo. I just fell so hard for him. I’m not one who typically likes the sweet guys but there’s just something about him that I couldn’t ignore. He’s loyal, loving, patient and confident. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. He takes everything that gets thrown at him with a level of calmness and ease that many people don’t have. Unless you are talking about Georgia. That he isn’t so calm about.
“If you want to keep breathing, don’t ever call the love of my life a bitch.”
I also enjoyed Georgia. She comes off as confident, which she is, but the love her life seems to be the one person that can crack that rough exterior. I liked the progression of their reunion where you can tell she is trying to fight it but she eventually gives in and gives it her all. There’s just someone so real and honest about that.
There were also some good moments with the secondary characters. I want to know more about Nate, the new owner of the Bruisers. He seems to have so many quirks and I want to be able to explore more about him. Plus, I feel like there has to be more between him and his assistant, Becca. There’s also the team caption, O’Doul, who we will get to learn more about in the next book. I’m super excited to get his story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I’m honestly surprised about how much I enjoyed the sweetness of it. It isn’t angsty, which I am normally a sucker for. There is a sensitive subject within it but overall the entire feel of the book can only be described as sweet. Well done, Sarina, for making me fall for the sweet one. I believe this might only be the second or third time that has every really happened.
“You love it,” he argued.
She did. She really, truly did.
It’s one of those books. One of those book you truly cannot put down. Spots romance at its best! The story is captivating from the first page, and Sarina Bowen introduces characters to you in such way you have a feeling you’re becoming best buds with them. You start living their laughs, their fears, their love and their heart-breaks. Leo and Georgia are one of a kind, as is their love story. It’s completely unique and perfect. I loved the way their relationship progressed -again- and how I was on the edge of my seat all the time til the end, waiting for the other shoe to drop. What Bowen managed to do is broke my heart one more time and made it burst with love for Leo Trevi. He’s truly a perfect guy. He’s ready to go to the moon and back, to jump when she says him jump, and even to walk away when she asks him to, even though it hurts him almost too much to bear – all for his Gigi. An the way he pursues her so relentlessly is heart-warming, and come on! way hot. The new world of Brooklyn Bruisers Bowen created is intriguing with off-the-charts hot hockey players and interesting, so to say, team that stands behind them. It was worth the wait. So, so much!
Audible Review:
Overall 4*
Performance 4* I really like both the narrators, but they just sound a little too old for these characters.
Story 5*
Much more emotional than I expected!”
What did you like best about this story?
I really enjoyed this story. Leo is so unbelievably sweet! He really is the perfect guy- so caring and kind. His love for Georgia was swoontastic!
I loved the whole second chance romance of it- how, even after 6 years, they were still so much in love with each other. And I loved that there wasn’t outside drama when it came to Leo and his GiGi. This was their story, their issues, their hang-ups to work through. A lot happened between them as teenagers, more than any 18 year should have to deal with, and they needed to address all of it to be able to move forward.
I saw another reviewer say they thought Georgia was whiney and jealous and I just had to wonder what book they listened to??? I didn’t find her whiney at all, and the only hint of jealousy was dealt with in a fun way. She was strong and focused, and determined not to let anything hold her back.
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorites were the scenes when Leo and Georgia really opened up to each other, when they finally talked about everything that had happened six years ago.
I was so anxious to find out why Georgia’s dad had such an issue with Leo, and when all that came to a head it was such a relief!
Listening to the scene with Leo and her dad had me in tears! You could tell the love was still there, underneath all the animosity that had been held onto.
And don’t even get me started on poor Leo, and the whole misunderstanding in the training room! My God, my heart hurt for him!
To say I have been anticipating this book is a gigantic understatement. It’s no secret that Bowen is one of my favorite authors and I will read any and every book she writes. Right before I start a new book from Bowen, butterflies perform a hostage takeover of my stomach. The excitement is overwhelming, and the payoff is always worth it.
Rookie Move is a spin-off of Bowen’s Ivy Years series. It can be read as a standalone, especially since it is the first book in the new Brooklyn Bruisers series, but that being said, I am a girl who believes in having all the information up front. Both Leo and Georgia make appearances in the Ivy Years series, and I like to be armed with all the information I can get.
Leo Trevi was a solid six on the Rikker Scale, (shameless reference to my favorite Bowen book, The Understatement of the Year), and would work his way up for good reason. He is the consummate man. He was a standout guy in college, and now, two years out and finally getting his shot in the NHL, he is the same man. And when he finds out his high school sweetheart, who broke his heart on graduation night six years ago is the head of PR on his new team, he becomes a man on a mission.
“He and Georgia were going to get back together and stay that way. Maybe she didn’t quite realize it yet, but it was clear as ice to him. Their spark was still there, and stronger than ever.”
Georgia Worthington suffered the worst kind of pain, but she has spent six years getting her personal and professional life in order. She presents a strong, confident, kick-a** Georgia to the world, but behind closed doors, she’s a different girl. She longs to be the girl that Leo loved all those years ago, but even Georgia doesn’t know if that girl still exists.
“Wanting him was both amazing and painful. She wanted this for him so badly it hurt…The trouble, though, was that wanting was contagious. Wanting him to succeed felt a lot like wanting him. And that wasn’t on the table.”
There are countless obstacles in the way of Georgia and Leo’s happily ever after; crazy ex-girlfriends, fathers-turned-coaches, job security, and mounting insecurities. Leo is willing to work through it all, but is Georgia? As always, Bowen’s writing is exceptional. It is some of the best in the business. You’ll find it impossible not to fall in love with her characters, thanks to the way she thoroughly develops them. Within just a few pages, these characters will become your best friends. Their emotions become yours, and you can’t help but root for them…all of them. The secondary characters are just as important as the primary ones. Everyone is well-developed and well-rounded. I loved the dynamic between Becca and Georgia, and Leo and Silas. I even loved O’Doul. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but wish for stories for Silas, O’Doul, Becca, and Nate. Is it too soon to wish for Becca and Nate to be together? Please?
Another outstanding facet of Bowen’s writing is her complete understanding of hockey. It saddens me how often I will read a sports romance, only to find the author has zero familiarity of the sport they are writing about. Bowen oozes hockey knowledge. It brings an authenticity to her novels that you just can’t find everywhere. Hockey may take a backseat to Leo and Georgia, but it’s what help drives the story.
Rookie Move is Bowen’s twelfth published novel, with 3 more to come this year alone. Having read all of them, multiple times, I can tell you with complete confidence that Bowen is one of the best authors in the romance genre, and with each novel, she keeps getting better.
‘Rookie Move’ is the first book of ‘Brooklyn Bruisers’ series by Sarina Bowen. If you are fan of second chance and sports romance, this book is definitely for you. Our hero and heroine for the book are Leo Trevi and Georgia Worthington. If you read Sarina Bowen’s ‘Ivy Years’ series you are familiar with our hero. Leo was the captain of Harkness’ hockey team and after graduation he played for an AHL team in Michigan. But with one call his life takes a new turn and he find himself in NHL team Brooklyn Bruisers. He is happy that his hard work finally pays off and he is living his dream but what he didn’t expect is to see the love of his life right in front of him when he arrives to his new team.
Georgia Worthington is a publicist, who works for Brooklyn Bruisers. After the senior publicist quits, she becomes the interim senior publicist and her goal is to prove that she can handle the job so that she can become the senior publicist for the team. But everything gets little complicated when her first love starts playing for the team and her father becomes the head coach.
Leo and Georgia was high school sweethearts but on their senior year of high school, a tragic event, which causes Georgia to breakup with Leo on their graduation day, changes everything for them. After six years without any contact, they end up working in the same team. Leo is still struggling to understand why Georgia broke up with him and there are too many unresolved issues between them. But Leo is determined to get the bottom of these issues and win Georgia back. They are still in love with each other and even after six years their chemistry and connection is undeniable. Even after the things she has to go through, I loved how strong Georgia is now. She is smart and hardworking. As for Leo, he is just a great character. He is loving, supportive, considerate and stand-up guy. I loved how he always supported Georgia and tried to be there for her whenever she needs it. It was also really heartwarming to see after declaring his love and intentions, how he let Georgia to decide if she wants to be back with him without putting too much pressure on her.
On the other hand Leo’s only unresolved issues are not with Georgia. His new coach Karl Worthington, who used to be his mentor, hates him and he has no clue why. And his only problem is not Karl’s approval of his relationship with Georgia but also Karl has the power to trade him off without even giving him a proper chance. So both Georgia and Leo have their struggles and it was heartbreaking and sweet to see how they work through them.
I am not going to give away anything more so it is for you to find out what happened and how they overcome their struggles. But I will tell you the part that affected me the most. It is towards the end of the book. There is a part with O’Doul, Georgia, Leo and later on Karl and I was reading it with a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, I felt heartbroken and felt their pain. I am not going to give away anything more but consider this as a caution that you might end up crying.
All in all I loved and really enjoyed ‘Rookie Move’. I also loved the secondary characters of the book. Becca was hilarious. I loved how she played cupid for Leo and Georgia. O’Doul, Silas and Nate were great too and while reading I was hoping they will get their stories too. Fortunately, next book of the series ‘Hard Hitter’ is about O’Doul. As for Becca, Nate and Silas, I still hope they get their own stories in the future. Second book of the series ‘Hard Hitter’ is already out, so you can enjoy O’Doul without waiting and the third book of the series ‘Pipe Dreams’ will be out in May 2017 so just two more months If you like second chance and sports romance and are looking for a sweet, steamy and heartwarming story, ‘Rookie Move’ is just for you.
Would I recommend this book: Yes.
Would I re-read this book: Yes.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
The review was originally posted on: http://miabookaddict.com/