Allison Titov and Asher Brooks have been best friends their whole lives. Brought up together as part of the Assassins family, they might as well be related. But… Ally has never felt anything sisterly toward Asher.
In love with Asher since she was a teen, Ally has gone pro at keeping her feelings a secret. It’s been easy…as long as he’s stayed halfway across the country at college and she has a … she has a volleyball to slap her frustrations out on. But now, he’s home. And having his quick wit, heart-filling laugh, and adorkable smile so close is going to test her like never before.
After being dumped by his fiancée, Asher is at a loss what to do next. He craves stability, but with an unexpected kiss, Ally might as well have spiked Asher in the face with a volleyball. Now he’s faced with the dilemma of his life. Does he keep Ally in the friend zone, or does he take the ultimate risk for love?
If they’ve learned one thing growing up in the glow of hockey greatness, it’s that you can’t win it all if you don’t play the game. And by serving one hell of an ace into the middle of Asher’s safe little life, Ally is ready to claim victory.
STANDALONE!
Friends to LOVERS
Nashville Assassins: Next Generation folks at Bellevue Bullies
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This book is a must read. Toni Aleo has aced the best friend romance. I love the assassins and the Bellevue book series. She has done a good job of intertwining both series together. I also love the way she has brought back some of my old favorite assassins characters through their children. If you don’t know the back story, you can pick up this book and enjoy the relationship between Ally and Asher. I love their reactions to each others and watching how they both realize they are the one for the other. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Aleo gives the reader all the feels with Spiked by Love. Great character building in the Assassin family world that readers have come to love. Seeing the kids all grow up makes it that much more ahhhhh.
Ally and Asher have been BFF even though they are a boy and girl. Having grown up around one another as their moms are BFF too, makes spending time together effortless. Ally and Asher have massive crush on one another but too scared to bridge the gap from friend to lover. With the meddling of their loving moms and families Ally and Asher make the leap to true love.
One of the most emotional friends to lovers romance journey I have read in a long time! The depth of emotion was deeply embedded into the story making this an angst filled ball of feelings wrapped in heart! SO MUCH HEART!!
The more words I read by this author the more I fall in love with not just her as a writer, but the worlds that she creates. Way back in the day, I lacked serious enthusiasm for her style. Today, I cannot devour her words fast enough!
The relationship that Ally and Asher had on a friend level and then morphed into more was one that had me rethinking the status of my own friendships. These two were deep friends. They were each other’s person. That was super important to them and its what made me fall head over heels for them both! Their growth and the development of their relationship was so on point, I felt every angst-y moment to my core. And when I say angst-y, I do not mean dark, just to be clear lol. It was angst-y because it was important, and it was critical, and it was just so damn beautiful! If you’re not reading Toni’s words, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
She shoots, she scores and here I am writing another review for the new addition to my favorite series of all times. Thank you Toni for publishing yet another amazing book. Spiked by Love is the 6th book of Bellevue Bullies. Since I more than once said Assassins is my all time favorite series, just to clarify I consider all Assassins, Bellevue, New Generation series as a big old Assassins family therefore all books in these series are from my favorite series of all times. Sorry it is impossible to pick just one of them 🙂
So here is Spiked by Love…
Say hello to Brooks and Titov families 🙂 Allison, aka Ally T., Titov and Asher, aka Ash B., Brooks have been best friends since birth, thanks to their dads being teammates and moms being really close friends. Ally is smart, sweet, beautiful and a firecracker just like her mama. She is in love with the idea of love and I don’t blame her, growing up with two madly in love parents can do that to you. Unfortunately, she always pick the wrong guys or let’s just say she picks guys to stay away from the right one. Since her teenager years she in love with Asher. Being best friends and trying to hide your feelings is a hard job which Ally became a pro at. When Asher decided to go to CA for college, she finally get a chance to breath and not try to keep up the pretense but now after four years Asher is coming back and everything that she kept bottled up will spill all over the place.
Asher, Asher, Asher… To tell you the truth I wasn’t really fan of him before this story thanks to his as*holish behavior in Dump and Chase but by becoming a pirate, he made it out of as*hole category in my eyes 🙂 Ash is smart, nerdy, funny and super hot. He is a guy who loves and needs stability. After a failed engagement, he is back home and he is trying to get his life in order. He is happy to be back and have her best friend with him all the time but sometimes it is hard fight the attraction he is feeling for Ally. Both Ally and Ash are afraid to tell the one another about their crash and risk their friendship. After a punch and a kiss, Ash is in a hard place and him being overanalyzing everything, causes him to react rather slowly. I am not going to ruin the story by spilling everything here, you have to work to get all the juicy details 🙂 But I will tell you this… Lucas and Fallon WTF did you do these boys. First Aiden and now Asher… They are smart guys but if the subject is love they become the dumbest people on earth… But don’t worry, they do come to their sense eventually. Better late than never, right?
Ally T. and Ash B. are amazingly perfect for each other and their story is captivating, funny, sweet and sexy. I am dying to read Emery’s story but since she is one of the younger ones, I think I will be waiting for that a bit so hopefully next in line is Angie Paxton or Stella.
Would I recommend this book: Yes
Would I re-read this book: Yes
Would I read future books by this author: Yes
Ally and Asher are best friends. Ally has been in love with Asher forever. They both have some past relationship baggage. Ally always has Asher’ s back. Asher has some self esteem issues always feeling second best to his brother. But both of them are afraid to take the next step. Their attraction is too strong.. They both realize it is risk they are willing to take. Love this spin off on Assassin’s series. I love all the secondary characters. These characters come to life and you feel like you right there with them. Toni writes a perfect sports romance and i am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.
I love reading all about the next generation of the Assassins family. This book features Ally-Jakob and Harper’s daughter, and Asher-Lucas and Fallon’s son. Bonus feature is we get to see what is going on with the families. This is a friends to lovers romance. Asher and Ally have been best friends forever, but Ally has been in love with Asher since the teen years. Asher has some issues of his own, because the issues his parents faced he is very insecure in himself and love. After an incident had Asher coming to Ally’s rescue she gave in and kissed him. That started the roller coaster of love. This book does not disappoint and gives you all of the feels. A must read!!!
I only want two things in this world, I want you and I want us….
The best relationships start off as friendships first. Ally and Asher had that part nailed down, but the “in love” part was another matter. Ally is already on board with that, Asher was too but he was fighting it to let it come to the surface. She has been in love with Asher since she was a teenager. Their story was very tumultuous as they both kept how they truly felt for each other to themselves for fear of losing their friendship.
It was painful to read about Asher’s struggle to admit his fears to Ally. The pressure of family did not help either. They all voiced their opinions on how they thought the two of them were meant to be. All it took was a kiss to bring everything to a head. Watching these two wrestle with their feelings was difficult to experience. You knew they were meant for each other. Asher was still very skittish after a heart breaking split with a woman he thought was the one for him.
Ally and Asher needed to come to terms about what they needed to have for a future together. Their story had all the feels and emotional turmoil that makes for a no brainer 5 star review.
Spiked by Love is exactly what a friends to lovers book should be! It has every element needed and it’s written to perfection. Ms. Aleo never lets you down with the way she crafts emotion, humor and steam into her stories.
Asher and Ally are best friends. Have been since they were young kids. They tell each other everything..except how they have grown to love each other as more than friends over the years. Each of them are to afraid of the ramifications and don’t want to loose their best friend. Find out what happens when they can’t hide their feelings any longer.
Every book this author writes is better than the last! I fell in love with Asher and Ally within the first few pages, their story was raw, honest, sexy and real! it was also great to revisit my favorite and crazy intertwined favorite family! I can’t wait for more!!
I swear every book that Toni writes is better than the last, and I’m pretty sure I say this every time she releases a new book. I absolutely LOVE that we are getting the next generation books. Asher and Ally were the sweetest and this friends-to-lovers book left me swooning.
Asher Brooks and Allison Titov have been friends forever. Their dads both played for the Nashville Assassin’s and their moms are best friends. Adults now, Asher is coming back home after being dumped by his fiancé, and while Ally is thrilled to have her best friend back, she’s also scared. After all, she’s been in love with Asher since they were kids. The more time they spend together, it gets harder for Ally to ignore her attraction, and when Asher steps up for Ally in a big way and she kisses him, will things change?
These two, so freaking cute. Asher is so darn swoony, and Ally that girl is the sweetest. Watching their story unfold was beautiful, and it makes my heart happy to see these babies getting their own happily ever after’s. Toni Aleo has created a world that has me so enthralled, and I can’t get enough. She writes these characters in a way that is relatable and they just draw you into the book. I can’t’ wait for more Toni Aleo books in 2020!
Spiked by Love is Toni Aleo’s first venture into the friends to lovers storyline. After a break up with his fiance, Asher Brooks returns home and is reunited with his best friend Allison Titov. We first met Ally T and Ash B in the Assassins series as their moms are best friends and their dads played hockey together on the Nashville Assassins. Ally has always gone out with the wrong type of guy because she’s known since a young age that Asher was her soulmate. After Asher does something so out of character to protect Ally, it sets them on a path to decide if it’s worth staying in the friend zone or taking a chance on their happily ever after.
I love how Toni develops her characters. They are so relatable and make you feel like they are your best friend, sibling, parent, etc. She continues to weave our favorite characters through each hero/heroine’s book. It’s amazing what she is able to do with words. If you’ve never read a Toni Aleo book, I highly suggest you start right now with Spiked by Love.
Spiked by Love is absolutely swoon worthy! Ally & Asher are the absolute cutest! Sporty girl falls in love with her cute, nerdy best friend, what else could be better?! I really enjoyed reading another Toni Aleo book. She never seems to disappoint. And I love always getting to catch up with her characters from the last and seeing how they’re doing. I can’t wait to see what comes next
What do you get when you mix a nerdy Jumbotron engineer with a feisty college volleyball player…the next hottest couple to hit Nashville! Ally Titov and Asher Brooks will leave you with all the feels. From their fast paced hysterical word play to their steamy chemistry they are the perfect follow up in the next installation in the Bellevue Bullies series. Friends to lovers is taken to a whole new level as you watch two more of the Assassins kids find their happily ever after! Add in the original Assassins founding families to round out the action and Toni Aleo has created a love story that will warm your heart and leave you in stitches!
Darn you Toni Aleo, you did it again. You got me so wrapped up in this book, this emotional, funny, frustrating book, YOU made me cry yet again. Sigh, oh the emotions…
When I found out this book, I could not wait for it to hit my tablet. And once it did, I could NOT put it down. Yep, one sitting, and done.
My gosh, Ally and Asher, I just cannot put my thought into words. I loved this story that much. I laugh, I cried, I even wanted to knock their heads together some of the time. Both, afraid to put their feeling for the other out there. EVERYone else saw it, why couldn’t they???!!! Yes, I understand, they were both afraid to possibly lose the other as best friends, but WHY COULD THEY NOT SEE that letting the other see their heart?!?! ARGH!!! Oh, but watching them fumble thru it all…Sigh!! Every young lady needs an Asher in their lives.
I FLOVE these series, yes more than one, Ms. Aleo actually has 3 different series intertwined, the original Assassins series, the Nashville Assassins: Next Generation series, and this series, the Bellevue Bullies. And let me tell you, I have loved each and every book is all three series!! They are phenomenal. I keep thinking that eventually, one book is not going to live up to the last book. But, NOPE, every book just as great as the first. Yes, I have my favorites among them, but each and every one is written just as fabulously as the first.
Thank you, Ms. Aleo, for sharing you fan-freaking-tastic talents as a writer with your readers.
I was gifted with a copy of this book because of my love of reading romance books, and for my opinions of the book.
If you love a good romance book as much as I do, you can not go wrong in choosing this phenomenally emotional book.
Thank you for reading my review. NOW, what are you waiting for. This book is now available at your favorite retailer. HAPPY READING!!!
Loved this latest Bellevue Bullies book from Toni Aleo. Unlike most of the other books in the series, there is no hockey in this book.
Ali is a star volleyball player and the daughter of Harper and Jakob Titov from Toni’s original Nashville Assassins Series.
Asher is the son of Fallon and Lukas Brooks, agin of the original Nashville Assassins series.
These two have been best friends since they were little, growing up together, but each one had a secret, they have both been in love with the other for a long time, but are they willing to risk their friendship to pursue a relationship?
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, had the LOL moments that I expect with Toni, while also hitting me in the feels.
This book brings back memories of how special it is to grow in love with someone. This is another big hit from Toni, who keeps writing amazing stories that bring hope and love back into the forefront of everything. These two characters show strength support their family and friends, but especially to each other. This is a must-read for everyone who has fallen in love with both Toni Aleo’s Assassins, Assassins New Beginnings, and the Bellview Bullies.
I just love these books with the kids from the older Assassin players from previous books! Its so nice to see the original assassins. I love seeing them as parents and how they all handle the life of being parents. And the big tangled web of the Assassins family. I love Ally and Asher’s friendship. And watching them go thru trying to sort thru the gray area between everything especially if they gave things a shot was hard because like everything its hard to put your feelings out there. But i loved their story and can’t wait to see who’s next up in the next generation of the Assassin’s.
I loved it so much!
Asher and ally are beyond the cutest people alive in regards to friendship. You cannot help but be like trying to smoosh them together the entire time because gosh darnit they are perfect for eachother. Taco can suck it. Lol
The author did an amazing job on this story. It flowed so well and I couldnt put the book down. It was easy to devour it. I wish there was more I loved it so much.
I loved getting to read more of the original character in the Assassins family and it just made me want to reread all of the authors books since all the families have come such a long way.
Highly recommended!
From the get go, Asher has my heart. He just twines his hands and pulls you into his soul. The journey he takes with Ally is one that keeps you on your toes.
Ally is set on that one love like her parents. She wants what they have always had and she will do all she can to reach it, even almost throwing it away for some dude named “Taco!” Ha!!
Bam! In comes Asher. After being away and almost settling for what he knew deep down wasn’t real, he lets himself feel what he’s been afraid to try with the only person that knows him completely.
Asher and Alli struggle to find the balance of best friends to lovers on what is bound to be one of the funniest rides!
Ready, Set…let’s get Spiked by Love!
Toni Aleo gets a win for Spiked by Love (Bellevue Bullies #6). This is Allison Titov’s and Asher Brooks’ story. Asher is the second oldest son of Lucas and Fallon Brooks from Trying to Score (Nashville Assassins #2). Allison is the daughter of Harper and Jakob Titov from Taking Shots (Nashville Assassins #1) / One Timer (Nashville Assassins #17). Allison and Asher have always been best friends. They could not imagine living without the other. After a kiss, they need to decide if they play it safe and just stay friends, or do they bump up the game. This contemporary sports romance is suitable for new adults.
I loved this story. Asher and Ally are the cutest couple. Everyone knows they belong together, except them. They have some interesting dilemmas that they face. I love that we are introduced to these characters as kids and now read about them as young adults. It makes you feel like you have seen them mature. Asher and Ally have grown up around professional hockey. I enjoyed the perspective of two people that have evolved around the sport but don’t play it; especially Asher, whose father and brother are pretty much legends in the sport. I also, appreciated the jumbotron aspect of the story.
Toni Aleo continues to do a fabulous job with these series. They all feel original. I never feel like I’m reading a cookie-cutter book by her. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.