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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I love Friend to lovers books and this one absolutely blew me away! Spiked by love is the 6th book in the Bellevue Bullies series! Asher Brooks & Ally Titov have been friends their entire lives, but Ally has always felt more towards Asher. But after ending an engagement Asher is back. Will they be brave enough to risk their friendship for the chance at a happily ever after? Will Ally and Asher ever be more than best friends? I loved this book and can’t wait to read more!
Oh, how I love a friends to lovers story. I was hooked from the beginning, Ally and Asher have known each other all their lives and never crossed that line to more. Then fate has other plans. This story is filled with all the emotions and laugh out moments between Ally and Asher. These two try to decide how to navigate new waters and figure out if it’s worth the risk. This story pulled at my heart strings and had me glued to each page until the end. I want more of these two! Read this book and you will want your own Asher in your life by the end!
Oh my the emotions in this book! We meet Asher who’s come back to the family after a rough break up. He’s reunited with best friend Ally but what happens is fantastic. I really loved Ally and Asher although they were quite stubborn and frustrating at times lol. They had such great chemistry and were such good friends that they were meant for each other. But the angst was crazy in this story but so well done and the emotion poured off the pages. I absolutely loved this story!
I say this time and time again that each new book from Toni is better than the last. There isn’t any book by her that I haven’t liked. She’s my go to author for hockey romance and so much more.
Spiked By Love is a friends to lovers story with emotion and heart. It has some hilarious laughs, a little drama and a lot of sexiness.
For obvious reasons we didn’t see ice time but we still saw court time and you can tell Toni did her research. She didn’t just fudge through volleyball lingo. It’s refreshing when authors do their due diligence.
This book will give you all the feels and put a huge smile on your face. If you love the Assassins like I do then their kiddos won’t be far behind with stealing your heart. I can’t wait for more from Toni in the future.
If you are looking for something to read that will make you smile, send you on a roller coaster and end with an amazing ever after moment, this book is for you. Ally and Asher have a lot of obstacles to overcome, more than they even realize. After a traumatic event that takes Asher out character to defend Ally, they take things to a level more than friendship. Ally, having loved him as long as she can remember, sees the true Asher, and knows him better than anyone else. What she doesn’t know is how well he hides certain parts of himself. She sees how he hides his pain, she thought it was due to the heartache of his last breakup but as their relationship progresses she realizes it is so much more. Asher is terrified to lose the person who means the most to him so he bottles up his feelings and tries to go with the flow and put off declarations of feelings as long as possible in fear of losing Ally forever. As Ally falls harder and harder for Asher she realizes she has to hold back her feelings in case they scare him away. When they get to a breaking point Ally decides she is worth the risk and lays it all out their, Asher has to come to terms with himself, his feelings and his emotions to get Ally to be his forever.
Toni as always does a great job of explaining the characters emotions to where I just want to wrap them up in a hug and hold them. I love how old characters are intertwined and we get glimpses into potential future books as well as past members of the “family” that I have loved from the very first pages. I cannot wait for the next release from Toni as she never ceased to amaze me and make me fall in love each and every time.
Asher Brooks & Ally Titov have known each other their whole lives and have been best friends, confidants, ride or die.
Ally and Asher.
Can two best friends move forward and be lovers? This question is posed in Toni Aleo’s latest offering in her Nashville Assassins and Bellevue Bullies world. I sometimes struggle with the trope. I worry that they attraction isn’t enough, or it is going to be one sided. I don’t always do well with the awkward situations. I can tell you 100% that this is not one sided nor awkward. I absolutely wanted to hit both Asher and Ally upside the head and demand they open their eyes. You can feel the sparks and the attraction from almost the get go. They danced around each other a little too much. They both tried to date another person, basically hoping it would drive the other to them. Both seemed incapable of making the move.
A fight between Ally’s ex Taco (yes, his nickname is legit Taco) and Asher was enough to send them tripping into each other’s arms, I mean tripping not falling, there was not a ton of grace happening to get to that first kiss. But who needs grace when you have pirate jokes!
Oh Boy was that first kiss that catalyst they needed to realize that they ought to be together. I think Ally’s gender, age and life experience was on her side getting her to the point quicker than Asher got to it. His fear of his feelings made his stumbles a lot bigger and more profound. But their story was sweet. Toni, always rights these strong male characters who are swoony and seem to have moves, Asher didn’t and that is ok. I liked his awkwardness and lack of swooniness, it shows just how innocent their love was.
This story will BUMP your romantic sentiments, SET your feelings in motion, and SPIKE right into your heart. This was a 4.5/5 read for me. I enjoyed it tremendously I just felt they danced around each other a little much, I wanted them together and watch their relationship develop.
Yet, another amazing read from Mrs Aleo!!
Bullies and Assassin’s what more could we ask for
I adored Ali and Asher and loved their story.
Best friends to lovers = HOTT
My favorite thing with Toni’s books is we get all the emotions and feels and they are perfect
Who doesn’t love a best friends to lovers romance?
Spiked by Love is absolutely amazing! Ally Titov and Asher Brooks are absolutely adorable as best friends, literally each other’s ride or die.
It seems that everyone around sees something they don’t, or do they?
Had a smile on my face from the moment I picked up the book. Sweet, funny, and just enough angst to keep you glued to the story. Reading one of Toni Aleo’s stories is seriously a no brainer! I absolutely love her! And love that she just keeps giving us more of the families we love.
Can’t wait to see who’s story is next!
Asher and Allison have captured my heart!
I absolutely loved this adorable couple. Though there were many times I wanted to smack Asher upside the head for being too stubborn. I love that Ally knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. I l think it was a work of genius for this book to run parallel with Posey’s story “Power Play”.
I love that in all of her books Aleo let’s us catch up with other Assassins favorites. I can not wait to see what Emery and Stella will have in store for us. Their books will be much anticipated.
I received a complimentary ARC – early release copy of this book in Kindle format from the author for review purposes.
This is book 3 in the series about the hockey kids and this is Asher’s story, he is Aiden’s brother and he is paired with Alison Titon, who is Jakob’s daughter. They are both best friends and have never had a romantic relationship largely because Asher has never shown an interest in Ali but everyone knows Ali loves him.
I am a new fan to this series, though I read Aiden/Shelley and Boone/Posey’s stories but I never read the parents stories so the parents are pretty new characters to me. This book seems to stand alone as I was able to follow a long.
This is a bestfriends to lovers story but this story took a long time to get to the romance. One reason is that Asher dates Ali’s roomie Angela and Ali goes back with her nasty ex, Taco. This is the first 50% of the book and I kinda hated this part of the story.
But after defending Ali these two finally get together but Asher was a character I had a hard time loving. For one his lust/romance with Ali is brand new and he is very up in the air about it. Ali has always loved Asher, she is in love and ready for more right away. She exhibits a lot more patience with him than I would have.
I like Alpha men and Asher is totally not that character. In fact he has tried to avoid too much feeling and love his whole life and Ali has to really drag him there. I loved the other two stories in this series much more but this was still a good story.
I love the Bullies/Assassins series and Spiked by Love is a great addition to the family. Asher and Allison are not strangers they have grown up together and have been best friends, as a reader of these series I know then and their families and visiting with the Assassins and Bullies characters is my favorite part it’s like coming home. Ash B and Ally T love each other they just don’t realize how much, both are so afraid of getting hurt and losing their “person”. This book has so much love and feelings that cause a ton of angst and just makes your heart thump. I really enjoy each new book with these amazing characters. Five-plus stars.
Ally and Asher have been best friends five-ever. They play pranks on each other, watch out for each other even from one part of the country to the other side, talk to each other every day until he moves back to Tennessee. Then it’s all bets are off seeing each other everyday is different, harder to not show your true feelings when they’re right there. I could feel how scared they were to take the leap of faith that the other would be there if they showed what they really felt.
I hated watching them struggle for the love that they felt, but laughed so hard getting to that point. You could literally feel everything they were going through…the laughter, the tears, the love.
Toni’s books always make me smile, laugh and cry and this book wasn’t any different. I did love seeing the families and laughing and crying with them too!
Ally & Asher have been inseparable nearly their whole lives, best friends forever. Since he’s been away at college, it’s been easier for her to breathe, to keep up the facade that she doesn’t love him as more than a friend; but now that he’s back home, she’s finding it harder to keep up the pretense. And can it be that perhaps Ash might feel the same way? The attraction is definitely there, now if only he’d open up and tell her how he really feels, leave his heart open the way she’s left hers. If only his feelings didn’t scare the crap out of him.
Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and Toni Aleo has done it so well here. I love the easy familiarity in conjunction with the intense chemistry these two friends have that only the people who have been best friends for so long have. And as those feelings morphed into more, or at least, as they admitted the feelings each had long had – whew, talk about sparks flying! Of course, Ash had to be a stupid man for a minute there, but I gotta admit that the way they made up was so sweet. As sweet as these two are.
Toni Aleo writes some of my favorite sports romances. Why? Her characters are family. They love like family. They fight like family. And they are there for each other like family. And I feel like home when I read them. I’m not sure if Angie’s story is next, but I sure hope so because she is a feisty, bright spot in this already amazing story.
Asher and Ally have been best friends forever. They have grown up together since their mothers are best friends and their fathers played hockey for the Nashville Assassins. Ally has been in love with Asher, but has hid it from him. Even though he is a super smart guy who finished a degree from UCLA in 3 years in engineering (or computer smart), he is coming home to lick his wounds from a broken engagement. He is looking forward to seeing his bestie and his crazy family.
Watching these two navigate their feelings and all of the drama between their families is amazing. If you have read the other books in Toni Aleo’s books you understand and will appreciate the families and all of the connections. You do not have to have read the, to understand what is going on, but I would highly recommend it. The Lucas Brooks family is my favorite. They are hysterical. The scenes where they text each other and offer commentary is awesome.
Ally and Asher are a great friends to lovers relationship. watching them try to see if they are willing to “lose” their friendship in order to take the relationship to the next step was really sweet. Ally’s ex-boyfriend Taco comes back to try to win Ally back and it makes Asher angry.
Asher may not play hockey like the rest of his family,but he is connected to both the Assassins and the Bellevue Bullies. Ally is a star player for the Bellevue volleyball team and her roommate is Angie Paxton, who is an Assassins hockey player’s daughter. This is a great book that you definitely don’t want to miss. Once you finish it, you will be counting down the days before the next one comes out!!!
Spiked by Loved is book 6 in the Bellevue Bullies Series and I was certainly happy to be back with Assassins clan, in this addition we get Allison Titov and Asher Brooks story. Best friends their whole life because they were brought up together in the Assassins family, they should feel like siblings but what Ally feels is nothing like sisterly love for the man she calls her best friend but what she doesn’t realise is he feels the same way……
Ally and Asher may have strong feelings for each other but how will the rest of this tight knit family and friends react when they release their is more than friendship between these two….
This booked ticked all my boxes, I love the friendship and loyalty this group of family and friends share, I love the banter that is always present in this series and I love that this author always get the perfect mix of love, passion , drama and banter in all of her stories. Spiked by Love is a romance that’s full of love and family loyalty and it was a pleasure to join Ally and Asher on their journey to true happiness, the road may be bumpy but when you are on it with your best friend you will always get over the obstacles in your way. A beautifully written friends to lovers story that’s a great addition to a great series and I can’t wait for more from the Bellevue Bullies and their families and friends.
Spiked by Love is the sixth title in the Bellvue Bullies series, but has ties in with the Assassins, and Nashville Assassins: Next Generation series’. For anyone familiar with Toni’s work you will be familiar with the characters of Allison Titov and Asher Brooks as they have both appeared as side characters in previous books, most recently in Power Play and Dump and Chase. Ally’s parents are Harper Allen and Jakob Titov who feature heavily in other titles and their own story was told in One Timer. Asher’s parents are Fallon Parker and Lucas Brooks who appeared in Trying to Score, and his brother Aiden Brooks had his romance told in Dump and Chase.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to Ally and Asher. Ally is very like her father Jakob, and is driven strong and prideful. Whereas Asher is a sexy, funny, charming and slightly nerdy hero. He’s also slightly neurotic when it comes to love and romance. His parents had a complicated relationship and the ramification are still being felt by their children.
This title runs concurrent to Power Play and if you want to read Posey’s story I would highly recommend doing so before reading Spiked by Love as there are several spoilers.
I love how all of Toni Aleo’s titles tie in together and with each addition we get to catch up with past characters, it’s like revisiting old friends.
I thoroughly enjoyed Spiked By Love and will be eagerly awaiting Toni’s next release.
Spiked with emotion this love story is one you won’t put down! Ashley @ Carolina Chic’s Read
Friends to lovers. Asher Brooks and Ally Titov has grown up together in the Assassins Family and have had it bad for each other but neither will cross the line as they both want to keep the friendship they have. Asher struggles to find his footing to go all in with Ally but will they be able to go forward. Toni does a wonderful joining these two together….Love how the Assassin Families are together in this wall. Could not put it down and loved! Keep writing your words Toni I cannot wait to read them!
It’s been a while since I read a good friends-to-lovers romance and Spiked by Love is definitely that. Both Asher and Ally are children of previous characters and childhood best friends. Asher returns to Nashville after a broken engagement and looking to figure out the next step in his life. Ally is finishing college and is happy to be reunited with her old friend. Both are hesitant to take the step from friends to more for fear of ruining their friendship. However, that friendship is what I like most about the book. They just click on a deeper level. Both have made bad relationship choices in the past and are afraid that will carry into their budding romantic relationship. However, the beautiful relationship they can make from their friendship just might be worth the risk.
This is the 6th book in this amazing series and is Allison and Asher’s story. These two have been best friends forever, and I loved the family dynamics in this tale. No spoilers: this is a definite must-read sports romance; you will not be disappointed. This is a beautifully written story which has drama, emotion, witty banter, family and love. I was totally captivated throughout this addictive page turner, and I highly recommend for all.
Alison Titov and Asher Brooks have been best friends their whole lives. They grew up together. Their mom’s are best friends and their dad’s played professional hockey together. For all those years Ally has harbored a flame for Asher and he’s never known it. Now he’s back from college in California and newly single. She’s in college in their home town busy kicking ass and taking names on the volleyball court. Is Ally T finally willing to take the risk and show Ash B how she really feels or will they just remain best friends forever. Asher has spent his whole life pushing down the feelings that he has for Ally. He’s afraid of truly feeling for anyone most of all loosing his other half, his bestie. Will Ally be the one to finally unlock his whole heart and get him to love? Cross your fingers and find out.
This is Toni Aleo’s first friends to lovers romance. Its also a different kind of sports romance from what she normally writes. It is even better than I would have hoped for. In this book the female is the athlete and the male is the brain. It has all the steam and sass of a traditional Toni Aleo book but it also brings the real just like her books always do. The characters are written in a way that each one you want to be friends with, or might remind you of someone you truly do know. You might even see yourself a little in a situation or character. This book makes you want to have your own best friend, your person, your rock you turn to, your love of your life. You can’t help but want to be like Ally and Ash and root for them along the way. It is a stand alone book, but with characters from all her other books. You will want to read about the other characters once you get into this one. I guarantee you won’t regret picking up a Toni Aleo book. Once you do you will be hooked. Even if sports romance normally isn’t your thing take a chance on these books! You will fall in love with ALL of them!