He’s hot. Like, stop breathing kind of hot with his killer body, vivid blue eyes, and constant five o’clock shadow.Did I mention his body?Watching Hollis Knightly, Olympic diving gold medalist, man-pony specialist—and cocky bastard—stand up on the diving platform in nothing but a small piece of Spandex? Yeah, I’m beguiled.And easily seduced.I want to keep things light but he won’t leave me alone. … light but he won’t leave me alone. And hell, if he’s not wearing me thin.
What is supposed to be a simple summer fling with a very hot man, has now morphed into a f*cked-up mess of feelings, attachment, and dare I say it…love. But I don’t do relationships. And Hollis Knightly does.
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Honestly the only reason I liked this tort was to get more information about the Two books from different angles and because of Hollis. He is amazing and I wish there were more of him out there in the world. Guys who read romance novels and love love. I really got fed up with melony and her daddy issues. I get it. Mine left too but honestly I have common sense to know one mans actions don’t dictate how all guys act. And honestly girl should have been in therapy a long time about her self worth and love. What she put Hollis threw was ridiculous. So happy he got his HEA even if it’s with melony. But only because she got her head out of her butt and woke up to smell the coffee. Lol.
4.5
Are you ready to have your pants romanced off? Because Hollis is just the guy to do that! With his funny antics, and his warm heart, you’ll be falling at this Olympian’s feet!
But Melony is not easily swayed. She thinks men will just let her down, no matter what they say. But Mr. Love-At-First-Sight Hollis is determined to prove her otherwise.
Hollis just made you all warm and fuzzy with his nicknames and gestures. The ultimate book boyfriend! He’s cautious when it comes to Melony in a way that he can’t go full Hollis Knightly on her from the beginning. She’s skittish.
In a purely romantic way, Hollis is able to win Melony over and it gives you all the warm happy feels. Grab this one today, it’s the perfect ending to a fantastic series!
I have now completed my re read of this amazing series, and again I feel Hollis was the right hero to being this home. He may have won Olympic gold, but his heart is his greatest asset. This time around, I appreciated Melody’s issue even more, and what she might have felt. I’m so glad Hollis didn’t give up on her and with his wit and charm, she saw he was here to stay.
I have been waiting to hear Hollis’ story since the first book. In that one, he is so cocky and smart and funny, but you just know that there is more to this man. And that is why I was so glad that he is the one to round off this series, because he is the whole package!
Hollis is raised from a loving home that worships everything he does, even his twin sister, Holly – yes their parents went there! It is the support of his family that keeps him grounded in the Olympic world. And then he meets Melony when he attends a photo shoot for Reese. He is captivated from the start……but its not reciprocated, much to his dismay. Even though Melony has a loving and supportive mum, she has issues with commitment and worthiness. It is a long and hard process for Hollis to win Melony over, and in the process, we get a funny and sweet story. You will love Hollis, not only for his super fit athletic body, but his charm will win you over. He’s funny and quick with his wit but also has a very soft and romantic side that I find very sexy! Melony’s issues are true and real, and if it was solved easily, it wouldn’t feel authentic. She needs to understand how Hollis is in for the long haul.
I know I am going to be thinking of these characters for a long time to come. These three Olympians have not only won gold but have won the hearts of their girls, and me! There is a bonus epilogue that is written for pure pleasure. Though, I would have liked one that was further along, with maybe a wedding, a proposal and a baby. That’s when you know you have an awesome series, when you just want more and more from them.
Let me just start by saying Meghan Quinn has done it again with this book . she is my favorite author. This book is great from start to finish . I loved Hollis and Melony’s story. . You want these two to work out and man is Hollis the man every women dreams about. This is an epic love story that you will want to read and reread
Stroked Hard #3 in the Stroked series. And it’s about the cocky, smartass man with abs any living human beings salivates over, Hollis Knightly. Who’s going for his third gold medal.
Melony, hair and makeup artist for an obnoxious reality star, is doing all she can to hold Hollis at bay. She isn’t doing relationships. How long can she resist him and his abs?
Hollis and his hunt to get any time with Melony, is beyond adorable. And their chemistry is out of this world!
3.5 stars
This was the second book I’ve read by Meghan Quinn and since I read and loved Stroked Long book #2 in this series I was really looking forward to this book. To be honest though I am a bit disappointed now after having finished this book.
The story was okay but I wasn’t very fond of the characters. If you are into dirty talks then you will probably love those characters, it just wasn’t something for me.
The Story:
Hollis Knightly has a killer body and any woman would be lucky to get his attention. Though Hollis isn’t at all a playboy. He isn’t looking for a different woman every night. No, he wants what his parents have. He wants a serious relationship with a woman he can have a future with. The instant he lays eyes on Melony, he knows that she is the one woman he wants to marry and since Hollis isn’t one to be shy, he tells her so.
Hollis is cocky with a gorgeous body and Melony doesn’t know why he wants her. She is a broken woman and doesn’t do relationships. Now she only has to get this through his thick scull because it seems like Hollis doesn’t give up on her easily.
Thoughts:
The story was nice though I didn’t buy into Hollis’ intentions for a while. He saw Melony and was determined to marry her?! I mean, he didn’t know anything about her, let alone if she was single or already taken.
I wish there was more background of the story. Most of the time it was just Hollis and his dirty mouth worshipping Melony. I absolutely couldn’t deal with the way Hollis was talking. I mean, WTF?! Who talks like that? I have to give credit to the author for coming up with all this stuff but it just wasn’t for me. Call me a prude but I just had to cringe every time when he made up stupid nicknames for Melony. I loved serious Hollis because in those sweet moments he was loving and so nice though most of the times he just had a dirty mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind sexy talk but he was just over the top. It wasn’t sexy but just ridiculous and insulting. How Reese was still his friend, I have no idea. Sometimes it felt like Hollis had two personalities because he could change his way of talking within seconds.
Melony annoyed me in the second half of the book because Hollis had never let her down and he had always worshipped her but she still couldn’t trust him and threw him away and hurt him. She confused me because even though what her dad did broke her, I didn’t truly compre-hend how this alone could have made her run from Hollis who really and truly cared for her.
Even though I wasn’t in love with this book I still enjoyed reading it and I actually bought the first book because I missed out on that one and can’t wait to read about Reese.
***5 ‘Big Daddy’ Stars***
Ms. Quinn saved the best for last!
She did and I have to admit that it kinda hurts to admit that because I didn’t think Hollis could even sidle up next to Bodi on BBF list, but holy f$-^$%g h%ll, he did that and more! (Please note that I am still a full fledged member of #TeamBodi while being apart of #TeamHollis) I’m still in a total swoony-twiterpatted-dopey smile state of being right now over Stroked Hard and it all has to do with Hollis Knightly. Those teasers do NOT do the man justice at all…
Well, they do because he’s cocky, ridiculous and has NO filter what so ever. He’s random, but it’s a controlled type of random (unlike Ruby’s kind of random) because he knows exactly what he’s doing when the words come out of his mouth. He’s so comfortable in his own skin (literally and figuratively) it’s scary and yet such a turn on and yet there will be many times when you wonder how no one has attempted to gut this boy with a spoon. But when you find out what kind of man he is and you’ll become all kinds of gooey and realize that he’s the kind of man that you’ve been looking for your entire life. He’s sweet, romantic, honest, persistent, can dance, sing…I could go on and on but what it all boils down to is that he is an ultimate book boyfriend.
Melony. I loved the girl. She’s quick witted, snarky, sassy, intelligent and the fact that she didn’t gut Bellini with a spoon shows a high tolerance for bullsh%t and is determined to achieve the goal she has set for herself, especially since if she achieves that goal the success from it will help to making her mom’s life easier because the woman is her whole world. But she is also extremely stubborn, not a bad thing in general, but the girl has wounds that run deep and have her so set on never being in a committed relationship that it hurts. I can’t say I blame her and I understand why she feels the way she does, but at the same time I wanted to reach out and have a come to Jesus style talk with her.
Hollis’ belief that Melony as his one and only had her running, but they both enjoyed the cat and mouse game they were playing and that had me enjoying the chase as well. With Hollis’ calculated randomness and Melony’s snarky wit they were a match made in heaven and the sexual chemistry between them was five alarm hawt! But the sweet moments were what showed just how good they could be together if given the chance, okay, if Melony would give them a shot. Thankfully there were quite a few people who were more than happy to give them both a kick in the ass when needed, and believe me there are many times when their ar$%s needed kicking. And though I was growling when the huge pothole happening them their journey, I absolutely adored the steps that were taken to get them back together. It definitely put Noah Coughlan to shame.
The events in Stroked Hard run concurrently with those in Stroked and Stroked Long and can be read as a standalone without feeling as if you’re missing pieces of the puzzle. I could go on and on about this one, but the bottom line is: Just. Read. It. You may find your head spinning at some of the OTT moments, but the sweet, sexy romantic ones will make it all worthwhile.
Oh and that second epilogue? Deranged, but brilliantly so!
~ Copy received from Wordsmith Publicity and voluntarily reviewed ~
This is the third book in the Stroked series. It can be read as a standalone but I would recommend reading the others because the characters are a) fantastic, b) interconnected, and c) make this story so much better.
In this book we meet yet another Swimming God, Hollis. If you read the first two books you would have been intrigued to know about this character and finally you get the chance. Hollis is my favorite of the three (and I love them all so that says a lot) is not your typical man. He WANTS a relationship. He loves the idea of LOVE. He wants the girl of his dreams, Melony. HE is filthy with his one liners but he is even better at professing his love which had my kindle melting and wishing I could bottle him up for a future husband.three of my favorite examples are;
” I heard my penis cures some of the worst diseases. Want me to stick it in you and make you feel better?”
“And lastly, to the finger that pressed on my perineum, may your digit forever be plated in gold for making my dick grow an extra two inches. God bless you, finger, God bless you.” (This whole scene seriously had me laughing out loud)
“Let me be the man you deserve, Melony. Let me show you how much you should be treasured.
I know this is scary, giving your heart over to someone, trusting another man in your life, but I promise you, baby, I will only care for you.”
Melony had some serious hangups about relationships. She deals with the much hated Bellini from the first Stoked. She has dreams and Hollis does not fit into them no matter how much she is attracted to him. They have the best cat and mouse relationship and the chemistry is hotter than Hades. I found myself a couple times wishing I could throw her under a bus and step in and take her place. Hollis was that Hot AND funny.
If you haven’t read Meghan’s works- get on it. I set my schedule around her release dates.
Oh dear lord, I want Hollis for my very own!
I seriously love Meghan Quinn. We have a very simple relationship that she knows nothing about. She writes a book, I stalk her until it comes out and then I devour it. OK, I’m pretty sure I do more stalking then just her books but we can keep that to ourselves. I’ve said this so many times but I’ll say it again. She’s one of my top must read authors. I fell in love with her Bourbon Series and I haven’t looked back. Everything she writes I have enjoyed and I will always read anything she puts out. Now that I got that out of the way, let’s talk about this specific book.
Stroked Hard is the third installment in the Stroked Series. While it can certainly be read as a standalone, you should definitely read the other books as well. You won’t miss anything if you read this first but trust me when I say you don’t want to miss Meghan’s wit and sometimes seriously over the top humor.
Hollis Knightly is an olympic gold diver who is sexy, confident and funny. People think that because he is so good looking, has fame and is always joking around, that he might be a bit of a player. However, those close to him know that is actually the furthest from the truth. What he really wants is a loving woman by his side. One that he fully experiences love with, equally and happily. When his eyes land on Melony, he knows immediately that she’s the one for him. Unfortunately, Melony doesn’t agree and in fact wants nothing to do with him. Will his charm and good looks get Melony to see the real Hollis or will he always pine after the one girl that doesn’t want him?
Melony has a past that keeps her from trusting easily. She has no desire to fall in love. EVER. So when sexy, relentless Hollis shows up in her life, she does what she always does. She tries to ignore him and make him leave. However, he isn’t willing to give up so easily and before she knows it, he’s starting to chip away at her walls, little by little. Will he be successful and get the girl of his dreams or will Melony continue to protect herself and not let him in?
So, let me start with Hollis. When we first met him in Stroked, he was cocky, sexy and hilarious. All things I love. What surprised me the most about him was what a true romantic he was. When he decides to go after Melony, he goes at it with everything he’s got.
“Let me be the man you deserve, Melony. Let me show you how much you should be treasured.”
He just has this perfect balance of sexiness, loyalty, romance, humor and filthy mouth and it makes me swoon for him. I seriously didn’t think anyone could win me over from this series beside Brodi Banks because let’s face it, I love Meghan’s brooding men. However, Hollis just crept up on me and I think stole the show. Here’s when I know that he got to me. I’m not a fan of insta-love except for one specific author that writes short stories and are over the top. You expect it and it’s so outlandish that it is easy to separate. With Stroked Hard, Hollis falls fast. He pretty much has the whole insta-love thing going on and it didn’t bother me one bit. The way that he was confident and funny while chasing after Melony made that fact almost nonexistent.
I liked Melony. There were a few times that I got frustrated with her but at the end of the day, you can understand where she is coming from and why she is so guarded. She’s quick and witty and matches up well with Hollis. She gives him a hard time right back at him. She’s strong and intelligent and just overall likable. The love she has for her Mom is refreshing and throughout the whole story it made me root for her and Hollis, knowing that she could love him just a fiercely is she could get over her past.
Overall, I really loved this book. If you are looking for a sexy, confident, hilarious hero who ends up having to play a pretty amusing game of cat and mouse to get the woman of his dreams, then pick up this book! You don’t want to miss out on it.
Hollis. The smart ass I was dying to “dive” into a bit more.
“you can’t get enough of my witty banter. Repartee is a vital component to a healthy and successful relationship.”
This is the top reason I adore Hollis. He is a big goofball dipped in sexy and rolled in sugar. I love how ridiculous he can be one minute and a complete romantic the next, which is a lethal combo to my heart.
I “Noah Calhoun” the hell out of him.
All the stars for Hollis! All the stars and all the gold medals and all the other bright and shiny gold things I could give him. As frustrating as Melony made me at times, as much as I wanted to reach into my Kindle to shake her, (she seriously made me so angry at a couple of points!!!), I can’t deduct any stars for that because Hollis deserves them ALL! All of them, do you hear me?!?
I feel like Meghan Quinn got into my head and picked out everything I would want in the perfect man…silly, inappropriate, and romantic, with a heart the size of an Olympic pool. She scored a perfect 10 with Hollis. I honestly don’t know if there’s been an H I’ve adored more than him. Bodi may own my soul, but Hollis stole my heart.
Stroked Hard was the perfect conclusion to this series. It has all the humor and heat you’d want in a Meghan Quinn book, with just enough angst and frustration to keep things interesting. I could sit here all day and gush over how much I love Hollis, but that would keep you from meeting him so I won’t. But God, do I want to. I’d love to share all his silliness, all his swooniness, all the quotes that I’ve got highlighted that made me fall for him, but I’ll let you experience him all on your own. I’ll just leave you with this little tidbit, which is so perfectly Hollis… “Mark my f*cking words, Melony, I am going to woo you so hard, you won’t know what hit you.”