Jolie Louis is a smart girl. She knows that her best friend, Sage Poirier, is a bad idea. He’s a walking, talking cliché. The Adonis quarterback with the bulging biceps and harem of fangirls trailing behind him on campus like a stench you can’t get rid of. Sadly, that’s also the reason she can’t stay away from him. Well, that and the fact that they’re roommates. Jolie is already straddling the … already straddling the line between friendship and more when Sage comes to her with an offer she cannot refuse: be his fake girlfriend and live for free for the rest of the semester.
She tells herself that she can handle it.
He’s just the boy she saved ten years ago, right?
Wrong. So very wrong.
He is a man now, and she is his captive Heart, body, and soul…
The End Zone is a novella, originally published as part of the Team Player anthology. The End Zone now includes an extended epilogue, and a bonus, ORIGINAL epilogue for the book Vicious (Sinners of Saint #1), for your enjoyment.
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***3,5 “Faking it!!!” stars***
“On the eighth night, the girl gave the boy her heart.
He took it silently, never offering his back.”
L.J. Shen is writing wonderful stories, even the small ones!!!!
And this wasn’t an exception, even though that for me was missing something…
The chemistry between Jolie and Sage was palpable, the storyline was very good, but for me it felt too rushed in some points…
But, it was just a novel after all, so it can be justified!!!!
Sage and Jolie are best friends since the age of 10….
They have live too many things together and at the present, they are seniors in college and they are living together…
But lately, something is changing between them…
“He slowed when he saw her, so she picked up the pace. Later in life, she’d learn that this was their special tango. One pulls, the other pushes. One wants, the other gives. One loves, the other hurts.”
Sage is trying to get inside his Jojo’s pants and even though that she would be thrilled about that, she is scared because she knows too well him and his manwhoring ways…
She doesn’t want to ruin their friendship after all…
“He will break my heart and I’ll have no one to blame but myself.”
But Sage is almost obsessed with her, so he has a plan…
He would ask her to be his fake girlfriend with the benefits of a real girlfriend, of course…
And after the acceptance, everything are changing between them…
But is it possible for the two of them to be together for real???
“You are in my blood, in my veins, in my fucking soul. You’re in my heart and in my fingertips and on my fucking lips like a prayer. You’re fucking everywhere…”
Well, i liked very much Sage and Jolie…
They were fitting really good together…
They were opposites characters, but that difference were making them perfect for each other…
“No matter what happens in my life, you’re the constant thing I can count on. The shelter in the storm, the calm in my chaos.”
Even in small stories, L.J. is managing to put heart and soul and that’s the thing i liked about her writing…
Ow!!! And the extended epilogue was really nice!!!
But what blew my mind was the small extended epilogue by Vicious’s book!!! Eighteen yers later??? And in a way, a sneak pick from a spin off series with HotHoles kids???
YES, pleaseeeee!!!!
“Drama in Todos Santos, who would have thought?”
“Guess you can call us all All Saints’ Sinners.”
I’ve had this one on my kindle for a while, so when I finally got around to reading it, I didn’t realize it was a novella. So when I got to the end, I was slightly disappointed that I’d gone through it so quickly.
LJ Shen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Granted, I’ve only read 3 of her books so far, but I’ve either really enjoyed or outright loved all of them.
This one, was no exception. I loved the friendship between Jolie and Sage. I loved seeing them as kids, seeing how they met and then today.
I really loved that Sage didn’t quite realize himself that he was in love with Jolie. I loved watching him want her, be jealous of other guys that are interested in her and finally claim her.
I also loved that they talked. There was one scene where it looked like he was cheating, or about to and yes, Jolie ran off but they did talk and Sage told her what was going on, gave her info she didn’t have before and they worked things out.
I do wish this book had been a little longer but at the same time, I absolutely loved it.
This book scored with me! 5 stars
This is a sweet, fun novella that pulled me in right from the beginning! Sage and Jolie are friends to lovers that had chemistry, and I rooted for them! Even in a novella, I felt like I knew them, & I connected with them. I definitely recommend this novella!
The premiere of “The End Zone” has just been announced for April, and the story itself, we have a chance to read in this position, is a long time to read in the anthology “Team Player”. The author has decided to pull out his story and give it a separate book.
After reading it, I must admit that I regret that this story has not been further developed.
“The End Zone” is a short short story, which closes the entire history Sage and JoJo. The author is not planned to develop their history, although finishing this book, I felt happy and unhappy at the same time from the end.
I will not dwell on these characters because you can compare them to any other form of romance and well you know what they are and Sage Jolie.
Despite this, I liked them and I was curious what would happen to them, because as you know between friendship and love line is very thin.
The very short story, is a pleasant break from full-size books (I’m talking about those of more than 200 pages). It reads quickly, the chapters are short and engaging, and most importantly does not take much time.
However, the main advantage of this whole book is an extended epilogue.
Epilogue about a brute and Emilia, that we know of “Intrigue”. I will not tell you what it is, but for the epilogue would be able to buy this item. Anyway, as you saw on my Facebook, the author announced in 2019 years a further part of the “Sinners of Saint” telling of their children. I look forward to, and we have only March … (a wait).
“The End Zone” has premiered on April 3, and is currently on Amazon you can buy audiobook. I’m not entirely sure, but I wager that with the premiere will be the opportunity to buy the ebook reader, so beware.
I would recommend you this short story, within the springboard from thick books, or if you just have an hour of time for himself.
A very fast past, simply sweet, story. The downside to this story was there wasn’t very much in-depth relationship development. But it’s a nice story for a quick.
Deliciously sexy little novella.
I was let down a little by Sage and Jolie (mostly Sage). He was a man whore, which is not my favorite character trope. And I just…ick. No. Didn’t like his actions or thoughts.
And Jolie, girl did you have him get an STD test?? Cause you should have done.
In the end, this book was a short read that was enjoyable but not up to my L.J. Shen standards. The sneak peak of her newest series made this read worth it.
I would still recommend this book. It just sort of missed he mark for me. It’s different for her All Saints books and I think that’s what I was expecting. But there is an audience for this.
This is a sweet friend’s to lovers novella. Jolie and Sage have been best friends since they were young and as the years passed their connection develops. I enjoyed seeing their relationship bloom and develop. We’re given a love story that is mixed with a light comedy. Sage might have had a revolving door at one point but to see the man he becomes has me swooning.
I know this was only a novella but it still packed a punch i absolutely loved this story, it was the perfect best friends to lovers and for such a story we got a lot in it.
We went back to there childhood, we then Fast forwarded to college and then we got to read about Sage realising he was in love with Jolie. Jolie already knew her feelings but didn’t want to show them to Sage as she valued her friendship more than taking a chance on Love.
Even though this was a shorter story i still felt like we got a bit of angst, and a fantastic story line. Sage and Jolie go through quite a bit together and besides themselves there are other people trying to get in thier way.
Absolutely loved this Tstory and the extra content at the back of the book and would recommend this to anybody who loves a short sharp, best friend to lovers, drama packed book.
Can’t wait for the other books that we find out about in the extra content
5 Stars for this novella.
This is a short story with an added extended epilogue. This is a story about 2 best friends who grew up together and are now college roommates. The Hero is a typical jock who has a string of one-night stands. They both love each other but neither has acted on their hidden feelings, until they strike up a deal and JoJo agrees to be Sage’s fake girlfriend, and in exchange he will pay all her rent and utilities until the end of the school year.
I loved these characters. Sage was witty and absolutely makes you swoon and Jollie (JoJo) makes you want to strangle her at times with inability to see what’s in front of her. This is a quick read and makes you swoon. I loved it.
The Story Of Jolie and Sage was part of The Team Player Anthology and is Out now as Novella!!
This is a friends to lovers story..
Sage is the typical womanizer, he doesnt want anything serious just likes to sleep with all the girls around in college..
he can be a douchebag with everybody except with his long time best friend Jolie, who happens to be his roommate and the only girl he listens too..
he didn’t know he like her and love her until somebody else notices her and he doesn’t like what he is feeling .. he will do everything in his hand to stop them for going on a date.. and Jolie wont even realize why Sage is acting this way. until he proposes something that will change forever the way they see each other.. Jolie is afraid to mess us their beautiful friendship but some feelings cant be denied and this feelings are the ones who will make this friendship turn into a pure love that will last forever..
so many amazing things to say about this story.. LJ’s writing is just breathtaking… you’re going to love it
and did i say you can also find a great BONUS at the end of this book? surprise surprise!!
Another amazing story from L.J Shen .. i love it and i’m looking forward to read more of her books…
Jolie & Sage. So ducking adorable. I love how they secretly loved each other and how honest to god close they were. He loved her so much he didn’t want other people dating her. They were so hot and super perfect
What a lovely novella by LJ!
The End Zone is the story of Jolie and Sage. A true friends to lovers story that is sweet, funny and oh so smexy! (Classic LJ!)
I loved the fast pace, I liked the fact that even though they both had a bit of reservation, Jolie more than Sage, they went for it!
The twist was spot on and the perfect amount of angst to really keep the story from getting to mushy, I am not a big fan of all the heart and flowers with none of the angst or drama. LJ brings it with this story!
I especially loved the extended epilogue for The End Zone and the surprise extended epilogue of another fantastic book! (Not gonna spoil it, you gotta read it!!)
Thanks for you words LJ! You have a fan for life with me! I cannot wait to read what comes next!!
Readers, get this and ALL of her books, you will not be dissapointed!
LJ Shen never disappoints! This short novella is fun and flirty at the start, and quickly escalates to sexy and hot. Sage is all male – cocky, confident, but with a tender spot for Jolie that makes you fall in love with him. Sage & Jolie’s childhood past is so sweet, and their best friend relationship goes from adorable to steamy with just the right amount of angst. I love how Sage pursued Jolie and never backed down from his true feelings for her. The only thing I didn’t like about this novella is that I wanted more!! Well done LJ Shen!!
For being a short story is really good; I couldn’t ask for more. I liked the main characters immediately and I could feel the connection between them. It’s kind of sweet and sexy at the same time.
I’d like to read more of this author in the future.
Sweet, sexy- friends to lovers novella! Best friends growing up- Sage and Jolie are now in college and Sage wants more but Jolie is worried about losing her best friend. LJ Shen keeps readers turning pages- even in a novella. It is a fun, entertaining quick read where a beautiful friendship turns into a wonderful romance.
“On the eighth night, the girl gave the boy her heart. He took it silently, never offering his back.”
Sinfully sexy friends to lovers with heat, sweet, and giggles galore. Filled with feels and will make you swoon!! I love, love, love this story!!! I thank the Author for providing a copy to review!
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
4,5 “like forever” stars
Another book by L.J. Shen on my list. One more book of hers that I love. I think it’s the fifth book I read from the author and I want to read a lot more. I didn’t know that THE END ZONE was a novella, but even short it was so good!!!!
The book tells the story of Sage and Jolie. Childhood friends who were living together in college time. This is a story about friends who discover that they actually are in love more than they imagined one for the other.
As I said before, the book is short, so it doesn’t have much stuff happening. It get straight to the point and it doesn’t get too much drama. It is a delicious read.
One characteristic I love about L.J Shen writing is that her characters are strong. Women who do not bow their heads and those men we hate, but we love at the same time. The wrong kind of right guy. Ya know? They have several flaws, sometimes they are arrogant and so stuck-up, but it’s those guys who would basically do everything for the woman they love.
THE END ZONE is good, with sex scenes that OH MY GOD very hot and creative and a very fast reading with a delicious romance. I highly recommend it.
Oh! And it has a surprise in the end of the book. I’m sure who is already a fan of the author will freak out!
The End Zone was a short and steamy friends to lovers romance read that I absolutely devoured. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline and I definitely wanted more of them. I honestly expected the story to feel longer but I was so into it that it felt shorter than I wanted it to be. The ending was sweet and perfect. This is the perfect read for anyone looking for a light and steamy romance read with a light touch of drama. I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next and there is a surprise bonus content for readers who’ve read and loved Vicious. You’ll definitely want to read the bonus content