A virgin, an athlete, a fake romance, and only one bed in the hotel room.Following rules shot me to the top of my game as an all-star baseball player, and the golden rule is this — don’t hookup with your teammate’s sister.But ask her to be your fake date when you desperately need one for a family wedding? Nothing in the guy code against that. Plus, the flirty, feisty Sierra’s my friend too, so … my friend too, so why the hell not pretend we’re madly in lust for two days in Hawaii?
No hardship in a make believe kiss here, a fake smooch there, as long as we don’t cross any dangerous lines.
Then, the hotel books us into the same suite. Which means she’s showering near me, putting on itty bitty bikinis in the same room, sliding into that king-size bed wearing only a black lace cami.
But I resist…until the night she tells me she’s been waiting for me to be her first. And there’s nothing fake about my desire to say yes, even though that’s definitely against the code. But, maybe only if someone catches feelings? And neither one of us will.
Until I do…
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ARC REVIEW
I expected more from this book.
Sierra is a bar owner and sister of Chance’s best friend. Sierra has one thing in mind to give her virginity to her long time crush Chance. Chance on the other hand is aware he’s attracted to Sierra but he knows he can’t get closer to her because of the code of not touching best friend’s sister. Yet fate works in surprising ways and a wedding of their friends changes the situation.
To be honest the beginning of the book looked very promising and I thought the whole book will be. But soon after introducing the fake relationship thing everything went just down (in my opinion). I just didn’t feel it and couldn’t find any connection between main characters. And even though I read the whole story, I didn’t really enjoy it.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lauren Blakely played to my forced proximity loving heart and I could not be happier. The Virgin Replay was such an enjoyable read – full of fun banter and sizzling chemistry.
The third book in the Rules of Love series follows the San Francisco Cougars’ closer Chance Ashford and his teammate’s feisty sister, Sierra Blackwood. When Chance needs a fake date for a wedding, there’s only one person he wants to ask. The woman he’s crazy about but won’t pursue…because bro code. As Chance and Sierra pretend to be a couple in Hawaii, they find it harder and harder to fight their attraction.
You could feel the connection between these two in the very first page. I couldn’t get enough of their playful, flirty back and forth.
Chance is such a good guy. Swoony and charming. I, like Sierra, find it adorable that he talks to plants. As for Sierra, she was my favorite. She’s fierce and hard working. She had crappy parents growing up. So she’s determined not to be anything like them. What I really loved about her is that although she’s inexperienced, she’s confident enough to ask for what she wants.
I will admit, as much as I enjoyed this story and loved the way Chance and Sierra connected, the story felt a little rushed at times. Maybe this is just me being picky but I wanted more of the conflict.
All in all, if you’re looking for a swoony, sexy, fun, friends to lovers romance with characters you’re sure to fall in love with, you can’t go wrong with Lauren Blakely’s The Virgin Replay. It’s worth a pick up.
Chance and Sierra’s story is pretty quick-paced, sweet, and steamy.
Chance needed a buffer to go to his cousin’s wedding because his ex is going to be there. Since Sierra’s also going he thought to ask her to be his fake date. Also, he has a separate selfish reason for one that wouldn’t break the bro code.
Sierra has had a crush on Chance ever since he came into her bar with her brother a year ago. And she has been building the courage to ask him to pop her cherry So maybe this trip to Hawaii could be a fling between them and their friendship would still be intact and no bro codes were broken once they go back home.
As I said, their story was pretty fast-paced, so these two pretty much caught feelings on their fling trip. And hoped that they could lengthen the fling to more than 48 hours. I really enjoyed their story. I loved the chemistry and the banter between them. They’re fun to read.
Sierra and Chance have been minor characters in the Rules of Love series books one and two. Now in The Virgin Replay we get to see their flirty friendship grow into a sweet, fun, and sexy romance.
Chance has kept Sierra at an arms length because of a code he holds close to his heart that you should not sleep with a teammates sister. Although Chance would very much like to date Sierra. Sierra is very much a business woman through and through. Putting her business and plans for expansion always in the forefront. Sierra also has a secret crush and Chance and loves all the time he spends in her bar.
Chance needs Sierra’s help to shield him from his ex at an upcoming wedding where is will be a guest. Sierra is also a guest going to the wedding so obviously she is glad to help out. The plan of a fake date turns into something more as they each let the other know about what they could fantasize happening between them if the circumstances were different.
Chance and Sierra both give in and that is when the magic happens.
This was a beautiful story of friends that become lovers.
The Virgin Replay is one sweet, sexy and swoon-worthy romance!
Best Friends sibling, friends to lovers and a sports romance all wrapped into one. Sierra and Chance’s story will have you smiling from start to finish! The chemistry is between these two is off the charts hot!
Another must read from Lauren Blakely!
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: Sierra is our female protagonist and I absolutely loved her. If you keep up with Lauren’s books, then you would recognize Sierra as Grant’s sister, from The Men of Summer series. Sierra may be the aforementioned virgin in this story, yet she was not meek or naive. She loved a good matching lingerie set. She owns and operates a really cool bar called the Spotted Zebra and is quite a workaholic. Our male protagonist is Chance and he is a baseball player on the San Francisco Cougars. He is the teammate of Sierra’s brother Grant. He recently went through a nasty divorce and was painted the villain by his cheating ex-wife. I had so much sympathy for him and really liked him. He was such a gentleman, scared to chase his feelings for Sierra. Worried he would break bro code with Grant, so getting to take her as a “fake” date is the perfect opportunity.
Setting: This story has quite a few settings. Our story starts in San Francisco, the same world as the previous books in this series and The Men of Summer series. I loved that while we were in San Fran we got to spend time at Sierra’s bar, it seemed like a really cool place. But the main event is when we are whisked away to a destination wedding in Hawaii. Who does not love Hawaii, it was just such a beautiful setting to see a new love start to blossom. Finally, we end up in Las Vegas and we get a nice little callback to the Extravagant series.
Pacing: These books are such quick and easy reads. If you want a lovely, binge read I could not recommend this book or this series anymore.
Romance: I loved how flirty our characters were with each other. Sierra making up new cocktails and giving them saucy names. Such a bartender way to flirt and I loved it. I mentioned earlier how much she loved a matching set, it was so nice to read about her getting excited to pick out what she was going to wear just in case Chance happen to see her in them. Reading them coming together in Hawaii was just beautiful. I know all of us readers really love the only one-bed trope to death. This book is a lovely instalment in a trope that just keeps on giving. Vegas threw a curveball into the story and I will admit I was not too crazy about it. Overall I did really like this book and it was a great addition to what is a great series from Lauren Blakely.
This was the best friends to lovers fake romance I’ve read since I can remember. Chance is one hot and sexy baseball superstar pitcher whose ex wife did one heck of a number on. He’s a real man who was faithful and all you could want in a husband. So, when he has to go to his cousins wedding where his ex is not only attending, but a bridesmaid, he needs a fake date. In comes Sierra, his teammates sister, who is the perfect solution. She’s off limits, so what could happen? You’ve got to read and see because these two are so perfect and watching them call a replay on the rules is so fun, delicious and sweet!
Chance Ashford is a rule follower and one of his biggest rules is that one doesn’t mess with a teammate’s sister. That’s the reason a year after his very public divorce, he’s still pining after Sierra Blackwood instead of dating her already.
Sierra is her own woman and she lives life on her own terms. Her childhood inspired her to set goals and meet them and, at age 25, she’s become a raging workaholic that is in desperate need of a vacation. The other thing she wants, but hasn’t achieved, is to get up close and personal with a certain MLB closing pitcher who’s been in her sights for the past year.
This book had it all in a way that you can’t tell if it’s a friends to lover, fake dating, friend’s sister trope or simply just another great love story by the queen of hot, seductive and heartfelt contemporary romance Lauren Blakely. Chance and Sierra are wonderful together and falling in love is good to them whether it happened in a year or within a few days.
I enjoyed the story, it surprising turn of events, the characters, their friends, the cocktails and, of course, Tom the cat. The audiobook is also superb and highly recommend listening to Teddy and Vanessa.
Another hit by Lauren Blakely! Chance and Sierra’s story is fun, swoony, and sexy.
A bar owner and baseball player. Brother’s teammate. Friends.
These two easily slid into the “more than fiends” zone once they decided to go for it. And they are hot, hot, hot!
When friendly flirting and sexy banter turns to real feelings, can Chance get past the ‘bro code’ that is holding him back from moving forward with Sierra? And can Sierra make room for something more in her life than her bar?
This is the third book in the Rules of Love series and we find out what has been going on between Chance Ashford and Sierra Blackwood. This is a sexy, friends to lovers, fake romance, sports and a forbidden love story which can be read as a standalone. There is little angst because this couple are very mature in the way they work through everything. If you have read the previous books or the Men of Summer series then you will be well acquainted with these two characters.
Chance is the cute and adorable closing pitcher for the San Francisco Cougars and very good friends with teammate Grant Blackwood. He is a twin and his older brother TJ is gay and writes romance novels. Chance likes making sure everyone is okay and is the guy everyone relies on. He has been divorced for a year now and he has spent most of that playing baseball or chatting to Sierra at her bar. However, as much he likes her, he abides by the Bro Code – no teammates sisters!!
Sierra owns The Spotted Zebra bar and is Grant’s sister. She is fierce, strong, and very sarcastic but also kind and caring. She likes having control over every aspect of her life due to her childhood and likes living life on her terms. She has always been very picky with men and is inexperienced in romance but finally feels she is ready to experiment in the bedroom.
Chance needs a date for his cousin’s wedding in Hawaii especially because his ex-wife is a bridesmaid. Luckily Sierra is best friends with the bride Trish and is attending as well so inviting her to be his fake date works out well. She is happy to pretend as he is someone she knows and trusts, has become a friend and the advantage is she fancies him. The other thing that helps the situation is neither of them are interested in a relationship and just want some fun, so what can go wrong?
They have both had a crush on each other and the attraction has been building all year. They are both very focused on their jobs and their conversations have proved they get on. They find out they are good at fake dating as they really connect and understand each other. This leads to them both considering what more would be like. He is trying so hard to stick to the Bro Code Rules but she is making it very difficult for him. Is he going to be the good guy with a secret bad boy streak to discover a way to bend the rules with her?
Join this couple in Hawaii and Las Vegas as they try to negotiate their fake relationship when feelings become involved. Laugh at all the advice their friends give them and be surprised at their antics when they let their guards down. Although the story is predictable and I guessed what was going to happen, it was still a feel good book to read. Lauren’s characters always make me feel happy and her baseball guys all ooze charm with a nice outlook on life. Sierra grows in confidence during the book and I loved how she decided what she wanted and went for it. I was so pleased when Chance gets his light bulb moment. Be prepared for two great epilogues to conclude this story, one will have you swooning and the other cracking up with laughter.
I adore Grant and Declan so thoroughly enjoyed all the interactions they were in and it was fun to see the Brit baseball player Shakespeare again. If you are intrigued by Chance’s twin TJ then you are in luck as he has his own book coming out soon – Hopelessly Romantic. If footballer Harlan Taylor and his daughter made you laugh then you will be pleased to know his story is also due soon – The Boyfriend Playbook.
5 Well A-L-O-H-A Stars!!!
I absolutely loved everything about Chance and Sierra’s story. I didn’t know I NEEDED their story as much as I did until I had the pleasure of listening to Vanessa Edwin and Teddy Hamilton bringing Chance and Sierra to life!!
This is really a story about finding your other half that’s already in your life but you’re so focused on other aspects of your day to day living it didn’t really occur to you that what you’ve been desiring is right in front of you. So when Chance asks Sierra, who’s a friend of his thanks to Chance being a pitcher on her brother Grant’s SF Cougars baseball team, and that she owns one of the hottest bars in the city, The Spotted Zebra, it was a no brainer. Sierra wants to get rid of something and Chance is the man she’s chosen to be her first so being in the tropics is the perfect place for this deflowering!!
Their rapport is easy, smart and sassy. Their friendship has only gotten stronger over the last year and there’s a low burning flame that’s getting hotter and hotter as their banter gets sexier and sexier. And oh my stars Ms. Blakely gives us some HAF love scenes!! It was so fabulous listening to Sierra tell Chance exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it!!
This book is quick moving but it’s smooth and effortless and I found myself getting lost in the words. I feel like I need to be friends with these two because they’re awesome. And even though there’s a very little bit of angst while our H/h are realizing that their fake relationship should be and could be a real relationship, it added to the story in just the right way. There are moments when Chance is trying to do “the right thing” but his heart is telling him, after a couple of key conversations, that he needs to get his girl!!
I literally found myself listening to this book at every opportunity I could… in my car, at work, walking the dog, etc. Teddy and Vanessa are the perfect voices for this story. And when you add in all the cameos of other Lauren Blakely characters and locations along with a PURE GOLD Epilogue narrated by Aaron Shedlock this book is pure perfection!!
I really enjoyed Chance & Sierra’s story. I loved that their friendship had grown so casually over a year and that they both wanted the other but wasn’t sure how they would manage together. So when Chance decides he could use a “fake” girlfriend to take as a date to a wedding, Sierra seems like the perfect choice. They are already comfortable together and have an attraction for each other.
With the wedding being in Hawaii, Chance & Sierra finally decide to take advantage of the beautiful location and their intense attraction. Sierra wanted Chance to be her first and Chance just wanted to be with Sierra. You could definitely feel their chemistry coming off the pages. I’m surprised my kindle didn’t start smoking a couple of times.
But Chance was always worried about what Grant, his teammate and Sierra’s brother, would say about their relationship. He didn’t want to mess with the “code” of not fooling around with a teammate’s sister. He finally realized that he was using that as a shield to protect himself since his divorce. He didn’t want to get hurt again nor did he want to hurt Sierra.
I truly loved the connection that these two shared. And these two were so hot together, like I knew they would be.
Now I absolutely can’t wait for Harlan’s story…single father romance, sign me up please.
4.5 “I can be impulsive with you” stars!
Since the moment Chance laid eyes on Sierra, he had a crush. However, Sierra is the sister of his teammate, Grant, and he refuses to break the bro code that makes Sierra off limits. When he needs a date to a wedding that Sierra is already attending, they decide to fake date so he doesn’t have to deal with his ex. Little do they know they won’t need to be pretend for long because they fall hard and fast, and I loved every second of the ride!!
Chance and Sierra have mad chemistry and the obvious attraction makes the fake date feel real and natural when they are together. Since neither want a relationship, they decide to enjoy the weekend together and Chance is sure he won’t break the bro code by breaking her heart. But hearts do get involved and I loved that Chance and Sierra are exactly what the other didn’t know they needed.
“We’re on the brink of something. A crossroads in our friendship where maybe we both want it to go to the next level.”
They are open and honest about who they are and what they want. They are easy going and comfortable with each other which makes the progression from friends to lovers believable. They have so much fun together when they are just being themselves and I loved their relationship.
“We taste like the kind of deep, wild connection I’ve never had. I don’t know what we are, or what we’re doing. All I know is I don’t want us to end.”
Overall, The Virgin Replay is a lighthearted, feel-good read that made me grin from ear to ear, and a fantastic addition to the Rules of Love series. There is no real drama, only humor, heart, and a whole lot of heat, and even two sweet epilogues. I loved it!
Lauren Blakely continues her sexy Rules of Love baseball romance series with this fun and forbidden my-teammate’s-sister story.
When top MLB closer Chance Ashford finds himself in need of a fake date for destination family wedding, he knows exactly who he wants to ask: the stunning and fierce bar owner who he’s had his on for the past year, but couldn’t ask out because of the bro-code. But a pretend weekend in Hawaii would be ok, right?
Sierra Blackwood has dedicated her life to study and be a successful business owner and hasn’t really considered being in a relationship, especially not after her ex cheated her. But after getting to know the kind and charming pitcher, she’s decided he should be her first. And it’s perfect because neither is looking for more.
Lauren Blakely is a master at flirty, sexy banter that always makes me smile. It’s carefree, fun and clever. The relationship between Sierra and Chance felt easy and with incredible “wild chemistry.” Including the forbidden aspect is on the low end of the drama spectrum.
Sierra is a great heroine. She’s brilliant, passionate and awesome, all things Chance sees and appreciates. While Chance is a loyal, plant loving, dirty talking, honest to goodness great guy. I loved every time he asked Google for advice, and I adored his relationship with his identical twin brother whose story I can’t wait to read.
Soo good, I stayed up all night reading it..
And that’s the proof of how good this book was. It oozed sexy goodness along with the sultry, seductive ‘badness’.
Both Sierra and Chance have been through the wringer in recent years. Chance with a divorce and Sierra with a less than stellar boyfriend. Ex-wife and boyfriend are now in the past. They’ve spent the last year slowly getting to know each other ‘as friends’, with none of the other expectations getting in the way because they weren’t looking for more. But with a wedding on the horizon that they are both invited to, fate takes a hand to bring them closer together.
And boy, did they?
A friends to lovers story with a tempting heart.
I loved how these two came together, it was hot, fast and enticing. It made me wish I could get away to Hawaii, or anywhere tropical. Reading this book there would have been even more fun. Grab your copy today and see where it takes you.
Chance is a catcher with the Cougars and good friend with Grant and his sister Sierra. When he needs a fake date to a wedding in Hawaii where his ex wife will be also attending, he asks Sierra to help him out. Together they will create the perfect fake couple but the faking will soon turn into so much more for these two relationship phobes. She only has time and love for her bar The spotted zebra as well as her cat Tom and he only has time and love for the game. But a jaunt in Vegas brings a whole different type of trouble where they will both realize that they can’t hide from love especially when it’s right in front of you. AMAZING characters and seeing them struggle with their realization is cathartic for the commitment phobes in some of us. I absolutely fell in love with this series which is so entertaining and steamy. Watching them fall in love was so much fun. I hope that Tom and Lady Cat get their own little story in the future also. I volunteered to review this story
This is a good story. I very much enjoyed these charaters and story line. Highly recommended
The Virgin Replay is the third book in the Rules of Love series. It’s a standalone though. If you have read the other books in the series, you will recognize some characters throughout. It’s a fake relationship trope between a virgin and a baseball pitcher. Sierra and Chance have always had chemistry but remained exclusively in the friend zone. Both are not looking for anything serious so when Chance needs a date to a wedding in Maui, Sierra agrees to go with him and pretend to date him. They decide to throw it all to the wind and just hookup without fake dating.
These two have sparks and teasing banter in spades. Both characters were easy to love. The pace was only slightly rushed because of that it is a super quick read. There is another trope introduced, later in the book, that you don’t see often and I won’t spoil it but I don’t think it was completely necessary with the other trope at play. However, that trope on it’s own would have been awesome. This is not my favorite book of the author’s but it’s still very entertaining and has all the Lauren Blakely trademarks you come to expect in her books.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
From the very first page you can’t help fall for the Sister falls for her brother’s best friend story.
Sierra Blackwood is a very successful bar owner of the The Spotted Zebra and she also is a woman who has crushed on her brother’s teammate for the past year and finding the courage to ask him to be her first is what she craves.
Chance Ashford is a Star Pitcher for the San Francisco Cougars but he also has had bad luck when it comes to relationships but when he meets Sierra he knows there is something special about her but does he cross the Bro-Code and see where it might lead.
Sierra & Chance have an undeniable chemistry, you can actually feel it pouring off the pages, but can two people who deserve to be together overcome any roadblocks that come their way and say we want this and we will make it work or do they walk away that is the answers that you need and want.
After the awesomeness that was her Men of Summer trilogy, Lauren Blakely returns to her Rules of Love series, although I do consider the former being a spin-off of the latter since the same cast of characters recur in both. The Virgin Replay is the third novel in the Rules of Love series, and this time around, we’ve got Sierra Blackwood and Chance Ashford at bat (see what I did there?). She’s Grant Blackwood’s younger sister and owner of The Spotted Zebra, and he’s the closing pitcher for the San Francisco Cougars. But these two share a friendship of their own, regardless of the one Chance has with her brother. It’s also that very friendship that has him reluctant to act on his attraction to Sierra. However, when they agree to be each other’s fake date during a destination wedding, so much changes. Maybe if they come to an agreement that this is temporary and neither will catch feelings, it won’t feel like Chance is breaking the guy code. Or maybe he’s just fooling himself because what’s going on between him and Sierra feels real.
This third Rules of Love book takes on both the friends-to-lovers and falling-for-your-brother’s-best-friend romance tropes, and unsurpisingly, Lauren Blakely has written a wholly entertaining and endearing read. Yes, we all know how it’s going to end, but Blakely has made her main characters fun and flirty and their story is guaranteed to charm the proverbial pants off romance readers. The whole fake date aspect was probably the sole thing that I felt some hesitation with, mostly because they all tend to play out the same way. So I keep on eye on what bit of creativity an author adds to it, and in the case of Sierra and Chance, Blakely doesn’t disappoint. Aside from the romance between the two main characters, the bonus of having past couples and seeing not only where they are at this point in their happily-ever-afters, but also the roles they play in Sierra and Chance’s love story. Of course, there are the potential couples that I also have my eye on, and I’m excited to read their stories soon! For now, The Virgin Replay garners a much deserved five stars.