She’s in hiding. He’s focused on football. When giving in to desire is risky, will they choose to play for love?Nurse Kara Boggs lost everything because she stood up for what’s right. After turning state’s evidence against her mobster father, she’s forced to go underground with an assumed name. But taking a job for a handsome celebrity quarterback could shine a very dangerous public spotlight.… dangerous public spotlight.
After leading his team to a Super Bowl win, Brody Mullen should be on top of the world. But he’s shocked when his quiet seaside homecoming reveals his mother in a cast, and her housekeeper dying from a brain tumor. Frantic to get the best care for the women he adores, he hires a gorgeous nurse… despite her strange request to stay publicly invisible.
As Kara’s attraction to the charming jock grows, she becomes trapped by her own high-stakes secrets and the constant threat of exposure. And Brody’s famously strict “no women” rule means falling hard for the beautiful woman could ruin his career.
Will they be sidelined by their own rules, or will they complete a pass to passion?
Traded: Brody and Kara is the touching first book in the Cliffside Bay small-town romance series. If you like courageous heroines, steadfast heroes, and heartfelt stories of friendship and family, you’ll adore Tess Thompson’s emotional saga.
Buy Traded: Brody and Kara to win love’s game today!
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Great small town love story! Loved all the characters!
This was a new to me author
* I was provided a ARC for an Honest Review*
This is a new to me author and I gotta say thou I am pleased with the story I wanted more from the Hero and heroine, don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the interactions with the the others but I feel like it focused on the outside just a bit more than the slow romance getting built, maybe it’s jut me. Otherwise this book gives you a picture perfect of everything going on, by that I mean it truly felt like I was there.
After testifying against her own father, Kara enters the Witness Protection Program.
This was my first time reading a book by this author, and I was drawn in right away by the writing style and the very first, very exciting chapter! Traded: Brody and Kara is the first in the Cliffside Bay series and introduced me to a lot of characters, including “The Dogs” (a group of men who’ve been friends since childhood). This story focused mostly on Brody, a star quarterback in the NFL, and Kara, who must start a new life after being placed in the Witness Protection Program.
I enjoyed the main story, as well as all of the side stories, and look forward to revisiting, and learning more about, these characters in Deleted: Jackson and Maggie and Jaded: Zane and Honor. While reading, my heart was torn between crushing on Brody (not only is he a hunk, but he also loves to read!) and aching for Kara for all she endured. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Traded, and it definitely scored a touchdown in my book! See what I did there? 😉
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the beginning, but mostly Cliffside Bay, California (an hour north of San Francisco)
This is the story of Brody a football star and Kara who is running from her past.Kara gave up her entire life to do the right thing and turn in her father to the police. In turn she loses everything shes ever known and moved across the country, and has to try and put her feelings aside to stay anonymous. The banter between the characters was funny and loving at the same time. I truly enjoyed this book and will continue with the series.
I loved this tug-on-your-heartstrings, emotional story! It is peopled with very relatable and down-to-earth characters that I know I would get along with if I met them in real life. All are a part of, or become a part of, a group of family and friends in a close-knit, small-town community near the beach. I love the many relationships portrayed in the book, which focuses on Brody and Kara, the main characters, but has great secondary storylines as well. The last several chapters of “Traded” were absolute page-turners and were so tense and moving that they made me feel like I was in a boat on a storm-tossed sea! I felt the ending was wonderful and am so glad that this is the first book in a series so that I can go back to Cliffside Bay. Highly recommended!
There are two things I love football and a good love story. Brody is a football player at the top of his career and has sworn off women during the season to keep his head in the game. Kara needs to protect her identity and cannot share her true self with anyone close to her or she risks her own life. When Kara arrives in Cliffside Bay there is an undeniable chemistry between her and Brody. I loved watching their relationship develop. This book will have you up all night turning pages to see how Brody and Kara’s love blossoms. It’s a slow suspense with a happy ending. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series.
I loved this book the characters were fleshed out and believable. The story left you empathizing with the people in this book. I really liked the characters and felt like they were friends and wanted to help them. There were suspense and several other peoples lives, Ms. Thompson kept them all interesting and it wasn’t had to follow all the stories going on, just like you do in real life. I can hardly wait to start on the next book in this series.
Tess Thompson brings life to Cliffside Bay in this novel. The book starts off with the mess of Kara’s life and with Brody winning the Superbowl as a famous quarterback. They end up meeting by chance and getting thrown together and the rest you can imagine. She creates an enjoyable cast of characters.
If you are a fan of “cleaned” up romance, you would be a fan of the start of this series. I say “cleaned” up as there aren’t a lot of gritty steamy scenes. The author leaves more of those scenes for the readers imagination.
I’m ready for book two!
Classic, clean romance. This is the first in a series of books, about a group of guy friends (“The Dogs”) finding love. Solid story, likable characters-good clean fun!
Brody’s a Super Bowl Star, and Kara is the nurse practitioner hired to care for a couple of ailing family members. The kicker? Kara’s in the witness protection program, being forced to lie to everyone about her past, and reluctant to share her future.
I really liked how the story developed, and the characters, and I’m anxious to read more. Although each book follows a different Dog, I’m hoping to see a bit more of where Brody & Kara’s story goes, too
Tess Thompson has written a wonderfully light love story made for Hallmark fans! Brody is a professional star quarter back heading home to the small quiet town of Cliffside after a big win to take care of his family and hang out with his close friends during the off-season. Kara is an ER nurse submerged into FBI protection after testifying against her father. When she is relocated to Cliffside and meets Brody…unexpected sparks fly! I loved the sweetness of Tess Thompson’s writing – the comradery and long lasting friendships make you want to move to cliffside and become one of the gang! Rated Hallmark for romance!
Ahhhh, Zane and Honor. What a wild ride these two are taking! Just when I think I have everything figured out, and “happily ever after” is just around the corner, Tess Thompson throws us a curve ball! You just never know what is coming on the next page of this amazing book.
One of my favorite things about this book is the fact that Tess Thompson doesn’t write perfect characters. They are not all gorgeous and perfect, they are flawed. They have abandonment issues, “I’m not good enough” issues and on and on. They are so human and so like we all are. You become a part of their family by reading through their imperfections and fears and joys. I have come to love Cliffside Bay through these beautifully imperfect people. They speak to me of life and love and all that creates a family. Jaded is also about family, and the fact that family can be the people that love you and surround you with safety and pure joy. Family doesn’t have to be biological. Family is purely love and caring and knowing who is always there for you.
I love this book, and hope that you will love it too. I highly recommend it!
This is the first book in the Cliffside Bay series written by Tess Thompson. Ms. Thompson does a great job creating a solid story line and interesting characters. It is obvious from the beginning that the characters have strong friendships that blur into family-esk relationships.
After testifying for the prosecution against her father, Kara is placed in the Witness Protection Program. She is to begin her new life as anonymous as possible in the quaint town of Cliffside Bay, and to keep her former life in the past. This proves easier said than done as she finds herself falling for Brody Mullen, who happens to be a fairly famous, Super Bowl winning, football player. The risk of being discovered could be the end of her life and those she cares about too…
There is nothing better than a love story with a little danger and mystery thrown in to show the depth of love among friends! Traded added that extra something to what could’ve been just a love story between two unlikely people in Brody and Kara. This is a sit by the pool and immerse yourself in the unique life of Kara and the strength and faith she must have in herself and Brody’s tough man exterior but underneath the biggest heart of them all.
Cliffside Bay is where most of us would love to live and to have friends by our sides as Brody and Kara have in their lives.
He’s living the dream. She’s caught in a nightmare. Can a relationship plagued by secrets survive the revelations life has heading their way? Brody is an athlete with his eye on the prize. Kara is a woman with a ton of baggage, she’s trying to leave behind. Traded started is an intriguing read that gradually pulled me in. In Cliffside Bay nothing is ever as it seems, but that’s the best part.
Traded is a sweetly spectacular love story about overcoming the most difficult of life circumstances in order to be with the one that you love. Kara has been placed in witness protection and must remain hidden lest she be killed by those she testified against. Brody is a high profile star football player. He may prefer his small town, but he is known and recognized. Author Tess Thompson does a fabulous job in placing the reader into her character’s heads so that you feel their emotions and longing to be together. The sparks between Kara and Brody are palpable and Thompson keeps the romantic tension flowing until the very end. Fans of books by Rachel Gibson and Jill Hannah Anderson would enjoy this one!
Traded takes readers through a rollercoaster of emotions. The characters are so great, and I love all of the little side stories that go on in the book. The relationships and connections between the characters are so real – I particularly love The Dogs. I look forward to reading more!
This is the first book I’ve read by Tess Thompson and I am so looking forward to reading more!
I was drawn to the main characters, Kara and Brody instantly. This is a wonderful and touching romantic story that I couldn’t stop reading. From the way Kara was brought into Brody’s life to the development of their relationship….I was in it with them. I fell in love with these people and felt like I was part of the “family” as they worked through the circumstances they were in. The co-characters were woven into the story beautifully. I loved them all, too. There were so many lines in the book that reveal the talent of Tess Thompson in her writing. Some of my favorite ones are these:
“But you’re a football fan?” She fixed her gaze on Kara like a seagull staring down a kid with a pretzel on a beach.” LOL
“If I could just have one more day with him. But then I’d just want one more.”
“But without the familiar details of her old existence, combined with the half-truths, she was a tumbleweed in a windy desert. Nothing to hold on to, nothing to impede her endless spinning.”
The best one: “They were better together than apart.”
This is a very sweet romance story with lots of “meat” in the storyline. I enjoyed reading it so very much. I am honored. Thank you, Tess Thompson, for such a wonderful book. Thank you to your wonderful team, too! I recommend this book very highly. Oh…..I also have to say that the book cover is gorgeous! On to the next book! Deleted! YAY!
OMG this is such a good book. The story pulls you in and does not let you go. You will fall in love with all the characters in this book. It is such a touching story. Both happy and sad. It made me shed so many tears. Even in the happy parts. It has lots of happy too.
Kara is a wonderful young woman who only wanted to do the right thing. At the cost of her life as seh knew it she gave up everything to set things right. She starts a new life and meets new people who will ultimately become her family.
Brody is the true love for Kara even if she takes forever to admit it. He is a star quarterback and in the lime light a lot. He’s worked hard for his life but will give it all up in a minute for the woman he loves with all his heart. How do you walk away from that kind of love? He takes care of his mother and the housekeeper who is a second mother to him. He hires Kara to care for them after his mom breaks her leg and Flora, the housekeeper, has to have an operation.
Brody has true friends who always have his back. They have Kara’s Back also and she learns that she can live a good life with this gorgeous football player. Love can help you overcome so much. But will she remain safe? She finally has the family she has always wanted but can they really keep her safe?
This is one fantastic story of loss, love, happiness and new beginnings. I can’t wait to read Deleted:Jackson and Maggie.
This was a big 5 star book for me. You have to read it.
3.5/5 I won an ARC digital copy of this book online and it was my first book by this author. I found this story to be a light, fast and easy read that I enjoyed but did not care for some repetition of details that could have been excluded.
I really do not know where to begin, I truly loved reading Traded by Tess Thompson. The first installment to The Cliffside Bay Series gives you tidbits about the main characters past and also gave you tidbits about the people in there lives. The story has some suspense, feisty women, strong men and a whole lot of love.
Kara moves to a new town, on her first night there she meets the famous quarterback Brody, the next day she finds out a local resident needs a personal nurse for 2 older woman. When she goes for the job interview, she finds out it is Brody who is looking for the personal nurse for his mom and housekeeper. During the time Kara is helping the two ladies recuperate from their illness’s/injuries, Kara gets to meet the Dogs, Brody’s long time friends, personal assistant Honor, and local resident Violet. Kara also gets to see what family truly is and means, you do not need to be blood related to be considered family. During the time Kara is working for Brody her feelings start to grow for Brody but she can’t do anything about these feelings due to her past that she had to run away from. What is Kara going to do about these feelings she is harboring for Brody, and does Brody have the same feelings for Kara?
This was my very first read by Tess Thompson and I must say I truly loved the book from start to finish. The story line was very easy to follow, you will get to meet several characters in the story and not lose track of the main characters story. Traded was very descriptive, it made me feel like I was there in the characters lives. You get to read about different personal battles and beating those battles. I can not wait to read the second book to the series, I love to know what happens in the friends lives.