I grew up surrounded by professional athletes, so I know better than to date one. Which is why I’m determined not to fall for arrogant rugby star Declan O’Shaughnessy.Except he’s nothing like I remember.Gone is the boy who used to torment me, and in his place is a sexy, muscled man that I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from. And it’s not just his hot, chiseled body that I’m falling for. … falling for. Underneath all that brash cockiness, he’s kind and generous too.
But he’s looking for forever, and my stay in Dublin is only temporary. So how come when I’m with him it feels a lot like coming home?
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A friend, Alexis (you know who you are ), recommended I start with Trying Sophie and I am so glad I did. I absolutely loved Declan and Sophie….I loved how their relationship started at a young age, because honestly, who hasn’t had that one person in their childhood who was mean?????
I then became invested in their adult relationship…..and HOLY HOTNESS!!!! that connection was off the charts!!!!! Sophie’s past had such an impact on her adult life that it held her back from so much. Declan’s past was nothing to shy away from, it was dark….but in such a good way (insert eye wink) .
The epilogue…..oh how I loved it!!!! It was absolute perfection!!!!
As a blogger and reader, I’ve been able to connect with numerous authors on social media and at signings. Being able to read one of their books and loving it…..a HUGE plus!!! Ms. Norinne is on my bucket list to meet…..and if you follow my reviews, you’ve heard mention of my BBF harem….well Declan is now a proud member of that group!
My rating: 10 HOT flames!
Trying Sophie is a contemporary sports romance by Rebecca Norinne. Ms. Norinne has delivered a book that is entertaining but does have a few spots that drag a little. Declan is a star rugby player and has had a crush on Sophie since he was a kid. Sophie returns to Ireland after her beloved grandfather has a heart attack. She’s horrified when the man that meets her flight is Declan, the boy that bullied her in school. Sophie and Declan’s story is packed with drama, humor and sexy bits. I enjoyed this book. Trying Sophie is book 1 of the Irish Rugby Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I read this book in preparation for the sequel which is going to be released in a few days and I am so excited for it. One thing that really was great about this book is that it had a little glossary on how to pronounce the names I didn’t really need it but it is very helpful for those who do need it! Especially as they are Irish names!
Sophie is such a strong character and she really struggled to let people in I am not surprised though because when we meet her mother also the only time. Her mum is a cold hearted and selfish bitch. She didn’t tell Sophie about her granddad’s heart attack, so instantly I hated the mum. I loved her grandparents Maureen and Colm they are the sweetest and I love how motivated they are. They were just great.
I loved this book in so many different ways, there were so many times during this book I laughed out loud! One of them being when Declan picks Sophie up from the airport and realises who he actually is. Her childhood tormenter! But she doesn’t let him off easy she, in fact, tells him that he made her life hell and I absolutely loved her standing up for herself and Declan finally realises the pain he caused her and I loved that. Declan also admits how much of a slut he is and it really did make me laugh how he wasn’t even ashamed to admit all that!
Declan although a little slut is still very cautious with people and is worried that people will use him for his money there is a scene where Sophie asks for a favour and he gets kind of taken back thinking it could be for money and I think that told us a lot about his character before we actually got into the nitty gritty stuff of him. So we had little clues about both of these characters as we got to know them.
Cian he is the person who works sometimes at the pub but he is also supposedly Declan’s best friend but he is majorly jealous of Declan and it shows and ripples through their friendship as well as their actions with Sophie.
Declan and Sophie go through a game of pushing each other away as soon as they begin to get close and eventually when they do finally admit their feelings for each other they fall for each other hard. They fall in love with each other and when they both realise that they love each other it’s so funny. They keep it to themselves.
One of the side characters I loved was Aoife who is Declan’s younger sister and when certain problems come between Declan and Sophie she was there defending her big brother and it was the cutest thing ever. The spin off story Ruck me (Out 9/8/17) is about Aofie and I honestly can’t wait to read it!
The story was sweet an amazing end, I loved the writing, the characters made me fall in love with them hard. It was a cute romantic story and even better that I could imagine the majority of them talking in an Irish accent because I love an Irish accent! I definitely cannot wait for Ruck me when it comes out!