Friday, September 1, 2017

MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY BY LAUREN BLAKELY-RELEASE BLITZ

      

From #1 NYT Bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the swoony and oh-so-romantic title…MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY. 

In MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, the NFL starting quarterback Cooper Armstrong needs his best friend’s sister to pretend to be his girlfriend. Violet is willing, but neither one expects their boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage to turn into a full-contact sport so quickly. Find out if their fake play will become the real deal or if they can turn back the clock to when they were just friends in this sexy new standalone sports romance! 

Now available on all retailers! Get your copy delivered now!

   

✮✮✮ MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is here! Grab your copy today! ✮✮✮

Hands down, my favorite thing in the world is to score. Touchdowns.

Don't let the fact that I'm the leading pick in the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction fool you. These days, I'm only a player on the field. I've kept my pants zipped all season long -- and it has been long -- because nothing's more important than leading my team to victory every week. Except maybe escaping from the team owner's recently-widowed and handsy-as-hell sister who's dead set on winning more than a date with me.

Enter Violet and a well-placed Hail Mary.

She's my best friend's sister with a smile as sweet as cherry pie and a mind that runs quicker than the 40-yard-dash. After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don't even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd and then announce that she's my girlfriend. Which would be fine except my agent tells me we have to keep up the act while he's negotiating my contract. Violet takes one for the team and pretends to be mine, but our boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage quickly turns into a full contact sport, and I want it to go into overtime. The problem is -- I've been riding the bench for years.

How can a guy like me, who finally has a chance to prove his worth on the field, convince the girl she’s most valuable to his heart?

MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY is a brand new standalone sports romance written in the guy’s POV!



“Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.” The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Someone needs to tell Mr. Goldman that he needs to update his book, and Cooper and Violet kisses at least make the total tally 6, if not take the top place.

Lauren Blakely can write a hero, characters, and a romance. Cooper is no exception. He's part charming and confident, part slightly insecure and a little doubting of himself. And, as the quarterback of a football team, if he didn't have the balance in his personality, you would not be able to relate to him so completely. Basically, he is a fully developed, well rounded character. He has desires, fears and wants. And, what he wants are football and Violet...in that order. And, sometimes in the reverse order. This is part of his problem. He is so focused on football, and making sure he reaches the top, that he sort of forgets what is right in front of him.

Then, all of a sudden, Violet is right in front of him, and there is that kiss. And, as it is one of the best kisses of all time, it gives them both pause. Both wonder if there is something more. But, Cooper's focus on football manages to convince both of them that there is just a friendship and a mutual benefit in "dating" one another to solve each of their problems.

Violet knows what she wants. And, then there is that kiss. And, she realizes what she wants is Cooper...but, they are just together as a "fake" relationship. So, how can she want him for the long term? But, she does. And, she is afraid her heart will get broken.

As happens in all romance, there is the moment where they each realize that there is so much more between them than what was "fake" at the beginning...and they both come to realize that they never were really fake at all.

The plotting is perfect, the sex is hot. The romance is stunning in that it is both passionate and tender simultaneously (well done, yet again, Ms. Blakely) and I predict Cooper, and this book, are going to end up on all sorts of "top ten best of..." lists.

The football lingo went over my head, but I can't fault this at all as I am, quite possibly, the worst when it comes to understanding the game (I once couldn't figure out why one of the players didn't run one direction to score and had to have it explained to me that was because he would have scored for the other team, yes really) so I am not able to make a single comment about the accuracy of the football stuff, but it seemed real to me. It wasn't distracting, and most importantly, you felt like you were reading about someone who really is a football player. So many different sports romance books have a hero who is a quarterback...because he says he is. And, in this one, you see it, you believe it, and you really feel that it is a part of who Cooper really is.

Add in superstitions, slightly insane teammates with their socks, gum and hair. A manager who needs every calming thing in the world to handle his clients (although, darn it, feeding ducks is the best thing ever, so I am on his side there) and the fact that Cooper and Violet have known one another most of their lives, and that her brother is Cooper's best friend, and you have a whole cast of characters, funny situations and hilarious jokes.

There are characters in this book that are secondary here that you hope will get their own books in the future, as you like them as much as you like the main characters.

I recommend this book. It needs more than 5 stars.

 


I swear Lauren Blakely has a playbook for how to make a reader fall in love with her books. It's full of little x's and o's, one liners and sexy scenarios guaranteed to have a reader laughing, sighing, and swooning-often all at once. Most Valuable Playboy is the perfect example of why her playbook works. If there was a Super Bowl for authors I'd wager Lauren Blakely would be in the game-and win the coveted most valuable author tropy-every single time. This book shows again why this author is my favorite and an automatic one click author for me.

Most Valuable Playboy is hands down one of the best sports romances I've ever read. It's also one of my favorite friends to lovers books-and I love the fact that it's also a best friend's little sister romance. I have a weakness for those, I'll admit it. But nobody writes friends to lovers like this author. I can't forget that it's also a fake relationship book as well and that was a fun touch as well.

Violet is a sassy and sweet heroine. From the moment we're introduced to her in the book I was smiling. She's funny, loyal, and strong. I snorted at her jokes, I'm not going to lie. I loved her faith in Cooper, and I loved how well she understood him. That's the beauty of a good friends to lovers book; they already know what makes each other tick but they have to learn to apply what they already know to a different kind of relationship. Violet is the kind of woman I want to be friends with-and I'd love to have her style my hair!

I fell hard and fast for Cooper Armstrong. He bumped more than a few people down on my Blakely Book Boyfriend list (yes, I actually have a ranking of book boyfriends from this author). This sexy, smart, sweet, and dirty talking quarterback? Mine. He's the total package when it comes to book boyfriend material. I loved his humor, his heart. I loved seeing how he treated the people in his life-from his mom, to his best friend, to his teammates, and most of all Violet. Watching him figure out this new relationship was so much fun-especially since he was also learning to figure out his new role as team leader on the field at the same time. This quarterback definitely won my heart.

The relationship between Cooper and Violet progresses at a perfect pace. Again, they're friends so they already know things about one another, they already have a connection. But when that connection starts to become something more? The chemistry just crackles off the page. Their first kiss had me sighing for sure. I liked the twist their sexy times took (I'm not spoiling that) and I think it totally worked for them. Cooper's dirty talking game was matched in Violet, no doubt, and these two just melted my kindle.

The supporting cast of characters in this book are fantastic. They are clever, fun, and had me giggling throughout the book. They add layers to Violet and Cooper, showing the depth of them and their feelings. I would LOVE the chance to go to a karaoke bar with this group of people and just hang out. Lauren Blakely has a way with these secondary characters-they never overwhelm the story. They highlight Cooper and Violet perfectly and I would love to see some of them get the chance to tell their own story-especially since I bet Cooper and Violet would be mentioned in those books.

The plot of this book is fresh and fun. It's believable. The writing is strong as always, and I loved the banter between the characters. There are some Easter eggs in this book that had me smiling as a Lauren Blakely fan. You certainly don't have to be a football fan to enjoy this book but it was a bonus to me since I love the game and love quarterbacks. If you ARE a football fan you won't be disappointed-this author has done her research! Most Valuable Playboy is a standalone book told from Cooper's point of view, though we do get some insight into Violet's thoughts in a fun way in some spots of the story. I loved the epilogue of this story as well-I thought it was so perfectly THEM.

If I could rate this book more than 5 stars I would in a heartbeat. This friends to lovers (and fake relationship) sports romance had me smiling, sighing and cheering. This is a book I'll come back to over and over and reminds me why Lauren Blakely is my favorite author. Get ready to break out your pom poms (or brush up on your touchdown dance) and cheer for Cooper and Violet. I highly recommend this book!

 



The business suit woman raises a hand, offering forty-one hundred.

Maxine’s eyes laser in on me, and she slashes an arm through the air. “Five thousand dollars,” she says, jacking the price up by nine hundred and staking her claim. I shudder inside.

The guy’s eyes widen, and he holds up his hands. “I’m out.”

My stomach plummets when the business woman shakes her head.

“Going once?” Sierra asks, scanning the tables, looking for perhaps one last big spender. My eyes scan the crowd, too. Hell, maybe I’ll find an escape hatch. A trapdoor to drop into and disappear like in a magic act. Maybe Trent will learn to read my mind. Trent, I’ll cover you for anything you bid. Just raise that hand, name a price, and save me.

My best friend’s expression is merely curious now as he watches Maxine and Sierra, waiting for the verdict. My opportunity to play yard boy slips through my fingers.

The look in Maxine’s eyes is pure satisfaction as she waits for the final word. She winks at me, as if we have a secret. Holy shit. She thinks I want this. She thinks I want her to win me.

A flash of chestnut brown hair in the back catches my attention. A flurry of silver. It’s Violet, hands in the air, wildly flapping over her head in the middle of the ballroom. She brings her finger to her nose. And she’s tapping it, like fucking Santa Claus coming down the chimney, and Harlan tapping his nose to signal his agent, and all the greatest solutions in the universe at once.

My heart goes crazy.

It hammers in my chest. This is like finding an open receiver a second before you’re sacked.

“Going twice,” Sierra says, trailing off as she waits.

I raise my arm and tap my nose, too. Violet is the only one who knows I need to get out of this jam. She’s the only one I mentioned it to. And she’s the only one now who can save me.

“Ten thousand dollars.”

Holy shit. Violet does not mess around with my money. Her eyes widen, as if she’s surprised she bid that high.

My gaze finds Trent. He’s staring at his sister, slack-jawed.

Sierra’s smile is bright and wide. “Ten thousand dollars. Do we have ten thousand, one hundred?”

The room is hushed. Maxine’s expression is blank. She must be shocked. She probably didn’t expect anyone to vie with her to this extent.

I tap my foot, willing Sierra to close this quickly. Just slam the door shut, please, fucking please.

“Going once. Going twice.”

I say a silent prayer. I cross my fingers. I hope.

Maxine blinks, opens her mouth, and I steel myself for a disgustingly high counter bid.

But there’s only silence. No words come. Violet has shocked her speechless. This type of bid wasn’t in Maxine’s playbook.

Sierra raises her arm. “And a night with the quarterback is sold for ten thousand dollars.”

Talk about a Hail Mary.

     


10% of the proceeds from the release day sales along with a portion of pre-orders across all retailers of MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY will be given to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and Houston Humane Society to help those in need from the natural disaster.

       

✦The audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber! Grab your copy today! http://adbl.co/2gbiHT2

       

"Lauren Blakely is a master at writing sexy, engaging stories that draw you in and make you fall in love with her characters. A definite go-to author for me!" - NYT Bestselling Author Melanie Moreland

“Lauren Blakely never ceases to amaze me with her sense of humor, her talent to write fabulous heroes and heroines and to pull an A game with a male POV. Most Valuable Playboy is a real treasure. - Becca at Little Read Reading Hood

     

“The slow burn, the teasing, the kisses, OH THE KISSES!!! MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY exceeded all of my expectations. Lauren Blakely has a knack for making a reader fall for her characters." - Jess at Jo and Isa Love Books Blog

Add it to Goodreads here!

Lauren’s Most Valuable Playboy Team Spirit Prize Package Giveaway! This bundle is valued at $450 and includes a Coach Handbag ($300 value) and $150 Stub Hub Gift Card to use for tickets to the game, your favorite concert, or theater performance.


   


About Lauren Blakely: 

 A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than eighty times, and she's sold more than 2 million books. In September she'll release MOST VALUABLE PLAYBOY, a standalone sports romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter  


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