Love Hard

Love Hard (Hard Play #3)- Nalini Singh
TKA Distribution
Release Date: March 10, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Jacob Esera, star rugby player and young single father, has worked hard to create a joyous life for his six-year-old daughter. After the death of his childhood sweetheart soon after their daughter’s birth, all Jake wants is safety and stability. No risks. No wild chances. And especially no Juliet Nelisi, former classmate, scandal magnet, and a woman who is a thorn in his side.


As a lonely teenager, Juliet embraced her bad-girl reputation as a shield against loneliness and rejection. Years later, having kicked a cheating sports-star ex to the curb, she has a prestigious job and loyal friends—and wants nothing to do with sportsmen. The last thing she expects is the fire that ignites between her and the stuffed-shirt golden boy who once loved her best friend.

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Love Hard continues the adventures of the Bishop-Esera clan (Cherish Hard) and gives us a lovely new hero to swoon over in Jake Esera.  Jake had to grow up fast when he got his high school sweetheart pregnant, and then even more when Callie passed away.  Raising a daughter on his own has been tough, but his family have helped make sure he and Esme always had a safety net.  Jake's biggest problem has been trying to contain his overprotectiveness when it comes to keeping Esme safe. He's serious, responsible, and in control of everything. But meeting Juliet again throws him right back into high school, where they sniped at each other constantly.  She was Callie's best friend, but he never knew much about her except that he didn't like her.  Now she's back in his life and driving him crazy.

Juliet never had anything in her life that was stable, and Callie was the only person who loved her.  After a divorce from a slimy, attention-obsessed sports star, she has no intention of dating another athlete- especially Jacob Esera.  But getting to know him at last, she realizes maybe he isn't quite the gearheaded jock she thought him in high school, and that they've both grown up over the years.  She's brave about most things in her life, but terrified of taking the chance on loving Jake.

How can you not love Jake and Juliet? Both are confident in their work lives, but more than a little terrified of taking a chance on love.  Still, both come to the conclusion that the passion between them is worth the risk of trying.  Cherish Hard is all about seeing someone again for the first time, getting to know the person behind the tough exterior, and taking risks on what matters most.  It's two regular people (if being a rugby superstar can be called 'regular') finding each other despite the odds, their own pasts, and their personal hang-ups.  You'll find yourself cheering for them all the way, both as a couple and as individuals finding forgotten parts of themselves, and the love and chemistry between them leaps off the page as only Nalini Singh can make it leap.

Cherish Hard grabbed me from page one and the beautiful wedding (finally!) between Charlotte and Gabriel (Love Hard, one of my all-timel favorite books) where Juliet and Jacob reconnect.  It was a book I didn't want to put down and one I was ready to re-read again right away.  I hope we get to see more members of Jake's rugby team find their happily-ever-after once Danny's taken care of, because Singh gave us glimpses of plenty of potential future couples and heroes in this book!  If you haven't read the rest of the series, you don't feel lost starting here, but warning! You'll instantly fall in love with the characters and want to pick up all the other books. Don't fight the urge!

A beautiful, sexy must-read that will thrill Nalini Singh fans.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review