Bad Reputation: A Bad Boys of Sports Novel

Cassie and Chase have been best friends for ten years. Cassie has never thought to have more with Chase but he can’t say the same. Their relationship is relaxed, comforting and gives them both peace. When a trip to Vegas brings about some drunken decisions, this couple is left reeling. But it’s not what you may think. (Well, it is, but it isn’t.) There is an unexpected surprise that carried this story from predictable to intriguing. I loved Chase and his inner monologues. He knew who he was and accepted it, embraced it and flaunted it. Through it all he’s afraid of losing Cassie. I couldn’t get enough of him. He was perfectly imperfect and that just made me crave him more. Cassie has never seen what fidelity and commitment look like. She’s not looking for a happy ever after because they simply don’t exist. What she can be sure of is that Chase will always be there for her, as long as they remain friends. I loved this book! It was lighthearted and fun, passionate and steamy and written in a style that flowed. I was totally invested in these characters from the very beginning. Friends to lovers don’t always work well for me. I like my hero to be all in with the heroine from the moment they meet. However, I knew going in that this couple had been friends for ten years and the likelihood of that was highly improbable. I was correct. However, this author presented this story and these characters in such a manner that I was okay with that. If you love friends to lovers, hockey players, an awesome male POV, then you are definitely going to want to read this one! This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and Random House – Loveswept. Dual POV No apparent Triggers

**Advanced copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review** Bad Reputation is the first book in Nicole Edward's new Bad Boys of Sports series and it was a great way to start it off! This was my first opportunity to read this author's work and it definitely will not be my last! This story sucked me right on in! Chase Barrett is known as the Bad Boy of Hockey both on and off the ice. He's earned that moniker on the ice because of his penchant for ending up in the penalty box and I think the off-ice part speaks for itself - the man is undeniably HOT! Cassie Desrosiers is an executive at a tech company and someone who always has her priorities straight and basically lives for her work. Her mother has not set the best example in the romance department, parading men in and out of Cassie's life for years, so Cassie is less than eager to find any kind of long lasting relationship, hence her focus on her career. Chase and Cassie have been best friends for years, doing everything and nothing together. Cassie believes that Chase has a revolving door of women coming in and out of his bed, but is that the reality? When Cassie invites Chase to join her at a work function in Las Vegas, he jumps at the chance to accompany her. Will what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas, or will it end up having a ripple effect once they get back to Texas? I loved the relationship between Chase and Cassie and how supportive they were of one another in all aspects of their lives. They definitely had great chemistry and I was definitely sucked into the story. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

Bad Reputation grabs the reader's attention pretty quickly as characters are introduced and we learn about the friendship between Chase and Cassie. The characters are interesting and the dialogue is often witty and fun. While Chase is a bad boy on the ice, I wouldn't necessarily call him that when it comes to romance. A playboy, yes, but that doesn't make him a bad boy. His best friend who, according to the blurb, calls him on his BS, even mentions what a great guy he is and how well he treats women. That aside, the story is engaging at the beginning, but begins to fizzle soon thereafter. The pacing is almost agonizingly slow at times and I found myself wondering if there was actually going to be any romance. Things do start to heat up between Cassie and Chase, but the turnaround in Cassie's behavior seemed a bit much, considering how career driven she is up to that point. The writer is certainly talented and the premise is good, but the pacing made it too easy to set aside for something else.