✮✮✮From New York Times
bestselling author Kristen Ashley, comes the first standalone title in the
exciting, new Moonlight and Motor Oil series, THE HOOKUP! A rich, emotional
love story, THE HOOKUP is available now!✮✮✮
When the new girl in town, Eliza “Izzy”
Forrester decides to hit the local drinking hole, she’s not ready to meet the
town’s good, solid guy. She’s definitely not prepared to engage in her very
first hookup with him.
Then Izzy wakes up the next morning in Johnny Gamble’s
bed and good girl Izzy finds she likes being bad for Johnny.
Even so, Izzy feels Johnny holding her at arm’s length.
But Johnny makes it clear he wants more and Izzy already knows she wants as
much of hot-in-bed, sweet-out-of-it Johnny Gamble.
Floating on air thinking this is going somewhere, Izzy
quickly learns why Johnny holds distant.
He’s in love with someone else. Someone who left him and
did it leaving him broken. Whoever was up next would be runner up, second best.
Knowing the stakes, Izzy will take what she can get from the gentleman that’s
Johnny Gamble. And even knowing his heart might never mend, Johnny can’t seem
to stay away from Izzy.
Until out of nowhere, his lost love comes back to town.
He’s not going back, but Johnny still knows the right thing to do is let Izzy
go.
And Izzy knew the stakes, so she makes it easy and slips
though his fingers.
But that’s before Johnny realizes Eliza moved to town to
escape danger that’s been swirling around her.
And that’s why Johnny decides to wade in.
That and the fact Eliza Forrester makes breakfast with a
canary singing on her shoulder and fills out tight dresses in a way Johnny
Gamble cannot get out of his head.
  
With each release, there's the promise of so
much goodness to savor I can hardly contain my joy. Hearing there's a new
series and I'm floating on cloud nine. Unsurprisingly, I loved everything about The Hookup as I devoured this read three times before writing my review. That's
how remarkable this romance was ~ I was lured back into Matlock, Kentucky,
relishing every moment, with just as much excitement as my first time. With all
the feels and written in the classic KA descriptive world-building style, Eliza
and Johnny's journey is now one of my all-time favorites.
KA is not only the Queen of all Alphas but
also the master of the second-chance-at-love romances such as The Hookup. The
synopsis may make some leery, giving the impression that this may be a
love-triangle or a 'settling for second best' type of scenario. Let me dispel
those notions to say that this is not the case AT ALL. Johnny was a broken man,
unwilling to love again, after losing a girl that was perceived to be "THE
ONE." The beauty of this story is his healing with a message of hope; true
love can be found again through the gentle care of the right devoted woman.
This is Johnny and Izzy's story and a true Kristen Ashley fairytale ~ complete
with a sincere hero who's all about loving, protecting and dedicating himself
to the woman he claims. And that lucky girl is Eliza “Izzy” Forrester.
I adored Izzy's character to pieces. Down to
earth and tenderhearted, this Spätzchen (little sparrow)
handled every situation, whether it be their awkward rocky start to
tense-filled moments, with kindness, dignity, and finesse. Life was not kind to
Izzy or her family and her painful past shaped the beautiful, loyal and
graceful woman that was worthy of Johnny's heart. She had a great sense of
humor, a little sassy at times, and a quiet strength that I admired. Seeing her
relationship with Johnny grow, breaking down his walls and turning his heart
from hopeless to hope-filled, melted me. In all ways, Izzy was THE PERFECT girl
for Johnny and a woman I would be happy to embrace as part of my tribe.
How could I not instantly fall in love with a
hero with such a cool intro? What a kickass name.
Smooth as silk, hard as steel, charming,
broody-hot and all Alpha ~ I could list the countless reasons why I fell for
him, but the fun is discovering his wonders on your own. He was the
quintessential KA Alpha with a fiercely protective and controlling side. Best
of all ~ he was dirty talking growler!
He had a few dickish moments, but the
way Johnny made amends had me eating out of the palm of his hand. His woeful
shattered heart, *sigh*, I wanted to soothe and console him. Stubborn at first
for not recognizing all that was him truly deserved genuine happiness with all the
beauty that was Izzy. Johnny was everything she needed, and I was thrilled once
he finally got his head sorted, stepped up his game and took care of Izzy in
every way.
This story was addicting, seductive, fiery,
yet exquisitely romantic. From shy Izzy fumbling her first ever hookup with
Johnny, through to their intense hot AF sexual chemistry and the deep emotional
connection which blossomed, I was happily riding the wave right alongside this
couple every step of the way. Their banter had me giggling, Johnny's raw and
animalistic sexual appetite had me swooning, the angst peppered into the
storyline had me on edge, and the epilogue warmed my heart. Just an altogether
excellent read from start to finish.
Brilliantly written and passion-filled, The
Hookup was another amazingly sexy novel that left me feeling all gushy happy
and longing for more from the Moonlight and Motor world. (Especially Toby and
Addie. I'm jonesing for their story and hoping their turn is next)! One of my
favorite reads this year - an instant hit that I highly recommend.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of
this publication
“Izzy?” she answered.
“Hey, I’m home,” I told her.
“Okay, well…how are you?”
How was I?
Johnny’s behavior explained by the sad fact
it was the anniversary of his father’s death, but still explained, and he was
coming over for dinner the next night, not to mention, after not being
affectionate (at all, unless you counted sitting me on the countertop, which I
kind of did) after the last time we’d had sex, he made out with me at the door
of my car for a good, long, happy while—I was great.
“I’m great,” I told her, opening Serengeti’s
stall and moving in, lifting a hand to pat her jaw while she moved her nose to
snuffle my neck and blow at my hair.
“Damn,” Deanna muttered.
My hand arrested on Serengeti and I focused
on Deanna.
“What?” I asked.
“Damn,” she repeated.
“Damn what?” I asked.
“Well, just to say Johnny Gamble is Johnny
Gamble.”
A specific area in my chest squeezed at the
way she imparted that obvious but still confusing information.
“What’s that mean?” I asked.
“He’s Johnny Gamble of Gamble Garages. Did he
tell you that?”
No he didn’t tell me that.
And suddenly I was embarrassed about
something that I hadn’t liked all along.
But it was worse since Deanna knew more about
a man I’d slept with than I did.
Serengeti was getting fidgety, so I used my
hand on her to lead her out of her stall, and once in the corridor, she trotted
out the open bay at the back, directly into her pasture.
I moved to Amaretto as I shared with Deanna,
“No, he didn’t tell me that. I mean, we talked but we were also doing other
things.” I let that lie. It did, weighty between us on the phone, before I went
on, “I don’t know what that means.”
Even though it seemed like I did. Something
seemed familiar about that.
“You haven’t lived here long enough,” she
murmured while I opened Amaretto’s stall and moved in for some quick pats
before I let him loose. Louder, Deanna said, “You know the gas station in
town?”
Oh yes.
That was where I’d seen it.
“He owns that?”
“That and seven more of them across three
counties. None in the city, just in the counties. Some of them are like
mini-mart stores. All of them sell gas and do work on cars.”
Wow.
That was impressive.
Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA
and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as
she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to
accessorize and she hadn't taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took
Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window,
and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before).
Kristen's Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the
dramatic beginning. Nothing's changed. Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana
and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she's
blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy
(to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived
together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew
up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and
the wardrobes that matched). Needless to say, growing up in a house full of
music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up. And as she keeps growing, it
keeps getting better.
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