Bear Naked with the Bearded Baller

The Cocky Kingmans #0.5

by Amy Award

When plus-size model, April De la Reine, loses her agency and all her hopes for making a difference in the fashion world, she needs some peace and solitude to rethink her life. A cabin in the mountains of Colorado sounds like the perfect escape.

But her trip to the snowy wilderness of Bear Claw Valley gives her a dilapidated shack, a blizzard, a hilariously oversized dog as big as a bear, and the grumpy, bearded, and irresistibly infamous footballer, Bridger Kingman.

Stranded together in a snowed-in cabin, they soon discover that opposites do more than just attract and they find warmth in the best of places – each other’s arms.

Bear Naked with the Bearded Baller is the steamy love-at-first-sight prequel to The Cocky Kingmans series that will melt your heart, and your panties, no matter how cold the winter night.

Genres: Romance, Sports, Novella, Sports Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Contemporary Romance

48 pages, Unknown Binding

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

Amy Award is a curvy girl who has a thing for football players, fuzzy-butt pets, and spicy romance novels. She believes that all bodies are beautiful and deserve their own love stories with Happy Ever Afters. Find her at AuthorAmyAward.com

Amy also writes curvy girl paranormal romances with dragons, wolves, demons, and vampires, as Aidy Award. If that’s your jam, check those books out at AidyAward.com

Reviews

[Tiffany AB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really steamy novella! Wish there was more cause daddy Kingman is FIINNEEE! Love me an FMC who is in control and tells her partner what she wants. So hot!

[Erica Chaillot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally this is on Goodreads. This family is my favorite series and I recommend

[Kirsten_BookRants · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had Amy Award on my TBR for about two years now. And I stumbled across this novella while in a reading slump, and thought it would be the perfect time to jump into the Kingsman universe.

Amy did not disappoint! I loved her writing in this story and I was drawn to the characters from the first page. I easily could have read a full length book about these two and can't wait to see what Amy's universe has to offer.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot damn daddy and mommy Kingman are hot!!!!!!!

[Bianca Swart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. Was nice seeing their backstory. 

"The hottest fucking mess I'd ever met."

[Yashoda Jaikaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Emilia Krusell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ibland vill man bara starta dagen med en novell, och denna var perfekt för det

[Nisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to start by saying... I loved the introduction to the MMC. 😂 It immediately made me smile and set the tone for the rest of the book.

This was such a cute, quick romance. April was probably my favorite part of the story. She's determined, capable, and definitely not naive. She just knows when playing a little innocent works in her favor, and I loved that about her.

Meeting Bear the dog? Instant bonus points. 🐶 And every time the MMC let his intrusive thoughts win, I couldn't help but laugh.

The chemistry between the main characters was fun, the spice was well done, and one thing that absolutely melted my heart was his soft spot for rescued animals. Honestly... take my money. That was such a sweet detail.

My only complaint is that I wish a few scenes had been given more room to breathe. Since it's a shorter book, some moments felt a little rushed, and I found myself rereading a couple of sections to make sure I hadn't missed something.

Overall, this was a fun, cozy, feel-good romance with lovable characters, a cute dog, and plenty of charm. If you're looking for a fast read with humor, heart, and a little spice, this one is worth checking out.

[Jadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read and I enjoyed it for what it was. I think it hit all the points to be a satisfying short story. Of course I would have loved more information but it did the job. I have not read any other books in this series but I might try to keep this one in mind, I'm just not huge into sports romance.

[Aamira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it’s a novella, but this was just too instalove for me. I would’ve enjoyed a couple of scenes of them getting to know each other. They are trapped during a blizzard after all, but what are you going to do?

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah!! What a beautiful prequel to the Cocky Kingman series. 🥹
Seeing April and Bridger fall in love so quickly was beautiful and honestly this was perfect. I would honestly love to see more of the early years of the Kingman clan. This is so fluffy and cute. Amy Award does it again.

[Alyson Buxey]

Exactly how you want a series to start, I want the stories of all the children to come

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the prequel novella and whoops I read it as last. But it is so sweet and good. Love reading about Bridger and April!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little read that pulled me in. Loved both characters and would follow this author for a fuller read. Recommend.

[Ella Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always for a cocky Kingsman book!!

[Anna Zierden · Rating 5 out of 5]

now i know why they had so many kids 😭 gimme bridger

[Marielis Villasana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante leer de los padres de los kingsman, pero todo fue brutalmente rápido y no da casi respuestas pero its ok

[Melanboog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute quick read, definitely worth reading

[Kristina]

There was an attempt but I couldn’t do is sry

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuties!

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Justine Baukus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uh so freaking cute! Adore their love story!

[Naomi Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy linda la historia de los papás de los Kingmand sin duda aunque tiene un final difícil en el resto de los libros, te hace comprender mucho mejor la historia y muchas de las razones de los libros.

[Sil Perera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute quick and steamy meet the parents prequel. Love it.

[Jordan :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was such a cute quick Novella. And it kind of helps you understand the kingman family a little more. This book is about Bridger and April, which are the parents of the Kingman children. It talks about how they met, and they instantly felt their connection. We also get to meet bear number one in this book, which is so cute because bear is such a big part of their family.

[Ada’s Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review | Bear Naked with the Bearded Baller by Amy Award | 4⭐

My first Amy Award book, and for a novella… I really liked it! 🤭❄️🏈

April is a plus-size model who needs an escape after being dropped by her agency, so she buys a cabin in the mountains.

Instead of peace and quiet, she ends up stranded during a blizzard in a run-down cabin with Bridger, a grumpy, bearded football player… and quite possibly the biggest dog she's ever seen! 😂🐶

Snowed-in, forced proximity, grumpy meets sunshine? SIGN ME UP!

For such a short story, I was surprised how packed it was. Bridger was protective, caring, and sweet beneath all that grumpiness. And had definitely had me smiling more than once.

I also loved April’s confidence and the body-positive representation. Watching her slowly realize she deserved love exactly as she was made my heart happy. 🫶🏼

Now, was it insta-love? Absolutely. 😂 But honestly… it’s a novella. I expected things to move fast, and for the length, I thought it worked.

Would I have loved another chapter or two of them getting to know each other while snowed in? Definitely! I think that would’ve made their connection feel even stronger.

The chemistry was there, the banter was cute, the spice brought the heat, and I flew through the whole thing in one sitting. 🔥🤭

If this little prequel is any indication of what’s to come, I think I’m really going to enjoy the Kingman's family.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love that the MMC has an animal charity!

This is a very fast paced novella. I found it ok but not amazing