Teagan Kade thinks talking about yourself in the third person is silly, just like her collection of snow globes and rare manga. When she's not being silly, she's hanging out with her own Storm and two children in the south of Australia, dreaming of new characters and torturous ways they can get themselves into trouble. Teagan loves hearing from her readers, all of whom are as dear to her heart as salted caramel cookies. Shoot her an email at: teagan@teagankade.com. She doesn't bite.
I wanted to love this one. I tried and tried, but could not connect with the characters.
Back in high school, the heroine was a heavy party girl until something happened and in college she turned into the girl who never goes out and only studies. Make note...Willow becomes very judgmental of people who still want to party and go to baseball games because she turned a new leaf. i do not like judgy heroines especially when they criticize the people she was exactly like.
I love stories where the top college athletic falls for the shy and studious heroine, but this one failed me. Willow was not likable. The author tried to make her likable, but it did not work for me.
It's been awhile since I've read a college setting romance, but I really enjoy sports romances and I like Teagan Kade's writing, so I thought I'd give this a whirl, and I enjoyed it! It ended up being really cute! Asher is the big man on campus, star baseball player, known ladies man *cough* manwhore *cough*, known for having a bigger bat in his pants than the one in his hands, and all around party boy, and generally when he does douchetastic things around campus, he barely gets a slap on the wrist, but his bad boy ways have caught up with him, and he is assigned to community service. Willow is disgusted at how Asher is put on a pedestal; especially when he cuts in front of her in the coffee line, but when he is assigned to do community service where she volunteers, she is finding it harder and harder to resist his charms. Can these 2 survive as a couple when each of their pasts begin to cause problems in their new found relationship? You must read to find out! Alright, so I do like the characters, but I do feel like each had a too quick turn around; especially Willow, and I didn't really like that about her. Asher's turn around I understand more because I get he was just putting on a show for everybody because that's what he felt he had to do, but I didn't like how Willow sort of regressed to how she used to be in the past, but I did still like her. There are the typical college scenes with the parties and idiot antics, and those types of things are why I usually stay away from college romances, but they weren't too bad here, so I didn't mind them too much, and I enjoyed the rest of the story, so that overshadowed those scenes. I was thinking a lot more would go on with the ex scenario, and was a little disappointed with how that ended; it felt a little anti-climatic, and I also feel like I would've liked a little more build-up to Asher and Willow's relationship, I felt she changed her tune too quickly. All in all, I was entertained and enjoyed reading Loaded!
Loved the sparks that flew off this geek vs jock romance with a twist!
Willow - starts out as an uptight, goal driven Med student. She was cute, feisty and funny! However, she's a bit like a rubber band that's stretched too tight. At any minute her carefully built house of cards will fall. As the story progressed, I loved that she wasn't one dimensional but like most people a mix of good and bad, past, present and future.
Asher - even though he's described as a cocky jock, BMOC type - you soon quickly learn that he's more than than. Loved how his relationship with Willow made him become more likeable and a bit more down to earth.
Oh, and there is some yummy angst and drama - if you like that sort of thing which I do! The chemistry that Asher & Willow have is definitely home run material!
This is not my usual romance genre but I'm so glad I took a chance on this one! I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this advanced copy.
3.5 stars. I will not say its the best book. The story is the typical bad boy sports guy with the huge ego and the nerdy studious girl who captures his attention. She can't understand why she is attracted to him but out of nowhere just goes with it. I liked Asher even though he was a bit rough around the edges. he was a loud mouth and a show off. Once he engages with the kids, it made you see who he really was. They both were complete opposites of what they were in high school. He was the nerd and she was the wild child. The story is full of sex, secrets and jealousy. So again we get the usual new romance angst. However, the story was entertaining and I enjoyed it.
Such a good story! I loved the dialogue between Willow and Asher and watching them find that happy medium between the pasts they left behind and the people they had made themselves into was a joy.
Fan-f@cking-tastic!!! This one so far is my favorite of the Bad Boy Sports! I thought I only loved ice hockey and boxing/ MMA fighter romance, this one proved me wrong! There's a lot of ups and downs with each of these charters. I laughed and cried throughout this whole book. I do have 2 more books to read so....
Right away I fell in love with both charters. I knew there was more to Asher and Willow. The shocker was were the author takes each of these charters from their high school year. Not expecting Asher to be the nerd and Willow the wild child. All to be reversed in college, I guess you never know what you're going to get. I was so happy to see Willow fight back on many occasions. Not only with and for the help of Asher, but Asher also fought back to. They both stuck together when Taylor became jealous, whatever you want to call their relationship. But it's also Willow/Amanda past with Leon that Asher has to forgive. It's a total shock when Leon let it known he and Willow/Amanda not only share a past but a relationship. It's nice to see Willow and Leon forgive each other for their past mistakes. Then Leon taking care of Taylor to get her away from the party. I was happy to see New York Yankees interested in Asher, but why not Leon. That would have changed his whole life around!
In the epilogue it's so nice to see how Asher proposes to Willow one year later. Then five years later see how they are doing. I was upset but more than expected what happened to Coach Harris, but screamed and cried about Leon's news. I was hoping Leon would turn his life around with good friends like Asher and Willow.
You think you’re having a bad day, right? But it’s actually pretty decent compared to poor Wren, who is barely tolerating the torture of sitting through the funeral of her husband, filled with “mourners” such as his heartless parents, putting on a pretty good show of feeling sad about David’s untimely passing in a car accident. The accident where he was returning home from a hotel where he spent the evening shagging his secretary (complete with phone video) instead of having an anniversary dinner with Wren, his wife. Oh, and by the way, all credit cards and bank accounts have been frozen since not only was David a cheating scumbag, but he was embezzling funds from his company to fund his gambling addiction. And the press is hounding you. And since the authorities have seized the house, she’s homeless. Yeah, your day isn’t looking that bad after all, is it?
The one saving grace in this picture is her old friend and secret crush, Carter, is around and lends his shoulder. Granted, not many people are giving him much joy lately, as he’s fresh out of jail for shooting a guy following his going off the rails when his NFL career was crushed by a knee injury. Never mind the fact that he’s been outcast by his entire family: he’s David’s brother. Sigh.
True love never runs smoothly, and this story is complex, fast moving and thoroughly engaging. I received an ARC to review, and I simply couldn’t put it down (and have the bags under my eyes to prove it)!
In the interest of complete disclosure, I totally bought this book because of the cover. Totally. While the cover's hot, the relationship between Asher and Willow took a long time for me to get into. Mostly because Asher was a jerk when he was in his full-on bad-boy persona. A JERK. His casual disregard for women and the way he treats Willow when he first meets her left me cold.
To be fair, Willow wasn't much better. She ran hot and cold and was so obsessed with how well-endowed Asher was it was off putting.
Then you find out that both of them have *layers* they're keeping hidden from everyone around them and ...ehh. Wild child becomes a nerd and nerd becomes so sexy-hot he can't figure out how to get back to being him. Fun in theory, but it left me wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.
While it wasn't a terrible story by any means, the characterization felt uneven and Asher's way of dealing with his ex wasn't my cup of tea. Course, the ex was kinda crazy, so she did need the equivalent of a bat to the head to understand he didn't want to be with her anymore, BUT STILL.
When we first meet Willow, she is in class and instead of going to the baseball game like the rest of the campus, she just wants to study. The Hellcats baseball team is the prize of Penbrook, looking to win their fourth College World Series in a row, with the help of their team captain, Asher Slade. He is able to do what he wants, when he wants and get away with it, thanks to his way with a bat. He also gets really good grades and doesn't seem to study, so Willow wonders how he gets those grades. Willow has a lot of things in her past that she wants to forget about, so she keeps her nose to the grind and stays out of trouble.
When a car flipping prank gets out of hand, Asher is forced to do some community service by the dean's office. Since Willow is the student representative for a Children's Home the Dean asks her to work with Asher. Her report to the Dean will determine if he can continue to play baseball or not. Even though Willow can't stand the idea of working with someone so cocky and self important, they get really close while she learns more about him. We learn more about her through her old school friend, who happens to be on the same baseball team with Asher.
Learning all their secrets and following the twists and turns the story takes will keep you on the edge of your seat. Really good storyline, with well defined main and seconday characters. Well worth the time and money to read.
**Honest review voluntarily provided from a Complimentary Copy**
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book The problem with having a big head, big ego and big everything can be the undoing of some people and that's what happens to Asher Slade. The king of the campus, a slugger in baseball. Pride comes before a fall as they say and oh boy does he have to pay. After a silly prank Asher has to do community service and work with quiet, nerdy Willow. Working with very young children. What Asher doesn't realise how his life will change in more ways than he thinks. Now Willow on the other hand used to be a party girl till events changed her life around and she want to be inconspicuous as possible. Willow fights her feelings for Asher but realises there is more to him than his image. Problem being, she has secrets and his best friend Leon knows what they are. A really good story of campus life, exams, friendships, crazy exes, deceit, love and romance. A good story that makes you want it to all work out for them both and friendships repaired. Loved it.
The book had all the ingredients for a winning story. But it just came out flat. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the book become a dud. For example, the girl tells the guy she’s a vegetarian. So for the first date he makes her a roast. Does that make sense to anybody? And the author doesn’t even mention it.
Another example, the guy treated young women with no respect. That is not sexy at all. For a guy who is supposed to be charming and smart, he does not know how to treat women. I would want to know my guy treats people with respect. I guess if somebody is rude or annoying, you don’t have to be rude and annoying. You can take the highroad. It’s more classy. That is sexy to me.
Also, I buy books based on the price versus the length of the book. Unfortunately this book stopped at about 50%. It had another book attached to it at the end that made The books seem longer. I really hate when they do that without notifying you before the purchase.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
All I can say for this is WOW! When I first started reading I thought it might be more of the same recently read "bad boy" blah blah blah. I had to reevaluate that opinion in a big way. The characters here are so vivid you feel like you are a part of the conversation. Touching on Willow and Asher's relationship was truly believable. The up and down interaction will leave you laughing and crying, it will even make you mad that some people can get away with so much until they are found to be the guilty party by hanging themselves at the end of the day.
I voluntarily read this Advance Reader Copy and happy to have done so. This is only my second read by Kado, and I found it even better than the first time around. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for this author for future reads. Kudos!
I received a free copy and a voluntarily leaving a review.
This is an awesome book. There is a lot of emotional turmoil going on in this book and also an ex of his that thinks they are still together. The Captain of the baseball team (rich boy) gets in trouble and is sentenced by the Dean to do community service at a home for unwanted kids. The girl he is supposed to be working with is going to school on a scholarship and used to be a party girl but now is considered a geek. Now they start seeing each other and her past is coming back to haunt her in the form of the pitcher of the baseball team and best friend of her new boyfriend. Will her past keep them apart or will it be he ex? Will they be able to work things out?
My first book of this author and was not sure what to expect. Although I'm not a big fun of college romance this book was easy to read. I liked the idea of two epilogues showing Asher's and Willow's relationship in long term. Both characters despite their past history had strong chemistry going on between them and that was really good if not hot. Well done to the author for the story idea, would recommend the book to others without hesitation.
A college baseball player meets his match with a fiery sassy redhead that's assigned to tutor him to keep his GPA up .
The Wildcats bad boy baseball captain Asher gets into trouble tossing a students car an has to do community service earlier he jumps in line for coffee an rudely insults her the very person he has to answer to at the community center an also tutor him he's met his match literally .18+
The jock and the nerd. Except, I love that the jock was previously a nerd and the nerd was previously the wild party girl cheerleader. This was a really great book and I love how they came together despite being fairly opposites. Asher definitely grew on me. At first, I thought he was just another snob with a large ego. They brought out the best in one another and I think because of their pasts they felt accepted and like they could really be themselves together.
Teagan Kade has given her readers a great story that is easy to follow. The plot keeps you turning the pages to see how the story will unfold, and the characters are well-developed and intriguing. Once you start reading Loaded, you won't want to put it down.
I volunteered to review an advanced readers copy of this book.
Willow and Asher are great! They both have pasts they're trying to overcome and hide their true selves from others. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. The dual epilogues was a great way to end the story. I would recommend! *I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review.*
Asher is the womanizer and bad boy of his college baseball team, having major problems with his reputation. Willow is the quiet and studious college nerd, volunteering in a home for kids. Willow is bound to get Asher back in the line. Both get to know each other, and realize that there is more behind each other's façade. A heart-warming and at the same time sexy and funny story.
I definitely enjoyed the story. I liked the characters, I really enjoyed Asher and his way of pushing Willowsx buttons at first. The way she held off with him, and how she didn’t want to ‘want’ him. However, this story Is right in my wheel house of entertainment. Thank you Teagan for a another great story. It can always use improvements, but that’s the way with every story right?
Alternating dual POV. Loved the characters and their journeys from who they were in high school to who they are now that they’re in college. Good amount of hot sexy times and some humor. All of the subplots worked to advance the story and I loved that the second epilogue truly wrapped up the storylines.
Asher was the star slugger on the baseball team. He was also known as a manwhore on campus. Willow a med student who was once known as a party girl, was trying to keep to her self and study hard. Asher was given community service for a prank he did. Willow was the one who got assigned to help him.
After a lot of misunderstandings and a whacky ex girlfriend, they were able to get their HEA.
♥️🌼Asher & Willow🌼♥️ This was the first Teagan Kade book I’ve read...and I liked it...♥️🌼 LOADED is a good book about Asher and Willow...Asher is a college baseball player with his eye on the majors...Willow is a college student running from her past...Asher and Willow are so different but so perfect together...They really are such a good couple...I love them...It’s a good book...♥️🌼
Swooned over our Alpha. A bit of a jerk to start with but then the real him gets a chance to shine through. Our main girl has troubles but rediscovers her backbone and her zest for life. Great book, well written as always. Cheers Teagan.
I don't understand how the book got 4 stars. I honestly felt like I was losing brains cells reading. I had to stop about 50% through because it was jumbled. The story line was good in theory but it wasn't well executed.
Players: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Box Set I really liked Asher and Willow's story, the high school party girl and high school nerd turned the complete opposite when starting college, but see each other for who they really are when they meet by circumstance.
Two fiery characters filling the pages with steamy love .The violet eyed ,red haired.nerd meets the baseball god . A fast paced story of college dreams fulfilled the majors leagues for both New York Doctor and Yankees . Teagan Kade came through again
Okay read. Love the whole popular college Jock and shy quiet girl, but I couldn't connect with Willow. She was the quiet good girl but some of her actions didn't go with the persona that was trying to be conveyed. She just changed too fast for me. There was a lot of drama to keep me reading.
I liked this book. It started out really good and then at least for me the story kind of slowed down. That is why I gave this book 4 stars. There are lots of steamy scenes.