Blake Kaplan has been playing fantasy football with his old college buddies for years. He’s never managed to win, mostly because he’s never wanted to subject himself to the bets and pranks the other guys endure for a chance at glory. But this year, Blake is willing to do whatever it takes to get the first pick in the draft, even if it means sacrificing his dignity.
To win, Blake’s wager involves the one thing he’s worse at than fantasy football: dating. All Blake has to do is survive a few dates with the gorgeous Landon O’Keefe, the bartender at the league’s favorite watering hole, and he’ll get pick in the draft he wants and the chance to win. It sounds easy enough, except for one thing. He can’t sleep with Landon without losing the bet. But, will being with Landon make him lose his heart instead?
Heidi Champa is a typical last-born child. Snarky, attention-seeking and rebellious, she started to create dirty stories to keep herself out of real trouble. Having tried her hand at a million terrible jobs, she bought herself a laptop and finally started typing up those handwritten tales. After much deliberation, she started to let other people read her work.
In addition to her flare with the written word, she knows every sentence of the movie Clue by heart and bakes a mean Funny Cake. She loves Aussie Rules Football (Go The Cats!!), dancing to bad music and laughing too loud in public. A natural born klutz, she has been known to fall for no reason at all and always has a bruise somewhere on her body. Her life has taken her all over the world, but a piece of her heart will always be in Australia. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband.
She has been published in numerous anthologies including Best Women’s Erotica 2010, Best of Best Women's Erotica 2, Playing With Fire, Frenzy, College Boys, Like Magnets We Attract, Skater Boys and Ultimate Curves. Her first novella, White Out, was published by Amber Allure in August 2010 and her second, All Expenses Paid, was released in June. She has also steamed up the pages of Bust Magazine. If you prefer your erotica in electronic form, she can be found at Clean Sheets, Torquere Press, Ravenous Romance, Oysters and Chocolate, Dreamspinner Press, and The Erotic Woman.
Pretty cute read. I liked the main characters, they were cute together. The bet angle was fun (because both parties knew about it from the beginning.) But man, I really do not like the way Blake's friends treat him. The slutshaming was out of control, not to mention the pressure to date. That's none of their business. I personally think Julia takes it too far by forcing them into the bathroom together. (Though, who knew hand-washing could be steamy?) Could've done without the tacked on angst towards the end. But still, overall it's cute and fluffy.
This was really good! I really like Heidi Champa's writing. I just sunk right into the story and didn't stop reading until the book ended. I really liked the set-up: Blake, the master of the hook-up, has to go on five dates with the same guy (no sex allowed) in order to get the number one pick in his fantasy football league. Landon, the gorgeous bartender at the bar where the guys (and gal) from the league meet, offers himself up as the date. In addition to the no-sex rule, the team members also get to choose where they guys go for their dates. This leads to some pretty funny dates! :) I liked the way the relationship developed between these guys. How Blake had to actually talk to Landon and get to know him and deal with why he turned into the master of the hook-up and stopped putting himself out there.
This was a really cute novella. Blake, a member of a fantasy league, has never won. But because he has also never come in last place, he's never had first draft pick. Since the guy who was in last place last year quit the league, the number one pick is up for grabs. Blake finally agrees to a bet in order to secure that coveted pick: Blake, the typical one-and-done serial dater, has to go on 5 dates with someone.
The concept behind this story was cute, and the 5 locations of the dates, which were voted on by the other league members were really funny. This was just an all-around sweet story with not much angst.
Kinda sappy - sweet and simple. Nothings really wrong with this comfort read, the characters were colorful and fun and it was well paced. Sometimes the dialogue didn't make sense and I was left wondering how they got from point A to point B, but...?
This review was originally written for MM Good Book Reviews and can also be found there.
My second encounter with this author’s work this year passed much better than I’d expected. Two men with plenty to offer get themselves into a challenging adventure – because what’s worse than surviving your friends – and find their way to the top and a happy ending.
It all came to be thanks to fantasy football, something Blake has been playing with his college friends for years. All of them have paired up and eventually won first place except Blake and while with the chance for the title come the pranks and merciless teasing, this year Blake is determined and doesn’t even back down in front of the challenge of dating someone.
Landon, the bartender in the bar friends frequent, and Blake have been eyeing each other for some time, but Blake has never wanted a serious relationship and has had most of the gay and regular patrons of the establishment. Landon is ready, but what he wants won’t come with a one night stand, exactly what he would be in Blake’s eyes. So he jumps at the chance to challenge Blake, five dates, no sex, and a chance to win the man he’s been aching for.
I was amused for the better part of this book, thoroughly enjoying Landon and his lovely personality while Blake presented the perfect challenge to make the story stick out a bit. Their interactions were funny, Blake’s friends somewhat crazy and the challenge dates kept things going.
This book was nothing short of fun with a good idea and likeable characters, perfect for a slow afternoon.