The Player and the Tattoo Artist

New Hampshire Bears #8

by Mary Smith

Alden Brockman is better known as the manwhore of the New Hampshire Bears. He’s the top player on and off the ice and never, ever had an issue getting a female into bed. A simple smirk, a wink, or a smooth phrase in his French-Canadian accent and they fall right into his arms. No matter what technique he used, no one ever told him no.

Until now…

Baylor Royer has worked hard to open her own tattoo shop and provide a good life for her ten-year-old son, Kace. Then after a one night stand with her client Alden Brockman her world changed. Now he wants to date her. But there’s one problem – Baylor knows it’s only because she told him no. She’s never had a steady man in her life because she doesn’t want Kace to get attached to a man who’s just going to leave at the blink of an eye. Plus, she’s even more scared she’ll fall in love with the wrong man.

Could the biggest player actually fall for a single mom?

Genres: Sports, Hockey, Hockey Romance

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2017

About the author

Best Selling Author, Mary Smith, has been coming up with stories her whole life. She has written A HOCKEY TUTOR, THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BEARS SERIES, as well as co-authored THE PENALTY KILL TRILOGY, OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN SERIES and THE NINTH INNING SERIES. When not busy writing or rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks you can find her with her nose stuck in her Kindle.
You can visit her website at: www.authormarysmith.blogspot.com
Follow her on Twitter: @maryms1980
Or Faceook: www.facebook.com/authormarysmith

Reviews

[The Book Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this hero and the interactions with the kid in the story seriously! Throw in the hockey and you totally had me sucked in! I felt like the wrap up of the story was a little rushed, but the other stuff were great!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Player and the Tattoo Artist by Mary Smith is a story about true love and taking chances. This is the eighth novel in Mary's New Hampshire Bear series and I don't see these fantastic stories finishing anytime soon! Baylor Royer has worked hard for what she and for her family. Having her son, Kace, at an early age with an absentee father hasn't been easy but Baylor has grown and is raising her son to dream big. Alden Brockman is a hockey "player" on and off the ice, but something about his tattoo artist, Baylor, has him thinking about another round and possibly more...

I adored this story. Alden is swoon worthy hero with all the makings of a fantastic man and role model for Kace. The interactions between Kace and Alden made my heart melt. Baylor is so strong and self-reliant that it's hard to her to not only trust in Alden but allow him to stand up for her when she needs support. Kace will steal your heart. I found this a very emotional story that hit home hard. Did I find the story fast paced? Yes but I'm sure we'll see more of Baylor, Alden & Kace in the next installment in the series too because I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of these characters. 5 Stars for The Player and the Tattoo Artist by Mary Smith


*** Reviewed for Sweet & Spicy Reads - ARC provided for an honest review ***

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Admittedly, I grabbed a copy based on it having a tattoo artist as a character. While there is that, the content is lighter than I would've liked, and I own that.

The Male MC, forgotten his name already, is a man-whore by his own admission. He was big on family yet a dick to his sister which lowered the rating of this book for me.

I got where he was coming from, but it contradicted his sentiments at the beginning of the story he's busy calling his teammates things like pussy whipped because they want to go home to their wives instead of out drinking, but he doesn't want his sister to date a hockey player, and get really pissy about that, because they are ALL jerks who whore around. And this guy is his best mate, FFS. It was overkill for me. but hey, it left that thread open for book 9. Not that I care enough to read it.

Many others have loved this book/series, so by all means check it out. Don't let my review deter you.

[Izzie d · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alden and Bailey.
I have to be honest I wasn't looking forward to reading this book as much as I have liked the series. The reason is Alden's attitude to women and relationships.
But in the last book he met Bailey and this book starts with him knowing her and wanting her.
I hate it when books that do man whore changes his ways starts off with him with other women but that doesn't happen in this book, he is fixated on Bailey from page 1.
He becomes totally invested in Bailey and her son and becomes what they need despite his lack of experience at relationships.
The next book is set up ready but a HEA for the couple featured.

[Stephanie Seay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an addiction .... and it is to the New Hampshire Bears series! This is the eighth book (plus a novella that is SO GOOD!) and the story of Alden and Baylor. Throughout the series, Alden has been the "playa" of all times. Different girls - always, no commitments, no second dates and no attachment. And then after one fling with Baylor, she turns him down for more and it flips his world! This book is a fantastic story of healing, finding something real and allowing walls to come down. It has a fantastic family element and I actually LOVED that each character in the story actually thinks about how adult actions can affect kids. I can't wait for more from this author and this series. So many stories to be told, and Mary Smith is fantastic!

[Julie Comins · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's like reading a newspaper article

You get what you pay for, I'm a big fan of Hockey romance, and this author never fails to disappoint. Everytime I read a book by this author I hope she has improved her writing since I last read one of her books, she has learned to edit them but not much more than that.

[Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite book of the series so far! Alden was a "playa" in the past, but this book brings about his "good man" status. I loved his alpha-ness along with his gentle side.

I can't wait to continue the series and see how he and his sister Amara resolve their issues.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say Kace really made this book! I just loved him and his sweet heart!

Looking forward to Nathan and Amara's book.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, but utimately was distracted by the use of "female" to describe women. We are not animals, we are women.

[Kim Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

New to me author. This book is a MF romance set in the ice hockey world. This book is first person POV, not my favourite but still a good read. I’ll read more from this author.

[Cherie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing absolutely fantastic story. Loved it.
❤️‍🔥📚✨️❤️‍🔥📚✨️❤️‍🔥📚✨️

[SC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, no

I read this book and the one before it, and I noticed some things that just didn't work for me.

Female. That word is thrown around left and right, all willy nilly. In fact, I think if I counted the times a woman was referred to as anything OTHER than female, it would maybe amount to 3.

Why do women have to get hit by men? Be it by accident or intentionally it doesn't matter. A story can in fact be told without that happening. In one book? Fine, that's doable, but two? If you've read the rest, is that a recurring thing ?

And oh my, the punctuation, grammatical, sentence FAILS !! See that ? Those are exclamation and question marks, they totally make a difference, one is not like then other. Clearly this author has a poor editor and beta team, because some of these are so blatantly obvious that I can't imagine someone just saying "oops!" Over them.

Lastly, the story is lackluster. Absolutely forgettable. The characters were not engaging or endearing, they were not remarkable, I didn't walk away from this book feeling like it affected me in any way - which is what an author should strive for, and what a book lover looks for in a book.

[Vfc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew he had been around the block more than FedEx and UPS combined. Nonetheless, I craved for him to be in my mouth and inside me. His tongue sucking on my cl*t piercing caused me to melt into him. I had never been stretched or been so full by a man, except by him. When he came back for seconds, I told him no. Not because I didn’t want to have sex, but if I did I’d fall for his penis. Yes, I’d really fall in love with his penis and maybe him.

He refuses to agree to Nathan (a teammate) dating his sister, Amaya causing conflict. His misplaced over protectiveness is hypocritical.