Release Day Review: Love Hard by Nalini Singh



Series: Hard Play #3


New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh brings you the next sizzling story in her Hard Play contemporary romance series…

Jacob Esera, star rugby player and young single father, has worked hard to create a joyous life for his six-year-old daughter. After the death of his childhood sweetheart soon after their daughter’s birth, all Jake wants is safety and stability. No risks. No wild chances. And especially no Juliet Nelisi, former classmate, scandal magnet, and a woman who is a thorn in his side.

As a lonely teenager, Juliet embraced her bad-girl reputation as a shield against loneliness and rejection. Years later, having kicked a cheating sports-star ex to the curb, she has a prestigious job and loyal friends—and wants nothing to do with sportsmen. The last thing she expects is the fire that ignites between her and the stuffed-shirt golden boy who once loved her best friend.

Straitlaced Jacob Esera versus wild-at-heart Juliet Nelisi? Place your bets.


The Hard Play series:

  nalini singh rebel hard    


 
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**

This is the first non-paranormal book I read by Nalini Singh. I just really got excited after reading the blurb. I absolutely love single parent romances, and I looked forward to this book. I will just get straight to the point and say that I enjoyed Love Hard. Jake is a great dad to his six-year-old daughter Esme. Juliet (Jules) is a strong and independent woman that has a lot of spunk. I loved her banter with Jake and I thought they made a great couple. I enjoyed seeing their friendship grow and eventually seeing it turn into love. The scenes between Esme and the main characters were also very cute and my favorites. And the sex scenes were pretty hot as well.

However, I couldn't completely connect to the characters. I also didn't like that the first quarter of the book was set during a wedding. It was just too long and didn't interest me that much. The story picked up after that, and I thought that this was an okay contemporary sports romance. I just wanted more depth into the pasts of the characters, maybe a couple of flashbacks would've been helpful with that. Maybe I would've connected better if I had read the previous books in the series. However, I want a stand-alone novel, even if it is part of a series, to be strong on its own. I do have to say that I was glad that there was no unnecessary drama just for the sake of it. Both Jake and Jules are adults and thankfully acted like one. If you like what you read in the blurb then I recommend you to give it a try.


I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).

So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.

I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.


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