Line of Scrimmage was completely engaging, thoroughly entertaining and simply a fantastic romance. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
Sometimes it’s not about winning…
One bad tackle. That’s all it took to put wide receiver Jake Russell in a cast for the rest of the NFL season. From being a high school all-star to getting drafted by the Austin Mustangs, football has been Jake’s life for as long as he can remember. It’s what defines him—because he has a secret he never shares. But now that he’s laid up in bed with a nurse displaying a lot of distracting bedside manners, he’s discovering life on the sidelines might have its perks. . .
One last paycheck. That’s all Erin Bass has left to her name when the resort she works at shuts down. Desperate, she agrees to be a caregiver to hardass jock Jake Russell, who also happens to be a memorable one-night stand. Before long, caring leads to daring new ways to catch up in bed, especially with Jake still in a cast. But with football on the sidelines, this time the game is serious. . .
Review copy provided for an honest review
I thoroughly enjoyed this story between two people whose one night stand turned awkward were 
tricked into an arrangement by his sister and her best friend. Sassy and sexy yet emotional and heartwarming, Line of Scrimmage is Desiree Holt at her best.
This book started out with a hot one night stand that went sour when the heroine decided to kick the hero to curb because she doesn’t trust professional athletes and figures she’s only giving him an out he’ll want anyway. To say Jake Russell was angry was putting it mildly but mainly he was confused because he felt a real connection with his sister’s friend Erin Bass and her rejection brings to light some old wounds that still haven’t healed over the years.
Jake Russell is a complicated man; he’s a great brother, has a huge heart supporting many worthwhile charities but he defines his life by his ability to play football. Sidelined with a potential career ending injury, Jake’s life is thrown in turmoil including the fact that he requires live in help just to get through the day. I’ll admit a hurt and laid up Jake was not a happy Jake and at times he exhibited some less than stellar behavior, but given his injury and dependence on others and his career hanging in the balance I was able to overlook it for the most part. What I loved was that despite being largely incapacitated he still managed to woo and bed the woman he wanted.
There was so much I enjoyed about Erin Bass first and foremost was that she didn’t let Jake get away with his bad behavior. Yes she made some allowances for his being laid up and miserable, but she gave it back as good as he gave it. I liked that she realized there was something more behind Jake’s depression over his injury and that she encouraged him to look at his life and his accomplishments and she cared about him enough to keep him engaged and present in his life even if it was something as simple as going through the mail with her.
I’ll admit Jake’s sister Ivy was pretty sneaky in getting Erin to agree to help Jake out and getting him to accept. Given their history it took them a few days to smooth things out and fall into some semblance of a routine, but over time their relationship built and the passion that had been simmering between them (not to mention the sexy dreams they’d both been having) had them finding ways of being very creative around Jake’s injuries.
While both Jake and Erin had some baggage that cause some friction between them; I liked that they were able to put it aside, focus on the here and now and then deal with it as they needed to. It took some work for them to both get past them and realize they could trust each other implicitly, but they did and I appreciated the maturity of their relationship.
Line of Scrimmage was completely engaging, thoroughly entertaining and simply a fantastic romance.
Sounds good, thanks for putting it on my radar Slick