#12 Johnny Decker. Star quarterback for the Boston Tomcats. Two-time Super Bowl MVP…a decade ago. Nickname: Decker the Panty Wrecker.
I get tackled for a living by men who are built like rhinos. I could take the wings off a fly with a football from 30 yards away. (I wouldn’t, but I could.) Being a veteran quarterback means I’m a mentally alert, fine-tuned athletic machine who can make split-second decisions.
It’s my job to anticipate what’s going to happen next and adapt. But I couldn’t have anticipated the death of our beloved team owner.
His estranged daughter Hannah Strong is a finance nerd from New York. She knows less than nothing about football. Know what she didn’t anticipate? Inheriting the Boston Tomcats.
She’s stubborn, uptight, infuriating, and wrong about absolutely everything—from pizza to how to run my team. And I don’t want to talk about how good she looks in a skirt. Or daydream about how good she’d look out of it.
Really, I don’t.
I’m not Decker the Panty Wrecker anymore—I’ve changed.
I can’t stop arguing with her.
Or thinking about her.
I thought I had a winning play.
But Hannah Strong changed everything.
| Title: | Decker: Changing the Play |
| Author: | Kayley Loring & Connor Crais |
| Series: | The Tomcats (Book 1) |
| Pages: | 362 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Sports Romance (American Football) Enemies-to-Lovers |
| Point of View: | First Person, Present Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Boston, Mass, USA |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 8th January, 2022 |
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Sassy, sarcastic and sweet
I’m a huge fan of Kayley Loring so I was very much looking forward to reading this book, her first joint venture with narrator and first time author, Connor Crais. And holy crap – did this one exceed all my expectations and I hope for many more books from this duo.
For this book – which I’m hoping will be the start of a new series – we’re into the world of American Football and specifically the Boston Tomcats. Decker is the hero quarterback of the team while Hannah is the new owner who just happens to know absolutely nothing about football. If that wasn’t a recipe for the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance, you’ve also got the fact that Decker is an arrogant, cocky yet charming former playboy while Hannah is a nerdy, uptight control freak with a sassy mouth. When you put the pair together, they combust and it’s so much fun I can’t even stand it!
Hannah is a great heroine and has the sassy, sarcastic wit you’d expect from a Kayley Loring heroine. She’s also a girl boss and 100% in charge – but with a vulnerability that is so endearing. I loved that she was determined to learn about American football, and determined to do a good job in her new role….but kept on messing up. It was both hilarious and adorable.
“Oooft – the chemistry! So delicious”
I have to say that Decker is probably the perfect hero in my eyes. He was all things cocky and arrogant and was definitely a fan of the ladies when he was younger – and I loved how he just adored needling Hannah to get a reaction. I definitely saw Connor Crais’ influence on Decker’s character as he felt so real. The way he found himself falling for Hannah and was so sweet with his thoughts and feelings – I wanted to snuggle into his hard muscles and squeeze him so bloomin’ hard. Gah!
As much as I loved the pair individually, together is where Hannah and Decker shine. Or, where they burst into a bright, blinding flame. Oooft – the chemistry! So delicious. Not only did that provide some ah-may-zingly hot sex but it really gave them a connection that was undeniable. I believed in their story and their love. The fact that they kept overcoming all the obstacles those pesky authors put in their way made me think they could overcome anything. Until the BIG obstacle which shocked me as much as it did the characters. Of course they get through it but what a fun and wild ride to get there.
I really loved this story, the characters, the heat and the heart. I felt hugely connected and enjoyed every page that I read. The writing style was fun and fresh so I’m all-in for more books from the Kayley and Connor pairing. Hopefully we’ll return to the Tomcats to see more characters and also revisit Hannah and Decker who I’m assuming will still be bantering, bickering and loving hard. This book can get no less than 5 stars from me. Wonderful.
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review.*
Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got her BFA in creative writing from a Canadian university and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn’t allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she’s breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It’s an adjustment that she’s happily getting used to.
Connor Crais is a classically trained actor living in the Midwest with his wife, two kids, and rescue greyhound. He has been both a stage and television actor, and before plunging into the romance genre, he had been narrating commercials, audiobooks, and explainers for well over a decade from his home studio. From alphas to bosses to cocky sports stars (a particular favorite), he loves sparring with beautiful, sassy heroines (and their talented narrators) but also loves winning them over and reaching that happily ever after. He is excited to now create those stories as an author.
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The Tomcats Series
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18 February 2022 at 10:05 pm[…] series started by just Ms Loring but after the success of the authors’ first collaboration (Decker) the series now belongs to both. Nolan did appear as a very minor character in one or both of the […]