Title: Hooker
Series: L.A. Liaisons #2
Author: Brooke Blaine
Release Date: March 9, 2016
Whoever said singles were missing out by not finding true love and getting married before the age of thirty had never experienced the sheer pleasure of nightly romantic comedy viewings in their underwear while eating one of Licked’s famous Crazy Cat Lady sundaes. Because life just doesn’t get better than that.
At least, it doesn’t for Shayne Callahan. It didn’t take more than a handful of broken hearts after college to solidify that she was better at pairing up those around her than herself. As a matchmaker at the elite HLS—Hook, Line, & Sinker Matchmaking Company—in the City of Angels, she has a knack for finding the other halves of even the most eccentric clients:
Sugar daddy with a foot fetish? Gross, but no problem.
A severe case of nudophobia? Match made before lunch.
But even the most happily independent of women can find their best-laid plans screeching to a halt when they meet that guy. For Shayne, that guy comes in the form of boyishly handsome, suspender-lovin’, dimple-poppin’ Nate Ryan on a pantsless (we’ll get to that later) Metro ride.
Of course, relationships can never be easy. Before the destined lovers can ride off into the sunset, they must overcome a power-hungry and sexual-punning boss, a celebrity scandal and cover-up, and let’s not forget Shayne’s dreadful foot-in-mouth disease—with which there can never be a happily ever after.
Will fate throw Shayne a freakin’ bone? Or will she be destined to live out her life as sexy(ish), single(ish), and L.A.’s finest Hooker (upper)?
If I weren't a fully grown adult, with two feet firmly planted on the ground, I think I'd just float away right now. Because I've just finished reading Hooker by Brooke Blaine, and I feel super happy and as light as a feather. Or helium balloon. Whatever. Something that floats... Oooooh, A BUBBLE!
Anywho...
I'm smiling big.
I'm doing a weird kind of wiggly dance.
I'm peppy and a little turned on...
I just feel GOOD, you know?
And it's 'cause of this book. This book that made me laugh out loud, multiple times. No lie, I'd be chugging along, enjoy Ms. Blaine's personable and playful writing style, then bust out a laugh that shook the whole car (I was in the school pick-up line—I don't just randomly read in my car...usually). Or, I'd be quietly reading and worrying, then I’d *snicker* or *snort*, and inhale my tea in a distinctly unladylike fashion.
Sigh. Classy, I am not. Though, this book is. Well, as classy as a book with the word 'thundercunt' can be.
But I digress.
Hooker has so, so much going for it, not the least of which is Nate. Sexy, dimpled, suspender-wearing Nate, who stole my heart and verily melted my knickers right off. *Sigh* I love him. I love him HARD. FOR SO MANY REASONS. (I’d tell you, but I don’t want to share him. Find out for yourselves *sticks tongue out*).
I love Shayne, too, BTW. Not just because she's an awesome Aussie (like me!) but because she was a rambling hot mess (also like me), a bit of a pushover (yeah, me again), and the owner of a really big heart (heh, no comment). I related to her, a lot. Maybe too much, but I DGAF. She was ace.
And oh, speaking of Ace... The secondary characters in the book? BRILL. All of them (like say…a certain action star who needs a book, Brooke. NEEDS A BOOK). Shayne's fucking awesome best friends are, well, FUCKING AWESOME; they're the kind of friends you call 'hooker' and 'whore' with a boatload of affection, and the kind of women I'd happily call friend IRL.
All in all, if my Shayne-esque rambling/fangirling wasn't enough of a giveaway, I'd say this book is already of my 2016 favorites, and the perfect follow up to one of my 2015 faves, Licked. I might have looked at it a couple of times with a 'can my heart handle what’s coming' frown, but that's just another reason to love it. The feels, people. They’re all there, especially at the end... Check 'em out!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish my weird, wiggly dance and float away. At least until P. I. T. A. comes out.
~ Review by Beth
Dear Brooke Blaine: You had me at Star Wars underwear. Love Forever, Shelly.
Gads! I'm trying to focus through all the butterflies shimmying around in my tummy right now. I haven't been this crazy about a Ryan boy since Jake Ryan (16 Candles, anyone? No? Okay, on to the review...)
Shayne Callahan has made matchmaking her life's work. She's got a wall full of success stories, and yet her own heart lays unclaimed. She's smart and feisty and that unclaimed heart of hers is freaking enormous—she's just never found anyone brave enough to take it on.
Enter Nate Ryan. Nate matches Shayne blow for metaphorical blow. He can keep up with her sharp wit, her prickly denials, and—most importantly—the size of his heart matches perfectly to the size of her heart. They're perfect together.
Only, things are never quite as simple as they seem, right? The two are adorable together, but are they strong enough to endure the (sometimes outrageous) curveballs life throws at them?
This story is so fun! The magic of Licked is here, with the addition of celebrity sex scandals and nefarious bosses and all the crazy antics surrounding those things. It's a fun, engaging story—low on angst and heavy on humor and swoon. Basically, it's the perfect RomCom—with secondary characters that stole my heart and are demanding to be written. DEMANDING. Because if you've read it, you already know we need an Ace book.
The fact that I loved Ace almost as much as I loved Nate and Shayne should tell you something about how lovely the layers of this book are, and how captured my heart was by everything in it. The magic of this book isn't only in the romance, it's in the friendships—it's in the character arcs, and the wonderful conflict resolution. It all works and it leaves you feeling...good. Happy. Like you just gave your heart a little vacation.
If you're looking for something lighthearted, something that's going to tug your lips into a smile, occasionally a giggle, and leave you with a shitton of butterflies in your stomach, this is the book for you. It's adorable. Sweet. Funny. I loved everything—the pop culture references, the banter, the sparky sexual chemistry, and, my God, the ending that made me clutch my heart and gasp out loud, all because Nate Ryan knocks romantic gestures out of the park and my heart is lost to him forever.
Loved. L-O-V-E-D. And now impatiently toe-tapping for more...
~ Review by Shelly
You could say Brooke Blaine was a book-a-holic from the time she knew how to read; she used to tell her mother that curling up with one at 4 a.m. before elementary school was her 'quiet time.' Not much has changed except for the espresso I.V. pump she now carries around and the size of her onesie pajamas.
She is the author of Flash Point, a romantic suspense standalone, as well as the co-author of the erotic series, A Desperate Man, with Ella Frank. The latter has scarred her conservative southern family for life, bless their hearts. Her new romantic comedy series, L.A. Liaisons features Licked, available now, and Hooker, coming March 2016.
If you'd like to get in touch with her, she's easy to find - just keep an ear out for the Rick Astley ringtone that's dominated her cell phone for ten years.
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