RELEASE BLITZ & 5 STAR REVIEW: Matters of the Hart (Hart #3) by M.E. Carter

Title: Matters of the Hart
A Hart Series Standalone

Author: M.E. Carter

Genre: Sports Romance

Release Date: March 22, 2018

Blurb

In an instant he became her hero. Then he became her lover and her friend.

My name is Jaxon Hart.

You watched me grow up. You watched me fight for my life. Now, I’m fighting for hers.

From the second I laid eyes on Annika Leander, I wanted to help her. Protect her. Vindicate her. But she’s got baggage to get through. Hell, we both do.

A funny thing happens, though, when you finally connect with someone in a different way than you ever have before. The baggage doesn’t seem so heavy.

I suppose that’s really the only thing that matters when the heart gets involved.

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My Review

I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.

Let me just say this: Jaxon Hart is a prince among men. But Jason Hart did raise him, so duh. That's just a no brainer. 

Jaxon is now in college and forging his own path to success. Everything is going great and then one night he meets Annika. Actually saying he "meets" Annika feels weird. He doesn't meet her. He saves her. Their meeting may be under the worst possible circumstances, but those circumstances allow the two of them to form a bond that is so vital to the story.

I loved Jaxon and Annika so much! I will admit that I was a little wary of how their relationship started, but it didn't take me long to get on board. They just understood each other. More than once Annika mentions how Jaxon represented safety to her and that was so important. These two fall for each other and they fall fast, but they also take it slow because that is what needs to happen. 

While this story is about Annika and Jaxon, it is also about a topic that is so relevant to today. It gave way to a very emotional read and more than once I found myself tearing up. There is a note at the end of the book that explains where this story came from and how recent events may or may not have played a part. There are also details in the book that let you know the author made sure to do her research. 

If you love the Hart family like I do, this book is a must read. If you are new to the Hart family, this is a good place to start. Either way just read the book!

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Author Bio

Mother, reader, storyteller—ME Carter never set out to write books. But when a friend practically forced a copy of Twilight into her hands, the love of the written word she had lost as a child was rekindled. With a story always rolling around in her head, it should come as no surprise that she finally started putting them on paper. She lives in Texas with her four children, Mary, Elizabeth, Carter and Bug, who sadly was born long after her pen name was created, and will probably need extensive therapy because of it.

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Review: Change of Hart (Hart #1) by M.E. Carter

Synopsis 

My name is Jason Hart. 

As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep and breathe football. And I like it that way. I’ve only got a few more years before I’ll have to retire, so expending energy on anything other than football seems like a waste of time.

That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy who just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother.

I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn’t ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better, in spite of all her rejections.

Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?

My Review

I have always been a reader, but I found myself sticking to a small group of authors that I really enjoyed. Over the last year or so I expanded my horizons and took some chances on new authors. For me, it's all about the synopsis. If it grabs my attention, I will read it. I've been lucky that most of the new authors I have discovered have been great and this book is a great example of that.  

When I read the synopsis for "Change of Hart" I immediately thought, "Yeah, I am going to like this book." I love sports. Can't play them to save my life, but I love watching them. Plus, athletes are just the sexiest thing ever, so of course I am going to enjoy books that have sports has a backdrop.  

I can't recommend this book enough. If you like sports romance novels, this is a MUST READ. So much about this book just felt real (see excerpt below). And that is what I liked most about this book. Yes, Jason is a famous football player, but from the very beginning I could tell that he wasn't the stereotypical, conceited jock. I do get a little bored with the whole "I know he seems like an ass, but deep down he is a great guy!" story line. From the very first pages of the book we know that Jason is a good guy, with good intentions and as a reader I appreciated that.  

Jason plays for the Dallas Cowboys and he is making an appearance at a local school. He makes it very clear from the beginning that he is not there for publicity's sake, but because he wants to be there.  While he is at the school, he has a very memorable interaction with Jaxon. I don't want to say too much about their first meeting, but I will say that I loved this kid the moment I met him. He's so adorable and is so excited that Jason is at his school...I even got a little emotional. 

Jason feels a bit of a kinship with Jaxon and the two form a special bond. He invites Jaxon to get a tour of the football stadium and it is there where me meets Jaxon's mom, Addison. Jason is immediately attracted to her, but knows that she is still mourning her husband. The two form a friendship that Jason hopes will eventually turn into more. I liked that fact that Jason was more than willing to spend time with Jaxon, even without Addison. It just stressed the fact that this all started because he wanted to be a presence in Jaxon's life, with or without Addison. 

I really liked Addison. She is a wonderful, single mom trying to move on after her husband's death and is wary to start a relationship with Jason, but the reasons for her wariness aren't what one would think. Thankfully Addison does eventually give Jason a chance and these two are just the cutest. The excerpt below is exactly why I love these two. This seems like a conversation that two people would actually have, one that I could see myself having. 

“You’re worried about your body not being perfect, right?” I asked her, unbuttoning my shirt and cufflinks. She bit her bottom lip and nodded, blushing slightly. I lost the shirt and yanked my undershirt over my head. 

“Look at me,” I said. She looked right in my eyes. I smiled. “Not my eyes, babe. Look at my body.” 

She smirked as her gaze ran down my chest to my stomach and everything in between 

“What do you see?” I asked her.

“Um . . . I see a really sexy man,” she said, looking back in my eyes.

“Uh huh . . . but what about me is sexy?” I asked, trying to make a point.

“Your arms really turn me on,” she admitted. “And your shoulders. And probably your back even though I haven’t seen it yet.”

I smiled at that. “But do you see any washboard abs like those male models have?”

She looked at my stomach but didn’t say anything.

“Do you see that ‘V’ that women talk about? You know . . . the one on a guy’s hips that supposedly point to the goods?”

She cracked a smile but didn’t say anything.

“I don’t have any of that. My body isn’t made that way. I work out every single day and I’m probably stronger than most of the guys in those pictures. But my body isn’t built to look like that,” I said. “I’m more like . . . a square. Like Spongebob Squarepants.”

A smile crossed her lips. “You’re sexy to me,” she said shyly.

I nodded. “Exactly.” I walked toward her and cupped her face in my hands. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. Just knowing you are standing here in my bedroom is the biggest turn-on.” 

She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed me. I put one hand on the back of her neck to pull her mouth closer to mine and used the other to find the zipper on the back of her dress and pull it down. When my hands pulled the dress forward so it could fall off of her onto the floor, I finally broke away from the kiss to have my first look at this beautiful woman’s body.

It was not what I expected.

“What the hell is that?” I asked, looking down and around her.

She giggled. “It’s my Spanx. It uh . . . smoothed out all my bumps since the dress was so fitted.”   

Like I said earlier, I can't recommend this book enough. You can't help but want these two to make things works. Of course there is some drama in this book, but I liked the way the author handled it. I hope the author plans on writing more books...I know I will be ready to read them!  

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00QZKEYSI