4 STAR REVIEW: On the Ropes by Kathryn Nolan

 

Title: On the Ropes

Author: Kathryn Nolan

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2021

Cover Design: Kari March

Photography: (c) Regina Wamba

Summer in the city heats up when the girl who got away moves in next door.

Dean “The Machine” is a South Philly legend. Much to the dismay of fans who still hound him, the broody former fighter walked away from his boxing career right before clinching another championship belt. Tight-lipped on his reasons for retiring, he’s busy trying to figure out his future when the past literally falls in his lap.

Tabitha Tyler, the fiery redhead who captured his teenage heart, is back in town and staying next door. Only now the girl that got away is all grown up and offering him a strings-free, summer fling. Dean knows better than to start something that will leave him flat on his back and seeing stars.

But there’s only so much temptation a man can take.

Kept away by the secrets that tore her family apart, sparkly filmmaker Tabitha is home for the first time in nine years. And her old friend and new hunky neighbor is just the distraction she needs. It’s the perfect relationship for her – one with an expiration date.

She’s got two weeks to convince him to cave.

He’s got two weeks to convince her to stay.

But when she refuses to let down her guard, Dean realizes that this time…he just might get knocked out for good.

Author’s note: A smokin’ hot, friends-to-lovers, opposites-attract love story in a close-knit South Philly neighborhood with a quirky cast of nosy but well-intentioned neighbors.

My Review

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

Tabitha is content with her nomadic life, but she is starting to wonder if it is time to start putting down roots somewhere. Dean is an ex boxer, turned handyman, trying to figure out where he fits in in his South Philly neighborhood. When Tabitha becomes Dean's temporary neighbor, the two strike up an old friendship and become friends with benefits. They both agree that it's the perfect way to spend two weeks.

I absolutely loved Tabitha and Dean. Dean may have been a professional boxer, but he is a gentle guy with a heart of gold. He always had a crush on Tabitha so when they get together, he is nothing but an absolute teddy bear of a guy. Tabitha, being the free spirit that she is, was a wonderful counterpart to Dean's quietness and his hermit tendencies. 

I loved how South Philadelphia was essentially a character in this book. Kathryn really knows how to paint a picture with her words and although I have never been to South Philly, I had no problem imaging everything she described. I got a kick out of people sitting in their chairs on the sidewalk, feet in a kiddie pool, drinking beer and basically gossiping. Everyone was considered family and you know what means...everyone knows everyone else's business. But that also means that when you are in a jam, you have people to help you. The neighborhood was one big family and I can't really think of anything better. 

This is a sweet book with lots of heat, but also lots of heart. 

Kathryn Nolan is an adventurous hippie chick and loves to write steamy romance. Her books are filled with slow-burn sexual tension, memorable characters, tons of heart -- and are often set in wild and beautiful locations.

Kathryn started her writing career in elementary school, writing about Star Wars and Harry Potter and inventing love stories in her many journals. She blames her obsession with slow-burn on her similar obsession for The X-Files.

Kathryn is a wanderer at heart, and loves to spend her free time hiking, camping, and traveling in her camper van ("Van Morrison") with her cute, nerdy husband and Walter, their rescue pup. Kathryn is a Philly girl who just moved back home after spending more than 8 years living in Northern California -- and six months traveling across the country in her camper van.

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RELEASE BLITZ: On the Ropes by Kathryn Nolan

Title: On the Ropes

Author: Kathryn Nolan

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2021

Cover Design: Kari March

Photography: (c) Regina Wamba

"Oh, my, my, my. I just read a very sweet hug of words, emotion and kindness. Dean the Machine and Tabitha Tyler are adorable." ` Pineapples and Coffee Book Reviews

“What an absolute feel good read! I smiled throughout this entire book!!! Low in drama and high in love.” ~ Goodreads Review (Jessi)

Summer in the city heats up when the girl who got away moves in next door.

Dean “The Machine” is a South Philly legend. Much to the dismay of fans who still hound him, the broody former fighter walked away from his boxing career right before clinching another championship belt. Tight-lipped on his reasons for retiring, he’s busy trying to figure out his future when the past literally falls in his lap.

Tabitha Tyler, the fiery redhead who captured his teenage heart, is back in town and staying next door. Only now the girl that got away is all grown up and offering him a strings-free, summer fling. Dean knows better than to start something that will leave him flat on his back and seeing stars.

But there’s only so much temptation a man can take.

Kept away by the secrets that tore her family apart, sparkly filmmaker Tabitha is home for the first time in nine years. And her old friend and new hunky neighbor is just the distraction she needs. It’s the perfect relationship for her – one with an expiration date.

She’s got two weeks to convince him to cave.

He’s got two weeks to convince her to stay.

But when she refuses to let down her guard, Dean realizes that this time…he just might get knocked out for good.

Author’s note: A smokin’ hot, friends-to-lovers, opposites-attract love story in a close-knit South Philly neighborhood with a quirky cast of nosy but well-intentioned neighbors.

When I was eighteen years old, I took a surprise right hook to the jaw during an amateur match that sent me sprawling to the ground. Every boxer takes a bad one early in their career and learns something from it. I learned that I didn’t like having my head snapped back without warning.

But before that hook? I didn’t think you could take a punch that had you seeing stars.

That one made me a believer. I laid flat on my back that night in a world of pain, and the entire solar system spun around my face.

Tabitha Tyler falling into my lap at Benny’s Bar had me believing again.

One minute I was studying the screen, pissed off at the loud guy next to me. The next? A gorgeous redhead toppled into my arms. And even though I hadn’t seen her in years, the very second she aimed that shiny smile my way, I was nothing but a dazed teenager again.

“Of all the laps in this damn city, I had to fall into yours,” she said in her low, melodic voice.

I blinked at her. Blinked again. My mouth went dry as a desert. My body shivered with jittery nerves. I didn’t want to stare, could only take in quick glimpses of her—pale skin, freckles and delicate tattoos, dark red hair, those big brown eyes.

“Tabitha?” My voice came out strangled, like she was an illusion I couldn’t trust.

She winked at me. Tabitha Tyler, former head cheerleader and popular senior girl, the source of my long, hopeless crush, winked at me.

Stars exploded across my eyes. So did the planets, the moon, the sun. I wasn’t prepared to take a hit like this. Could only try not to let my jaw hang open at the shock.

“The one and only,” she said, still smiling. “Nice to see ya, Dean Knox-Morelli.” Her body shifted in my lap, wiggled around, and I learned the true meaning of the word willpower. “Although word on the street is you go by Dean the Machine now, and I have to say, that nickname is awesome. Is that what I should call you? Or something more formal like Mr. Machine?”

I was speechless.

“So…Mr. Machine it is, then?” She brushed her hair over her shoulder. I did not stare at the curve of her throat. “I like it. It’s formal. Respectful. Commands a certain amount of authority. Though I’ve known you for, like, a million years so maybe it’s a little weird. But this is South Philly. Who haven’t we known for our entire lives?”

An embarrassing memory floated up—a dozen exchanges like this one, in school hallways or walking down the street or after the support group we’d attended together. Tabitha talking to me as if she had no idea who she was—and no understanding of how I wasn’t deserving.

“Hi,” I managed to say. It was the one word I could rescue from the chaos of my thoughts.

She bit her lip, looking almost shy for a second. “Hi.”

A beat of silence passed between us. One where the door of a bizarre reality opened and I was just a regular guy at the local bar, sitting with his very pretty girlfriend in his lap. A girlfriend with bare skin warm against mine, the tips of my fingers grazing the top of her thigh, her smell of sweet oranges all around us.

“Not that I don’t appreciate you catching me, but uh…you can…you know…” Her eyebrow was lifted, teasing, and then her fingers pressed against my arms. The arms locked tight around her waist.

I cleared my throat and quickly released her. “I’m…so sorry. I don’t—”

She slid easily from my legs to the chair right next to me, her bare knees pressed against me in the crowded space. “One of my dreams has always been to fall into the lap of a famous athlete. I should be thanking you for making a girl’s dream come true.”

The solar system drifted across my face again. I felt like a fried circuit breaker.

Kathryn Nolan is an adventurous hippie chick and loves to write steamy romance. Her books are filled with slow-burn sexual tension, memorable characters, tons of heart -- and are often set in wild and beautiful locations.

Kathryn started her writing career in elementary school, writing about Star Wars and Harry Potter and inventing love stories in her many journals. She blames her obsession with slow-burn on her similar obsession for The X-Files.

Kathryn is a wanderer at heart, and loves to spend her free time hiking, camping, and traveling in her camper van ("Van Morrison") with her cute, nerdy husband and Walter, their rescue pup. Kathryn is a Philly girl who just moved back home after spending more than 8 years living in Northern California -- and six months traveling across the country in her camper van.

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4 Star Review: Out of the Blue by Kathryn Nolan

Title: Out of the Blue

Author: Kathryn Nolan

Genre: Second Chance Bodyguard Romance

Release Date: May 14, 2021

There was no way I could protect her and my heart at the same time.

Cope McDaniels is known for two things: His cocky charm and his sterling reputation for keeping high-profile clients safe. Until a security job goes bad, and he suddenly finds his career on thin ice. Cope’s newest assignment comes with serious consequences - he’ll keep his job as long as he makes no mistakes.

Cope isn’t worried…until his new client turns out to be a beautiful blast from his past.

Big wave surfer Serena Swift loves the adrenaline of her sport. And the elite athlete hates being told what to do. That goes double when the orders are coming from the sexy bodyguard-in-a-suit who broke her heart.

But she doesn’t have a choice when a mysterious threat materializes and Serena’s sponsor saddles her with the last man she’d want guarding her body. She’d rather focus on her next surf competition, not on some shadowy danger or the arrogant ex who dared to get even hotter since their breakup.

Cope can’t stop butting heads with his new client. Just like old times, Serena refuses to play it safe, even when it’s clear she’s in peril. Now the intimacy of spending every second of the day by her side is wearing away at his self-control. He can’t afford to lose focus, but everything about the woman is a constant distraction.

Including the fact that their divorce was never finalized…

Author’s Note: One-click this scorching-hot bodyguard romance if you’re a fan of second-chance angst, sizzling sexual tension, thrilling action and mysterious danger set on the warm, sunny beaches of San Diego.

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My Review

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

I love when an author does something that other authors are not doing. And Kathryn does two things in this book: 1. this book takes places in the surfing world and 2. it's a bodyguard romance!! Off the top of my head I can think of any bodyguard romances I have read (I'm sure I have), but this is one that is on steroids because the bodyguard is HER HUSBAND.

Yes, Cope and Serena might be estranged, but there is no lack of chemistry between these two. Whew! They clearly have A LOT of unresolved feelings and I really wasn't sure how they were going to coexist. I really enjoy when characters try to put off the inevitable and while these two did their best, there was no way they weren't going to give in to their feelings. 

And don't even get me started on how protecting Serena is Cope's job, but then add in that he is still head over heels in love with her....AMAZING. Should he have stepped away from the job because of it? Probably. But he doesn't and eventually pays the price for that misstep. 

I loved that Serena was a surfer! The extent of my knowledge on surfing is solely based on the movie "Blue Crush", which is another way to saw I know pretty much nothing about it. I found the scenes where Serena was out on the water quite fascinating so if you enjoy that movie, this might be the book for you!

Kathryn Nolan is an adventurous hippie chick and loves to write steamy romance. Her books are filled with slow-burn sexual tension, memorable characters, tons of heart -- and are often set in wild and beautiful locations.

Kathryn started her writing career in elementary school, writing about Star Wars and Harry Potter and inventing love stories in her many journals. She blames her obsession with slow-burn on her similar obsession for The X-Files.

Kathryn is a wanderer at heart, and loves to spend her free time hiking, camping, and traveling in her camper van ("Van Morrison") with her cute, nerdy husband and Walter, their rescue pup. Kathryn is a Philly girl who just moved back home after spending more than 8 years living in Northern California -- and six months traveling across the country in her camper van.

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