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Hothead
by Stella Rhys
Series: Irresistible
Category: Contemporary Romance
Tags: Fake Relationship, Baseball, Favorites
Rating: ★★★★★
Amazon
One of the Best Fake Relationship Romance Books Ever Written!
OMG I loved this book so much. Like, loved, loved, loved it so much that I stayed up most of the night and then disappeared from my family the next day because I had to finish it.
I’m now a walking zombie Ms. Rhys!! But worth it. So completely worth it since I found another all-time favorite romance book.
I’ve been in a fake relationship trope mood lately so this one totally caught my eye after reading Bad Boss and loving it.
If you like this trope as much as me this book is one of the best hands down.
Drew Maddox is the best pitcher in baseball. He loves playing in NYC and never had to worry about being traded until the night his agent says that there have been ongoing discussions among management for the past year about possibly trading him given his volatile behavior.
This totally throws him off balance since he doesn’t want to leave his team, especially since they are poised to win the Series.
He’s desperate enough to be willing to do anything to improve his “hothead” image and it turns out that the tabloids give him the answer to his dilemma.
Evie is not at her best. Her fiancé (and best friend of seventeen years) recently up and left her but she’s dragged herself out of her pity party to attend a real party for her girlfriend.
Only once there she ends up drunk dialing and word vomiting to her ex which Drew interrupts, mortifying her and angering her in the process.
Their exchange is seriously one of the hottest meet cutes I’ve read.
Unbeknownst to them, they get photographed together with the tabloids running the story the next day that Drew and Evie are an item.
A girlfriend may just turn Drew’s reputation around and Evie is desperate enough to agree to the fake arrangement.
Do You Believe in Love?
One of the things I loved best about this story is the theme that Rhys explores: Can you trust love? Or more specifically, is love real?
For Drew, love doesn’t exist. His trust has been brutally tanked several times by those who supposedly loved him to the point that his default mode is to be anything but trusting.
He’s been shown time and time again that love is merely a smokescreen because in the end everyone is selfish.
“Whether they want to or not, everyone is going to wind up screwing you over at some point. It’s just prat of their survival instincts.”
Evie on the other hand, believes in love despite being knocked down a time or two herself.
Yes, it may hurt and people may have let her down, but she hasn’t let it break her.
“Love is worth the risk. Even if it doesn’t pan out, it turns you a little closer in the right direction. Every time.”
Rhys does such a fantastic job of weaving this theme throughout the story, letting you get to know each character and what makes them tick, but also showing you how their time together helps to rebuild their trust in love.
It’s so expertly done because of her great character development.
I seriously love Drew AND Evie and together they are one of my favorite couples.
Drew is hot because of his self-confidence and his witty banter. Plus, he is one of the best dirty talkers I’ve read. I mean the mouth on this guy- OMG! I loved it.
He’s confident without being arrogant and doesn’t stoop to the level of Evie’s ex when Mike tries to bait and taunt him.
He just lobs it right back at him, too cool to play games and it’s awesome.
Evie is the type of female character I adore. She’s also self-confident, extremely likeable and gives the best comebacks.
I love how she doesn’t react how Drew anticipates in the best of ways and he finds it so incredibly arousing.
She is such a strong woman and when push comes to shove, she calls Drew out on wanting all of her but not giving all of himself in return.
Early on you see her get over her ex but that plot line doesn’t overtake the story because he’s honestly not worth it.
You get just enough to see that she deserves more from a man and the rest of the story is about her and Drew getting to know each other and becoming much more than fake.
Seriously, the chemistry between these two was sizzling from the start and just builds and builds. If hot bedroom scenes are not your jam then this might not be for you because they were AMAZING. Just saying.
This was seriously the perfect romance for me. Two strong characters, a ton of heat and chemistry, a great storyline without needless drama, character and relationship development that was spot on and just an overall great read from start to finish, including a wonderful epilogue.
I think Stella Rhys has my number when it comes to romance books because I’ve loved all her books but this one is my most favorite and is now on my list of most favorite romance books of all time. Read it. You’ll thank me.
Do you have a favorite in this book series? Share in the comments below.
Related Book Reviews:
Book Lists With this Book:
- Best Romance Novels of All Time
- Dirty Talkers Who Have a Way With Words
- Best Fake Relationship Romance Books
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