Monday, December 15, 2014

The Hook Up (Game On #1) by Kristen Callihan

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The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone, and above all… No falling in love.

Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy right?

Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule…

Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships, and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humor and blatant disregard for his fame turns him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she's shut him down. Completely.

That is until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It's a good thing Drew knows all about winning.

All’s fair in love and football…Game on.

New Adult/Contemporary Romance with a HEA - Recommended for readers 17 and older.


Look at this cover and you'll know immediately why I was encouraged to read this. If you're wanting a sizzling hot read, look no further because The Hook Up will have you squealing and biting down on your knuckles.

Anna and Drew first run into each other in their Philosophy class. They’re complete strangers who take no note of each other until Anna speaks and then Drew is mesmerized. Their physical attraction is instantaneous. Hell, by the time the prologue was done, I was mesmerized! Callihan doesn’t waste any time when it comes down to the action. Honestly, some of the scenes were so freaking hot, like your ereader could short-circuit and it's hard to contain yourself, they're so unbelievably hot!

These two kind of start their unconventional relationship backwards. It’s totally physical at first but then as much as Anna tries to maintain some control to keep it as just that, there’s no escaping Drew's charisma. And Drew is turned upside down by this girl who wants absolutely nothing to do with him or his celebrity status. Being with her is most certainly not some challenge for him to win. He genuinely wants to get to know who Anna is behind all that armor. So being “magic-time buddies” is not going to suffice for him. Now he just has to convince her.

It’s interesting how Drew is the one who is open to their possibility as a couple whereas Anna is the hold out. Her main hesitation is being in Drew’s spotlight. She prefers to fly under the radar. Being his girlfriend would mean being helpless to constant and invasive scrutiny, a terrifying thought that opens up old wounds for her. She doesn’t give in to Drew easily but he chips away at her skepticism slowly. There are many hurdles they have to jump over. When it seems that one success is gained, another event comes along to test them. Watching their friendship mature from where they began is truly a delightful thing to witness. And it’s smokin' all the way!

The Hook Up surprised me. It came as a recommendation promising passion and intensity. I definitely got that. I was quite fervent about getting back to it any time I was away from it. What I did not expect was the depth of the characters including the supporting players. As their story continued, I got to see Anna and Drew more than just what they had appeared to be at the beginning. Their problems aren’t resolved easily when a monumental event occurs that throws them off and makes them question everything. By the time I got to the end of the book, so much had transpired between them. 

Callihan has started a very impressive and exhilarating series that I’m very eager to read more of. And I'd like to thank her for rekindling my love of Siouxie and The Banshees. (You'll get it when you read it.) The second book, The Friend Zone featuring Drew’s teammate Gray, comes out in 2015. In the meantime, Anna and Drew have something that I just can’t get enough of so I’ll make do with re-reading The Hook Up just to placate myself. If you haven't gotten the hint yet, YES, you must read it!

~ Bel 


Kristen Callihan also pens the wildly successful Darkest London series, Firelight being the first. Connect with her: 


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