Virgin Territory Blog Tour

Practice Makes Perfect

Patrick “Patch” Donnelly has what it takes to be the best goalie in the NHL…if only he could learn to control his temper. When Coach orders him to get his head in the game with private yoga classes, Patch isn’t having it. There’s no way this tough Boston guy would be caught dead downward dog-ing his way to inner peace. But if he refuses, he risks his starting position and the dream he sacrificed everything for, including joining the priesthood.

Yoga instructor Margot Kowalski is over men. After yet another toxic relationship, she’s eager to forget love and focus on growing her business. Doing the Hellions head coach a favor by helping out a troubled player can’t hurt, and it might give her career a high-profile boost. But free-spirited Margot is soon charming the pants off Patch. Literally. Her sassy combination of sweet and sexy proves irresistible to the goalie. Before Patch can give into temptation though, he’ll have to confess his biggest secret:

He’s a virgin.

But Patch is hiding more than sexual inexperience, and his dark past soon threatens to destroy his shot at true love.

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In Lia Riley's exciting third Hellion's Angels book she takes on sexuality and and turns her nose up at the stereotypes which we've sadly become accustom to. Margot is a yoga instructor whose greatest ambition is to open her own business and she's been working diligently to bring this to fruition. When her best friend Breezy (yes, that Breezy from Mr. Hockey) suggests that she would be the right person to help angst-ridden Hellions goalie, Patrick aka "Patch", with his anger issues, she cynically agrees to it. Learning all about proper breathing techniques and relaxation exercises to help him manage his anger sounds a bit hokey to Patch but he's willing to try because he loves being a goalie and he's intrigued by Margot. He carries a big secret: that he's uncomfortable around women and has never done the deed. He can thank a difficult childhood for his mixed up feelings about sex. Being around Margot who is so happy with who she is, and confident and unashamed of her experience, offers him a healthy perspective on it. And now he's open to discovering all that he's missed.

You all, I love this story so so much! Virgin Territory is a definite response to the current social climate and a powerful nod to women everywhere that it's okay to be sexual, enjoy sex and to not be shamed into feeling otherwise. And whether or not one is sexually active, everyone deserves love. Patch never delivers judgment about her past. I have to tell you that one, it's refreshing to read a heroine who has a history and two, that the guy doesn't even blink. 

So, thank you, Lia Riley for Virgin Territory. It's witty, sexy, and challenges the status quo. I love it!

~ Bel

+ + + Excerpt + + +

From Virgin Territory by Lia Riley

Margot stood on tiptoe, both hands clutching the front of his t-shirt, and kissed him full on the mouth. Their ragged breaths mingled a moment. He tasted the brown sugar in her lipgloss before she broke free, pressing a quick second kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Go to bed,” she whispered, clearing her throat and stepping back. “And have a great game tomorrow.”

It took every last shred of Patch’s willpower not to close the space again, to consume her. “There’s something else you should know.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m not going to get a lick of sleep if you leave.”

“If I stay, you won’t sleep either,” she shot back, shrugging into her jacket.

“I’ll take those odds.”

She shook her head slowly as if with reluctance. “I’ve got to fold. “Goodnight.”

He took her hand and held it between his own. Her skin was cooler than his. He didn’t like that. He wanted to tuck her against him, warm her up. “Do me a favor and call when you get home. I want to know you got back safe, especially driving on that spare.”

“It’s been a long time since anyone has cared if I got home,” she said with a smile. “Careful, you might be turning into a gentleman.”

“Don’t get carried away. The things that I want to do to you are far from gentlemanly,” he said in a husky tone.

She rocked her head back and unleashed a frustrated moan. “Quit leading me into temptation. I’m trying to respect your virtue here.”

“My virtue can take a long jump off a short fucking bridge.”

“That might be. But . . .if we end up taking that jump. I want it to be special. That’s important. I want you to feel special.”

Blood rushed to his ears. “Funny, I feel the same way about you.”

“Then we’re in agreement and I’m leaving.” A wicked gleam entered her gaze. “But while you wait for my call, slip into something more comfortable.”

“Like?”

“Nothing at all.”

She blew a kiss, pirouetted, and was gone.

From VIRGIN TERRITORY.  Used with permission of Avon Impulse. Copyright © 2018 by Lia Riley.

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To celebrate the release of VIRGIN TERRITORY, we’re giving away five paperback copies of HEAD COACH by Lia Riley!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Open to US shipping addresses only. Five winners will each receive a paperback copy of Head Coach by Lia Riley.  This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance.  Giveaway ends 3/18/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address.  Duplicates will be deleted.  CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

+ + + About Lia Riley + + +

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

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This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

Head Coach (Hellions Angels #2) by Lia Riley

* * * 3/4

Neve Angel’s life is all work and no play, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. One of Denver’s top sports reporters, she's fought hard to make it in a male-dominated world, and she won’t back down from a fight with anyone–not even the Hellions’ gruff head coach, Tor Gunnar. Her hostile relationship with the icy Scandinavian is the stuff of local legend.

Tor Gunnar hates dealing with the media; at best, they are a nuisance and at worst, a distraction. And no one distracts him more than the scrappy, sexy reporter who gets him hot under the collar. When he wins a not-so-friendly bet with Neve, he decides it’s high time they either kiss or kill each other, and invites her as a date to an out-of-town wedding.

But what happens when enemies become lovers? Will they be able to smother their sizzling attraction, or is it time to start playing for keeps?

Source: advance e-galley provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review


If ever anyone needs to get me in a good mood, just hand me a Lia Riley book, any one of them because that'll do the trick. Revisiting the Hellions Hockey World was such a joy for me because Riley always mixes humour with the serious.

Tor is the Hellions head coach who's facing a tough season without his ace player (Jed West from Mister Hockey) and it's only gotten more stressful with the lockout. Everyone wants a piece of him or the latest scoop from him and none more so than Neve Angel, a reporter who seems to be more of a pain in his backside than anything. They've had an adversarial relationship for as long as they can remember that they both seem to hate and love. Hate because Neve pushes his buttons. Love because Neve pushes his buttons unlike any other woman in a freaking long time. And Neve is equally as affected by their frequent jabs at each other.  With hockey on hold that buffer that was between them has been removed. It just so happens that Tor's still tight with Jed who's girlfriend is Breezy Angel, Neve's sister. So when they wind up at a bar together one night and agree to a bet that she loses (to be his date for a weekend at his ex-wife's wedding), you know what that means. TROUBLE. Now all that underlying attraction that's been brewing will finally erupt. 

I enjoy these enemies-to-lovers stories because it's always fun to see who gets to whom first and how they respond. Additionally, with both of them being in the same business but on different sides of it makes things tricky for them. Getting involved with a coach could ruin her credibility as a journalist. As a coach, dating a journalist would be a huge conflict of interest for Tor. What keeps it all moving is Riley's effortless wording and humour. I just like how she gets creative with her descriptions. And oh my goodness, I died laughing through all the puns because who doesn't love puns? Especially when it involves a moose. 

The only thing that was off to me was how quickly a resolution presented itself because I don't think I got an inkling of it at any point as a possibility. It is also entirely possible that I might have even missed it if it was mentioned earlier but that's minor in comparison to the fun, sweet, sassy and sexy story that Head Coach is. If you're looking for something featuring two people who seem to barely stand each other but secretly want to jump each other's bones, you must read Head Coach! 

~ Bel

Mister Hockey (Hellions Angels #1) by Lia Riley

* * * 3/4

Her biggest fantasy is about to become a reality. . .

Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The captain of the NHL’s latest winning team, the Denver Hellions–and the hottest player on the ice—at least according to every magazine. .and Breezy Angel. Breezy has been drooling over Jed at games for years, and he plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right?

Then Jed saunters through the doors of her library, a last minute special guest for a summer reading event, and not only is he drop dead gorgeous up close, his personality is straight up swoon-worthy. He even comes to the rescue when she has an R-rated “Super Book Worm” costume malfunction. But when he mistakenly assumes she’s more into books than pucks, she’s too flustered to correct his mistake. And then comes a big kiss, followed by a teensy-tiny problem. Jed’s dating policy is simple: Never date a fan.

So what’s a fangirl going to have to do to convince her ultimate crush that he’s become less of a perfect fantasy, and more like the perfect man. . .for her? 

Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Yowza!! Have the cover gods smiled upon Lia Riley! You're forgiven if you get lost in Mister Hockey's intense gaze and take a while to open the book. I stared and I may have sighed. Okay, I DID sigh. Can you blame a girl?

I've read so many sports romances lately, particularly hockey ones that I wondered what would be different about Mister Hockey. It seems that most of the male athletes tend to be categorized as egocentric, players, arrogant, while the women despite themselves fall helplessly for that. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy reading them all, especially how these athletes grow and become more evolved, but I take particular delight when I read about one that goes against the grain. Jed is that kind of athlete. I don't take him for a saint but he's a decent guy with strong principles and who's currently at a crossroads in his career. Jed's being interviewed for a podcast by an incredibly smart and assertive reporter when she out of the blue asks a huge favour of him. The reporter's sister who is a librarian needs someone from his Hellions organization to fill in as a guest reader at her library because their coach couldn't make it. No big deal, he can step in to save the day for a group of young kids. When he arrives he comes face-to-face with the most stunning woman he has ever seen - Breezy. He assumes that she's not a hockey fan hence, doesn't know who he is. Bonus points! If he peeked inside her office though he'd realize he's mistaken. Not only does she love the sport, she's his biggest fan with all the memorabilia to prove it. Breezy can't believe that she's standing in front of the man who has had a starring role in all her fantasies. So like most women when in this situation she's flustered. Worse yet, a horrifyingly embarrassing wardrobe malfunction has Jed covering for her - literally. Once again, we are all Breezy when she hastily leaves the library running to the sanctuary of her home. Bat wait! In her haste she's run off with his car keys which Jed shows up later to retrieve. One thing leads to another ... and with all the sexy vibes and googly eyes ... you can imagine what happens next.

It's an unusual set-up but it's entertaining. Jed and Breezy get on amazingly. The only thing that could ruin this is that they're both hiding secrets. Well actually, it's just Breezy who still hasn't come clean that she's his number one fangirl. While she's debating when to tell him the truth, Jed's facing his own dilemma regarding his health and next career move. What they do have in common, and what I sympathized with, is the entire sibling-comparison thing. Breezy gets on well with her sister but it's their mother who is constantly comparing the two sisters and pointing out Breezy's "lack of". She thinks she lacks ambition or wonders if Jed can really be attracted to Breezy when her sister is the more slender, conventional beauty. Breezy is a strong woman but it still hurts to hear a mother knock her body image. And Jed has always felt he's been in his brother's shadow and is still reconciling his success with his brother's reality. 

I thought Mister Hockey was a sweet whirlwind romance with both Jed and Breezy being a fun pair. I ate it up and finished it within a day. I know I'm repeating myself when I say how I honestly enjoyed that Jed was a more down-to-earth kind of guy than an Adonis-like pro with a wild past. Breezy, who's simply too adorable and open-hearted, is also rather silly at times which makes me want to be besties with her. Jed and Breezy together make me smile and I hope they do the same or you.

~ Bel