Hello and welcome back, friends! I know it’s been more than a hot minute since my last blog post or review. I’m planning to share my next “tell-almost-all” with y’all soon for life & writing matters. But I’m excited to come back to one of my great loves, reading and sharing yet another book from a fellow Texan with Lone Star Literary Life! I’ll be honest, sports romance is not my preferred cup of tea (or coffee for that matter). I’ve never been drawn to athletes beyond high school, and even then the boys I liked tended to have other things going for them… like playing guitar, deadly combinations. But you know I’m always up for branching beyond my literary comfort zone. And I’m so glad I did with Amari Nylix’s The One Who Undid Me. Keep reading to hear more about my thoughts and don’t miss the giveaway linked below!
THE ONE WHO UNDID ME
AUSTIN HEAT: BOOK 1
By AMARI NYLIX
Contemporary Romance/ Comedy / Football
Publisher: Temair Media
Pages: 390
Publication Date: September 14, 2023
Rumor has it that Texas just got a little hotter! Fans of Tessa Bailey and K. Bromberg will fall for this sexy story of mistaken identity, electric attraction, and irresistible romance in the first installment of the addictive new series, Austin Heat.
Jake is desperate to rewrite his past with women and leave behind the media storm surrounding his off-the-field antics that cloud his potential. He’s done with the stream of models, actresses, and NFL cheerleaders that have warmed his bed since he made a name for himself as starting quarterback for the University of Texas. He desperately wants to meet a normal girl in his hometown of Austin.
After moving to Austin to be the hired girlfriend of one of her long-term escort clients, Rakell finds herself wishing she could live a normal life with an average guy. Turned off by the billionaire clients she’s been serving for the last five years, she longs to get out of the business and build a life where she doesn’t live in the shadows of her escort persona.
Their worlds collide and the spice is off the charts. “Pretty boy” Jake Skyler has met his match with saucy-mouthed, Rakell McCarthy. Both think they’ve fallen for an average person. Both are wrong! What happens when their physical connection explodes, their hearts take charge and the secrets they are concealing are revealed?
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Amari Nylix knows how to bring on the heat! The One Who Undid Me stars arrogantly handsome quarterback Jake and escort-turned-model Rakell, two lost souls searching for love and meaning in their high stakes, high pressure lives.
Jake has skated by through his NFL career with talent, charm, and a killer smile, but his playboy reputation has made him a liability. His coaches tell him to focus on the game and after his latest disaster of a relationship, Jake is inclined to agree. Off-season, Jake and his closest friends return to Austin, Texas and Jake confesses he genuinely wants more than to skate by in life and love. The last thing he expects is to discover the gorgeous Aussie transplant at his hometown gym. Only, Rakell isn’t charmed by his swagger or devastatingly good looks, and she doesn’t recognize him for the rising NFL star he aims to be. Will she ever give him the chance to know what’s beneath the surface, and more importantly, will she let him get close enough to know her?
Rakell left tragedy behind her in Australia and has been thriving as a top tier escort in Europe. But she’s weary of catering to the whims of the rich and powerful. She wants to put aside the Marietta persona she’s used to survive and relearn who Rakell is beneath the surface. Austin is her second chance to pursue her dreams of modeling and eventually acting. The last thing she can afford is to fall in love, but what can the harm be in humoring the hot guy from her gym? Only, Jake’s ability to completely disarm her defenses is troubling, and the heat he makes her feel even more dangerous. Will she take the risk of her second chance with a romance unlike anything she’s ever experienced?
Full disclosure, folks: this is a steamy novel. If you don’t like open door (and then some) scenes, and if you’re turned off by casual use of the f-word, please skip on over to the cozy book aisle. But if you’re like me and enjoy fabulously written smut with plenty of heart and complex backstory, this may be the perfect weekend read for you. I loved the depth of the characters, not only our sizzling leads, but their friends and family relationships as well. Besides Nylix’s gift for writing romance with heat, she’s also brilliant with giving all her characters layers and complex motivations. These feel like real folks you might have known (or at least heard of if you’re not knocking elbows with the upper crust). That said, I did struggle a bit with the writing style. It’s been a while since I’ve read interweaving third person, or with multiple characters POV in a scene. There were a couple of places where this was confusing, but my brain eventually settled into the rhythm of it, and the characters quickly carried me away.
If you love sports romance, hot and heavy steam, and characters that make you feel, dive into the first in Amari Nylix’s Austin Heat series today!
*** A copy of this novel was provided by the publisher . This is my honest and voluntary review. ***
MEET AMARI NYLIX
Amari Nylix (alter ego to author Tara Delaney) tells sordid stories revolving around tempestuous love affairs that are inspired by the secret liaisons of Old West villains, heroes, and the temptress women who lure those powerful men into their webs. Amari delights in sharing her torrid stories of heart-wrenching, epic love that begin with the desires of the flesh and evolve into affairs of the heart.
In the Austin Heatseries, Amari works closely with bestselling author of both non-fiction and fiction, Tara Delaney 😉. Tara has been a pediatric occupational therapist for more than thirty years and has extensive professional experience in sensory processing and nervous system development, while also having studied how early trauma impacts our responses as adults. Tara is responsible for trimming back Amari’s numerous spicy scenes, allowing room for all the FEELS.
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