Naomi's Reading Palace: Park Avenue Player by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland ~ Review & Teaser (@ViKeeland, @PenelopeAuthor)

I'm on a bit of a Ward & Keeland roll at the moment, and grabbing a lot of their reads while they are on Kindle Unlimited. This was another fun read that I devoured quickly. Elodie and Hollis were total opposites, but when they were together there were sparks everywhere!

Title: Park Avenue Player

Author: Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: September 22nd 2019

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

From New York Times bestselling authors Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland comes a new standalone novel.

It started out like any normal day.

Then the fender bender happened.

The guy I collided with drove an expensive car and was drop-dead gorgeous. Too bad he was also a total jerk. We argued over whose fault it was and any other thing that came out of his condescending mouth.

Eventually, the police came and we went our separate ways. The insurance companies would have to figure things out. I had a job interview to get to anyway--one I was excited about.

Though that excitement changed to disappointment the moment the person interviewing me walked in. The guy from the accident.

Whoops!

Yeah, so I didn't get the position.

The problem was, I really wanted it. No, I needed it. Anything to get me out of my current career and back into working with kids.

So, even though Hollis LaCroix was as intimidating as he was devastatingly handsome, I went back to see him and begged for a chance.

To my surprise, he gave me a shot taking care of his troubled niece.

At least my attraction to him wouldn't be able to go anywhere. I wasn't about to jeopardize my job or the strong bond Hailey and I formed.

But resisting the magnetic pull between us wasn't that simple. (Then there was our little underwear game--don't ask.)

We continued to flirt without crossing the line--until it finally happened.

This is the part of the story where we fall in love and live happily ever after, right?

Well, life has a way of throwing some major curveballs.

Ours was one I didn't see coming.

As always from this writing duo, I expected this story to start with a bang, and Park Avenue Player certainly started that way! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these characters and seeing the way they disliked each other to begin with, made me laugh! Elodie was a determined woman to make a better life for herself, and was not willing to give up her dream job easily.

The connection between Elodie and Hollis built slowly and it was sweet to see Elodie build that connection with Hollis' niece Kelsey. They had their own kind of friendship and it was good to see Kelsey get that womanly touch that she desperately needed.

I was so happy that Hollis decided to give Elodie a second chance, as it allowed them to work on the mixed feelings they had for one another. Hollis was such a take charge man and it was good to see that Elodie was able to have that kind of influence on him that would sway him to make the right decisions when it came to Kelsey.

The cat and mouse game between these two was laugh out loud funny... there was a panty incident or two that cracked me up, but Hollis was determined to keep Elodie away. My heart ached for her, but she wasn't going to give up without a fight!

I enjoyed how this story unfolded and the way Elodie and Hollis both fell for one another. They all built a connection, especially Elodie and Kelsey which helped to cement the relationship between Elodie and Hollis. I enjoyed the way the authors wove this story and created a situation that would pull on every mother's heart. Ward & Keeland sure know how to pull a reader into a world that we don't want to leave!

The chemistry was at boiling point between Hollis and Elodie, and I loved this moment between them!

“Let’s see. What do I owe you an apology for? Jerking off to your panties? Or maybe coming so hard in the shower to visions of your face that I can barely see straight afterward? Or could it be wanting to beat the crap out of every asshole guy named Benito in the city of New York? Which is it, Elodie? Will one big, fat apology do?”
There had been very few times in my life that I’d been left speechless, but right now I had no idea how to respond. My jaw hung open, and my heart felt like it might come through the wall of my chest.
Hollis’s eyes dipped to my lips, and I felt my knees go weak. He growled. “Fuck this.”
Before I could register what was happening, he wrapped his big hands around my face, tilted my head, and planted his lips over mine. It took a few heartbeats for the shock to wear off. But when it did, all hell broke loose.

Kindle Loc 2485

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!