In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Final Score, opposites attract when a figure skater and hockey player lace up their skates–and go for the gold…
Will “Mad Dog” Madigan is making his second trip to the Winter Olympics, and he couldn’t be happier. Hockey is his life and playing for the U.S. team is a privilege. Then he meets U.S. figure skater Amber Sloane. She’s beautiful, ambitious and driven–everything Will desires in a woman. He would love to show Amber how hot life off the ice can be.
Amber has skated her entire life, sacrificing everything in the hopes of one day winning gold. Now she’s competing for the third and final time. She intends to win, and nothing’s going to get in her way–until she meets Will. He’s an irresistible charmer, and before long Amber is wondering if this sexy hockey player is the perfect guy to show her some moves outside the rink.
But after all the medals have been awarded, Will and Amber will have to decide if what they have together is just a fling or a real shot at true love.
BOOK DESCRIPTION COURTESY OF AMAZON
I was given a copy by Netgalley for an honest review.
Another great addition to the Play-by-Play series. The characters and storyline is very well-developed. Amber is back to win the gold in figure skating at the Winter Olympics. Will is back to help team USA win the gold in hockey. They are introduced to each other by Ambers teammate Lisa. They are instantly attracted to each other. Amber usually keeps to herself and focuses on her skating, but this time she is ready to have some fun. She goes to parties with Will and Lisa as long as it doesn’t interfere with her practice and winning the Gold. I really enjoyed this book and the chemistry between these two characters. I love Jaci Burton’s writing and have not been disappointed with a story yet. The story line and characters are always well-developed. I give Shot on Gold (A Play-by-Play Novel) 5/5 stars.
SHOT ON GOLD by Jaci Burton
Excerpt
“Yeah? What are your cravings?”
“Hmm, let’s see. Thick crust pizza with sausage and extra cheese. Lasagna. Chocolate chip cookies. Brownies. Oh, and cheeseburgers. I really love cheeseburgers. With onion rings.”
He laughed. “That’s a damn fine menu, Amber. Surely you can have some of those things at least once a week, right?”
“I get healthy proteins, like lean chicken and fish. Only when I finish a competition am I allowed to indulge.”
“Allowed? Come on, honey, you’re a grown-ass woman. You can make your own decisions.”
She looked down at her ice cream, suddenly losing her appetite for its creamy sinfulness. She pushed it aside. “I do make my own decisions. Like now. I’m full.”
Will looked over at her cup. “You barely ate two bites.”
“It doesn’t take much to fill me up.” Which was her mother’s mantra.
Eat half of what’s on your plate, Amber. You’re thin anyway, so you don’t need a lot of food.
Except she was always hungry, and drinking more water never filled her up.
“Yeah? Well I’m eating this entire cone and two scoops, which I know I’ll burn up on the ice. You should do the same.”
Will didn’t understand how hard it was for her to maintain the balance between strength and figure. But she did. She’d worked so hard, and nothing was going to derail her.
Not even the tempting chocolate raspberry ice cream that sat in front of her.
This had been a mistake. She should have never come here with Will. But since she had, she’d politely wait until he finished his ice cream and then she’d make her way back to her apartment.
“Would you like to taste mine?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I’m good.”
“So’s this mint chocolate chip. And I promise I don’t have germs.”
Oh, she’d love to put her mouth where he’d had his mouth. That wasn’t the issue at all. Just the thought of swirling her tongue where his tongue had been caused flames to lick along her nerve endings, making her wish they were outside where it was cooler.
“Do you like mint, Amber?” he asked.
“I do.”
He leaned forward, offering the cone. “Take a lick.”
She was going to self-combust if he kept talking to her that way.
“Okay.” She started to take the cone from him, but instead he wrapped his hand around hers and held the cone steady. She leaned forward and flicked her tongue over the top of the cone, watching the way his gaze was glued to her mouth, which only made her previous heated state grow more incendiary.
She sat back and pulled her hand from his. “It’s really good.”
“Yeah, it is really good,” he said, and Amber was certain he hadn’t been talking about the ice cream.
She’d been hit on by a lot of guys over the years, mainly at skating competitions, and especially at the international games. She’d ignored them all to focus only on her goal of winning. Never before had she been affected by flirting or guys coming on to her. She knew she’d be nothing more than a one-night stand, and she wasn’t much interested in being some guy’s forgettable bang.
But there was something about Will Madigan that intrigued her. He was hot, and had a magnificent body. She liked that they were compatible from a skating point of view, but she’d had attractive male figure skaters hit on her before and they had certainly been more compatible than Will, so what was the deal with this guy? Why him, other than she’d madly crushed on him four years ago when he’d never once even looked in her direction.
That was probably it. He’d noticed her tonight, and she felt vindicated. Plus, she was determined to live it up these games.
Though she was going to do it on her terms. She was going to be the one doing the choosing, and it was going to be on her timeline. When she was ready.
She wasn’t going to jump in the sack with the first guy on the first night.
Even if said guy was hot and sexy and had eyes that made her melt.
Cosmo.com’s behind-the-scenes feature from when we were on site for the cover shoot with Jaci: https://bit.ly/2EgJEjE
