Book Review: Love Hard (Hard Play #3) by Nalini Singh

Love Hard
Hard Play #3
By: Nalini Singh
Release Date: March 10, 2020
Publisher: Tantor Audio
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Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Book Summary:

Jacob Esera, star rugby player and young single father, has worked hard to create a joyous life for his six-year-old daughter. After the death of his childhood sweetheart soon after their daughter’s birth, all Jake wants is safety and stability. No risks. No wild chances. And especially no Juliet Nelisi, former classmate, scandal magnet, and a woman who is a thorn in his side. 

As a lonely teenager, Juliet embraced her bad-girl reputation as a shield against loneliness and rejection. Years later, having kicked a cheating sports-star ex to the curb, she has a prestigious job and loyal friends—and wants nothing to do with sportsmen. The last thing she expects is the fire that ignites between her and the stuffed-shirt golden boy who once loved her best friend. 

Straitlaced Jacob Esera versus wild-at-heart Juliet Nelisi? Place your bets.

My Thoughts:

Love Hard was an emotional second chance at romance.  Jacob Esera was madly in love with high school sweetheart, Callie, and they had a beautiful daughter together.  Shortly after Esme's birth, Callie got bacterial meningitis and passed away.  As a single father, and star rugby player, Jacob doesn't have much time for a social life and dating.  All of his time is spent on training, and making the most out of quality time with his daughter, and the rest of the tight-knit Esera family.

Jacob's life changes the day of his oldest brother, Gabriel's, wedding to Charlie.   He is shocked to see none other than Juliet "Jules" Nelsi, Callie's high school best friend, and the girl that managed to drive him crazy all those years ago.  She has matured into a beautiful woman with lots of curves.  When Jacob and Jules interact there is a spark of powerful chemistry, but they still manage to push each other's buttons.  As fate brings these two together, will they manage to break down each other's walls and take a chance on love?

I loved the characters in this story.  Ms. Singh brought their personalities to life, and they were so real, that they could have walked right off of the page.  Jacob and Jules were only in there mid-twenties, but life experience had aged them.  When they were together you could feel the sparks between them.  They were so passionate together, whether they were pushing each other's buttons, teasing, or getting swept away as they fell madly in love.

I loved how dedicated and loyal Jacob and Jules were.  Jacob had known grief, and after that had never gotten close to another woman before.  I loved how he was as a father.  I swooned at his loving, patient, and sweet interactions with his daughter, who was absolutely adorable!  He was such a devoted, dedicated, and loving man, and I fell in love with his character.

Jules had been let down by all of the people in her life before, and had learned to stand on her own two feet without any kind of help or support.  She was independent, feisty in a fun way, intelligent, loving, and hard working.  I enjoyed Jacob's pursuit of Jules.  He was the kind of person that once he knew what he wanted, nothing could stand in his way.  These two together were scorching hot, and adorably sweet to watch!

The Esera family was a wonderful addition to this story.  I loved Jacob's parents; Allison and Joseph, as well as his brothers, Gabriel, Sailor, and Danny.  There was a full cast of secondary characters, and even though this story can be read as a standalone, the previous books give insight in to this robust cast.  It took me a little while to get all of the characters straight in my head and remember who was who.

The pacing of the story was a little slow at the beginning, picked up in the middle, and flew by with a romantic, sweet, and spectacular end.  The characters were the best part of this story, as they were deeply layered, and three-dimensional.  I found myself invested in them, and Ms. Singh really has a talent in bringing them to life!

If you are looking for a sweet and sexy second chance romance, that will tug on your emotions, check out, 

Love Hard by Nalini Singh.

Purchase At:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | TBD

About the Author:

I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard. 

I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month). 

So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.

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