Bodychecking

Great read

Great book.

Excellent.

Love this series!

Another great Sockeye story in the series. You have to Ella and Cedric and their hot and sexy romance but also their time of growing up and realizing they deserve love!

I was not expecting this story. Let me explain. I've read two other books in the series. I love hockey romances. So if one book in the series is decent enough for me to remember that I liked the book and the author's style, I will pick up following releases without reading the blurb. This author has become one that fits this category for me: no blurb reading necessary. So this is a story about one of the Party Crashers, Bella, known as the "wild child" of the family. And how wild must you be to get That label in a family of party-crashing sisters... And while she may seem like the "wild child," she's been kind of regularly hooking up with one particular hockey player, Cedric. He's equally known for his "bang-em and walk away" personality, but he's tired of the game (the fooling around kind, not hockey), and has actually only been with Bella for a while. He wants more, even if she's not ready for it. So when she gets attacked one night, she runs to him for protection. It was brutal, and the description of her attack was so vivid. Cedric turns out to be one heck of a guy that I just fell in love with. One thing that I really enjoy about this author is that her sports terms don't go over my head. I enjoy hockey, but don't get to watch enough games to understand all of the lingo, so it's nice that there is not an overabundance of terminology that I don't understand. Sometimes with sports romances, I find myself skimming over the sporty stuff just because I don't understand the lingo, but that is not the case here. So even if you only have a basic understanding of the sport, it's still easy to read for the casual fan. If you like sports romances and a bit of drama, this is a great book. Engaging until the very end. I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Body Checking BOOK SERIES: Seattle Sockeyes Hockey – Game On in Seattle Book 7 AUTHOR: Jami Davenport GENRE: Contemporary Sports Romance, Adult 18+ PUBLICATION DATE: April 30, 2016 CLIFF HANGER: No REVIEWED BY: Beth - Mom's Cooking the Books CONTENT WARNING: Contains graphic and potentially disturbing descriptions of an assault. This book also contains sexually explicit scenes, adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. 4 Stars SYNOPSIS: As the wild child of the family, Bellani Maxwell isn’t interested in settling down. Between a fledgling party crashing business, teaching self-defense at a martial arts studio, and hitting the bar every night, she has her hands full. She doesn’t need the added responsibility or commitment of a relationship. Hockey star Cedric Pederson has all the puck bunnies he could ever want, but a chance encounter eighteen months ago leaves him with eyes only for the gorgeous, free-spirited Bella. Too bad she isn’t interested in what Cedric has to offer beyond frequent hookups, and he’s grown tired of their on-again, off-again non-relationship. He wants to be all-in or all-out. When a brutal attack leaves Bella in need of comfort, protection, and healing, the only person she wants is Cedric. But once she’s living in his condo, Bella is confronted with a decision she’s been avoiding—can she finally commit to Cedric, or will she let him go one last time? MY THOUGHTS: This is the first book I have read in this series and even though I didn’t know the back story from the previous books, I was able to follow along just fine. Bella really had a struggle to come through not only with the physical aspect of her assault, but a psychological struggle that she felt was beyond what mental strength she had. She was ashamed of herself for thinking that her martial arts skills were superior and looked down on her students that she taught self-defense to. She was embarrassed that she couldn’t protect herself and felt even worse that she put herself in danger. Even though a therapist was recommended on more than one occasion, Bella was too stubborn to talk to anyone, not even her family. Bella wanted to come through this on her own. She felt she put herself in danger and needed to learn to heal herself. She was also learning how important Cedric was to her. Cedric was amazing. He stood by Bella even when he felt she should reach out to her family. Due to his worry for leaving Bella when he was on road trips, his game suffered. He finally confided in his best friend and fellow teammate about Bella’s attack. The catch with that is, he was married to Bella’s oldest sister. Bella’s secret would be out, but that is a consequence he could deal with because he felt she needed the extra support. He had fallen in love with Bella and couldn’t get her to commit to an exclusive relationship. He had been trying to get her to commit for months, but she wasn’t interested, but felt she was worth waiting for. Cedric was patient, kind, responsible and much more nurturing then Bella could have ever imagined. She thought Cedric was like her, a pretty party boy that had no interest in settling down. How wrong she was. Cedric and Bella worked at making their relationship work for them even though their parents weren’t good role models. Bella’s parents raised 4 daughters and mostly left them to their own devices because they were too busy with their music career. Cedric came from a cold but very rich family that showed no love toward Cedric. His father constantly made him feel like a failure even though he had made it into the NHL. His mother cowed to his father. They did have role models in Bella’s sisters and Cedric’s teammates for relationship advice and they wanted what those couples had. This book is about growing up, finding yourself, learning to believe in yourself and your goals, coming out of self-doubt. Learning to love yourself and others when you think yourself unlovable. Bella and Cedric were able to have an HEA, and Bella was wiser and stronger with the love of her sisters and her biggest supporter, Cedric. ARC kindly provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

This is book # 7 in the Game On In Seattle series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. I recommend reading this amazing series in order - so you do not miss out or have spoilers. Bella and Cedric have a kind of on and off again thing. He is now stalking her just to keep up with her whereabouts. She certainly is just as attracted to him as he is to her. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter between them. The love story here is just so fantastic! There are sweet moments of tenderness, there is also tough love. It is a great book and good addition to the series. I cannot wait to read the next book. ***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review.

BodyChecking ***I received a copy of this book for an honest review. This is the next installment in the Seattle Sockeyes series and is Cedric and Bellian's story. Before reading this book I wasn't a huge fan of either of these characters, but after this I have been converted. Bell and Ced are just having fun, hooking up.. But that isn't what Ced wants any more. He wants to have a relationship and he wants it with Bell. He is tired of the partying all of the time and the random hookups. Bell, doesnt' want a relationship because she doesn't feel she is worth it and no body stays anyway. But when Bell's world is shaken one night she runs straight to the only person she feels safe with, Cedric. This book is the journey of Bellini and Cedric discovering that they are both worth it and they are the best when they are together. I now understand more of the reasons behind all of the insecurities of both these characters and why they have made the choices they have. Bell is a strong woman and Cedric only enhances that. And Cedric, well he is a hot hockey player with a big heart and who can resist that? There were interactions from all the Maxwell sisters as well as a few peaks at the Wolfe brothers and things to come I think. If you have read any of the Seattle Sockeyes this is a must read. I enjoyed this book, it was funny in parts and very touching in others. I would definitely recommend it.

What an amazing story of love and tragedy with an awesome ending. Two people who love the free life, have commitment phobias as well as personal issues. To see them come together when tragedy strikes one and find that with each other they can over come anything. Having read the other books in the series I have followed Cedric and Bella's history and I am so happy for their story to have come out. Women sometimes replace sex as a comfort tool, this describes Bella. Cedric finds comfort in the "party". They both know deep down that's not really who they are. I love Jami Davenports writings. I have all of her sports romance books. This can be a stand alone book however I recommend her other writings. They don't have to be read in order but I recommend it.