ARC Review: Brawler by Colleen Charles

ARC Review: Brawler by Colleen Charles

Title: Brawler 

Series: Book #7 of Vegas Venom Series

Author: Colleen Charles - Website

Genre: Hockey Romance

Format: 282 pages, Kindle Edition

Publish Date: October 27, 2023

Language: English

Link to my review in GoodReads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5946262749

Trope:

🏒Hockey Romance 

👩‍👧Single Mom

🕺Reformed Playboy

👨‍👩‍👧Found Family

Blurb: 

I never expected my shot at the big dance would lead me straight into the arms of the one woman who’s completely off limits.

As the resident minor-league bad boy of Minnesota, I can’t believe it when I get the call every hockey player dreams of.Dante Giovanetti wants me to replace the legendary Cash Hale on the Venom. But it turns out that it's not the lights of Vegas that blind me—it's Layla, Latham Newberry's sister, and her precious toddler, Violet.

I understand the bro no hitting on a teammate's sister.But the more time I spend with Layla, the harder it is to deny the fire that burns between us. And the very real feelings she sparks inside me.

When her past comes back to haunt her, I know I'll have to step up my game and prove my love is stronger than any rivalry.Because Violet and Layla need me. And now it’s my job to protect what’s mine.

My Review: 

The book opens with a prologue of Lalya discovering that she is pregnant, she then tells her best friend who seems to be very supportive and kind. She promised that she would be there for her even if her baby daddy wouldn’t be, so it was disappointing when I found out later, that their friendship fizzled out and we’ll never see her again after the prologue. Turn out the baby daddy is not even her boyfriend, he made it very clear that they were just casual and rudely told her to fuck off. Layla didn’t even get to tell him about her pregnancy., and she left to mend her broken heart. We then find out that she did tell him about the pregnancy via text, but it was never replied. Oh, and also we will not learn his name until later when he shows up again. 

Fast forward bout 2.5 years later, she had a baby girl named Violet, and she now lives with her brother, Latham, his wife Scarlett, and their baby boy Adler. Latham is a famous hockey player for the Venom Vegas team, he’s one of the hero from the previous book in the series, but I haven’t read it. Latham has been trying to match Layla left and right, starting with his own teammate, but Layla is not interested at all. The one who caught her eyes is the one that her brother loathed, due to his playboy reputation. 

Briggs Sawyer was just recently transferred, and right away had beef with Latham, so to piss him off, he told Latham that he was gonna fuck his sister. Despite his taunt, Briggs is genuinely interested in Layla, but he is very hesitant to make a move. Though he got a reputation as a playboy, he is not an asshole, he dates casually but he didn’t go around breaking girls’ hearts. He takes his time in deciding to pursue Layla, as he has to consider her daughter and if he is even ready to settle down. Layla who hasn’t been with anyone since she was pregnant is really keen to get on with Briggs physically, but her brother and friends are trying to dissuade her. 

One day Latham signs her up for a speed dating event called “Love is Blind” at the local charity, and Briggs decides to crash the event and take her away. They then have a sweet first date and decide to date, despite her brother’s disapproval. Briggs was so patient and caring towards Layla and Violet and it was heartwarming to see that. He is also very close to his big family, completely the opposite of his playboy persona. Everything seems to go well until one day her baby daddy comes back into her life, bringing out all her fears and insecurity. This third-act breakup was actually a bit annoying at the beginning, but I like how Layla reflected on her mistake, she admitted that she was wrong and apologized sincerely. 

This is the 7th book of the Vegas Venom Series by Colleen Charles, I haven’t read any of the previous books, so this can be read as a stand-alone. I surprisingly love this book, I think this is my first single-mom romance book, I usually go for single-dad romance. There’s an instant attraction between them, but they both didn’t jump into it straight away, so it is a bit of a slow-burn. Briggs was a playboy and only dates casually, but he is not an asshole, so he did take his time before he decided to date Layla, because he knows it’s not gonna be just a fling, especially with Violet in the picture. Layla who was dumped viciously by her baby’s daddy didn’t want to repeat the same mistake by dating another playboy, so he was only interested in hooking up with Briggs. But she soon learns that Briggs is not what she thinks he is, he’s sweet, great with kids, and loves his big family. 

I love that Layla is so bold and unashamedly horny, in fact, she was the one who do the dirty talking in bed, and I love it! She put Briggs who was supposed to be the playboy to shame, and he let her take control. Briggs is so good with children, so heartwarming to see his relationship with Violet and another teammate’s baby. I definitely would like to check out more books from this author, highly recommend it!

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️🌶️

*Not too many sex scenes, and not very graphic. 

Link to buy from Amazon: 

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon