Hard Hitter
Brooklyn Bruisers, Book #2
By Sarina Bowen
ISBN: 978-0399583452
Author’s Website: http://www.sarinabowen.com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
Summary 
He’s a fighter in the rink, but he’s about to learn that playing nice can help you score…
As team captain and enforcer, Patrick O’Doul puts the bruise in the Brooklyn Bruisers. But after years of hard hits, O’Doul is feeling the burn, both physically and mentally. He conceals his pain from his coach and trainers, but when his chronic hip injury becomes too obvious to ignore, they send him for sessions with the team’s massage therapist.
After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Ari Bettini is in need of peace of mind. For now, she’s decided to focus on her work: rehabilitating the Bruisers’ MVP. O’Doul is easy on the eyes, but his reaction to her touch is ice cold. Ari is determined to help O’Doul heal, but as the tension between them turns red hot, they both learn that a little TLC does the body good…
Review:
The world of hockey and ice is filled with bruises, sore muscles, and a couple of loose teeth, but the problem that Patrick O’Doul has is that he is one of the oldest players for the Brooklyn Bruisers, and has started to have pain in his lower back, something that he doesn’t want his teammates and coach to worry about. The problem is that his couch does find out and decides to set him with a daily appointment for the next week with the team’s massage therapies, Ari Bettini, in hopes of alleviating the pain without further medical intervention. The games are hard, and the Brooklyn Bruisers need to be on the third place if they want to compete on the finals, and for that Patrick needs to let Ari do her job.
What starts as a very awkward first session and later mistaken phone switch, makes the two of them get to know each other more and cause a flame of passion to ignite between them, the only problem is Ari’s constant fear that she will lose her job is somebody finds out that she is dating the team captain, and he criminal ex-boyfriend who has got himself in trouble, and even possibly Ari also.
Hard Hitter was a very fun and romantic book to read. It seems that every time I read a book about hockey, I learn a little bit more about the sport. While the book is a romance, it still has different moments that catch the reader’s attention and continues to hold the suspense until the end.
While Hard Hitter is the second book of the series, if you read it stand alone, it won’t feel difficult to follow the story. But after reading it, you want to learn more about the other characters and their own stories. Even after finishing the book, you get the feel about what the next book will be about and you want to know what is happening between the next couple.
I like the writing style of author Sarina Bowen, and Hard Hitter doesn’t let me down. This is the third book that I read by the author and I still liked how she present normal daily problems to her characters and see them solve them, but at the same time making it look real and romantic.
It was fun to read the scenes between the team players and how they interact while talking about their relationship and how to win over a girl with their own ideas, and plans. Most of all was fun the scenes where they had to pay to the jar of infractions.
I was a little surprise regarding the problem that Ari’s ex-boyfriend and the outcome of it all. But at the same time, I liked how the author was able to link one of Patrick’s mistakes to Ari’s ex-boyfriend.
At the end, Hard Hitter is a story about love, passion, second chances, and a lot of baby oil for massages.
If you are a fan of Sarina Bowen or the Brooklyn Bruisers series, then I recommend you Hard Hitter. In this story, two individuals give a passion a chance for a relationship, learn to be what the other needs to be happy in a world of ice and bruises.
