This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Rookie Move is the first book in Sarina Bowens infamous Brooklyn Bruisers series which takes place in New York City as the setting. This is a hockey romance and I have to admit that even though I love Hockey as a sport (I blame my Canadian blood) I haven't read that many Hockey themed romances which is odd considering how much I love me some sexy sport romances. There is nothing more irresistable than a sport player. And boy these Brooklyn Bruisers are HOT as all get out and plus make the best heroes that you want to keep for your own.

Rookie Move is a second chance romance which features our hero Leo Trevi, who is a Rookie to the team but has great potential. But there is one problem the new head coach hates him and his daughter is the love of his life that broke his heart years ago. He still has no idea why Georgia broke up with him but now he has a chance to find out the truth and see what he is capable of with his new team.

Georgia made the hardest choice of her life to break up with Leo. She knew that she loved him but she also had just suffered a trauma of being raped, and the relationship that she had with Leo changed and broke it off with him hoping it would be a fresh start. But after all this time, she still loves him. But she needs to be professional, as the coache's daughter and the head of the PR of the team she has a serious job to do but her heart keeps getting in the way and she might have to make a difficult choice or will she?

Rookie Move is one of those second chance romance that tugs at those heart strings of emotions and just aches your heart and soul both in good and bad ways of course. I have only read one other book by Sarina Bowen but Rookie Move was so addictive and I just didn't want to put this audiobook down. I loved the way these two narrators portrayed this book, and boy they were fantastic. We do see some small glimpses of their relationship in the beginning when they were young and fresh in love. They were each others firsts and they just swept me up in laughter and fun times. I loved these flashbacks because they were brief and didn't consume the whole book. We only see a handful of them in the first half of the story which was nice and then we get to see their chance to find each other again. Now at first I was really nervous with Georgia to be honest. Because Leo wasn't at fault in any way for the break up and we get the impression that he had no idea why she broke up with him because she wasn't honest with him. Now once you understand that she was raped and the aftermath. Leo was such a rock, but their sex life was put on hold. We see how Leo was young too and didn't know what to do to help the girl he loved through such a bad time in her life. But he did what he could but to be honest neither of them were truly open and honest as they should have been. We see the pain that Georgia goes through and even though she has changed and become stronger ever since then, we see that it still affects her. We also see another complication that drove me nuts....Georgia's father. Oh boy he was a piece of work in how he treats Leo. I felt so much compassion for Leo in this book if only for how her father treats Leo. He is the head coach but we learn that he and Leo were very close once but after Georgia's rape, her father treats Leo with such disdain. And now that Leo has joined the team, he pretty much makes Leo's life hell at times and never treats him fairly. So we see how much harder that Leo has to work to be treated with any decency and he isn't passive. He is a alpha male in some ways....he is driven and determined to succeed no matter the obstacles that stand in his way. I love how he goes after what he wants both in the sport that he loves and the woman he has never forgotten.

I spent six years trying to get over you, and it didn’t take. Our time is now

Now I want to discuss the Brooklyn Bruisers as a team and some of the key players that we are introduced to in these books. There are so many fun characters that we get to see including one that makes a big impression who is the hero of book four and boy it was hard to wait to read his story hehe but I really enjoyed the connection these players have with each other. They haven't had it easy but the new owner and new coach is breathing new life in the team. We see these players bond as brothers and really come together as a team and this is one of the reasons I love reading sport romances is seeing these friendships form and develop.

Leo gave her one more smile, and it was so full of joy that her heart skipped a beat. Then he turned around and strode off, his long legs eating up the distance toward the elevator bank around the bend.

“Come back to me, George,” Becca said. “Don’t go toward the light.”

“What?”

“Exactly.” Becca snapped her fingers. “Stay with me, babe. Don’t let the hottie who stole your virginity send you into zombieland.”

The romance that builds between Leo and Georgia is heartfelt in so many ways and there were these small moments that just make such a big difference. From the very beginning, Leo isn't afraid to show his feelings for Georgia and yes he makes some mistakes in this book, but honestly he is such a good hero that you just want to cheer for. Literally....you want to get your pom pom's out because he deserves it. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he is so devoted to Georgia and so determined to win her heart and her trust despite how much she hurt him. I love this about him that he doesn't treat her badly because of it. He has such a good heart and isn't spiteful.

You and I don't do one night stands. We do forever night stands...

Now Georgia won me over very quickly, despite her past actions. We begin to understand her better and that she hasn't ever gotten over Leo but their relationship could be considered a bit of a taboo considering that she is the team's publicist and the hero is a player. It just doesn't look very professional and she wants to keep her personal life and her career separate from each other so we understand her reasons but we also see how much she still wants Leo. I love the way he slowly wins her over and the intrimacy and chemistry that builds between them. Its explosive at times and so poignant in others. I swear some of their kissing scenes was like watching a movie kiss ....captures your attention with heat and emotion and this book is everything in between. Rookie Move is utterly captivating and sincere in every emotion it portrays....IRRESISTABLE.