Trying to Score

Trying to Score is Book 2 in the Nashville Assassins series from Toni Aleo. The publisher is Random House Loveswept and the release date was April 23, 2013. From the back cover.~

In a captivating novel of hockey and healing hearts, the newest member of the Nashville Assassins pulls a power play to make things right with the one that got away. Fallon Parker’s dream has always been to turn her family’s wine company into a runaway success and eventually to start a cellar of her own. Since graduating from college, she has worked relentlessly to make that dream a reality, especially after taking a chance on love—and losing. By the time Fallon becomes an official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, she feels like all her hard work is finally paying off. And then the man who broke her heart skates back into her life. On the ice, Lucas Brooks is the NHL’s leading scorer—at least when he’s not in the box. Off the ice, he’s a mess, with all his anger and misery bottled up inside. He threw away the most important person in his life and has regretted it ever since. But when Lucas returns to Nashville in a trade, he’s determined to convince Fallon that he’s a changed man. The attraction is still there. The tension is electrifying. But the odds are stacked against them—especially after Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a devastating secret.

I was lucky enough to get approved for a review copy from NetGalley thanks to the publisher. I got hooked on this series with the first book and am loving where things are going with this series.

I really liked both Fallon and Lucas as both characters and a couple. I understood Fallon being scared to trust Lucas again after walking in on him with her roommate in college. I did have a problem with the fact that she kept it a secret for 7 years that he had a son, but even could understand a little bit of her thought process then. I loved how forgiving Lucas was of Fallon. He had royally screwed up by cheating on her and yet he easily let go of the fact that she had kept his son from him, and even continued to try and win Fallon over. He made no excuses for the fact that he still loved her after all this time. Fallon is one of the few people Lucas has shared many of his secrets with, including the fact that he is dyslexic and struggles to read. He did not however share the fact that when they were dating he was an alcoholic and addicted to pain meds, which is partially to blame for the cheating incident.

Again, I totally understood Fallon’s anger about the past. However, I really wanted Fallon and Lucas to make it as a couple, and I thought Fallon held on to her anger and mistrust just a little too long. Yes Lucas screwed up, but in my opinion, Fallon screwed up just as much by keeping his son from him. I loved that Fallon could see Lucas as an example of how forgiveness could really happen. I will say the chemistry between Fallon and Lucas was off the charts and I loved their connection and the way they worked together to make.

Fallon’s sister Audrey was a secondary character in this story and I really wanted to get to know her better. Knew she was mixed up with a guy who thought it was okay to belittle her, and had a pretty good idea who the guy was. I excited that she will get the chance to find a guy who can really care and love her in the next book in this series, Empty Net.