WInning Her by Amber Malloy (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT ADULT title

Winning Her
Perfect Stats, Book 1

ADULT title 

by 
Amber Malloy

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GENRE:   Sports Romance

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BLURB:

In the span of a year, Bane Carter acquired a new job, his brother’s four kids, a crappy nanny and, worst of all, his ex-wife. What could possibly go wrong?

Rule number one—never help an ingrate! Ignoring that hard-learned lesson put Dahl Baby Hamilton straight in the path of her famous ex. All she has to do is save her cousin’s failing restaurant, First Down, then she can go back to her fabulous life. But the main financier—Bane Carter, her ex—finds out and decides to make her life a living hell. Either she becomes the personal chef for an ailing house manager, one neglectful nanny and his four charges or risk having her reputation ruined. What’s an award-winning chef to do when her sexy ex-husband is blackmailing her?

The only black GM in the league, former football hero Bane Carter has his work cut out for him. It’s bad enough that he has to navigate around a dysfunctional team, but the recent passing of his brother and his wife have given him full guardianship of their kids. On top of all that, the last thing he needs is to bump into the woman who broke his heart at the worst possible time—the beginning of his career.

After two failed marriages, Bane realizes he has always been searching for the one who got away the first time. Of course, he doesn’t expect to find her in the same city, let alone cooking in his restaurant.

Reader advisory: This book contains references to a seriously mentally ill parent requiring a minor to take on a caring role. There are implied references to suicide via gunshot. There are also references to sex work, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape, and scenes involving sexual harassment, violence and burglary.

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EXCERPT

From the minute Dahl Hamilton had stepped into First Down’s kitchen, she’d worked nonstop. Tasked with fixing the failing restaurant, she’d barely seen the inside of her fabulous downtown loft, let alone her sweet, sweet bed. After having labored in the kitchen for more than two months, she was finally seeing all her hard work paying off.

The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, among other publications, had awarded First Down stellar reviews. Since the papers had hit the newsstands, customer attendance had shot up by more than fifty percent. If everything worked out, she could leave before autumn to work on more personal projects.

As Dahl topped off the dessert plate with her ‘D’ embellishment, the incessant ringing of someone’s cell caught her attention. That was a definite no-no in the kitchen. She requested the name of the offender.

“Marco!” the kitchen staff of twenty screamed in unison.

“You know the deal.” Before Dahl plated one perfect, mouth-watering slice of tiramisu cake, she pointed at the fine jar. The funds went toward their holiday festivities. At this rate, First Down’s Christmas party would be one for the history books.

“Smaller cuts,” she advised her assistant at the next station over. The restaurant had a full house, so the staff needed to move fast to keep up. During all the chaos, she found time to teach the newbies a trick or two. “Use your wrist. No one wants to bite a chunk of onion on their first date.”

Breaking her signature snicker-cookie in half, she placed it on top of the whipped cream ruffle.

“Hello, Dolly. I wanted to make changes to the menu.” The office manager, Beth, breezed into the kitchen. “Can we talk out back?”

She slapped the woman’s hand away before she could grab the leftover half of the cookie. “It’s just ‘Dahl’…and no.” She’d taken this consulting gig to help out her cousin. Nothing in the fine print read that she had to take orders from their idiot manager.

“We can’t go outside—or we can’t change the menu?” she asked in that snooty, superior tone.

Dahl handed the dessert off to the server and faced Beth. “To both… It’s no to both.”

“But Melanie told me to tell you—” Dahl held up her hand to kill the twit’s whining. She didn’t have the time. Instead, she went back to the orders. Soon the team would be able to catch their own mistakes. Busy checking the tickets against the meals, she missed the hush that fell over the kitchen. The usual clanging of pots and silly banter flipped into a strange vacuum of silence.

“Why are you here?” His deep, steely voice sent tingles up her spine. Dahl gazed at the six-foot-seven wall of well-dressed, muscled sexy.

Against her will, she smiled. “Hi,” she said.

Better looking than any action star, Bane’s good genes were wasted on football, in Dahl’s opinion. He should have gotten out years ago, but nope… Little boys grow up to be big men with dreams that become everyone else’s nightmares.

“Once again, why are you here?” Bane Carter asked. Her ex-husband smelled amazing.

“That’s a loaded question, Mr. Carter. I’m going to need an assist.”

“What?”

“Maybe rephrase…” She wiped her hands on her apron and leaned against the counter. “Are you asking why am I in Chicago, why am I in the restaurant or why am I still breathing? The throbbing vein in the middle of your forehead is screaming that it’s the latter.”

Stepping closer, he filled in the space between them. “Pick one through three,” he growled.

Unable to hide her nerves, she laughed. The attack of childish giggles overwhelmed her. It often happened at the most inopportune times and she couldn’t help it. His handsome face went blank before he abruptly turned and walked away. As general manager for the Mavericks football team, Bane probably didn’t get challenged very often—or most likely ever.

He turned and left, as quickly as he’d come. Dahl sighed. After all these years, she’d thought she was over him. “Okay, everyone, back to work!”

“Was that Bane Win—?”

“Yep,” she cut off her sous chef in an effort to deter any more questions.

“Did anyone notice how fast Bad-management Beth dipped out when he came in?”

The team laughed—but Dahl didn’t join them.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amber Malloy dreamed of being a double agent but couldn't pass the psyche evaluation. Crushed by despair that she couldn't legally shoot things, Amber pursued her second career choice as pastry chef. When she's not writing or whipping up a mean Snickers Cheesecake, she occasionally spies on her sommelier. Amber is convinced he's faking his French accent.

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My review:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Winning Her by Amber Malloy is the first book in the ‘Perfect Stats’ series. This adult contemporary romance features Bane Carter, general manager of the Mavericks football team. Not only does he have to deal with the stress of butting heads with the various elements of his team, plus a failing restaurant he’s invested in, but tragedy has conferred four bereaved children into his household. Who knew that his ex-wife, chef Dahl Baby Hamilton, would be his salvation…if only he can convince her to stay.

I like that this story features two driven professionals who care about their careers yet still consider family important. The implications of being a person of color in today’s society are touched upon in various venues, although I wasn’t quite clear about whether that was one of the issues with respect to the high school student. The story flowed a bit jerkily for me, and I was often puzzled about the outcomes of some of the many issues that are touched upon, particularly with respect to folks who either don’t do their job or who betray their responsibilities. I wish some of the characters had a little more depth, but I hope that subsequent stories give a little more insight into them.

There are sizzling interludes between these two stubborn main characters, and I enjoyed the second-chance romance. Those who enjoy romances with elements of sports and cooking, plus the entertainment (and headache) that comes from interacting with kids, should consider giving this story a try.

A copy was provided for review