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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
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(note from ELF, this is under her Colleen Quinn name), was inspired by an old village located in the Wharton State Forest of New Jersey. If you’ve never been to the pinelands, it is well worth the trip. You would never know you were New Jersey when surrounded by miles of silent forests, rushing rivers, and sapphire lakes. Batsto mansion is a restored manor house built by the owners of the surrounding Ironworks. The site dates back to the Revolutionary war, and is now a protected site owned by the state. The mansion is huge, 32 rooms and a tower overlooking Batsto Lake. It’s one of those places where you see ghosts everywhere, haunting the mansion, working in the restored village, or carrying grain from the Gristmill.
. I was also a Sherlock Holmes devotee, thanks to my best friend who started passing me the books in Catholic school when we were supposed to be reading English 101. 
was one of my favorite stories. Walking through the trails, taking pictures of the house and the property, I could see my heroine arriving at this secluded place as an Irish immigrant, frightened by the strange goings on in the woods while fascinated by her attraction to her handsome employer. It was a lot of fun to combine my favorite elements of mystery and romance while indulging in history of this beautiful place.
(note from ELF, also under the Colleen Quinn moniker), a historical based on the premise: what happens if two people marry for money, and neither one has any?