Series: Bellevue Bullies #2
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Sports, Sports Romance
Published by Self Published Publication Date: April 27, 2015
Pages: 448
Also in this series: Boarded by Love
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Find on: Goodreads
Things are heating up for the Sinclair boys! With one already in the NHL, Jayden Sinclair is hoping to be next!
This has been the toughest year of my life. I watched my brother go into the draft without me, my mom got divorced, and the weight of my familyβs issues is heavy on my shoulders. I feel like itβs my job to fix everything while working my butt off in school and trying to make my game better. I have to go into the draft. It will give my family the support they need, and it will prove that Iβm good enough. But to get there, I have to show I can be the best captain for the Bellevue Bullies. The spot is mineβno one can take it. First though, Jude is making me go on a brotherβs weekend. Innocent enough, I guessβ¦until I see her. Sheβs the biggest competitor Iβve ever faced. Not only for my spot but also my heart. Itβs hard to ignore someone like Baylor Moore.
I donβt lose. I canβt. My dad has bred me to be the best in anything I do. I am driven, I am smart, and I am going to be the first woman in the National Hockey League. No two ways about it. Iβve worked too hard. Iβve been through too much not to have what I want. I know I can do it. I will make my dad proud, and no one will stand in the way of that. That is, until I let him in. He scares me. He makes me feel. And he could very well be the one person who can make me want more than just to win.
We both have the same goal. Victory. But how do you compete against the person you want to win? Itβs not easy. Love isnβt something you can control. It isnβt like a puck that can be handled by a stick. No, it has a mind of its own and does what it wants.
Neither of us saw it coming, and we really donβt know if there is a way to score, especially when youβre being Clipped by Love.
Shannon’s Thoughts
Toni Aleo has outdone herself with CLIPPED BY LOVE. Β I didn’t think any character could ever surpass Shea Adler, but Jayden Sinclair did exactly that.
The second book in the Bellevue Bullies series focuses on middle Sinclair brother Jayden, as he focuses on his final year of college hockey. Β He’s determined to be the team’s captain, the lead them through to the NCAA championship and to enter high in the NHL draft. Β It’s ambitious, but Jayden is determined to prove that he deserves to be in the NHL and to make sure his mother is taken care. Β What Jayden didn’t plan on is Baylor Moore.
Baylor is a woman with quite a few chips on her shoulder. Β She’s the only female hockey player in the men’s collegiate league. Β She’s good enough, to the point she’s better than most of the men she plays against, but she pays the price forcing her to develop a skin that is so tough it’s almost impenetrable. Β Then there’s her belief that the only person that will ever love her is her dad. Β The belief is so strong that she erects a wall around her so that no one can ever get close. Β But when she gets to Bellevue, where her father is the new head coach, she discovers what is means to open herself up to friendship and to love.
I loved Baylor and Jayden. Β They reminded me of a younger Ellie and Shea. Β Jayden was open to a relationship with Baylor and would do just about anything to be with her, including hiding their relationship. Β But he was good for Baylor. Β He taught her how to open up, how to love and how to trust people with her heart. Β Baylor didn’t always have faith in herself or her relationship with Jayden, but he did. Β He’d fight for her, even when he was so pissed at her he couldn’t be with her. Β He knew, she was it.
Baylor was harder to warm up to, just because Toni Aleo did an awesome job of making the wall Baylor built around herself almost visible to readers. Β But as Jayden chipped away at Baylor, it became easier and easier to like her. Β When she resorted to her old self, as a reader I understood why and didn’t hold it against her. Β In the end, I was pulling for her to step outside her comfort zone and go after what her heart wanted.
In my opinion, this is the best book Toni Aleo’s written. Β It has all the elements that make it a Toni Aleo book, but an added emotional element to these characters that made me fall hard for them. Β I can’t wait to see what Toni has coming next for this series.
Shannon
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