REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT by SOPHIA HENRY

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Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Pilots Hockey #4

By: Sophia Henry

Releasing October 18, 2016
Loveswept Flirt

In Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Pilots Hockey #4) by Sophia Henry, with a serious medical condition which has caused her to be in and out of hospital over the years, Kristen Katsaros has begun to count every day she's alive as a blessing. So, when her parents send her on a singles cruise as a post-graduation gift, she's determined to have the adventure of a lifetime. Meeting the drop-dead gorgeous Pavel 'Pasha' Gribov was never part of her plan, but if he helps her chase off the unwanted advances of a family friend, she's more than willing to let him. But what happens when the cruise is over? Will they give a relationship between them a chance, or will the lies he's told her in their time of getting to know each other drive her away?

Every novel of this series so far has thoroughly entertained me, and this story was no different. The way this story started hooked me immediately, as Kristen finds herself enjoying the cruise she's on when she thought she wouldn't due to her phobia. However, it was from the moment that the hero and heroine met that had me turning the pages rapidly, wanting to know how things would turn out between this couple because of the lies Pavel has told her as they're getting to know each other. How would Kristen react when she learns the truth?

As for the dialogue, it was intense and emotionally charged due to the main characters back stories, and I could understand why neither of them wanted a relationship. With Kristen, it was a past relationship and her medical condition that has her running scared, where as with Pavel, it was the volatile relationship between his parents. Why did his mother stay with her father? He wasn't a good man, and I sympathized with the hero's reasons for not wanting a happy ever after. However, the dialogue wasn't all intense. There's plenty of playful banter between Kristen and Pavel that had me smiling or laughing. They bring out the best in each other, and illustrate that everyone should live each day like it's their last.

Both main characters were compelling, and there was no way I could get away without shedding a few tears while reading this story. Ms. Henry has a way of drawing readers into her books by her characters, especially by their back stories and the back stories of this hero and heroine definitely were heart-breaking. Kristen is strong, brave and I liked how determined she was to have the adventure of a lifetime. She has to do so much to remain healthy while living in fear that every day could be her last, but the way she tried so many new things with Pavel by her side shows that she's not ready to give up the fight to live as many years as she can. While Pavel, he's confident, adventurous and I liked how determined he was to help Kristen in any way he could. He's good for her and vice versa, and at times I felt sorry for him that he was lying to her. Yet, I could also understand why he did it. No way would she have given them a chance to get to know each other otherwise. Not if she knew the truth of something he did in the past.

Overall, this was a really good addition to the Pilots Hockey series for Ms. Henry. The strong chemistry between this pair combined with the playful dialogue, intense back stories and fast-paced plot had me reading this book from start to finish in one sitting. The way this story ended totally took me by surprise with what happened to the heroine, but it was the epilogue that wrapped this book up nicely. Pavel is finally back in the game when it comes to playing on the ice, but it was his words to Kristen on how important she was to him that illustrated the strong bond these two have. The strong bond that illustrates they're a couple meant to be. I would recommend Unsportsmanlike Conduct, if you enjoy the fake relationship trope.

OVERALL RATING:

BLURB:
The author of Delayed Penalty returns with the story of a free spirit who believes she’s found forever with a playboy on a singles cruise. Discover why Kelly Jamieson calls the Pilots Hockey series “fun and flirty, warm and sweet.”

Kristen Katsaros wants a life full of adventure and laughter. After a difficult childhood, her motto is to live each day like it’s her last—because it just might be. So when Kristen’s parents send her on a post-grad singles cruise in the Caribbean to meet a Greek husband, she promptly hooks up with the hottest guy she’s ever met. Pasha’s decidedly not Greek, but Kristen gives him a pass because he’s got fun written all over his rock-hard abs.

Pavel Gribov, the cocky playboy of the Detroit Pilots hockey team, can score any girl he wants. But when a teammate drags him on a singles cruise, he can’t resist the chance to help out a drop-dead gorgeous damsel in distress by pretending to be her boyfriend. Before long, the fake fling turns intimate, fueled by something much deeper than lust.

Kristen and Pasha both agree to walk away once the cruise is over, but reality hits like a slap shot when Kristen finds out Pasha lied about everything. Just when she’s ready to start living again, the two stubborn survivors must decide if they can bear to lose the best thing that ever happened to either of them.

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“So, what’s your story?” I asked.

“My story?” He lowered his head and gazed at me over his sunglasses.

My heart flittered fast, waiting for him to tell me to move or ask why I had chosen to sit next to him, given all the open seats surrounding the pool. But he didn’t.

Had I really chosen this spot because these were the only three empty chairs next to each other? I could have dragged another lounger next to two others.

“You’re not Greek. I can tell that by your accent.” Under the ruse of trying to figure him out, I twisted my torso and leaned toward his chair. Subconsciously I relished the opportunity to study his features more closely. “So you can’t be one of the Detroit-area Greek singles I’m supposed to be hanging out with.”

“I am. I came here with a friend.”

“Who’s your friend?” I asked, tucking my hair behind my ears.

“Blake Panikos.”

I didn’t recognize that name. And after spending the majority of my life around people in the Greek Orthodox community, I pretty much knew anyone close to my age, whether we went to the same church or not.

“How do you know Blake?” I settled back into the lounge chair, flicking back a corner of the towel that had fallen onto my shoulder.

Adonis’s lip curled into a smirk. “Panikos worked with me when I lived in Detroit.”

“Where do you live now?”

“North Carolina.”

“Really?” I sat up. “My best friend just moved to Charlotte.”

“Charlotte. That is where I live.”

“What a small world. She lives downtown, in the Avenue condos.” I paused to correct myself. “Well, I guess you guys call it uptown instead of downtown.”

“Why did she move to Charlotte? Did she get a job there?” Adonis leaned sideways and picked up a plastic cup from the ground next to his chair. He took a sip of his drink.

“No. She moved in with her fiancé. He’s a hockey player.”

Adonis didn’t respond, but he choked on his drink and diverted his eyes toward the pool.

“His name’s Aleksandr Varenkov,” I added. “Do you know him?”

“No,” he answered quickly, and adjusted his aviator sunglasses, which had slid down his nose. “I never heard of him. Maybe if I saw him, I’d know his face.”

“If the Internet worked here, I’d show you a picture on my phone.”

“The ship has Internet,” Adonis corrected me.

“Yeah, but I can’t afford the hundred dollars a minute they charge to access it.” A hundred dollars a minute was only a slight exaggeration—the ship charged enough that I didn’t feel the need to waste my money. I’d wait until we docked somewhere with a restaurant or a bar that offered free Wi-Fi. “So what do you do?”

His gaze veered from my lips to my eyes before he answered. “I am a Pilot.”

“Really? So you’re always traveling, eh? Do you love it?” I reached over and grabbed my water bottle off the tiny table next to my lounge chair.

“I like to fly. To travel. It is, um, a good job for me.” Adonis took another swig from his drink, something clear with a cluster of crushed ice floating in it. “Where do you work?”

I leaned back in the chair and bent my knees slightly—perfect position to soak up the sizzling sunshine. “I’m the assistant to one of the owners of Motor City Bar Management. It’s a company that owns a group of bars around Detroit. I coordinate all the volunteers and employees for events that our bars host or sponsor.” I finished my water and set the empty bottle on the table.

“What kind of events?”

“Concerts. Bar crawls. Promotional events before games,” I said, rattling off a few of the things I’d helped plan recently.

“Wonder if I’ve seen you around,” he said. “I go to a lot of concerts.”

“Probably not,” I said. “I just started two months ago. Before that I was at Central State.”

Adonis’s eyes darted toward something behind me. “You like the party life?”

“Sure. It’s fun right now while I’m young.” I wiggled my toes, watching the pink glitter polish sparkle in the sunlight. “My goal is to learn the ropes of event planning, then turn it into something more professional in a few years when I don’t want to be immersed in the bar scene anymore.”

Suddenly he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the chair, planting them on the ground facing me. Then he leaned close, his face inches from mine.

Was he going to kiss me?

My heart hammered, excited and eager to accept a kiss from this stranger. I licked my lips and closed my eyes. But instead of feeling his mouth on mine, I felt his breath against my face.

“The guy you are trying to avoid is behind you,” he said.

My eyes flickered open. “Huh?”

“The guy you ran from.” Adonis nodded. “He is behind you now.” He leaned back, resuming his original lazy, reclined position. Then he tilted his cup and drained his drink.

How did this guy already have my heart pounding and my mind begging for his lips on mine? I figured the salty ocean air must be permeating my brain and breaking down my common sense.

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Sophia Henry, a proud Detroit native, fell in love with reading, writing, and hockey all before she became a teenager. She did not, however, fall in love with snow. So after graduating with a BS in English from Central Michigan University, she moved to the warmth of North Carolina for the remainder of her winters.

She spends her days writing books featuring hot, hockey-playing heroes. When she’s not writing, she’s chasing her two high-energy sons, watching her beloved Detroit Red Wings and rocking out at concerts with her husband.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Sophia Henry’s Top 3 Scenes from UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

With Sophia’s commentary and Mini Excerpts. In no particular order. ;)

Hi there! My hame is Sophia Henry and I write Heartfelt Flirty Fiction. Huge THANK YOU to Book Magic for having me on the blog today. I’m so excited to be here and share a few scenes from UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT, book 4 in my Pilots Hockey series.

**I write the emotional story off the ice, so no worries if you don’t understand or like hockey!**

Latin Dancing on the Cruise -

This is one of my favorite scenes because it’s so unexpected—for the readers and the characters! :) While Kristen and Pasha are dancing, they share details about their individual backgrounds, which gives them common ground and allows for them to get closer in a very subtle way. Here’s a clip:

As I put weight on my back foot, rocking away from one particular creepy dude, someone caught my hand and tugged me forward into his hard chest. What kind of guy had the audacity to grab me when I obviously hadn’t been giving off those vibes?

To brace myself, I pressed my palms against a soft black button-down shirt. Pasha stood in front of me with an adorably arrogant smirk on his face. Instead of speaking, he held his arms up in a formal dance position. I took his hands and he immediately led me in a succession of smooth salsa steps.

It wasn’t intricate choreography that only two dancers who had practiced together would know, just a series of basic Latin dance steps. He led and I followed. But nobody else on the dance floor knew that. To them it probably looked like a scripted routine straight out of a musical.

And damn! Pasha could move.

Staring at the Stars -

A philosophical moment from the book. Kristen and Pasha are both no-holds barred kind of people. They’ll tell you what they think. They ask what they want to know. I wanted to show that in a dramatic way. Kristen has health issues that make her think about the future in a sense of life and death. At this point in the book, Pasha has just recalled a number of horrible experiences from his childhood. This is a scene about how two people can experience the same thing so differently based on their attitude and background. Check it out:

We sat in silence, two sets of eyes fixed on the sparkling stars above.

“Do you believe there’s life out there?” I asked. My words came out in a whisper.

“Life? Yes. Death? No.”

The intensity of his answer stunned me into silence. I didn’t know if he wanted me to say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say.

Pasha continued, “When people die, they die. They are not up in sky, in some happy place with other dead people. They are nowhere. They are gone.”

“They’re always with us. No matter where you think they end up.”

“You believe this?”

“Yes. If someone who died helped shape who you are, then yes. I have my mom’s cheekbones and eyes and my dad’s nose and hair. They’ll always be part of me, even when they aren’t on earth anymore.”

The First Time -

Bow chica bow bow. I’m kidding. I’m not sharing the actual account of their first time together, rather what happens right before it goes down. The two lines of dialogue in this scene are so important for both of these characters, that the entire book was written around them. Okay, enough foreplay. Here it is:

I jogged to the bathroom, flipped on the light, and unzipped my toiletry kit. I always carried condoms.

Always.

I removed one and returned to Kristen. She looked beautiful as the moonlight streaming in through multiple windows in my suite gave her bronzed skin an angelic glow. Even after I turned out the bathroom light, I could see her standing near the doorway, head held high, ready for whatever came next.

When I reached her, I didn’t touch her. Didn’t kiss her. I just waited, holding the condom between us like a question.

“I don’t believe in forever,” I said.

Maybe it was a dickbag thing to tell her before I fucked her against the wall, but I liked her too much to let her get attached. She deserved better than forever with someone like me anyway.

“Good. Because I don’t have forever,” she answered.

That’s all took for me to shift from neutral to drive.

Get your copy of UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT at any major e-book retailer. :)

Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Books-A-Million /Google Play

***Thank you so much for having me on your blog and allowing me to share some of my favorite scenes from UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do, as it’s my favorite of the Pilots Hockey series! ~ Sophia xx***