Tag: childhood friends to lovers

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: J. Saman’s Undeniably Corrupt ✍🏻

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Cover of the book 'Undeniably Corrupt' by J. Saman, featuring a male model with tousled blonde hair and striking green eyes, showcasing his tattoos while looking directly at the camera.

Overall Grade: B-

Tropes: second chance; childhood friends to lovers; enemies to lovers; single mom; obsessed MMC; workplace romance; forced proximity; forbidden romance

J. Saman’s Undeniably Corrupt brilliantly adds depth to her Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires series with the enigmatic, shadow figure of Vander. As the morally gray character of the extended next-gen group, Vander has stepped in to save the day in each of the stories in this series. But who will step in and save him and his love interest, Liora? They both will. 

This is what I loved the most about Undeniably Corrupt. Liora and Vander save each other from the eventual threat of their story, each taking a part and offering a solution to their eventual problem. Saman has written Liora and Vander’s chemistry well, showcasing a steamfest that intensifies as the story (and their love) progresses. Continuing on her “band of brothers (and sisters)” trope in this book solidifies its place in the series, and it continues to grant us glimpses into the lives of the former couples in this series. Even more, Saman writes Liora and Vander to be likable, which means we root for their happy ending. 

Here are my issues with this book (and the series as a whole): while the parents of the next-gen adults make appearances, they are brief and go nowhere in these stories. If you’ve read Saman’s earlier series, you’ve grown to care for the characters of those series. However, we get very little interaction with them and their children in this series, especially Vander. For me, I thought that Vander’s father, Lenox, would have played a greater part in aiding his son through his and Liora’s trouble. But he was virtually silent, and that didn’t sit well with me. In fact, Vander does very little with his father, despite being a carbon copy of him. And therein lies one of the most significant issues with this story. 

Secondly, I struggled greatly with the pacing of Liora’s secret revelation. The believability that she would hold onto her secret for much of the book seemed problematic, especially as she’s aware of Vander’s skill. While she doesn’t know the depths of it, I was confused with her choice to withhold information from him. Sharing her secret earlier in the story would have allowed for more development of the consequences later. The resolution felt rushed. 

Would I read Undeniably Corrupt again? Absolutely! Liora and Vander are the “heavy” of this series, one that seems founded on the beloved enemies-to-lovers trope. J. Saman wrote this well in her romances for this series. I know she has two new series on the horizon, and I can only hope that we will fall in love with her future band of characters as we have with her Boston Irresistible Billionaires crew.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Kandi Steiner’s Save Your Breath, book 4 of her Kings of the Ice series ✍🏻

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Overall Grade: A-

Tropes: childhood friends to lovers; opposites attract; fake relationship/engagement; forced proximity; pro hockey romance; miscommunication trope; athlete & pop star; slow burn

Two elements elevate romance novels to greatness: a hero who can tenderly braid the heroine’s hair and characters whose painful pasts prevent them from finding happiness until their love interest truly sees them. Kandi Steiner masterfully incorporates both in Save Your Breath, the fourth installment in her Kings of the Ice series, creating an emotional journey that devastated me in the best possible way.

I anticipated that Aleks Suter and Mia Love’s story would pack the most potent emotional punch in this series. While I remain a devoted “Daddy P” fan, Aleks now rivals him as my favorite Steiner book boyfriend. Unlike Daddy P’s brooding grumpiness, Aleks embodies the team’s “bad boy” persona—yet his anger-fueled actions mask the deep wounds of a man abandoned to foster care. Steiner’s character development for Aleks stands as the novel’s greatest achievement. His journey toward self-acceptance through Mia’s unconditional love brought me to tears, and Steiner makes readers work for this payoff through an exquisitely crafted slow-burn romance.

Mia serves as Aleks’s perfect counterbalance. Beyond the “good girl/bad boy” dynamic, Steiner portrays her as someone who complements and challenges Aleks. Through Mia, we witness the struggle to maintain cultural relevance while staying true to artistic integrity. Aleks becomes her biggest supporter, encouraging her to create authentic music even as they navigate their arranged engagement. This mutual admiration adds profound vulnerability to their supposedly fake relationship—they’re each other’s greatest champions, fostering a love that captivates readers.

The Tampa Bay Ospreys’ found family dynamic enhances the emotional resonance. Aleks’s gradual connections with teammates parallel his growing closeness with Mia, creating a powerful emotional compound effect when he finally accepts that he deserves love. While these interactions often inject humor into tense moments, they underscore Aleks’s deep-seated need for acceptance. His relationships with Mia’s parents and his elderly neighbor further highlight his character growth, adding emotional complexity to the story.

My one criticism lies in the miscommunication between the protagonists. While Steiner establishes their ability to see each other fully, their failure to recognize each other’s feelings sometimes lacks credibility. The narrative doesn’t sufficiently explore why these otherwise perceptive characters remain blind to their mutual attraction.

Nevertheless, this flaw doesn’t diminish the overall emotional impact of Save Your Breath. Readers should prepare for a slow burn that demands patience—Steiner doesn’t rush Aleks and Mia’s journey. The beautiful, tear-inducing conclusion justifies the wait. The Kings of the Ice series continues to deliver exceptional hockey romance, and I eagerly anticipate the next two installments.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 I love me a bad boy…or a seemingly bad boy. Kandi Steiner’s Save Your Breath is everything I had hoped for Aleks and Mia’s story. It’s engaging, emotional, and EVERYTHING you love about Kandi Steiner’s romances. Today is the DAY to grab this one. ✍🏻

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Kandi Steiner’s next story in the exciting world of professional hockey, Save Your Breath, is available now. You absolutely do not want to miss the fireworks between Mia Love and Aleks Suter.

Grab your copy HERE 👇🏻

Ebook, Alex cover, etc: geni.us/saveyourbreath

Discreet/Special Edition paperback: https://amzn.to/4ijpZyq

Discreet/Special Edition hardcover: https://amzn.to/4iDb3Ll

Tropes:

  • Pro Hockey Romance
  • NHL Bad Boy
  • Pop Star Princess
  • Fake Engagement
  • Athlete & Pop Star
  • Childhood Friends to Lovers
  • Forced Proximity
  • Unrequited Love (or so they think)
  • Opposites Attract
  • Slow Burn
Blurb:

THIS JUST IN: HOCKEY BAD BOY AND POP STAR EXTRAORDINAIRE ENGAGED!

That was the headline we’d wanted. If only I’d known the cost to get it.

Aleksander Suter has been my best friend since high school—and the only man who’s ever been able to truly get under my skin. With his reputation for trouble and a smirk that could melt ice, he’s also the NHL’s favorite bad boy.

When my publicist’s plan to fix my image collides with his need to clean up his own, we find ourselves in a fake engagement that feels too real from the start.

Now, I’m releasing my new album, putting on a show for the paparazzi I usually try to dodge, and falling too fast for a man who never falls for anyone. Every stolen glance, every heated touch blurs the lines between us until I’m wondering where the lies end and the truth begins.

And when a hurricane traps us together in his high-rise condo, all my carefully built walls collapse, and resisting the pull between us becomes a losing game.

Suddenly, the stakes are higher than just headlines, and the risks feel more personal than ever.

But as our past resurfaces and old feelings reignite, I realize the biggest risk isn’t losing my career—it’s losing my heart to the one person I thought would never be mine.