Boarded by Love

By: Toni Aleo

Narrated by: Felicity Munroe, Joe Arden

Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Toni Aleo comes a spin-off series from the Assassins: the Bellevue Bullies!

Jude Sinclair here, hockey player for the Bellevue Bullies and lover of all ladies. Hockey's in my blood, and not to sound full of myself, but I'm good at it...really good. The draft is within my reach - it's mine to take - but that's not the only reason people know my name. They know me because of my way with women. They know the score, and I aim to please. I just tend to stay away from repeat performances. In other words I don't do relationships beyond my family and friends. I'm happy with life. However, I should warn you that my story and how I see it playing out is about to change due to a certain redhead on campus.

She's beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking. She's my game changer.

He's trouble from the moment I see him. I don't know what I'm thinking, but from the moment I meet his gaze, I'm his. It's a scary feeling. I've never trusted anyone outside my aunt and uncle - and even that took months. I didn't have it easy growing up. My mom was usually strung out, and she didn't give me a second thought. Drugs and the men who paid her were more important to her. It was horrible, but I'm stronger today. Because of my past, security is what I need most. Money assures me that I can take care of myself today, tomorrow, and next month. I don't want to ever be hungry or go without again, so I work hard for every penny.

Oh, by the way, I'm Claire Anderson. I'm a hard-studying sophomore at the University of Bellevue, dancer for the school dance team, and a burlesque dancer at a club, but that's my secret. You may think you know how our story ends, but you have no clue. It's not easy falling in love...or living happily ever after. At first it may seem so, but when is anything worth having ever won without a fight? Especially when you're boarded by love.

©2014 Toni Aleo (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Just plain Fun

Jude SinClair totally comes to life with Joe Arden's narration. He goes from a guy we'd normally not like to someone we really root for. After all, he's not so bad, he loves his mama and looks out for his brothers. The Bellvue Bullies series is too fun - you must do it.

Anyway... he meets Claire and he's hooked. She's not your normal college student. She has some secrets, and she's fallen for Jude. Her uncle is an over protective hockey pro -

Hijinx ensue.

Some tears...

some jokes

lots of lovin

It's just fun - get this today.

My first Toni Aleo book!

This was my first first Toni Aleo book and I absolutely LOVED IT!!! I thought the story was original. I enjoyed the characters and basically just everything about this. I can't wait to read more from This author.

Fantastic, but I wish I'd read Assassins first.

I thought this book was pretty fantastic. The story was interesting and engaging and the characters were imperfect and lovable (well, most of them).

Claire had a horrible childhood with a mother more concerned about her next fix than feeding her daughter. She had absolutely no security until her mother was murdered and Phillip took her in. In spite of this, she's been terrified that Phillip and his fiancé, Reese, would leave her too and has been looking for financial security of her own. A phenomenal dancer and choreographer, she has two jobs: one at Reese's studio and another she'd rather keep a secret, especially when she meets and falls for Jude. If she tells him, she might loose him, and she can't let that happen. Right?

Jude is a star hockey player for the Bellevue Bullies. He is captain of the team and will be going in the NHL draft that year. He shares his passion for hockey with his two brothers, Jayden and Jace, who both play hockey as well. They are all immensely talented. Being the hot-shot he is, Jude can have any girl he wants. And it seems that he's sampled almost all of them. It's always only been a one night thing. Somehow, just catching sight of Claire one day on campus is enough to change his romantic behavior (or lack thereof) completely. After watching the way his dad treats his mom, Jude is so happy to have found Claire. Their relationship seems perfect and he's thinking about forever. Until he learns two things within moments of each other, one about his father and another about Claire. If she lied to him once, he obviously can't trust her and relationships need trust. Right?

The only thing I that would've made this book better for me was to have read the Assassins series before starting the Bellevue Bullies series. The book made perfect sense without having read them, but I'd have loved to have the background, particularly for Reese and Phillip (who are apparently featured in book 6 of the Assassins series: Breaking Away). Since finishing this book, I have started at book 1 of the Assassin series, Taking Shots, and can't wait to get to Reese and Phillip's story. I'm excited about all of the stories I'll get to hear along the way, as many members of the Assassins hockey team and their significant others were mentioned in this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed both of the narrators for this book, Felicity Munroe and Joe Arden. Their narration was smooth and added to the story. They both did an excellent job.

Good Start

This is a good start to the series, I love the connection to her other series and really liked getting Claire's story as well as getting to see Reese and Phillip's wedding and HEA. Narration was done well.

True Love Conquers All

I haven't written a review in awhile and this book was so good I felt the urge to write about it. I love the story between Jude and Claire, I was so glad to read about the playboy that Jude was, didn't cause him to cheat on Claire, especially with all the girls constantly swooning over him. It was so awesome to see how much they loved each other right from the very start. I just knew it was going to catch up with Claire,the secret she held would eventually come out before you know it, but Jude didn't have to be so mean and headstrong about it. I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to give the best part of the story up, but this book is a must read if you love reading about hockey stars and true love.

droned a bit, but good story

So the story was cute and the narrators we're good! However after the first 10 chapters I put the audio on 2x speed for the next 10. It seemed to drone on & on. After going back to 1.3x speed, I finally got board and skipped through a few chapters to the end. Not enough excitement or romantic butterfly moments for me.

FANTASTIC

Narration: Both Narrators were absolutely brilliant

The book was an easy listen, some tears, some heartache, some laughter and sooo much love, I haven't read the assassins series as yet but it is def on my to do list, would love to here Phillip and Reese's love story.
What i enjoyed most about this book is that its not a cat and mouse love story, No body chasing anyone, MCs are drawn to each other and allow what ever they have to be explored... Its kind of real

a great listen

Surprisingly good!

This is not the type of book I would normally read and I was surprised by how good it was. I started listening to it and went on to something else because I didn't think it was going to be any good, but it really was.

What a wonderful story…

I could not stop listening… that is what I love about her books, it is an entire story in one book where all the characters come to life. Can’t wait to read the next. I read all the assassins first so I feel like I am playing catch up.

Surprised I liked it.

Would you consider the audio edition of Boarded by Love to be better than the print version?

I only listened to the audio version, so I can't comment on the print version. I really enjoyed the audio performance. The narrators were clear and easy to understand over traffic noise and other distractions.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Boarded by Love?

I usually find teen lovers shallow and can't identify with their angst. The characters in this story were well developed, and I enjoyed their introspection as they worked through their insecurities and fears.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite parts were the Sinclair children supporting their mother in her time of need and where Claire's uncle shows the depth of his love for her by counseling Jude on forgiveness.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Claire's kindness came through in so many ways, from her initially taking down hurtful posters to her encouraging Jude to recognize how someone who wanted to be his girlfriend could love him even without his encouragement. Jude talking to the girl and letting her know he would never have that type relationship with her, but that he still valued her friendship was very moving.