Hard to Love

The Play Hard Series, Book 5

By: K. Bromberg

Narrated by: Kai Kennicott, Troy Duran

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author K. Bromberg is back with a heartfelt enemies to lovers romance and a hero who redeems himself to steal your heart....

He was the one-night stand that didn’t exactly go as planned. Now he’s standing before me as if he’s never seen me naked, telling my manager he’ll take the job. Reluctantly.

Finn Sanderson.

Sports agent extraordinaire. Handsome as hell. The man who just signed on to control my every move.

Sure, I’m to blame for my recent bad press, but when your whole life has been so regimented, isn’t it normal to want to live it up a little

But when the partying stops and the grief I’m running from has nowhere else to hide, reality sets in. Turns out, Finn’s the only person I have left to help pick up the pieces. The only person to call.

Staying with him is a temporary thing. But when our fighting turns into laughter and our friendship turns into something more, will I fight for a man who swears he’s hard to love? Or is it wiser to walk away? To follow the plan?

* * *

Offering to help with a client is a way to repay a long overdue IOU to my mentor. Little did I know she was the woman who left my hotel room at four in the morning.

Stevie Lancaster.

Top-seeded US tennis player. Good girl gone bad. The woman currently about to throw her career away. And now my problem.

The compensation to “babysit” her is great, but she isn’t worth my trouble.

But when her world falls apart and she has no one else to turn to, I try to be a good guy by gathering her up and hiding her from the media’s eye.

Now she’s in my house, in my space, and even though I’m enjoying the side benefits of this unexpected arrangement, surely she’s better to leave when the time comes and follow her destiny. Because I’m not the man she needs. Not the man she could love. Right?

Are you ready to fall for the Kincade sisters and then men who love them in K. Bromberg's sexy, contemporary, sports romance series? These books can all be listened to as stand-alones, but you’ll enjoy reading them as a series!

Hard to Handle (Hunter & Dekker's story - hockey romance)

Hard to Hold (Rush & Lennox''s story - soccer romance)

Hard to Score (Drew & Brexton's story - football romance)

Hard to Lose (Gunner & Chase's story - baseball romance)

Hard to Love (Finn & Stevie's story)

©2021 K. Bromberg (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

Great Series!

This has been an absolutely fantastic series. Each book had its own feel and each book kept you captivated from beginning to end. This particular story turned outurnedout way better than I thought it would. Good. I wasn't sure how his story was gonna go because he was such a jerk in some of the other books but it really is a great story and the narrators are fantastic.

AN ENJOYABLE ENEMIES-to-LOVERS ROLLERCOASTER

Stevie and Finn’s fake names relationship starts with a one night dare.. however, things don't go as either one planned for the manwhore and the (more than) tipsy woman he takes to his hotel room. In the morning she’s gone.. but it won’t be the last time Finn sees his mystery woman.. in fact the next day he’s introduced to her and employed to get this famous tennis star’s spiralling reputation out of the ashes. But there’s grief behind Stevie’s destructive actions which is covering up her pain and feelings of lonliness since her Dad/Manager/Trainer and number one supporter died. What happens when the cocky Sports Agent and the drowning Tennis Star have to live together for two months?.. well, these enemies fight their chemistry and attraction.. Stevie's destructive actions continue to get worse before they get better.. this handsome "never going to let a woman in" smooth playboy is going to finally find his heart.. and they will both end up winners. And the ride is a rollercoaster of friction, fire and feels.

Worth a credit? Yes, I really enjoyed it. It's an entertaining, beautifully addictive, dual POV, enemies-lovers sweet listen with lots of emotions coming through its well-balanced chapters, character growth, self-discovery, passion, dirty-talk and sex. Is it one of K Bromberg's best?.. no, but it’s still enjoyable and I loved the way KB turned Finn's character around from 'most hated' in previous books to 'understood and loved' in this. It sadly brings the Play Hard series to an end. I loved Troy’s narration but I didn’t quite feel the same about Kai’s male voice.. which was just ok.

Enemies to lovers

From the previous books, I was wondering how Finn Sanderson could become the hero in a book but I shouldn't have worried since K. Bromberg is the author. Finn and Stevie almost have a one-night stand but find out the next day that he's her sports manager. As the story unfolds, Finn's background is revealed and we find out why he's the way he is. Can Finn turn Stevie around so she's back on the winning track? Will they both be able to admit that they love each other before it's too late? I enjoyed listening to this book and hearing Kai Kennicott and Troy Duran bring life to these characters.

A tough love story

I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to turn into a romance but K. Bromberg made it work. Finn and Stevie start out as a very unlikely couple and they both fight the attraction for a long time but when they finally come together it’s amazing.

Good conclusion to the series

I was happy to see Finn finally find his HEA and Stevie was the perfect woman for him. I struggled a little with the start of this book because of the subject matter (Stevie’s response to grieving) but it did come around and I enjoyed the ending. Kai Kennicott and Troy Duran were fantastic and helped me get through the book. I think I just wasn’t in the right mindset for this book at this time.

❤️

As always with Kristy’s writing - loved this story! One night stand to enemies to lovers. Story flowed well and kept my attention. Loved the narrators in my ear and felt they kept the emotion of the story flowing well.

Great listen

I Wasn’t ready for it to end as will look forward to her next book

It’s ok but not my favorite

Although this is a nice story and a conclusion for the series. Being Finn is always the bad guy in this series his story feels like an after thought it still leaves you with a smile. Troy Duran narrating is the best part of this story for me. Not my favorite but worth the credit if it’s not your last credit. This one is the bottom of the list for me in this series.

Underwhelming on the Bromberg Scale

Ok. This is hard to say because I love K. Bromberg…she wrote the first romance novel I ever read and got me completely hooked on this genre. I ADORE her and her writing talent. This story was good but not great. I simply wasn’t as captivated as I expected to be. Bromberg is an exceptional author but this wasn’t one of her best works, imo. The story lost speed along the way and I didn’t feel the connection to the characters. Finn and Stevie also didn’t have the sizzle factor I was hoping for. Strong narration did enhance the read.

Get for Troy

This story wasn't bad, but the FMC acted half her age part of the time and it seemed like the MMC only fell in love with the FMC because he was forced to be around her for two months. He admired her as a person, but the way his character and feelings were presented, it just seemed like he only lusted over her in the beginning and had deeper feelings later because he spent quality time with a woman, which he normally didn't do. I couldn't help but think the FMC could be switched out for another woman and the outcome could have been the same. I think the description of his feelings for his most recent former girlfriend and his first love gave me that impression. Either way, this book was okay, with sweet moments. If you are interested, definitely get the audiobook instead of reading it. That way, if the story is a disappointment, at least you got to listen to the always wonderful Troy Duran.
Story is 2.5 stars and narration is 5 stars.