5 Smooches!
Synopsis
I don’t remember a time I didn’t love Crenshaw Bennett.
I tried to deny it, but my feelings grew deeper.
I thought he could never love me the way I love him.
I was wrong—outrageously, deliriously, and beautifully wrong.
One innocent kiss changes my life forever.
Suddenly, Shaw is mine.
Loyal, devoted, and the most loving man on this Earth.
Together, we create an explosion of fiery passion, devotion, and chemistry I never knew was possible.
All of my dreams are within reach, but I should have known it was too good to be true.
The past always catches up to you, and I’m left staring at my worst nightmare.
Faced with the unthinkable, I am forced to choose between the man I love and a past I cannot change.
Shaw’s fighting like hell to prove we can have it all, but can I find the strength to be the woman he needs?
REVIEW
This was the first book I’ve read by Ahren Sanders, and I was totally taken by surprise by it. I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting when I read the Hotshot blurb after my blogger boss, Miranda, told me about this assignment. But I can tell you that I was absolutely not expecting to feel the level of emotion that I felt while reading this book. From white-hot, furious anger to gut-wrenching heartbreak, I felt every single emotion that this couple went through. Oh yes, Hotshot drew me in from the first page.
I was immediately thrown into Bizzy and Nick’s story, struck by the bond these two teens forged through something that was unfathomable and how brave and strong they were in the face of all that they were dealing with. It was during this time, when an awkward and ill young Bizzy meets Shaw, Nick’s older brother and, for her, it was love at first sight. The friendship that grew between Bizzy and Nick was special and rare, shaped through a shared experience that cannot be comprehended unless you’ve been there yourself. The – strictly platonic – love between the two of them was beautiful and genuine. She is drawn into the tight circle of the Bennett family, much as her family embraces them.
As if the cards that Bizzy was dealt weren’t bad enough, this young woman is targeted by a mean girl when she is finally well enough to return to school. Bizzy’s pain, humiliation and hurt radiated through the author’s words as she dealt with the never-ending episodes of this other girl’s cruelty. The bright spot in all of it was her friendship with Nick, the handsome high school star quarterback, who rallied behind her and forced her to live her life as a normal teen despite the torment that plagued her at every step. I truly loved how incredibly resilient Bizzy was. While not unscathed, she managed to come through the torture of her teens with the core of her kind, gentle and generous spirit still intact. She selflessly pursued a career that would make a difference in the lives of children waging the same battle that she had while also repeatedly taking her back to that time in her own life. While she loved all the Bennetts, the day she met Shaw, her life was changed, and on top of the all heartache she already carried, Bizzy had to accept that he’d never see her as more than a sister.
Shaw Bennett has been a protective and loving friend to Bizzy since the day he met her. Fast forward ten years to an unexpected and surprising moment of clarity for Shaw. All it took was one simple gesture for everything to snap into place for him. He finally sees what is right there in front of him, what his future could be and, to his credit, he doesn’t waste any time in his pursuit of it. Unfortunately, an easy happily-ever-after isn’t in the cards, and this is where Ahren Sanders plunges in the knife into her readers’ already twisting guts as the mistakes of Shaw’s past slither into the light. Shaw goes through a nightmare dealing with them, all the while clinging almost frantically to Bizzy, to their love and to their relationship. Bizzy, I had to hand it to her, she stayed strong in the face of what was absolutely her worst nightmare, and despite her heartbreak and anger, she tried desperately to not only understand but also to be there for him.
This relationship, had it not been rooted in so much history, would have been doomed. Neither of them could even imagine not having the other in their lives, and with the added knowledge now of how good they are together, a lifetime without the other seems impossible. This was love story positively gutted me with how beautiful yet painful it was. My heart physically ached for Bizzy and my head spun for Shaw. There were points while reading this book that I was just sick over the angsty emotion playing out on the pages. Just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be more for this couple, for Bizzy, to endure, Ahren Sanders twisted the knife in my gut and gave me more.
This was a such a great story. It was definitely hard to get through at some points, but it was so well written, so well developed and fleshed out, it was almost impossible for me to put it down. I had my Kindle in hand as I attempted to cook dinner while reading this book. I absolutely loved Ahren Sanders’ Hotshot, and it gets 5 smooches from me.
~ Danielle Palumbo
