Hard and Fast

I been waiting for the next book in this series and it was so worth the wait. Gage is known as the office player and Penny works for their company. When they play a game with an outcome that benefits each other it made for a different atmosphere on the office. I love how different their characters are but with just the right amount of quirkiness that made it so adorable to watch their relationship grow. But when he fights the feeling will he lose more than her in his life? One click to find it in this newest release that doesn’t disappoint.

Four and a half stars Hard and Fast by Mari Carr is the second in her delicious Italian Stallions series. Penny Beaumont is the ultimate gamer girl, but she decides she’s had enough of her sometimes lonely existence and determines to make some changes with the help of her scorching hot boss and friend, Gage Russo. Mari Carr’s take on this friends to lovers, makeover story is fabulously fun and full of heart, humor, and heat. Penny’s generous spirit and love for cats is as appealing as Gage’s reluctant tumble into more than one night… Ms Carr’s writing is warm and Penny and Gage’s all-too-real vulnerabilities and tenderness are as lovely as their banter and hilarity. A terrific read.

O. M. G. Penny and Gage were that “looks like complete opposites but are definitely a match made in heaven” kind of couple. On the surface, you might think this is a My Fair Lady type of story, where the male lead transforms the female lead into a beautiful swan. But Penny is no Eliza Doolittle and Gage is nothing like the snooty Henry Higgins. As Gage and Penny get to know one another outside of work, thanks to her desire for “lessons” in both seduction and “upscaling” her appearance, they become friends first. Gage quickly realizes that the only enhancement Penny needs is in her confidence and how she sees herself. The woman is sweetness personified. Gage may appear to be just a playboy but the man has depth of both personality and character. He’s at first reluctant to go along with those lessons because he doesn’t just want a surface connection to Penny, he quickly realizes he wants a real one. And they are off the charts hot! That chemistry was burning up my ereader as well as warming my heart. Penny may come off as a bit nerdy but there’s a siren hiding under those glasses and gaming tees. She takes everything Gage has to give, then pushes for more. Everything fans expect from a Mari Carr book was in this book…and then some! It might be premature to say this, considering there’s more books to come in the series, not to mention her extensive backlist. But this might be my favorite book by this fantastic and prolific author!

This is a romance between Penny who runs the IT department and Gage who is one of the company owners with his brothers and is also her boss. They both love D and D, video games and they also share some work friends. Thats how these two end up getting to know each other and a friendship forms. But Gage is also rich, sexy and into one night stands and is terrified of relationships. Penny has never dated or had a relationship. But she is tired of being alone and so she asks Gage for tips on finding a date and flirting and finding a guy to date. And do the fun begins.... This was a fun story and I enjoyed watching the ultimate bachelor fall for the nerdy woman. Penny is a true original and I loved her courage and ability to get out there and try and change her life. I really loved her scenes with Gage and his with her. They become real friends and Gage ends up having a hard time resisting her and she fights for the future she wants. It was a really awesome story and I really enjoyed it. I loved Penny so much and I loved how hard Gage tries to resist her charms but its an impossible fight as Penny was such and awesome character. I received a complimentary early release copy of this e-book from the author prior to release and am voluntarily leaving a review.