A Wild Card Kiss

Ballers and Babes Series, Book 2

De: Lauren Blakely

Narrado por: Erin Mallon, Zachary Webber

A sexy stand-alone romance between a single dad athlete and the woman who got away narrated deliciously by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon!

Things that suck on my wedding day - walking in on my groom kissing another woman 20 minutes before the ceremony.

Things that suck worse? The woman he’s kissing is my mom.

I head straight for the bowling alley bar down the street and ask for a double. And in walks a deliciously charming local football hero - Harlan Taylor. Yes, I’ll take another drink in the form of a one-night stand with this hunk of a man.

In the morning, he asks if I want to get together again. More rebound nookie? Yes please!

But then I learn his football team just hired my yoga studio to teach downward facing dog to their star player, making my O-delivering hottie officially off limits. Trouble is, the more time I spend working with the sexy single dad who dotes on his daughter, the more I’m feeling all the things far too soon.

There’s no way this can end well, but tell that to my runaway heart....

This production also includes a short story performed by Blake Lockheart!

©2022 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2023 Lauren Blakely Books

love is

Love is so awesome in Lauren Blakely's stories. The couple have fun together, laugh together, and fall in love together! Great story, great narrators, and can't wait for the next book!

Zachary Webber ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Holly cow “MOOO”, what an awesome story line and performance!!!!! So stinking funny and swoon worthy!

Katie and Harlan were so great together.

Katie and Harlan were so great together. Harlan was quite swoon-worthy- he's a single dad professional athlete who's just an all-around fantastic guy. Sassy and driven yoga instructor Katie was such a great match for him. I love that author Blakely has created a world with such charming characters and her books always have scorching chemistry and fantastic dialog. I purchased the audiobook and enjoyed performances by Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber- they are two of my favorite narrators and always do such a great job. As with most Blakely audiobooks, some fun extras are included at the end.

Love this Sexy Beast Oooo dealer 🔥

A Wild Card Kiss picks up 7 years, a wedding, crazy mom & a kid after A Wild Card Night…just like that one Wild night Harlan & Katie still have crazy chemistry. I love the way they just vibe together but time is not on their side😩

I absolutely admire Katie for finally putting herself first and goes after what she wants…and y’all Harlan is a total “sweetie pie”-from the way he loves Abby, to the relationship he has with Danielle & Jamie and the way he puts Katie’s needs & concerns first. The time they spend as friends makes them soooo much stronger as a couple.

Work out dates for the win 😘

Fave quotes:
This man is the biggest flirt I’ve ever met. Well, besides me. Maybe that’s why we get along so well. We are birds of a flirty feather.—-I freaking love the ease that Harlan & Katie have with each other. They flirt like no others❤️‍🔥

I step out of the garter, officially done with my wedding clothes. Harlan flops down on the bed. “Now, come sit on my face.” Happy Just-Escaped-Marriage Day to me, indeed.—-Harlan is just delicious & Katie is one lucky girl🔥

One of my favorite couples!

A Wild Card Kiss is the first book in the Happen Endings series by Lauren Blakely. This is Harlan's story! I didn't even know I needed his story until Lauren mentioned it. If you know me you know I have a list of my top Blakely Men and Harlan just pushed and shoved his way to the top two! Not only that, but Harlan and Katie are one of my favorite couples. Ever. Not just of Lauren's. Lord have mercy with this man. He can catch a football, bake a pie, kiss like a god and…sing! Be still my heart. Kate is a bada** yoga babe and I love her just as much. There was just something about this couple that got to me! Their instant attraction and sexy banter and the way they never forgot each other even though they moved on with their lives. This is an epic second chance love story that left me smiling and completely satisfied!

Audio: Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon were so great as Harlan and Katie. Two of my favorite characters and two of my favorite narrators and, you know, Lauren!

A Wild Card Kiss!

Harlan and Katie have so many obstacles put in their way since the day they first met. Of course love prevails because they have such a deep connection. It's magnetic, proving that without a doubt they can't stay away from each other and when they finally get together...BOOM! It's full on fireworks!
I loved how driven Katie was with her business and career. It was very impedance to her. The fact that Harlan also cared what she wanted was even more fantastic.
Harlan baking is super cute especially when he does it with his daughter, Abby, and I loved his relationship with Abby's mom and her family. So refreshing to see. I was also so very angry on Katie's behalf with her mother and Silvio. The gall of that woman just made me ragey.

Lauren always picks the most amazing narrators for her stories and this was no exception because I feel like Kate & Harlan were tailor made for Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber.
I loved the little sneak previews of Shut Up and Kiss Me and The Boyfriend Come Back too! I can't wait to find out who's playing opposite Teddy. And of course I can't leave out Bedroom Deals, which was about Zachary and Olive. Blake Lockhart did fabulous job with this story!

Absolutely (kiss) blown away!!

Lauren Blakely has done it again!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

If you are familiar with the Blakely Universe you would possibly remembered Harlan from the Babes and Ballers series. This is Harlan and Katies story, its a story about a second, third, fourth chance love.

Katie and Harlan meet when the ended up being surprise wedding dates, they hit it off hot and heavy. Their chemistry was palpable and undeniable, but unfortunately timing was not on their side. They're respective lives took them into different directions, but left them with one great night to remember (you can read their whole prequel in A Wild Card Night).

Fast Forward 8 years later, Katie is about to get married, like heading for the alter. On the way to the aisle she finds out her fiancé was cheating on her ( you will never guess who with!!). She leaves the wedding and makes her way to the nearest bar to drown her sorrows in tequila. While sitting there, still in her wedding dress, she runs into Harlan. The chemistry is just as intense as it was before, and they are not letting it go to waste...But again, time is not on their side. Katie just broke off her engagement and Harlan is about to start training.

Fast forward to the fall, they both seem to be in the right place and the right time to start something. The finally decide to give the "us" of them a shot. Only to find out the new team Yoga instructor...is Katie. Yet again, Katie and Harlan are blocked from being together. But this does not stop them from spending time together and becoming better friends. The spend time doing private yoga sessions, and baking with Harlans 6 year old daughter Abbie. After a while though their burning embers have become an unstoppable inferno and they can no longer deny what is happening between them. Will Katie risk her career, business and reputation? Will Harlan risk still being viewed as a playboy and his respect on the team? Find out what happens when love just can not be ignored.

This book has all the perfect makings of a Lauren Blakely book. It has Heart, character, comedy and as always some delicious HEAT! This was such a fun story to listen to, despite some serious subject matters. and of course, we meet several characters we have seen mentioned before, some have their own stories already and some have stories coming up. There are even two chapters towards the end with some special characters (and narrators :-o).

One of my favorite parts of the book was the relationship Harlan has with his daughters mother. The daughter was a result of a one night stand but that did not get in the way of them figuring out their co-parenting. In fact Harlan is even friends with her new husband and their 2 year old. Too many times I read a story with split parents and a child and it is not amicable. This is the type of mixed family story I love to see and hope to see more in the future.

The book was perfectly narrated by two of my favorites, Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon. These two just brought these characters to life, as they always do. Zach perfectly embodied the fun, sexy, swagger of Harlan and hit every joke with comedic precision. Erin gave a voice to the badassness that is Katie. These two are just a perfect pairing.

Great addition to the series

This was a slow burn but essential to have the characters get to know each other. I am glad it wasn’t rushed. Great story, great characters and great narration! I am hoping the upcoming books in the series are as good. Still wish “ Einstein “, the kicker from the other books, got his own story. I know there was a story there. 🏈

A Wild Card

Good book to read, love the characters, enjoy the story line, and I enjoy all of Lauren Blakely books!!

Harlan and Katie FINALLY get the timing right!

Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber are TOP NOTCH as Katie & Harlan! They never disappoint... and was that Teddy Hamilton doing a cameo toward the end as Jason? Nice surprise! Also Julia Whelan as Emerson was a nice surprise.

Harlan and Katie met several years ago at Jones & Jillian's wedding. They had BIG sparks, but her business was just taking off and she was moving from San Francisco to LA right after the wedding.

7 years later, Katie's back in SF and Harlan's got a 6 year old daughter, along with an excellent relationship with the baby mama and her husband. He still loves baking pies, and he still wants Katie. His career in the NFL is winding down, although he hasn't quite decided what he wants to do when the season ends this year.

They find each other again right after Katie's wedding fails to happen (you've got to read it to believe it) and they have another night together. They admit how attracted they are to each other - above and beyond the sexual chemistry they've got going on. They set up a "first date" but before they can go out, Katie's Yoga company is hired to not just train the Renegade players, but to do one on ones with Harlan. So, they are forced apart AGAIN.

There's a lot going on here with Katie not wanting to repeat the abhorrent behaviors her mother had displayed all her life, and Harlan and Katie being strong and resisting the nearly irresistible pull to one another. They're just good people not being able to be together due to workplace restrictions. I get it, but I also don't get it because you spend SO much of your life at work, it is practically impossible to not meet someone you might like romantically there.

I loved them together, and I loved their strength of character. I also loved the HEA - it's why I read, after all. Low angst, even with all the lip biting resistance.

Sweet Scale: 5/5
Spicy Scale: 3.5/5