First and Goal

Branston Bandits, Book 3

By: Piper James

Narrated by: Cecily Foster, James Amherst

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

When I let my most embarrassing secret slip to the person I wanted it kept from most of all.

Damn you, tequila.

I'm a grown woman. I turned thirty this year, and I've been running my own business for the last decade, a dream I made a reality all on my own. I have an amazing group of friends. Life is good. I'm happy.

Well, except for one little problem I'm still a virgin.

How did this happen? How did I manage to live this long without ever making it past second base? I don't know. Maybe it just never felt right. Maybe I was waiting for something. Or someone.

When local football star Foster McKenna moves into my bed & breakfast for a long stay while his own house is being built, I know it's him. He's the one I've been waiting for. I'm finally ready to get rid of this V-card, once and for all, and Foster is just the man to divest me of it. I've been crushing on him for months, and now that were here, all alone in this big house.

But when a little liquid courage turns into a full-on bender, I accidentally let my secret slip. And all the things I liked about Foster his honesty, his integrity, his kindness and strength of will turn out to be the bane of my existence. Despite being obviously attracted to me, he won't give me what I want. He's trying to protect me. From him. From myself.

Well, screw that. If he won't rid me of this godforsaken virginity, I'll find someone who will. Then maybe he'll see me as a woman, and not some fragile flower he needs to protect.

Oh, but he doesn't like that idea.

Not one little bit.

©2023 Piper James (P)2024 Pink Flamingo Productions

Book 3 - Branston Bandits

This is book 3 in James' Branston Bandits. This book can be read / listened to as a standalone but the books in this series interconnect with characters. This book focus' on main characters Hadley and Foster. Hadley comes thru as the shy, innocent girl next door type while Foster is the tatted-up football player who can't / won't be tamed. I loved the dual narration and the dual point of view and felt both were done wonderfully well. I did find it hard to believe Hadley's lack of experience and while I understood it for the sake of the storyline it was so farfetched for me that it made it too fantastical for me. I do love the comradery that both Hadley has with her besties (loved some of those text conversations) and Foster's brotherhood with his teammates. I do wish we had gotten a bit more back story on these two and what made them the innocent and hard characters they were, but I loved how Foster fell and fell hard. His character growth was wonderful to watch and author James delivers both the sweet and the steam factor in this read to a perfect balance. Overall, a really good read and I'm super excited to see what's to come next from James.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I voluntarily provided this review.

Sweet Romance

Hadley’s beautiful, smart, shy…and a 30 year old virgin, a secret she’s kept from even her closest friends. She’s lived vicariously through their dating lives while building her bed and breakfast, a business left to her by her grandfather.

Enter Foster McKenna, a professional football player for the Branston Bandits. His two best friends and teammates have found love and settled in town. Foster is ready to put down roots, too. He’s having a home built and needs a place to stay long term, so he books a room at Hadley’s B&B. He’s very attracted to Hadley, but she screams ‘relationship’ and Foster doesn’t do relationships. One night, a drunken confession about her virginity changes how Foster approaches her. Hadley decides that if Foster won’t be her first, she’ll find someone who will. But when Hadley starts dating, all bets are off. Foster makes his feelings for Hadley known and they begin to build something real.

Cecily Foster and James Amherst did a wonderful job bringing life to Hadley and Foster. I’ve truly enjoyed this series.

Aaahhhh this may have been my favorite of the series!

Loved every single part of this story line. The friendship, the love, and companionship is perfect in these stories. Bring on book 4

A feast of the senses you can't put down.

The push and pull of attraction meets the heart and soul of romance. James continues bring her ironic sense of humor to emotional romance. Funny and flirty joins sweet and spicy to create addictive serendipity. Underneath every heartache lies a new revelation that illicits all kinds of feels. A feast of the senses you can't put down.

Shooting Your Shot!

Hadley was living her life voraciously through her friends’ smexy stories. They knew she was shy but nobody would have guessed her secret. When Foster Mckenna moves into the B&B he can’t deny the pull between him and Hadley but one drunken confession changes how he approaches this. I loved how gentle and kind he was with letting Hadley take a little bit of the lead and how their story unfolds. Narrators brought the characters to life.

This story really came to life!

I've read and loved this book before! Listening to it just took it to a whole new level! It made me want to go back and reread all of her precious books! So, do yourself a favor and listen to all the audiobooks she has and read all of her other books!

Hadley is the sweetest ever! I felt bad for her because she didn't believe she was beautiful. Foster was just what she needed. He helped her by showing her how worthy, special, beautiful, and wonderful she truly is. And Hadley returned the favor by showing him that he was worthy of love and it was something he could have in his life.

Even though Hadley turned out to be a virgin, this book had some amazing spicy scenes that worked their way up to PIV sex. I especially loved the fact that Piper James portrayed that losing your viriginty doesn't mean that it has to hurt. I always hate it when books make it seem like that is just something you have to deal with when in fact that isn't the case.

I can't wait to see what Piper James delights us with next:)

Foster is book boyfriend material!

Foster McKenna is the tight end for the Branston Bandits. He doesn’t do relationships & he’s avoided putting down roots for the entirety of his career. But there’s just something about this small town that his teammates, Riggs & Miles, have settled down in that draws him in.
Hadley is the owner of a local bed & breakfast, a house she inherited from her grandmother nearly a decade ago. A business that she started on a dream, and while she’s done well, it gets hard sometimes. So when local a football star & friend of her best friend’s fiancé needs a place to stay while his house is being built, she finds herself with a long term resident.
Being a business owner for the better part of her adult life has not afforded Hadley to be well versed in the dating scene. And while she finds herself possessing quite a crush on her current resident, she keeps her awkward desires to herself. At least, until one night of extra tequila shots & a drunken confession. One she hopes he forgets.
As their relationship progresses, I loved watching Foster’s patience and care for Hadley. She wanted to jump in head first to a physical relationship with no regard to future outcomes. But Foster is convinced that he can’t be the man she needs long-term. But when the right person comes along, we find that our reservations about relationships seem to go out the door. And this is exactly what happened with Foster. He finds that his hesitance to fall into a relationship just simply doesn’t apply to Hadley. He wants desperately to give her everything she’s ever wished for. With his skills both as a handyman & a chef, he finds himself becoming an asset not only to Hadley, but to her bed & breakfast as a whole.
But what happens when his house is finished being built? What happens if he gets traded to a different team? Hadley has a life, a home, and a business that she loves dearly…he could never take her away from that.

Audiobook Review:
Cecily Foster & James Amherst’s narration was executed perfectly. Foster & Hadley’s patient & caring relationship came through in the voices of these two. They completely personified these characters bringing them to life.

Another great read.

First and Goal (Branston Bandits #3) is a sports romance.

This was Hadley and Foster’s book. I could feel the chemistry throughout their story. It was fun, sweet and humorous. Their friend group was great, liked the banter and I enjoyed their ending.

Cecily Foster and James Amherst did a really nice job portraying these characters.

Cute, Sweet, and Heartwarming!

This is the third book in the Branston Bandits series. This is a series of interconnected standalone romances. Foster and Hadley's slow burn romance is cute, sweet, and heartwarming. I liked the banter, the push and pull, and the romance. Cecily Foster and James Amherst did an excellent job bringing this story to life. I enjoyed it. #PFPAudio

Sweet Couple Who Fall For Each Other

A sweet 30 yr old woman, Hadley, runs a B&B in a small town that once was her grandmother’s. Two of her friends met football players and fell in love and were marrying.
Hadley also had a crush on a football player who was going to stay on her B&B as he built his dream home.
Three football players, three women who are best friends.. two who had found their love.. will Hadley?
A sweet story of romance, discovery and love
Perfect narration and a story that can standalone if you have read about the first two couples
Enjoyable story worth your time