Trying to Score

Assassins Series, Book 2

By: Toni Aleo

Narrated by: Lucy Malone

Fallon Parker's dream has always been to turn her family's wine company into a runaway success and eventually start a cellar of her own. Since graduating from college, she has worked relentlessly to make that dream a reality, especially after taking a chance on love - and losing. By the time Fallon becomes an official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, she feels like all her hard work is finally paying off. And then the man who broke her heart skates back into her life.

On the ice, Lucas Brooks is the NHL's leading scorer-at least when he's not in the box. Off the ice, he's a mess, with all his anger and misery bottled up inside. He threw away the most important person in his life and has regretted it ever since. But when Lucas returns to Nashville in a trade, he's determined to convince Fallon that he's a changed man. The attraction is still there. The tension is electrifying. But the odds are stacked against them-especially after Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a devastating secret.

©2012 Toni Aleo (P)2014 Tantor

Too angsty

I really like the story & the characters, but there was too much unnecessary angst. I felt like the back & forth by the heroine. It was really exhausting & felt like it was just for added length to the story. Loved the narrator, though. She was great at different accents.

Loved it!

Loved it! Great characters! A beautiful story of a second chance love. I can’t wait for Audrey story!!!

Frustrated

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change the Main Female Character. I have never disliked a main character as I have come to despise Fallon, and I have averaged 5-8 books a month for YEARS. The yelling/screaming and fit throwing got old fast. The pity parties lasted too long. She over reacted to everything. Hopping on a freaking plane to confront someone about a six year old singing some bad words in a song? Slapping someone over it???When is what amounts to domestic violence ever ok? What did all of her yelling and screaming teach the six year old? Verbal abuse is never ok and this is not how a strong, stable adult acts, even after heart ache and betrayal. She even left him after she found out about his history! I liked the sister better than her. I loved the male character, Lucus. I found him to be strong, caring, and patient (he had to be to put up with all that). He made a mistake and owned up to it, accepting responsibility for it. Have to have some respect for a man who can do that, even when his action was wrong. I enjoyed the first book in this series so I will give the 3rd a chance. This is the first review I have ever felt compelled to write but this female IRRITATED me.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I enjoyed the hockey aspect, though the sport was very much in the background in this story.

What about Lucy Malone’s performance did you like?

I liked her ability to put emotion into her reading

Did Trying to Score inspire you to do anything?

No

Any additional comments?

A female can be strong without ever raising her voice. She will pick herself up when she has fallen, dust herself off, learn from what happened and grow from it. If violence is called for to protect life or limb go for it. If not, put your big girl panties on and deal with conflict like an adult.

What a B

By the and I really was hoping that Lucas would cut and run. What a miserable woman.

Lucas and Fallon

Excellent read. Absolutely enjoy mix of romance and hockey!
Lucas' dyslexia makes him human. Aidan's offer to help teach Lucas to read adds precious moments.

Second chance love...

This was a really good listen with the hero being a new player for the Nashville Assassins hockey team. When he’s finally in Nashville, he discovers that the girl he lost seven years earlier is there also. What he doesn’t know is that she has a secret she kept from him- his son. When he finds out, he’s determined to get her back and make them a family because he’s never stopped loving her. Because of their past, she doesn’t know if she can ever trust him. The narration was well performed.

Loved the character relationships.

I loved the character relationships in this book. They really enriched the story. Fallon and Aiden have a special mom-son relationship as does Audrey with Aiden as his aunt. Fallon and Audrey are not only sisters but best friends. It's been the three of them for seven years now.

Fallon and Lucas were together seven years ago until Lucas broke Fallon's heart by cheating on her with her roommate and at-the-time best friend. It wasn't until after she left that she discovered she was pregnant. Lucas has done a lot of personal growth and improvement in the last seven years. Previously an alcoholic and pill popper, starting with the death of his father, he has gone through rehab and has been sober for years. This turns out to be especially beneficial when he discovers he has a son. Now he can be the kind of father his father would've been proud of.

While Lucas never stopped loving Fallon, Fallon is convinced she doesn't love him any longer and refuses to give them a chance. Over the course of the book, Fallon has to face some of her own demons in the form of trust issues. She is forced to face some harsh realities about herself in order to find happiness. She struggles not only in her relationship with Lucas, but, as a result, in her relationship with her son and her sister. Add onto that that Audrey is in a toxic relationship with a man only Lucas knows the identity of and things are set to go downhill fast.

All does come together in the end for Fallon, Lucas and Aidens's HEA. Unfortunately, the same can't exactly be said about Audrey, who has a penchant for picking the wrong men. I am excited that her story is next up in the series though in Empty Net. What only makes it better is the hockey player to be featured with her in the book. This book does not have a cliffhanger and can be read as a stand-alone if so desired. I would highly recommend also reading the first book in the series, Taking Shots, though. It features the Assassins team captain Shea and Fallon's friend Elli. As a bonus, we also get to hear the story of Harper, Elli's best friend, and Jacob. Overall, an excellent series so far.

Too many unnecessary stall tactics

40% of this story is fluff. it's also very repetitive. what I mostly didn't like was how the author dragged out the storyline with intentional misunderstanding or simple omission. I skipped a lot of the end of the book.

good book

this was a good lesson but Fallon was really annoying through the whole book, she could have been much more forgiving way sooner and to actually lesson to his side of the story first before leaving

Heroine?

For the most part I liked the book. It was fun to listen to and the main guy made me want to
leave my husband for a fictional character. However, Fallon made me want to slap her in the face. I don’t know how the people in her life deal with her. I get at the beginning being all crazy and hating your cheating ex-boyfriend, but she was still whining about not trusting him after she found out HE DIDN’T CHEAT. Oh let’s not forget that he told her everything about himself that made him who he is (the good, bad and ugly) and she still made him work for it (I don’t mean sex. I mean just to give him a second chance). Also she cries way too much. Put on your big girl panties, put your hair up and be a woman. If she was my sister I would have slapped her. Anyways I never leave reviews but I disliked her so much I needed to get this off my chest. Thank you for the opportunity.