Review: Kiss Hard

Kiss Hard by Nalini Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Danny Esera and Catie Rivers have been frenemies practically all their lives. Danny's older half-brother is married to Catie's older half-sister and so they are practically family, especially since Catie's father is an unreliable gambler and her mother is a cold career woman without a maternal bone in her body.

Danny is a star rugby player from a dynasty of New Zealand rugby players, Catie is a paralympic sprinter. The two of them are forever snarking on each other's social media, although never in a mean way.

When Catie sees Danny clearly under the influence at a bar in Auckland she knows something is wrong, Danny wouldn't drink that much he's very conscious of his public image and maintaining his personal fitness. It turns out that someone at the bar has slipped drugs into Danny's drink and Catie has to get him to the hospital with the help of one of his teammates. In order to misdirect people, particularly the press, Danny's friend pretends that Danny and Catie went off on their own to hook up, which normally wouldn't be a problem but with Danny being rugby's golden boy, if the two of them are thought to have had a one-night stand it would reflect badly on Catie and could cost her some of her sponsorships (double standards are still alive and well). Also, Danny has an ultra-conservative sponsor who might not view a one-night stand favourably. So the two of them agree to a fake relationship for six months, be seen publicly, attend a few events, post a few pictures on the socials, job done. Very close friends and family are told that its fake.

But of course, what they intend isn't what happens and soon the fakery becomes real. But can they make it all the way and how will love impact their career ambitions?

Loved it. Intelligent characters with integrity. None of the rinse-and-repeat angst of other authors. Going back to read the other books featuring the Esera brothers.

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