Review: Hell Bent

Hell Bent by Rosalind James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anastasia Alexandra Glucksburg-Thompkins (Alix) is a descendant of royalty, an ersatz princess as she describes it, her grandmother was a princess and she is distantly related (and named after) members of the Russian royal family. Living and working in the Bay Area as an intern financial adviser for a P/E firm while studying for a degree at Stanford, engaged to the CFO of a tech company.

Sebastian Robillard is (probably) the oldest rookie in American football, After starting his career playing soccer in England, he is now a kicker in American football and has just been traded to the Portland Devils - starting over once more.

Sebastian and Alix first meet at a swanky restaurant where Alix's fiancé Ned's boss creates a scene, gets drunk and tries to drive his girlfriend home. Sebastian offers to get her an Uber, and after she slips and sprains an ankle he offers to take her to a pharmacy to get bandages.

The second time they meet is ten miles outside Portland in a convenience store. Alix has just walked out of her wedding, her internship, and Stanford. She's got a job as an electrician in Portland where she'll be living in a caravan (her own, which is called a Fifth Wheel?) and she is buying food whilst dressed in her reception dress. Sebastian is driving to his new accommodation but has rescued a dog that its owner just abandoned at a petrol station.

The third time they meet Sebastian is accompanying his new teammate (our old friend Harlan) to inspect a data centre (which Alix is helping to build) in which he has invested. Deciding this is fate, Sebastian asks Alix out, but they don't even get to go on a first date before life throws a spanner in the works, Sebastian's sister is dying and she has asked Sebastian to take on her teenage son Ben so he doesn't have to nurse her while she's dying.

Between them Alix and Sebastian have more baggage than Louis Vuitton but at heart they are good people. They weather family issues, work issues, and health issues stronger than ever.

Loved this so much I went back and re-read the first three books in the series.

Available on Kindle Unlimited.

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