The Relationship Pact by Adriana Locke Blog Tour & Review

  THE RELATIONSHIP PACT by Adriana Locke Release Date: December 17th   Add to Goodreads: https://geni.us/6A5zx     AVAILABLE NOW!! FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Amazon US: https://amzn.to/36HMIR2 Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/38Zya26 Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/35Qego8 Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3fkga3q     Blurb: How hard can it be? That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend. It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all. Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family. She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either. And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be. It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy. Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder. What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?       About the Author: USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own. She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket. Connect w/Adriana: Website: https://adrianalocke.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksbyadrianalocke Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ivy7xd BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke</a Newsletter Signup: http://bit.ly/NewsletterAddy  

The Relationship Pact by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adriana wrote such an emotional story for Hollis. He was quite the guarded young man, keeping his emotions very close to the chest and only trusting a small handful of people in his life. River and Crew were really the only people who knew him and understood him, beneath the façade he wore. Hollis grew up with an unfathomable amount of trauma and heartbreak. He thought he'd never be worthy of love and used humor to avoid any true emotions or commitment. But when he started to let his guard down, wow, it was breathtaking!

Larissa had so much love to give and shined brighter than the sun, warming everyone around her. These two couldn't have been more opposite but like magnets, they were drawn to each other and couldn't pull apart. Riss had an amazing support system but horrible luck with men. She had a type and it was the wrong one. Hollis fell right into the category of men to avoid, but Riss knew something about him was different.

I don't normally enjoy fake romance stories, but this one was too easy to love. The pact was mutually beneficial for both characters and they actually came to develop quite the friendship along the way. They understood each other on a deeper level and didn't let the lust overhaul their relationship. Hollis started to open up to Larissa, which helped her understand him better and see more clearly what he needed from her after the agreement ended.

I adored "Grandma Judy". She was exactly what Hollis needed at that exact moment. She was that guiding light he needed, to find his way. I appreciate it when an author brings a strong, wise, influential older character into a story to help the younger generation. Her warmth and love was so necessary and timely for Hollis.

Truly enjoyed this fake relationship / small town / sports romance love story. There were so many moments of humor but also a lot of humility and soul searching. Parts of the story were a little slow due to an overwhelming amount of of internal dialogue. The ending was everything I hoped for and while it took a while for both characters to get their wits about them, it was worth the wait!

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