Fair Play by Deirdre Martin ****

This is the 2nd book in the NY Blades series, and I'm enjoying it pretty much. She doesn't use the humor of Rachel Gibson (another hockey-romance-series author), just the light chick-lit-ish style of contemporary romance. In this one, Janna's best friend Theresa is the heroine. Theresa is Italian-American-Brooklyn-born-and-raised, and feels she has escaped to Manhattan and left that lifestyle behind. Her parents want her to marry a nice Italian-American-Brooklyn boy and live down the block; she wants to restrict her Brooklyn time to her monthly Sunday lunch visit.

Michael Dante was also featured in the first book, as one of the Blades. He and Theresa met at a bar where she also met one of the other team members who subsequently assaulted Theresa and almost raped her. It caused some tension in book 1, since Theresa and Janna were roommates. In book 2 it continues to cause tension and trauma for Theresa, who hasn't dated since that incident. Michael has had a crush on her since the first meeting, and tries to wear her down and agree to go out with him. He even knows her parents - yeah, he's Italian-American-Brooklyn and lives down the block. But she can't get past the shadow of the near-rape when she gets close to him, so she pushes him away.

It was an entertaining read, not too overly emotional or anything, despite the seriousness of her state of mind. There's also a side story of a big company trying to buy out Janna and Theresa's small business that had a fairly predictable ending. I'm enjoying the series so far, nothing great, but good writing and enjoyable stories.

Body Check by Deirdre Martin ****

Martin is a new-to-me author whose work has been favorably compared to some of my favorites, usually Susan Andersen and Rachel Gibson. This series is the mythical NY Blades hockey team, and their captain Ty Gallagher is the first hero in book #1, Body Check.

Janna MacNeil is his worthy opponent/heroine - a hot shot, persistent terrier of a PR person, hired to help make the Blades team seem a little more respectable in the eyes of the media.

I liked Martin's style pretty well, although there were a couple of eye-roll moments for me (which I just overlooked) in the way the characters thought and reacted. Of course, at first Ty wants to just ignore her, but she gives him her "I'm going to be the pebble in your shoe, the annoying song you just can't get out of your head" speech, and she proceeds to do that all through the book. They bicker bicker bicker then...

I find myself looking at page numbers when the first intimate scene comes up - I figure around 100 pages into the book is reasonable for them to meet and develop a relationship. I think this one was right on target at page 97. There were a couple of plotlines that I had seen before - her family played a big part in the story, including a younger brother who idolizes the hockey captain, and sisters she always felt outshined her. All in all, a solid 4 star book by the end.