Tuesday, March 16, 2021

RELEASE TOUR, EXCERPT, GIVEAWAY & REVIEW - Coaching the Nerd (Nerds Vs Jocks # 2) by Eli Easton & Tara Lain

 

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Release Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway:
Coaching the Nerd
By Eli Easton & Tara Lain

Coaching The Nerd Cover


Nerds Vs Jocks, Book 2

Super-bod meets super-brain

What happens when marshmallow-bodied supernerd Sean volunteers to be on the jocks’ flag-football team? It screws Bubba’s fraternity’s chances at the coveted flag football title, that’s what.

Bubba is drafted to be Sean’s personal trainer. He has to whip Sean into shape and make sure he doesn’t F up their team.

Sean may be a supernerd, but to Bubba he’s funny, and wise, and kinda cute. He’s also the one person on campus who doesn’t see Bubba as a big, stupid jock.

One BIG problem. Sean’s motivation for getting into shape is to lose his virginity -- and Bubba isn’t happy when guys start sniffing around.

But Bubba’s straight. Isn’t he?

Can a big, dumb jock from Nowhere, Wisconsin change his whole life for a genius who just wants to get laid?

COACHING THE NERD is a total makeover, opposites attract, My Fair Lady trope, bi awakening, campus romance – that grabs your flag.

Universal Link

Goodreads | BookBub

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My Rating - 5 Stars!


Coaching the Nerd is a fabulous college sports romance by Eli Easton and Tara Lain. The second book in the Nerds Vs Jocks series, it's easily read as a standalone. 

Sports romances are my absolute favorites, and this one is great. You get jock vs nerd, complete opposites, forced proximity, GFY, and controlling parents. And more. 

Bubba and Sean are complete opposites. They would never be friends, but they meet as part of the forced proximity this series brings about. Sean's a nerd who joins the flag football team, having no athletic ability, and no idea what he's doing. Bubba's the athlete who ends up helping him, as well as helping him to get into better shape. 

I love the way these men get to be friends, naturally falling into a close relationship. Everything about them just melts my heart.

With Sean looking to get laid before graduating college, he thinks he needs to get fit in order to accomplish this. Cue the little makeover, which I actually would have preferred not happening,  as it would be nice if he found love without any makeover. But, yes, he needs a little confidence more than the makeover itself. 

They're super sweet together, and I adore the way they start to catch feelings for each other.

Bubba's always been straight, but suddenly he finds himself interested in Sean. Yay, a GFY romance! Love this! Sexual awakening is always a fun read.

The two don't have a lot in common on paper, but end up having plenty to talk about, and complement one another well. Best of all though is the way they help one another. They both need to stop letting others define what they can and can't do. Sean wants to get fit to prove he can be fit and smart. And Bubba wants to be more than a mechanic. This aspect is beautiful. I don't want to spoil anything, but I absolutely love everything about this element. 

Their tale includes some fun first times for both men, as Bubba has never been with a guy before, and Sean's a virgin. Oh, so much fun. Love these scenes, as they're hot and also sweet and funny, which is appropriate for these two.  

I love the group of friends in this story. But, damn, some of the family issues leave you hating both men's families. 

The writing is wonderful, with charming characters, an entertaining storyline, and a flawless flow. I love the journey throughout this story. Unlike many of the sports romances you will find out there, there is no real struggle with coming out or homophobia. There is some angst though, but all due to some outside factors. 

Overall, Coaching the Nerd is a beautiful story. This Eli Easton and Tara Lain romance is a must read if you enjoy college romances. I love everything about it. If you enjoy some good character growth, you'll love this story. I can't wait to see what comes next in this series. 

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Promo 1



 

Special Release Tour Excerpt:

I managed to get upstairs at the Sigma Mu Tau house without encountering anyone or having to explain why I was covered in mud. I took a shower, using soap to clean a scraped area on my knee and palm, applied antibiotic from my first aid kit, and put on some comfy PJs.

Then I sat on my bed. My roommate, Dobbs, was out. I should study, but I didn’t.

It had started to rain again, and I stared out the window, unable to get certain words out of my head.

“Well, I sure as hell hope not. Because if you were stupid on top of that, you sure would have been dealt a raw deal in life.”

That being my body, which was woefully pale, weak, and pathetic, like the guy who gets sand kicked in his face in those famous old Jack LaLane ads. That was the objective truth, so why should Bubba’s words hurt me? He hadn’t even been mean. He’d been nice to me, in fact.

Did that make it worse? Possibly.

Well, of course I was out of shape! Why did he think I volunteered to play ridiculous flag football in the first place? Yes, I wanted to help my fraternity meet Dean Robberts requirements so our house didn’t get closed. The dean told my frat, the Sigma Mu Taus, that we had to have two of our guys on the Alpha Lambda Alpha flag-football team to prove we could all work together or he’d shut us down. Of course, I wasn’t going to let that happen. But mostly, I volunteered because it gave me a chance to get in shape. I mean, those ALAs were buff. They were gorgeous, and I figured some of that could rub off on me.

I was a senior. It was February. I only had a few months left of my undergrad years. And I was still a virgin. I’d spent my high school years taking advanced classes and having no social life. My social life now consisted of role-playing games, video games, and watching TV with my SMT housemates.

I knew where I was going in life. My parents were both geneticists. They worked for the same company—that was how they met. Genome sequencing. They were bright and dedicated. They worked long hours at their research. That would be my life too. But before that, until then, I wanted to… to….

To live a little. I wanted to step outside the box, do something un-Sean McKinney-like. I wanted to party, to ride in fast cars, to have wild-and-crazy sex.

Or any sex!

And to achieve that goal, I needed to be more attractive. Hell, I wouldn’t want to have sex with the limp noddle physique I saw in the bathroom mirror. I desperately wanted to increase my hotness factor. That’s why I’d made it my one and only New Year’s resolution to get fit.

My palm stung. I pulled back the dressing to peek at it, and my stubborn streak kicked in.

Screw you, Alpha Lambda Alpha, you A-hoes. If you think a little scrape is going to discourage me, you’ve got another thing coming. I will play flag football. And I’ll get in shape, too, because I am going to get laid!

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Promo 2

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Enter the Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of Schooling the Jock, Eli & Tara are giving away a $20 Amazon Voucher.

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a57139/?

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Series Image Banner



About Eli:

Coming from a background in computer game design, Eli has written over 35 books in m/m romance since 2013. The Mating of Michael (2014) and A Second Harvest (2016) both won The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance, and Eli’s books have won many awards from the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Reader’s Choice Awards. She is best known for her Christmas romances, the Howl at the Moon series of rom coms featuring dog shifters, and her Sex in Seattle series, which revolves around a sex clinic in Seattle.

Connect with Eli:
www.elieaston.com
Facebook: Eli Easton
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096
Twitter: @elieaston

EliEaston_Road_bw



About the Author:

Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters - and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn't believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara's characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara's creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Tara loves animals of all kinds (even snakes), diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers.

She has around 57 books published or scheduled for publication.

Connect with Tara:
Website: https://taralain.com/
Facebook Reader's Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/255111391312743
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taralain/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/taralain
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taralainauthor/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tara-lain

Tara Lain (medium optimized)jpg

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1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for having us and our guys on the blog! We're so happy you liked it. : )

    ReplyDelete

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