Love isn’t always NEAT…
Bartender and all round bad boy, Eric Collins, has come to a crossroads. It’s time to take life seriously and maybe even attempt to settle down. If only the person he was hoping to settle down with didn’t turn out to be pregnant.
Starting over in a small town, Jean is determined to turn her wild lifestyle around and be the kind of mother she always wished she’d had. Since local bar owner and all round hottie, Eric, is now determined to steer clear of her pregnant self, it should be easy. When she goes into labor during a snowstorm and her car slides on some ice, however, it’s Eric who comes to the rescue.
There seems to be a bond between them now, but is it enough? And can Eric give up his manwhore ways to be the man Jean needs?
Book 3
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Bartender and all round bad boy, Eric Collins, has come to a crossroads. It’s time to take life seriously and maybe even attempt to settle down. If only the person he was hoping to settle down with didn’t turn out to be pregnant.
Starting over in a small town, Jean is determined to turn her wild lifestyle around and be the kind of mother she always wished she’d had. Since local bar owner and all round hottie, Eric, is now determined to steer clear of her pregnant self, it should be easy. When she goes into labor during a snowstorm and her car slides on some ice, however, it’s Eric who comes to the rescue.
There seems to be a bond between them now, but is it enough? And can Eric give up his manwhore ways to be the man Jean needs?
Buy Links
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B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
I’d been tricked. Betrayed.
After Andre and Jean ate their lunch, we headed outside to deal with her stuff. The cold wind suited my mood to perfection.
Talk about disappointed.
“Don’t lift that, it looks heavy,” I snapped.
Jean blinked. “It’s a pillow.”
“The world’s largest pillow ever. You can’t be too careful.” My gaze roamed over her swollen middle. “You’re...”
“Pregnant?” she asked with a voice dripping poison and sugar.
“Are you having trouble with the concept?”
“Absolutely not. I was just going to say huge, that’s all.”
She blew out an exasperated breath. “Thanks, Eric. That makes me feel so much better.”
“I just...”
“Don’t bother.” The woman turned back to her sensible, medium-sized SUV and got busy riffling through the contents. I was surprised she’d been able to squeeze into the driver’s seat.
Boxes and stuff took up almost every inch inside the vehicle. Each and every box seemed to have been neatly labeled with the contents.
The woman took her organization seriously. She looked over her shoulder. “You know, I can’t help noticing that Eric-the-smooth-moving-flirt has been suddenly replaced by Eric-the-awkward-jerk.”
“Well, you said you were single.” I folded my arms defensively across my chest.
“I am.”
And then there was an awkward silence.
“Yeah, but... I mean, in your condition...” I fumbled to a halt.
She turned, face all scrunched up. Like I was the one with the problem.
“Just hop out of the way so I can grab some boxes,” I said, voice gruff.
Still nothing from her. “It’s a second-story walk-up and you have a lot of stuff to get up there. You should be taking it easy.” Hands on hips, I tapped my black leather boot against the sidewalk, waiting her out. “Jean, I’m not trying to insult you. It’s the truth.”
She swore quietly, going back to fussing with the contents in the vehicle. I don’t think any woman has ever given me the silent treatment quite this quickly. Usually I’m good for at least a couple of hours after seeing them naked.
Man, I still couldn’t believe this was happening. God hated me or something. Pregnant women and me were enema. Anathema. Whatever. Now that I’d seen her out in the autumn light, however, she looked younger than I’d first guessed. Despite her tired eyes, her skin was smooth, soft looking. She was likely closer to her early twenties than mid.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Why do you care?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Just curious.”
“How old are you?”
“Nearly thirty.”
She sniffed. “I’m twenty-two.”
Young, like I’d thought. She was probably too immature for me, anyway.
“Come on, Jean. Let me get some of the boxes.”
Boyd ambled out of the Dive Bar, turning his head this way and that, looking up and down the street. I raised my hand and he started over in our direction. The big cook would make short work out of moving all this stuff. Behind us, Andre and Nell came out of the tenants’ entrance to the Bird Building. The place was a big brick building about a hundred years old. Just past the door was an entryway with stairs leading up to the second floor, followed by two empty shops, their windows covered in flyers about local events. Concerts and parades and shit. They’d been vacant for a while, unfortunately. Andre’s Guitar Den came next, then Pat’s tattoo parlor Inkaho, and the Dive Bar on the corner.
“Everything’s good to go. Alex and I gave it a cleaning last week just to be sure,” said Nell, smacking a kiss on Jean’s cheek.
“You’ll meet Alex later. She’s probably busy working or something now. She’s sort of a shut-in.”
“You two didn’t have to do that,” said Jean. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Andre leaned against the SUV. “Your furniture got delivered yesterday too, so it’s all good to go.”
“Excellent,” said Jean. “I can’t wait to sleep in a decent bed again. Road trips when you’re seven months’ pregnant kind of suck.”
“I bet.”
“Who’s minding the kitchen?” I asked.
“Lydia will text Boyd if they need something,” said Nell.
“We’re only going to be a few feet away from the place.”
I frowned.
“I own the kitchen, Eric. Not you,” she said. “You’re in charge of the bar, that’s all.”
One of Jean’s eyebrows inched up slightly. So I might have implied that I was the sole owner. Shit happened.
I crossed my arms. “Fine. No need to bite my head off.”
“My best online friend just moved to town. We’ve been texting and skyping for months. She’s been an absolute rock for me through all the nerves of being pregnant again,” said Nell. “Stop messing with my happy.”
And then there was an awkward silence. Great. If only there was some way to get out of helping without looking like a raging asshole. The possibility of anything happening between me and Jean had been buried six feet deep, never to be spoken of again.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Kris – ☆☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed Eric's story! He seemed like the total lackadaisical f'up of the group. Just floating on through life. He and Nell lost the baby that was a total accident to begin with and while Nell ended up back with her estranged husband and is pregnant again (with the right guy this time), everyone feels like Eric didn't feel anything about what happened. He's just a playboy. Vapid, superficial, and really not interested in relationships. Hitting on yet another female customer at the Dive Bar, Eric finds this woman, Jean, quite stunning. Nell lets him know that Jean is hands off, she's a friend who's come to start over in a new town... and she's pregnant. Very pregnant, and very alone.
Eric, trying to show Nell and his other friends he's decided to turn over a new leaf (after they gang up on him with a "intervention"), decides to give up sex completely and become "friends" with Jean. Just friends.
I love the "just friends" premise because it has awesome buildup to near certain steamy scenes! Chaser doesn't let you down. Eric gives us his sweet side in this book and redeems himself to readers and characters alike. Jean is a good mix of vulnerable yet strong and has no issue telling people to butt out! The two have wonderfully written sensual chemistry! Sweet moments stolen between newborn's naps and late nights at the Dive Bar. I'm really enjoying the Dive Bar series, we get a glimpse of the rock stars from her other series too at the end too. I miss them!
Veronica – ☆☆☆☆☆
Eric, bar owner, totally hot, good time guy, lady killer, and a little selfish. He is also completely adorable. In spite of his experience with women and unreliability, Eric has an innocence and honesty about him that I couldn’t resist.
I fell in love with Eric right from the first chapter, so when the people in his life are giving him a hard time and are putting him down, I felt very protective of him. I was wondering when all these characters I previously loved became so mean. Nell in particular was horrible. It has been a long time since I hated a character as much was I hated her in this book. But maybe that is me being protective of Eric.
When heavily pregnant Jean moves in above Dive Bar and into Eric’s life, things start to change and his whole view of the world shifts when baby Ada arrives. I just loved watching Eric fall in love with Jean and Ada. I love the way he gives so much of himself to them, offering friendship to Jean when he wants more but doing his best to do the right thing. And his conversations with little Ada are just brilliant.
Funny, romantic, sexy, and a bit angsty too, Chaser is fantastic. I think readers are going to go absolutely crazy over Eric. Never mind all these stories about single dads, the story of a man falling in love with a single mum and her new baby is so much better!
Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series – and whilst I think you would enjoy reading them all in order, I do think that you can enjoy this in its own right too.
Eric is surrounded by friends who are settling down, but he continues to prefer hookups, fancy clothes, and the fun of being the part owner of a successful bar and restaurant. He struggles a bit with Nell and her attitude towards him, but mostly he refuses to consider the need to grow up as she suggests. An encounter with a new face in the bar changes everything... although it is a very slow and carefully paced out process.
I did feel that there was a lovely story here, between two people who were finding their way in a new reality. Jean, as a single mum and away from her unsupportive parents, and Eric, fed up of being cast as the careless playboy, trying to tone down the flirting and be celibate for a while. Jean gets nothing but support from her new friends, whereas Eric is somewhat ridiculed by his friends. Slowly he gains Jean's trust and a firm friendship develops.
Maybe reaching their happy place could have come sooner, and with a little less introspection from Eric – hopefully that will be more of their relationship shown a future installment.
Lee’Anne – ☆☆☆
I enjoyed this book, but my biggest complaint was not being a huge fan of the slow build between the two main characters. Their relationship growth is almost excruciatingly slow, and I found myself skimming the middle so I could get to where they’re actually together. I did find the plot to be interesting and definitely original!
Eric is manwhore who is doing his best to change his ways – though his friends and family don’t believe it at all. When Eric first meets Jean, he has thoughts of her as another of his conquests but once he realizes she’s very pregnant and very much his new neighbor, his mind is quickly changed. Though the attraction is there between the two, Jean has a lot going on preparing for motherhood and Eric is trying to prove himself to his friends. Once the baby is born, Eric winds up pitching in to help Jean a ton and their friendship slowly becomes something more.
I haven’t read the previous books in this series and maybe that’s why I didn’t like the surrounding characters, Eric’s “friends” are douche bags. I found myself mad at them half the time – they’re just a-holes to Eric most of the time and I really found it hard to accept that he wanted to stay friends with them. That put aside though, I really loved both Jean and Eric’s characters – the book has a good plot pace but again, the romance has an extremely slow progression. Probably not going to check out more from this series but will definitely be looking for more of this author’s other work.
Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
Chaser is book 3 in the Dive Bar series. It can be read as a standalone, but it so much better read in the order the author intended.
Eric is the playboy. Always a different woman, no feeling just sex. His friends are all starting to mature and settle down, except Eric. He doesn't feel bad about his manwhoring ways but wants to show his friends he can grow up too.
When Eric notices a beautiful woman coming into the bar, he takes it upon himself to woo her with his charms. He thinks he feels a connection when he finds out Jean is going to be his neighbor. Wooing a single woman at the bar is one thing, but seeing her day in and day out has him questioning himself. He finds out she's not only his neighbor but pregnant and trying to start over. Can Eric keep his distance?
I really enjoyed Eric and Jean's story. The buildup between the two is slow but so worth it when they finally get together. I loved that Chaser is all in Eric's point of view. If anyone can pull off an all-male point of view, it's Ms. Scott! Eric and Jean have a real chemistry about them that isn't forced. It was a fun read and I can't wait for more.
Also Available in the Dive Bar Series
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For reviews & more info, check out our Dirty post.
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For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Twist Blog Tour.
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from her website.
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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Chaser (Dive Bar #3) by Kylie Scott to read and review for this tour.
