Hi everyone! Today I’m once again combining mini reviews for a romance series I’ve read the first three books of in the past month and really enjoyed: the Windy City series by Liz Tomforde. So let’s dive right in!
Mile High (Windy City #1)
ZANDERS
Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me – everyone’s favourite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.
What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.
But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons, or if it’s more than that.
STEVIE
I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d seen it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again . . . no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.
Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.
Everything but him.
I have to admit I almost DNF’ed book one after 4-5 chapters. This because of the character of Zanders, who came off as a real douchebag at first. The way he started off trying to annoy the new flight attendant, Stevie, was just rubbing me the wrong way.
BUT I have to say I’m glad I kept reading because this luckily only lasted a few short chapters and then we got to know the real Zanders, who was actually a real sweetheart with a bad image. And then he fell absolutely in love with Stevie and it was just such an adorable thing to watch this guy who came off so badly at first just be a completely besotted puddle of a man when it came to Stevie. Aww, my heart.
I ended up really loving this romance between the flight attendant and the hockey player. It was a very real romance that dealt with some big issues for both characters as well – Stevie’s body confidence issues and bad relationship with her mother, Zanders’ fear that his hockey career will only last as long as his bad boy image, the forbidden aspect of Stevie and Zanders’ relationship because she technically works for him…
Another thing I loved about the book was Stevie’s relationship with her brother and colleague-turned-bestie Indy, as well as Zanders’ friendships and the rest of the hockey team (mostly Rio – I love Rio).
Only downside is I felt this story was a bit too long – I felt like it could have been edited down just a bit because as much as I enjoyed the story overall, it became a bit repetitive towards the end. But definitely still recommend to any romance lover!
The Right Move (Windy City #2)
RYAN
She’s a distraction, that’s what she is.
I’m the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, and the last thing I needed this year was for Indy Ivers, my sister’s best friend, to move into my apartment. She’s messy, emotional, and way too tempting.
But when the team’s General Manager vocalizes his blatant disapproval of my promotion to Captain, referring to me as an unapproachable lone wolf with no work-life balance, I can’t think of a better way to convince him otherwise than pretending to date my outgoing roommate.
The only problem? Faking it feels far too natural.
Having a fake girlfriend wasn’t supposed to be messy but having Indy under my roof and in my bed is complicated, especially when she wants all the romantic parts of life that I could never give her.
INDY
I never imagined I’d be living with my best friend’s brother, NBA superstar Ryan Shay. Even more unbelievable? He needs me to act as his loving girlfriend who’s suddenly changed him into a friendly and approachable guy.
Because, well…he’s not. He’s controlling of his space and untrusting of others.
Our arrangement isn’t one-sided, though. I’m in a wedding coming up, one where every one of my childhood friends, including my ex-boyfriend, will be in attendance, and there’s no better date than my ex’s celebrity hero.
Blurred lines make it almost impossible to separate real from fake. Falling for my roommate was never part of the deal, especially when Ryan is quick to remind me that he doesn’t believe in love.
I’m a romantic and can’t help fantasizing that he’ll change, but soon enough, I find myself questioning if sharing a roof with my best friend’s brother was the right move after all.
The Right Move is my FAVORITE installment in this series so far! While I had some issues with Mile High, I had none of those with The Right Move. I didn’t even mind the length, even if it was just as long as book one. And I think that’s because both Ryan and Indy just stole my heart from the very first page. Well, actually they had a head start since I already loved them in the previous book.
This was just such a fun opposites attract romance that hit all the right spots for me. We have Ryan, a professional basketball player who want to keep everyone at arm’s length in fear that they’re only using him for his prestige and money (a very grounded fear once it’s revealed what happened to him) and someone who’s living a very lonely life in order to focus only on his sport. And then there’s Indy, who is an absolute ball of sunshine and charm and just needs somewhere to recover from her breakup and feelings of being too much and yet never enough at the same time.
Though they had a bit of rough start, I just LOVED how these two quickly became each other’s support system and how their relationship slowly developed. They were just the sweetest together and my heart melted with every adorable scene.
Add to that them becoming roommates, a great fake dating trope and lots of cameos of Stevie and Zanders and this was just an amazing book. Easily one of my favorite reads of the year!
Caught Up (Windy City #3)
KAI
I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.
I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.
Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.
Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.
Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached.
Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.
MILLER
As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.
With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.
Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.
Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.
I was a bit worried that after loving The Right Move so much, maybe moving on to book three immediately after would be a bad move because there was no way it could live up to that one, could it? But I’m happy to say it totally lived up to it! While Ryan and Indy still hold my heart, Kai and Miller quickly carved out their own place as well.
Caught Up is a single dad sports romance and features Kai, professional baseball player who’s struggling with balancing being a single dad and his sports career, and Miller, the coach’s daughter brought in to nanny for 2 months while she’s struggling with burn-out in her own career.
This was just an adorable single parent romance as I loved the relationship between Kai and his son Max and then later on the relationship between Miller and Max grow as well. They became such a loving, supportive unit throughout the book and I loved seeing that.
And the relationship between Kai and Miller was of course also amazing! Like the other books, it was a slow burn where both characters still have their own issues to go through, but their connection was so real and supportive (despite another rocky and hilarious start) and I was rooting for them so much. The banter between the two was hilarious and the tension was sizzling.
Also, I loved Miller’s own career struggle (a high-end pastry chef with burn-out) and her journey towards finding her joy again, as well as the secondary characters and emphasis on family (both real and found).
Overall, I really loved this one and am already (im)patiently awaiting books four and five!
Tell Me:
Have you read the Windy City series yet? What did you think about them? What’s your favorite of the three so far?
I love this combined review! I’m sometimes wary of starting a series, especially when it comes to romance. If I like the couple in the first book, why would I like their happy-for-now to be disrupted? But I’m glad to hear each of these installments is worth it – might have to check this trilogy out!
Thanks! I definitely recommend this series, all the couples are wonderful! And there’s even still a fourth and fifth book coming, so something to look forward to 🙂
Love this review(s)! I’m so happy you kept on with book 1 and ended up loving the rest even more.
Thanks! I’m so happy I continued with the series too, would have been a pity to miss the amazingness only because of those first few chapters.
Well you convinced me to give this series a go even if I probably would have (nearly) dnf the first book as I don’t like douchebags either!
I definitely recommend this series and to just power through the first 4-5 chapters of book one – I promise you’ll end up loving him too 🙂
I just read Mile High this week, and I just finished writing my weekly wrap up which will go up tomorrow. Funny enough, I said the first note I wrote on the book was that I didn’t like him at all. But definitely glad I stuck with it. He really won me over in the way her built her up.
That’s great, I’m glad to hear I wasn’t the only one who felt that way at first! But you’re so right, the way Zanders built up Stevie throughout the book won me over too 🙂