I swear Valerie has embedded some kind of drug into her writing because every book I've read grabs me and refuses to let go, and The No Try Zone is no different.

It's got banter, heat, characters with depth...I laughed, I cried, I gasped and cackled. I loved what Sam and Colin brought to the table right from the start and I was rooting for them the entire time. I also really love a sports romance where the knowledge of the sport itself is not detrimental to know to understand what's going on. The characters describe the game enough that you don't feel lost or fall out of the story.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that author Valerie Pepper is not Australian. Reading the book, Pepper clearly put a lot of thought into crafting our Aussie heroine Sam (a casual mention that she's not used to Imperial height measurements) and I really enjoyed that this wasn't a character who is American with an Australian accent - she feels Australian.

What else did I enjoy about this book? A lot. Our hero, Colin, is a bit awful at times. But unlike in a lot of romances - he's called on it! The book treats it as not great behavior that he learns from and needs to do better at, rather than treating as adorable or edgy. It turns out male accountability is as sexy as any kind of spice. As noted with our Australian heroine, Sam, the book is also interested in the idea that rugby is a sport that is far more popular in other English speaking countries and so the cast of a professional rugby team would be appropriately diverse. I also enjoy that these are mature main characters - Colin is 42 and Sam is 32. Love is not solely the province of the under 25s.

The book also really does a great job with the found family vibe, and I think fans of Stephanie Archer's Vancouver Storm series will find this one has similar vibes, despite being from a different sport. I'm excited for the next book in the series (my guess: Scottish player Lennox and PR ace Kari). Thanks to Stafford Lane Publishing for the early copy.