HAPPY RELEASE DAY, ALLY!
Get your piece of Niklas now, everyone!
I really, really liked [Team] Tomás, I really loved [Team] Lucas, and I... I... fuckin' adored [Team] Niklas! I feel like I should either be adding a sixth star to Team Niklas's rating, or steal one away from the other books in the series in order to make [Team] Niklas stand out more, because... man... this book wins! So pssssht, don't tell Lucas or even Tomás, but I think Nik's my favorite!
Team Niklas is the story of Niklas Wagner and Sasha Saxon of the Santa Ana Saints and will be playing on every octave of your emotional range. Dripping with innuendo, this novel not only made me swoon over yet another fictional soccer player (and I don't even like soccer!), but it also made me "awww" in adoration, growl in anger, gasp in surprise and all but shake in anticipation.
That being said, you're not only in for one emotional ride, but also for a story delivering very real characters that find themselves in very realistic situations. Both of the protagonists in this book, who have had cameos in the past novels in the series, are flawed, vulnerable, honest and no-bullshit direct. This doesn't only make it easy to connect with the characters and to put yourself in their shoes, but it also adds to how interesting and heartfelt their storyline is - a storyline, that isn't all beer and skittles, but bears deep scars and hosts conflict, without, however, being too much drama to be lifelike.
Nik is steaming hot, direct and fun.
Sasha is sassy, entertaining and voguish.
Together, they're a great team, stronger than separately, figuring out not only how to score in love, but also how to play the game of life.
Just like Ally Adams's other books in The Saints Series [Team Lucas, Team Tomás], Team Niklas highlights the importance of the people you surround yourself with and their support, emphasizing just how important it is that you and them all pull together, stick together, and stand up for one another. I absolutely love this author's writing, and cannot wait to see what she'll be sending our way next - personally, I hope it will be The Russian! Hint, hint!
While this is part of a series, you can absolutely read this (and the other books in the series) as standalones.
5/5
"I won't hurt your body or your heart."
In his hometown of Berlin, Germany, Niklas Wagner is a super star and when the Saints pay the big bucks to sign him up and bring him to Santa Ana, California, Nik takes a shine to his new life. When he meets the Saints' media officer, Sasha Saxon, sparks fly literally.
But Sasha is not your average girl - by day she is a journalist who looks after the media for the national champion soccer team and at night she designs for her personal fashion label. She had big dreams and they don't include a boyfriend.
Nik has never had to chase the girls but now he has met his match - Sasha is about to lead him on the biggest chase of his life.
“Stop
moving or I’ll accidently put it in the wrong place,” I ordered
Nik. You would think a guy who had done military conscription at home
in Berlin, and stood at attention for long periods of time in all
sorts of weather, could stand still for a few minutes.
“Sah-sha, is it
even possible to put it in the wrong place?” he asked, with a
raised eyebrow. I couldn’t help but smile—the way he said my name
with his German accent always caught my attention; it started like
sarsaparilla and finished like a dance.
Niklas Wagner, star
midfielder for the national soccer team the Santa Ana Saints, had
come to me for a suit adjustment—yep by day I was the media officer
for the Saints and by night I designed; it was my hobby-cum-passion.
Nik was standing in front of me wearing only the black suit pants and
the jacket, no shirt—I could see all those well-developed
abdominal muscles just waiting to be touched and I wouldn’t mind
tracing those grooves with my tongue either, up and down, tight and
tense.
Is
it getting hot in here?
Then I accidently did what I had been threatening, jabbed him with a
pin.
“Ouch,” he
yelped and stepped back.
“See? What did I
tell you? Stand at attention,” I barked.
He stiffened and
stood straight… for about five seconds.
“Okay, you’re
done, get it off.”
He grinned again. I
swear everything I said had a sexual connotation to this guy. He
extended his hand like a gentlemen and helped me off the floor. Phew
that was a rush, coming up past his bulge, then past the muscles in
his bare chest and standing full height with my hand feeling so small
in his. I
think I just orgasmed.
I looked away quickly.
“Thanks, you can
let my hand go now,” I said, he did so slowly, running his fingers
up my palm.
Ally Adams is a journalist who lives in coastal Victoria, Australia, with her husband and furry friends. She is a literature major, romance reader and writer.
Q: What inspired you to create, Niklas, the German protagonist?
A: I always envisaged having a beautiful, tall, strong German soccer player in my team. Lucas is British, Tomas is Latin American and Niklas is from Berlin, Germany. I loved Germany when I visited a few years back and going back many generations, my family tree sprouts in Bavaria.
Q: Niklas and Sasha are both flawed characters. Sasha is probably your most flawed female character yet. Is that how you intended it to be?
A: No to be honest. Sasha developed as I wrote her and a lot of readers will relate to her vulnerability—when a partner cheats and you are left feeling lost and lacking in self-esteem. But Sasha’s strong in herself, just not sure of relationships. Mia in Team Lucas is a much more confident girl and Alice in Team Tomás is different again because she is more naive than Mia and Sasha.
Q: Did you have someone in mind that you visualized as Niklas and Sasha?
A: Always. I usually create a picture board of how I see my characters and I did this with Niklas and Sasha. Niklas was a mixture of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), Nick Reiwoldt (Australian Rules football star) and a couple of gorgeous guys that I found images of online and have no idea who they are! I envisaged Sasha to be a little bit like a blonde Ruby Rose (Australian actress in Orange is the New Black) and Hannah Spearritt from Primeval. Neither are quite Sasha, but it’s the closest I came to visualizing her.
Q: What inspired you to write the Saints’ team series?
A: For a while I was a publicity officer for a national football team and I was also a WAG (wife/girlfriend of a player). So I thought I would put together some of the fun experiences which became the foundation for the Saints’ team books.
Q: How much of what happens in your books actually happens in the sporting world?
A: Great question and thanks for asking. I do a lot of research for my books and I have firsthand experience working with several national sporting teams. The professional sporting teams often have a sense of being a real family and they look after their players and their players’ families.
There is a lot of pressure on the players, as evident in my books and their performance on the field dictates their future. The women in their lives can play a big part in stabilizing the players, offering support and getting them through the season. It can be quite hard on the women because the guys are often at training at night, away playing games and when they lose a game, it can be a very moody environment at home!
Q: Will we get a book on The Russian next? Readers are keen to hear his story.
A: Ha, I love The Russian and I’ve based him on someone I actually knew when I worked for a football club. Luckily the Saints’ team is full of hunks—I’ve been dying to write book three featuring the gorgeous, tall, German, Niklas and now that is out of my system. As for The Russian, my publisher is letting me have a break after writing the three books, so if there’s a demand for The Russian, I’ll start writing that one next.
Team Lucas on goodreads || amazon US || amazon UK || amazon AU || amazon DE
Team Tomás Review || Team Tomás Cover Reveal
Team Tomás on goodreads || amazon US || amazon UK || amazon AU || amazon DE
*** I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review! ***
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