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Marriage Contract #1
Cross Check
Fallen NHL superstar Jamison King needs to marry me…in order to keep the keys to his empire.We grew up together, me the bookish nerd, him the rich popular jock.To make matters worse, my parents worked for his, they were the groundskeeper and housekeeper of the King estate my entire life.But now that Jamison’s parents are gone, he needs me to run his father’s company—his father’s dying wish was that we get married to align our interests…I have a feeling we’ll be aligning much more than that if Jamison gets his way.And he always does.Includes BONUS BOOK Stepbrother Billionaire!!!!This novel is a full-length contemporary sports romance novel. Contains harsh language and graphic sexual content. Readers 18++No Cliff.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2016
52 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Colleen Masters
22 books1,055 followersHey there,
I'm Colleen Masters, author of the Faster Series. Thank you so much for swinging by and checking out my stories! As an indie romance author, your support means everything to me. Let me tell you a little bit about myself...
I grew up in Central Jersey, and studied Theatre Arts and English at Monmouth University. (Going to college right next to the beach? Hell yes :D) My dream has always been to make a profession out of writing, so I moved to NYC five years ago and have been working my butt off to make that dream come true ever since. Right now, I'm living on the Upper East Side with my darling fiancé and our corgi, Frodo. (Bit of a lit nerd, what can I say?) All of my friends get such a kick out of my "survival job," but I don't really see my writing as a day job at all--it's way too fun for that!
These books are truly a labor of love, and I'm so happy to share them with you. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
xo
CM
I'm Colleen Masters, author of the Faster Series. Thank you so much for swinging by and checking out my stories! As an indie romance author, your support means everything to me. Let me tell you a little bit about myself...
I grew up in Central Jersey, and studied Theatre Arts and English at Monmouth University. (Going to college right next to the beach? Hell yes :D) My dream has always been to make a profession out of writing, so I moved to NYC five years ago and have been working my butt off to make that dream come true ever since. Right now, I'm living on the Upper East Side with my darling fiancé and our corgi, Frodo. (Bit of a lit nerd, what can I say?) All of my friends get such a kick out of my "survival job," but I don't really see my writing as a day job at all--it's way too fun for that!
These books are truly a labor of love, and I'm so happy to share them with you. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
xo
CM
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 25, 2016
4 Stars:
When I first started the book I thought it had the ring of a book from another series I had read earlier this year or late last year. I couldn't have been more wrong.
So far their is nothing that Master's has written that I have not thoroughly enjoyed and found wildly entertaining. Cross Check has been much tamer the writing was still superb. I really did like it a lot and will continue to read book penned by Master's.
Among some of my favorites. Outstanding literary work. The characters are well developed, interesting. The liked characters are likable and the hated are unlikable. The writing is captivating enough to keep you interested until the end and leave you wanting more. It has a fairly original or uniquely well-developed plot. The pretense and romance was well balanced and done with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors and chemistry. Not so much predictable if at all. Overall, loved it, I recommend reading!!
When I first started the book I thought it had the ring of a book from another series I had read earlier this year or late last year. I couldn't have been more wrong.
So far their is nothing that Master's has written that I have not thoroughly enjoyed and found wildly entertaining. Cross Check has been much tamer the writing was still superb. I really did like it a lot and will continue to read book penned by Master's.
Among some of my favorites. Outstanding literary work. The characters are well developed, interesting. The liked characters are likable and the hated are unlikable. The writing is captivating enough to keep you interested until the end and leave you wanting more. It has a fairly original or uniquely well-developed plot. The pretense and romance was well balanced and done with properly distributed amounts of hints, behaviors and chemistry. Not so much predictable if at all. Overall, loved it, I recommend reading!!
May 14, 2016
This bitch is bloody bold faced. She believes that she has rights to someone's birthright simply because she was an employee. When has that ever been true? Aside from that , it's hard to believe that such a highly motivated person is such punk when it comes to her personal life. Tired of all these archaic books that encourage women to still revolve their lives and vaginas around undeserving men. What is the point of becoming so successful if you still never amount to anything. Even worse is her lawyer friend is some dumb shit. how was that solution not obvious? I guess you are who your friends are.
January 8, 2022
3.5 Stars
I enjoyed this. The characters and their connection were pretty well-developed, considering its length. It was a childhood frenemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, sort of second chance story, and it was done pretty well I thought. It is a little weird that its called Cross Check, as hockey wasn't much a part of the story.
The only thing that niggled me a little bit was that it seemed a touch fast for them to go from sex and getting along well to being in love. For someone who was supposed to be difficult to open herself to emotional attachment, the heroine left herself get swept up super easily, and until things inevitably went off the rails, she didn't seem to have insecurities about the nature of their relationship. I know I would have felt pretty uncertain if I were her, especially because he had expected them to have an open relationship. I don't care how much or well he's dicking me down, I would be very wary of developing feelings for my partner in a whirlwind, nonexclusive marriage of convenience.
The sex was good and plentiful, but it didn't come at the expense of the story, which I appreciate. While the terms of the will were obviously a little outlandish, in the way that most marriage of convenience stories are, the story itself largely felt somewhat realistic. Neither of the MCs were perfect, but they were both still likable, smart and mature people. They were 30 years old and they felt 30 years old.
I haven't read Stepbrother Billionaire yet, but it is included in the book. Cross Check only makes up the first 45%.
I enjoyed this. The characters and their connection were pretty well-developed, considering its length. It was a childhood frenemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, sort of second chance story, and it was done pretty well I thought. It is a little weird that its called Cross Check, as hockey wasn't much a part of the story.
The only thing that niggled me a little bit was that it seemed a touch fast for them to go from sex and getting along well to being in love. For someone who was supposed to be difficult to open herself to emotional attachment, the heroine left herself get swept up super easily, and until things inevitably went off the rails, she didn't seem to have insecurities about the nature of their relationship. I know I would have felt pretty uncertain if I were her, especially because he had expected them to have an open relationship. I don't care how much or well he's dicking me down, I would be very wary of developing feelings for my partner in a whirlwind, nonexclusive marriage of convenience.
The sex was good and plentiful, but it didn't come at the expense of the story, which I appreciate. While the terms of the will were obviously a little outlandish, in the way that most marriage of convenience stories are, the story itself largely felt somewhat realistic. Neither of the MCs were perfect, but they were both still likable, smart and mature people. They were 30 years old and they felt 30 years old.
I haven't read Stepbrother Billionaire yet, but it is included in the book. Cross Check only makes up the first 45%.
May 17, 2016
Not your typical rich boy athlete, not your typical book nerd "servant's kid". Friends and rivals since birth have love and competitive relationship that falls apart at eighteen. Read about their roller coaster relationship and if they are strong enough to continue after three of the strongest people in their lives aren't there anymore.
October 18, 2018
1.5 Stars
August 23, 2016
Two stars is pretty generous for this one. It's probably 1.5 stars, but I tend to save 1 star ratings for things so abysmal that I cannot stand to even think about them after finishing. This just gave me nothing to think about. Period.
I read it in one night, and it confused me because there was a "bonus" story attached that was actually longer than the titular story (which ended at 45% in my Kindle edition) that shared little in common besides an author with this one. I tried reading the bonus story and gave up about ten pages in because I have no patience for convoluted love stories taking place in high school.
As for this one, I thought there would be more to the hockey portion of the hero, but it was mostly just an afterthought. It seemed highly unlikely that he even would have made the team at BU since there was little indication that he'd done more than play in a rec league, but even suspending that disbelief, it added nothing to his character.
In fact, both of the characters in this were as flat and one-dimensional as possible, and the plot-line to get them together was absolutely ludicrous and cringe-worthy. I didn't even believe the Happily Ever After ending because it honestly seemed like the two main characters had nothing in common and that neither of them were willing to give anything. I know the hero eventually made his grand romantic gesture, but even that seemed forced and fake to me. Like, honestly, am I supposed to believe that two people in direct competition for a job who don't seem to like each other very much (which is how I read their relationship instead of just simmering tension or whatever the author was going for) are going to fall madly in love in less than two weeks? I know the author tried to highlight all the things they had in common (which basically seemed to boil down to a childhood love of sci-fi/fantasy), but there was just no relationship development between the two of them to merit any sort of grand declarations of feelings in my estimation.
There were also several missing words, repeated words, or other typos in the text, which makes me think it would have benefited greatly from a more thorough proofing.
Overall, not much plot, not particularly well-written, but thankfully, not particularly memorable either.
I read it in one night, and it confused me because there was a "bonus" story attached that was actually longer than the titular story (which ended at 45% in my Kindle edition) that shared little in common besides an author with this one. I tried reading the bonus story and gave up about ten pages in because I have no patience for convoluted love stories taking place in high school.
As for this one, I thought there would be more to the hockey portion of the hero, but it was mostly just an afterthought. It seemed highly unlikely that he even would have made the team at BU since there was little indication that he'd done more than play in a rec league, but even suspending that disbelief, it added nothing to his character.
In fact, both of the characters in this were as flat and one-dimensional as possible, and the plot-line to get them together was absolutely ludicrous and cringe-worthy. I didn't even believe the Happily Ever After ending because it honestly seemed like the two main characters had nothing in common and that neither of them were willing to give anything. I know the hero eventually made his grand romantic gesture, but even that seemed forced and fake to me. Like, honestly, am I supposed to believe that two people in direct competition for a job who don't seem to like each other very much (which is how I read their relationship instead of just simmering tension or whatever the author was going for) are going to fall madly in love in less than two weeks? I know the author tried to highlight all the things they had in common (which basically seemed to boil down to a childhood love of sci-fi/fantasy), but there was just no relationship development between the two of them to merit any sort of grand declarations of feelings in my estimation.
There were also several missing words, repeated words, or other typos in the text, which makes me think it would have benefited greatly from a more thorough proofing.
Overall, not much plot, not particularly well-written, but thankfully, not particularly memorable either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2016
I enjoyed this story quite a bit. The characters are well written and I really enjoyed them. Leah and Jamison grew up together on his family's estate. Her dad is the groundskeeper and they are the same age. Jamison's parents, the King's, got along great with Leah's parents and encouraged the kids to hang out together often. Jamison and Leah are both competitive people though and so have a competition going the whole time growing up. They do have things in common though and when they are by themselves, they get along and nerd out together. They do have a thing for each other though neither of them knows the other one does, at least until graduation night. They have a night together and then go their separate ways. Twelve years later is where their real story begins. Leah has been working at the King company and been mentored by Loudon King himself for 6 years. Jamison has just decided to start working at the company when his father and mother pass away in an accident. Loudon's will has some stipulations that really throw Leah and Jamison for a loop. It also forces them together.
I loved the back story that we get on the characters because it makes the speed of their feelings believable with the situation they're in. There were some things that I wish had been fleshed out more, like what happened the morning after graduation...why did Jamison leave and the whole monogamy conversation probably should have been had again but these things were not big enough to really hurt the story for me, they just would have made it better. The sex is explicit and it is the connection point, at least one they admit to, for quite a bit of the story. There is enough going on in this story to keep your attention the entire time. I enjoyed it.
The copy I bought also had Stepbrother Billionaire included. Cross Check ended at about 1/2 way and the rest was the bonus book. I really enjoyed the bonus book as well. Full review for Stepbrother Billionaire is on that book's page.
I loved the back story that we get on the characters because it makes the speed of their feelings believable with the situation they're in. There were some things that I wish had been fleshed out more, like what happened the morning after graduation...why did Jamison leave and the whole monogamy conversation probably should have been had again but these things were not big enough to really hurt the story for me, they just would have made it better. The sex is explicit and it is the connection point, at least one they admit to, for quite a bit of the story. There is enough going on in this story to keep your attention the entire time. I enjoyed it.
The copy I bought also had Stepbrother Billionaire included. Cross Check ended at about 1/2 way and the rest was the bonus book. I really enjoyed the bonus book as well. Full review for Stepbrother Billionaire is on that book's page.
May 17, 2016
3 1/2 stars
I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.
I really liked this story. It had a different kind of storyline, the main characters were both strong, independent, and had flaws like normal people, the sex was sizzling hot, it definitely brings out lots of different emotions, and I loved the intriguing twists that you never saw coming but will have you turning the pages to see what happens next. I really enjoyed the authors creativity in this book. The only reason why I took away 1 star was due to the editing. It has numerous words out of place, wrong spelling or the wrong word used, etc. It wasn't on every page but there were enough that it was distracting and effected the story as a whole. If not for the editing issues, I definitely would have given this 4 1/2 stars! It's still a great story and one I would recommend reading.
I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.
I really liked this story. It had a different kind of storyline, the main characters were both strong, independent, and had flaws like normal people, the sex was sizzling hot, it definitely brings out lots of different emotions, and I loved the intriguing twists that you never saw coming but will have you turning the pages to see what happens next. I really enjoyed the authors creativity in this book. The only reason why I took away 1 star was due to the editing. It has numerous words out of place, wrong spelling or the wrong word used, etc. It wasn't on every page but there were enough that it was distracting and effected the story as a whole. If not for the editing issues, I definitely would have given this 4 1/2 stars! It's still a great story and one I would recommend reading.
May 13, 2016
Overall, Good Read 45% of This Book
First, I am old school and proud of it. In my day books were edited, spell checks and grammar complete. I find it really disturbing to read sentences with typos. As with any name we capitalize. I found it quite frustrating that of all names, Gods wasn't capitalized. He deserves it!
Secondly, this is a good story regardless of typos. It wasn't all bad for Leah to be the landscapers daughter on the rich King premises. She is smart and seemed the only one interested in learning the King empire,and that she does . But, inevitable changes occur where most of the story takes place.
I will attempt the second story in this book which really should have been posted on the cover.
First, I am old school and proud of it. In my day books were edited, spell checks and grammar complete. I find it really disturbing to read sentences with typos. As with any name we capitalize. I found it quite frustrating that of all names, Gods wasn't capitalized. He deserves it!
Secondly, this is a good story regardless of typos. It wasn't all bad for Leah to be the landscapers daughter on the rich King premises. She is smart and seemed the only one interested in learning the King empire,and that she does . But, inevitable changes occur where most of the story takes place.
I will attempt the second story in this book which really should have been posted on the cover.
May 14, 2016
Jamison and Leah, what a pair.
This started out with Leah and Jamison as high school graduates, both if them finally letting their passion take over.
Skip ahead 12 years and Jay is an ex-NHL star and Leah is working her way up at King Enterprises. They are brought together by Jay's father and then a tragedy.
The chemistry between them is off the charts. You can just see how the two want to make it work but are hiding themselves. Jay is more open to seeing things through. It was good to see him show his true self to her.
This does have a HEA, but it has it ups and downs. I wasn't a fan of Leah's attitude toward everything. Jay was trying and she just couldn't accept him.
This started out with Leah and Jamison as high school graduates, both if them finally letting their passion take over.
Skip ahead 12 years and Jay is an ex-NHL star and Leah is working her way up at King Enterprises. They are brought together by Jay's father and then a tragedy.
The chemistry between them is off the charts. You can just see how the two want to make it work but are hiding themselves. Jay is more open to seeing things through. It was good to see him show his true self to her.
This does have a HEA, but it has it ups and downs. I wasn't a fan of Leah's attitude toward everything. Jay was trying and she just couldn't accept him.
May 31, 2016
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Leah and Jamison King grew up together. He is the entertainment mogul's son and she is the gardener's daughter. After college, Leah goes to work for Jamison's father, and Jay goes into professional hockey. When Jay's father, and Leah's mentor, is killed in a plane crash, the very unusual terms of his will throw everyone for a loop. Leah and Jay have always been competitive, and now they have to decide which of them will preside over the company, or get married and share the responsibilities. Even though they are put into a nearly impossible to comprehend position, Leah and Jay will realize that they have always loved each other, and they live happily ever after. Sizzling hot and sexy romance, fantastic!
Leah and Jamison King grew up together. He is the entertainment mogul's son and she is the gardener's daughter. After college, Leah goes to work for Jamison's father, and Jay goes into professional hockey. When Jay's father, and Leah's mentor, is killed in a plane crash, the very unusual terms of his will throw everyone for a loop. Leah and Jay have always been competitive, and now they have to decide which of them will preside over the company, or get married and share the responsibilities. Even though they are put into a nearly impossible to comprehend position, Leah and Jay will realize that they have always loved each other, and they live happily ever after. Sizzling hot and sexy romance, fantastic!
June 4, 2016
Jay and Leah grew up together. He was the rich kid, she was the kid whose parents worked for his. They did not socialise at all in school. But would met in the middle when it came to books. Their high school graduation ended with them having an one night stand. She went on to Harvard...He on to NHL. Now twelve years later they are thrown together for the good of his father's company. After his parents die the will is read. Will they get together and make things work or will someone else take control? This story was a quick read. It's about two very opinionated people who believes that they each are correct in the way things should go. Colleen Masters had me reading till the end. There is a second story after this one. Will get to it soon.
Read
June 27, 2016Learning to grow up, learning that life has responsibilities that is when you have achieved adulthood. Even though the male had a career he had never learned that family was something to embraced not ignore and when he found this out it was too late to turn it around. When someone who is not family has more loyalties and understanding with your family you should embrace them and learn from them. Just because you are related by blood doesn't always mean you are the best person to take over for the family. thee two learn to take an unorthodox course and find the middle road in in doing so admit the feelings they both had and find a way to allow themselves the opportunity for something good to be great.
July 21, 2016
Cross check is former best friends who in the time of growing up turns to heaters and in the end fall in love. It’s a great written story which all know plot but still interesting that had me captivated till the end. Both characters strong and well develop. Jay and Leah are forced to choose between the company and each other. Because the hearts get involves the decisions become hard. I loved the pace of the story and that there were not unimportant events. It was quick hot and interesting
*ARC provided by Hearts Collective in exchange for an honest review
*ARC provided by Hearts Collective in exchange for an honest review
June 6, 2016
The plot is quite unusual, but just when it starts to get interesting the author quickly solves the problems and the story is done.
I was disappointed and enraged discovering I had been reading a novella: it was over at 40% on my kindle and the “bonus” was another novella.
That was not the only reason for my ire: there were numerous words out of place, wrong spelling or the wrong word used, words missing etc. It was on nearly every page and that was distracting and effected the reading.
I was disappointed and enraged discovering I had been reading a novella: it was over at 40% on my kindle and the “bonus” was another novella.
That was not the only reason for my ire: there were numerous words out of place, wrong spelling or the wrong word used, words missing etc. It was on nearly every page and that was distracting and effected the reading.
May 15, 2016
Quick fun read! Colleen Masters never disappoints. If you are ever looking for something quick, fun, and entertaining you can't go wrong with any of Colleen's books. This book includes a bonus book which I previously read. You can't really go wrong with a two for one book! Interesting story with a few good twists. Oh did I want to punch Jamison a few times! Thanks for another enjoyable ride!
May 24, 2016
This book is well written as far as the story goes, It does have some editing issues. Leah and Jamison have known each other since the were toddlers. Leah's parents work for Jamison's family. Once they hit 13 they no longer keep in touch. At 18 they get together then do not see each other for another 12 years.
June 30, 2016
This was not an easy or fun read, it was right down painful. Authors need to perfect their craft !!! How difficult is it to hit spell check or to find beta readers ? I can't even begin to count the amount of grammatical errors in the sample alone, never mind the actual storyline. Mediocre at best. I don't know how this book has gotten such high ratings.
November 10, 2016
I love hockey and romance novels. I especially love it when hockey and romance come together in an unforgettable romance. I would love Ms. Masters to write more hockey romances. I have read 2 now and both made me wish I could crawl into the book and become the heroine. You will enjoy this...Trust me!
May 14, 2016
Short, enjoyable read with off-the-charts chemistry but it definitely could have used another edit. Jay and Leah are a surprisingly compatible and fun couple to read about. Another winner from Colleen Masters!
May 13, 2016
Really enjoyed this fast paced story between Leah and Jamison. Even I was confused at times on whether or not Jamison was playing the game or was he truly in love with Leah. Colleen Master's books are never a disappointment and always an automatic "one-click" for me. Thank-You!
January 10, 2023
Cross Check
Well it does loose some points because of the grammatical errors. This book duo isn't so bad, I guess I read this years ago but it just didn't leave a strong impression, neither bad nor good
Well it does loose some points because of the grammatical errors. This book duo isn't so bad, I guess I read this years ago but it just didn't leave a strong impression, neither bad nor good
May 15, 2016
Loved it!
Jay and Leah were great characters, the storyline was excellent, however there were editing issues, hence the four stars.
I've read quite a few of Colleen Masters' books and I have to say they've all been excellent and this was no exception.
I would highly recommend.
Jay and Leah were great characters, the storyline was excellent, however there were editing issues, hence the four stars.
I've read quite a few of Colleen Masters' books and I have to say they've all been excellent and this was no exception.
I would highly recommend.
May 16, 2016
Marriage contract...
Sneaky father of Jamison. While young love was crossed by fleeting moments in time, their destiny took them in separate directions only to be thrown together in the end. Feisty!
Sneaky father of Jamison. While young love was crossed by fleeting moments in time, their destiny took them in separate directions only to be thrown together in the end. Feisty!
May 30, 2016
Awful editing
I don't know if the editing was done by nothing more formal than Microsoft word here or what. Every single page had wrong words put in where sentences did not make sense. Ruins a whole story and the reputation of any writer.
I don't know if the editing was done by nothing more formal than Microsoft word here or what. Every single page had wrong words put in where sentences did not make sense. Ruins a whole story and the reputation of any writer.
July 11, 2016
2.5 stars
It had a good base story and some intimate well writen parts.But unfortunately the author makes us dive in into the romance somewhat in a clumsy way.And not allows the reader to fell in love with the characters through a smooth build up.
It had a good base story and some intimate well writen parts.But unfortunately the author makes us dive in into the romance somewhat in a clumsy way.And not allows the reader to fell in love with the characters through a smooth build up.
kindle-freebies
May 13, 2016Kindle freebie 5/13/16
(Includes BONUS BOOK Stepbrother Billionaire)
(Includes BONUS BOOK Stepbrother Billionaire)
May 16, 2016
Samantha's books
Two for one from colleen. They were two good b looks and I loved them excited to read the book introduced at the end.
Two for one from colleen. They were two good b looks and I loved them excited to read the book introduced at the end.
May 15, 2016
Great Read!
What an amazing love story between two friends and ended up being lovers at the end! The author out done herself with this story....!
What an amazing love story between two friends and ended up being lovers at the end! The author out done herself with this story....!
May 24, 2016
It was ok for me
It was a good story nothing great. There are two different books in here. Both are ok. Quick read but nothing to write home about.
It was a good story nothing great. There are two different books in here. Both are ok. Quick read but nothing to write home about.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews