Cherish Hard (Hard Play)

I found myself skimming through three quarters of the book. It is pure fluff. There is no depth to the characters. I am a long time fan of this author but sadly her Hard Play books are boring especially after her other series.

Review Copy Obtained via Netgalley

I typically love Nalini Singh, but I actively had to fight my way through this book and it is hard to pin down why. I think, at first, the main character Isa was just a little too self-effacing and Sailor was a little too perfect.
Cherish Hard is the backstory to secondary characters from Singh's previous work, Rock Hard. Sailor is the younger brother of Gabriel, the hero of Rock Hard. Sailor is driven by a fear of failure and letting down his family, like his biological father did. He wants to expand his landscaping business and is willing to work night and day to make it happen. However he meets and falls for Isa Rain, the daughter of successful CEO's, who wants nothing to do with workaholics as she was basically abandoned as a child due to their ambition.
As I stated earlier, I had a lot of difficulty forcing my way through this book. I know romance typically is a wish fulfillment thing but by the time Sailor punched Isa's high school/college crush turned enemy I had to put it down. Plus there are some stylistic choices that keep throwing me off. The repetitiveness of descriptive words - hard hard - blue blue, started driving me crazy once I noticed them. I put the book in frustration and picked it up a few months later because I have difficulty not finishing books. I'm relatively glad I did because Isa started demonstrating some backbone and Sailor started showing relatable flaws but I don't think I'll be doing a re-read.

PS - I have a real issue with women being called bimbos and I especially hate it when main characters refer to other women as bimbos to show dislike. Isa called her "high school rival" a bimbo and it definitely made me not like her.

Nalini always delivers and Cherish Hard is no exception. Sailor and Isa's story is fun as well as heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Yummy gardner. Spunky, smart heroine. Intelligent, seamless writing. It's just a well-crafted, page-turning read. With a beyond satisfying ending. I can't wait for more Hard Play books!!!

Nalini Singh is one of my favorite writers and this was a perfectly lovely book to start out her new series that shoots off from the Rock Hard, Rock Kiss, etc. series. The characters were really enjoyable and I devoured this book within 48 hours. Can't wait to see what comes next! Do yourself a favor and read ALL of Nalini Singh's books!

Love it

After I read Grabiel and Charlie's book (Rock Hard) I started hoping for the other Bishop/Esera brothers' books. So when Nalini announced she was going to write them and that Sailor was going to come first, I was so happy that I started to build big expectations around it. Also because we already knew about him, Ísa, and Emmaline there was more pressure for it to be just right. The right blend of sweet, unique but seriously intense romance novel Nalini has got us addicted to.
However, this is kind of like when you start a series from the middle (*digression* or the last book... I did this with Kiss of Snow. It was the last book published but I didn't feel like I was going to enjoy it. I was more on the idea of yeah, whatever... and then what happened is history XD. Nalini became my favorite author and here I am ;) *end of digression, bear with me*) and then you go back to catch up with all the backstory that came before. You can end with seriously good stories, or you can just say meh. There is no surprise, no new feelings. So, it's kind of risky for an author getting the story just right for the reader to be satisfied and happy.
Well, I can definitely say that I am happy and completely starry-eyed by this book. Sailor is so yum! XD I can't describe it. He is that kind of man you hope to find in real life. Actually, there isn't much we couldn't already have guessed in Sailor character and behavior. Knowing Gabriel and the family, Sailor was the constant here. The one I was counting on to be "just like that". However, he also gave me more than what I was expecting.
Having said that, the real threat here is Ísa. A very feminine figure that hides a strong and passionate nature. One that doesn't accept to be swayed from her goals and passions but that nonetheless has to learn how to open up to new possibilities instead of being dragged down by past, negative, experiences.
As always, I truly enjoyed this fresh and light contemporary series that Nalini is writing as a plus each year and hope it will continue with many more books. However, bear in mind that Cherish Hard doesn't thread in difficult subjects like the last two books in the Rock Kiss series. It is more a light, heart-warming, kind of book. One that makes you pass a few happy hours with a smile on your face (and probably makes you laugh a couple of times too :) ).

I'm so happy with Nalini Singh's choice to go back and continue writing contemporary romances, after the release of her amazing Rock Kiss series.
"Cherish Hard" can actually be considered a spin off of those novels, as we had already met Gabriel Bishop, best known to those who follow this author with his nickname T-Rex, and there's a whole story about how he
earned that name ...
The male protagonist of this story, Sailor, is one of Gabriel's youngest brothers.
I loved Sailor, he is so proud and stubborn, but he's dreamer, but he knows where his vision of things could lead, with his plans abd intelligence ne started to building his future from nothing. Gabriel and Sailor's childhood wasn't easy after being abandoned by their father. But they
received so much love from their mother, despite the difficulties and she grew her children wonderfully, transmitting them important principles and, above all, awareness of how important the family is.
Sailor fell in love at first sight with Isa, the female protagonist, during a college party, and she is older than him.
She comes from a wealthy family, but a cold one, she suffered a lot because of the the inability of her parents to love their children.
So she became the point of reference for her younger siblings, the person who tries to be always present and to convey them all the love they need.
Although coming from two different worlds, Sailor and Isa are looking for the same thing: the Love with The capitol L.
Isa, however, doesn't trust her feelings for Sailor, she's afraid he couldn't be the right person.
Sailor doesn't budge, he fights to convince her of the opposite and he's so good for that. He has the
ability to make her feel special, loved, cherished as he puts her in the center of his world, introducing Isa into his family so full of warmth.
It's a sweet, sexy, light hearted story, where important and serious topics are touched delicately.
One can only fall in love with the Bishop family.
The novel is set in a reality so close to its author: her native country, the importance of rugby and a life that is lived in a place that has different rhythms.
I love how she writes and tells her stories Nalini Singh and I can't wait to read the next book of the series.
One last thing, I loved Sailor's mother, she's a secondary character but she's an extraordinary woman and I would really like to read her story with Sailor's stepfather.