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  • Hard to Handle

  • The Play Hard Series, Book 1
  • Written by: K. Bromberg
  • Narrated by: Emma Wilder, Jacob Morgan
  • Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

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Hard to Handle

Written by: K. Bromberg
Narrated by: Emma Wilder,Jacob Morgan
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times best-selling author K. Bromberg is back with an all new second-chance, standalone hockey romance.

At first, the request seemed simple - sign a new athlete to the agency.

Then I found out the new athlete was none other than the most wanted man in hockey today: Hunter Maddox.

Gifted. Sexy. At the top of his game. And the only man who has ever broken my heart.

If signing him will help save our family business, I’ll swallow my pride and do what’s asked.

But when it becomes clear his uncharacteristic antics off the ice are a hint of something deeper, keeping things strictly professional between us becomes more than complicated. But I know better than to cross that line.

I’ll never date a client. Not even for him.

- - -

Win the Stanley Cup and do it before time runs out.

Not a small feat, but it’s what’s motivated me since the start of my career.

And time is running out.

Enter Dekker Kincade.

Feisty. Dogged. Damn gorgeous. The one I let get away.

I have no idea why she’s traveling with the team, but hell if resisting her is going to be easy.

But I have a job to do, and I refuse to lose sight of that end game. Even if she confuses me. Even if she sees parts of me I’ve hidden from the world.

I can’t lose focus. Not even for her.

©2020 K. Bromberg (P)2020 K. Bromberg

What listeners say about Hard to Handle

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved Hunter. Annoyed with Dekker

Dekker really annoyed me. I wanted to punch her in the face. Her flip flop personality... make up your mind.
She is evil towards Hunter’s emotions. Like I said... make up your dam mind.
She thought she was the cat’s meow. She’s not.

My heart broke for Hunter what he had to deal with. I just wanted to hug till he felt better.
My emotions were up and down and I had tears in my eyes many times.😢😭 Ok I ugly cried too. It was hard for Hunter living in the shadow of his twin.

I absolutely hated Hunter’s mom and dad. Worst ever.

The narration was excellent.
Enjoyed this new author K Bromberg. I’m going to listen to more from this author.

Great book 1. Can’t wait to listen to the next book.

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Emotional roller coaster!! Slow burn 🔥

Narrators are excellent! Interesting characters! Loved both Main Characters, they were both very layered and had interesting backstories. This book conjures many emotions and reactions: laughing, smiling, happiness, sadness, crying, warmth, loneliness, belonging, camaraderie, love, anger, confusion, heat, desire, tension, lust 🔥 etc… Jacob Morgan is an excellent narrator, can’t go wrong. If you like sports romance with characters that have family and personal issues but who like and lust after each other while playing tough love. It’s totally worth your credit!

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Such a great story

I really enjoyed this book. It was heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. Two main characters with such heartbreak in their past that they’ve carried on their shoulders for years. Dekker knows she has a job to do, sign the best player in the NHL to her family sports agency but no one really knows he’s the guy who she used to have an arrangement with. She’s carried her feelings for years about him. Hunter is slowly spinning out of control. He’s snapping at everyone, he’s out of control. Dekker starts to remind him again about his love for the game and she starts to realize there is more to his story and after many years of mental abuse, she helps him love himself again! Emma Wilder and Jacob Morgan brought this story to life. Loved their narration!

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  • Paula
  • 2020-06-20

Absolutely stunning! Just one click it!

OMG this book is exceptional!! Jacob Morgan and Emma Wilder nailed this one! The emotions written by Kristy and brought to life by Jacob and Emma are so touching.

You won’t be sorry getting this one! I highly recommend the audiobook.

16 people found this helpful

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  • CAROLYN 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
  • 2020-06-18

A 5 ⭐️ FRICTION-FILLED 2ND-CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE

What a great start to Ms Bromberg’s new Play Hard series about four sisters who are each tasked with saving the family’s Sports Agency business by swaying and signing a successful sportsman. And first up is sassy Dekker Kincade, on the explicit orders of her Dad, she walks back into Hunter Maddox’s life with instructions to sign him to Kincade Sports Management.. however Dekker’s sceptical and realistic because she’s sure she’s got zero chance. Why?.. well, it was her that walked away three years earlier from their six month’s ‘no strings’ sexcapades with a flippant excuse to hide the fact that she’d actually crossed the line by falling in love with the sexy alpha. Coupled with that, is Hunter’s current uncharacteristic flare ups, mood swings and growing aggressions with everyone.. it could be down to the pressure to win.. or it could be something else entirely. And when they meet again, the sparks, attraction and chemistry are still sizzling.. but, as their flirty banter flares and fuels desire, Dekker can see there’s something dark lurking beneath Hunter’s layers that’s eating him alive.

Gifted dedicated focussed NHL player/Captain extraordinaire Hunter Maddox secretly battles heartbreaking guilt, inner demons, family friction and loss.. plus tensions are high with his teammates and his push n pull attraction to Dekker is getting out of control. Couple those layers with an unparalleled need to win the Stanley Cup - and it’s a powder keg of epic proportions waiting to blow. Oil vs water.. principles vs passion.. love vs lust.. pain vs pleasure.. letting go vs grabbing on.. him vs her.. living for someone else vs living for yourself.. saying goodbye and saying hello.. and love and love and love.. and the winner will have it all.

Worth a credit? Wow yes, this was an emotional rollercoaster.. an angst-ridden ride that held grief, sadness, frustration and tragedy as well as fun, friction and the heartwarming heady anticipation that a woman’s love will eventually break through walls fortified by misguided guilt. There’s smouldering tension in this well-balanced enjoyable second-chance game which deliciously builds with passion, pleasures, pushes and promises. Emma and Jacob did a fantastic job with each dual POV chapter and brought the feels, the fire and the friction to life.

16 people found this helpful

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  • K. Caudill
  • 2020-07-14

Couldn’t get past chapter 4

I’ve only listened to Emma wilder once and she was best fit for the awkward role she was reading. Her voice is too whiney and I couldn’t get into the book because it was her mostly reading.

11 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • RipleyandRue
  • 2020-08-05

I can’t do it

The female narrator’s voice is an upturned cadence that sounds unnatural and I couldn’t even get past the first chapter. 😭😭 I wish they would have sampled her voice as well in the preview. Sorry!

10 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Avid Reader
  • 2020-07-29

Ended strong

I found this story to be slow paced and too long. It could have been a better book if it was half the length, imo. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the female narrator either. Her tone was too whiney and breathy. I would have stopped listening but I normally like K Bromberg and thought it would get way better. The last 2 hours were better, but I was just worn out by the previous 8+.

5 people found this helpful

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  • Lady M
  • 2021-03-10
Listener received this title free

Spoiler free review

dual narration is not my favorite (most of the time I much prefer one narator over the other), but this wasn't bad. I liked the male narator better, the female was a little soft and almost whispery most of the time. I've only read this author once before and I really enjoyed the story. I teared up a couple of times. definitely worth listening to.

4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jennifer Hinson
  • 2020-12-08

Why did I wait so freaking long??

This story was absolutely phenomenal....I laughed, I cried, and I raged....I didn’t expect it to be so amazing and yet it was just that. It will go down as one of my overall favorite books of ALL TIME and such an impactful one.

As for the narration, Jacob Morgan did a flawless job at Hunter....he truly brought him to life, he brought out every aspect of what made Hunter, Hunter.
Emma Wilder, I’m not a fan of hers anyways so it’s hard for me to listen to her narrate but this story was so good I dealt with it. She will always be the queen of male voices, I mean I still feel like it can’t be her lol. But I just feel like she’s “too extra” when it comes to her performance, it turns what could be an extraordinary performance into one that felt force and fake. If she toned it down just a little I wouldn’t find myself so turned off....but bc I refuse to allow Jacob to be part of a lower rating I am giving them 4 stars (alone she would be a 3 max, he should’ve gotten 5+++).

Overall this is an audible/book you NEED to experience....it’s incredible!

4 people found this helpful

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  • Jocelyne
  • 2020-07-04

Hard to Handle without crying!

This is the first book in The Play Hard Series, a Sports Romance. I love the cover! Hard to Handle was effectively Hard to Handle without crying! OMG! I wasn't prepared for this story. Hunter and Dekker's story is emotionally intense, heartbreaking, and beautiful. The characters are wonderful. Hunter wasn't my favorite hero at first... but OMG! I was wrong! He is a wonderful broken soul. Dekker is beautiful, strong, independent, caring and supportive. They are perfect together. They share a strong and beautiful chemistry. The storyline is slow paced, and captivating. The back and forth, past to present, is emotionally heartbreaking, at least to me. By the end, while listening to the first epilogue, I was a crying mess. What a beautiful and emotional story! I started by reading it, and I Immediately decided to switch to the audiobook version. I didn't regret it, not a minute. Jacob Morgan and Emma Wilder did an outstanding job with the narration. They were perfect as Hunter and Dekker. This is a great author/narrators team! I LOVED it, and I HIGHLY recommend it! Looking forward to listen to the next installment in the Series.

4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Cpmn
  • 2020-08-13

Kept waiting for something to happen

Even Jacob Morgan couldn’t save this book!! I kept waiting for something to happen!! Omg. Boring!! I almost never DNF but I DNF. I just couldn’t take anymore. It just went on and ON and NOTHING!!! Someone tell me the point of this book!! NOTHING HAPPENS!!!!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • R. Parker
  • 2021-09-18

Hard to finish

Best thing about this book is Jacob Morgan narrating. Female lead is annoyingly immature & whiny.

1 person found this helpful