Tangle in the Tropics by Lisa S. Gayle

Reality TV, riches, and a race for romance—with a taste of the tropics!
Yes, please! Sign me up. An all-new season is filming in the secluded island paradise of Fiji and the directors are hunting for contestants with the enticing tagline: Want to shine in the spotlight?

But Andrew Meyers already does! He doesn’t need an outrageous action-adventure reality show to find a girl. He’s professional football’s most sought-after quarterback. Trailed by cameras, women, football junkies, and more, he craves ibuprofen ten times more than attention. All he wants to do is play football—without the paparazzi! Well…and win back the love of his life who won’t give him the time of the day. But perhaps if they were stuck on a desert island together, she would?

Hannah Cooper is cautious about falling in love. Ever since she dated the quarterback king of football, relationships have been tough. She’s harboring a deep wound from their unforgettable time together, and moving on from her intense feelings for him hasn’t been easy. After all, how could she? His handsome face is splashed across every TV screen, magazine, and internet site in the world. But this time, she’s decided to move on for good—because what better place to fall in love than on a secluded island with a group of commitment-seeking single men!

My Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this Race to Riches or Romance Series, and I’m excited to be asked to read this story as well. 

We get dropped right into this story with Hannah and Brendan. Hannah’s world and near future just got an earthquake as her best friend cannot go on the romance show she has signed up for. But her hunky football quarterback ex Andrew, steps in to fill his position. 

I understand who Hannah is and how this book relates to the first book in this series. I love their history beyond the Race to Riches or Romance shows. I also love that they both seem to have unresolved feelings for each other. This book takes place somewhere tropical. Yup, I’m all for Drews’s idea of a tropical vacation, but Hannah seems to be hiding something. Hannah seems to have panic attacks and a commitment phobia which is very strange that the big bad quarterback is the one professing his love, and she is running away. 

I would love to know the reason this couple broke up in college. I know she wants romance and love, but why can’t she accept what is right in front of her? Why is she on reality tv when she clearly doesn’t need to be? Hannah is quite possessive for someone who doesn’t want the guy, but now she does. She seems to go hot and cold very quickly for Drew. His perfectness is almost women’s fiction dreamy. 

I feel bad for Hannah and Andrew. Pieces start to come together, and we begin to get a better picture of the why behind their past nothing is said outright. Hannah really needs to communicate with Drew. She seems to only run when things get uncomfortable and not speak. This story appears to have one massive cluster after another. Still, it is reality tv, so it is expected.  

This book is more like “Survivor ” than the last one, with more drama and less adventure. Near-death moments and the truth of the why, from the past, comes out. The reality tv show didn’t last too long in this case. But it did bring this couple with history closer together. 

This book has steamy moments, and I love the epilogues, but I wanted more of the show challenges and less of the everyday stuff. However, this romance is delightful, and I enjoyed the second chance aspects of the story and the swoony jock. His playbook was the best part of the story loved the incorporation. 

The end of this is surprising and does give you the taste of a reality tv show that I have come to love in these stories. Unfortunately, the end of this book is almost better than the sparse story of challenges for Drew and Hannah. 

I’m giving this book 3 stars. I didn’t love it as much as the first one. I liked the setting and concept, but it was more familiar, less fresh, and less exciting than Crush in the Cascades. This story gave us a taste of the reality tv show, but that didn’t need to be there for this second chance romance. And as they navigated it and themselves, things launched insta-love fast with minimal surprises. Some of the upcoming books look interesting, especially interested in Brendan’s. 

If you would like to read Tangle in the Tropics by Lisa S. Gayle, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you liked this story, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories Beach Romance, Second Chance Romance, and Sports.