First Star I See Tonight (Chicago Stars #8)

Nopity nope nope! That\’s not how this work! That\’s not how any of this works! You don\’t help women who are not believed by putting false rape accusations in your book. Internationally famous athletes are not hunted down and booked in jail solely on the word of a known sex worker. Romance novels from Susan Elizabeth Phillips shouldn\’t need trigger warnings. I\’m angry ? I paid money for this book.

The plot snagged my interest almost immediately and I read the book very quickly. The hero Cooper Graham is a retired Chicago Stars quarterback who\’s opened a nightclub. He\’s always been very driven and ambitious, and he wants to eventually open a chain of clubs. He\’s been waiting for a prospective investor to make up her mind about whether she\’ll invest in his dream. Coop has always been driven to be the very best; to him, losing is never an option. Piper Dove has been secretly (or so she thought) trailing Coop on behalf of a client. But Coop has noticed her following him, and when he confronts her at his club, the first of many hilarious scenes between them begin. Piper\’s an only child whose mom was murdered in a street robbery when she was very young. Her dad, a private investigator, raised her as he would\’ve raised a son: to be tough, unemotional, driven, scrupulously ethical, never back down, and never, ever cry. She learned his business inside and out growing up and expected him to pass it on to her. But besides teaching her to be tough, her dad was also overprotective and didn\’t want her in the business because he thought it was too dangerous. After his death, she used up all her savings to buy the business from her greedy stepmother. She\’s now struggling to keep and build the business, so her one current client is all-important. When she reports to the client that Coop knows she\’d been following him, the client drops her but stipulates that Piper not tell him who hired her to follow him. Through an interesting set of circumstances Piper ends up working for Coop. Their romance is funny, unique, touching, and has some surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.

4.5 stars First Star I See Tonight is a well-written and humorous contemporary romance. Although this is the eighth book in the Chicago Stars Series, it can easily be read as a standalone. Piper has no interest in falling in love. She doesn’t do emotions. Piper was tough, competitive, and snarky; just like her dad taught her to be. When Piper’s father died, she bought his business, Dove Investigations. She was determined to be the best private investigator in town. Cooper Graham loved his life. He was thirty-seven-years-old, a Chicago Stars legend, and retired. Cooper left football while he was on top so that he could stay that way. His new passion and vision was to create a nightclub empire. When Cooper discovered that a nutty woman, wearing different disguises, was following him on a daily basis, he shrugged it off. At first, it didn’t bother him, but when the crazy stalker started coming into his nightclub, Cooper had had enough. What could Piper possibly say to Cooper to appease him? She couldn’t exactly tell him, who hired her to investigate him, or why; could she? But, that’s exactly what he wanted to know. And, Cooper got whatever he wanted. Well, apparently, not this time. Before Piper left the nightclub without answering his questions, she nonchalantly told him, that someone was pilfering his profits. Cooper was livid. How could this wacky woman accuse a trusted friend, of stealing? Unfortunately, Piper was right; so Cooper hired her. Initially, Cooper was not attracted to Piper. So, why was he falling for the stubborn, independent, and smart-mouthed woman? Because, Piper wasn’t like any other woman, that he\’s ever met. Piper was not romantically, interested in him. Piper could also be sexy as hell when she wanted to be. The last thing Piper needed was to fall for a conceited, arrogant ex-football player, like Cooper. Piper avoided relationships at all costs. But, like Cooper, Piper had a big, mushy heart underneath her tough exterior. There are several subplots, adding depth, to this well-written, humorous, and captivating novel. The First Star I See Tonight is a delightful and entertaining read. Susan Elizabeth Phillips never fails to make me laugh. I just love her books.

When a bunch of my favorite authors have the same book on their \”Best of 2016\” lists, I pay attention. When the book then goes on sale, I take that as a sign. Somehow, this new release escaped my attention. I am so glad I saw that article. First Star is classic SEP. Piper is a terrific Shero. She\’s smart, loyal, and hysterically funny. She has a few commitment issues, which lead to the most character appropriate resolution ever. Piper is determined to do what\’s best for Coop, regardless of what Coop believes. Her investigation firm brings Coop into her sights. Coop has recently retired as QB from our favorite Chicago football team. He has opened a club, but things may not be running as smoothly a Coop thinks. Piper susses out the truth, much to Coop\’s chagrin. Piper isn\’t his normal type, but he can\’t get her out of his mind. Everything about First Star worked for me. Humor, character development, great secondary characters, Heath and Annabelle, Phoebe…Classic SEP. Bottom line- terrific story, funny and smart. A great addition to one of the best series ever.

I love SEP\’s writing, her characters are always fun, quirky, engaging individuals and her Chicago Stars heroes are the ultimate sports jocks who manage to be authentic and yet not dicks. That\’s pretty hard to pull off and she does it again here with Coop Graham, a former elite sportsman who is used to getting his own way in all things but meets a woman he can\’t bribe, cajole, bully or seduce into submission in wannabe private detective Piper Dove. He catches her trailing him for a client, a client whose identity she refuses to reveal, because Piper has ethics, ethics that eventually lead them both on a rollercoaster ride of a relationship which takes in lashings of SEP\’s trademark, humour, emotion and delicious secondary character (I particularly loved the reappearance of Heath and Annabelle)! Maybe this lacked the sensational pace and wit of my favourite SEP books, but that\’s a minor quibble really, I devoured it in a few sittings, and fell in love with both Coop and Piper.

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