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Sinners #1
Goals For A Sinner
Unlucky in love, sports photographer Stevie Dowd has given up on men on order to concentrate on her goal of getting a cover shot for a prestigious sports magazine. Connor Riley, wide receiver for the New Orleans Sinners, has remained celibate all season to strengthen his game for a Super Bowl victory. Their goals collide, literally, when Connor bowls over Stevie on the sidelines as she attempts to get her perfect picture. Realizing Stevie is the woman he had a crush on in high school, Connor feels his vow is about to be broken. Can he win both the Super Bowl and Stevie Dowd?
228 pages, Paperback
First published March 24, 2010
About the author
Lynn Shurr
44 books14 followersOnce a librarian, now a writer of romance, Lynn Shurr grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country. She attended a state college and earned a very impractical B.A. in English Literature. Her first job out of school really was working as a cashier in a burger joint. Moving from one humble job to another, she traveled to North Carolina, then Germany, then California where she buckled down and studied for an M.A. in Librarianship.
New degree in hand, she found her first reference job in the Heart of Cajun Country, Lafayette, Louisiana. For her, the old saying, “Once you’ve tasted bayou water, you will always stay here” came true. She raised three children not far from the Bayou Teche and lives there still with her astronomer husband and two big-boned, orange cats named Jake and Elwood.
When not writing, Lynn likes to paint, to cheer for the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers, and take long road trips nearly anywhere. Her love of the bayou country, its history and customs, often shows in the background for her books.
New degree in hand, she found her first reference job in the Heart of Cajun Country, Lafayette, Louisiana. For her, the old saying, “Once you’ve tasted bayou water, you will always stay here” came true. She raised three children not far from the Bayou Teche and lives there still with her astronomer husband and two big-boned, orange cats named Jake and Elwood.
When not writing, Lynn likes to paint, to cheer for the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers, and take long road trips nearly anywhere. Her love of the bayou country, its history and customs, often shows in the background for her books.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 10, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. Love a big sexy football player! The first of the book I totally could relate too. I am a sports photographer and though I have not been tackled by a play, I have been tackled by a sideline player! It does hurt!! The way Stevie protected her camera...I am right on with that too! Great read!
March 24, 2018
I liked the premise for the book. Stevie is a sports photographer, she ends up getting trampled by a sexy football player, and it turns out he's her ex-boyfriend's brother, Connor. Connor had a huge crush on Stevie, but couldn't find her after his poor excuse for a man brother cheated on her. Luckily, Stevie and the brother didn't really get together, but it's still really awkward. I liked the connection between Stevie and Connor, they are cute together. I liked the football aspect, and I liked that Connor takes care of Stevie while she recuperates. Stevie does get on my nerves sometimes. She's been hurt a few times, but really she takes it all too hard. She makes some stupid decisions because she doesn't want to be hurt. I understand some of her hesitancy, but she takes it too far a lot of the time. Overall, they are a sweet couple.
One of the things I didn't like about this book, was Connor's team members. One of them is totally disgusting, and the author has way too much of him in the story. He even has his own POV briefly, and I think the next book is his story, but I couldn't stand him in this book, so I really don't think I'll read the next book. He has this book of all these desperate women who want to degrade themselves by sleeping with this douche bag just because he's a football player. Even if they have to share him with other women at the time, it's totally gross, and the women are so pathetic. And everyone is fine with it, it's so dirty and gross. He even prostitutes himself for Stevie, which I was very disappointed in Stevie for asking that of him. Also, Stevie tries to pawn him off on some nice girl, who definitely deserves someone better than this manwhore.
Another thing I didn't like, is the situation with Connor's brother. He's married to the girl he cheated on Stevie with because she was pregnant, which she did, so he'd come back to her and marry her. The brother did marry her, but he cheats on her all the time, so the wife keeps getting pregnant to keep him married to her. She keeps throwing major shade at Stevie, and acting like a complete hag for the whole book. Another example of pathetic women, and another situation that no one seems to have any issue with.
Both of those situations were depressing, and ruined a lot of my enjoyment of the story. I wish the author would've just stuck with Connor and Stevie's story.
The audio was fine, but the accent the narrator puts on the characters doesn't work. I think it's suppose to be southern, but it sounds pretty bad. I've listened to other books narrated by the narrator, and she did a good job, so this story just wasn't a fit. The narration made the story too comical.
One of the things I didn't like about this book, was Connor's team members. One of them is totally disgusting, and the author has way too much of him in the story. He even has his own POV briefly, and I think the next book is his story, but I couldn't stand him in this book, so I really don't think I'll read the next book. He has this book of all these desperate women who want to degrade themselves by sleeping with this douche bag just because he's a football player. Even if they have to share him with other women at the time, it's totally gross, and the women are so pathetic. And everyone is fine with it, it's so dirty and gross. He even prostitutes himself for Stevie, which I was very disappointed in Stevie for asking that of him. Also, Stevie tries to pawn him off on some nice girl, who definitely deserves someone better than this manwhore.
Another thing I didn't like, is the situation with Connor's brother. He's married to the girl he cheated on Stevie with because she was pregnant, which she did, so he'd come back to her and marry her. The brother did marry her, but he cheats on her all the time, so the wife keeps getting pregnant to keep him married to her. She keeps throwing major shade at Stevie, and acting like a complete hag for the whole book. Another example of pathetic women, and another situation that no one seems to have any issue with.
Both of those situations were depressing, and ruined a lot of my enjoyment of the story. I wish the author would've just stuck with Connor and Stevie's story.
The audio was fine, but the accent the narrator puts on the characters doesn't work. I think it's suppose to be southern, but it sounds pretty bad. I've listened to other books narrated by the narrator, and she did a good job, so this story just wasn't a fit. The narration made the story too comical.
December 31, 2017
Thank you to Anneliese Rennie for providing me with a free audiobook in return for my honest review.
Goals for a Sinner focuses on Stevie, a sports photographer who was in the wrong place at the wrong time when sports star Connor ran into her and put her into the hospital. Unknown to her, Connor has had his eye on Stevie for a while, ever since his brother brought her home as his girlfriend back in College.
I really liked the chemistry between Connor and Stevie to start with. Stevie was a tolerable character but Connor was so sweet for the first part of the book.
I liked the idea of Stevie being Connor's brother's ex. Especially when we read a little further in, I think from what I've read I actually prefer Kevin to Connor. He didn't seem like a complete asshole like Stevie made him out to be, he definitely grew up.
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to finish this book because I just got sick of it. It's a manageable length but I just got so bored whenever I listened to it that I completely gave up. Characters would have very irrelevant conversations that I really didn't care about and the two main characters got a little intolerable for me.
Although the narrator was good, she used a very strong Southern American accent, this did seem very appropriate due to where the story seemed to be set, however, as someone who lives more or less in the centre of England, I found a lot of it very hard to understand without really trying to. The accent did also start to grate on me after getting about halfway through.
The characters all had the same voice via the narrator and I think, more due to how the book was written rather than the fault of the narrator, it did get quite hard to stay on track with who was talking due to it being quite a script heavy book.
I did really enjoy this book until about halfway through, listening to the audiobook I struggled a little with the heavy dialect but could have gotten past that if the characters weren't so boring. I probably will try and finish it at some point as I would like to find out if anything else happens but in this case I couldn't.
Goals for a Sinner focuses on Stevie, a sports photographer who was in the wrong place at the wrong time when sports star Connor ran into her and put her into the hospital. Unknown to her, Connor has had his eye on Stevie for a while, ever since his brother brought her home as his girlfriend back in College.
I really liked the chemistry between Connor and Stevie to start with. Stevie was a tolerable character but Connor was so sweet for the first part of the book.
I liked the idea of Stevie being Connor's brother's ex. Especially when we read a little further in, I think from what I've read I actually prefer Kevin to Connor. He didn't seem like a complete asshole like Stevie made him out to be, he definitely grew up.
Unfortunately, I didn't manage to finish this book because I just got sick of it. It's a manageable length but I just got so bored whenever I listened to it that I completely gave up. Characters would have very irrelevant conversations that I really didn't care about and the two main characters got a little intolerable for me.
Although the narrator was good, she used a very strong Southern American accent, this did seem very appropriate due to where the story seemed to be set, however, as someone who lives more or less in the centre of England, I found a lot of it very hard to understand without really trying to. The accent did also start to grate on me after getting about halfway through.
The characters all had the same voice via the narrator and I think, more due to how the book was written rather than the fault of the narrator, it did get quite hard to stay on track with who was talking due to it being quite a script heavy book.
I did really enjoy this book until about halfway through, listening to the audiobook I struggled a little with the heavy dialect but could have gotten past that if the characters weren't so boring. I probably will try and finish it at some point as I would like to find out if anything else happens but in this case I couldn't.
December 23, 2017
Listening to sports romances are always entertaining, but I have to say that the twists and turns in this one are particularly gratifying. Unlike most where the player is just that, a player, we have Conner, the up and rising football player that is finally getting together with the woman he has been pining over for years. The ex-girlfriend of his brother, Stevie gets tackled during a game while taking pictures for Sports Illustrated. The two are destined to be together after that. But can it really be that easy? Instead of women being the issue though, Lynn Shurr puts a couple of different twists and turns in this story that keep these two apart. Along with a supporting cast of hilarious people, this book will keep your earbuds on just so you find out if they can find their way to happiness.
This is my first narration by Ashley Holt, and it is very good. She has voice that fits these characters well, and a pace that is well suited for narration. I enjoyed her ability to switch between the many characters and still give each a unique voice.
This is my first narration by Ashley Holt, and it is very good. She has voice that fits these characters well, and a pace that is well suited for narration. I enjoyed her ability to switch between the many characters and still give each a unique voice.
December 28, 2017
I received this audiobook free for an honest review. I love sports romance so was excited to listen to this one. Stevie Dowd initially met Conner Riley when they were teens and she was his brother's girlfriend. Conner knew immediately that he was going to marry Stevie one day. Ten years later, Conner is playing for the Sinners and Stevie is a photographer on the sidelines who gets "tackled" by Conner. Thus begins their journey to romance. This book just didn't do it for me. I found Stevie annoying. The story was somewhat interesting, but I felt it could have been shortened quite a bit. I had a hard time with the narrator's voice - I never could tell who was talking since the narrator's voice didn't seem to change with the different characters.
October 8, 2018
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I'm calling it... One of the characters just used the "f" word in a derogatory manner and it's just the last straw for me. I don't know if it's the pacing of the narrator or the writing that has made this difficult to listen to, but add to that the manner in which several of the African American characters are depicted and the confusing manner in which the dialogue is handled (I can never tell who exactly is speaking). I'm DNF'ing this book. I can't with this author anymore. There's an utter lack of racial/cultural sensitivity and the book as a whole feels really out of date and out of touch. I guess they can't all be winners."
I'm calling it... One of the characters just used the "f" word in a derogatory manner and it's just the last straw for me. I don't know if it's the pacing of the narrator or the writing that has made this difficult to listen to, but add to that the manner in which several of the African American characters are depicted and the confusing manner in which the dialogue is handled (I can never tell who exactly is speaking). I'm DNF'ing this book. I can't with this author anymore. There's an utter lack of racial/cultural sensitivity and the book as a whole feels really out of date and out of touch. I guess they can't all be winners."
December 23, 2017
I received this audiobook free for an honest review. I didn't care for this audiobook. Maybe the hard book would have been better. I really didn't like the narrator. Maybe if someone else had narrated it, it would have been more enjoyable to me. The story was good, Stevie and Connor, but it was way too long and way too many side stories. I couldn't keep up with the characters. The narrator didn't help much in that area either. Couldn't tell the people apart. Need to add this narrator to my list of narrators not to listen to. The New Orleans accent by the narrator didn't sound like any I have heard when I was in New Orleans.
July 18, 2015
I LOVE to read and rarely read something I don't like. I don't usually feel compelled to write a review. I always choose books based on the ratings and reviews. However, I was completely misled by the five star ratings and glowing reviews. I was SO disappointed!!! I kept waiting for it to get better, but by the end I was disgusted. I never really understood the connection between Stevie and Connor (and I really wanted to). But they acted like spoiled teenagers, not adults beginning a real loving relationship. Their first love scene??? What was that?? I had so many questions as I read this book. Why did she leave him? Why did she give him an ultimatum? The author just threw it out there and expected us to believe it. Then why did she leave him again? Connor falls in to this depression, then SNAP, he's out of it. It made no sense!!! To make matters worse, the author spent the entire last chapter (the wedding) setting up for the next book. I'm sorry, but NO BRIDE spends her wedding day trying to set up a playboy with a woman she barely knows. I've never said this about a book, but it was just stupid! I wish someone would've given an honest review so I didn't waste my money on this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2012
Sinners wide receiver Connor Riley has been waiting for ten years to find the woman he met only once but knew she would be the one. When he ends up tackling a side line photographer at one of the games along with a few of his teammates he is shocked to find it is Stephanie "Stevie" Dowd, the girl he has been looking for. Nothing will prevent Connor from installing himself in her life and recovery, except a gun shy Stevie who has a long list of relationships gone bad.
This had a lot of potential, but I found it got a little narrative and you never really feel warmth from Stevie. Connor wears his heart out there and is adorable.
*** I reread and changed rating to 4 stars, it is a little melodramatic in a couple parts but Connor is a dream come true and makes up for that.
This had a lot of potential, but I found it got a little narrative and you never really feel warmth from Stevie. Connor wears his heart out there and is adorable.
*** I reread and changed rating to 4 stars, it is a little melodramatic in a couple parts but Connor is a dream come true and makes up for that.
September 3, 2011
Oy. That was awful. I knew it would be based on the Kindle sample, but it was worse than I imagined. Long, rambling scenes. The dialogue was unrealistic and made me cringe. *Everyone* in the book was a chatty Cathy, giving too much detail in response to the smallest statements. I started to suspect it wasn't because they were friendly, but more that the author was doing an "info dump". I'm not sure I would have wanted her to try to get that information in in another way, though. It's too wordy in places already.
Might have worked better either as a short story - they get together really fast - or with a talented editor to give it some shape and a tighter pace.
Might have worked better either as a short story - they get together really fast - or with a talented editor to give it some shape and a tighter pace.
May 10, 2011
Written to be a light, funny diversion, I think Goals for a Sinner lives up to its promise to entertain. Not quite as hot as the sexy cover, the book does provide many laughs and yes, some dark moments for the characters to overcome. If you don't care for the carefully written football scenes, skim them and get on to the "good stuff". All the hunky Sinners players and their women are back in the sequel, Wish for a Sinner, which has less football and a much longer story. Relax and enjoy! Sometimes we don't need great literature, just a good read.
May 15, 2019
"The story was well written, thoughtful, and a true love story!!! I would..."
Check out my review and a TEASER here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/07/made-grade-goals-for-sinner-by-lynn.html
Check out my review and a TEASER here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2011/07/made-grade-goals-for-sinner-by-lynn.html
September 14, 2010
i really enjoyed reading a story about a city that i know. i was reading it while watching football and was getting the two confused.
May 25, 2011
I like the football setting - very good.
September 12, 2011
Meh. It had good bits, it had bad bits. I didn't overly love any of the characters and the story seemed to be missing something, but even now I can't put my finger on what is/was missing :-(
May 3, 2012
Not real sure if it really liked it 3 stars worth, iffy dialog, but liked epilogue ending.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews