‘Quake’ by Giuliana Victoria
Series: Philia Players #3
Published: December 18, 2024
Genre: Romance, Sports Romance
Format: e-book
Spice Level: 
Stars: 
1/2
Synopsis
Lark Hughes is the kind, sweet, and outgoing veterinarian who owns Toute la Famille, a non-profit veterinary clinic on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It’s a typical night for Lark, working a late shift at the clinic, when one of the players from the Divine Flyers soccer team arrives with his golden retriever rescue, Pickles.
He clearly takes them both by surprise when he asks her out. He’s attractive and kind and makes her insides feel like they’re melting. So why does she say no?
Unfortunately for Lark, the answer isn’t a simple one. The fact that her father owns The Divine Flyers is a blip on her radar compared to the real issue.
Her crappy boyfriend, Tyler.
Gianni Amato-De Laurentiis is a shy, thoughtful, and compassionate soccer player with several hidden talents. But he’s just never felt quite right. He’s had a long battle with depression, and when his best friend, Alex Casillas, passes away in a motor vehicle accident, his whole world is turned on its axis.
It was already hard enough for Gianni to make it through life with Alex. How is he supposed to continue without him?
Once Lark makes it out from under the roof of her cheating ex and into the arms of Gianni– who’s more than happy to do the things her ex never would– is it possible that she could help him too?
They each share their battles: Lark with her type 1 diabetes and Gianni with his depression. Through unlikely friendships, therapy, tons of paint, just about every musical instrument under the sun, and, of course, Gloria De Laurentiis’s “Always Smutty in Philadelphia” book club, can Gianni and Lark find their way to the happy ever after they deserve?
My Thoughts
I have been reading the Philia Players series since book one and each time I read a new story from Giuliana Victoria she gets better and better with her writing. Quake deals with something that I deal with every day with anxiety and depression and the last few months have been hard not just for me but for a lot of people. Giuliana wrote Gianni with grace and love and showed how they can work through it if someone has the support system and the help they need. Yes, the days are never perfect but that is what life is.
Right when I saw Gianni and Lark together in Quake, I wanted them together. Finding out Lark was in a relationship that wasn’t treating her well broke my heart. But when Gianni comes in, just by chance and how life is, it’s great to see her go from someone who stays in the background to someone who will step into the light to be seen, to be loved and cared for like she should.
The growth between Gianni and Lark in Quake is done so beautifully that I can’t wait to pick up this book again. Quake is able to show that when you find the right person and have the right person in your life you can shine and be treated how everyone should be. With love and kindness and let’s just say Tyler (Lark’s ex) got what he deserved 100%.
Quake is a 4.5-star read that you will not be able to put down. You will have moments where you go from awe to laughing and that is what a great book does. This book also helped me get out of the real world and into a world where I could smile and feel love. But not only is there plenty of sweet moments it’s a book written by Giuliana so the spice is there and hot! This is a spice level of three and boy oh boy there were moments I needed to fan myself.
Quake was just released today and is available wherever you get your books. If you purchase it from Amazon please use this link to help support the site. And good news if you are a Kindle Unlimited member. Quake is included in your membership so there is no excuse for you to not read this book.
**I would like to thank Giuliana Victoria for the ARC Copy of this book. Getting the ARC Copy did not influence my thoughts on the book as they are all my own**
