Pre-Lakewood Rule: Don't fall in love with the athlete.
Danielle Gillespie knows she needs to focus on three things: getting top grades in her college classes, preparing for medical school, and working as a tutor on campus.
She also knows that she absolutely doesn't have time for romance.
So even when she totally embarrasses herself in front of the hottest guy she has ever seen, Danielle isn't too flustered . . . until she learns that Mr. Hottie is Joel Lambert, the university's star athlete and the individual she will be tutoring for the entire month.
However, Danielle remains certain that she won't fall for Joel. She's not only too busy for love, she would never be interested in a cocky athlete, anyway. Plus, she's sure a celebrity like Joel would never be interested in a bookish girl like her.
Yet as Danielle and Joel start working together, she begins to discover that he's perhaps not the obnoxiously conceited man she assumed him to be, and she soon joins forces with him to fight for a cause they both believe in.
Now with everything—both on and off the court—suddenly on the line for each of them, Danielle realizes her regimented, academics-focused life is on a collision course with Joel's celebrity-athlete world . . . and her heart is going to have to decide what matters most.
BEFORE LAKEWOOD MED (The Lakewood Series Prequel) is a sweet*, closed-door*, sports romantic comedy – get your copy today!
-Originally published in October 2024 with the title A DOUBLE SHOT OF LOVE
-Now republished (January 2025) with its new cover and title, BEFORE LAKEWOOD MED (The Lakewood Series Prequel)!
-Full-length, stand-alone novel that can also be read as the prequel to TJ Amberson's Lakewood Series
-Told in present tense, first-person from the heroine's point of view
-Contains scenes in a hospital setting
-Tropes: Athlete, Celebrity, College, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, New Adult, Opposites Attract, Sports
*What TJ means when describing her books as "sweet" or "closed-door"
SWEET: the book has a more light-hearted tone, it's tropey, and there's no swearing.
CLOSED-DOOR: there's no on-page sex - if anything implies off-page sex, it's between a married couple.
