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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
4.5
Harper Chase has been working toward her goal of running the Chicago Rebels hockey team her entire life. Despite being the daughter of the owner of the team, and NFL legend Crawford Chase, Harper has worked her way up from the bottom to learn all the ins and outs of the business. So when her father passes away and Harper learns the fate of the team is contingent on her and her half sisters successfully leading the team to a season win (which seems like an impossibility considering the Rebels are the second worst in the league) Harper is blindsided by the news. But it's not the first tough time Harper has faced in her life, and she assumes it won't be the last. Her strategy toward meeting the goal set before her rests on the shoulders of Remy DuPre, a talented hockey player almost on his way out. Harper knows with his talent, he could pull the team together, however, she doesn't bank on Remy not exactly being happy about his addition to the team. But as these two clash, they quickly discover an attraction that won't be stifled despite the risk involved if their relationship is discovered.
Irresistible You was one of those wonderful books that I didn't know I needed until I was already engrossed within its pages. It was a nearly perfect read for me, and the set up for more with the characters in future books is really promising.
The attraction between Remy and Harper was built up to perfection. I loved the enemies-to-lovers / "office" romance trope that this particular story deals with. Harper's reluctance to become involved with Remy is completely valid due to events in her past that makes her weary of the complications that can arise with such a hook-up. But it also speaks true to how she, as a woman in what is considered a man's world, would be picked apart by the very industry that she loves with all her heart. The double standard that Harper and her sisters have to deal with is front and center, and it's definitely something that will continue to pop up with the remainder of the books in the series I suppose.
Really, though, Remy was just the best hero to Harper's heroine. His understanding for Harper's situation is great, even though he doesn't want to give outsiders and critics the power to determine he and Harper's relationship status. He tries everything to convince her that the only opinions that matter are his and hers. In an instance where many authors would have thrown in an almost unnecessary conflict between our main characters to draw them apart, I appreciated the way Kate Meader navigated through Remy and Harper's courtship. It rang true for me. I loved it.
Kate Meader is no stranger to highlighting sibling relationships as can been seen in her Hot in Chicago series. Here, it's the only aspect that I wish we got a little more depth on. Half-sisters Harper, Isobel, and Violet have such a checkered past between them, and with the mandate that they all be involved in the team in some way, shape, or form, it's an opportunity for them to get past the issues between them, and grow closer.
As I say I would have loved more depth between the sisters here, but I'll leave off with the caveat that since this is a series, hopefully readers will see them continue to grow together in the remaining books. If that's the case, I'll be satisfied, but as of right now, I'm left wanting more. Which I suppose is not a bad thing.
Kate Meader definitely leaves us with a pretty nice set-up (and one of my favorite romance tropes) for the next book / sister. I wish it was out now. This series is definitely one that has binge-worthy potential.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Harper Chase has been working toward her goal of running the Chicago Rebels hockey team her entire life. Despite being the daughter of the owner of the team, and NFL legend Crawford Chase, Harper has worked her way up from the bottom to learn all the ins and outs of the business. So when her father passes away and Harper learns the fate of the team is contingent on her and her half sisters successfully leading the team to a season win (which seems like an impossibility considering the Rebels are the second worst in the league) Harper is blindsided by the news. But it's not the first tough time Harper has faced in her life, and she assumes it won't be the last. Her strategy toward meeting the goal set before her rests on the shoulders of Remy DuPre, a talented hockey player almost on his way out. Harper knows with his talent, he could pull the team together, however, she doesn't bank on Remy not exactly being happy about his addition to the team. But as these two clash, they quickly discover an attraction that won't be stifled despite the risk involved if their relationship is discovered.
Irresistible You was one of those wonderful books that I didn't know I needed until I was already engrossed within its pages. It was a nearly perfect read for me, and the set up for more with the characters in future books is really promising.
The attraction between Remy and Harper was built up to perfection. I loved the enemies-to-lovers / "office" romance trope that this particular story deals with. Harper's reluctance to become involved with Remy is completely valid due to events in her past that makes her weary of the complications that can arise with such a hook-up. But it also speaks true to how she, as a woman in what is considered a man's world, would be picked apart by the very industry that she loves with all her heart. The double standard that Harper and her sisters have to deal with is front and center, and it's definitely something that will continue to pop up with the remainder of the books in the series I suppose.
Really, though, Remy was just the best hero to Harper's heroine. His understanding for Harper's situation is great, even though he doesn't want to give outsiders and critics the power to determine he and Harper's relationship status. He tries everything to convince her that the only opinions that matter are his and hers. In an instance where many authors would have thrown in an almost unnecessary conflict between our main characters to draw them apart, I appreciated the way Kate Meader navigated through Remy and Harper's courtship. It rang true for me. I loved it.
Kate Meader is no stranger to highlighting sibling relationships as can been seen in her Hot in Chicago series. Here, it's the only aspect that I wish we got a little more depth on. Half-sisters Harper, Isobel, and Violet have such a checkered past between them, and with the mandate that they all be involved in the team in some way, shape, or form, it's an opportunity for them to get past the issues between them, and grow closer.
As I say I would have loved more depth between the sisters here, but I'll leave off with the caveat that since this is a series, hopefully readers will see them continue to grow together in the remaining books. If that's the case, I'll be satisfied, but as of right now, I'm left wanting more. Which I suppose is not a bad thing.
Kate Meader definitely leaves us with a pretty nice set-up (and one of my favorite romance tropes) for the next book / sister. I wish it was out now. This series is definitely one that has binge-worthy potential.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first book by Kate Meader. Sports romance is a sweet spot for me when done well and I’m a fan of hockey in books. Meader executed this well with fresh characters, the hero Remy who I liked immediately and Harper the heroine who was a ‘grower’. The chemistry is well written and bubbles gently, then fiery.
The set up for future books holds lots of promise and I’m looking forward to reading more.
The set up for future books holds lots of promise and I’m looking forward to reading more.
My goodness, Remy DuPre! I loved everything about him. He had so much passion and commitment, and I adored each and every interaction with his family. Remy and Harper were a perfect match! Now I want my own Cajun werewolf.
*SBTB Quarterly Challenge - December 5. My Gift to You Reader's choice! Any book will satisfy this task*
3.5. The hero was great, but almost too perfect. Did he have to be good at everything? The heroine took a long time to come around. She really needs a new therapist.
My knowledge of hockey comes almost exclusively from The Mighty Ducks movie, but I enjoyed the framing of this story and the writing. I would continue on with the series.
3.5. The hero was great, but almost too perfect. Did he have to be good at everything? The heroine took a long time to come around. She really needs a new therapist.
My knowledge of hockey comes almost exclusively from The Mighty Ducks movie, but I enjoyed the framing of this story and the writing. I would continue on with the series.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley.
3.5* rounded down.
Harper and her half-sisters have inherited a hockey team, the Chicago Rebels, from their father. Harper's newest recruit is player Remy duPre, and he is furious because this is the last year he plans to play hockey and he wants to win the Stanley Cup with his old team. Instead he is forced to join Harper's Rebels, the second worst team in the NHL.
There is A LOT of hockey in this book although, thankfully, no play by play action. If I hadn't been reviewing it, I'm not sure I'd have got past the beginning, where Remy is disrespectful, petulant and downright unpleasant. Fortunately he undergoes something of a personality change after having blackmailed Harper to get his own way and turns into a complete charmer, who won't even sit if a woman is standing.
I enjoyed the scenes with Remy's delightful family and the scenes where Harper interacts with her sisters and Remy with his teammates were well done. Generally the book picked up after the first 20%. The ending was perhaps a little "open" - what is going to happen at the end of the season? Is Harper going to give Remy the babies he seems to crave? Harper's sisters, who are by no means quite as estranged/unco-operative as the blurb suggests, are clearly going to get books of their own.
3.5* rounded down.
Harper and her half-sisters have inherited a hockey team, the Chicago Rebels, from their father. Harper's newest recruit is player Remy duPre, and he is furious because this is the last year he plans to play hockey and he wants to win the Stanley Cup with his old team. Instead he is forced to join Harper's Rebels, the second worst team in the NHL.
There is A LOT of hockey in this book although, thankfully, no play by play action. If I hadn't been reviewing it, I'm not sure I'd have got past the beginning, where Remy is disrespectful, petulant and downright unpleasant. Fortunately he undergoes something of a personality change after having blackmailed Harper to get his own way and turns into a complete charmer, who won't even sit if a woman is standing.
I enjoyed the scenes with Remy's delightful family and the scenes where Harper interacts with her sisters and Remy with his teammates were well done. Generally the book picked up after the first 20%. The ending was perhaps a little "open" - what is going to happen at the end of the season? Is Harper going to give Remy the babies he seems to crave? Harper's sisters, who are by no means quite as estranged/unco-operative as the blurb suggests, are clearly going to get books of their own.
DNF at 46%. It's a fine book, just not the book for me. It's somewhat feminist and there are good looking, men with great, decent personalities in it. Plus, the hero has fantastic, living parents (the heroine's were crappy and both died early.)
So why the DNF?
On the surface, it's because she's tiny and he's huge. Which always annoys me. Plus, the whole New Orleans guy with the French accent doesn't do it for me. Also, the heart of the book is all about the sexual tension. Endless scenes of sexual tension. So, it feels less about two people falling in love than two bodies falling in lust.
I'd like to see more scenes of her being a boss, running the team. As it is I know more about her clothing choices than her career aside from the fact that we're told she knows hockey stats and deals w/ sexism. If you're in this for competence porn, set the book aside.
On the feminism front, this is sex positive and she's the team boss, and the hero is proud of her for it. Yet, under that, the relationship is not an equal one.
He is essentially happy. He makes a home wherever he is, with gumbo on the stove and piles of friends dropping by. He works hard on maintaining close, loving relationships with his parents, siblings and nieces. He's got a great plan for his post-hockey life involving love and family. He is emotionally centered and whole.
She's the opposite. She's anxious, lonely, stressed. She's rattling around in a McMansion she inherited that's way too big for her. She only seems to have one friend she likes. Her few family relationships are half-formed, with old wounds and distance. She suffers from PTSD from an abusive past relationship. She is striving, but it feels like she's holding it all together with tense threads instead of joy the way he does.
So, basically he's set up to be the prince who will rescue the princess in the tower. And I'm not up for that.
So why the DNF?
On the surface, it's because she's tiny and he's huge. Which always annoys me. Plus, the whole New Orleans guy with the French accent doesn't do it for me. Also, the heart of the book is all about the sexual tension. Endless scenes of sexual tension. So, it feels less about two people falling in love than two bodies falling in lust.
I'd like to see more scenes of her being a boss, running the team. As it is I know more about her clothing choices than her career aside from the fact that we're told she knows hockey stats and deals w/ sexism. If you're in this for competence porn, set the book aside.
On the feminism front, this is sex positive and she's the team boss, and the hero is proud of her for it. Yet, under that, the relationship is not an equal one.
He is essentially happy. He makes a home wherever he is, with gumbo on the stove and piles of friends dropping by. He works hard on maintaining close, loving relationships with his parents, siblings and nieces. He's got a great plan for his post-hockey life involving love and family. He is emotionally centered and whole.
She's the opposite. She's anxious, lonely, stressed. She's rattling around in a McMansion she inherited that's way too big for her. She only seems to have one friend she likes. Her few family relationships are half-formed, with old wounds and distance. She suffers from PTSD from an abusive past relationship. She is striving, but it feels like she's holding it all together with tense threads instead of joy the way he does.
So, basically he's set up to be the prince who will rescue the princess in the tower. And I'm not up for that.