Scan barcode
balletbookworm's review
4.0
Opera diva vs football star trapped in a promotional tour for a luxury watch? Yes, please!
Hadn't quite kept up on SEP's Chicago Stars series recently, but given that premise I knew I had to read this. A good contemporary romance with a surprisingly twisty suspense plot thrown in that kind of helps the forced proximity of the tour (for "romance reasons" Thad always makes sure they have connecting hotel suites so he can look out for her). The resolution of the black moment in the romance includes some zany antics on the level of Nobody's Baby But Mine.
(A brief CW - prior to the start of the novel, Olivia's ex-fiance dies by suicide and this act is haunting her as well as being used by someone nefarious to stalk her during the course of the book)
Thanks Avon/William Morrow for the review copy!
Hadn't quite kept up on SEP's Chicago Stars series recently, but given that premise I knew I had to read this. A good contemporary romance with a surprisingly twisty suspense plot thrown in that kind of helps the forced proximity of the tour (for "romance reasons" Thad always makes sure they have connecting hotel suites so he can look out for her). The resolution of the black moment in the romance includes some zany antics on the level of Nobody's Baby But Mine.
(A brief CW - prior to the start of the novel, Olivia's ex-fiance dies by suicide and this act is haunting her as well as being used by someone nefarious to stalk her during the course of the book)
Thanks Avon/William Morrow for the review copy!
pattydsf's review
4.0
Although my Goodreads account says I have read only twenty of Phillips novels, I beg to differ. I think I have read them all and I have written reviews of sixteen of them. I read Phillips because I know that there will always be a happy ending and her story formula is one that I like. If I am having a bad time, I can count on Phillips to make me feel better.
The world, however, keeps changing and these novels do not. Most of the time, I am willing to accept that, but I do wonder what new readers think of Phillips’ world. It is very white. It is very straight. It may be hard for romance readers who are used to more diversity to suspend their belief and enjoy these books.
It may be that neither Phillips or her editors are comfortable making changes to the Chicago Stars (her football team) or the other aspects of these stories. I just wish she would try. Her characters are not living in the twenty-first century.
Given all my comments above, you may wonder why I am giving this novel four stars. It is all about timing. My reading life has been chaos this year and this book was a blessing. Right book, really right time.
The world, however, keeps changing and these novels do not. Most of the time, I am willing to accept that, but I do wonder what new readers think of Phillips’ world. It is very white. It is very straight. It may be hard for romance readers who are used to more diversity to suspend their belief and enjoy these books.
It may be that neither Phillips or her editors are comfortable making changes to the Chicago Stars (her football team) or the other aspects of these stories. I just wish she would try. Her characters are not living in the twenty-first century.
Given all my comments above, you may wonder why I am giving this novel four stars. It is all about timing. My reading life has been chaos this year and this book was a blessing. Right book, really right time.
jeet_the_maiden's review
3.0
I've always liked reading SEP, she adds a lot of smart banter between the romantic leads, fleshes out her characters' professional lives and creates good frisson that's delicious to read. The climax usually entails miscommunications and misunderstanding with separation supported with a bit of reflection that brings about a happy coupling at the end.
In this story we see an actual diva - Olivia is a renowned opera singer - team up with leading Chicago quarterback Thad Owens to endorse a luxury brand of watches, with a multi city tour promotion, but they begin by initially hating each other. They learn to become friends soon enough, partly due to Olivia's history with her insecure ex committing suicide and partly because there's someone trying to actively harm her throughout the trip. That's a mystery that gets solved near the end, but it's a little strange and the arc feels forced.
I didn't like the denouement, Olivia loves Thad and tells him so but he's not ready to be in a serious relationship with anyone, and especially not with someone equally or more driven than him and unwilling to compromise on her career. It didn't sit well with me that in the end she apologises for having her own (even if slightly skewed due to experience) reasons to not want a relationship with him.
The slightly disappointing ending mars an otherwise bright, fast paced story of travel and increasing attraction between Liv and Thad, two strong personalities who gel well. I stayed up the night reading three-quarters of it.
In this story we see an actual diva - Olivia is a renowned opera singer - team up with leading Chicago quarterback Thad Owens to endorse a luxury brand of watches, with a multi city tour promotion, but they begin by initially hating each other. They learn to become friends soon enough, partly due to Olivia's history with her insecure ex committing suicide and partly because there's someone trying to actively harm her throughout the trip. That's a mystery that gets solved near the end, but it's a little strange and the arc feels forced.
I didn't like the denouement, Olivia loves Thad and tells him so but he's not ready to be in a serious relationship with anyone, and especially not with someone equally or more driven than him and unwilling to compromise on her career. It didn't sit well with me that in the end she apologises for having her own (even if slightly skewed due to experience) reasons to not want a relationship with him.
The slightly disappointing ending mars an otherwise bright, fast paced story of travel and increasing attraction between Liv and Thad, two strong personalities who gel well. I stayed up the night reading three-quarters of it.
spowers2627's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I always enjoy a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and the Chicago Stars series is a favorite. This one is a romance with some suspense thrown in too. I felt for Olivia who was struggling with events from her past. Thad is the swoony hero we’ve come to expect from a Stars player. I enjoyed the contrast in these two characters. Overall this one was a sweet read that left me wanting a little more.
I always enjoy a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and the Chicago Stars series is a favorite. This one is a romance with some suspense thrown in too. I felt for Olivia who was struggling with events from her past. Thad is the swoony hero we’ve come to expect from a Stars player. I enjoyed the contrast in these two characters. Overall this one was a sweet read that left me wanting a little more.
krtadlock's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
_basicbookworm's review
3.0
When an opera star and a football player are both put on a nationwide tour promoting a luxury watch brand, there is so much backstage drama and conflict. Despite their differences, they agree to a no-strings attached hook-up situation for the duration of their tour.
I didn’t realize that this was book 9 in a series but I definitely think this one works well as a stand alone. I didn’t feel lost at all when reading it. There was a heavy element of suspense/mystery in this one which was fun and unexpected. I was hoping for a bit more comedy, but this ended up being a bit more dramatic than I anticipated. I think had I been aware of the suspense plot line going in, I would have loved this more.
I did a mix of audio and ebook for this one, and found that I preferred the audio in this case! The production was done well and I loved the narrators.
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for the advanced copies!
I didn’t realize that this was book 9 in a series but I definitely think this one works well as a stand alone. I didn’t feel lost at all when reading it. There was a heavy element of suspense/mystery in this one which was fun and unexpected. I was hoping for a bit more comedy, but this ended up being a bit more dramatic than I anticipated. I think had I been aware of the suspense plot line going in, I would have loved this more.
I did a mix of audio and ebook for this one, and found that I preferred the audio in this case! The production was done well and I loved the narrators.
Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for the advanced copies!
lglass98's review
5.0
The start of this book is an easy 5 star rating. There was a section in the middle that started to seem so unrealistic and was dropping it down to a 4 star read. But at the end (the literal end, at about 10 pages left) it got taken back up to a 5 star read. I easily recommend this book to my friends that are looking for a to die for romance, that doesn't seem like it was made for teenagers. A great enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers book
botanicalbanshee's review
4.0
The love story aspect was pretty predictable, but the mystery and crime portions were great and I didn’t see the outcome of that coming. Although I knew they’d end up together in the end, there were a lot of aspects of their relationship that I enjoyed and that small twist at the end was a surprise I didn’t see coming. I read this as a palette cleanser after a horror book and I’d say it did a really good job at that. I expected it to be a guilty pleasure read, some smut, trash tv kind of read, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Thad Owens is definitely a man written by a woman, and I was not mad about it one bit.