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cathyo_113's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
My Rating: 4.25 ⭐️ | 2.5 🌶️
Tropes:
x Single dad
x Age Gap
x Summer Love
x Sports Romance
x Slight Insta-love
My Review:
Lotus and Kenan’s love story is so sweet and strong. Kennedy Ryan does a fantastic job unraveling the attraction and emotion between the characters.
But, I am mad about the last few chapters/ending of the story. Like Long Shot, this book is not a romance. There is no HEA nor a HFN before the epilogue. The majority of the situations that stand between the MCs and an HEA or HFN remain unresolved by the end of the last chapter. The story and drama that unfolds between Lotus and Kenan is told so well and with a lot of care. But there is a MAJOR plot twist(?) in the last three chapters. Wtf? And it isn’t fully resolved before the epilogue. IMHO, the story and all major plot points should be resolved in their entirety before the epilogue. As a reader, I am not owed an epilogue and know it doesn’t come with every romance book. So in my opinion this is contemporary fiction with a love story.
Also - that MAJOR plot twist is not necessary. The author could have had just as a meaningful exchange between Lotus and the people in Kenan’s life in a different setting with just as much emotion. Instead, the reader is forced to read through another tragedy in the last 30 pages of the book before the epilogue.
This whole book, it’s like a love story between two people who have an insta-attraction/love but are mired but a ton of effed up situations that are happening to and around them. Like, please just get them to an HEA before the epilogue. I shouldn’t have to wait for the Epilogue for all major issues/challenges faced by the MCs to find a resolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Infidelity
keytheelibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TW: suicide, domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, death
y'all 🧍🏾♀️. this book built me up, tore me down, broke my heart and then pasted the pieces back together. it's an illness and a medicine, trauma and therapy. it's the wreck that flatlines your heartbeat and the defibrillator that brings you back. it's everything and y'all don't even have to wait to know it's 100000% a 5⭐ read. kennedy ryan has this insane, psychotic habit of pulling you in so deeply into the story that the plotline and characters become your own, only to write in something CRAZY to remind you that she's the puppet master. and i can't even hold y'all,
i'm a puppet- happily.
this book is the 3rd in the hoops series and my personal favorite. kenan ross is the man of my dreams, and i do mean that literally. because despite how much i adore his character, despite how much i love the way he's written and can only hope to write so eloquently one day, we would NEVER get along irl 😭. i hate to say that but it's true! lotus, like everyone, is well written and waa easily the best part of this story. she's funny, charismatic, driven, and a perfect match for kenan. reading her personal life story was sobering because while she isn't real, there are so many men and women who can relate to her. i don't want to speak out of turn, but i could imagine that reading this story would be extremely therapeutic for some.
kennedy ryan does it AGAIN (but who's surprised fr?). i will never shut up about this book and i can see why @layreadings wanted me to read it so bad. age gap, sports romance, kinda second chance romance (?), a 🤏🏾 forced proximity, and instant attraction.
i love it here. i may or may not have mentioned this before, but k.r. is very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Death of parent, and Sexual violence
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