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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
2.5 to 3 star sliding scale. This was just weird in tone, and I'm sad that my enjoyment of individual Sarina Bowen books has been decreasing with every new book lately.
This romance pairing is between Eric Bayer, 34 year old forward in the Brooklyn Bruisers, and his childhood friend Alex Engels, high powered CEO of a billionaire cable and tech company. Eric's brother and father run a secretive billionaire security firm that seems to do shady cybersecurity stuff and manufacture future tech-y products, but they also seem to have high profile important clients to do security for too? It's so vague and unclear which really annoys me. Then Alex runs the cable company her father was CEO of, so it's technically a family-run giant conglomerate ala Succession dramatics, but she's also developing an Alexa-like butler robot device called Bingley that has customer security and privacy as its main selling point? It's all weird.
I really dislike it when romance books have a corporate world billionaire or security work as a backdrop, that's just there to make it seem cool and sexy, and it's all vague and unrealistic to the point that it takes me out of the story. Rather than all of this crazy imagining into a world us mere plebs wouldn't be able to even verify the accuracy of, I'd rather read a story with like, a florist and a farmer in a local farmer's market instead. Plus putting aside all that, having the people that run these world-dominating tech and security firms is NOT cool and sexy for me, not in the current times we live in. Even back from Nate Kattenberger's book depicting him as a Elon Musk-ish cute cool eccentric billionaire, I was already scratching my head. I'm just imagining bugs and monitoring protocols on the phones Nate gives to his hockey players, imagining Eric's brother Max's firm selling software programs that run the drones that bomb civilians in Yemen, building spyware competing with China's developing domestic surveillance program, Alex as a Shiv Roy type from Succession who has had to do unethical nasty shit for the family firm, even her stupid Bingley thing touting privacy... Ugh.
Anyway, aside from my problems with the setting and depiction of the characters' world, the romance development also had its issues. I didn't really understand at all the chemistry between Alex and Eric. It seemed like they had sex because her pregnancy hormones, then he was there as comfort and a rock when she was in danger. I hated the whole plot premise of Alex being pregnant by her abusive ex who she is dealing with trying to have him sign away custody to the child, and for some wacky nonsensical reason Eric, this millionaire hockey player who doesn't work for his brother, is roped into being her fake boyfriend for a single tech conference? Then he's just around all the time after? It's so messy where she's not even a single mom to a toddler- she is fully still pregnant and sorting legal things out, then she has to deal with a newborn, she's supposedly launching this crazy venture that is outside her company's core business, is in actual danger, AND she's falling in love with Eric and Eric will now be her baby daddy? MESSY.
Then there's the whole espionage, spy thriller, action stuff complete with bugs, gunshots, corporate shadiness with international manufacturing that was just over the top for me. I suppose security romance was never much my thing, and colliding it here with hockey romance when I expected hockey romance was a lot, it's so forced from the billionaire owner and the hockey brother relationship. The romance aspect here would be the 1000th most interesting thing about this kind of situation and I would want more of an epic Succession-like unfolding of a story like this than a fluffy romance crammed throughout. The villain in this, the obligatory cliche with the gun and the assistant was so dumb, and the whole deal with her product launch and the manufacturing chips just didn't have a resolution at the end there. The baby popped out, but that's about it.
I'd still want to read the continuation of the hockey romances with Bess the agent/sister of Dave, later the excitable rookie cousin Anton Bayer and so on. But I'm not sure about this series. Max is all mysterious and most probably unappealing for me from his past and present dealings, Xian Smith will pop up again somewhere (hate that there's one Asian character, and of course he's a villain some sort of Chinese spy person, ugh), Duff the rookie security is nice enough. I'll probably end up giving the books a go as they come along.
ADD: Also realized didn't even mention Eric's goings-on, where he's sidelined with ACL surgery and ends up retiring, his process going through that and becoming fully Alex's partner and helps with the baby, was there around the thriller suspense stuff. LOL.
This romance pairing is between Eric Bayer, 34 year old forward in the Brooklyn Bruisers, and his childhood friend Alex Engels, high powered CEO of a billionaire cable and tech company. Eric's brother and father run a secretive billionaire security firm that seems to do shady cybersecurity stuff and manufacture future tech-y products, but they also seem to have high profile important clients to do security for too? It's so vague and unclear which really annoys me. Then Alex runs the cable company her father was CEO of, so it's technically a family-run giant conglomerate ala Succession dramatics, but she's also developing an Alexa-like butler robot device called Bingley that has customer security and privacy as its main selling point? It's all weird.
I really dislike it when romance books have a corporate world billionaire or security work as a backdrop, that's just there to make it seem cool and sexy, and it's all vague and unrealistic to the point that it takes me out of the story. Rather than all of this crazy imagining into a world us mere plebs wouldn't be able to even verify the accuracy of, I'd rather read a story with like, a florist and a farmer in a local farmer's market instead. Plus putting aside all that, having the people that run these world-dominating tech and security firms is NOT cool and sexy for me, not in the current times we live in. Even back from Nate Kattenberger's book depicting him as a Elon Musk-ish cute cool eccentric billionaire, I was already scratching my head. I'm just imagining bugs and monitoring protocols on the phones Nate gives to his hockey players, imagining Eric's brother Max's firm selling software programs that run the drones that bomb civilians in Yemen, building spyware competing with China's developing domestic surveillance program, Alex as a Shiv Roy type from Succession who has had to do unethical nasty shit for the family firm, even her stupid Bingley thing touting privacy... Ugh.
Anyway, aside from my problems with the setting and depiction of the characters' world, the romance development also had its issues. I didn't really understand at all the chemistry between Alex and Eric. It seemed like they had sex because her pregnancy hormones, then he was there as comfort and a rock when she was in danger. I hated the whole plot premise of Alex being pregnant by her abusive ex who she is dealing with trying to have him sign away custody to the child, and for some wacky nonsensical reason Eric, this millionaire hockey player who doesn't work for his brother, is roped into being her fake boyfriend for a single tech conference? Then he's just around all the time after? It's so messy where she's not even a single mom to a toddler- she is fully still pregnant and sorting legal things out, then she has to deal with a newborn, she's supposedly launching this crazy venture that is outside her company's core business, is in actual danger, AND she's falling in love with Eric and Eric will now be her baby daddy? MESSY.
Then there's the whole espionage, spy thriller, action stuff complete with bugs, gunshots, corporate shadiness with international manufacturing that was just over the top for me. I suppose security romance was never much my thing, and colliding it here with hockey romance when I expected hockey romance was a lot, it's so forced from the billionaire owner and the hockey brother relationship. The romance aspect here would be the 1000th most interesting thing about this kind of situation and I would want more of an epic Succession-like unfolding of a story like this than a fluffy romance crammed throughout. The villain in this, the obligatory cliche with the gun and the assistant was so dumb, and the whole deal with her product launch and the manufacturing chips just didn't have a resolution at the end there. The baby popped out, but that's about it.
I'd still want to read the continuation of the hockey romances with Bess the agent/sister of Dave, later the excitable rookie cousin Anton Bayer and so on. But I'm not sure about this series. Max is all mysterious and most probably unappealing for me from his past and present dealings, Xian Smith will pop up again somewhere (hate that there's one Asian character, and of course he's a villain some sort of Chinese spy person, ugh), Duff the rookie security is nice enough. I'll probably end up giving the books a go as they come along.
ADD: Also realized didn't even mention Eric's goings-on, where he's sidelined with ACL surgery and ends up retiring, his process going through that and becoming fully Alex's partner and helps with the baby, was there around the thriller suspense stuff. LOL.
Just the kind of fun I need to break up the time I spend crying over my thesis
I enjoyed this foray into light romantic suspense. I'm sort of amazed at how good Bowen is at weaving her various series together, because I think it draws the reader along naturally to try adjacent genres. The shoutouts to other series was not overdone. I had bailed on the hockey series, but I gave this a try and enjoyed it.
Hockey romance with a twist of corporate espionage. I really liked the characters in this one.
Moonlighter by Sarina Bowen was a fantastic sports romance paired with romantic suspense. I couldn't get enough of Eric and Alex's story. I also liked that these characters were childhood friends who just happened to to cross paths and need each other again years later! Jason Clarke and Lucy Rivers narrate this audio.
Alexandra "Alex" has grown up privileged, but has worked her up and earned her right to take over her father's tech company. However, she has entrusted Eric's dad's security team to assist her because there seems to be some ulterior motives when it comes to Alex and her work. Eric is a hockey player for the Brooklyn Bruisers and has been been volunteered to escort Alex to an upcoming tech convention in Hawaii. When these two childhood friends reunite, the chemistry is off the charts hot!
Jason Clarke and Lucy Rivers narrate the audio. I think this is the first time I've heard these two paired together, and I really enjoyed their performances. Lucy does a great job of conveying all of Alex's strong, independent, and adamant personality. I also loved the way she portrayed her vulnerable side too. Jason conveys all of Eric's headstrong, protective, and sarcastic personality so well! Jason is always a one click for me!
Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook! I'm looking forward to more from Sarina Bowen!
Alexandra "Alex" has grown up privileged, but has worked her up and earned her right to take over her father's tech company. However, she has entrusted Eric's dad's security team to assist her because there seems to be some ulterior motives when it comes to Alex and her work. Eric is a hockey player for the Brooklyn Bruisers and has been been volunteered to escort Alex to an upcoming tech convention in Hawaii. When these two childhood friends reunite, the chemistry is off the charts hot!
Jason Clarke and Lucy Rivers narrate the audio. I think this is the first time I've heard these two paired together, and I really enjoyed their performances. Lucy does a great job of conveying all of Alex's strong, independent, and adamant personality. I also loved the way she portrayed her vulnerable side too. Jason conveys all of Eric's headstrong, protective, and sarcastic personality so well! Jason is always a one click for me!
Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook! I'm looking forward to more from Sarina Bowen!
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really really loved Bayers story. But I missed the othe hockey players, I would have loved Heidi and Castro or Leo to be more around in this book. And finally Alex makes sense to me. Thanks for this nice Bruiser. Can´t wait for Besses story.
Moonlighter is book one in a delightful new series by one of my favorite authors, Sarina Bowen!! This is a spinoff of sorts from the Brooklyn Bruisers (my favorite). Eric Bayer is an aging hockey player who is the black sheep of his uber successful family. He gets suckered into helping his brother with "The Company". All he has to do is a be a fake boyfriend to an old family friend...that always ends well!
Max's (Eric's brother) company is super secret and part of what they do is provide security. Max is providing security for Alex, and he needs Eric's help. See, turns out Alex has an idiot of an ex who can't take no for an answer. Oh, and she is pregnant with his baby. Eric doesn't want to help, but Max sort of forces his hand. He gets a free trip to Hawaii out of it! Of course Eric and Alex hit it off.
Eric is genuinely funny throughout the story. He has lots of quippy lines and his banter with Alex is great. She has a deadpan type of humor. She's also a brilliant, fierce girl boss CEO! I love that a pro hockey player is the least successful person in this book. I also loved how Eric loves Alex. Their story is full of the unexpected but Eric just seems to roll with it, no matter what and then one day he realizes he loves her. I also liked that Eric's hockey career was coming to an end and he had to face that. In most sports books, the heroes are top notch and if they get injured, they bounce back triumphantly. Eric is dealing with the decision no pro athlete wants to make and he struggles.
Moonlighter gives you a touch of danger as well which I always appreciate. Alex and Eric build a relationship over months and their chemistry is great. You really believe in their feelings for one another. I was completely engrossed in Moonlighter and I can't wait to see where Bowen takes "The Company" next!
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: fake relationship
- Triggers:
Spoiler
Alex's ex hit her in the face. It happens before the story starts. - Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger:
Spoiler
no - HEA:
Spoiler
yes
A Lie for a Lie by Helena Hunting, Faker by Sarah Smith, Call Her Mine by Melissa Foster ...then you will probably like Moonlighter!
Moonlighter
See full review on The Book Disciple
4-4.5 Stars
I really liked the first 75% of the book but I think it definitely could’ve been shorter as the end it was more about the plot that was going on outside of the romance. Don’t get me wrong, the whole security threat plot was really cool but I just didn’t care enough about it and it dragged out the end for me. Other than that though, loved Alex and Eric’s story and definitely looking forward to more Sarina Bowen!
I really liked the first 75% of the book but I think it definitely could’ve been shorter as the end it was more about the plot that was going on outside of the romance. Don’t get me wrong, the whole security threat plot was really cool but I just didn’t care enough about it and it dragged out the end for me. Other than that though, loved Alex and Eric’s story and definitely looking forward to more Sarina Bowen!