Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Pucking Around by Emily Rath

18 reviews

ladynavalon's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Let's be honest. This book is for what it is, period. To read it with your favorite toy at hand and not give the plot too much thought. Porn with (bad) plot, that's all. Don't take it seriously... because if you do.... well, it's a book with some pretty toxic characters. Rachel is a whiny (actually, she whines all the time), manipulative spoiled brat who at no time thinks about anything but her brown pussy. Jake is an insecure little boy who has a lot of self-esteem to work on, the author says he's a golden reteiever, but perhaps he's the most toxic. Caleb could have been an interesting character if he had accepted his sexuality and communicated more, (as it looked like he was going to). And Ilmari... look, the guy is possessive as fuck and has monumental trauma. But hey, they're all possessive as hell and carry their traumas with them. If I dig deeper into the plot, I get more pissed off: their (the boy's) sexuality is specifically misrepresented, because they never admit that they like boys; the relationships between them.... (I think it would all make more sense if Caleb and Jake had something going on before Rachel arrived, if Ilmari had entered the relationship through Jake or Caleb, not Rachel). And worst of all, how toxic and unrealistic relationships and sex are, and that this is available to young impressionable girls. Zero judgedment if you read it as an adult with a head in orden to have a good time, but making it available to young girls seems very dangerous to me and normalizes horrible and super toxic things.
Not LGTB+ friendly at all!!!!!!!!!

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cluckieduck's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 Wow, a lot sure can happen to a gal in 5 months!

Are there some problematic elements in this story? Yes. Was it enjoyable? Hell yes!

This was such a fun take on a RH MMFM relationship, but oh yeah...what mess. While it is a loooong book that could have easily trimmed ~300 pages without losing anything from the (lack of) plot, I never felt the need to skim. It is a very easy read and, for the most part, well-written.

Each character is fun, but they all read college-age NA to me rather than their actual 27-30 y.o (with the exception of maybe Ilmari). There were a number of times I had to eye roll over some of their choices or actions, but again, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

All-in-all, it's a low angst, high steam, insta-love, sex fest of a book! 

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giannareadsromance's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

How am I supposed to go on after reading this? I’ve never fallen so in love with each individual character of a story the way I did with this one.

Rachel motherfucking Price is the definition of badass, and my favorite female main character of all time. The otherworldly connection and love she shares with Ilmari, Caleb, and Jake is everything. Her role in helping all of them not only find themselves, but stay true to themselves is one of the very best parts of the story all together.

And don’t get my started on the extra curriculars 🥵😅 A cocky defenseman, a brooding bear of a goalie, and their daddy-dom of an equipment manager…. what more can I say? 

Also as a side note: I actually really enjoyed the look into the inner medical workings of a sports team, ngl lol.

Additionally, I’m definitely glad I read the prequel to this book (That One Night) before diving in as it really set up the story well, and showed just how deep and fated Rachel’s connection with Jake is moving into Pucking Around. Not to mention it peppers in some background on Caleb and a few other little things as well. (Hi Poseidon 🐾)

This woman can WRITE. From the plot with all the detail, to the toe-curling spice this ticks every single box for me. I can’t wait for the next book in the series (Pucking Wild) which centers around Rachel’s best friend Tess!

If you were debating, take my advice and read the damn book. 

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briochebun's review against another edition

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DNF @ 62%

”It's as if his aura takes up so much space all on its own that he compensates by making the other pieces of himself smaller.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

This novel combined two of my favorite things: hockey & why choose romance. Unfortunately — it still wasn’t able to live up to my expectations.

I admittedly wasn’t the biggest fan of the prequel to this novel — ”That One Night” — but I’ve heard <b>amazing</b> things about ”Pucking Around” so I still wanted to give the novel a go to satisfy all of my curiosities.

One of the main issues that I had while reading ”Pucking Around” was in regards to Rachel’s characterization (which was a bit confusing at times). It felt as though she was all over the place most of the time — there was no consistency to her character. 

In the beginning of the novel Rachel stated that she cared about her position too much to risk anything with Jake + Caleb, but not long after that she ended up sleeping with them & forming a relationship with the pair. I understand that she had to cave at some point (it is a romance novel after all), but I did expect her to hold out for at least a little bit longer than she did…

Another issue that I had with this novel was that all of the relationships seemed to lack healthy communication (at least up until the 62% mark — which is where I stopped). I was more of a fan of Rachel + Ilmari & Jake + Caleb as separate couples rather than the MMFM that they were in the process of forming because there were moments where I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them / it didn’t feel like a true why choose MMFM romance to me.

ੈ✩‧₊˚

It’s possible that I’ll attempt to give this one another go in the future — but for now I will just say that I’m glad that others have read and enjoyed this novel & leave it at that. ♡

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erkietheturkey's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5


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lizrosereads8's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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heathrinwonderland's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 
I read That One Night which is the prequel, and I immediately downloaded Pucking Around. I’m not really sure what happened between the prequel and the actual book, because they are not at all the same. I was NOT expecting this, in the tiniest bit. 
 
The Characters: 
 
⊹ Jake Compton [Angel] 
Golden Retriever, Defensemen, very sensitive, and loves Ice Cream, Sushi, and Pelicans! 
 
⊹ Rachel Price [Seattle Girl, Rakas, Hurricane] 
A literal Goddess. Rock-Star’s daughter, the wild child turned Sports Medicine Doctor. She had a colored past, and I love that even as a medical professional, she still did everything she could to be her authentic self. 
 
⊹ Ilmari Kinnunen [Mars] 
Quiet, strong, Finnish Viking Goalie - he is literally my favorite. Never once did he waiver in what he believed in or wanted. He was the strongest and least 
 
⊹ Caleb Sanford [Cay, Devil] 
Grumpy, Tatted, Daddy Dom with Piercings (!!!) - he is very closed off, hard to like really, but in the moments that he does let his wall down, he’s a dream! 
 
What I liked: 
 ♥︎  Bi Representation (MM) 
♥︎ The SPICE!! WOW! 
♥︎ The individual and group relationship development 
♥︎ Ilmari Kinnunen ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ 
♥︎ How it ended 
 
What I didn’t like: 
 
♡ This book was so long. There were so many repeated details that could have shortened this book by at least 200 pages. 
 
♡ Everything was so OTT - who has full-blown emotional breakdown conversations mid-sexy time, just about every single time? 
 
♡ Why does there need to be so many pages filled with “You’re mine, I’m yours” - like we get it … 
 
♡ Breeding Kink - totally not my thing (not shaming anyone who is into this) 

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thecajunbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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