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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
When I bought this book, I knew it would be a formulaic, fluffy college romance with an HEA. Still, I liked the idea that it featured a wheelchair-bound heroine, as I work with spinal cord injury patients and people who are primarily wheelchair-bound, and most of my patients, if they do walk, not many of them walk without assistance. So I was partially curious as to how this would play out in a novel.
First off, the characters. I liked the characters, and I always like a good friends-to-romance story. I did have a slight problem with the fact that Hartley had a girlfriend for most of the book, but hey, love comes when we least expect it, sometimes, and I understand why he stayed in a situation that wasn't necessarily the best for him (I mean, we've all done it). I liked both Corey and Hartley as characters - but I didn't feel any chemistry between them, at all, so I didn't exactly ship their romance. I actually felt more chemistry with Corey and that guy from her water polo team (the British one).
As far as the actual depiction of Corey's injury, I thought it was relatively accurate, especially if her injury was incomplete. I didn't like how she viewed her physical therapists, but it does help me to understand some of the frustrations that my own patients go through.
The story is written in first person POV in both Corey and Hartley's viewpoints. Its a relatively easy and quick read. And the revelation at the end about Hartley came too late and was resolved way too easily.
Overall, I liked it, but I don't usually gravitate toward this particular genre, so I'm unsure of whether I will continue reading this series.
First off, the characters. I liked the characters, and I always like a good friends-to-romance story. I did have a slight problem with the fact that Hartley had a girlfriend for most of the book, but hey, love comes when we least expect it, sometimes, and I understand why he stayed in a situation that wasn't necessarily the best for him (I mean, we've all done it). I liked both Corey and Hartley as characters - but I didn't feel any chemistry between them, at all, so I didn't exactly ship their romance. I actually felt more chemistry with Corey and that guy from her water polo team (the British one).
As far as the actual depiction of Corey's injury, I thought it was relatively accurate, especially if her injury was incomplete. I didn't like how she viewed her physical therapists, but it does help me to understand some of the frustrations that my own patients go through.
The story is written in first person POV in both Corey and Hartley's viewpoints. Its a relatively easy and quick read. And the revelation at the end about Hartley came too late and was resolved way too easily.
Overall, I liked it, but I don't usually gravitate toward this particular genre, so I'm unsure of whether I will continue reading this series.
I was so excited to find this book! Not only is it a different take on the sports romance, but the heroine is differently abled and it was nice representation. The book constantly discussed how she was able to maneuver in her surroundings, her physical therapy, and medical issues. I would have liked there to be more discussion of certain elements, especially during the intimate moments. There was a lot of veiled conversation and I felt like I was missing things/the narrative had a few choppy moments with these scenes.
I was also confused by the cheating aspect. We learn that he and his girlfriend have an "arrangement" while she's studying abroad, but it's an overheard conversation that doesn't have defined rules, so I'm not sure what the arrangement is. We know that his girlfriend was cheating on him while away, but he wasn't entertaining his side of the "arrangement" until the day his girlfriend was supposed to come home and was in the country. So did they cheat or not? Unsure...
I wish we could have either gotten more from his POV or all of it from her's. I think a lot of it wasn't explained as much as I wanted or it was explained from both of their perspectives. It just felt a little odd with pacing.
Tropes: m/f; confident hockey player male meets snarky used-to-be hockey player female with a spinal injury; friends to lovers; slow burn--one scene of fooling around and one sex scene toward the end; some crude language and sensuality throughout; cheating (sort of)--he has a girlfriend who is studying abroad but they have an "arrangement" that isn't fully explained/rules aren't defined; he is recovering from a broken leg; she had a sports related spinal injury 8 months ago and is now in a wheelchair or on crutches with braces; daddy issues--he was never recognized by his father publicly
Heat rating: MEDIUM—no explicit descriptions and a lot of vague scenes; fades to black or quick paragraphs; more of a focus on feelings/emotions rather than body parts.
I was also confused by the cheating aspect. We learn that he and his girlfriend have an "arrangement" while she's studying abroad, but it's an overheard conversation that doesn't have defined rules, so I'm not sure what the arrangement is. We know that his girlfriend was cheating on him while away, but he wasn't entertaining his side of the "arrangement" until the day his girlfriend was supposed to come home and was in the country. So did they cheat or not? Unsure...
I wish we could have either gotten more from his POV or all of it from her's. I think a lot of it wasn't explained as much as I wanted or it was explained from both of their perspectives. It just felt a little odd with pacing.
Tropes: m/f; confident hockey player male meets snarky used-to-be hockey player female with a spinal injury; friends to lovers; slow burn--one scene of fooling around and one sex scene toward the end; some crude language and sensuality throughout; cheating (sort of)--he has a girlfriend who is studying abroad but they have an "arrangement" that isn't fully explained/rules aren't defined; he is recovering from a broken leg; she had a sports related spinal injury 8 months ago and is now in a wheelchair or on crutches with braces; daddy issues--he was never recognized by his father publicly
Heat rating: MEDIUM—no explicit descriptions and a lot of vague scenes; fades to black or quick paragraphs; more of a focus on feelings/emotions rather than body parts.
4.5 Stars
I'm still mopping up after this one. Bridger was the best kind of man. Absolutely the best. Full review to come.
I'm still mopping up after this one. Bridger was the best kind of man. Absolutely the best. Full review to come.
I don't know what it is with Sarina Bowen. Her M/M books are mostly great, but her M/F books really don't gel with me. Both M/F books I've read so far (this one and [b:Brooklynaire|35053870|Brooklynaire|Sarina Bowen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516744572s/35053870.jpg|56342351]) have insecure and weak females who are too dependent on the attention of their male counterparts and the males are not that interesting (which surprised me in the case of Hartley because I really liked him in [b:The Understatement of the Year|22701480|The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years, #3)|Sarina Bowen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408448387s/22701480.jpg|42221194]). The sexy times in her M/F stories also don't work for me because they feel very male-centric. This particular book also suffers from the fact that Hartley Not good. I think I'll try Bella's book as the last one, because she intrigues me, but if that disappoints as well, I'll give up on her M/F stuff.
Spoiler
cheats on his girlfriend with Corey and instead of breaking things off with her immediately, stays with her for months and leaves Corey hanging in limboland.
This book is part of a series. I really enjoyed this book. It gave an insight on the day to day life of a handicapped person with a love story.
Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. I'm a little old for New Adult, but man, mix it with hockey and angst and I'm all over it.
I'm pretty sure Sarina Bowen is going on my auto-buy list.
I'm pretty sure Sarina Bowen is going on my auto-buy list.
Wow! Hell and Damn. This book was ah-mah-zing!!
It was witty, fun, entertaining, flowed well and had some laugh out loud moments. It also showed honesty and real characters that just stood out.
This book was real in my opinion. I loved it to bits and honestly couldn't put it down.
Corey was an awesome character. Loved her personality from the start. She really is a down-to-earth kinda gal you can totally hang with and gets along with everybody. She was beautifully written. Even her flaws and struggles.
Adam. FREAKING. Hartley loved him from the beginning. He is the perfect book boyfriend that I would be attracted to in real life. Heck! He's the type of guy you would definitely find in real life. He was totally cool and real and funny, and attractive (inside and out) and I loved his sense of humour because I am like that too. We would totally make an awesome-sauce couple. :)
Like so many readers I have a lot of book boyfriends but Hartley, might just be the one for me...
Dana was a cool chick. She flowed well into the story and was a great addition. I liked her character and presence. Her personality was very likeable.
As well as the other supporting characters in the book. They added a very solid background to the storytelling and were as useful and important as the main characters. They each had something to add to the story.
The story also caught my attention on the topic of paralysis and what people like Corey would have to go through on a daily basis. So in a way not only this book entertain me, it also educated me a little and shed some light on this medical condition.
The way the story was written was just so engaging. It just consumed me day and night. I really loved the writing because it was done so well and it was so clear and didn't waffle on with so many descriptions and explanations. I was hooked and didn't want to let go. Everything about this story and the characters was just so real, true and raw with feelings that the reader could connect with and experience. I just loved loved loved loved loved loooooovvvvvveeeedddd it!!
*I do just want to point out that at 81% of the book or around the time they were doing the deed, Hartley calls her Corinne. Not sure if this was intentional or not or maybe it was meant as a new nickname for her or something. Not mad or annoyed by it but maybe the author would like to know.* :)
Sarina Bowen is definitely an author to check out. When she writes it's good. BRILLIANT even. Am definitely going to sink into book #2 now.
Thankyou to the author for providing me with a free copy of her book in exchange of an honest review.
Happy reading y'all! :D
It was witty, fun, entertaining, flowed well and had some laugh out loud moments. It also showed honesty and real characters that just stood out.
This book was real in my opinion. I loved it to bits and honestly couldn't put it down.
Corey was an awesome character. Loved her personality from the start. She really is a down-to-earth kinda gal you can totally hang with and gets along with everybody. She was beautifully written. Even her flaws and struggles.
Adam. FREAKING. Hartley loved him from the beginning. He is the perfect book boyfriend that I would be attracted to in real life. Heck! He's the type of guy you would definitely find in real life. He was totally cool and real and funny, and attractive (inside and out) and I loved his sense of humour because I am like that too. We would totally make an awesome-sauce couple. :)
Like so many readers I have a lot of book boyfriends but Hartley, might just be the one for me...
Dana was a cool chick. She flowed well into the story and was a great addition. I liked her character and presence. Her personality was very likeable.
As well as the other supporting characters in the book. They added a very solid background to the storytelling and were as useful and important as the main characters. They each had something to add to the story.
The story also caught my attention on the topic of paralysis and what people like Corey would have to go through on a daily basis. So in a way not only this book entertain me, it also educated me a little and shed some light on this medical condition.
The way the story was written was just so engaging. It just consumed me day and night. I really loved the writing because it was done so well and it was so clear and didn't waffle on with so many descriptions and explanations. I was hooked and didn't want to let go. Everything about this story and the characters was just so real, true and raw with feelings that the reader could connect with and experience. I just loved loved loved loved loved loooooovvvvvveeeedddd it!!
*I do just want to point out that at 81% of the book or around the time they were doing the deed, Hartley calls her Corinne. Not sure if this was intentional or not or maybe it was meant as a new nickname for her or something. Not mad or annoyed by it but maybe the author would like to know.* :)
Sarina Bowen is definitely an author to check out. When she writes it's good. BRILLIANT even. Am definitely going to sink into book #2 now.
Thankyou to the author for providing me with a free copy of her book in exchange of an honest review.
Happy reading y'all! :D