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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Quarterback Sneek by Kandi Steiner
What a read! I love love love Kandi’s writing and its so amazing to get back to her books!
In this story, Holden the Quarterback with a no-nonsense and football only mind finally finds the girl of his dreams, Julep, the only woman whose ever caught his eye for more than one night. Only catch is, her father is the new coach for Holden’s football team and hes already outlined that shes off limits. Top that with the fact shes working as part of the team in sport medicine, thing’s quickly escalate until Holden and Julep are risking everything to be together.
I adored this book, finally seeing tough boy Holden, who has always been there for the other guys in their book, finally get his happy ever after! I loved the depth and darkness of both characters with their traumatic pasts, the involvement of mental health issues including substance abuse was touching, and really added to their story! I also adored that Julep’s fitness love was pole (its amazing)! Its such an amazing sport and i loved the intimate moments the two had around it.
Overall, another brilliant read from Kandi, buzzing to read the final in our Red Devils series, Hail Mary!
What a read! I love love love Kandi’s writing and its so amazing to get back to her books!
In this story, Holden the Quarterback with a no-nonsense and football only mind finally finds the girl of his dreams, Julep, the only woman whose ever caught his eye for more than one night. Only catch is, her father is the new coach for Holden’s football team and hes already outlined that shes off limits. Top that with the fact shes working as part of the team in sport medicine, thing’s quickly escalate until Holden and Julep are risking everything to be together.
I adored this book, finally seeing tough boy Holden, who has always been there for the other guys in their book, finally get his happy ever after! I loved the depth and darkness of both characters with their traumatic pasts, the involvement of mental health issues including substance abuse was touching, and really added to their story! I also adored that Julep’s fitness love was pole (its amazing)! Its such an amazing sport and i loved the intimate moments the two had around it.
Overall, another brilliant read from Kandi, buzzing to read the final in our Red Devils series, Hail Mary!
I really enjoyed Julep and Holdens story! Holden always holds himself to such high regard it was nice to see Julep unravel him.
I loved seeing Holden have to take a backseat in football due to the tear. It was nice to see him shine as captain on the bench. Along with that I loved the stolen moments with him and Julep. They both had something traumatic happen that brought them together which was sweet to see.
Julep was doing her best to keep everyone happy at the cost of her own expense. It was nice to see her break away from that shell of a person and actually start feeling something. I really enjoyed her arc and saw her grow throughout the book.
I loved seeing Holden have to take a backseat in football due to the tear. It was nice to see him shine as captain on the bench. Along with that I loved the stolen moments with him and Julep. They both had something traumatic happen that brought them together which was sweet to see.
Julep was doing her best to keep everyone happy at the cost of her own expense. It was nice to see her break away from that shell of a person and actually start feeling something. I really enjoyed her arc and saw her grow throughout the book.
I know I'm in the minority here but I didn't enjoy this all that much.
It felt like there was too much going on plot wise. The story would have had more weight and substance if the conflict stuck to the grief aspects of the book.
The storyline of having the father/coach tell his GROWN ASS ADULT daughter who to date was not believable to me. Especially since the man she couldn't date was the quarterback of the team who 1. Is a great leader, 2. Does well in college, 3. Spends his free time helping his teammates, and 4. GARDENS. Oh yeah, we better watch out for this successful human who in no way has shown he is a horrible person.
Every time the dad said to stay away from his daughter I rolled my eyes. He threatened to bench him (the star player I might add, and LIE and say his shoulder was injured to scouts) if he even thought about his daughter. It felt very childish, and it could have been dealt with with one conversation instead of being revisited throughout the book.
And since there was so much going on, the main characters' relationship with one another felt very surface level.
I did enjoy the heart to heart conversations (however those were few and far between) about grief and growing up.
I loved Blind Side but I'm thinking that's the only book I may like from this author as I've tried a few others and DNF'd.
It felt like there was too much going on plot wise. The story would have had more weight and substance if the conflict stuck to the grief aspects of the book.
The storyline of having the father/coach tell his GROWN ASS ADULT daughter who to date was not believable to me. Especially since the man she couldn't date was the quarterback of the team who 1. Is a great leader, 2. Does well in college, 3. Spends his free time helping his teammates, and 4. GARDENS. Oh yeah, we better watch out for this successful human who in no way has shown he is a horrible person.
Every time the dad said to stay away from his daughter I rolled my eyes. He threatened to bench him (the star player I might add, and LIE and say his shoulder was injured to scouts) if he even thought about his daughter. It felt very childish, and it could have been dealt with with one conversation instead of being revisited throughout the book.
And since there was so much going on, the main characters' relationship with one another felt very surface level.
I did enjoy the heart to heart conversations (however those were few and far between) about grief and growing up.
I loved Blind Side but I'm thinking that's the only book I may like from this author as I've tried a few others and DNF'd.
So... I finally had some time to collect my thoughts and finally think this review through.
****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
I have many grievances with this book, but I think I will separate them between legit and petty. Feel free to ignore the petty because they are mostly a matter of personal taste, but I still felt like airing them out.
So here comes the petty:
1- What kind of name is Julep? Now, no offence to the people actually named Julep, but I just could not take it seriously, especially when Holden kept calling her Julep Lee in his own mind when referring to her, as if she was a Southern Belle from a 1950s fiction. 'That Julep Lee is surely a blossoming flower, wouldn't you agree, dear?'
2- The pole dancing. Again, personal taste, but I do not care at all about pole dancing (or any form of dancing in books to be honest). Moreover, I did not like how, despite being described as what saved Julep from herself and her grief, it is mostly used as a way of enticing Holden and then forgotten. It seemed at first like it was going to be such an integral part of who she is and what she does, but she never goes to any classes, she never does any shows or exhibits in public. She just uses it in her house every once in a while.
3- The gardening. Besides telling us that Holden is 'not like other boissss', we have one single scene about that frigging garden and then it is hardly ever brought up again. It just felt very random.
Now onto the legit:
1- The tone of this book took me by surprise immediately. It was soooo much darker compared to the mostly lighthearted second instalment in this series (I am yet to read the first one because I started out of order). I did not expect grief to be such a prominent secondary character throughout the book. I realised halfway through reading this that this is the same author that wrote 'Love Letter to Whiskey' and it started to make sense now what she wrote about Blind Sided in terms of it being a strangely fun and light book. Anyway, it was just too heavy for me. The romance was almost not even a thing until well into the book because the two main characters were so deep into their own traumas.
2- The pacing of the story was off. Again, it started so late into the book, and then we have one explosion of passion that made me think finally we would get their 'together' phase, but most of their dating was barely explored since they were secretly dating and so it was mostly recounted through inner monologues.
3- Coach as the main enemy. A part of me understands that Coach's unwillingness of let his daughter date anyone on the team was dictated by past trauma. However, the fact that Julep could not even talk to her father to explain what a nice person Holden is, and the weird power he has over Holden overall did not sit well with me. I am pretty sure you cannot get officially kicked off a team at a Uni because of a consensual relationship with another person your age. I get that Coach might be able to pull strings, but at the end of the day if this went up to the Dean or whatever, it would not hold.
4- The separation in the end in which none of the characters had really done anything wrong, so it was kinda mutual, dictated by outside tensions... it was just... meh. Usually when the main characters get separated, there's a lot of angst, and I am eager to see them reunited. In this case, I literally skimmed this whole section because of how blah it was.
Now, dulcis in fundo, some things I actually did like about this book!
1- Holden as a character. I liked how he was both a very mature, self-assured person and a leader on the football field, but also on the dominant side in the sheets. It fit his personality and worked well with Julep's as well.
2- The few cameos from the previous books, especially my girl Giana! There is one very funny scene in this book involving a dick-pick that I kept snickering at. Also made me really curious about a potential book about Mary and Leo.
3- Holden's uncles and their baby. I liked seeing a positive familiar environment, especially in a NA that is set in college. We don't get much of this content in the genre, and I appreciated showing the reality of people still visiting their families or feeling bound to them while also being in college.
Here you have it, all my thoughts on a mostly disappointment instalment that just made me want to reread Blind Sided to get that seratonine hit. I will continue reading the series, unless the blurb hints at the next one also being extremely heavy.
****MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
I have many grievances with this book, but I think I will separate them between legit and petty. Feel free to ignore the petty because they are mostly a matter of personal taste, but I still felt like airing them out.
So here comes the petty:
1- What kind of name is Julep? Now, no offence to the people actually named Julep, but I just could not take it seriously, especially when Holden kept calling her Julep Lee in his own mind when referring to her, as if she was a Southern Belle from a 1950s fiction. 'That Julep Lee is surely a blossoming flower, wouldn't you agree, dear?'
2- The pole dancing. Again, personal taste, but I do not care at all about pole dancing (or any form of dancing in books to be honest). Moreover, I did not like how, despite being described as what saved Julep from herself and her grief, it is mostly used as a way of enticing Holden and then forgotten. It seemed at first like it was going to be such an integral part of who she is and what she does, but she never goes to any classes, she never does any shows or exhibits in public. She just uses it in her house every once in a while.
3- The gardening. Besides telling us that Holden is 'not like other boissss', we have one single scene about that frigging garden and then it is hardly ever brought up again. It just felt very random.
Now onto the legit:
1- The tone of this book took me by surprise immediately. It was soooo much darker compared to the mostly lighthearted second instalment in this series (I am yet to read the first one because I started out of order). I did not expect grief to be such a prominent secondary character throughout the book. I realised halfway through reading this that this is the same author that wrote 'Love Letter to Whiskey' and it started to make sense now what she wrote about Blind Sided in terms of it being a strangely fun and light book. Anyway, it was just too heavy for me. The romance was almost not even a thing until well into the book because the two main characters were so deep into their own traumas.
2- The pacing of the story was off. Again, it started so late into the book, and then we have one explosion of passion that made me think finally we would get their 'together' phase, but most of their dating was barely explored since they were secretly dating and so it was mostly recounted through inner monologues.
3- Coach as the main enemy. A part of me understands that Coach's unwillingness of let his daughter date anyone on the team was dictated by past trauma. However, the fact that Julep could not even talk to her father to explain what a nice person Holden is, and the weird power he has over Holden overall did not sit well with me. I am pretty sure you cannot get officially kicked off a team at a Uni because of a consensual relationship with another person your age. I get that Coach might be able to pull strings, but at the end of the day if this went up to the Dean or whatever, it would not hold.
4- The separation in the end in which none of the characters had really done anything wrong, so it was kinda mutual, dictated by outside tensions... it was just... meh. Usually when the main characters get separated, there's a lot of angst, and I am eager to see them reunited. In this case, I literally skimmed this whole section because of how blah it was.
Now, dulcis in fundo, some things I actually did like about this book!
1- Holden as a character. I liked how he was both a very mature, self-assured person and a leader on the football field, but also on the dominant side in the sheets. It fit his personality and worked well with Julep's as well.
2- The few cameos from the previous books, especially my girl Giana! There is one very funny scene in this book involving a dick-pick that I kept snickering at. Also made me really curious about a potential book about Mary and Leo.
3- Holden's uncles and their baby. I liked seeing a positive familiar environment, especially in a NA that is set in college. We don't get much of this content in the genre, and I appreciated showing the reality of people still visiting their families or feeling bound to them while also being in college.
Here you have it, all my thoughts on a mostly disappointment instalment that just made me want to reread Blind Sided to get that seratonine hit. I will continue reading the series, unless the blurb hints at the next one also being extremely heavy.
This is my favorite in the series so far - I absolutely loved Holden and Julep so much. Both their backstories are so tragic but the way they handle their grief in such different ways creates such not only compelling characters but also bonds them in a way that I don't think we've seen from the other couples in this series so far.
Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴠɪᴇᴡ: ʜᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴛʜᴇ Qᴜᴀʀᴛᴇʀʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ ᴡᴇ'ᴠᴇ ꜱᴇᴇɴ ɢʟɪᴍᴘꜱᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ, ʜᴀꜱ ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱᴇᴅ ꜱᴏʟᴇʟʏ ᴏɴ ꜰᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ. ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴅʀᴀꜰᴛᴇᴅ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ʏᴇᴀʀ ᴀᴛ ɴʙᴜ. ʜɪꜱ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴍᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴊᴜʟᴇᴘ, ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ᴄᴏᴀᴄʜ'ꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴜʀɴꜱ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ. ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜɪꜱ ᴏʟᴅ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ꜰʟᴀʀᴇꜱ ᴜᴘ, ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʟʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ ɪᴅᴇᴀꜱ ᴏꜰ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰꜰ ʜɪꜱ ᴍɪɴᴅ ɢᴏ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ. ʜɪꜱ ɴᴇᴡ ᴄᴏᴀᴄʜ ʜᴀꜱ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʀᴜʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀʙɪᴅᴇ ʙʏ: ꜱᴛᴀʏ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜɪꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ, ʜɪꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴏʟᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴜʟᴇ ɢᴏᴇꜱ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ. ᴄᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪꜱ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴜʟᴇ?
Holden and Julep have a forbidden, we can't give into our attraction vibe going from the beginning. Their chemistry is explosive and once they give in, it's so, so good. Holden is a glass half full guy, a coach in his own right. He is focused on pushing through any obstacles that are in his way. Julep takes the opposite approach - she has a history of self destruction and holds the world on her shoulders. How they carry their grief creates a bond between them that you know is unbreakable. These characters just made my heart burst from so many emotions. I also love Julep's outlet of pole dancing - it's such a fun element and having her and Holden be neighbors create some great moments between them.
Tropes & Elements:
Qᴜɪᴄᴋ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴠɪᴇᴡ: ʜᴏʟᴅᴇɴ, ᴛʜᴇ Qᴜᴀʀᴛᴇʀʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ ᴡᴇ'ᴠᴇ ꜱᴇᴇɴ ɢʟɪᴍᴘꜱᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ, ʜᴀꜱ ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱᴇᴅ ꜱᴏʟᴇʟʏ ᴏɴ ꜰᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ. ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴅʀᴀꜰᴛᴇᴅ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ʏᴇᴀʀ ᴀᴛ ɴʙᴜ. ʜɪꜱ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴍᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴊᴜʟᴇᴘ, ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ᴄᴏᴀᴄʜ'ꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴜʀɴꜱ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ. ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜɪꜱ ᴏʟᴅ ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ꜰʟᴀʀᴇꜱ ᴜᴘ, ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʟʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ ɪᴅᴇᴀꜱ ᴏꜰ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰꜰ ʜɪꜱ ᴍɪɴᴅ ɢᴏ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ. ʜɪꜱ ɴᴇᴡ ᴄᴏᴀᴄʜ ʜᴀꜱ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʀᴜʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀʙɪᴅᴇ ʙʏ: ꜱᴛᴀʏ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜɪꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ, ʜɪꜱ ʀᴇꜱᴏʟᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴅʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴜʟᴇ ɢᴏᴇꜱ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ. ᴄᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪꜱ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴜʟᴇ?
Holden and Julep have a forbidden, we can't give into our attraction vibe going from the beginning. Their chemistry is explosive and once they give in, it's so, so good. Holden is a glass half full guy, a coach in his own right. He is focused on pushing through any obstacles that are in his way. Julep takes the opposite approach - she has a history of self destruction and holds the world on her shoulders. How they carry their grief creates a bond between them that you know is unbreakable. These characters just made my heart burst from so many emotions. I also love Julep's outlet of pole dancing - it's such a fun element and having her and Holden be neighbors create some great moments between them.
Tropes & Elements:
thanks I cried
with huge tears
like ugly crying
from the moment they told their stories till the epilogue
and more after the epilogue sunk in
just beautiful and heart wrenching story of grief and love
Holden and Julep deserve everything and much more
with huge tears
like ugly crying
from the moment they told their stories till the epilogue
and more after the epilogue sunk in
just beautiful and heart wrenching story of grief and love
Holden and Julep deserve everything and much more
This book! This book right here is why I love Kandi's writing! She makes you feel every emotion and her writing is so real. She doesn't shy away from writing the hard stuff and it makes her books that much better. I knew Holden was hiding a past that was going to hit me hard. Julep is also struggling with her past. Together these two are both living life differently, one with a smile on their face and the other just trying to get by. What happens when they can't stay away from each other? The best secret of their lives! Man these two were incredible! Every scene with them together burned off the pages. I could not get enough of these two and the story was perfect! I love this group of football players and significant others and I'm so so excited for what's next! Another amazing read by Kandi!
WHY did this woman keep pole dancing in a thong in front of her living room window with the blinds open? Who does that?
I loved this book! I really enjoyed how they started their friendship and then relationship. And I loved the conversations with her dad. I thought the heavier topics in the book were handled very well.