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jzkeen32's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
clem_mathieu's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the premise and the majority of Alexi and Amanda's relationship. I just wish the author would've put a little more meat towards the end. I wanted to know exactly what was Alexi's secret and how he told her, how they got to the birth, ... I also wanted so much more Baba! She was my favorite character and I feel we didn't get a lot of her.
elenajohansen's review against another edition
3.0
This series continues to be good, but to not quite live up to the OMG reaction I had to reading the first entry.
I think this could have actually been a little longer, as neither lead felt as developed as they could be. Amanda didn't have much of a personality beyond the flaw she was labeled with--"too nice"--and the whining she did on the phone/in texts with Diana. Which is at least consistent, because when she was the other half of Diana's conversations in the previous book, she was also pretty bland and whiny then.
Alexi fares a bit better, since he at least has the baby trauma that becomes his dark secret he "lies" about to Amanda, and he's got the career/personal life dichotomy of being the Big Scary Guy on the ice but not at home. Only the story didn't do much to deal with whether or not Amanda should be worried about what kind of guy Alexi really is, and we as readers know he's pretty much a giant teddy bear who desperately wants to be a dad.
The pregnancy itself takes up so much space that it's a third main character long before the actual child is born, and to an extent I get that, because it's the reason they're having a relationship at all, whether it's the friend/co-parent one they strive for at the beginning, or the sexy/romantic one they end up with. But because the baby takes up all that room, and because the timeline jumps forward noticeably every so often so we can end the story with the HEA + birth, the actual development of the romance is short-changed, almost to the point of nonexistence. I believe these two are in lust with each other, but not really in love. I had hoped more would be done with that in the late game, like if Alexi had said something to the effect of "I want to stay with you even if we lose this baby"--which would have also done more to address his past trauma. (Which I did notice Amanda never invited him to talk about after their fight, a glaring omission.)
I feel like this story is almost there. It's pretty close to achieving what it set out to do, it just falls short in a few places.
(And I think Hoopla has at least one more of the series available on audio, so I'll keep going until I run out, but probably won't buy any further entries. I'm no longer hoping they'll be as good as Hot as Puck, but they are at least solidly entertaining.)
I think this could have actually been a little longer, as neither lead felt as developed as they could be. Amanda didn't have much of a personality beyond the flaw she was labeled with--"too nice"--and the whining she did on the phone/in texts with Diana. Which is at least consistent, because when she was the other half of Diana's conversations in the previous book, she was also pretty bland and whiny then.
Alexi fares a bit better, since he at least has the baby trauma that becomes his dark secret he "lies" about to Amanda, and he's got the career/personal life dichotomy of being the Big Scary Guy on the ice but not at home. Only the story didn't do much to deal with whether or not Amanda should be worried about what kind of guy Alexi really is, and we as readers know he's pretty much a giant teddy bear who desperately wants to be a dad.
The pregnancy itself takes up so much space that it's a third main character long before the actual child is born, and to an extent I get that, because it's the reason they're having a relationship at all, whether it's the friend/co-parent one they strive for at the beginning, or the sexy/romantic one they end up with. But because the baby takes up all that room, and because the timeline jumps forward noticeably every so often so we can end the story with the HEA + birth, the actual development of the romance is short-changed, almost to the point of nonexistence. I believe these two are in lust with each other, but not really in love. I had hoped more would be done with that in the late game, like if Alexi had said something to the effect of "I want to stay with you even if we lose this baby"--which would have also done more to address his past trauma. (Which I did notice Amanda never invited him to talk about after their fight, a glaring omission.)
I feel like this story is almost there. It's pretty close to achieving what it set out to do, it just falls short in a few places.
(And I think Hoopla has at least one more of the series available on audio, so I'll keep going until I run out, but probably won't buy any further entries. I'm no longer hoping they'll be as good as Hot as Puck, but they are at least solidly entertaining.)
meroller's review against another edition
5.0
I love this. I love that it’s set in my city I adore their awkward relationship with no communication on where they’re headed and both expecting drastically different outcomes and his grandma omg I love her
ingamama1033's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
This book had possibilities. It could have handled infant disability sensitively but instead chose an a list viewpoint. The ending was facile and lacking in real connection between the characters.
britbuford's review against another edition
2.0
Don't waste your time.
I am not often one to write bad reviews but of my 250 or so books read this year, this was the worst. The story had random things and information as if the author put it in because she drew the idea from a hat or lost a bet. The last chapter suddenly because very hockey specific after the sport being background music the first 26 chapters. The narrators did the story no favors. I battled through falling asleep multiple times.
Save yourself the time, money, and boredom.
I am not often one to write bad reviews but of my 250 or so books read this year, this was the worst. The story had random things and information as if the author put it in because she drew the idea from a hat or lost a bet. The last chapter suddenly because very hockey specific after the sport being background music the first 26 chapters. The narrators did the story no favors. I battled through falling asleep multiple times.
Save yourself the time, money, and boredom.
kara_hildebrand's review against another edition
5.0
Puck Me Baby is the fourth book in the Bad Motherpuckers series. I love this series. So hard. Lili Valente is one of my go-to-authors. I know she's always going to entertain me with her fantastic words, her lovable characters, her humor and in this case, hockey! This series has everything you'd ever want in a sports romance. Humor, lust, friendship, love and hockey. We've known Petrov for a while now and he's big, sexy and scary. But I knew there was something absolutely fabulous going on inside him. He's not scary, he's sweet, sensitive, loving and funny. He's a bruiser on the ice but a lover outside the rink. When a mind blowing one night stand disappears only to show up at a friend's wedding as the maid of honor. It turns out to be less than six degrees of separation! He's so happy to see Amanda again. They had a connection and he wasn't happy she just vanished. But now that she's here again, he thinks a repeat is necessary. Mandy has some news for Alexi. She isn't sure how he's going to react, but he changes all the rules when he's sweet, attentive and wants to be a part of hers and the baby's life. He's cooking for her, loving on her and he's there for her when she needs him. They laugh together and they complement each other. Mandy is so funny! I loved her texts with Diana. Can the stoic, sexy hockey player and the sweet, funny nurse make it work? Or will there be too many obstacles in the way? I loved this story. Alexi is so swoonworthy! He's big and yummy and I loved his accent. Amanda is badass! She's smart, funny and loves to eat! I hope there's many books still to come for these Bad Motherpuckers!
I return each elbow jab and sweaty glove in my face, shouting obscenities in every language I know—I’m fluent in three, but profanity-fluent in five.
“Since the moment you crawled out of my bed, all I’ve wanted to do was to get you back in it. I dream about your body.” I nip her earlobe before murmuring into the shell of her ear, “About you hot and wet and riding me.”
“You have this way of making totally benign things sound…absolutely filthy.”
“Is that on purpose, Alexi?” she asks, looking up at me through her long, dark lashes. “Or are you accidentally naughty?”
I hold her gaze as I shrug. “I’m not sure. But I’m happy to keep having hard, deep, all-night-long conversations with you until we figure it out.”
I return each elbow jab and sweaty glove in my face, shouting obscenities in every language I know—I’m fluent in three, but profanity-fluent in five.
“Since the moment you crawled out of my bed, all I’ve wanted to do was to get you back in it. I dream about your body.” I nip her earlobe before murmuring into the shell of her ear, “About you hot and wet and riding me.”
“You have this way of making totally benign things sound…absolutely filthy.”
“Is that on purpose, Alexi?” she asks, looking up at me through her long, dark lashes. “Or are you accidentally naughty?”
I hold her gaze as I shrug. “I’m not sure. But I’m happy to keep having hard, deep, all-night-long conversations with you until we figure it out.”
maudjuliette's review against another edition
DNF - It's the second Lily Valente book I read. And I can confirm I don't like her writing, no, I don't...
In this book, a lot of the interactions are made through text messages. So it's not real conversations. It makes it all very impersonal. To quote another reader who DNFed too, "It’s plain, boring, predictable, characters are bland and there’s no connection between leads usually, there’s telling no showing..."
I could try and read a third one to make sure her books are not for me. But I'm not gonna put myself through that. Life's too short to read books you're not enjoying.
In this book, a lot of the interactions are made through text messages. So it's not real conversations. It makes it all very impersonal. To quote another reader who DNFed too, "It’s plain, boring, predictable, characters are bland and there’s no connection between leads usually, there’s telling no showing..."
I could try and read a third one to make sure her books are not for me. But I'm not gonna put myself through that. Life's too short to read books you're not enjoying.
anyareadsalot's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5