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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
2.83 stars.
I loathe the group text message threads.
And, can we bring back when authors provided us little flow charts for who goes with who?! There are so many side characters with inside jokes and references to prior storylines that I was lost in the sauce. It was distracting.
I loathe the group text message threads.
And, can we bring back when authors provided us little flow charts for who goes with who?! There are so many side characters with inside jokes and references to prior storylines that I was lost in the sauce. It was distracting.
2.5 stars
I received an ARC of Defensive Hearts in exchange of my honest opinion.
I would like to say that I really enjoy hockey romance and have been devouring this type of sport romance. Also, I love the trope that “he falls first”. And I will say more.. I like a broody, MMC. That said, I hated Chance! He is such a ass** and that made me not enjoy any of his interactions with Gemma (the FMC) and even their romance. All the time I was like.. “girl get the hell out because he is not it!”.
The story is basically that one day she sent a picture to someone in lingerie and he saw the message (??!??). Since then, he is obsessed with her but just treats her like garbage (well.. I really don’t like this bully behavior if the FMC does not stand for herself). Gemma on the other hand always pushes him out but honestly, she does not do it well enough for me to feel that she is standing for herself. She claims that she hates him but let him touch her and that makes me just not buy their true feelings at all.
I thought there was some good spice scenes but they were not really worth my time when I was SO NOT invested in the couple.
I received an ARC of Defensive Hearts in exchange of my honest opinion.
I would like to say that I really enjoy hockey romance and have been devouring this type of sport romance. Also, I love the trope that “he falls first”. And I will say more.. I like a broody, MMC. That said, I hated Chance! He is such a ass** and that made me not enjoy any of his interactions with Gemma (the FMC) and even their romance. All the time I was like.. “girl get the hell out because he is not it!”.
The story is basically that one day she sent a picture to someone in lingerie and he saw the message (??!??). Since then, he is obsessed with her but just treats her like garbage (well.. I really don’t like this bully behavior if the FMC does not stand for herself). Gemma on the other hand always pushes him out but honestly, she does not do it well enough for me to feel that she is standing for herself. She claims that she hates him but let him touch her and that makes me just not buy their true feelings at all.
I thought there was some good spice scenes but they were not really worth my time when I was SO NOT invested in the couple.
Love the crazy antics of this crew. The drama and angst is perfectly balanced with great storytelling, humor, emotions, sizzle and no holds banter.
Gemma has been cooking for several of her friends/professional athletes and her meals are drool worthy, but she refuses to cook for grumpy Chance. She rubs it in just a bit more by cooking special meals for his two gigantic fur babies - Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Great Danes.
Unfortunately these two got off to a horrible start when Chance’s past gives him a false perception of Gemma before he meets her, and then he makes it worse by unknowingly triggering some emotional baggage for her.
The BTU crew all notice the tension between them and keep giving them not so gentle nudges and suggestions to give into the sexual tension. I love how these characters are all up in each other’s business with both support and razzing- nothing seems to be off limits when they get going.
Getting the opportunity to catch up with so many favorite characters was an added bonus to this new book in the series!
I received a free ARC from the author and Valentine PR; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.
Gemma has been cooking for several of her friends/professional athletes and her meals are drool worthy, but she refuses to cook for grumpy Chance. She rubs it in just a bit more by cooking special meals for his two gigantic fur babies - Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Great Danes.
Unfortunately these two got off to a horrible start when Chance’s past gives him a false perception of Gemma before he meets her, and then he makes it worse by unknowingly triggering some emotional baggage for her.
The BTU crew all notice the tension between them and keep giving them not so gentle nudges and suggestions to give into the sexual tension. I love how these characters are all up in each other’s business with both support and razzing- nothing seems to be off limits when they get going.
Getting the opportunity to catch up with so many favorite characters was an added bonus to this new book in the series!
I received a free ARC from the author and Valentine PR; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.
Def can’t be read as a Stand alone. Too much background needed to make sense of it all.
I really wanted to like this because the blurb was super interesting and it's an enemies to lovers
I absolutely love this book. It is the snarky sarcasm that really did it for me. A true enemies to lovers story that I am here for it all. Gemma can dish it back as much as Chance throws it. I could not get enough of their witty banter. Plus, it just hyped up the intensity between these two. So that when these two finally went from enemies to lovers, it was smoking HOT!
Both Gemma and Chance were evenly matched. Gemma is my type of woman. She is strong, independent, and has a sarcastic attitude. Also, it was nice to see Gemma putting Chance in his place as he thought he was all that with a cherry on top. Although, it would be hard to resist Chance as he is yummy. Defensive Hearts is a steamy, enemies to lovers story that is not to be missed!
Both Gemma and Chance were evenly matched. Gemma is my type of woman. She is strong, independent, and has a sarcastic attitude. Also, it was nice to see Gemma putting Chance in his place as he thought he was all that with a cherry on top. Although, it would be hard to resist Chance as he is yummy. Defensive Hearts is a steamy, enemies to lovers story that is not to be missed!
*There are many crazy characters in this series, so to get a handle on who is with who and all the family dynamics it is best to read this series in order. This book, however, can be read as a standalone*
Gahhhhhhhhnngh...
The sexual tension and banter between Chance and Gemma was so crazy intense that it turned my brain momentarily into mush. Like, fried it like the Colonel fries chicken. It was awesomely good and amazingly delish. Their first kiss? Wowsers! talk about fire
Gahhhhhhhhnngh...
The sexual tension and banter between Chance and Gemma was so crazy intense that it turned my brain momentarily into mush. Like, fried it like the Colonel fries chicken. It was awesomely good and amazingly delish. Their first kiss? Wowsers! talk about fire
Defensive Hearts is the 7th book in the BTU series, so you will see all of our favorite couples from the previous books and most importantly, you will get to read all of the text messages between the coven!
Chance and Gemma are the definition of enemies to lovers. After observing a text message that he wasn’t supposed to see, Chance has made up his mind about Gemma and decides right then and there to keep his distance. Even a year later, after getting to know her, he still wants to keep away from her.
Gemma is a personal chef to Chance and his teammates and is a part of the big friend group, so as two of the remaining single people, they are always forced to be closer to each other.
With them never getting along, we get to see their back and forth bantering and let me tell you, that was some of my favorite parts of the book. Gemma gave as good as she got from Chance. I admired her strength and tenacity. But you know what they say about hate; how quickly it can turn into heat and chemistry.
But when they finally cross that line, will Chance be able to drop all of his misconceptions about Gemma, or will they forever be in the back of his mind?
As always, really enjoyed this book and looking forward to the next one in the series!
Chance and Gemma are the definition of enemies to lovers. After observing a text message that he wasn’t supposed to see, Chance has made up his mind about Gemma and decides right then and there to keep his distance. Even a year later, after getting to know her, he still wants to keep away from her.
Gemma is a personal chef to Chance and his teammates and is a part of the big friend group, so as two of the remaining single people, they are always forced to be closer to each other.
With them never getting along, we get to see their back and forth bantering and let me tell you, that was some of my favorite parts of the book. Gemma gave as good as she got from Chance. I admired her strength and tenacity. But you know what they say about hate; how quickly it can turn into heat and chemistry.
But when they finally cross that line, will Chance be able to drop all of his misconceptions about Gemma, or will they forever be in the back of his mind?
As always, really enjoyed this book and looking forward to the next one in the series!
- This book seems like it was based on a 10-second instagram reel (guy accidentally sees text he wasn't supposed to of girl in lingerie oOoOO what will happennnnn). Like those restaurants you see on Instagram that look swoon-worthy but end up being disappointing in real life, this book felt very smoke & mirrors.
- This is not really a standalone. It felt like half the page space was spent in a group chat - my head hurt trying to determine which nickname corresponded to which character introduced in a previous book. Additional page space was spent talking with or about other couples I didn't have any emotional investment in. I understand callbacks to characters from books past, but there was too much here. It was distracting.
- Putting *emojis* and *gifs* *like this* *in books* should be a war crime.
- Another example of tropes for the marketing only. Seriously, at this point I'd love for the FTC to get involved and start filing some actions against trad and indie authors for misleading marketing. What does enemies to lovers even mean anymore? Is anything real?!?
- 'Strong female character' aka she put up with a toxic dude long enough for him to come around. Multiple times. Mr. Hot & Cold.
- Suggesting one of the reasons you should be dating someone is because you like their dogs is not giving me confidence in the longevity of this relationship.
I enjoy hockey romance and feel like I set a pretty low bar for the hockey romance I read on KU. But this book was rough.