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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
3.5 ⭐️
Very interesting premise. The “break up” felt too long for me. A few errors here and there.
Very interesting premise. The “break up” felt too long for me. A few errors here and there.
3.2 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5/5
Format: ebook
This was a decent read. A hockey romance with an interesting twist. There are some parts I didn’t mesh well with but there were definitely a lot of parts that I loved, and I tip my hat to the author for this being her first book. It was done very well!
I liked the true crime feels of this book. It’s nice to have a little bit of suspense/darkness to go along with a hockey romance. I also loved the flashbacks of Lonan and Birdie when they were kids and talking about marriage and how that came full circle later with the proposal and wedding. Lonan’s mouth was also a great part of the story, love a man who dirty talks.
Some parts of this book weren’t my cup of tea though. One of my favorite things about hockey romances is the relationships between the players. We really didn’t get to see a lot in Lonan’s story. He was mentioned to hang out with them a few times but we didn’t get to see much of the team dynamics. Also I think that Birdie and Lonan getting together the night before she confronts her family was a little much. I think the story would’ve benefited from having just his memories of her from when they were children. It kinda muddied things when they had that first meet up before the big reveal.
I also think Birdie was written a little all over the place with her feelings, she seemed way too level-headed when it came to figuring out about her abduction and meeting/falling into a routine with her new family but then later was written to be traumatized. I just had trouble following her thought processes.
Overall, a good read with a unique plot. I’m very interested to read more in the series.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5/5
Format: ebook
This was a decent read. A hockey romance with an interesting twist. There are some parts I didn’t mesh well with but there were definitely a lot of parts that I loved, and I tip my hat to the author for this being her first book. It was done very well!
I liked the true crime feels of this book. It’s nice to have a little bit of suspense/darkness to go along with a hockey romance. I also loved the flashbacks of Lonan and Birdie when they were kids and talking about marriage and how that came full circle later with the proposal and wedding. Lonan’s mouth was also a great part of the story, love a man who dirty talks.
Some parts of this book weren’t my cup of tea though. One of my favorite things about hockey romances is the relationships between the players. We really didn’t get to see a lot in Lonan’s story. He was mentioned to hang out with them a few times but we didn’t get to see much of the team dynamics. Also I think that Birdie and Lonan getting together the night before she confronts her family was a little much. I think the story would’ve benefited from having just his memories of her from when they were children. It kinda muddied things when they had that first meet up before the big reveal.
I also think Birdie was written a little all over the place with her feelings, she seemed way too level-headed when it came to figuring out about her abduction and meeting/falling into a routine with her new family but then later was written to be traumatized. I just had trouble following her thought processes.
Overall, a good read with a unique plot. I’m very interested to read more in the series.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Geez! Sloane St James, where have you been all my life???
Twists and turns! Love and fear! Hockey!!! Literal found family!! Yes, please!
The characters have a lot to learn about themselves and each other. That growth is beautiful to read.
The spice is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ but it’s not what this story revolves around. It’s a great read and I knocked it out in 24 hours.
I can’t wait to see who’s next!
Twists and turns! Love and fear! Hockey!!! Literal found family!! Yes, please!
The characters have a lot to learn about themselves and each other. That growth is beautiful to read.
The spice is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ but it’s not what this story revolves around. It’s a great read and I knocked it out in 24 hours.
I can’t wait to see who’s next!
To start, I want to acknowledge that if this is the first work of this author (as I have seen discussed) then this is an excellent start. In fact this book was well on its way to being a 4 star read for me, up until the 3rd act breakup. Unfortunately, it legitimately left me so upset by the MMC's behavior I wanted to DNF multiple times (and almost did at 93%), and I only had the wherewithal to skim the epilogues.
My final rating would be between 2 - 2.5
My final rating would be between 2 - 2.5
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Somehow this is a debut novel?? I don’t believe it. The plot. The writing. The side characters. Fantastic.
Let’s start with the good stuff. Lonan & Bridg’s love was palpable from the beginning - heck, I felt it when they were little kids sharing their first kiss. That was adorable. Afterwards, Lonan’s inner dialogue was compelling and beautiful, I could practically feel his heart healing through the pages.
As for Bridg, at least in my opinion, she handled everything fairly maturely.
I UNDERSTAND that some readers might get frustrated by a choice (or choices) she makes near the end of the book but all you really need to focus on is Mickey’s advice to Lonan regarding Bridg’s upbringing and compounded trauma to check yourself during Bridg’s recovery process.
Lonan’s decisions near the end proved that even some of the best MMCs are still..just men. Without spoiling too much I’ll just say there is a some slight OW drama that was entirely unnecessary AND very out of character for Lonan. His love for Bridg never waivers but he makes a few silly, unfortunately thought out, little mistakes - nothing to do any real damage - but just, pointless? So when I reached the last 10-15% I was perplexed how quickly everything resolved.
And then, when I got to the very end and realized this is actually a debut novel? Shocked. I do wish the kidnapping/missing child plot was developed a bit more and that Bridg had more time to embrace her independence. She earned that time to herself and it did feel overshadowed by the love plot. Not that I wasn’t happy to see them get their HEA but Bridg deserved time to carve her own little path in the world. Regardless, great story and I will be reading the rest of the series.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Somehow this is a debut novel?? I don’t believe it. The plot. The writing. The side characters. Fantastic.
Let’s start with the good stuff. Lonan & Bridg’s love was palpable from the beginning - heck, I felt it when they were little kids sharing their first kiss. That was adorable. Afterwards, Lonan’s inner dialogue was compelling and beautiful, I could practically feel his heart healing through the pages.
As for Bridg, at least in my opinion, she handled everything fairly maturely.
I UNDERSTAND that some readers might get frustrated by a choice (or choices) she makes near the end of the book but all you really need to focus on is Mickey’s advice to Lonan regarding Bridg’s upbringing and compounded trauma to check yourself during Bridg’s recovery process.
Lonan’s decisions near the end proved that even some of the best MMCs are still..just men. Without spoiling too much I’ll just say there is a some slight OW drama that was entirely unnecessary AND very out of character for Lonan. His love for Bridg never waivers but he makes a few silly, unfortunately thought out, little mistakes - nothing to do any real damage - but just, pointless? So when I reached the last 10-15% I was perplexed how quickly everything resolved.
And then, when I got to the very end and realized this is actually a debut novel? Shocked. I do wish the kidnapping/missing child plot was developed a bit more and that Bridg had more time to embrace her independence. She earned that time to herself and it did feel overshadowed by the love plot. Not that I wasn’t happy to see them get their HEA but Bridg deserved time to carve her own little path in the world. Regardless, great story and I will be reading the rest of the series.
I just finished reading Sloane St. James' debut book and it was absolutely captivating! From the very first page, I found myself completely immersed in the story, unable to set the book aside. The narrative beautifully intertwines elements of true crime and romance, though it prominently emphasizes the romantic aspect. The protagonist, Birdie, embarks on a journey to uncover the dark secrets of her past and locate her true family, all the while yearning for freedom. Her path intertwines with that of Lonan, a renowned NHL player who surprisingly turns out to be her childhood best friend, leading their relationship to take an unforeseen turn. The audiobook was masterfully narrated, with Edward Black's voice flawlessly embodying Lonan's character and Chloe Ryan's portrayal of Birdie perfectly aligning with my vision of the character. The narrators adeptly conveyed the banter and chemistry between the characters. Overall, this was an invigorating and delightful read! The book adeptly conveyed Birdie's profound angst and trust issues stemming from her past, while also portraying Lonan's unwavering support. I eagerly anticipate Micky's story!
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked the background of the FMC. I thought it was well discussed and it was something that got me thinking about nonfictional cases and the privacy that is given. The adoption/abduction piece made me think about all the kids that go missing and are never found or never come home. I kind of wonder how it played out that day and what kind of guilt the parents felt and why that wasn’t discussed, but the return was a very prodigal son welcome.
The romance was a very raunchy steamy one with hints of kink, a little overdone for me because it did less with their emotions and relationship building and more with the physical aspect, which didn’t make me buy into it as much as I could have. I also felt like it didn’t super build up a community of side characters that had me wanting to continue the series immediately.
The romance was a very raunchy steamy one with hints of kink, a little overdone for me because it did less with their emotions and relationship building and more with the physical aspect, which didn’t make me buy into it as much as I could have. I also felt like it didn’t super build up a community of side characters that had me wanting to continue the series immediately.