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bitchie's review
3.0
There was a lot of this to really like, but just as much to bog it down for me. I loved the slow burn of it all, even if I didn't quite get Alex's hesitance, considering they were best friends, and Alex has pretty much been in love with Sergei for half his life. It's not like they have to get know each other, that's already been done. I actually didn't get most of Alex's hangups. He kept talking about not wanting to be a "kept man" anymore, but he was only with Charles for a few months, and was 27, so he had to have supported himself some of the time.
And I usually love stories with babies, but once they came on the scene, I felt like the story got bogged down in the minutae of new parenthood, and we didn't get enough of the guys just being together. As soon as they both were all in, the babies happened.
Also, it has to be mentioned that the editing has issues. Missing words- some of which were just Sergei's way of speaking, as English isn't his first language. But Alex being called Sergei, when Sergei wasn't even in town, was a bit much.
But it wasn't horrible, and the guys were actually really hot and sweet together, I just wanted more.
And I usually love stories with babies, but once they came on the scene, I felt like the story got bogged down in the minutae of new parenthood, and we didn't get enough of the guys just being together. As soon as they both were all in, the babies happened.
Also, it has to be mentioned that the editing has issues. Missing words- some of which were just Sergei's way of speaking, as English isn't his first language. But Alex being called Sergei, when Sergei wasn't even in town, was a bit much.
But it wasn't horrible, and the guys were actually really hot and sweet together, I just wanted more.
dpit's review
lighthearted
fast-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
3.25
tinybull's review
emotional
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
Sergei & Alex. Sergei is the goalie for NHL team and Alex is Sergei’s best friend/an ex-figure skater. This is like a friends to lovers with some added surprises. Babies!!! I liked this book and how their friendship developed into a relationship and questioned like what even is love. Some editorial mistakes brought down my rating
valerieullmerauthor's review against another edition
5.0
I loved getting to know Sergei and Alex. They were perfect for each other and have been best friends since childhood, but they never pursued a relationship with each other. Alex has had a string of bad relationships while Sergei has concentrated on his hockey career. I loved how their romantic relationship developed slowly and how each of them had to come to a realization about who they were as opposed to how others saw them. I don't want to give too much away, but the way Alex and Sergei fell is love is nearly perfect. I loved each word and would highly recommend this book!!
robazizo's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. While cute, it did drag a bit in places. I also didn't get a real impression of Sergei, aside from being a lovable big guy. Alex' character was more defined and I could see where his issues came from. The ending was a bit sugary.
chambersaurusrx's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
scrollsofdragons's review
4.0
My fave of the series. The characters, the pace, the plot, the romance was just not as good in the previous as this one.
bigborrowedbooks's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was very much a ‘it’s me not the book’. I HATE the surprise baby trope, and that’s what I get for reading based on vibes and not the summary
haletostilinski1's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I'm sorry to say that this was my least favorite of the series. Not that I didn't enjoy it, I did. I loved Sergei, and the story and plot was as interesting as the past three books in this series have been.
But while I liked Alex...he frustrated me beyond belief in this. While his hang ups are completely understandable, I think it was just the way he was written - how he dealt with things, how he acted, and so on, that frustrated me.
And just the way the story was structured, too. About half of the book is spent mainly on these two and them developing their relationship into a romantic one, and them going slow - which was understandable, because they were transitioning from around 16 years of friendship to romance, but then the curveball of the children was thrown in, and the last half was mainly focused on them and adjusting to life with them.
It meant that while the first half was a slow burn, the second half was taken up mostly by the kids, and the focus, while still on Alex and Sergei, was kind of expanded to include these other two individuals and I felt that the balance of both their romance and adjusting to the kids wasn't handled the best.
When I picked this up I thought them acquiring Sergei's kids (and was this mentioned in the last book, that) would happen near the beginning and that would leave a lot more time to deal with how their relationship would work with kids in the equation.
It just felt rushed and not at the same time? The first half was Alex putting the breaks on things, making them go slow, which was completely understandable, but then the last half was like going 10mph to 60mph like that. And the characters even pointed that out to themselves at times, but that didn't stop the speeding train of their relationship anyway.
I found the ending sweet, but I still felt it was rushed. So I was having mixed emotions reading this, happy for these two, but also not feeling it came across entirely genuine, or maybe the better way to phrase it is that it didn't come across completely realistic.
And Alex is dealing with his insecurities until the very end, and while I don't have a problem with that, I feel like, while he still is mostly struggling with them, he gets over them fairly quickly and makes a gesture too big for where he was like 5 seconds ago. He still has them, but him being able to get over the hurdle of dealing with them, of facing them and getting over them, came quicker than I think it should have.
Also, this series continues to lack in editing - for some reason several times Alex's sibling's names weren't capitalized, and there were many more mistakes here and there. I ultimately don't care because I do adore these stories and I get that self-published isn't always the best edited. But I really think this author should get their work looked ever before they publish it. It's getting a little frustrating at this point.
Also, while what steam we DID have was incredibly hot, I feel like we could have had a lot more throughout this book, but there wasn't enough.
So, while I did enjoy this, there were just too many little things - and one or two big things - that I had a problem with that I just couldn't enjoy this as much as the others I've read.
I'm really excited about the next one in this series, though, with Liam and Joey, like SUPER excited, so I will be eagerly awaiting it, but yeah, this one was kind of a miss for me in an otherwise awesome series. Still enjoyed it...just didn't love it like I have the others.
P.S.
I'm sorry to say that this was my least favorite of the series. Not that I didn't enjoy it, I did. I loved Sergei, and the story and plot was as interesting as the past three books in this series have been.
But while I liked Alex...he frustrated me beyond belief in this. While his hang ups are completely understandable, I think it was just the way he was written - how he dealt with things, how he acted, and so on, that frustrated me.
And just the way the story was structured, too. About half of the book is spent mainly on these two and them developing their relationship into a romantic one, and them going slow - which was understandable, because they were transitioning from around 16 years of friendship to romance, but then the curveball of the children was thrown in, and the last half was mainly focused on them and adjusting to life with them.
It meant that while the first half was a slow burn, the second half was taken up mostly by the kids, and the focus, while still on Alex and Sergei, was kind of expanded to include these other two individuals and I felt that the balance of both their romance and adjusting to the kids wasn't handled the best.
When I picked this up I thought them acquiring Sergei's kids (and was this mentioned in the last book, that
Spoiler
Sergei had kids with his friend from Russia because she wanted them and he was mostly in a donor roll at first and was gonna be just Uncle Sergei to these kids? I didn't remember this, so learning that "oh, he had kids, what?" out of the blue surprised me. Unless I just don't remember the last book mentioning it. But even then, I feel like it should have been reintroduced, because it had been months since I read the last book. Anyway...It just felt rushed and not at the same time? The first half was Alex putting the breaks on things, making them go slow, which was completely understandable, but then the last half was like going 10mph to 60mph like that. And the characters even pointed that out to themselves at times, but that didn't stop the speeding train of their relationship anyway.
I found the ending sweet, but I still felt it was rushed. So I was having mixed emotions reading this, happy for these two, but also not feeling it came across entirely genuine, or maybe the better way to phrase it is that it didn't come across completely realistic.
And Alex is dealing with his insecurities until the very end, and while I don't have a problem with that, I feel like, while he still is mostly struggling with them, he gets over them fairly quickly and makes a gesture too big for where he was like 5 seconds ago. He still has them, but him being able to get over the hurdle of dealing with them, of facing them and getting over them, came quicker than I think it should have.
Also, this series continues to lack in editing - for some reason several times Alex's sibling's names weren't capitalized, and there were many more mistakes here and there. I ultimately don't care because I do adore these stories and I get that self-published isn't always the best edited. But I really think this author should get their work looked ever before they publish it. It's getting a little frustrating at this point.
Also, while what steam we DID have was incredibly hot, I feel like we could have had a lot more throughout this book, but there wasn't enough.
So, while I did enjoy this, there were just too many little things - and one or two big things - that I had a problem with that I just couldn't enjoy this as much as the others I've read.
I'm really excited about the next one in this series, though, with Liam and Joey, like SUPER excited, so I will be eagerly awaiting it, but yeah, this one was kind of a miss for me in an otherwise awesome series. Still enjoyed it...just didn't love it like I have the others.
P.S.