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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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? No
3.5
I feel like romances that are about 500 pages should either hit it out of the park, or just not be 500 pages, and this landed in the middle.
I feel like this could've been so much shorter. The author could have trimmed some of the extras that didn't add much to the story (I'm looking at you team building exercises that basically did nothing). Some of the team stuff was just a general lack of communication, and a lack of accountability. I liked the overall arc of the story - Ryder and Gigi helping each other grow and accept their own emotions and pasts; the smorgasbord team that's cobbled together becoming one in the end; the dreams realized and shattered. It was all solid, and I enjoyed the characters and the banter, but at the end of the day, I feel like I could've had all that even if the story was tightened up a bit. I'd reread this book in a heartbeat if it didn't have all the superfluous stuff (yes, that's a callback to the book cause that moment made me laugh).
I also hated how much sexism there was. Dumb comments from Ryder about females only being figure skaters, some other comments from other people about "crazy" women, and the fact that half the characters were f-boys who could just get anyone to sleep with them. Idk, it all felt a bit toxic, but I guess sports are generally just a bit toxic at any given time. That part was not for me, but I guess it was to be expected.
As a whole, I enjoyed the cast. I liked all characters and the different personalities they brought to the table, and I loved the romance arc! In the end, it was very much all devotion, and love, and emotion, and that worked very well. It was just some of the other pieces that really fell short for me. I'll likely read on in the series, as I like Gigi's friends enough to be curious about their stories, but it may be more of a skim going forward, because that's entirely too many pages for a romance for me.
TW: death of a parent, incarcerated parent, alcohol consumption, infidelity, sexism, injury detail; mentions cyber bullying, defamation
I feel like this could've been so much shorter. The author could have trimmed some of the extras that didn't add much to the story (I'm looking at you team building exercises that basically did nothing). Some of the team stuff was just a general lack of communication, and a lack of accountability. I liked the overall arc of the story - Ryder and Gigi helping each other grow and accept their own emotions and pasts; the smorgasbord team that's cobbled together becoming one in the end; the dreams realized and shattered. It was all solid, and I enjoyed the characters and the banter, but at the end of the day, I feel like I could've had all that even if the story was tightened up a bit. I'd reread this book in a heartbeat if it didn't have all the superfluous stuff (yes, that's a callback to the book cause that moment made me laugh).
I also hated how much sexism there was. Dumb comments from Ryder about females only being figure skaters, some other comments from other people about "crazy" women, and the fact that half the characters were f-boys who could just get anyone to sleep with them. Idk, it all felt a bit toxic, but I guess sports are generally just a bit toxic at any given time. That part was not for me, but I guess it was to be expected.
As a whole, I enjoyed the cast. I liked all characters and the different personalities they brought to the table, and I loved the romance arc! In the end, it was very much all devotion, and love, and emotion, and that worked very well. It was just some of the other pieces that really fell short for me. I'll likely read on in the series, as I like Gigi's friends enough to be curious about their stories, but it may be more of a skim going forward, because that's entirely too many pages for a romance for me.
TW: death of a parent, incarcerated parent, alcohol consumption, infidelity, sexism, injury detail; mentions cyber bullying, defamation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying
rae2733's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
swamprat410's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
michaelahoyman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend. At one part towards the end I feel like a scene rapidly ended. Character growth was gradual and then the end it skyrockets. I still loved the book though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence and Death of parent
lindsaymck's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
4.5
Gigi Graham and Luke Ryder were fiiiiiiire together and I loved how their “use me” friends with benefits situation turned into the most supportive partnership.
Gigi was so likable and so well-written as her own person rather than just a duplicate version of one/both of her parents. Her desire to succeed on her own merit rather than ride Garrett Graham’s coattails was admirable and she’s a badass athlete in her own right. She was, of course, similar to her dad in her dedication to and passion for hockey, but I love that Ryder helped her process her feelings about how she’s always tried to make him proud, but also wants to set herself apart from him to leave his shadow and cast her own.
Ryder was a closed book, until he wasn’t. A man of few words, but the words he did speak were damn memorable! He kept giving Gigi all these little snippets of who he was and he was so soft with her despite the rough hand life has dealt him. His childhood trauma was hinted at with his dad’s upcoming parole hearing and his being floated from foster home to foster home made it so clear why he kept his cards close to the chest. The reveal of the reason behind his violent incident at World’s was jaw-dropping and I think it (and his getting Gigi her favorite nature sound master’s autograph!) earned Garrett’s respect and approval. I LOVE that he is now part of the Graham Fam and surrounded by the love he deserves, not only from Gigi but from a true father and mother figure.
Ryder was so supportive and secretly romantic - His willingness to help her strengthen her weaknesses on the ice, his protectiveness of her in the hotel elevator situation, his eagerness to learn more about her at the butterfly garden, and the way he would give her flowers to celebrate whatever random national holiday it was made for one green flag after another. When he says his favorite color was “a deep slate gray. Stormy, like your eyes” my heart did a little somersault right with Gigi’s and I am still thinking about the shower, sauna, and opera spice scenes. Gigi “successfully managed to turn Briar’s grumpy, bad-boy hockey co-captain into a hold-my-purse boyfriend. I’ve won the world.” She has him wrapped around her finger and it’s the best.
Gigi and Ryder’s “who’s Garrett Graham?” meet cute was perfect and their relationship was a true marriage of physical and emotional chemistry from the get-go. When she gets hurt on the ice, his “That’s my WIFE out there” made me GASP! He proved himself true boyfriend —> husband material time and time again.
Garrett and Hannah’s roles in the book were amazing. It was awesome to see them as parents and it’s no surprise that they raised well-rounded and passionate kids. I loved being back at Briar U after such a well crafted universe in the first 5 books and reading about familiar characters as I explored new ones was both nostalgic and fresh. Garrett’s hesitation about Ryder as a boyfriend (and then husband) was to be expected and made for tension that strengthened the bonds between all of the characters. It was also fitting that Hannah saw right away that Gigi and Ryder were forever. Graham Fam Forever!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
mads_ione's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
krisi616's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Murder
clemfandango69's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Elle Kennedy’s books really seem to have this undercurrent of misogyny to them, most often reflected in the way male characters, including the MMCs, talk about women. Despite DNF’ing a few of her titles, I gave this one a shot because she’s so prolific in the hockey-romance space, and I keep hoping I’ll find one by her that I like. But unfortunately and unsurprisingly, that same issue persisted in this book. (Speaking of her other books, there are frequent nods to those characters in this, which I personally find tedious. I don’t know who this man is. He could be walking down the street, and I wouldn’t know a thing. Sorry to this man.)
The writing is fine. There were some comedic gems here and there, and the sex scenes were solid. I liked that the FMC is also a hockey player, and she had a couple decent feminist-lite takes. But fuck man, why take the sexism and misogyny of the worst men in the real world into romantic fiction?! Why make the bar subterranean even in fantasy?
In addition to that gripe, this book started off s l o w l y. If nearly 200 pages have passed and your two leads haven’t even kissed yet, you better have built some intense sexual tension or you need to tighten that shit up. This needed editing.
Also, I REALLY hated how the FMC continued to call the MMC by his first name despite him explicitly telling her not to and explaining why it was triggering for him. She really took some kind of trauma-ignorant, charmed-life, nepo-baby approach, wanting the MMC to ~*reclaim*~ his first name, whether he wanted to or not. Even though he had already embraced going by his last name as a way to honor his mom. It annoyed me every time she did it. UGH.
Anyway, lesson learned. Elle Kennedy’s books still give me the ick.
The writing is fine. There were some comedic gems here and there, and the sex scenes were solid. I liked that the FMC is also a hockey player, and she had a couple decent feminist-lite takes. But fuck man, why take the sexism and misogyny of the worst men in the real world into romantic fiction?! Why make the bar subterranean even in fantasy?
In addition to that gripe, this book started off s l o w l y. If nearly 200 pages have passed and your two leads haven’t even kissed yet, you better have built some intense sexual tension or you need to tighten that shit up. This needed editing.
Also, I REALLY hated how the FMC continued to call the MMC by his first name despite him explicitly telling her not to and explaining why it was triggering for him. She really took some kind of trauma-ignorant, charmed-life, nepo-baby approach, wanting the MMC to ~*reclaim*~ his first name, whether he wanted to or not. Even though he had already embraced going by his last name as a way to honor his mom. It annoyed me every time she did it. UGH.
Anyway, lesson learned. Elle Kennedy’s books still give me the ick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
FMC and others repeatedly use MMC’s first name despite it being triggering for him. That disregard may upset other people with PTSD.joanalebres's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
We get to see Hannah Wells and Garett Graham from The Deal (Off-Campus Series) as parents!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder