Reviews

Winning Move by Skye Kilaen

thosemedalingkidsss's review

DNF @ 45%

I really wanted to enjoy this - there were so many little things included that I like, but the delivery of them were so clunky in this one. This should have been a slam dunk in terms of content, but fell flat for me. Every topic discussed was in a very preachy way and lacked a bit of nuance or exploration. I love aggressively queer books, when they aren't so black and white in delivery.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

wardenred's review

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

Her life might be smaller, but it was better. Wasn’t it?

I'll be honest, it took me a bit to get into the story because the way it's written is clunkier than what I've read from Skye Kilaen before. I was close to DNFing because of the writing over the first few chapters, but the characters kept growing on me and I kept giving the book chances. And, well, by 20-25% I got hooked! Not sure if the writing got better or if I just stopped caring about the clunkiness, lol.

I empathized a lot with Gina's fears about giving relationships a chance again. It wasn't entirely reasonable, but also perfectly understandable. Her relationship with Aunt Ophelia was lovely, and I enjoyed seeing all those parts of her life: her jobs, her family situations, her home, her board game addiction. Marek, however, just absolutely captured my heart. He is such a lovely, kind, empathetic, thoughtful, introspective character. An inspiration, really, and one of those characters I'd love to meet in real life and become friends with. His gentle optimism was practically addictive, and seeing him simply explore Clover Hill and find things to love about it was as beautiful as seeing his relationship with Gina blossom. 

Speaking of that relationship development, I enjoyed that this couple's interactions included a lot of details that often get glossed over in favor swooping romantic gestures and big feelings. Questions like "is this how you deal with fights?" or "how do you handle medical care?", certain details about sex, generally establishing and agreeing on borders—so much realistic stuff handled in lovely ways that didn't distract from the feelings at all. It was all great to see characters in their later thirties, and of course I loved the bi and fat rep.

Clover Hill itself is the perfect queer utopia, and once the setting started getting prominently explored, it quickly turned into my favorite part of the book (after Marek, of course). I love reading about cozy, inclusive, tight-knit communities like that, and I look forward to exploring it more with other books in the series. 

scrow1022's review

4.0

Charming, sexy. Love the town we've been given in this series and the hopes of these people for more.

emeliestegbornblixt's review

3.0

Gina lives in a small town queer utopia, Mareks new fancy car breaks down right outside the town. They have a one night stand, which is followed by awkwardly getting to know each other better despite Ginas attempts to push anything that could make her life bigger away. I like how central nerd culture is to their relationship development. Another thing I really appreciate is how unlikeably flawed Gina is. She is scared to try again after her marriage that ended years ago, and her emotional struggle leads her to actually act like a dick.

I will say this is probably my least favorite book by Kilaen so far. I think there's just something missing from the way the pieces come together in this one, it lacks the spark that truly elevates it. Or maybe it's just that I'm allergic to small town settings where anonymity is impossible. But it's a fun time and I'm glad I read it.

I have seen some people criticize the "politically correct" commentary of this book as feeling somewhat forced at times, and I kind of agree. I do love to see some social commentary in romance, so that's not the problem. Most of the time it works in this one as well, but there's just a couple times that just kind of breaks immersion a bit - like those comments are there for the sake of being there rather than actually playing a role in character development or furthering the story in some way.


eArc provided by the author

chronicreader's review

4.0

RTC

cleansetolovers's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

soulfullyalex's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

 

Thank you to the author for an eARC of this title.

I really adored this book! I loved that Gina and Marek started off with a one night stand and somehow got into something more. For starters, the spice was great. I also loved how they were both very open about their sexualities. I loved that they both just expected for this to be a short vacation fling and when Marek continued to stay because he just enjoyed the town.

I really enjoyed watching Marek be completely adorable and helpful around town. He is just a big softy and he just wanted to help the people around him. It was also really sweet watching him be concerned about how Gina would feel about him being around town and not wanting to seem creepy. I honestly loved the dynamic between Marek and Gina. Their back and forth feelings and banter was great.

I also loved Gina’s relationship with her aunt and her aunt was a great character. She was witty and funny. It was also so funny that everything Marek and Gina did together got around town so quickly. I loved that small town vibe and how awkward they were, but how much they wanted to keep seeing each other.

Overall, this was a lot of fun and really sweet. I adored it. 

jkatiemarks's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

• white cis bi4bi m/w, he’s fat!, one night stand to lovers, both have relationship trauma
• there is such care in this book!
• felt a little unbalanced between the mcs, i think? and a DOOZY of an epilogue
• bit still, lots of good stuff too
• and yes, i would love to live in clover hill

kmanos's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

mooswandern's review

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This novella was very cute and fun to read. I liked the main characters who are both openly bisexual and the setting (a really queer(friendly) small town). I liked the way Gina and Marek communicated about the things they wanted/didn't want and their feelings.

I didn't like how the premise was that Gina was pushed into dating by a relative of hers, it felt a little "you can't be happy without a romantic partner"-vibes which is something I don't care for but as it was not that big of a part in the plot it did not annoy me as much as a feared it might at the beginning.

I would have loved to read more about them once their relationship was established and also about Gina's niece but would definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a short romance read with little drama or angst.


I received a free advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review that I am leaving voluntarily.