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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
OVERALL: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
•Storyline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
•Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧/5
•Spice Level: 🌶🌶/ 5
•Swoon level: 🫠🫠🫠🫠/5
•Emotional:🥺/5
•Banter: 😆😆/5
•Platform: Audiobook and Ebook
•Trope: Enimies to lovers, Childhood friends to lovers, Second Chance, Hockey Romance
• THOUGHTS:
This was my very first Hannah Cowin book. Dear night it will not be my last! I gobbled this up. I was hooked. Maddox and Braxton (love this name btw). I loved how the story bounced from past to present. How we got to see how much their friendship was the forever kind, but also the love they share is the soul deep kind of love. I loved watching them come together and be just a power force together. It was such a great story. I truly loved everything about Dox and Braxton. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
NARRATOR THOUGHTS:
•Narrators: Teddy Hamilton and CJ Bloom
•Dual Narration
•Listening at a 1.5 speed.
Gah Teddy and CJ knocked this out of the park. I love when Teddy is a protective hero. And also a dirty talking one at that! He did an incredible job of getting Dox's personality and bringing him to life. CJ is such a gem and her voicing Braxton was perfect! CJ and Teddy are so incredible when they are paired up! I highly recommend this book! And to get the full effect enjoy it in Audio.
•Storyline: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
•Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧/5
•Spice Level: 🌶🌶/ 5
•Swoon level: 🫠🫠🫠🫠/5
•Emotional:🥺/5
•Banter: 😆😆/5
•Platform: Audiobook and Ebook
•Trope: Enimies to lovers, Childhood friends to lovers, Second Chance, Hockey Romance
• THOUGHTS:
This was my very first Hannah Cowin book. Dear night it will not be my last! I gobbled this up. I was hooked. Maddox and Braxton (love this name btw). I loved how the story bounced from past to present. How we got to see how much their friendship was the forever kind, but also the love they share is the soul deep kind of love. I loved watching them come together and be just a power force together. It was such a great story. I truly loved everything about Dox and Braxton. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
NARRATOR THOUGHTS:
•Narrators: Teddy Hamilton and CJ Bloom
•Dual Narration
•Listening at a 1.5 speed.
Gah Teddy and CJ knocked this out of the park. I love when Teddy is a protective hero. And also a dirty talking one at that! He did an incredible job of getting Dox's personality and bringing him to life. CJ is such a gem and her voicing Braxton was perfect! CJ and Teddy are so incredible when they are paired up! I highly recommend this book! And to get the full effect enjoy it in Audio.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was this a particularly new concept? No. Did I still have a fun time reading it? Absolutely. This was a fun book I enjoyed reading. The third act conflict was definitely better than many others I’ve encountered.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
This book has been on my TBR for a year now, and I finally found it on Audible.es, included in my subscription. I'm so happy to finally read it and devour the entire series, but I have realized that this is a second-generation series, the original starting with Lucky Hit and the rest of the Swift Hat-Trick series. So now I need to go buy those books so I can get all the backstories. Why? Because you best believe that I am hooked.
Welcome to the world of Braxton Heights and Maddox Hutton. Maddox is the son of Oakley and Ava Hutton, the couple from Lucky Hit. He met his best friend Braxton when they were starting kindergarten and fell in love with her then and there. They grew up together, two peas in a pod. Their families and friends could tell that they were soulmates and it was only a matter of time. After high school, the plan was to go to college together but Maddox was entering the NHL draft. No big deal, Braxton planned to attend school in whatever city he would be living in so that they could be together. However, Maddox mixed business and family and allowed Braxton's father to be his agent. He got screwed over by his agent and, as innocent and näive that Braxton was, she played a part in screwing him over as well. Maddox's career was almost over before it even began. It caused a rift in their relationship, and Braxton fled because being close to Maddox was too hard.
Here we are, eight years later, and Braxton is back in town. Maddox has gotten into some PR trouble and needs to keep his image clean; this is his contract renewal year after all. The solution: fake date someone close to the cause of his bad PR image. The answer: Braxton. Eight years without contact, and now they have to fake date, and while hurt and betrayal are the emotions at the surface, a love like theirs isn't far underneath their skin. It doesn't take long to clear the air, rekindle the friendship, and take the relationship to the next step that they should have done when they were eighteen. Only now, Braxton has her family, or her father, who is against her and will do anything necessary to take down Maddox Hutton. That includes using his daughter. The Huttons always loved Braxton, so they accept her back with open arms, especially when they know that Maddox is in love with her. But Braxton's father goes above and beyond to try to ruin the relationship and, when he teams up with a nosy sports/gossip reporter, both Braxton and Maddox find themself in possible legal troubles and condemned by the court of public opinion.
Maddox is given an out by those who orchestrated this PR stunt. He can save his career, renew his contract, and go on to win the Stanley Cup, or he can choose the woman he has loved for the past 21 years.
The spice is good, but not overly done. I would say it's a solid 3 chili pepper. The lovey-dovey aspect is a good 4 hearts. I love the childhood friends-to-lovers aspect, especially when it is a second-chance romance. The supportive family that is the Huttons and the extended family (Cooper White and the Batemans)...perfect. We didn't get too much on these other characters yet, but I know they are coming up in the series, and all of their parents' backstories are part of the original Swift Hat-Trick Trilogy and Amateurs in Love Series. Yup, I added all of these to my TBR. I need all the Hannah goodness I can get because, truthfully, one was not enough.
Welcome to the world of Braxton Heights and Maddox Hutton. Maddox is the son of Oakley and Ava Hutton, the couple from Lucky Hit. He met his best friend Braxton when they were starting kindergarten and fell in love with her then and there. They grew up together, two peas in a pod. Their families and friends could tell that they were soulmates and it was only a matter of time. After high school, the plan was to go to college together but Maddox was entering the NHL draft. No big deal, Braxton planned to attend school in whatever city he would be living in so that they could be together. However, Maddox mixed business and family and allowed Braxton's father to be his agent. He got screwed over by his agent and, as innocent and näive that Braxton was, she played a part in screwing him over as well. Maddox's career was almost over before it even began. It caused a rift in their relationship, and Braxton fled because being close to Maddox was too hard.
Here we are, eight years later, and Braxton is back in town. Maddox has gotten into some PR trouble and needs to keep his image clean; this is his contract renewal year after all. The solution: fake date someone close to the cause of his bad PR image. The answer: Braxton. Eight years without contact, and now they have to fake date, and while hurt and betrayal are the emotions at the surface, a love like theirs isn't far underneath their skin. It doesn't take long to clear the air, rekindle the friendship, and take the relationship to the next step that they should have done when they were eighteen. Only now, Braxton has her family, or her father, who is against her and will do anything necessary to take down Maddox Hutton. That includes using his daughter. The Huttons always loved Braxton, so they accept her back with open arms, especially when they know that Maddox is in love with her. But Braxton's father goes above and beyond to try to ruin the relationship and, when he teams up with a nosy sports/gossip reporter, both Braxton and Maddox find themself in possible legal troubles and condemned by the court of public opinion.
Maddox is given an out by those who orchestrated this PR stunt. He can save his career, renew his contract, and go on to win the Stanley Cup, or he can choose the woman he has loved for the past 21 years.
The spice is good, but not overly done. I would say it's a solid 3 chili pepper. The lovey-dovey aspect is a good 4 hearts. I love the childhood friends-to-lovers aspect, especially when it is a second-chance romance. The supportive family that is the Huttons and the extended family (Cooper White and the Batemans)...perfect. We didn't get too much on these other characters yet, but I know they are coming up in the series, and all of their parents' backstories are part of the original Swift Hat-Trick Trilogy and Amateurs in Love Series. Yup, I added all of these to my TBR. I need all the Hannah goodness I can get because, truthfully, one was not enough.
funny
medium-paced
this book was so good! i think that if i was in a better mood it would have been a 5/5! but the story was amazing
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Voto complessivo: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dramma: 💧
Sugar: 🧁🧁.5
Spice: 🌶️.5
Trope: childhood friends - first love - second chance - hockey romance - fake dating.
🐶 Se dovessi riassumere il mio giudizio in una frase, direi “carino, ma manca di mordente”.
📖 Due amici d’infanzia destinati a diventare qualcosa di più. Le loro strade si dividono dopo che lei, Braxton, ha tradito la fiducia di lui, Maddox, mettendo a repentaglio la sua carriera come giocatore di hockey.
Sono passati 8 anni, e ora Maddox ha bisogno che Braxton sia la sua finta fidanzata per ripulirsi l’immagine. La vicinanza forzata e il dover fingere, come è ovvio aspettarsi, farà sbocciare quello che precedentemente era stato reciso sul nascere.
❌ Cosa non mi ha convinto (‼️SPOILER‼️):
- il fake dating che piove così dal cielo, e che sembra più un’operazione Cupido che non l’idea dei responsabili PR di una grande squadra di hockey. Va bene che dietro c’è anche lo zampino del padre di Maddox, che vuole riportare Braxton nella vita del figlio, ma è difficile credere che il management della squadra abbia approvato una simile strategia senza problemi.
- Manca un po’ di angst: sono la prima a non voler soffrire, però in questo caso la situazione tra i protagonisti dopo 8 anni di separazione si è risolta troppo facilmente. È vero che tra due adulti è auspicabile che si parli chiaramente, affrontando e superando i problemi, ma ai fini narrativi sarebbe stato opportuno tirare di più la corda.
- “Cattivi” troppo sopra le righe (mi riferisco soprattutto alla giornalista), e messi all’angolo con uno schiocco di dita: anche in questo caso, l’ostacolo non avrebbe dovuto essere superato tanto agevolmente.
👍 Dei due protagonisti ho apprezzato la dolcezza di lui (un cucciolo che cerca di tenere il broncio, ma non ci riesce), e il fatto che l’essere curvy di lei sia stato affrontato senza sfociare della pedanteria. Per quelli che sono i miei gusti, un pizzico di tenebrosità non avrebbe guastato nel caso di Maddox, ma alla fine ci ritroviamo con un’energia da golden retriever assolutamente non arginabile.
🌸 Sono comunque curiosa di leggere i prossimi volumi della serie, perché voglio credere che l’autrice possa migliorare.
emotional
funny
sad
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:
Complicated