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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
funny
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
Ahhhh it's been a long time since I've read a young adult romance and this was such a cute, enjoyable read. I'm a sucker for a sports romance, and throw in a guy who falls first and harder? I'm so there. And the sequel is friends to lovers? I. Am. Hyped.
Characters - 8/10
I am so completely obsessed with these two. Well, maybe I'm mostly just obsessed with Reed because he's such a lover boy with funny one-liners which is exactly my kryptonite. I love that he took one look at Violet kicking her car and falling in the snow and basically decided that yes, her, this is the girl I'm going to fall in love with. I think that's beautiful. I also kind of like that he isn't afraid to put things above hockey; I feel like in sports romances the MMC often falls into a struggle over his feelings for the FMC vs his passion for his sport. But Reed was so willing to put his family, his friends, and Violet over his passion for hockey, and even at times seemed to prefer working on cars over playing hockey, I feel like it really helped round out his character.
I feel like Violet in comparison was maybe a little underdeveloped, I wish more had been done with her relationship with her mother, because the end result of that was basically they have a bad relationship and don't reconnect. I also feel like FMCs in comparison to MMCs don't tend to have as many hobbies/aspirations, and Violet definitely fell into this unfortunately. But I did like that she had a reason to be wary of a relationship with Reed, after her dad abandoning her and Jeremy turning out to be a total dick.
I'm really obsessed with the side characters as well and really hope the author does a book for each of the Darling siblings, especially Cammie because she would be an iconic main character. I already know Grayson and Paige get their book and I'm so ready to get my hands on it because friends-to-lovers is my all-time favourite trope.
Atmosphere - 7/10
I feel like this book wasn't overly atmospheric but it's also a young adult romance so it doesn't necessarily need to be? It was light, and fun, and romantic and that was totally fine.
Writing - 8/10
Much like the atmosphere, the writing did exactly what it needed to do. Moody set up a believable scenario for the fake-dating trope, and wrote in a lot of fun scenes to carry it out. Besides a few forced (in my opinion) pop culture references which are never my favourite thing because I find they date the book very quickly, the writing was fun and serviceable. I found the end a little cringe in a Disney-movie kind of way, but it's also a young adult romance so I feel like that's okay and I think it worked for the characters overall arc.
Plot - 8/10
The structure for this one was pretty standard but solid. We got a good inciting incident to set up the fake-dating-trope, and then a lot of fun scenes to showcase that trope, with a nice deadline to set up some (low) stakes to get Reed and Violet together. It was fairly character driven but it didn't feel like the plot was meandering either.
Intrigue - 7/10
Great pacing and a good balance between character and plot driven elements of this book kept me pretty invested in this one. With these kinds of books you all but know Reed and Violet are going to end up together so the author has to make you enjoy the journey which Moody definitely did.
Logic - 8/10
I recently read another fake-dating book where it made zero sense for the two characters to be fake-dating, and the author of that one also barely wrote in any scene to showcase that trope, both of which made me appreciate this one even more. If you're going to write such a "trope heavy" book you really have to sell it. Reed and Violet both had reasons for why they'd need a fake relationship, Reed so he could focus on hockey and Violet so she could get her ex off her back, and the author actually wrote scenes to showcase it.
Enjoyment - 10/10
Just a 10/10 five star book in terms of enjoyment. I really liked the characters, I was blushing and kicking my feet at so many of the romantic scenes, and I will always froth a sports romance. It's been a while since I read young adult romance and it was a nice palette cleanser.
Characters - 8/10
I am so completely obsessed with these two. Well, maybe I'm mostly just obsessed with Reed because he's such a lover boy with funny one-liners which is exactly my kryptonite. I love that he took one look at Violet kicking her car and falling in the snow and basically decided that yes, her, this is the girl I'm going to fall in love with. I think that's beautiful. I also kind of like that he isn't afraid to put things above hockey; I feel like in sports romances the MMC often falls into a struggle over his feelings for the FMC vs his passion for his sport. But Reed was so willing to put his family, his friends, and Violet over his passion for hockey, and even at times seemed to prefer working on cars over playing hockey, I feel like it really helped round out his character.
I feel like Violet in comparison was maybe a little underdeveloped, I wish more had been done with her relationship with her mother, because the end result of that was basically they have a bad relationship and don't reconnect. I also feel like FMCs in comparison to MMCs don't tend to have as many hobbies/aspirations, and Violet definitely fell into this unfortunately. But I did like that she had a reason to be wary of a relationship with Reed, after her dad abandoning her and Jeremy turning out to be a total dick.
I'm really obsessed with the side characters as well and really hope the author does a book for each of the Darling siblings, especially Cammie because she would be an iconic main character. I already know Grayson and Paige get their book and I'm so ready to get my hands on it because friends-to-lovers is my all-time favourite trope.
Atmosphere - 7/10
I feel like this book wasn't overly atmospheric but it's also a young adult romance so it doesn't necessarily need to be? It was light, and fun, and romantic and that was totally fine.
Writing - 8/10
Much like the atmosphere, the writing did exactly what it needed to do. Moody set up a believable scenario for the fake-dating trope, and wrote in a lot of fun scenes to carry it out. Besides a few forced (in my opinion) pop culture references which are never my favourite thing because I find they date the book very quickly, the writing was fun and serviceable. I found the end a little cringe in a Disney-movie kind of way, but it's also a young adult romance so I feel like that's okay and I think it worked for the characters overall arc.
Plot - 8/10
The structure for this one was pretty standard but solid. We got a good inciting incident to set up the fake-dating-trope, and then a lot of fun scenes to showcase that trope, with a nice deadline to set up some (low) stakes to get Reed and Violet together. It was fairly character driven but it didn't feel like the plot was meandering either.
Intrigue - 7/10
Great pacing and a good balance between character and plot driven elements of this book kept me pretty invested in this one. With these kinds of books you all but know Reed and Violet are going to end up together so the author has to make you enjoy the journey which Moody definitely did.
Logic - 8/10
I recently read another fake-dating book where it made zero sense for the two characters to be fake-dating, and the author of that one also barely wrote in any scene to showcase that trope, both of which made me appreciate this one even more. If you're going to write such a "trope heavy" book you really have to sell it. Reed and Violet both had reasons for why they'd need a fake relationship, Reed so he could focus on hockey and Violet so she could get her ex off her back, and the author actually wrote scenes to showcase it.
Enjoyment - 10/10
Just a 10/10 five star book in terms of enjoyment. I really liked the characters, I was blushing and kicking my feet at so many of the romantic scenes, and I will always froth a sports romance. It's been a while since I read young adult romance and it was a nice palette cleanser.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
[4.5 stars]
You know what I need? More YA sports romance, need to keep my reading refreshed from those filthy sports romance :>>>>
You know what I need? More YA sports romance, need to keep my reading refreshed from those filthy sports romance :>>>>
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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