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bee_wuud's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.5
Love me some vulnerable men! The mental health aspect is great. Sports romances are turning out to be my jam.
Love Stevie too! She reminds me a bit of myself too, so watching her start to love her body really hit home.
Love Stevie too! She reminds me a bit of myself too, so watching her start to love her body really hit home.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders
lethridge's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal death, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
underscoresyd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Violence
graceev's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Mental illness
lanaw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THERE ARENT ENOUGH WORDS TO DECRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BOOK.
This is honestly one of those book's I wish I read sooner instead of just letting it sit on my tbr.
This is honestly one of those book's I wish I read sooner instead of just letting it sit on my tbr.
but we respected each other and found common ground through our mental health struggles. He dealt with anxiety and panic attacks, and I dealt with so much bitter anger it would result in panic attacks simply because it would consume me, blinding me from reality.
I loved the plus size rep, the diversity, the open conversations about therapy & mental health something I feel isn't represented enough in romance books. The author honestly made it feel like you were long time friends with the MC's while also getting a view into their thought it was so easy to form a picture in your head of them.
You don’t have to love your body every single day. That’s unrealistic to expect, but I’ll be here loving it for the days you can’t.
I loved Stevie character development and being able to read about her growing her wings and contuning the journey of loving herself something that you were able to kinda get a peek at that its normal to not love yourself all the time there gonna be bad and good days and I loved how that was normalized.
That’s what therapy has taught me—to love myself. And I do. Unapologetically and without question, I love myself. Someone’s got to.
Don't even get me started on Zanders usually I hate when the male MC's is cocky it honestly just annoys me but I couldn't get enough of Zanders its not like the usually male MC's who fight against loving the Female MC's he realized it and tried to get with her they had their problems but he was always able to realize when he fucked up and tried to fix it. I usually don't read series because I find it hard to form a connection with the characters that aren't the main characters but it honestly made you feel apart of one big fictional familey and I haven't really ever gotten that from a book before so I will 100% be reading the rest of the series. This is one of the rare times where a book deserves the hype. The only thing I didn't like was how their isn't a book about Maddison and Logans love story I honestly would love to read it
10/10 recommend this book honestly made me re-think all of my other 5 star ratings because I've never liked a book the way I like this one
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
beckyremillard's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
Took me a few to get into but I enjoyed it once I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Animal death
Toxic parentsoccasionalyarnie's review against another edition
funny
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
Even though this is the first book in the series, I picked it up well after reading the other two. The premise of "bad boy bullying service worker" didn't seem remotely redeemable in any way. But I'm glad I gave it a chance. The "bullying" (for lack of a better word) was really just insistent pestering and the story moved past that plotline pretty quickly. Everything after it was the kind of romance I'm coming to expect from the author.
As always, the main characters were likeable, each with their own flaws that actually made a difference in the story. Stevie's body image issues were all too relatable; the story handled them in such a sensitive and respectful way that I really appreciated. The same can be said for Zanders' abandonment issues, and I also loved how (once again) Liz Tomforde wrote a male lead who is capable of being emotional and addressing his issues and communicating with his partner effectively (for the most part). On top of that, their romance was really well-executed. No notes. I also really enjoyed the emphasis on family and (in Stevie's case) generational trauma; it really helped to flesh out the characters' flaws and made it that much more satisfying to see them overcome.
Though I wouldn't call these complaints, there were two things that I think kept me from enjoying this book enough to give it five stars. The first is that this book is long. I don't think this necessarily detracted from my enjoyment, because I'd rather it be too long than too short, but now that I've finished the book, I'm not sure the length was wholly justified. At this length, I almost wish we'd gotten a stronger secondary storyline (maybe to have more about the dog shelter?). The second was the lack of Indy. With how much Stevie was in Indy's book, I kind of expected to see her more in this one to give us a bit more background on her and to set up her story. Again, I'm not really upset about either of these things; they're just things I'd wished we'd gotten.
All in all, this was a really good read and I can't wait until the next book in the series releases.
As always, the main characters were likeable, each with their own flaws that actually made a difference in the story. Stevie's body image issues were all too relatable; the story handled them in such a sensitive and respectful way that I really appreciated. The same can be said for Zanders' abandonment issues, and I also loved how (once again) Liz Tomforde wrote a male lead who is capable of being emotional and addressing his issues and communicating with his partner effectively (for the most part). On top of that, their romance was really well-executed. No notes. I also really enjoyed the emphasis on family and (in Stevie's case) generational trauma; it really helped to flesh out the characters' flaws and made it that much more satisfying to see them overcome.
Though I wouldn't call these complaints, there were two things that I think kept me from enjoying this book enough to give it five stars. The first is that this book is long. I don't think this necessarily detracted from my enjoyment, because I'd rather it be too long than too short, but now that I've finished the book, I'm not sure the length was wholly justified. At this length, I almost wish we'd gotten a stronger secondary storyline (maybe to have more about the dog shelter?). The second was the lack of Indy. With how much Stevie was in Indy's book, I kind of expected to see her more in this one to give us a bit more background on her and to set up her story. Again, I'm not really upset about either of these things; they're just things I'd wished we'd gotten.
All in all, this was a really good read and I can't wait until the next book in the series releases.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
chelsea_jh's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Animal death
redheadbookgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? No
5.0
Zanders + Stevie have my heart 🥹 This book is the perfect blend of banter, spice, romance, sports + emotion. Although it’s a chunk at just under 600 pages, I read it in just a few sittings because I just couldn’t put it down: it was such a fun and engrossing read.
I love an enemies to lovers trope + all the sassy back and forth and tension that comes with it, and it was done perfectly in this plot. Stevie was a fierce and sassy character with quick wit but a lot of insecurities: she was real and relatable + she’s easy to connect to as a character. Zanders was cocky, confident + egotistic but incredibly loyal and when he let his barriers down… *swoon*🤌🏽 he was a total sweetheart to Stevie, and a massive softie at heart 🫶🏽
If you’re not yet convinced, there’s dogs.. lots of dogs!
Between the banter, the steam (we’ll ignore the third act breakup: my one + only complaint), the hockey scenes, the depth to the characters, the honest communication about mental health and therapy, the friendships and found family? This was book perfection 🙌🏽
I love an enemies to lovers trope + all the sassy back and forth and tension that comes with it, and it was done perfectly in this plot. Stevie was a fierce and sassy character with quick wit but a lot of insecurities: she was real and relatable + she’s easy to connect to as a character. Zanders was cocky, confident + egotistic but incredibly loyal and when he let his barriers down… *swoon*🤌🏽 he was a total sweetheart to Stevie, and a massive softie at heart 🫶🏽
If you’re not yet convinced, there’s dogs.. lots of dogs!
Between the banter, the steam (we’ll ignore the third act breakup: my one + only complaint), the hockey scenes, the depth to the characters, the honest communication about mental health and therapy, the friendships and found family? This was book perfection 🙌🏽
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
kb33's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Bullying