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challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
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:
No
Dnf @ 6%
this is not a nice review, if you get triggered by opinions, I advise you to not read this
I got 6% into the book before I was cringing so hard, it was practically impossible to keep reading.
I can’t even write a review for this because I barely made it to 10%
But this book was bad. Painfully bad.
The writing, first of all, was shit.
this is not a nice review, if you get triggered by opinions, I advise you to not read this
I got 6% into the book before I was cringing so hard, it was practically impossible to keep reading.
I can’t even write a review for this because I barely made it to 10%
But this book was bad. Painfully bad.
The writing, first of all, was shit.
I was extremely annoyed at the amount of French in this book. It felt very fast paced - like they didn’t really think about what it means that they are together now - but at the same time, it was kind of boring in between.
2,75
2,75
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
All the stars! This book is a masterpiece! I felt all the feels with this one. I’m so sad it’s over but I’ll definitely be reading more by Tal Bauer!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this to be a little of a miss for me. While I usually don't actively dislike insta-love, I felt the rush in this story. It does help to have a translator handy as there is quite a bit of French and French slang to be noted. I got the hang of it after a bit, but definitely useful in the initial chapters until you have the rhythm.
I think Under different circumstances I would've loved this book, but I'm not loving it idk why. Probably my slump
The character was unnecessarily dramatic especially Bryce, he was so French.
I literally spend 30% of my time translating the French out of this book and 70% actually reading it.
The character was unnecessarily dramatic especially Bryce, he was so French.
I literally spend 30% of my time translating the French out of this book and 70% actually reading it.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i wanted to like this book. it initially gave off heated-rivalry-but-friend-to-lovers, but then rambled off the mark. the original meet cute on the ice at all stars weekend was perfection and set a really great tone that i think the rest of the book just didn’t match.
i think this is the book where i finally realize that i just do not like insta-love. it feels too easy, flippant, and it removes alot of the tension that you really feel in your chest. (that being said, if you like insta-love, you may love this book!)
MCs: big, texan defenseman who’s new to the league and pretty average (but he has heart!) Hunter; french canadian forward and beloved star of the league Bryce.
tropes: insta-love, sexual awakening, meet cute (!!!), workplace , injury caretaking (plot spoilies!!!)
mood: warm nights out in vegas, nature hikes, neon-blurred hotel rooms; then BAM, cold snowy tundra of canada, sweaty locker rooms, storms and snuggles.
likes:
● hunter is such a fucking FANBOY!!! their meet cute is so fun and so cute and hunter is truly just so happy to be there. i love that he has some “fluff,” as he calls it. a sweet and gentle giant, ugh! i really wish we got more of hunter’s pov while he through through his sexuality and his gigantic, and truly embarrassing (affectionate), hero crush on bryce.
I could faint. I could also puke, right onto the ice, right between his skates. “Hi,” I squeak. “I wear your number.”
“Enchanté.” Bryce's grin grows. “I wear your number, too.”
…
Now I’m really going to faint. I blink, and the colors in the stadium buzz behind my eyelids. “I— Thank you, uh—” Tongue-tied doesn’t even begin to describe the acrobatics taking place inside me. “You're amazing,” I blurt out. A little laugh bursts out of me, like I’m high on helium. “I can’t believe you watch my games.”
is this not the CUTEST meet cute????? hunter is fanboying so hard and bryce knew what he was doing!!!!!
● there are some beautiful and meaningful little lines buried throughout this book and when they hit, they hit hard!
- I fell in love with my hope, and I hoped for him.
- I have never felt beautiful until he said the words.
- I die the first of what I hope will be a thousand deaths in his arms, and he follows me over the edge, burying his face in my neck as we shatter.
- Put your hand on your own heart, mon amour, and you'll feel mine beating next to yours.
dislikes:
● okay so i don’t want to keep comparing this to heated-rivalry, but … the bilingualism in this book is lacking, especially when compared to ilya’s ESL depiction in hr. i did in fact see the author note at the beginning and i did use my kindie translate but dear god, the work that went into translating the fully french dialogue was not worth it. half the time the french was already translated somewhere else in the paragraph and was typically mindless romantic phrases. either translate it for me or don’t, but please pick one! the french felt more tedious than authentically representative of bryce’s character. a few very meaningful french phrases would have gone a long way.
● i have already stated that i do not like insta-love and OH was this book insta-lovey. (again, maybe this is a plus for you! that’s cool!) i think my biggest issue with the degree of insta-love in this book was how we don’t actually hear them fall in love. we get paraphrased descriptions of their little dates, a little life background, but almost no dialogue of their supposedly meaningful connection, and then BAM ‘you’re perfect for me, you complete my life,’ etc. re: love declarations, the final ‘i love you’ in french felt kind of silly after paragraphs and paragraphs of all kinds of love declarations that just aren’t that specific phrase. like they can say things like ‘you are my everything’ but ‘i love you’ is still somehow the bigger thing? but at this point i might be salty, idk.
● i won’t say much about the injury : it’s not my favorite impetus for a love declaration, especially when everything is fine so quickly??? bizarre.
steam:
● explicit open door, i think, tho the scenes are rather tame and short.
cw: graphic depiction of serious injury while playing hockey .
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
Yes
This was so cute and so sweet 🥺🥺