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ameserole's review
4.0
YAY! The third installation of the Bad Motherpuckers!
Puck Aholic was interesting - to say the least. In it, you will meet Tanner and Diana. Now we sort of meet Diana in the second book of this series - and trust me, I loved her then too. These two were amazing. They had such amazing chemistry that it just made me smile throughout the entire book.
Tanner is such a sweetheart. He never treats Diana badly and it just made heart pitter patter - or ya know grow three times bigger than usual. Then there's Diana and I honestly have nothing bad to say about her. I love them both equally.
Overall, I'm enjoying these hockey books and the smut that they give me. I can't wait to see how this whole thing will end.
Puck Aholic was interesting - to say the least. In it, you will meet Tanner and Diana. Now we sort of meet Diana in the second book of this series - and trust me, I loved her then too. These two were amazing. They had such amazing chemistry that it just made me smile throughout the entire book.
Tanner is such a sweetheart. He never treats Diana badly and it just made heart pitter patter - or ya know grow three times bigger than usual. Then there's Diana and I honestly have nothing bad to say about her. I love them both equally.
Overall, I'm enjoying these hockey books and the smut that they give me. I can't wait to see how this whole thing will end.
elmead's review
lighthearted
3.75
Cute story about a quirky, unlucky in love FMC who meets nice guy jock MMC who tries his hardest to convince her love is worth the risk.
excel_spreadsheet_book_nerd's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.5
clem_mathieu's review
4.0
I love the tension between Diane and Tanner and I was rooting for them so much. Like the previous book of the series (Sexy Mother Pucker), I wanted to see more of their relationship before the events of the epilogue.
jzkeen32'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
elenajohansen's review
3.0
"And they were roommates" isn't my favorite trope, but I don't hate it, either. I think this isn't the best example, because they were already attracted to each other before they moved in together and they start sleeping together really quickly, so there's no time to savor any unresolved sexual tension.
Diana is annoying, but in a way that feels too real and hits a little too close to home. Her pessimism regarding men in general and her love life in specific isn't something I relate to, but her feelings of being a crazy messy burden on anyone who might care for her, I get. Deeply. So I do understand her resolve to swear off men and dating, though I think "until I feel better about myself" would be a more interesting conflict for the story than her deadline of "forever."
Tanner is... well, as a boyfriend, he's pretty much perfect, and that's a bit of the problem. Sure, he and Diana fight like wildcats in the very beginning, but my brain read all those altercations as Diana deliberately provoking him until she got him to take the bait, so I'm not going to hold that against him. The rest of the problem is that his personal conflict arc--ADHD and his career--has very little to do with Diana at any point. Occasionally the narrative takes a stab at linking them, like "oh, I can't handle a girlfriend on top of this, she'll be a distraction," but that's undermined by two things: Diana's clearly a distraction just as a roommate, even if she never did become Tanner's girlfriend, and also once they do get together, Tanner starts skating better, to the point where his teammates notice and approve.
While I'm not disappointed with Tanner as book boyfriend material, I am unhappy with the way his neurodivergence is treated, because his ADHD gets ignored for large parts of the book. In the beginning, he sort of hedges around it in his POV chapters, sure, fine, we're building up to the reveal. But once it's revealed, he only displays any of his supposedly regular coping behaviors when the plot needs him to, not the rest of the time, and certainly none of them were foreshadowed with any significance. If he lives by the to-do list he keeps on his phone, why don't we know about it until at least halfway through the book? Why does his summer hiatus seem completely unscheduled? Because whenever Diana pisses him off he just goes back to the gym at the drop of a hat. Were all those gym sessions on the list, or did he really not have anything else planned for that day? Why is he never obviously nervous about being late to something or deviating from his routine? Why is there not even much evidence that he even has a routine?
Don't get me wrong, I want more romance heroes to be dealing with mental illness or neurodivergence as characters, because men's mental health in the real world is something society tries really hard to sweep under the rug. But this just feels shallow. (Except for the scene where Diana helps Tanner with his phobia, because that is well established from the team's prank wars, and also echoes a scene with Wanda the pig earlier in the book. So that was actually really good. But the ADHD rep, not so much. Also, Wanda was pretty cute, and I'll grant that having the pet be a pig instead of something more ordinary has a certain charm to it, as does Chloe's hedgehog at the end of the book. Hedgehogs are lovely.)
Okay, I've aired my grievances, but this was still funny to me, as the earlier novels were, I'm still going on with the series, though I'm hoping I get plots that are better-realized again soon, like the first book.
Diana is annoying, but in a way that feels too real and hits a little too close to home. Her pessimism regarding men in general and her love life in specific isn't something I relate to, but her feelings of being a crazy messy burden on anyone who might care for her, I get. Deeply. So I do understand her resolve to swear off men and dating, though I think "until I feel better about myself" would be a more interesting conflict for the story than her deadline of "forever."
Tanner is... well, as a boyfriend, he's pretty much perfect, and that's a bit of the problem. Sure, he and Diana fight like wildcats in the very beginning, but my brain read all those altercations as Diana deliberately provoking him until she got him to take the bait, so I'm not going to hold that against him. The rest of the problem is that his personal conflict arc--ADHD and his career--has very little to do with Diana at any point. Occasionally the narrative takes a stab at linking them, like "oh, I can't handle a girlfriend on top of this, she'll be a distraction," but that's undermined by two things: Diana's clearly a distraction just as a roommate, even if she never did become Tanner's girlfriend, and also once they do get together, Tanner starts skating better, to the point where his teammates notice and approve.
While I'm not disappointed with Tanner as book boyfriend material, I am unhappy with the way his neurodivergence is treated, because his ADHD gets ignored for large parts of the book. In the beginning, he sort of hedges around it in his POV chapters, sure, fine, we're building up to the reveal. But once it's revealed, he only displays any of his supposedly regular coping behaviors when the plot needs him to, not the rest of the time, and certainly none of them were foreshadowed with any significance. If he lives by the to-do list he keeps on his phone, why don't we know about it until at least halfway through the book? Why does his summer hiatus seem completely unscheduled? Because whenever Diana pisses him off he just goes back to the gym at the drop of a hat. Were all those gym sessions on the list, or did he really not have anything else planned for that day? Why is he never obviously nervous about being late to something or deviating from his routine? Why is there not even much evidence that he even has a routine?
Don't get me wrong, I want more romance heroes to be dealing with mental illness or neurodivergence as characters, because men's mental health in the real world is something society tries really hard to sweep under the rug. But this just feels shallow. (Except for the scene where Diana helps Tanner with his phobia, because that is well established from the team's prank wars, and also echoes a scene with Wanda the pig earlier in the book. So that was actually really good. But the ADHD rep, not so much. Also, Wanda was pretty cute, and I'll grant that having the pet be a pig instead of something more ordinary has a certain charm to it, as does Chloe's hedgehog at the end of the book. Hedgehogs are lovely.)
Okay, I've aired my grievances, but this was still funny to me, as the earlier novels were, I'm still going on with the series, though I'm hoping I get plots that are better-realized again soon, like the first book.
ingamama1033's review against another edition
funny
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? Yes
3.0
kara_hildebrand's review
5.0
Puck Aholic, by the wonderfully, talented and hilarious Lili Valente, is the third book in the Bad Motherpuckers series. Lili is one of my go-to-authors. I know everything she writes is going to be fantastic. She's quickly become one of the best writers of romantic comedy. I love all of her books, but this hockey series is top notch! We've met Tanner before. He has a hilarious phobia that I'm still laughing about. He's also sexy, gentle, kind, funny, romantic, muscle-y, dirty mouthed and swoonworthy. In a nutshell, he's my favorite character of 2017 who I wish were real. He's the perfect specimen. He's not a jerk. He's not a douche and he's not a player. He's perfection. He's paired with the hilarious, quirky, hot mess, Diana(Brendan's sister). She's new to town and she's had very bad luck with men. She's wildly attracted to her sexy, hockey playing roommate, but acting on it is a big mistake. But, the more she gets to know him and sees that he's really a genuinely nice guy, her defenses are blown. She needs to climb him like a tree. Be up against every surface in their house and be under him at every chance she can get. Can Diana get out of her own way and trust that Tanner is real? Will Tanner let the best thing that's ever happened to him get away? I loved this story! I laughed, teared up, got hot and bothered and laughed some more. I can't get enough of this series or these characters. Bring on Petrov!
"So the pig is in love with you? Is that what you're saying?"
"The ladies love me, Diana. It's my cross to bear."
"This is sex, Tanner. Magical unicorn-penis sex, and that's it." His dimples pop, and I laugh. I can't help it. "You look so proud of yourself."
"Well, it's not every day a guy learns he's got a magical unicorn penis."
I want her tight against me, her breath in my mouth, her heartbeat echoing in my chest, her skin hot against mine. I want her time and attention, her laughter and tears, her smartass jokes and thoughtful touches and way of saying my name like she's got a secret and can't wait to share it with me.
"So the pig is in love with you? Is that what you're saying?"
"The ladies love me, Diana. It's my cross to bear."
"This is sex, Tanner. Magical unicorn-penis sex, and that's it." His dimples pop, and I laugh. I can't help it. "You look so proud of yourself."
"Well, it's not every day a guy learns he's got a magical unicorn penis."
I want her tight against me, her breath in my mouth, her heartbeat echoing in my chest, her skin hot against mine. I want her time and attention, her laughter and tears, her smartass jokes and thoughtful touches and way of saying my name like she's got a secret and can't wait to share it with me.