Scan barcode
A review by bookshelflawyer
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary
3.5
As many have stated, the book could have benefited from having Spencer’s point of view rather than just Zeke’s. This was especially true the further I got into the book and saw that Spencer was just always going to be a grump who didn’t know how to express himself. It would have been nice to see into his mind and watch him get mentally flustered by the thought of Zeke or even saw him feel his bits of jealousy. By only seeing it through Zeke, it just felt lacking (especially the bartender scene that was just Spencer seeming like an ass then nothing).
The romance felt sudden and once they were in a relationship - without actually even vocalizing it being one - it felt strained. Spencer was still being very grumpy, but part of the fun of grumpy characters is you get to see them get softer with their sunshine. That wasn’t as prevalent here. The relationship itself felt quite sudden as we had the two of them being awkward around each other to suddenly just sexting out of the blue. From there, the pacing just felt off as they progressed.
Overall, the core of the story was not a bad one. The premise was fun and the few times Spencer was soft, it was cute between him and Zeke. I believe, with a bit more fleshing out and development, it would have gotten an even higher rating from me.
I was disappointed by the ending simply because there wasn’t any sort of epilogue. We don’t get to see if it pans out or how their relationship stands with a bit more time like one comes to expect from romance books. Instead, it’s simply a seemingly happy for that moment time and that’s what we are left with. Being optimistic, one can assume that the relationship is one that will last, but it’s nicer to actually see it. Still, I enjoy books with no third act breakups and this one did avoid all that drama - even if some tension could have been fun.
This was a decently cute queer romance between a professional hockey player who happens to be a single dad and his child’s teacher. Can’t say I was completely disappointed by it at all.
Thank you Netgalley and Carina Press for the ARC and for the chance to provide my review.
The romance felt sudden and once they were in a relationship - without actually even vocalizing it being one - it felt strained. Spencer was still being very grumpy, but part of the fun of grumpy characters is you get to see them get softer with their sunshine. That wasn’t as prevalent here. The relationship itself felt quite sudden as we had the two of them being awkward around each other to suddenly just sexting out of the blue. From there, the pacing just felt off as they progressed.
Overall, the core of the story was not a bad one. The premise was fun and the few times Spencer was soft, it was cute between him and Zeke. I believe, with a bit more fleshing out and development, it would have gotten an even higher rating from me.
I was disappointed by the ending simply because there wasn’t any sort of epilogue. We don’t get to see if it pans out or how their relationship stands with a bit more time like one comes to expect from romance books. Instead, it’s simply a seemingly happy for that moment time and that’s what we are left with. Being optimistic, one can assume that the relationship is one that will last, but it’s nicer to actually see it. Still, I enjoy books with no third act breakups and this one did avoid all that drama - even if some tension could have been fun.
This was a decently cute queer romance between a professional hockey player who happens to be a single dad and his child’s teacher. Can’t say I was completely disappointed by it at all.
Thank you Netgalley and Carina Press for the ARC and for the chance to provide my review.