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A review by dinipandareads
Rookie Mistake by Maren Moore
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up!
Moore describes this as "high spice, low plot, and lots of fun", which is spot on for this college romance novella. At less than 200 pages, things move unsurprisingly quickly for Zara and Davis but thankfully, even with their instant connection, there are no instant declarations of love. From the go, their chemistry was palpable and I loved seeing them grow closer as friends and romantic partners. Their personalities were complementary and it resulted in some fun and wild times! While obviously, I would’ve liked to learn more about them as individuals, this is a novella, so I was already pleasantly surprised by the development we got. Davis is more of a softie simp and less of the playboy he’s made out to be and Zara is the kind of fiercely independent, cheeky, and wild FMC that I love. They had sizzling chemistry and if you've read this author's previous romances (she does dirty talk and mild kink) and enjoyed it then, you’re bound to enjoy it here too.
One of the tension points is the rivalry between Davis and Zara’s brother Oliver, whom I unfortunately didn’t like at all. He was a capital D douche to Zara and grossly (and repeatedly) couldn’t respect her despite her setting clear and strong boundaries, particularly when it came to her relationship with Davis. She stood her ground but I also wish she drew her line faster because girl, the belittling (“Oh, you’re my baby sister, I need to protect you because you don’t know what you’re doing or you don’t know your mind and will make stupid decisions blah blah”) was frankly gross.
Other than that though, this was a fun and sexy time and a great addition to her college sports romance series. That said, it didn’t stand out to me in any particular way and I don’t think I’d revisit it.
Moore describes this as "high spice, low plot, and lots of fun", which is spot on for this college romance novella. At less than 200 pages, things move unsurprisingly quickly for Zara and Davis but thankfully, even with their instant connection, there are no instant declarations of love. From the go, their chemistry was palpable and I loved seeing them grow closer as friends and romantic partners. Their personalities were complementary and it resulted in some fun and wild times! While obviously, I would’ve liked to learn more about them as individuals, this is a novella, so I was already pleasantly surprised by the development we got. Davis is more of a softie simp and less of the playboy he’s made out to be and Zara is the kind of fiercely independent, cheeky, and wild FMC that I love. They had sizzling chemistry and if you've read this author's previous romances (she does dirty talk and mild kink) and enjoyed it then, you’re bound to enjoy it here too.
One of the tension points is the rivalry between Davis and Zara’s brother Oliver, whom I unfortunately didn’t like at all. He was a capital D douche to Zara and grossly (and repeatedly) couldn’t respect her despite her setting clear and strong boundaries, particularly when it came to her relationship with Davis. She stood her ground but I also wish she drew her line faster because girl, the belittling (“Oh, you’re my baby sister, I need to protect you because you don’t know what you’re doing or you don’t know your mind and will make stupid decisions blah blah”) was frankly gross.
Other than that though, this was a fun and sexy time and a great addition to her college sports romance series. That said, it didn’t stand out to me in any particular way and I don’t think I’d revisit it.