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A review by jediroot
Defensive Mindset by Wendy Temple
3.0
I received an ARC copy in exchange for honest review.
All I can say is don't trust the cover of this novel. Yes, football has some presence in this story, but not much. I honestly thought it was going to be all about teammates or rivals playing football and fall in love along the way. Technically the two main characters, Fran and Jessie, are teammates, but they interacted mostly outside of the football scenarios through the book. Personally, I think this story could've been so much better if the football aspect is removed. The biggest part of the story focused on Fran's struggles and Jessie slowly falling for Fran while dealing with her own issues. I noticed a lot of reviewers mentioned how unrealistic it is for Fran to be a footballer while not being healthy at all. That's very true and become another reason why I think football should not be a part of this story. Fran and Jessie could've met through different circumstances such as Jessie taking a look at the rooms available at Fran's bar for renting (Jessie runs rental/real estate office). That would give them reason to interact and go from there, plus it would be more realistic than playing football together especially with Fran's smoking habit among other issues.
I do believe this story has potential though. I really appreciate reading about Fran's struggles as I can relate. Yes, she is a quiet person and doesn't talk much, but when she does talk- it's emotional and often lead to progress in her character development.
Overall, this is not a bad novel and I enjoyed reading about Jessie and Fran and how their relationship grows.
Just don't start the novel and expect it to be all about football and romance.
All I can say is don't trust the cover of this novel. Yes, football has some presence in this story, but not much. I honestly thought it was going to be all about teammates or rivals playing football and fall in love along the way. Technically the two main characters, Fran and Jessie, are teammates, but they interacted mostly outside of the football scenarios through the book. Personally, I think this story could've been so much better if the football aspect is removed. The biggest part of the story focused on Fran's struggles and Jessie slowly falling for Fran while dealing with her own issues. I noticed a lot of reviewers mentioned how unrealistic it is for Fran to be a footballer while not being healthy at all. That's very true and become another reason why I think football should not be a part of this story. Fran and Jessie could've met through different circumstances such as Jessie taking a look at the rooms available at Fran's bar for renting (Jessie runs rental/real estate office). That would give them reason to interact and go from there, plus it would be more realistic than playing football together especially with Fran's smoking habit among other issues.
I do believe this story has potential though. I really appreciate reading about Fran's struggles as I can relate. Yes, she is a quiet person and doesn't talk much, but when she does talk- it's emotional and often lead to progress in her character development.
Overall, this is not a bad novel and I enjoyed reading about Jessie and Fran and how their relationship grows.
Just don't start the novel and expect it to be all about football and romance.