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A review by jlawfosho
Beyond the Stroke by Erin Hawkins
4.5
This is getting 4.5 stars because I did a lot of swooning throughout these pages. This was the second time this year I’ve been surprised about a book with a swimmer. I couldn’t care less about swimming but I was rooting for them by the end.
So we have an absolute chaos monster named Summer who is hard up and makes a series of bad choices (which was hilarious and heartbreaking) and it leads to our meet cute. Rory, our swim champ, is a walking green flag. My guy is immediately fascinated by Summer and just rolls with it. He pushes into her comfort zone in ways that only require his time and effort but remains patient and respectful for her to make choices.
They end up striking up a deal that’s going to benefit them both— by they, I really mean “she” spearheaded that one.
The delicate way he cares for her until she feels safe to open herself up to him was just so sweet and significant.
I had one major qualm with this story and it’s the announcement at the dinner table as if those records aren’t public. It took me out of the story because anyone can find that information. They even played it off on social media as if it had been a month but again, that information is accessible by anyone.
I am a sucker for meeting the side characters in a story and Erin is the queen of making you immediately love them. Like, I want Charlie’s book so badly I can taste it! I cant wait for what comes next!
So we have an absolute chaos monster named Summer who is hard up and makes a series of bad choices (which was hilarious and heartbreaking) and it leads to our meet cute. Rory, our swim champ, is a walking green flag. My guy is immediately fascinated by Summer and just rolls with it. He pushes into her comfort zone in ways that only require his time and effort but remains patient and respectful for her to make choices.
They end up striking up a deal that’s going to benefit them both— by they, I really mean “she” spearheaded that one.
The delicate way he cares for her until she feels safe to open herself up to him was just so sweet and significant.
I had one major qualm with this story and it’s the announcement at the dinner table as if those records aren’t public. It took me out of the story because anyone can find that information. They even played it off on social media as if it had been a month but again, that information is accessible by anyone.
I am a sucker for meeting the side characters in a story and Erin is the queen of making you immediately love them. Like, I want Charlie’s book so badly I can taste it! I cant wait for what comes next!