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A review by popgoesbitty
When Stars Collide by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
3.0
CWs: suicide
I find it hard to criticize Phillips because... well... she invented this entire genre. The Chicago Stars was the first of its kind--a sports romance series-- and I must acknowledge the elephant in the room. My favorite series of all time (The Bromance Book Club) wouldn't exist without her, without the Chicago Stars. The palpable parallels between the two underline Phillips' legacy to the subgenre. I understand. I acknowledge. I clap. I stan.
...which is why this review is so difficult to write. Truthfully, if I was rating just the first 65% of this book, it would have 5 stars. The romantic build up between these two was wonderful. The leads were super hot, and the whole setup was pure "Chicago Stars." They had a more complex chemistry than I like, but it worked really well and was true to this series. A not-so-brainless jock falling for a woman seemingly out of his league. I fall for it every time.
But dang it, Susan! Who writes a contemporary romance that's almost 400 pages long?!
The romantic tension is solved about 200 pages in. And you're left with an extraneous plot that is just so, so weak. Yes, as romance readers we are more than willing to suspend reality for a good plot arch. But a world famous opera singer who gets kidnapped like, over and over? Eek. I truly did not care what happened outside of these two people getting into bed together.
This hurts to say, but this felt like a watered down version of what Adam's does so much more skillfully in the Bromance series. Skip this, go for that.
I find it hard to criticize Phillips because... well... she invented this entire genre. The Chicago Stars was the first of its kind--a sports romance series-- and I must acknowledge the elephant in the room. My favorite series of all time (The Bromance Book Club) wouldn't exist without her, without the Chicago Stars. The palpable parallels between the two underline Phillips' legacy to the subgenre. I understand. I acknowledge. I clap. I stan.
...which is why this review is so difficult to write. Truthfully, if I was rating just the first 65% of this book, it would have 5 stars. The romantic build up between these two was wonderful. The leads were super hot, and the whole setup was pure "Chicago Stars." They had a more complex chemistry than I like, but it worked really well and was true to this series. A not-so-brainless jock falling for a woman seemingly out of his league. I fall for it every time.
But dang it, Susan! Who writes a contemporary romance that's almost 400 pages long?!
The romantic tension is solved about 200 pages in. And you're left with an extraneous plot that is just so, so weak. Yes, as romance readers we are more than willing to suspend reality for a good plot arch. But a world famous opera singer who gets kidnapped like, over and over? Eek. I truly did not care what happened outside of these two people getting into bed together.
This hurts to say, but this felt like a watered down version of what Adam's does so much more skillfully in the Bromance series. Skip this, go for that.