Scan barcode
A review by ashley_mrose530
Time to Shine by Rachel Reid
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This one was so good. I really enjoyed it. I loved the golden-retriever energy of Casey. He was so sweet and caring. And I really liked Landon too. He was respectful of everyone even though he didn't like being around people much. I also liked that he never came off as rude in my opinion because sometimes characters that are a little more introverted can be portrayed that way, but he never was which was so good to see. I loved their relationship together and their chemistry, as well as the spicy scenes, was perfect.
That being said, there were a few things that I didn't like about this book. One that was kind of small - as a person who has played ice hockey for 13 years, I could tell that the author didn't know very much about the game. Honestly, the goalie is the safest player on the ice, in terms of getting hurt. Regular players are not allowed to touch them unless they accidentally fall into them which can happen but not often, or if the goalie is outside of the crease which is again very unlikely. So it didn't really make sense for Landon's parents to be scared for him during the games in my opinion and it was highly unrealistic for so many goalie injuries to happen in one season. And then there were the scenes that were actually during a game. Those were not good. Especially the one with the penalty shot. From what I was reading, that would not have resulted in a penalty shot. A player has to actively be in the process of taking a shot on goal when the penalty occurs for there to be a penalty shot and that's not what happened. Also, usually a game does at least three OT's before going to a shoot out and I think the NHL even does five.
Anyway, those are my more knit-picky qualms. I do have two bigger issues with this book. The first one is, there wasn't much in the way of character growth. Casey needed to learn that he wasn't stupid like he always internalized from everyone making fun of him and I didn't see him realizing and accepting that. His teammate did apologize and tell Casey that he wasn't stupid, but I never really saw Casey accepting that and realizing it was true. He also didn't really unpack his fear of loneliness which tied into his fear of the dark and was part of the entire reason Landon moved into his house.
And then Landon's growth, or lack thereof, also connects with my second problem with this book: the ending. It just didn't work. I don't know if it was too fast or not big enough or what. So from what I could see, Landon's character suffered from not going after what he wants and deferring to what his loved ones want instead especially after he left his parents to grieve while he chased his dreams of being on an NHL team. He always felt guilty about doing that and then he stopped really trying for what he wanted. And this affected his relationship with Casey at the end when Landon was forced to leave Calgary and go back to his original team. He didn't try to do long distance with Casey because he believed Casey would want to be with someone there so he wouldn't be alone even though Landon really wanted to be with Casey.
Because of all of this, I think the ending would have benefited from Landon making the big love declaration and going to Casey instead of the other way around. I think it would have made more sense and might have helped with the problem I was feeling with the ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I might try to pick up more from this author.
That being said, there were a few things that I didn't like about this book. One that was kind of small - as a person who has played ice hockey for 13 years, I could tell that the author didn't know very much about the game. Honestly, the goalie is the safest player on the ice, in terms of getting hurt. Regular players are not allowed to touch them unless they accidentally fall into them which can happen but not often, or if the goalie is outside of the crease which is again very unlikely. So it didn't really make sense for Landon's parents to be scared for him during the games in my opinion and it was highly unrealistic for so many goalie injuries to happen in one season. And then there were the scenes that were actually during a game. Those were not good. Especially the one with the penalty shot. From what I was reading, that would not have resulted in a penalty shot. A player has to actively be in the process of taking a shot on goal when the penalty occurs for there to be a penalty shot and that's not what happened. Also, usually a game does at least three OT's before going to a shoot out and I think the NHL even does five.
Anyway, those are my more knit-picky qualms. I do have two bigger issues with this book. The first one is, there wasn't much in the way of character growth. Casey needed to learn that he wasn't stupid like he always internalized from everyone making fun of him and I didn't see him realizing and accepting that. His teammate did apologize and tell Casey that he wasn't stupid, but I never really saw Casey accepting that and realizing it was true. He also didn't really unpack his fear of loneliness which tied into his fear of the dark and was part of the entire reason Landon moved into his house.
And then Landon's growth, or lack thereof, also connects with my second problem with this book: the ending. It just didn't work. I don't know if it was too fast or not big enough or what. So from what I could see, Landon's character suffered from not going after what he wants and deferring to what his loved ones want instead especially after he left his parents to grieve while he chased his dreams of being on an NHL team. He always felt guilty about doing that and then he stopped really trying for what he wanted. And this affected his relationship with Casey at the end when Landon was forced to leave Calgary and go back to his original team. He didn't try to do long distance with Casey because he believed Casey would want to be with someone there so he wouldn't be alone even though Landon really wanted to be with Casey.
Because of all of this, I think the ending would have benefited from Landon making the big love declaration and going to Casey instead of the other way around. I think it would have made more sense and might have helped with the problem I was feeling with the ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I might try to pick up more from this author.