Review by ddaley2214 - Rookie Mistake

ddaley2214 's review for:

Rookie Mistake by L.A. Witt, Anna Zabo

4.0

emotional fast-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

If you read this on Kindle, there are content warnings, but you must go hunting for them. They are just before chapter 1, and Kindle likes to open books at chapter one. I am a huge advocate for content warnings, and this is a book that definitely needed one. The content warnings are as followed: Discussions of trauma associated with sexual abuse and emotional abuse, brief allusions of suicide, alcohol consumption, physical violence, vomiting, kink (with no negotiations at first), rough sex, and a fear of flying. This review touches on some of these themes.

I bought Rookie Mistake at the end of March of this year, and it did not lavish on my TBR as long as some of the other books have. That being said, I put it on hold after like 10% because my reading interest at the time took a left turn, and I am at the will of my desire and have no impulse control when it comes to books. When I picked it back up in July, man I was hooked and crushed it in like a day and a half. It ended up being a book that the summary had me a little tricked I’ll be honest. I was expecting more of a slow burn and angst than what the book provided.

While I did not get the slow burn that I was expecting, I absolutely adored the adult way that the relationship was handled between Julien and Isaac while still having the very real hang-ups and worries that relationships have. Especially with characters with the backgrounds that these two main characters did. The way that the characters handled their traumas and insecurities felt very human to me, and they resonated with me in a way that not all romance books do. They are very flawed people, and in that they are human and feel real.

I enjoyed that the team, and to an extent parts of the NHL seem to embody a more accepting environment of professional sports than what is reality in Men's sports. It didn’t seem like being out was something that was common for players to be, but the announcing of a m/m relationship was handled like it would be if it was a f/m relationship. Which I think is how any type of relationship announcement should be handled. That being said, it was very realistic that the NHL and minor league affiliates are not all sunshine and rainbows, and that is where the villain of this book gets his power and gets away with everything for as long as he did.

Being abused, and healing from it, can be such a personal experience embroiled in shame and pain. It can be such a lonely process, and the way Julien’s story is told really captures what that process can look like in such a realistic way. Being young and in the spotlight is also something that can be a very lonely, and overwhelming experience. We get that with Isaacs point of view, and the way that his story is told. The way that they come together and navigated a relationship, and was realistic that getting together does not fix everything despite the characters wanted it to.

This was a good read that ended up being heavier than I expected it to be going into it, but the way that everything was handled felt very real, even if the setting that they happened in is not realistic. We don’t read romance for realistic settings.

Content Warnings