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A review by inkstndfngrs
Contract Season by Cait Nary
2.0
(Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for giving me the chance to read this as an ARC Edition.)
First. this was better than the first in this series, Season's Change.
However, some of the problematic issues I found in that book still appeared in this one. Namely, it's a language thing. I don't know Cait Nary. I don't know anything about her other than what is on her website --which leads me to believe she is a cishet white woman. And I say this only because queer authors tend to let their readers KNOW that they are in fact also queer.
So, what were the problems? Page 510/717: "My apologies to this dude from DC's coconut water. Bi erasure is not a good look."
...No, it isn't. And neither is joking about it. Particularly considering that my accusation of bi-erasure in the first book of this series is a thing that exists. And I am certain that I was not the ONLY PERSON who brought that up. And this little inside joke is one of the reasons I wouldn't pay for this author's books..
There was an earlier instance of problematic language, but heck if I can find it now. That's on me. I should have made better use of the bookmark function.
I will also go on the record saying I don't like Seamus's name being shortened to Sea. I had to be very cognizant of the pronunciation, and honestly...that's a lot of brain effort for a romance. Especially when there was the caveat that there "was already a Shay in country music"....then just call him Camp FFS. Or give him a better name? How about that? There are literally thousands to choose from.
The trope here is "pretend celebrity boyfriends". Which...is so tired. There was nothing new about the way this trope was presented. I was really bored with Brody's continually referral back to his failed relationship with the mysterious London (...also a stupid name if you ask me, which you didn't, so I digress). I also find it highly suspicious to spend THREE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE with a guy. A guy you LIVE WITH. And just disappear? It seemed very disingenuous. Where were the shared friends? You know Brody's Mom either loved or hated the guy and is probably keeping tabs on him either way, That's just what Moms do. And Brody's mom became a throw away character from the beginning.
I am also concerned about how Sea's drinking is handled. Brody uses THC as a sleeping aid. Valid, if it works for you, and where it's legal (...I"m not sure it's legal in Nashville. Just sayin') Toward the middle-end, Sea seems to realize he is drinking a lot...and there is a little discussion around maybe NOT doing that and using drinking as a coping mechanism, and trying to avoid rehab...but, like...you're not a rock? And rehab isn't something to be ashamed of? Everyone needs help. Sea's agent, if he seriously had beef with his actions, had the power (and Sea LET HIM have that power) to be more strict around controlling that drinking to begin with. So...this was all a moot point and why even bother if it wasn't going to actually be an interesting point to the growth of the character??
So...yeah, I didn't really care for this. Nary has gotten some feedback from authors I actually have some general respect for, saying that she does a great job of writing hockey books for hockey fans. Meh. I'm not impressed. I am thankful this had far less broski speak in it than Season's Change did. But nothing else about this book made me ache for the next one.
Will I read the next one?
Probably.
Will I be just as disappointed as I was in this one?
Also probably.
There were minor improvements from the first book here, but this still isn't anything to write home about.
First. this was better than the first in this series, Season's Change.
However, some of the problematic issues I found in that book still appeared in this one. Namely, it's a language thing. I don't know Cait Nary. I don't know anything about her other than what is on her website --which leads me to believe she is a cishet white woman. And I say this only because queer authors tend to let their readers KNOW that they are in fact also queer.
So, what were the problems? Page 510/717: "My apologies to this dude from DC's coconut water. Bi erasure is not a good look."
...No, it isn't. And neither is joking about it. Particularly considering that my accusation of bi-erasure in the first book of this series is a thing that exists. And I am certain that I was not the ONLY PERSON who brought that up. And this little inside joke is one of the reasons I wouldn't pay for this author's books..
There was an earlier instance of problematic language, but heck if I can find it now. That's on me. I should have made better use of the bookmark function.
I will also go on the record saying I don't like Seamus's name being shortened to Sea. I had to be very cognizant of the pronunciation, and honestly...that's a lot of brain effort for a romance. Especially when there was the caveat that there "was already a Shay in country music"....then just call him Camp FFS. Or give him a better name? How about that? There are literally thousands to choose from.
The trope here is "pretend celebrity boyfriends". Which...is so tired. There was nothing new about the way this trope was presented. I was really bored with Brody's continually referral back to his failed relationship with the mysterious London (...also a stupid name if you ask me, which you didn't, so I digress). I also find it highly suspicious to spend THREE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE with a guy. A guy you LIVE WITH. And just disappear? It seemed very disingenuous. Where were the shared friends? You know Brody's Mom either loved or hated the guy and is probably keeping tabs on him either way, That's just what Moms do. And Brody's mom became a throw away character from the beginning.
I am also concerned about how Sea's drinking is handled. Brody uses THC as a sleeping aid. Valid, if it works for you, and where it's legal (...I"m not sure it's legal in Nashville. Just sayin') Toward the middle-end, Sea seems to realize he is drinking a lot...and there is a little discussion around maybe NOT doing that and using drinking as a coping mechanism, and trying to avoid rehab...but, like...you're not a rock? And rehab isn't something to be ashamed of? Everyone needs help. Sea's agent, if he seriously had beef with his actions, had the power (and Sea LET HIM have that power) to be more strict around controlling that drinking to begin with. So...this was all a moot point and why even bother if it wasn't going to actually be an interesting point to the growth of the character??
So...yeah, I didn't really care for this. Nary has gotten some feedback from authors I actually have some general respect for, saying that she does a great job of writing hockey books for hockey fans. Meh. I'm not impressed. I am thankful this had far less broski speak in it than Season's Change did. But nothing else about this book made me ache for the next one.
Will I read the next one?
Probably.
Will I be just as disappointed as I was in this one?
Also probably.
There were minor improvements from the first book here, but this still isn't anything to write home about.