A review by theladysparks
Sunny Disposition by Deanna Grey

5.0

 

Naomi finds herself pulled in by Finn Howard, one of the four hockey players she shares a house with this semester. Despite Finn's reserved demeanor and occasional disapproval, there is something oddly familiar and comforting about him to Naomi. She says that she is not falling for Finn, but can’t help but feel drawn to him. She sees breaking through his stoic demeanor as a challenge worth taking on and that this distraction might help her move on from the guy she’s been pining over online who mods her streams.

Finn usually maintains his composure, except when he's on the hockey rink. So why does he feel a pang in his chest whenever Naomi Lewis looks his way? Her humor, kindness, and constant joyfulness intrigue Finn. If her infectious positivity isn't enough, the similarity between her voice and that of the online streamer he moderates anonymously adds to Finn's dilemma. If Naomi turns out to be the streamer, Finn fears her disappointment. He acknowledges that he is not the person she thinks he is, at least not after a fight that leaves him with amnesia.

"I stole a few more seconds because I couldn’t help myself. She was a Sun, and I was a frozen Earth, desperate for a change in season."

If Deanna Grey has a million fans, I'm one of them. If Deanna Grey has one fan, it's me. If Deanna Grey has no fans, I'm dead. Every single book that she writes is a hit, she literally never freaking misses. TLDR; when I saw that this book featured amnesia, I was hesitant. I haven't loved how it was approached in other reads but I should have trusted Deanna Grey from the start because I literally love every single thing she writes. Auto-buy author. I will be recommending her books for the rest of my life, even from the grave. Put it on my headstone: EVERYONE READ DEANNA GREY'S BOOKS RIGHT NOW.

I freaking loved that Naomi was a gamer/streamer. As a gamer girl myself, it was so fun to see it explored in this particular way. I really loved the fact that we didn't see any sort of negative viewing of her as a gamer and that it was a sort of safe-haven space for her to be. Naomi's sunshine personality could be felt coming off of the page, especially when the story progresses and Finn pushes her to show more emotions and that she doesn't have to be happy all of the time.

Finn is probably one of my all-time favorite book boyfriends from here on out. I was swooning hard from start to finish. I love how real his journey felt and the exploration of him having amnesia and growing through it. Also, he is just so freaking poetic when he thinks about Naomi so prepare yourself to be down bad for this man.

Together their relationship felt so real and believable. I loved the dynamic of him being the anonymous mod for her streams and I think the overall setup at the beginning was an iconic way of breaking into the story. It made for a really hooking read that made it really difficult to put down. You will be rooting for both of them separately and especially together because they're just literally the absolute best.

I also really enjoyed the side characters and how intricately everything wound through the stories so flawlessly. I'm hoping we get books for all of the hockey players and their love interests. I know we have Sam's book next that I'm very excited to read here soon!

I think that Deanna Grey has a wonderful way of writing love stories that are really captivating and feel . . . well real. Her writing flows really well and I love the pacing. She always manages to put in quotes that I can't help but highlight and save for later. And I honestly cannot recommend this book enough. One of my all-time favorite romance books for sure.

- college romance
- hockey romance
- girl gamer fmc
- forced proximity
- friends to lovers
- and they were roommates
- slow burn
- dual pov
- hidden identity
- grumpy/sunshine
- amnesia