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trevoryu 's review for:
Zone Entry
by Maia Kinley
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 / 5 ⭐️
Zone Entry is a contemporary, queer awakening, opposites attract, dislike-to-lovers romance between college hockey teammates (and they were roommates!). The overall vibe was very lighthearted, and the immediate world around the characters was super queer friendly, with pretty much everyone being queer themselves or super supportive. The writing and pacing were really smooth, and if I had the time, I could have read it in one sitting.
Nick and Caleb's dynamic was really fun to read. They were so presumptuous about the other at the beginning, but even during times of mild antagonism, they still had some sweet little moments. The best part of enemies-to-lovers is that realization that they might like the other person more than they care to admit. Sometimes, it can feel like there's a big loss of tension in the plot when the antagonistic dynamic fades. But I thought there was still a lot of drive in the plot once Nick and Caleb figured their attraction for each other out, between Nick navigating his uncertainty of being with a man for the first time and the interference of their friends (internally screams at Rhys).
I also appreciated Nick's growth through the book as he learned to be more assertive for his wants and less of a people pleaser. It's a character growth arc that I don't see very often in male characters and it compliments some of the tropes in this genre pretty well. The author did a good job at using this character trait of Nick to both create tension and have a progression in growth through the story.
I personally like romance books with higher tension in the plot outside the relationship, so I felt like I wanted more action and stakes from the hockey side of things, especially in the lead up to the ambiguity of making the championships. However, there was a good amount of other interesting plots with Nick and his parents and the setup for Maddox and Schultz which kept me engaged. But this book fell more on the lower-stakes side of romance that I tend to read.
Overall, this book had a lot of my favourite tropes in the romance genre and executed well on those. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series of Camrose U with Maddox and Schultz!
I received this book as an electronic Advance Reading Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.
Zone Entry is a contemporary, queer awakening, opposites attract, dislike-to-lovers romance between college hockey teammates (and they were roommates!). The overall vibe was very lighthearted, and the immediate world around the characters was super queer friendly, with pretty much everyone being queer themselves or super supportive. The writing and pacing were really smooth, and if I had the time, I could have read it in one sitting.
Nick and Caleb's dynamic was really fun to read. They were so presumptuous about the other at the beginning, but even during times of mild antagonism, they still had some sweet little moments. The best part of enemies-to-lovers is that realization that they might like the other person more than they care to admit. Sometimes, it can feel like there's a big loss of tension in the plot when the antagonistic dynamic fades. But I thought there was still a lot of drive in the plot once Nick and Caleb figured their attraction for each other out, between Nick navigating his uncertainty of being with a man for the first time and the interference of their friends (internally screams at Rhys).
I also appreciated Nick's growth through the book as he learned to be more assertive for his wants and less of a people pleaser. It's a character growth arc that I don't see very often in male characters and it compliments some of the tropes in this genre pretty well. The author did a good job at using this character trait of Nick to both create tension and have a progression in growth through the story.
I personally like romance books with higher tension in the plot outside the relationship, so I felt like I wanted more action and stakes from the hockey side of things, especially in the lead up to the ambiguity of making the championships. However, there was a good amount of other interesting plots with Nick and his parents and the setup for Maddox and Schultz which kept me engaged. But this book fell more on the lower-stakes side of romance that I tend to read.
Overall, this book had a lot of my favourite tropes in the romance genre and executed well on those. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series of Camrose U with Maddox and Schultz!
I received this book as an electronic Advance Reading Copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Violence, Grief