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A review by elenajohansen
Contract Season by Cait Nary
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I said about the first book in the series that I was emotionally invested in the characters despite the poor quality of the writing on a technical level, but here I found the reverse was true. The narrative flow was much improved but I found the plot and characters lacking, mostly because this version of the fake-dating trope involves constant, unrelenting miscommunication.
Also I found Sea to be whiny and uninteresting, which didn't help.
But Brody was fine, and the story did go in-depth on the difficulties of dating (fake or real) in the spotlight. Since I actually don't read hockey romances for the hockey but because for whatever reason I've just managed to find some of the best m/m romances within that genre, I didn't mind that this hockey star/country singer pairing meant that there was a lot less hockey on the page, but that could definitely be a turn-off for bigger fans of the actual sport. In fact, this story could have been about any two different types of celebrity and very little would have to change.
I also feel like this is another rare example of a "romance" that ends up being far more about the individual journeys of the characters and less about how they're supposed to be in love. I don't think the importance of identity as a theme is a bad thing, but I do think the theme should support the love story instead of overwhelming it, which I think it did here--Brody and Sea both figured themselves out as people by the end, but the people they became aren't necessarily convincingly in love, or even better off together than apart.
Also I found Sea to be whiny and uninteresting, which didn't help.
But Brody was fine, and the story did go in-depth on the difficulties of dating (fake or real) in the spotlight. Since I actually don't read hockey romances for the hockey but because for whatever reason I've just managed to find some of the best m/m romances within that genre, I didn't mind that this hockey star/country singer pairing meant that there was a lot less hockey on the page, but that could definitely be a turn-off for bigger fans of the actual sport. In fact, this story could have been about any two different types of celebrity and very little would have to change.
I also feel like this is another rare example of a "romance" that ends up being far more about the individual journeys of the characters and less about how they're supposed to be in love. I don't think the importance of identity as a theme is a bad thing, but I do think the theme should support the love story instead of overwhelming it, which I think it did here--Brody and Sea both figured themselves out as people by the end, but the people they became aren't necessarily convincingly in love, or even better off together than apart.