A review by allingoodtime
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was another new-to-me author and it seems she only has a few books under her belt so far. I’ll definitely be going back to read them since I enjoyed this story. There were a few things that didn’t work for me, however.

Zeke and Spencer have great chemistry and Zeke’s natural love of children and high-energy personality give him an instant connection with Spencer’s daughter, Addie. I love the awkward start to the relationship between the two men. The uncertainty that is overridden by the intense chemistry is very well written. Yet the fact that this is written in the third person with the limited internal view of only Zeke was a detriment to this story at times. Although Zeke and Spencer have distinct personalities, sometimes I would get confused about which character the narrator was talking about. I don’t know that I needed Spencer’s POV, but I feel the flow would have been better with a first-person POV for Zeke.

For the most part, this story is low angst. Spencer, as a professional athlete, is not openly gay. His teammates and family know, but it’s not common knowledge. I thought that would be a plot point in this story and it really isn’t. So even though there are some issues Zeke and Spencer have to work through, and Zeke has some anxiety issues, none of it seems insurmountable or overwhelming.

The author used some acronyms without explanation or context clues. I knew a couple but had to look one up. Maybe it shouldn’t, but that annoyed me. There is also a “joke” about Spencer’s reading ability. While Spencer has no problem reading, I found the joke in bad taste because what if he couldn’t? And what if someone reading (or listening?) to this book has a reading disability? I don’t think I’m being oversensitive when I say making fun of someone’s reading ability is not funny.

Finally, I want to stand up for Spencer. I felt as though I was told over and over that he was rude, mean, a jerk, etc. with nothing showing me that at all. I looked at Spencer as a grumpy, shy, hesitant, introvert. Sure, he may be a bit intimidating on the ice, but that’s his job. Not once did I think he was being mean or a jerk to Zeke.

Even with all the little things that didn’t sit well with me in this book, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story. It gave me all the feels I want to feel when reading a romance and I loved both of the main characters and their friends. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely** 
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