Book Blog #375: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Title: Atmosphere

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

# of Pages: 341 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Historical Fiction

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis:  Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Review: If there's one thing I learned from read Atmosphere; it's that I don't have it what it takes to be an astronaut. 

I'm not particularly interested in science and space, so seeing this was about NASA's space shuttle program wasn't a selling point for me. However I do enjoy reading Taylor Jenkins Reid books, so I knew I would give it a try eventually. After reading the whole Game Changers series (smutty gay romance with a hockey backdrop) I was excited to dive into something completely different, expecting to learn a lot about this space program in the 1980s.

But I slowly realized this was in fact NOT a space book. So much for reading something different; it's first and foremost a lesbian love story (although definitely not smutty like the Game Changer series) with a backdrop of space and science. 

Honestly, the book's marketing selling this book as a space book rather than a romance book is what made this book not meet my expectations. I was not looking to slog through secret women x women romance development when I was already exhausted from doing this for previous reads 6 times over. 

The story might start with a gripping space mission-related disaster, but it time skips into the past to introduce the reader to the characters and of course the romance, which actually made me care about the romance even less because I just wanted to get back to hearing about how they were going to fix the disaster. Without spoiling it, I actually was not a fan of the ending and how it relates to the romance either; if it went the other directions, it might have actually tipped the scales enough to give this book 4 stars because it would have been more impactful.

The space aspects were actually quite readable, and I really enjoyed learning about the struggles women had breaking into the space program. There's also a subplot that explores Joan's relationships with her family that I actually was very interested in but was underdeveloped in terms of creating multi-dimensional characters. 

While this could just be a case of reading this book at the wrong time, I do think Reid tried to tackle too many topics (women's struggles/feminism in 1980s, family, and LGBTQ) and was not able to put enough attention on each one in 341 pages. If you're interested in reading a lesbian love story, I'd recommend this book but not so much if you're looking for a space story. 

Book Blog #374: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Author: Shelby Van Pelt

# of Pages: 362 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late. Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Review: I never thought I would say this, but the octopus is my favorite character.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is told from the octopus Marcellus's first-person perspective, but each chapter alternates between 3 other third-person perspectives: 

- Tova, who cleans the aquarium where Marcellus lives. She's a tidy, self-reliant 70 year old woman who's still grieving over the sudden disappearance of her son Erik even after decades have passed. 

- Cameron, who's an entitled loser from Modesto who's got mommy and daddy issues that will infuriate the reader.

- Ethan, who is similar age as Tova and works at the store Tova shops at. It's unclear why his perspective is included at all since it overlaps with Tova's and Cameron's. 

On the other hand, Marcellus is a surprisingly insightful octopus that makes you wish the whole story was told from his perspective instead. If it was, this could have been a 4 start read at least, or even if it was just from Marcellus and Tova's perspective. 

Cameron experiences basically no character growth (I don't buy the sudden "growth" at the end of the book; it felt like the author just threw that in to try to make him more likable). He's erratic, irresponsible, and like to blame his problems on those around him. Sounds like your run of the mill teenage boy who has time to grow out of these problems right? Except he's freaking 30 years old! Gives me the ick. By the end of the book, he still sounds ungrateful for those who have helped him along the way and sounds judgmental of his aunt for being a hoarder in a trailer park. 

Otherwise, the book overall is a slow paced slice-of-life style story about these characters who are tied together by a shared mystery. The mystery reveal is predictable (Van Pelt makes it very easy to piece together what ties all these characters together very early on with the knowledge from all these different characters). The real mystery ends up being how the characters themselves find out the big reveal. 

Overall, a three star read! Although the story dragged a little bit, and Cameron was insufferable, the story was cozy and a refreshing read after binging a bunch of trashy romance books. It's a wholesome read and is an applaudable effort for being Van Pelt's debut novel!

Book Blog #373: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

 

Title: Every Summer After

Author: Carley Fortune

# of Pages: 320 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right. They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart. Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without. For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart. When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.

Review: Fans of The Notebook will love this book!! (I did NOT like The Notebook).

Every Summer After is about two childhood friends, Sam and Persephone (Percy). Their love story is told from Percy's perspective and each chapter jumps between their childhood and their present day at age 30. The author is building toward revealing some secret on why Percy and Sam haven't seen each other for over a decade, which because more and more obvious as the book progresses.

The problem with this style of storytelling is twofold:

1. In the present day, Sam and Percy already have some sort of romantic history. When they're together, they're already supposed to have some sort of chemistry that the reader hasn't learned about yet since the childhood chapters are running in parallel. It made me feel like I was privy to something that I wasn't a part of, which hurt my early investment in their love story.

2. Readers have to hear about a teenage love story despite this being targeted toward adults. I didn't find depiction nor the dialogue for the characters as children to be particularly realistic. This part of the story was also more slice of life that felt like stalling so that the "big secret" isn't revealed too quickly.

Even after I learned more about the Sam and Percy, I didn't ever actually like either of them. Both of them had issues you could chalk up to immaturity but also these two created this "tragedy" of not being in each others lives for so long because they don't talk to each other! My feelings aside for them as individuals, I don't think they're actually better together (I actually think Percy is better matched with a different character in the book). 

The whole "love conquers all" trope that is present in both this book and The Notebook always gives me the ick because the author usually makes the characters behave morally questionably to prove this point (e.g. a character could lie or cheat / someone might illogically forgive these nefarious actions in the name of "love").

Not really a love story worth reading. 

Book Blog #372: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

 

Title: Strange Sally Diamond

Author: Liz Nugent

# of Pages: 320 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died. Now Sally is the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again . . .

Review: Is the thriller/mystery in the room with us?

This book aims to demonstrate how abuse can affect generations and trauma can be cyclical. It also gives the reader some insight on how dark minds justify their twisted agendas. But this book wasn't particular sinister; everything is recounted pretty clinically. It’s more of a crime book than a rollercoaster thriller/whodunnit page-turning mystery. 

I kept waiting for something to hook me in or some big mystery, but everything was hinted at very obviously. I reached the end of the book and still couldn’t figure out if any of what I read was supposed to surprise me. 

A comparison to a similar story: Although I haven’t read the books, the Netflix TV show You did a better job at showcasing the mental gymnastics a person goes through to justify actions that are otherwise blatantly messed up. People were even sympathizing with the main character, which made the horrors of what he was able to accomplish even freakier and more believable. Strange Sally Diamond tries to do something similar but less effectively and leaves the reader frustrated and disconnected from the characters. 

This book only further affirms that I don’t like POV switching. The first person narrative switches between Sally and Peter, each starting in two different places on the timeline. I could respect Sally for her logical thinking and honesty but never felt truly invested in her character growth. 

But is this book really about Sally (as the title suggests)? Peter’s story was actually more interesting; which made the POV switches back to Sally even more frustrating. Instead of switching throughout the story, there should have been a Sally prologue, and then the rest of the story could have been about Peter (might be a hot take, but it's my honest opinion). 

Maybe I’m just jaded from reading similar content, it really felt like this story could have been told more effectively in general. I wasn’t a fan of the mixed use of media (first person narrative, letters, transcripts of recordings, etc); felt like an amateur way to get out details of the story. 

The middle section of Peter’s narrative was almost a 4 star read for me; I really wanted to know what happened to this guy. But then everything fell into place rather quickly, and the conclusion of his story felt sloppy and rushed which would his overall narrative around a 3 star read. 

I wouldn't recommend this book unless it already sounds interesting to you. Go into this book expecting to read about crime rather than thriller/mystery, and you might enjoy it more than I did. 

Book Blog #371: The Long Game by Rachel Reid

 

Title: The Long Game

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 453 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Ten years. That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything? Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all. It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love. It’s time to make a call.

Review: I honestly don't think this book is particularly better then the other books I enjoyed in this series (Heated Rivalry, Role Model, etc.) but SOME book in this series has to get the coveted 4 stars to show how addicted I am to these Game Changers books.

Here's my justification for the extra star; while ALL of the Game Changers book are DEEPLY hopecore, The Long Game has that underlying feeling of hopelessness and angst that makes the story even more irresistible. Shane and Ilya have already done the formula all the other books have gone through of becoming a couple, which allows this "sequel" to their love story concentrate on other relationship problems (long distance, compromises) as well as broader issues with themselves and those around them (mental health, systemic homophobia/bigotry).

As typical of romance books (and staying on the hopecore theme), The Long Game still has the typical happy ending and wraps up any lingering issues into some (too) easy resolution. But similarly (and actually more so than Heated Rivalry), I thought the ending actually had a good amount of tragedy too. This puts it a step above the endings for the other books in the series; it feels a bit more realistic because not EVERYTHING is just sunshines and roses.

Don't get me wrong; this book is far from perfect. The beginning 1/4-1/2 of the book dragged because of all the story "recap"/overlap with other books (I was worried Reid didn't know how to write an actual romantic sequel without focusing on new characters). It seemed like The Long Game was treated as a reunion episode where EVERY lead character from the previous books gets their time in the lime light. 

Since I read all of these books in rapid succession, all the sex scenes sound the same to me and was actually one of my least favorite parts of this book (they kept having sex instead of talking/doing something more plot relevant). All the dirty talk is about the same across all the lead characters of the book (they start slurring and speaking in the same sentence fragments), so it gets really old by book 6. 

Once again, shout out to the Heated Rivalry show for making it so easy to imagine and love these characters, even if we are a long ways from the second season. 

Book Blog #370: Role Model by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Role Model

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 341 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn’t want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn’t want to “work on his online presence” with the team’s peppy social media manager. Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn’t happy about the trade—anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn’t exactly hide it well—but Harris doesn’t give up on people easily. Even when he’s developing a crush he’s sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy’s smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That’s a man Harris couldn’t turn his back on if he wanted to. Suddenly, Troy’s move to the new team feels like an opportunity—for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.

Review: It's possible that if Heated Rivalry didn't already have an amazingly produced TV show with extremely likable actors to bias my impression of the story, Role Model could be my favorite book of the series.

Reid isn't doing anything revolutionary here; the topic she's pushing this time is related to sexual assault and what it means to be an ally. As always, the book leans deeper and deeper into the hopecore as the story progresses, and as a pessimist it actually gives me the ick. All of these problems are resolved so nicely, everyone is so supportive; it's basically a fantasy at this point. 

But what IS new is that Reid wrote a REALLY likable new character: Harris. I was hesitant when starting this book because I already thought Ryan Price in Tough Guy was too much of a side character, and Troy Barrett seemed to be tangential off of Ryan. Was this character too far removed from the original characters for me to care about him? But his love interest Harris is so funny; I was literally laughing out loud. Paired with Troy as a more serious, uptight guy, they complimented each other well.

Based on the timeline and Ilya/Shane mentions, there's a lot of overlap with The Long Game. I actually felt like I was missing out on a lot of key Ilya/Shane details that I'm now excited to read about in the next book.

If there's any non-Ilya+Shane book to read from this series, this is the book!

Book Blog #369: Common Goal by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Common Goal

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 335 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Veteran goaltender Eric Bennett has faced down some of the toughest shooters on the ice, but nothing prepared him for his latest challenge—life after hockey. It’s time to make some big changes, starting with finally dating men for the first time. Graduate student Kyle Swift moved to New York nursing a broken heart. He’d sworn to find someone his own age to crush on (for once). Until he meets a gorgeous, distinguished silver fox hockey player. Despite their intense physical attraction, Kyle has no intention of getting emotionally involved. He’ll teach Eric a few tricks, have some mutually consensual fun, then walk away. Eric is more than happy to learn anything Kyle brings to the table. And Kyle never expected their friends-with-benefits arrangement to leave him wanting more. Happily-ever-after might be staring them in the face, but it won’t happen if they’re too stubborn to come clean about their feelings. Everything they both want is within reach… They just have to be brave enough to grab it.

Review: Better than Tough Guy! Finally, another book that feels interconnected with the other books (basically a Game Changers sequel) to justify actually being part of a series. 

There's some common themes I'm seeing in these books:

- civilian bfs are sex gods (is Reid trying to play into the stereotype that gay men are more promiscuous??? Would have loved to see more nuance here.) 

- the start of your male gay fantasies will coincide with leaving your high profile hockey career. This allows you to avoid any remaining homophobic issues in NHL and the public eye (which were important topics in Game Changers and Heated Rivalry). Also, now you're free to do whatever your heart desires because you're already loaded because...

- money solves all problems (go on the vacation of your dreams, buy whatever will make your partner's dreams come true)

Honestly I don't consider Eric and Kyle to be a good match (age gap or not). Despite Kyle being fluent in dating and sex, when he's with Eric, he becomes a sitting duck waiting for Eric to make up his mind. But all is forgiven if they have great sex and live happily ever after right?

Happy to see more Scott/Kip and Shane/Ilya scenes in this book, although not enough to be worth it to read if you're only interested in the Shane/Ilya relationship. Too much of this couple's relationship overlapped with Tough Guy's couple to the point where Tough Guy could have just never been written altogether. 

Not sure if I'm just desensitized, but it felt like there were less redundant sex scenes compared to the first two books in the series. But if characters are supposed to feel closer after all the "talks" they have after sex, why does the story SKIP most of those talks and focus so much on the sex that doesn't particularly show their romantic relationship deepening?? Their one shared interest (art) seemed like some gimmick that they actually didn't DISCUSS other than saying some nice words about some pretty art. 

This couple was too boring for me to give this 3 stars, would recommend skipping unless otherwise invested.

Book Blog #368: Tough Guy By Rachel Reid

Title: Tough Guy

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 312 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating:★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Ryan Price may be an enforcer, but off the ice he struggles with anxiety. Recently traded to the Toronto Guardians, he’s determined to make a fresh start in the city’s dynamic LGBTQ Village. The last thing he expects to stumble upon in his new neighborhood is a blast from his past in the fabulous form of Fabian Salah. Aspiring musician Fabian loathes hockey. But that doesn’t stop him from being attracted to a certain burly, ginger-bearded defenseman. He hasn’t forgotten the kiss they almost shared back in high school, and it’s clear the chemistry between them has only intensified. Fabian is more than happy to be Ryan’s guide to the gay scene in Toronto. Between dance clubs and art exhibits—and the most amazing sex—Ryan’s starting to feel something he hasn’t experienced in a long time: joy. But playing the role of the heavy on the ice has taken its toll on his body and mind, and a future with Fabian may mean hanging up his skates for good.

Review: 2 stars that maybeee can lean to 3 stars. It was a very mid read (in the truest sense of not hating it but not loving it), and I don't think I would have read this story if it wasn't part of the Game Changers series.

For readers who are only invested in the Ilya and Shane romance, there's nothing particularly relevant to their relationship in this book (their appearances in this book were brief and didn't progress their character nor relationship development).

Our male leads are Ryan (super side character in Heated Rivalry) and Fabian (new non-macho love interest):

Fabian:

- Outgoing, sex positive, high self-esteem

- Brings problems to an otherwise unproblematic relationship 

- Fatal flaw: projects his opinions onto others (just because you hate hockey doesn't mean you should emotionally manipulate players into quitting??)

He is clearly passionate about his craft (and a "starving artist") but should still check his privilege; not everyone can feel as comfortable as he is just quitting a stable job.

Ryan:

- The opposite of Fabian 

- Low self-esteem that will really bum you out

- Main source of turmoil: wants to orgasm

I started to sympathize with Ryan's struggles, but then some of them seemed to be pretty easily resolved. If the fix was so quickly and easily changed his attitude, was it really a struggle at all?

Loved as always how Rachel Reid made these characters feel distinct from the other Game Changers characters, but their chemistry wasn't really there (especially since Fabian is so strongly opinionated, doesn't make sense to me why he would feel such a strong connection to a hockey player, regardless of their history). 

While I did like how this book highlights hockey's enforcer role and how detrimental it is to the player in such a role (like football players, there's an actual higher risk of CTE due to the physical nature of the role), I otherwise didn't find Ryan and Fabian's love story worth reading about. 

Book Blog #367: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Heated Rivalry

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 372 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night. Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great. As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

Review: I was more addicted to this more than Game Changers, but it doesn't quite hit the 4 star bar.

I'm going to assuming making some high level comparisons with the TV show and commentary on the actions during the smutty parts do NOT count as spoilers. If you think otherwise, skip this review.

I read this book soon after binging the TV show (after it was all over my social media feed despite never hearing about this series). I wanted to see a more verbose version of Shane and Ilya's story (plus I wanted to read the other books to figure out what happens after).

The Heated Rivalry book delivered in both of these areas; since there's third person POV switching (similar to Game Changers), the reader gets to hear more details on their inner turmoil that is more subtle in the TV show. That being said, the POV switching is more noticeable than in Game Changers, likely because the characters are in different locations most of the time. For Reid's writing style, I think it's a necessary component (and translates well to TV), despite still not being my favorite form of story telling. 

Another props to the writing (especially compared to Ali Hazelwood books where a lot of the same gendered main characters read similarly across books) is that the characters felt distinct: Ilya being the brash but well meaning, and Shane being innocent and neurodivergent (which was SHOWN rather than told, which is refreshing for a smutty romance).  

Not sure how much of this was influenced by watching the show; Reid should give major props to the actors/director who made these characters even more likable than I could have imagined them being. I was pleasantly surprised by how many scenes and their dialogue were lifted straight from the book to screen and overall translated well (unlike some books->movies coughColleen Hovercough). All in all, props to Reid for writing a solid book in the smutty romance genre. 

That being said, the common complaint between Game Changers and Heated rivalry is there's too much redundant sex. Of course for the sake of keeping down the total screen time, some of the sex scenes were consolidated in the show (and that already was a lot of sex!). I think the book could have made similar cuts, especially since them navigating the obstacles of their relationship are interesting on its own. 

Special shout out to Shane being at least briefly grossed out at the thought of kissing Ilya after Ilya was licking Shane's butthole. Loved Shane for being so relatable since there's is 0 mention of them doing any prep.

If you're a fan of the show, definitely give this book a read! It's fast (finished in only a couple of days) and easy read (and ended up rewatching parts of the show as I read to simulate listening to an audiobook). 

Book Blog #366: Game Changer by Rachel Reid

 

Title: Game Changer

Author: Rachel Reid

# of Pages: 380 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Pro hockey star Scott Hunter knows a good thing when he sees it. So, when a smoothie made by juice bar barista Kip Grady precedes Scott breaking his on-ice slump, he’s desperate to recreate the magic...and to get to know the sexy, funny guy behind the counter. Kip knew there was more to Scott’s frequent visits than blended fruit, but he never let himself imagine being invited back to Scott’s penthouse. Or kissed with reckless abandon, nevermind touched everywhere all at once. When it happens it’s red-hot, incredible and frequent, but also only on Scott’s terms and always behind his closed apartment doors. Scott needs Kip in his life, but with playoff season approaching, the spotlight on him is suddenly brighter than ever. He can’t afford to do anything that might derail his career…like introducing the world to his boyfriend. Kip is ready to go all-in with Scott—but how much longer will he have to remain a secret?

Review: Read this book hot off watching (and being obsessed with) the Crave TV show Heated Rivalry. 

This book was way better than I expected (and of course I expected it to be a smut-forward hockey romance that I already saw in episode 3 of the TV). Not sure if I just wasn't into the actors chemistry, or Scott x Kip's story is too might of a tangent off of Ilya x Shane's love story, but I thought episode 3 was boring. But even though I knew what was going to happen, I was addicted to reading the extra details that come through in the book.

I was actually pretty impressed on how true to the story the show was to the book, considering that one episode was able to tell the ENTIRE story from this almost 400 page book. Which leads to me my first complaint; Game Changers didn't need to be as long as it was. They could have cut out 1/3 of the page count (which, yes would including cutting out some of the sex scenes) and still have packed the same punch romantically and plot-wise. 

What I really appreciate about this book is the focus on the closeted gay struggle, especially in the NHL. As someone who just binged a bunch of Ali Hazelwood books (read: heterosexual romance that follows a similar formula), it was incredibly refreshing to read a romance book that highlights a real-world problem.

This was almost a four star read! Definitely go in with the expectations that this will be a smutty gay romance, but if that's what you're looking for, this would be the book for you.

Book Blog #365: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: Deep End

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 464 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Review: I've read two Ali Hazelwood before this, but this is my intro to her contemporary romance writing (which I heard was better than her paranormal romance).

It wasn't. 

One of the characters in this book kept saying that Scarlett's kinks are "so Fifty Shades!" (since she's into the dom/sub aspect of BDSM). This essentially set the stage for the rest of the book; it felt like a watered down Fifty Shades of Grey. There was a lot of smut, but it actually wasn't that kinky and a bit boring, honestly. I thought that they would explore more of the kinks they supposedly shared, but it was mostly just him telling her what to do and her crying because she liked it so much. 

There's no depth in the relationship between the two main characters. It's fine to have two characters bond over shared kinks, but it's hard to call this true romance when they don't seem to do much together except want to have sex, and all their emotions seems to be based off the greatness of their sex lives. The dom/sub kink seemed to be their whole personality, the defining feature who makes them who they are. I would have preferred more nuance to their characters.

And of course I was constantly frustrated with the plot because most of the problems fall under the poor communication trope! These characters will just choose to not talk to each other for long stretches of time, another character wants to withhold information about a breakup and keep up the facade of being a couple (oh what could go wrong?)... 

Usually with this trashy, smutty romance books, it'll be at least a fast read. However, this was not the case for Deep End; had to really push through the beginning half especially when it felt like very little of anything was happening. 

I would not recommend this book.

Book Blog #364: Mate by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: Mate

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 457 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her. As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe. But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Review: Not as good as Bride, unfortunately. It has the same addictive quality, but not as much. 

Bride already had its flaws, and Mate fixes some of these but introduces others. Serena and Koen actually spend more time together compared to Misery and Lowe (so the former's relationship feels more authentic). 

At the same time, Koen is a problematic male protagonist that makes me not want to root in the Serena x Koen situationship. He seemed blunt and cocky, but his confidence and charisma was still likable in Bride. But in Mate, his sarcasm and attitude toward Serena was super off-putting. It felt like the only reason why he cared about her at all is because she's his mate (rather than caring about her as a person). There's also the big age difference, which sometimes could be a non-issue, but Koen's (unlike Lowe's) Alpha personality came off as infantilizing (especially when Serena is new to all things Were). 

A lot of the problems the characters encounter come from character withholding information from each other.  Pretty tired of this poor communication trope and made me frustrated with Serena especially.

This could have been a three star read like Bride, but since I didn't love the Serena and Koen relationship as much as Misery and Lowe, I'm deducting a star. I'd only recommend reading this is if you already loved Bride.