I've rather loved this series. Was quite excited when this book became available for me to read. The fourth book that follows Sophie Fournier; and fifth in the series. And . . .

I started the book December 21, the date the book was published (I no longer get early review copies), and read 10%. Then stopped. For a month. Specifically because of that 3.5 book that followed Gabrielle instead of Sophie. There are some similarities between the two women. I mentioned the similarities and differences in the prior book. Basically: Gabrielle comes across as a more fully formed, capable, strong, interesting character to follow. Having experienced Gabrielle, it's harder to "take" the way Sophie acts.

I don't like how often Sophie is in her head about how much of an asshole her dad is and how spineless she is to him; how much of an asshole her coach is, but she has to not get on his bad side because . . . ; how much of an asshole her team is because of how they treat her, but she can't do anything different, or make waves because she's the first woman in the league, and therefore must show the best of women . . . which apparently involves being emotionless machines that obey their coaches and do not upset the public . . . at least in the public.

So I read ten percent of the book, and then stopped reading for a month. I just . . . could not take that personality again. Especially not after seeing what a stronger woman could do in the hands of this writer (Gabrielle).

Then I returned to the book and . . . still took me another three days to finish the book. This one seemed more all over the place compared to others. And, other than the statistics - the wins/losses/etc. - there doesn't seem much different between Sophie at the beginning of book one and the end of this book here. Older, slightly more crazed. Hasn't gained much self-knowledge about herself.

Bah, I'm still not up to writing a review.

Rating: 3.65

Review: February 9 2021 ( )