C.E. Ricci

Quinton and Oakley have never managed to get along. When they were playing on opposite teams - it was what it was. Now they're playing on the same team? Bit more of a problem.

Still for three years they've managed. But with their final season off to a terrible start, both are horrified when they end up in bed together - and then they win their game. Obvious solution? Keep hooking up.

This was good. A steamy sports romance with some humour and plot. I liked Quinton and Oakley - and their chemistry was decent. My biggest problem with their relationship were their names. I had to keep stopping to think about which one was which and whose chapter I was in. And I didn't really understand why Oakley didn't speak up to start with. Wasn't really very Captain like of him. Especially since that seemed to be a whole thing. Apart from that it was all fairly run of the mill. They reminded me a lot of Beck and Jacobs from Face Offs & Cheap Shots (CU Hockey, #2) so if you loved them, this is definitely worth a read.

There weren't a ton of scenes with any of the secondary characters but I liked Quinton's roommate, Hayes and Oakley's brother, Logan and I'll be interested in reading their stories when they're released. Overall a decent enjoyable sports romance. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.… (meer)

Nothing extraordinary. Friends to enemies to lovers (to something I can't tell you, because SPOILER!), with a generous helping of the forced proximity trope.

Hiding the trigger warnings is okay (I guess…?), but still, some things should be mentioned. There’s homophobia and toxic masculinity galore here, as well as a brief het sex scene — all of it during the first 50% — and it made me consider DNFing the book many, many times… If that’s a deal breaker for you, don’t even start this one. There’s a truly disturbing amount of throat-grabbing as well (also during the first half of the book), but I digress.

Around the halfway mark all of that changes, though, when the asshole MC gets in touch with his “true self” or some shit after one of those triggering events the author doesn’t warn us about. Not immediately after, mind you. He’s a mean SOB for some time after that, too. I’m tempted to say some things about the other MC, because I had real issues with his way-too-accepting attitude, but that would be spoilery, so I won’t. Anyway, I liked the second half more, except for that melodrama near the end. Soap opera-level, I'm telling you. So frustrating.

Now, the writing. I did not enjoy it. There were some truly ridiculous turns of phrase, as if the author wanted to show off her skill. It’s written in dual first person POV, and college guys — football players at that — using lofty (and often mixed) metaphors, both in dialogue and in their own heads, is dubious at best, and has a strong WTF effect (at least on me) at worst. There’s also a lot of really uninspired cursing. Some typos (that’s nothing too serious compared to the rest), misspelled homophones (I hate those with a passion!!), wrong use of phrasals… My inner grammar Nazi was this close to having a conniption. Seriously, the book could use a good — or even average — editor.

2.5 stars rounded down.… (meer)