I’m getting tired of these MMCs that toss around casual toxic masculinity. “Champagne is for women”. Like seriously? And this man is way too controlling. This grown woman can’t walk around the golf club without him glued to her side? Get so for real. And this man isn’t a grump, he needs straight up therapy not a woman to fix him. I mean yeah it was sad that his parents dipped out of his life but he’s a grown man that is ruining his own career. It’s not as if he’s going through a trauma or an injury, he just realized he’s not the special little golf boy in the world of professionals. Sure it was a dick move that his mentor dropped him when he wasn’t killing the game, but that’s not an excuse to become an alcoholic dick and blame everyone else for his problems. Again: this man needs therapy. He had all the means to build an actual support system and instead puts his improvement on Josephine. The man couldn’t act like a human being for ONE DAY without her. It’s so reminiscent of wives who can’t go out with her friends for an hour without her husband texting her about the location of household items or their children’s medication. Like you’re a grown man? You can’t just be professional for a day? How is this attractive? I know the entire system is against men being vulnerable and seeking help for mental health, but at some point you’ve gotta advocate for yourself and grow the fuck up. He also hung up on her best friend who’s in Antarctica and their communication is extremely limited. I don’t care that he “made up for it” (and please this book grossly overhypes the importance and influence a pro golfer has). And don’t get me started on this man’s dirty talk. I’m still recovering from the cringe. He’s so irritating and oblivious to just everything. “Breaking news: Man discovers how unfair media is to women” *eye roll* Wells is just not it. 

And now Josephine. Whose entire personality is sex, Wells, and diabetes. She is truly annoying as a FMC. While I’m all for a woman making her own decisions regardless if they’re right or not, I cannot condone any of her choices. Apparently, she’s worried about her diabetes yet she forgoes insurance and she spends hundreds of dollars to go cheer on some has-been instead of having money for insulin? Or that she doesn’t have flood insurance in Florida because she can’t afford her medication? If Josephine isn’t thinking about Wells she’s obsessively monologuing her diabetic journey. Which is a shame cause I liked the idea of the representation, it just felt like every five minutes the author was going “oh btw I have diabetes” and “omg did you forget? I have diabetes” instead of it just being a natural incorporation. Additionally, Josephine’s extremely worried about being taken seriously as a golf caddy and proving her worth, yet she’s using sexual favors to encourage him to perform better. Are you kidding me? I’m all for sex work, but let’s call this what it is: a sexual transaction. The woman is getting a cut of his winnings and makes more money the better he plays. I don’t care that they spend a page trying to explain this away and convince the reader that he’s actually doing better per her advice when everything else suggests otherwise. Also, where’s the chemistry between these people? Josephine is liking Wells the more she gets to know him? Know him? How? Because the man doesn’t talk and he doesn’t like to answer questions. Their entire relationship is just sex and unbalanced power dynamics. Not to mention the couple’s “complication” that pulls them apart before the epic reunion at the end, was so ridiculous and childish. In no way was it that deep? 

While tossing one salad isn’t a remote interest of mine, I’m not going to rate this book poorly based on that act. I’m sure someone read that scene and went “I feel seen” since ass play rarely makes these kinds of books. And truly, isn’t that what matters. Regardless, this book was ass without the salad tossing. If anything, it was the most interesting thing that happened in this book. 

I keep trying with sport romances and even more with Tessa Bailey’s books but it’s just not working. While I have no issues with masculine MMCs, I cannot understand that she consistently has to write masculinity as being anti-feminine. You can be masculine without being like “lotion is for chicks” or “I’d rather die than let people know I like fruity drinks. I’m a man’s man and I drink beer and scotch.” or “I must protect this grown, capable, professional woman from her own shadow, no way could she ever survive without a strong man”. Give me a break. 

I’m literally only giving stars for some of the spicy scenes and because of how cute and funny the scene with Lissa was.