dermkat's Reviews (2.11k)

Still firmly in my sports romance era and we've moved over to baseball for this series. This the first in a five book series, I heard about the second one on IG and decided the first sounded good too so I'd just start at the top and keep reading. And it was so good! Hendrix is the newest player on Denver's pro baseball team and is friends with his teammate Cruz. Cruz's best friend is Lilah and when Hen meets her best friend Poppy he's a gonner. She's also super interested and they keep in touch during some away games but when she gets his address to go water his plants, she realized they're next door neighbors. The problem is that she's been working as a phone sex operator and is now transitioning to audiobook narration, but he's definitely heard her through the wall. In fact, he's fed up with his noisy neighbor. I loved their banter and chemistry, and the way they worked through their stuff, both individual baggage and howbtjay affected their current stuff. Also his Nanna Janet is a legend and I want to be her best friend, and his sister is an author I hope we see more of cuz she was great too. But up next, Cruz and Lilah!

I think this final book in the series (so far but I think it's prob the last based on the end) was my fave! We met Sloane, the coach's daughter, and Bram, another hockey player, as side characters in the last one, as well as briefly meeting Ethan, the team mascot, and Max, another hockey player and Owen's brother from the last book. Sloan is coming up on the she when she can expect her first heat and she grew up in a family where every member of the pack loved each other. She's also very particular about lots of areas of life and knows what she wants in a pack that she hopes to build from the ground up. She and Bram have been flirty and start dating in secret when the season starts, then she gets to know Ethan more and introduces the two because Bram doesn't want to share but is willing to try. Then there's Max, who becomes friends (but feels more) with Ethan and Sloane and has a history with Bram that's left the other man hating him and he's not sure why. Eventually something is discovered and they all have to figure out how to become a pack despite the issues. But, the various pairs of men end up in relationships as well as time progresses. There's a car accident and a surprise pregnancy in this one.
•queer rep

This one is more of a slow burn than book one but I still enjoyed it just as much, I think because of the interesting dynamics between the three MCs. There's a female Alpha (bff with the Omega in book 1 so I was glad to get her story next) who is training to become a surgeon but isn't sure it's really for her and is avoiding Alexi, another one of the hockey players, because she doesn't have time for a relationship now and can tell he's serious. They of course have chemistry and give inba few times. Then there is Owen, the new goalie on the team who everyone thinks is a beta but is actually an Omega on huge amounts of deodorizer and suppressants so he can play (the league wouldn't let him if they knew). The men are drawn to each other and Piper and Owen meet out in public and same for them. They end up living in the same house for reasons even before they all get together so it's trying to navigate that when there's something extra thrown into the mix. There's an age gap, Alexi is early 40s, Owen is 24 and Piper is around there as well but it's not an issue. I also appreciated that these three decide to stay child free. 
•queer rep
•chronic illness rep 

This was recommended by my sister who just got into omegaverse and it was so good! It's about an Omega in her 3rd year of college but her school is mostly set up for privileged Alphas to come find an Omega. She goes to visit her older, chronically ill mother (diabetes with complications) over winter break and runs into three Alphas from another school who all play hockey and turn out to be her scent matches. Two of them are thrilled, the third takes is not. Eventually something happens that tips them apart and it was actually quite sad as they were figuring stuff out separately and eventually together again. I thought the depiction of her with depression was very well done, and there is therapy on page. I liked this book so much that I immediately started reading the second and then the third. 

This is a collection of 6 spicy romance short stories, some of which take place around Valentine's Day. Each story is by a different Canadian author and five of the six are from AB, which is near where I live now and have lived before. A few of the stories are set overseas, one has a modern, sexy Cupid as the MMC, and there's one precursor to a rugby MMF novel that's currently being written (I had to message Ellory to pester her about it because she was the reason I knew of this and wanted to read it, and I immediately wanted more!). One other story will be continued as well. Overall, I enjoyed them all, some more than others as is generally the case with a collection. In this collection you'll find no spoilers):
•queer rep, fat rep, injury and chronic pain rep
• biker Cupid x Human
•Rugby (prelude to MMF why choose)
•Childhood friends/tattoo artists
•Small Town, Grandma's neighbor 
•Archeologists on site (possible paranormal elements?)
•Middle of the woods snow storm, Grandma's neighbor 

Okay, I have many thoughts about this one. First and foremost, while it is a romance that mostly follows the  expected conventions (there's a couple, they get a happy ending, and their love story is a main component), for my very literal brain that likes to categorize and organize things, it veers into "woman doing things" fic. The story is largely about our MC, Liz, and her journey figuring out her life and how she can step out of feeling small and boxed in and unseen. She's taking an improv course as part of her goal to become the employee her boss will appreciate so she can win a pitch contest and promotion. One important layer to that (and the reason this book is indeed a romance) is that her marriage is in crisis and her husband/coworker is also pitching something with his best friend, who is her improv class teacher and soon to be published author of a relationship self help through improv book. She and hubs Tobin agree to work through the book together so she can practice improv and they can work things out. Another very important layer, and the one that drew me in and kept me reading, is that she is autistic and doesn't realize yet. As someone with some as of yet undefined and undiagnosed flavor of neurodivergence, I related a lot to many of her character traits and experiences. As a reader looking in, I wanted to help her see herself clearly sooner because it broke my heart the way she twisted herself up and almost lost very important things in life to turn herself into what she thinks people want from her. Her hubs had his own stuff to deal with too, but one lovely thing about him was how he appreciated every part of her. My stickler of a brain kept thinking "is it a romance?" over and over since it was more about her life experience, with her marriage as one part of that, to the point that before they finally reconciled I was actually nervous for them even though I know in a romance they get a happy ending. That was a bit distracting, which meant I didn't feel fully in it as I read, but I don't think that has anything to do with the story or writing itself necessarily since someone else won't experience that while reading. Overall, I enjoyed the read enough to keep going and definitely want to read the second one when it's out in a few months because I like the characters it'll be about. 

This second part of the duet was good too, starting with the throuple working through a crisis together and learning how to support one another best. There's on page therapy and one character really digging into their mental health and grief. There's an adopted character dealing with family tension and stress when he expressed the desire to connect with his Korean background. There's the lawsuit and court case we learned about in the last one that sets up what I knew of these people in the next series. There's a lot more kinky, sexy stuff. And my fave part, there's flashback chapters where we slowly get the established couple's story from meeting to friends to lovers,  with queer awakening. I don't normally go for duets or series about the same people anymore (prefer interconnected standalones) but I didn't mind this at all because I really enjoyed their story. 

Okay as much as I'm not a huge fan of duologies, I'm glad I went back and read this! We met Cora, Jay, and Marco in the rugby series as side characters and it was clear they were settled and happy within their throuple but there was story to how they got there. Book one was good, very sexy (and kinky, read the TWs) and interesting as Cora and Jay have their first connection right off why top and when they meet again years later he's dating Marco, who she's also attracted to. It's supposed to be a one time thing but then is more. Marco has PTSD and recognizes it in Cora by the end of this one, which did end on a bit of a cliffhanger in regards to her situation. Somehow it hasn't felt long even thought it was 300+ pages and they still have another book's worth of story. 
•Korean rep (adopted by a white family)
•fat rep
•PTSD rep
•queer rep

This book was so lovely! I am a fan of the Lovelight series and have been looking forward to this ever since I learned she'd be writing her next series inspired by 90s romcoms. This one is Sleepless in Seattle with the roles switches and pulling in the radio show host instead of another listener. Lucie is a single mom to a twelve year old girl who calls in to Aiden's romance show trying to find her mom love. He's been struggling with whether he believes in love at all, which makes his job harder until their conversation sparks something in him. Then the clip of Lucie explaining that she wants the magic of an easy relationship where she doesn't have to try so hard to feel valued and loved goes viral. She ends up coming to co-host the show for a while as they try to find her love, but they fall in love with each other instead. They are bantery and sweet, push each other's buttons, have an instant attraction (that they eventually give in to), and their chemistry is clear to everyone in Baltimore who listens, even if they don't see it themselves at first. But my favorite part is that Lucie is content in her life before this all starts because of all the other types of love she's surrounded by. She has her wise beyond her years kid; her kid's dad who is her platonic soulmate and lives next door with his lovely husband; her best friend who runs a bookstore and cafe across the street; and a family-like camaraderie with the guys she works with at the autoshop. Then her kid points out that just because you're not alone doesn't mean you can't get lonely, and I think that's a beautifully true statement. You can be happy, not feel like you're necessarily missing something or incomplete without a partner, but still wish for that companionship and love. This story felt soft and swoony, with comedy and heart, like the best romcoms in the 90s that they just don't make anymore, and now I want to watch Sleepless for the first time in years while I wait for the next book about the station's weatherman and Aiden's best friend, Jackson, to come out a year from now. 

This book had a different vibe than the first one in some ways but it worked for the characters. This time we have Angie's brother Isaiah as one of the MMCs, in love with his friend Robyn for years but staying in the background watching and protecting her, biding his time. She's a pro rugby player who isn't sure why he's been ignoring her but that comes to a head when he's injured and can no longer play himself, and becomes her team's new head coach. The other issue? They both are into their personal trainer, Dell. Good thing he's also into both of them and willing to put in the work to bring all three of them together. I appreciated the inclusion of a demisexual character who experiences a "later in life" sexual debut. I also thought that one character having a past in sex work and wasn't ashames but also was concerned about how it would affect her image tied to him was very interesting. The element of "it was basically stalking" wasn't something I usually appreciate in a romance (no dark romance for me, thanks) but there was more protectiveness than obsessiveness (it's there too, just less) which made it feel a bit less creepy in some ways, and the way the stalked character reacted about it helped me accept it as well. The spice was spicing again but not as kinky in the same way as the first book. Now that I know their brother Jonah gets the next book, I have no idea what to expect because I can see Dane's story coming a mile away but other than Jonah being flightly and irresponsible I have no idea who his love interest(s) will be or what to expect.