lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

I adored this one. And it has made me re-evaluate my YA novel I wrote that was my own Cinderella retelling where her name was Cindy. I loved how in this one our stepmother and stepsisters were not wicked, but good people. I loved that the triplet’s names were I believe the same names as the mice in the Disney Cinderella movie. And I loved how the actual shoe was checked to fit at the end, how that was even flipped. The reality tv show aspect was perfect as well. I personally have always wanted to see more shows with normal people. Not all the glamorous movie-star looking women only. So I would watch the heck out of a show like this. My only complaint was that she didn’t check with him about why he would pick the way they said he might at the end. That she kind of left him in a way others in his life had. But this book had me with tears at the end, and I loved how it was also resolved without a lot of hateful words or drama once everyone had some time. Now I need to read the others in the series which I know are by other authors!

This was actually a pretty fast read! I had trouble putting it down when I had to stop to go back to work or to sleep, so I kind of sped through it. Honestly the story itself was quite fast-paced. Our two had a meet-cute that was anything but, at a cheap hotel in the middle of the desert. I loved how Graham was able to and did just buy the shop so that the bookstore didn’t have to close. The way his brother Brody would not just take his money though, and how all the little connections led to Graham and Emma really being perfect for each other, even if they hadn’t met in real life. In fact the one little connection that I kind of got pretty quickly, but wasn’t really spelled out till later, well that was perfect as well.

Once again the author mentioned that the team was playing Kansas City for their opening game, my hometown, so I love when authors mention it somehow. And with our own tight end being in the news so much right now for his own romance in real life, it was fun to kind of picture Graham the same way. Even if this was not that story in any way. I also like how the author brings in a lot about the whole concussion and injury issue that football players have, and had facts woven in from the doctor about how it is not just football and how they have no way to diagnose that is what is actually going on until an autopsy.

Again I was a little frustrated with the two denying their feelings or letting their own fears and frustrations cause them to make bad choices. But the way Graham really showed up for Emma at the end was romantic and perfect and I adored it. As always another wonderful football romance from this author!

Just too cringy at times for me. 

4.5 stars. 

Once again Julia Kent gave me so many laugh out loud moments! While the story kept a bit of the mistaken identity or who was getting married confusing at first, once that was cleared up, things got rolling! I liked how the author made even the characters that you thought you wouldn’t like, that could be the bad guys, have sides that maybe made them redeemable and understandable. I won’t say who, I’ll let you read and figure that out. The supporting characters, family, co-workers, friends, all were good for filling in the story and adding their own bright spots. Having characters brought in from the Shopping for a Billionaire series was also a lot of fun, whether they actually made any appearances or just were mentioned in passing.

My only issues that kept me from giving it a full 5 stars were that the third person storytelling at first kept me from getting into it quickly, but that is a personal issue at times for me. And there were times some of the chapter seemed a bit long maybe? But in the end I sped through the last half, needing to know how things were going to wrap up to give the couple their HEA.

Once again Meghan Quinn has had my emotions all over the place with her perfect hockey rom-com! Between laughing at a part where one of the characters basically gives a critique of a past title in the series:

“Some might say the author of his story could have cut out the last fifteen percent, and everyone would have still been pleased with the outcome.”

Not able to stop laughing at a reminder of another past humorous text from this series: 

“oye, my dick!”

And then the tears at a big dramatic issue in the end, one that wasn’t just drama for drama’s sake, wasn’t a big break-up to make the ending dramatic, but still, tears streaming down my face.

I love all of these characters so much. I love this world, I love how the author pulls in characters from her other books and worlds as they fit into the story without having to force anything together. It’s like little Easter eggs for all us Meghan Quinn fans. And as usual the steamy sexy times are perfect! These men are just perfection. And even when they get all alpha, her characters will call them out, when it’s necessary, but enjoy it when it isn’t. We’ve still got one or two players left I think to get their stories? One a new guy, who his texts and kissing up to Penny in the text chains was hilarious. 

My only complaints, occasionally the similarities of a couple of the guys’ names, the H names and the P names, and my speed reading brain trips up and has to pause and go back to see which name I read. And then, I wanted MORE of the reunion between Halsey and his brother. Maybe we can get a bonus scene from the author for that? 

Two tiny wishes for this story but nothing that made it less than 5 stars for me! 445 pages that I couldn’t put down, thank goodness for it being the end of my Thanksgiving break so I didn’t have to.

I cannot say just how much I LOVED this book! At first, I was a bit unsure, as a character with that much self confidence was not something I understood, since I am not at all like that. But as she moved to her new school, and it was taken away from her bit by bit, I was horrified and so angry at what was happening to such a sparkling shiny character that had been at the start of the book. I was so mad at the bullies in her classes, the teachers, and that principal! Wow! I could not believe it at times. However so much of what happened to poor Kiki is exactly what I know happens in the real world, and while we like to think that people are getting better about it, one character even pointed out that she talked like she’d been watching to many American tv shows. And then it hit me that yeah, in other cultures things are very slow if moving at all towards getting away from the misogyny and stereotypical behavior expected of girls, and even just students in general!

I didn’t get the chance to read the book that featured some of the characters in this book and now I know I really need to go back and read it. Not to mention how much I adored all the characters and hope for more stories for some of them in the future. I’m not really a gamer like these characters, in the past I was a bit obsessed with both the Sims (before I started blogging, I’ve got no time for that now) and then it was Animal Crossing during the pandemic. Honestly most of what I know of the types of games that were played in this book comes from the tv show The Big Bang Theory. But it was interesting to read about, and I definitely liked the way Kiki did her big apology/get back at those who deserved it.

I can’t wait to add this book to my school library and share it with students! And as I mentioned, I’ll be making sure we have the one before as well!

Just couldn’t get into it