witandsin's review
2.0
My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin: http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-heat-it-up-by-stina-lindenblatt.html
Heat it Up is a story I wanted to like a lot more than I did. This first installment of Stina Lindenblatt’s Off the Ice series had a lot of potential, but ultimately ranged from cute (if forgettable) to frustrating.
I’m a sucker for a hockey player hero, and even though Kyle is ex-NHL and there wasn’t a lot of ice action, he was the strongest part of the story for me. He’s a widower who married young then lost his wife in a car accident that also ended his career. In the beginning, Kyle is in a downward spiral, drinking and sleeping his way through Finland. Meeting Sofia changes him for the better, and I liked when party boy Kyle went away and the nerdy, physics-loving Kyle came out. He can be incredibly sweet, and my favorite moments of the book were watching him teach children. Sofia, in turn, is a rather lackluster heroine. She possesses a bunch of vague qualities that would have made her a more appealing character if she’d been better fleshed out. However, at best she’s a bland sort of likeable in the beginning of the story, then devolves into the oh-so-annoying “too stupid to live” type of heroine about halfway through the book.
Sofia has trust issues thanks to the men in her life, and she doesn’t want her grandmother to keep trying to set her up with her friend’s son, Joni. Meeting Kyle offers the perfect solution: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend and she’ll take him around Finland. The more time they spend together, the less either is able to deny their mutual attraction. Yet while Sofia and Kyle are cute together, they never drew me in. In fact, I got a quarter of the way through the book and then put it down for over two months because I wasn’t invested in the story. When Kyle and Sofia do get together, the pace picks up, but unfortunately this is also the point where Heat it Up falters. The burgeoning romance between Sofia and Kyle takes a back seat to a poorly executed love triangle involving Joni, the Finnish boy Sofia’s grandmother wants her to date. It’s clear that Sofia has no romantic interest in Joni, but she has to be the most oblivious person on the planet not to notice Joni’s repeated attempts to win her. Joni’s attempts at sabotaging Kyle and Sofia’s relationship go from mildly annoying to unbelievably irritating, as Sofia continues to be completely clueless – and indeed plays into – Joni’s increasingly ridiculous machinations. Add in a last-minute plot twist that strains credulity and sends Sofia running, and any chance there was of me rooting for her was completely gone.
Heat it Up isn’t altogether a bad read, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I’d have loved to see a bit more chemistry between Sofia and Kyle and a bit less pointless drama. Though it ultimately missed the mark for me, the book had potential and I liked Ms. Lindenblatt’s writing enough that I would try another story of hers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Heat it Up is a story I wanted to like a lot more than I did. This first installment of Stina Lindenblatt’s Off the Ice series had a lot of potential, but ultimately ranged from cute (if forgettable) to frustrating.
I’m a sucker for a hockey player hero, and even though Kyle is ex-NHL and there wasn’t a lot of ice action, he was the strongest part of the story for me. He’s a widower who married young then lost his wife in a car accident that also ended his career. In the beginning, Kyle is in a downward spiral, drinking and sleeping his way through Finland. Meeting Sofia changes him for the better, and I liked when party boy Kyle went away and the nerdy, physics-loving Kyle came out. He can be incredibly sweet, and my favorite moments of the book were watching him teach children. Sofia, in turn, is a rather lackluster heroine. She possesses a bunch of vague qualities that would have made her a more appealing character if she’d been better fleshed out. However, at best she’s a bland sort of likeable in the beginning of the story, then devolves into the oh-so-annoying “too stupid to live” type of heroine about halfway through the book.
Sofia has trust issues thanks to the men in her life, and she doesn’t want her grandmother to keep trying to set her up with her friend’s son, Joni. Meeting Kyle offers the perfect solution: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend and she’ll take him around Finland. The more time they spend together, the less either is able to deny their mutual attraction. Yet while Sofia and Kyle are cute together, they never drew me in. In fact, I got a quarter of the way through the book and then put it down for over two months because I wasn’t invested in the story. When Kyle and Sofia do get together, the pace picks up, but unfortunately this is also the point where Heat it Up falters. The burgeoning romance between Sofia and Kyle takes a back seat to a poorly executed love triangle involving Joni, the Finnish boy Sofia’s grandmother wants her to date. It’s clear that Sofia has no romantic interest in Joni, but she has to be the most oblivious person on the planet not to notice Joni’s repeated attempts to win her. Joni’s attempts at sabotaging Kyle and Sofia’s relationship go from mildly annoying to unbelievably irritating, as Sofia continues to be completely clueless – and indeed plays into – Joni’s increasingly ridiculous machinations. Add in a last-minute plot twist that strains credulity and sends Sofia running, and any chance there was of me rooting for her was completely gone.
Heat it Up isn’t altogether a bad read, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I’d have loved to see a bit more chemistry between Sofia and Kyle and a bit less pointless drama. Though it ultimately missed the mark for me, the book had potential and I liked Ms. Lindenblatt’s writing enough that I would try another story of hers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
jemifraser's review
4.0
Kyle and Sofia are dealing with all kinds of difficult situations from their pasts. They find solace and hope with each other, but don't know if they can believe or accept it. I enjoyed watching them struggle and strive for a better future. The Finnish setting was an intriguing bonus. A great read!
cocktailsandbooks1's review
3.0
I loved the cover of this one more than the story itself. Full review to come.
catiinha's review
4.0
For more reviews click HERE
Actual Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
As you might have seen in the past few weeks I’ve been reading a few hockey romances and they have all been pretty different from each other. This is not an exceptions. I really enjoyed the story in this one and the main characters. I liked Sofia a lot. She was a girl who had given up on love because of something that happened to her in the past and didn’t trust that easily and I did understand where she came off and why she had a big lack of confidence. However, sometimes I would get a little bit frustrated with her and how naïve she could be. I loved Kyle. Yes, he had a lot of flaws (just like Sofia had it too) but once again it was possible to see why he was like he was and why he did the things he did before meeting Sofia. I did love how he tried to change after meeting her and realizing that he add feelings for her. I also loved almost all the side characters but I just couldn’t deal with Joni and most of the times he appeared I got really mad. This book has some sort of love triangle. It really isn’t a love triangle because Joni never stood a chance against Kyle. However I couldn’t deal with all the things he did when he knew that Sofia was dating Kyle and how she never realized what he was doing. It was really frustrating to see her saying “he just wants to be friends” when clearly that was not what he wanted. I also didn’t like how this wasn’t solved at all. As I said before, I really enjoyed the book but the end was too abrupt for me. I think that there were a few things that could have been talked about and that didn’t happened. Basically I would love an epilogue because I’m a sucker for epilogues XD.
I also enjoyed the author’s writing style and the way the dual POV was done mostly because it was possible to differentiate Sofia and Kyle’s voices. I also liked that she included a twist by the end of the book (even if I predicted that twist pretty early on).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This was my first Stina Lindenblatt book and I hope that it isn’t the last one. If you’re into NA you should give this one a try.
Actual Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
As you might have seen in the past few weeks I’ve been reading a few hockey romances and they have all been pretty different from each other. This is not an exceptions. I really enjoyed the story in this one and the main characters. I liked Sofia a lot. She was a girl who had given up on love because of something that happened to her in the past and didn’t trust that easily and I did understand where she came off and why she had a big lack of confidence. However, sometimes I would get a little bit frustrated with her and how naïve she could be. I loved Kyle. Yes, he had a lot of flaws (just like Sofia had it too) but once again it was possible to see why he was like he was and why he did the things he did before meeting Sofia. I did love how he tried to change after meeting her and realizing that he add feelings for her. I also loved almost all the side characters but I just couldn’t deal with Joni and most of the times he appeared I got really mad. This book has some sort of love triangle. It really isn’t a love triangle because Joni never stood a chance against Kyle. However I couldn’t deal with all the things he did when he knew that Sofia was dating Kyle and how she never realized what he was doing. It was really frustrating to see her saying “he just wants to be friends” when clearly that was not what he wanted. I also didn’t like how this wasn’t solved at all. As I said before, I really enjoyed the book but the end was too abrupt for me. I think that there were a few things that could have been talked about and that didn’t happened. Basically I would love an epilogue because I’m a sucker for epilogues XD.
I also enjoyed the author’s writing style and the way the dual POV was done mostly because it was possible to differentiate Sofia and Kyle’s voices. I also liked that she included a twist by the end of the book (even if I predicted that twist pretty early on).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This was my first Stina Lindenblatt book and I hope that it isn’t the last one. If you’re into NA you should give this one a try.
capa105's review
4.0
Read full review HERE
I really enjoyed the writing on this book, it flowed well and the voices of the 2 protagonists were very different, which was wonderful (especially considering that the last one I had read with dual POV hadn’t accomplished this).
I really liked both main characters too, they were both very flawed, but somewhat trying to overcome what had happened to both of them, which made them strong and vulnerable. Their relationship starts as friends and evolves to something more – initially friends with benefits – but they both soon realize that they want more of each other, but they’re so haunted by their own pasts, that they’re super scared to move forward. Though it starts with a mutual attraction, the romance is a slow burn, and I really liked that they spent a lot of time with friends and family.
Joni was a character that I didn’t appreciate, I hated that even though he thought that Sofia and Kyle’s relationship was serious, he still kept making moves on her, and taking advantage of her friendship and blissful ignorance. I wanted to slap Sofia and make her see how wrong that was. Unfortunately this is something that doesn’t get resolved by the end of the book, and that pissed me off. I thought Sofia should have confronted him in some way, not only for what he did, but also to make it clear to him that she was choosing Kyle – not that there was ever any doubt about it!
The ending felt a bit abrupt to me, I wish we had one more chapter or at least an epilogue to actually see them adjusting to a life they both didn’t know they wanted or needed.
Other than the ending and Joni, this book is a pretty awesome NA romance, with a twist that I didn’t see coming (at all, though Cátia did!). It has little hockey in it, because Kyle is coaching and he can’t play himself, which was a bummer. With that said, I would recommend it if you’re into the NA genre.
I really enjoyed the writing on this book, it flowed well and the voices of the 2 protagonists were very different, which was wonderful (especially considering that the last one I had read with dual POV hadn’t accomplished this).
I really liked both main characters too, they were both very flawed, but somewhat trying to overcome what had happened to both of them, which made them strong and vulnerable. Their relationship starts as friends and evolves to something more – initially friends with benefits – but they both soon realize that they want more of each other, but they’re so haunted by their own pasts, that they’re super scared to move forward. Though it starts with a mutual attraction, the romance is a slow burn, and I really liked that they spent a lot of time with friends and family.
Joni was a character that I didn’t appreciate, I hated that even though he thought that Sofia and Kyle’s relationship was serious, he still kept making moves on her, and taking advantage of her friendship and blissful ignorance. I wanted to slap Sofia and make her see how wrong that was. Unfortunately this is something that doesn’t get resolved by the end of the book, and that pissed me off. I thought Sofia should have confronted him in some way, not only for what he did, but also to make it clear to him that she was choosing Kyle – not that there was ever any doubt about it!
The ending felt a bit abrupt to me, I wish we had one more chapter or at least an epilogue to actually see them adjusting to a life they both didn’t know they wanted or needed.
Other than the ending and Joni, this book is a pretty awesome NA romance, with a twist that I didn’t see coming (at all, though Cátia did!). It has little hockey in it, because Kyle is coaching and he can’t play himself, which was a bummer. With that said, I would recommend it if you’re into the NA genre.
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