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unicornsbookshelf's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was my first sporty queer romance and I'm surely looking to read more, even though this book didn't necessarily hook me as much as I hoped it would.
After a surgery, Caro Cassidy retired from being a pro hockey player and now is running a hockey camp for girls. However, after hiring a bright, cheerful, and full of energy hockey player Amy, not mixing professional and personal life starts to be harder and harder.
This book was okay. I didn't dislike by all means but it sadly didn't score a place between my all-time favorites. What mostly fell flat for me was the characters - Amy and Caro had very indistinct voices despite having completely different personalities. They were really blad and I couldn't connect to either of them, despite them facing stuff that I personally experienced as well. The side characters weren't really fleshed out either, to the point where I wouldn't see the difference between Gina, Mel, or Kris speaking. I also feel the dialogue felt stiff and didn't flow naturally. It also goes for homophobia, which is very intense in this so keep an eye on that. Some of the things being said were so over the top it didn't feel real, although honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear people say that in the real world. Despite that I did enjoy the personal development both main characters went through and I think it was well-written.
I also felt the pacing was a bit off at times - most of the women's' relationship development happened in the first 50% and then there was a moment when barely anything meaningful would happen up until the last 15% when things got intense. I felt bored most of the time and only managed to get more invested in the end.
What I liked about this book was hockey stuff - the relationship Amy had with the kids Caro was coaching was really nice to see and I liked how different their approaches to the young players were. I'd love to see more of it since the most prominent thing in this book was the romance despite everything. Hockey took a bit of a background part, which wasn't a vice exactly, but I'd still read more about it.
Another thing I really liked was how prominent the mental health theme was. Caro regularly goes to therapy and is very vocal about it to Amy, explaining that her fight with depression is a work in progress and that it needs to be taken into account. It really normalizes getting help with mental health issues, looking for a therapist, and using a medication, which is a really good thing to talk about in a book. It's also stated that therapy won't immediately make everything better and that sometimes it takes years to get your life on the right track and that it's okay.
Another thing I liked was how the author addressed biphobia - I've read quite a lot of books with bi characters, even more than with lesbian ones (clear use of labels is also something I appreciated), but none of them elaborated on biphobia to this extend. Amy talks about prejudice even within the LGBT+ community and how people who aren't cis and gay have to and are expected to constantly educate others on the topic of their sexuality.
I'd recommend this book to the fans of sporty queer romances and despite this book not having made it to my favorites list I'm still curious to see the author's future work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Biphobia
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