Reviews

The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan

ea82625's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was okay. I felt like the mmc was more mature and sure of himself than the fmc. The fmc insecurities really drove most of the drama which isn’t my favorite plot  device. 

I did like how the fmc saw through the breakdown that the mmc was going through and refused to leave and just took all his anger in stride. 

Listened to the audio and the narrators were fine. At times it almost seemed like they both were putting an accent on certain sentences which was a bit odd. 

samanthabei's review

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funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

sarahrogers1's review against another edition

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2.0

not for me sorry

sylv13's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

graceangelmama's review against another edition

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4.0

Drew Baylor is a sweetheart, which is why I’m rounding my 3.5⭐️ rating up to 4. There was some annoying angst in the middle, and since I had about 15 chapters left I was afraid it would be drawn out. It was not, and the resolution of their conflict worked for me.

It was a solid NA read.

kippins's review against another edition

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2.0

I really wanted to love this.

I initially liked that it was the guy who was totally into the girl as opposed to the other way around. It was refreshing.

But I really Didn't like Anna, She was a bitch....lets call a spade a spade.

And Drew got a bit whiny after a while, I needed him to be a tad more alpha.

And I also found it a bit dull around the middle, I started to skim until things picked up again.

So yeah, the first & last 25%'s were OK

vilhauer2092's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

konvineo's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 stars

I went into this after having read a couple of [a:Elle Kennedy|1935000|Elle Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1403918688p2/1935000.jpg] books, which might not have been the best way to approach this one. Also, I saw a couple of posts on tumblr that kind of compared [a:Elle Kennedy|1935000|Elle Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1403918688p2/1935000.jpg] and [a:Kristen Callihan|4971535|Kristen Callihan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1317481324p2/4971535.jpg] to each other, or put them into similar categories, which, again, wasn't the best idea on my part. These things clearly influenced my experience of this book, since I had gained certain expectations; that this was going to be just as funny as [b:The Deal|24920901|The Deal (Off-Campus, #1)|Elle Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431282052s/24920901.jpg|44100599] and [b:The Mistake|25564665|The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2)|Elle Kennedy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447598937s/25564665.jpg|44707128], and the overall feel of the book, while not completely the same (since y'kno different writers and all), would be close to what I've gotten used to with Kennedy.

Boy oh boy, did I just set myself up for failure.

[b:The Hook Up|22611920|The Hook Up (Game On, #1)|Kristen Callihan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407891923s/22611920.jpg|42102987] is nowhere near as laugh-out-loud hilarious as I found Kennedy's books to be. I could see the similarities to Kennedy in the beginning, so I was quite excited, because the whole situation had the potential to be super funny, but alas, it was not meant to be. It's also isn't as engaging. I'd even dare to say that it gets boring at times, and you just hit this stretch of plot near the end that's simply annoying. It felt like the book was stretching out into infinity, so much so that I'm actually surprised to see that it only took me 4 days to get through it.
I think my problem was that I didn't connect with any of the characters for the most part. They were like limp, slightly soggy, pieces of of toast. Not a whole lot of substance. And that might just be me, I'm fully prepared to acknowledge that since I did prefaced this review saying I'd pretty much ruined the experience beforehand.
For example, there were these moments that were supposed to show how Anna is super sarcastic or whatever, but it was pretty much just her saying something, and then Drew fucking peeing himself gushing about how fantastic and smart her humor is. And then a bit later you'd get the same thing, but the two had changed places. So we're being told the characters are something, but I didn't really think it came across in their actions and what they were actually saying.

Before I go on an important note: I do not read books like this to read something sexy. I do not find erotic novels sexy, or to be a turn-on (or, I'll be willing to admit, I have never read one I found to be any of this). If an erotic novel is to be successful in my eyes, then I have to be able to laugh when the Heroine and the Hero do the nasty.
So, to make things simple:

Did I laugh at the sex scenes in this book: No, not really.
Did I feel uncomfortable reading them: Yeah, kind of.
Why: Partially because again again, tight ain't sexy.
SpoilerAnd even when Anna and Drew got together they didn't feel like friends, which is just super weird and uncomfortable to me.


In general the descriptions of the do were just not my thing. They were kind of sad, or no, sad isn't the right word for it, but it just wasn't good.

Okay, so I know I'm being super negative in this review, but really I didn't super mind [b:The Hook Up|22611920|The Hook Up (Game On, #1)|Kristen Callihan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407891923s/22611920.jpg|42102987], it was just sort of boring in places, and I didn't connect with it as I thought I would.

But, most importantly, is [b:The Hook Up|22611920|The Hook Up (Game On, #1)|Kristen Callihan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407891923s/22611920.jpg|42102987] better than Fifty Shades? Yes, yes it is.

2ash's review against another edition

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3.0

3★ this was on track to getting a four star but then the conflict at 90% happened

sidekicka7x's review against another edition

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5.0

I really loved this! The chemistry between Drew and Anna was off the charts! I'm really getting into books that include sports, so so so good!!