A review by originalbooknerd
Mine to Take by Jennifer Sucevic

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🏒𝑀𝒾𝓃𝑒𝒯𝑜𝒯𝒶𝓀𝑒 - 𝒲𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓃𝒲𝒾𝓁𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓉𝓈𝐻𝑜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓎𝟧 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌🏒 

 

Author: Jennifer Sucevic 

 

Couple: Willow Thompson & Maverick McKinnon 

 

Tropes: Sports/Hockey Romance, One Night Stand, Rival plater’s Little Sister, Forced Proximity, Instant attraction, Opposites Attract, Secret relationship, hidden identity, cancer rep 

 

Review: Mine To Take is THE BOOK in the Western Wildcats Hockey series! Jennifer outdid herself with this one and can I just give her a huge round of applause! Maverick and Willow were full of angst, turmoil, self reflection and found family ALL throughout the book and I especially loved how they fit into each other’s lives perfectly! 

 

Willow is the little sister of Maverick’s rival on the ice and Jennifer captured the animosity between the hockey players wonderfully in this book. The way Maverick immediately latched onto Willow in this book was a sucker punch since he had no clue who she was. At times I adored the way he obsessed over her and wanted to show her off and at times I also hated how the appeal he first had for her was because he assumed she was a puck bunny or his rival’s girlfriend. His dichotomy of feelings and turmoil kept me entertained and swooning from page to page since he fell hard and fast for Willow but had no true clue who she was for so long. 

 

Willow’s character was the sole reason this book had ANGST. Her hidden identity and refusal to admit to her feelings for Maverick added level 1000+ angst to their romance and I was there for it! Jennifer did amazing with Willow’s character and journey from q little insecure to independent and fierce. I LOVED the way she began standing up to her brother but also was afraid to upset the family dynamic too much. One area I really enjoyed in this book was the way the girl group adopted her into the fold. The airl bonds were next level in this book and I cannot wait to see them in the next book (which I expect is Willow’s BFF??). 

 

This book was different from the rest in this series since it dealt with deeper topics. Both characters had an up close and personal history with cancer and Jennifer was able to capture the nuances and differences between how they each dealt with it well. Willow’s history of being a surviver and in remission was a huge part of her story and I felt like it shaped who she was as a whole but also is what made Maverick perfect for her. Maverick on the other hand had to got through the fear of possibly losing a loved one (his mother) and being with Willow made him face the fears and worry that brought the prior trauma back. The way they each overcame this and ended up stronger added so much to their story and also was part of why Mine To Take jumped straight to the top of this series! 

 

Willow and Maverick were HAWT. This book was spicy and full of the steam. These two perfected the art of snark and the push and pull banner in frenemies to lovers romance. I also adored how they each fell for the other in different ways. This book had a third act break up but in my opinion it was needed so the two had time to overcome the last of their fears. It also allowed for breathing room and time for Willow’s brother to move past his anger. Jennifer provided hints at the next book to come and I can just say that it is THE BOOK I have been waiting for! 

 

Rating: 100+, WOW…Willow and Maverick rocketed to the top of my favorite couples in this series and Jennifer really packed in then tension and angst in this one! 

 

Thank you Jennifer & Literally Yours PR for the eARC copy!