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A review by lmrivas54
A Lie for a Lie by Helena Hunting
5.0
I don’t know what I loved more, the characters or the plot or the author’s writing. This was one book I enjoyed from the first line to the last and would have loved to go on reading about Lainey and Rook (or RJ). They are both so adorable together!
Rook is the captain of Chicago’s hockey team. He took over from Alex Winters (Pucked), who stepped down last year. Once a year, during downtime, Rook takes off for a few weeks to Kodiak island in Alaska with his father and brother and chill out there, boating and fishing. His father died two years ago, but Rook and his brother continue the tradition. This year, he needs it more than ever, after the craziness of his first year as captain. Unfortunately, his brother couldn’t make it this year, so he’s traveling solo. In the last two legs of his trip, he meets Lainey, who is also traveling to Kodiak, to work on her thesis about the mating rituals of whales and dolphins.
Lainey suffers from extreme anxiety and panic attacks. She doesn’t do good in public, where there are crowds and noise. She was home-schooled and very sheltered by her parents and raised to be afraid of the outer world. She feels smothered by her parents, so she’s branching out and daring out into the world, studying for her third Masters degree. Since she’s awkward, shy and anxious, she’s scared out of her mind on the plane flights and RJ feels compelled to help her. He tells her he’s her human teddy bear, so endearing! He finds her refreshing, adorable and intelligent, a combination that turns out to be just perfect for him.
They spend six wonderful weeks in Alaska and when he suddenly has to leave due to a family emergency, they lost contact. Fast forward one year later...
Rook is attending a birthday party of a teammate’s kid at the Chicago Aquarium and gets a huge surprise. The woman he’s been pining for during the past year is there working as a tour guide. Their reunion is not a happy one because he forgot to mention a very important detail, that he’s the captain of the hockey team. She thought he was an alpaca farmer. Turmoil ensues because Rook was really into Lainey and wants another chance but Lainey is angry about the lies. She also hates that he’s such a famous public person. And then more secrets surface.
The story has all the elements I love in a book, wonderful love story, some angst, some humor and great pace. I loved Rook and Lainey and loved the way their story developed. Lainey gave him hell for his lies and kept up the anger for an appropriate time. I was so glad she didn’t turn this into a drama case!
I also loved meeting up with old friends from the Pucked series. It was such a page-turner, entertaining read. I loved how Rook was so understanding about Lainey’s anxiousness and how he always maneuvered to ease her way into his life which is hectic, public and noisy. He didn’t push her to accept his life, but rather he adapted to her life and meshed his friends, their spouses or girlfriends and made a happy group of people for Lainey that also served as her support group. He was courteous and respectful with her parents, even though they weren’t exactly nice the first times they met. Lainey’s mother was loving but horribly over-bearing. I loved Lainey, she was super intelligent, caring and open minded. Once she makes up her mind to enter Rook’s world, she was a good sport and very thoughtful. They were a perfect couple, he calmed her anxiety and she centered him. Together, they made the other the best person they could be, and as a team they were strong. Loved it!
Rook is the captain of Chicago’s hockey team. He took over from Alex Winters (Pucked), who stepped down last year. Once a year, during downtime, Rook takes off for a few weeks to Kodiak island in Alaska with his father and brother and chill out there, boating and fishing. His father died two years ago, but Rook and his brother continue the tradition. This year, he needs it more than ever, after the craziness of his first year as captain. Unfortunately, his brother couldn’t make it this year, so he’s traveling solo. In the last two legs of his trip, he meets Lainey, who is also traveling to Kodiak, to work on her thesis about the mating rituals of whales and dolphins.
Lainey suffers from extreme anxiety and panic attacks. She doesn’t do good in public, where there are crowds and noise. She was home-schooled and very sheltered by her parents and raised to be afraid of the outer world. She feels smothered by her parents, so she’s branching out and daring out into the world, studying for her third Masters degree. Since she’s awkward, shy and anxious, she’s scared out of her mind on the plane flights and RJ feels compelled to help her. He tells her he’s her human teddy bear, so endearing! He finds her refreshing, adorable and intelligent, a combination that turns out to be just perfect for him.
They spend six wonderful weeks in Alaska and when he suddenly has to leave due to a family emergency, they lost contact. Fast forward one year later...
Rook is attending a birthday party of a teammate’s kid at the Chicago Aquarium and gets a huge surprise. The woman he’s been pining for during the past year is there working as a tour guide. Their reunion is not a happy one because he forgot to mention a very important detail, that he’s the captain of the hockey team. She thought he was an alpaca farmer. Turmoil ensues because Rook was really into Lainey and wants another chance but Lainey is angry about the lies. She also hates that he’s such a famous public person. And then more secrets surface.
The story has all the elements I love in a book, wonderful love story, some angst, some humor and great pace. I loved Rook and Lainey and loved the way their story developed. Lainey gave him hell for his lies and kept up the anger for an appropriate time. I was so glad she didn’t turn this into a drama case!
I also loved meeting up with old friends from the Pucked series. It was such a page-turner, entertaining read. I loved how Rook was so understanding about Lainey’s anxiousness and how he always maneuvered to ease her way into his life which is hectic, public and noisy. He didn’t push her to accept his life, but rather he adapted to her life and meshed his friends, their spouses or girlfriends and made a happy group of people for Lainey that also served as her support group. He was courteous and respectful with her parents, even though they weren’t exactly nice the first times they met. Lainey’s mother was loving but horribly over-bearing. I loved Lainey, she was super intelligent, caring and open minded. Once she makes up her mind to enter Rook’s world, she was a good sport and very thoughtful. They were a perfect couple, he calmed her anxiety and she centered him. Together, they made the other the best person they could be, and as a team they were strong. Loved it!