A review by kfriend
Hard Pass by Sara Ney
3.0
This is my first foray with Sara Ney- but I can tell it won’t be my last! This was a cute, heartfelt read with rich characterization, tons of humor, and limited drama that kept my heart happy and the pages turning.
I love it when authors flip tropes on their heads, and here Sara delivers a different kind of romance hero. Sure, Noah is a professional athlete, but he’s insecure about his looks, awkward, shy, and jaded. Noah finds himself in a text-meet-cute situation with a woman over some baseball cards- delightful witty banter ensues and eventually this relationship extends outside of text, raising Noah’s insecurities to a heightened level. And, this adorable, not-too-heavy and humorous love story ensues. Less-cute/awkward guy gets hot girl? That’s a change! I’m here for it.
I really loved the narrative structure Ney uses to evolve this relationship- what a masterful use of dialogue. I loved the flipping of the trope- and I did enjoy Noah, mostly. I related to his insecurities, he’s a wonderful guy at heart, and he’s respectful, considerate, and kind- dreamboaty stuffy. He’s insecurities certainly get grating though, frustrating at times- but that is the point, right? How debilitating they are. I just wanted to see a bit more evolution from him- but he’s just charming despite that. And, I loved Miranda- sassy and sweet. I love how focused she is- determined and opinionated. I love how she was really the driver of this relationship, the “alpha” if you will- and their banter was cute. I wanted to sit in their happy a bit more at the end after the road bumps, but overall, we got a great story.
As a Ney newcomer, I found her story telling to be quite skilled- the book flowed fluidly, the dialogue was clever and fresh laden with humor and charm, and the characters are richly developed, interesting, and uniquely drawn. I’m not normally a huge “sports romance” avid reader, but I enjoyed this book and I think Ney has a talented and unique voice- looking forward to reading more from her!
I love it when authors flip tropes on their heads, and here Sara delivers a different kind of romance hero. Sure, Noah is a professional athlete, but he’s insecure about his looks, awkward, shy, and jaded. Noah finds himself in a text-meet-cute situation with a woman over some baseball cards- delightful witty banter ensues and eventually this relationship extends outside of text, raising Noah’s insecurities to a heightened level. And, this adorable, not-too-heavy and humorous love story ensues. Less-cute/awkward guy gets hot girl? That’s a change! I’m here for it.
I really loved the narrative structure Ney uses to evolve this relationship- what a masterful use of dialogue. I loved the flipping of the trope- and I did enjoy Noah, mostly. I related to his insecurities, he’s a wonderful guy at heart, and he’s respectful, considerate, and kind- dreamboaty stuffy. He’s insecurities certainly get grating though, frustrating at times- but that is the point, right? How debilitating they are. I just wanted to see a bit more evolution from him- but he’s just charming despite that. And, I loved Miranda- sassy and sweet. I love how focused she is- determined and opinionated. I love how she was really the driver of this relationship, the “alpha” if you will- and their banter was cute. I wanted to sit in their happy a bit more at the end after the road bumps, but overall, we got a great story.
As a Ney newcomer, I found her story telling to be quite skilled- the book flowed fluidly, the dialogue was clever and fresh laden with humor and charm, and the characters are richly developed, interesting, and uniquely drawn. I’m not normally a huge “sports romance” avid reader, but I enjoyed this book and I think Ney has a talented and unique voice- looking forward to reading more from her!