A review by kj468
Blindside Hit by Michaela Grey

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Ugh, I didn't enjoy this book, sorry. There were some *moments* that I enjoyed, but overall, I did not enjoy the experience of reading this book and lowkey wish I hadn't picked it up.
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pov: dual 3rd person
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rep: MLM; Gay MCs, lots of queer side characters
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tags: HURT/COMFORT (so much); sports romance; hockey; closeted MC; injury; family included; ugly x pretty
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ratings: funny: 1.5 // ease: 2 // spice: honestly don't remember // plot: 2 // romance: 2.5 // overall: 2
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Likes:
  • As I said, there were some moments and scenes I enjoyed, but I won't list them because spoilers
  • Adam's family was pretty good.

Dislikes:
  • Very mind-readery at times. Sometimes characters jump to conclusions and I have no idea how they got there, like I can't even see it a little. And then another character will magically intuit what one character is thinking, and I can't understand how the other character figured out what was in their head -- it wasn't obvious.
    • EX (minor spoiler): at one point, Etienne thinks Adam broke up with him (which I didn't understand why, tbh). And then half an hour later, Adam shows up to comfort Etienne because he ~knows~ Etienne thought Adam broke up with him. And I just ??? didn't ??? get it at all????
  • Stuff happens at really awkward and weird moments. It's like the author had a preconceived list of scenes they wanted to include and just kind of shoved it all into the book irrespective of if it actually fit the moment in the book. 
    • EX1: They're making out ~with intentions~ and suddenly, Adam abruptly pulls back to ask Etienne if he's going to be able to put aside his "self-hatred" (over his "ugly" face) and not resent Adam for being "pretty". It's such an awkward time to have that conversation, and also it comes out pretty accusatory IMO.
    • EX2: I could be wrong, because honestly some stuff was pretty confusing, but I'm pretty sure they go water skiing. In Seattle. In January. And don't mention that is freaking cold???
  • How even old are these characters??? Etienne is playing for the minors and Adam is a rookie in the NHL (I think NHL). So I assumed they were, like, young 20s. But then Adams *younger* sister gets married, and also she's an assistant hockey coach at a college, which doesn't seem to fit with her being like 19-21???
  • There's SO MUCH hurt/comfort. Slight spoiler, but it's Adam who keeps getting injured. He literally hits his head 3 times in the book, which got super old to me. 
  • Pretty light on hockey, especially since Adam is injured in one form or another for most of the book
  • Side characters filtered in and out, seemingly whenever it was convenient for the plot. Some plot points showed up for literally a scene and were never mentioned again, making them feel a lot more like plot *devices* rather than plot points (Etienne's dad is a great example of this)
  • At the end, I had so many unanswered questions (Etienne's career, Adam's sister's relationship, Thunder's coach, etc...). Maybe these get answered in other books by the author, but I really don't care enough to pick up any of the author's other works. I'm sorry for the two days I spent reading this book.
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