A review by kfriend
Hard Fall by Sara Ney
3.0
<3.5 stars>
I’m loving this new series by Sara Ney- full of all the fun sports romance and rom-com flavor that I love, chock full of the sweet low-drama charm, and delivering on an interesting take on the stereotypical athlete and leading man. This is a series guaranteed to make you smile right alongside your swoon.
We met our hero Trace (aka “Buzz”) Wallace in Hard Pas as the slightly over the top best friend and superstar of the Chicago Steams. He’s a notorious playboy, he’s part charming, part obnoxious, flirtatious, optimistic and funny when’s he’s not grating. He’s the kind of guy who loves to be the center of attention. Just the type of personality to get under the skin of our heroine Hollis, the Steams’ general manager’s daughter whose patience is pretty thin when it comes to the type of guys like Trace. Especially since she wants to distance herself from the privilege associated with her- and the source of that? Well her family’s wealth and baseball fame. Unfortunately, a turn of events put these two in each other’s crosshairs in a fake-date situation, resulting in this two starting to connect as friends. Yet, despite Trace’s indomitable charm, Hollis is determined to resist and run. Can she overcome her preconceived notions and her own reluctance to rely on anyone else? Ney brings us her characteristic humor with some great steam and keeps the plot refreshingly low drama- this book is meant to just be a happy one.
When we get to know Trace, we find a bit more there- he’s not just a jolly attention whore, but he’s caring, and just a kind and generous heart- dare I say he’s sweet. What I used to see as slightly annoying attention seeking I began to recognize as defensiveness and fabricated charm- when he’s just a guy who wants to be seen and liked for him. His charm definitely grew on me. And Hollis, well, she was perplexing for me. One one hand, I related to her motivations- she craves independence and her own identity, she’s hesitant to lean on others and has never felt like she’s been cared for in the way that Trace wants to care for her. I related to that, so hard- but then on the flip side, I found myself having a hard time dialing into her emotionally despite that- she’s so closed off for much of the book, so resistant. And as such, I struggled to get into the couple’s emotional connection. Perhaps that is a bit self-flagellating to not connect to a character who has aspirations I find admirable and relatable (we’ll save that for therapy)- and it is not like I didn’t LIKE Hollis, because I did, I just felt some of the emotional depth wasn’t as strong for me as the prior book.
Even so, the humor was there, the fun was there, and this was a charming and quick paced read that was low on angst- a nice breath of air. I love what Ney is doing with heroes in this series- they are sweet, often more vulnerable and open emotionally, “softer” in a way- which is refreshing and interesting and pretty damn endearing. Buzz’s sincerity and sweetness really encapsulate what she’s doing in this series, and we have plenty of characters to look forward to enjoying. I’ll definitely be checking out the next one. (3.5 stars overall)
I’m loving this new series by Sara Ney- full of all the fun sports romance and rom-com flavor that I love, chock full of the sweet low-drama charm, and delivering on an interesting take on the stereotypical athlete and leading man. This is a series guaranteed to make you smile right alongside your swoon.
We met our hero Trace (aka “Buzz”) Wallace in Hard Pas as the slightly over the top best friend and superstar of the Chicago Steams. He’s a notorious playboy, he’s part charming, part obnoxious, flirtatious, optimistic and funny when’s he’s not grating. He’s the kind of guy who loves to be the center of attention. Just the type of personality to get under the skin of our heroine Hollis, the Steams’ general manager’s daughter whose patience is pretty thin when it comes to the type of guys like Trace. Especially since she wants to distance herself from the privilege associated with her- and the source of that? Well her family’s wealth and baseball fame. Unfortunately, a turn of events put these two in each other’s crosshairs in a fake-date situation, resulting in this two starting to connect as friends. Yet, despite Trace’s indomitable charm, Hollis is determined to resist and run. Can she overcome her preconceived notions and her own reluctance to rely on anyone else? Ney brings us her characteristic humor with some great steam and keeps the plot refreshingly low drama- this book is meant to just be a happy one.
When we get to know Trace, we find a bit more there- he’s not just a jolly attention whore, but he’s caring, and just a kind and generous heart- dare I say he’s sweet. What I used to see as slightly annoying attention seeking I began to recognize as defensiveness and fabricated charm- when he’s just a guy who wants to be seen and liked for him. His charm definitely grew on me. And Hollis, well, she was perplexing for me. One one hand, I related to her motivations- she craves independence and her own identity, she’s hesitant to lean on others and has never felt like she’s been cared for in the way that Trace wants to care for her. I related to that, so hard- but then on the flip side, I found myself having a hard time dialing into her emotionally despite that- she’s so closed off for much of the book, so resistant. And as such, I struggled to get into the couple’s emotional connection. Perhaps that is a bit self-flagellating to not connect to a character who has aspirations I find admirable and relatable (we’ll save that for therapy)- and it is not like I didn’t LIKE Hollis, because I did, I just felt some of the emotional depth wasn’t as strong for me as the prior book.
Even so, the humor was there, the fun was there, and this was a charming and quick paced read that was low on angst- a nice breath of air. I love what Ney is doing with heroes in this series- they are sweet, often more vulnerable and open emotionally, “softer” in a way- which is refreshing and interesting and pretty damn endearing. Buzz’s sincerity and sweetness really encapsulate what she’s doing in this series, and we have plenty of characters to look forward to enjoying. I’ll definitely be checking out the next one. (3.5 stars overall)