Romance Schmomance
Written on May 24, 2018
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**AN ARC WAS GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN**
PLEASE NOTE THAT MY GOODREADS RATING DIFFERS FROM MY PERSONAL RATING.
OK, so this was a first time read from this author and the synopsis had me so intrigued about Hayden and Adalyn. For the most part, I genuinely enjoyed their story, but it didn't exactly work for me like I was hoping it would. I definitely want to give the other books in this series a try because I've heard a lot of great things about them.
So, I was completely hooked into their story from the beginning until roughly around 50% ... and then a lot of things were just not working for me. Bah, I don't like writing these kinds of reviews, but seriously, I wanted to love this so much.
I'll start off with the absolute sweetheart that is Hayden Holmes! He's definitely different when it comes to the various sports heroes we read about and I absolutely loved him. Being one of the top rookies in hockey, coming so close to achieving his dream, but it gets taken away. Like any athlete, an opponent can only push so much before they push back. And Hayden just did that, which resulted in him being in the penalty box during such a crucial time in the match. With the season ending not the way that he hoped, he needs to clear his mind, so he heads back to some of his roots to visit his best friend, Racer.
And that's when Adalyn is introduced into the story! I absolutely loved her in the beginning, she's the sassy nurse with a quick wit and kept things honest. It was so easy to see why Hayden was head over heels the first time they met. Even with Racer warning both of them to stay away from each other, they couldn't resist the instant pull. Hayden was completely smitten with her.
Ok, back to Hayden. He definitely wanted to do everything right by Adalyn. He wanted them to take their time and boy, it was such a complete tease, but it's so steamy when they can't hold out anymore. I love his patience, truly a man with a heart of gold made it so easy to admire him. Plus, I loved that he was straightforward with her during every step of the way. Their future was unknown because of her full-time job as a nurse and his demanding hockey career. From the beginning to 50%, everything just seemed so perfect, but I was waiting for the impending news to come. Hayden can't stay there forever and has to go back to his career, but I was wondering what direction the surprise pregnancy would take this story in.
In the second half of the book, I struggled with Adalyn a lot. And that's when the major conflicts happen. I didn't agree with many of Adalyn's decision and they just drew me away from her character. Like girl, you have the perfect man in front of you willing to give you the world and you nearly throw it away. With her poor decisions and another's POV added to the mix, I was beginning to lose sight of a happy ever after between Hayden and her. I was so confused with my feelings towards her because she was such a boss in the first half, I loved her so much. I felt like she was completely unfair to Hayden during the second half. And he was literally on his hands and knees proving himself when I thought it wasn't necessary at all. He's been doing that from day 1.
Besides my strong dislike for Adalyn, I absolutely love Meghan Quinn's writing, it was so easy for me to get lost in her writing. Even though this book didn't work 100% for me, I'm definitely looking forward to her other work. Hayden is a hero that many of us will love and first-half Adalyn is the best! I wished that carried out through the entirety of their story.
P.S. Logan can go suck an egg!