5 stars I’m always prepared to cry when I read something from Kate Meader, but for some reason I keep signing up for her ARC list anyway. I admit, I enjoy it. She’s just so good at evoking emotions and getting readers fully engaged in the lives of her characters. Or maybe it’s just me. I don’t think so. To be honest, I was wrecked after reading Man Down, Gunnar and Sadie’s story. I wasn’t so sure I could survive another, but the plot isn’t as raw here (man loses his wife and two young children in a car accident is tough to beat in the sympathy arena). This emotion level here is more similar to InstaCrush (Theo & Elle), two people clearly drawn to one another, clearly falling in love, but both unsure of the others’ feelings. There aren’t so many complicating factors, other than the psychological barriers they’ve each erected. I like that Cal is best friends with Vadim while Mia is Vadim’s little sister, a potential stumbling block. On page two, Kate Meader had me chuckling as she managed to insert the phrase “ew, David.” I hope that reference will age well, as quality TV comedies tend to do. The first encounter between Cal and Mia, in this book anyway, is not the best. Mia is disgusted with him and he’s a bit ashamed. She posts a thinly-veiled description of the encounter on AITD (Am I the dick?) She does not anticipate seeing him again so when he shows up to see her brother the next day, she’s markedly uncomfortable. “The first rule of pranking is that if you don't have the stomach for it, you shouldn’t spend time with your victim in the immediate aftermath.” Cal has figured out that she was behind the post, but wants her to squirm. At one point, “He grinned at her with the most obnoxious, fuck-you, if-you-come-for-the-king grin in his arsenal.” There was another interaction, once they’d gotten to know one another better that made me laugh out loud. Mia had been raised in Brooklyn, while Cal had been raised in Boston, thus having a natural team rivalry. They were in Boston together and Cal asked Mia what she had planned for the day: “...Grab a can of spray paint.” “He cocked an eyebrow. “For?” “Just a little redecorating job at Fenway. Is “Losers” spelled with one O or two?” “It’s spelled Y-A-N-K-E-E-S…” I love Kate Meader’s way with words. Vadim decides that Cal and Mia should train together, and Cal, already feeling the stirrings of an attraction for her, thinks: “This was...a terrible idea?” Mia decides that she wants Cal to teach her some moves to attract the male she has decided is a good choice. Cal is very hesitant and Mia says, “Are you saying you’re afraid of my brother?” Cal responds in a way that made me laugh, “I most certainly am saying that…” And although she has a great sense of humor and manages to make the reader laugh with statements like, “Moving faster than a Grizzly on a honey-soaked jogger…,” it’s really her ability to elicit empathy with exactly the right formulation of words that keeps me coming back. Mia and Cal share a kiss and both are blown away by it, but both are fearful of expressing their feelings. As far as Cal is concerned, “He wasn’t going to talk about the kiss because it would mean he had to hurt her again. He couldn’t tell her he regretted it because he didn’t. He couldn’t tell her it meant everything because it did.” It’s a slow build, each of them revealing their feelings a little at a time, even to themselves. At one point, Cal says Mia’s name and she says, “There you go again with the name thing. Like it’s an answer to something.” “It is.” “What’s the question?” “I don’t know, only that your name’s the answer.” Honestly, at this point, she should have figured it out, but they still have to work through some issues—both of them. Each is hiding a wealth of pain and they need to wade through their past to start building their future. In typical Rebels fashion, the team is totally behind them, rooting for them all the way. And we have another HEA. November 29, 2020
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