5 stars I knew I would love this story because Kate Meader wrote it, and I was thankful to receive an ARC. I didn’t expect it to hit me as hard as Gunnar and Sadie’s story, so I was surprised when this one hit me right in the feels. Although I shouldn't have been. Now, it didn’t make me cry like Gunnar and Sadie, but Tara was a remarkably sympathetic and relatable character, and her story did bring tears to my eyes. And Hale astonished me with the depths of his feelings and his openness to admitting them, even to his friends. Most of us have suffered at the least the occasional bout of self-doubt and unworthiness, but Tara takes it to a new level. Part of the reason she comes across as she does, a gold-digger looking for a jock who’s “young, dumb, and hung,” is because she thinks her only assets are her looks and her ability to make men feel good about themselves. It’s not necessarily what she wants for her life, but she has her reasons for thinking this is the only path for her. And she more than makes up for it with her generosity and cheerfulness. She’s one of those people who brings sunshine with her every time she enters a room. Hale Fitzpatrick is the new GM of the Rebels hockey team and not on Tara’s radar. Not only does he judge her and her goals (a rich, famous, athlete husband), but the more she gets to know him, the more she also becomes convinced that she’s not worthy of someone like him. And although he’s extraordinarily attracted to her, he doesn’t seriously consider her as a long-term partner. Clearly, the two of them are about to discover some unexpected things about themselves, and each other. Tara shows some exceptional wisdom, which bely her dumb blonde persona. At one point, she tells Hale, “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” And this observation was along the lines of something I’ve always thought myself. Receiving texts from O’Malley, the man she’s being paid to pretend-date, she thinks, “The texts were along the lines of ‘Where R U?’ and ‘UOK?’ (It actually took more energy not to let the words autofill, but whatever.)” Tara feels an uncontrollable attraction to Hale, and for that reason, she feels uncomfortable around him. While talking to him, she told herself to stop talking, but instead she “babble(d) like there was a sale on words in the word store.” During another uncomfortable conversation, during which she found herself unable to stop talking, this happened: “‘Trains entering tunnels are all about sex,’ she continued because apparently she needed to finish this very important TED talk.” This here made me laugh out loud: “When had she made the switch from ‘you irritate the f— out of me’ to ‘please f— the irritation out of me?’” And when Tara tries to resist Hale’s charms, but especially his thoughtfulness and kindness because they endanger her heart, he does something over-the-top, remembering something she told him about her childhood, and the narrator says, “The hits, they kept on coming.” The story is told from alternating POVs so Hale has some observations of his own. I loved the alliteration in this: “The taste of her still lingered on his lips. The scent of her was lodged in his lungs.” As he begins to realize his feelings for Tara are more than anything he planned, “Time slowed as he moved inside her, every tiny nudge bringing him closer to a place he’d never visited.” And then there were the observations about players on the Rebels team. Of course, every time Hale sees Tara with Dex O’Malley, he sees red. At one team party, he thinks, “O’Malley was standing and talking to Tara, who must have arrived in the last couple of minutes. Though standing was more like “looming” and “talking” was closer to leering.” And because all of the players from previous books make an appearance in this one, Theo Kershaw is acknowledged as he enters a conversation already taking place. “Kershaw appeared out of nowhere as if he was waiting to be summoned to the perfect entry point.” Bottom line. I love Kate Meader and I’m forever impressed by her ability to create characters who wiggle their way into my heart and make me feel for them. Her writing is clever, witty (without being outrageous), and poignant. Any time I have the opportunity to read one of her books, I’m there. I suggest you read her books also. May 28, 2022
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