Sports Romance Archives - Page 2 of 2

Book Review:: Unloved | Peyton Corinne

If you were a big fan of Icebreaker, Unloved is another college hockey romance with spice, heart, and finding your place you that will scratch that same itch.

Matt Fedderic is a hockey star with learning disorders that make it difficult for him to stay eligible for the team. Ro is his new tutor. She has a toxic ex who builds himself up by bringing her down, and though he doesn’t want to date her, he doesn’t want to be rid of her either, since she’s an easy punching bag. Matt has a reputation for getting around, fueled by the gaping hole left by his piece of crap father and his mother’s passing. As Matt and Ro spend more time together, a friendship forms between them, and maybe even something deeper.

For me, this was an enjoyable read, but there were some problems. The fact that most of their early tension and attraction was caused by two different nights they had together that the other couldn’t remember and was formative to the other…that just seemed problematic to me. Especially the prologue – since there is another scene based on that plot device a little later on, I kind of wish it hadn’t been included.

There is some pretty dark stuff insinuated in this book. Matt’s sexual past is…not great. It mentions some action with a high school teacher at one point. …um, what? And then his most recent ex is nothing but bad news as well. And Ro’s ex had zero redeeming qualities or background to back up his actions toward her.

I don’t know. A lot of it was a little too much for me. If there were a volume dial on the drama scale I might have turned it down like two notches.

The relationship between Ro & Matt was sweet though. Having them prioritize friendship between them for so long was absolutely necessary for these two and absolutely refreshing. It was clear they weren’t just horny for one another, but that they really cared about the other in much deeper ways. They are both going through some rough stuff, and they show up for each other every time it counts. That’s the kind of stuff I love in a romance.

Unloved is really what I’m finding to be a ‘typical’ college sports romance novel. It’s long, there are lots of plotlines, family traumas, lessons to be learned, steamy scenes, and a nice happy ending at the end. For me, it felt like I’d read it before honestly. There wasn’t enough there to stand out, but I read A LOT of romance. But this is exactly what you might be looking for if you were a big fan of Icebreaker by Hannah Grace.

Details

Title:: Unloved (The Undone #2)
Author:: Peyton Corinne
Genre:: Sports Romance
Publisher:: Atria Books
Length:: 464 pages
Audio Length:: 14h
Audiobook Narrator:: TBA
Audiobook Publisher:: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published:: February 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3

If you liked this book, check out…

The Graham Effect | Elle Kennedy
The Cheat Sheet/The Rule Book | Sarah Adams
Catch & Keep | Erin Hahn

Book Review:: The Perfect Putt | Annah Conwell

The Perfect Putt is a sweet small-town sports romance with no spice, and lots of drama! Picture the flavor of a Sarah Adams romance (a la The Cheat Sheet), geared a little closer to a younger (or more innocent) reader audience.

The Perfect Putt Annah Conwell Book Cover, Golfer kissing girl with red hair

Ellie Heart takes a job as the assistant to a professional golfer in order to accelerate her savings to open up her own florist business one day. She hates golf, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Miles, who has had terrible luck keeping an assistant for long. They always get obsessed with him, and the last thing he wants is to have a serious relationship that might lead to marriage. His parents ugly divorce was enough to solidify that decision for him. But as he and Ellie get to know one another, it feels different.

This novel felt very much like a high school drama. The characters are older, but they acted quite innocently. The emotions were elevated to the point almost of exaggeration, and were certainly accelerated, making this very much insta-love territory. It wasn’t necessarily the short time component that made it feel fast, but the lack of context for the depth of feeling they were both experiencing. Some of it did feel a little silly, but it also has a certain kind of charm.

The fact that Ellie & Miles were technically employer/employee didn’t seem to add any boundary to the romance. I don’t remember it being mentioned at all as a hurdle to overcome between them, which seemed a little strange.

Overall though, The Perfect Putt felt very uplifting and positive.

Miles, in particular, has a very strong friend group. He is distant from his broken family, so it’s great that he has that support system behind him. He likes to be friends with everyone who surrounds him, which is how he starts to let Ellie in.

Ellie is just trying to stay focused on her dream of opening her own little shop in her favorite place: Coastal Cove, an idyllic small-town setting. Her widowed sister Naomi lives there with her young son and Ellie is sticking around to help her. I would expect one of the next novels in the series to center around Naomi!

The narration was done very well. Both voice actors did a great job with the material and gave life to the characters.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for sending the audiobook arc in exchange for my honest review of this title.

Details

Title:: The Perfect Putt (More Than A Game Book #2)
Author:: Annah Conwell
Genre:: Sweet Sports Romance
Publisher:: Indie
Length:: 269 pages
Audio Length:: 6h 42m
Audiobook Narrator:: Sybil Johnson & Dillon Sickels
Audiobook Publisher:: Dreamscape Media
Published:: August 27th, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 3-Stars
Spice Level:: 0.5 (kissing, alludes to sex)

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

The Cheat Sheet/The Rule Book | Sarah Adams
My (not so) Perfect Life | Sophie Kinsella

Book Review:: The Graham Effect | Elle Kennedy

What is it about sports romance? As someone with no interest in athletics whatsoever, I never thought I’d enjoy reading them, but I got curious and picked one off of KU (Kindle Unlimited – no risk!) and just see. Well. Ahem. Since then, I’ve read my fair share, and – no one is more surprised to hear what I’m about to say than I am – they’re awesome.

The Graham Effect Elle Kennedy Book Cover

Gigi Graham, daughter of legendary hockey phenom Garrett Graham, has her heart set on the Olympics. She’s played hockey her whole life and loves the sport. Trouble is, the national team is dragging their toes in finalizing their roster, and has hinted at her weaknesses behind the goal. Luke Ryder is the new co-captain of the men’s team, which recently merged with another (rival) college that went under. He’s had to work hard for everything his whole life, and is just hoping to not screw anything up for himself this last year of college. His reputation is hanging by a thread after an incident the year before. Garrett Graham is looking for a coach for a training camp he runs for youngsters, and Ryder wants the spot – badly enough to offer to help the renowned coach’s daughter to work on her hockey weaknesses in exchange for a good word with her dad. Sparks fly and secrets begin to pile up as Gigi and Ryder pursue the futures they’ve always dreamed of.

At almost 500 pages, you really get to sit in this story for awhile. For some, that might be a turnoff, but I almost always welcome large page counts, if the story supports them. Could it have been shorter? Of course. But with all the subplots introduced, the author really gives each their time in the sun and weaves through all the subtleties, creating a story just as complex as real life can be. And each thread was tied up nicely with a bow by the end. I was personally glad to have so much time with the characters.

This is the first book I’ve ever read of Elle Kennedy, but I’ve read this is the first book in a spinoff second-generation series. I like that idea. I’m assuming that Garret Graham was a hero of one of the first-generation books. He seems like he’d have been a great leading man back in the day *eyebrow wiggle*. I feel like there is enough of him in this book to satisfy fans of the previous series too. It’s always fun to see old characters make new story cameos, right?

I docked a star because the secrecy stretches on a little long for me. It kept coming up and I felt like I was reading the same we’re not ready to reveal ourselves yet over and over (maybe if it wasn’t spelled out so frequently it wouldn’t have bothered me as much). While I found this book compelling and entertaining and sweet, it was missing some deeper X-Factor for me I can’t quite put my finger on. All the elements were there, but it didn’t quite reach 5-star status for me (I don’t hand ’em out easy!).

I’d recommend this book for those who are big fans of sports romance, or are just looking for a good college romance to sink their teeth into for the summer. The great news is, if you like it, there are a lot more to keep you busy reading for some time to come!

Details

Title:: The Graham Effect (Campus Diaries #1)
Author:: Elle Kennedy
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: EKI
Length:: 498 pages
Audio Length:: 14h 3m
Audiobook Narrator:: CJ Bloom & Teddy Hamilton
Audiobook Publisher:: Tantor Audio
Published:: October 31, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 4