story craft

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: Paperback

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Reasons to love: 

– friends to lovers
– athlete romance 
– “It’s always been her/him”
– fun family dynamics with the FMC’s family 
– MMC’s funny/protective teammates
– fake dating

Cautions: romance: there are some descriptive kisses and lots of sexual tension, and we can clearly see where their thoughts are leading. Though both characters admit to having been sexually active before, they decide to wait ‘til they’re married, and we get a pretty much closed-door scene. We read about the lead-up in minimal detail but no details of the actual act. language: the book contained minimal use of mild language such as: sh, a, he, da, but didn’t take the Lord’s name in vain. They may have said, “Geez”; The book mentions mental health struggles, and panic attacks are a focus for both characters; there’s a gay character who talks about his boyfriend, but he’s a minor character, and we don’t get a lot of detail

Favorite quote: “No one—not even you—wants to be in a relationship where she’s not loved as fervently as she loves.”

Review: I’ve only read two Sarah Adams books, and this is my favorite of the two. Sarah is great at crafting witty romantic banter, and honestly, I loved the friends-to-lovers story between Bree and Nathan. Bree’s healthy family relationship was good to see as well—so many characters come from homes that are broken in one way or another, like Nathan’s pushy, absent, used-him-for-his-fame parents. His mom annoyed me and broke my heart, just like she was supposed to. I especially loved Bree’s sister Lily and the fierce love and loyalty Lily showed Bree. Of course, Bree’s heart for teaching dance to kids who couldn’t afford it also warmed my heart. The romance built at a very slow burn, and it was satisfying if predictable.