Bingo Square – Arts (one character is a writer – this could have also fit into Play with the hockey but I have something else in mind for that square)
I was surprised when I saw that Kelley Armstrong was writing contemporary romances since I had first discovered her through her urban fantasy series, Women of the Otherworld– then again, I read broadly across genres so it makes sense that an author would have a variety of interests.
This is the second of her contemporary romances I have read, and halfway through, I even realized the connection this one had to the previous one (FMC’s brother was the MMC in her other novel) – they don’t seem to be labeled as being part of a series but there is a minor connection for anyone interested.
Gemma always wanted to be an author but life got in the way. Now her debut novel is about to come out and she is booked for a spot on a local morning show. The host is a former mean girl from her high school but people mature and grow up, right? Except this was a set up. See, Gemma’s romance novel needed an asshole alpha dude as her love interest so she reached back to high school and used Mason Moretti, a former friend, now famous hockey player in Vancouver as the inspiration- she didn’t expect anyone to make the connection but turns out maybe she wasn’t as subtle as she thought. Mason doesn’t know his character is the exact kind of guy Gemma hates and thinks the news that she based a character on him is a good sign and that it means she has forgiven him for what happened in high school.
After their interaction on the talk show goes viral, Mason reaches out to Gemma – he would like to reconnect with the girl he knew but he is having some PR issues of his own right now so he figures them being out and about could only help them both out. It’s not quite a fake dating set up but why not get to each other again and share those interactions on their own terms?
Gemma has quite a bit of hesitancy to overcome – between her recent bad divorce and her high school interactions with Mason, she isn’t exactly ready to trust or get too deep into anything. After years of marriage, she is coming to terms with how much she shaped herself to fit her husband’s expectations, and even if she were interested in Mason, she is not ready to have to fit into a box, especially one that could come with dating a famous athlete.
Mason has his own issues as an aging athlete who has too often linked his value to his ability to perform, and also has a tendency to resist conflict outside of the rink.
I’d say this was a 3.5 but I rounded up to 4 … it was a solid and enjoyable read but it’s been less than a month since I read it and I’m already blanking on some of the details, especially from later in the book, which means it doesn’t have the staying power I would expect of a true 4 star review. I do vaguely recall that they mostly managed to avoid the third act break up – first, it takes a while for them to get together and they definitely have exchanges that could lead to a third act break up but instead both characters make themselves talk through their fears like adults so the main drama in the end is related to an external event. So I did appreciate that, too.