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Book Review: Sure Shoot by Sarina Bowen

May 14, 2020

Sure Shot (Brooklyn #4) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 300
Publish date: May 12th 2020
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781950155019
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – More Purchase Links

On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, sports agent Bess Beringer is ready to make some changes. Armed with a five-year plan—indexed and colour-coded—she’ll tackle her personal life with the same zeal that she brings to her successful agency.

A big, tall, ripped hunk of a hockey player who’s just been traded to the Brooklyn Bruisers is not a part of that plan. Mark “Tank” Tankiewicz has a lot of baggage. He’s a ride-or-die loner with a bad reputation. He’s on the rebound. He is also the sexiest thing on two legs, and for some crazy reason, it’s Bess that he wants.

She knows better. But then she falls stupid in love with him anyway. And for a while, it seems like maybe he’ll do the same.

Until she asks him for the one thing he can never give her…

Sure Shot:

I received an earc of Sure Shot by Sarina Bowen from the author in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I really love Sarina Bowen’s hockey romances – I’ve read them all now. And in reality, there is only two books I haven’t yet read by her. However, the last few books that I have read, I haven’t loved to bits. But this changed with Sure Shot. It’s a slight second chances romance with some forbidden love through it. And it was great. I think this has to be my second favourite from this series so far.

Sure Shot by Sarina Bowen follows Bess Beringer as she tries to figure out what to do with her life. She has a five-year-plan and none of it included the new trade to the Brooklyn Bruisers, Tank. Bess tries hard and tries to forget that Tank is even there, but they have a past. And it’s hard when he is the sexiest thing and he wants her. And even though she fights it, she falls. Things are great – until they are not. And everything around both Bess and Tank falls apart.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Bess was such a pleasure to read and follow. The reader already knows her from other books in the series, but we really get to know her here and it was such a great time. I loved everything that she represented and what she fought for. Bess felt like a very real for me. She had her faults and weakness, but then she had her strengths and characteristics. Bess has a fantastic character arc, that not only spans Sure Shot but the series as well. While you don’t need to read the other books in the series, I do feel that the reader is able to see Bess fully grow that way. I loved Bess’ determination and resilience.

Tank was such an interesting male protagonist in Sure Shot. On the outside and to most of the world, he seemed to have this hardass. But the reader is able to see this soft side, especially when he is with Bess. Tank has a lot of baggage and the reader really feels for him. His marriage has just broken down, he has moved to a team that seemingly don’t like him. And that effects him in a way that while wasn’t great, it was nice to see in the book. It’s not often that you see a male character, especially someone in sports really put everything out there. My heart really felt for Tank.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

The romance in Sure Shot was adorable and something that I really did love. Bess and Tank were so good together. I loved their banter and the way that they were with one another. They both brought out the best in one another and that was just so nice to see. Tank and Bess both have a lot of issues and together they are able to deal with it. Although it is not smooth sailing – like at all. Bess is very hesitant. She feels that being with Tank could interfere with her job and many other things. And she pushes him away, but Tank doesn’t let her fully. He is there for her. And I loved that.

There are many heartbreaking moments throughout Sure Shot. And I thought that Sarina Bowen dealt with them in a great way. Tank has a lot of demons and that does affect the way that he thinks and reacts to people. And then being thrown into an environment where he doesn’t have any support is hard. But Bess becomes that person and as the novel so do his teammates and everyone in that circle. Infertility and pregnancy are some of the major themes throughout the novel. Because of this, there are some parts that are really hard to read, but I think that Sarina does talk about in a fantastic way.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Overall, I really enjoyed Sure Shot by Sarina Bowen. It was one of the harder-hitting books by Sarina, but it was still full of romance. Sure Shot explores second chances in life and in love while also exploring life and trying to find the positives. Bess and Tank were adorable and sexy today and I loved it. Bess is a stand out for me. If you are looking for an adorable and sexy romance that also explores the notion of family, infertility and starting new relationships, this Sure Shot is for you.

Have you read Sure Shot by Sarina Bowen? What did you think of it? Are you planning to? Have you read anything else by Sarina? Let’s Chat!

The Books That I Have Recently Read

May 13, 2020

Today I thought I would share some of the books that I’ve recently read. I read a lot. Most of the time I can finish at least one book a day. So there are times where I’m just picking up a book as soon as I finish the other. So today I wanted to share some of the books that I have recently read.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: I started seeing this one pop up over the past couple of weeks and a fair few of my favourite bookish people had loved it. It sounded like my thing so I gave it a go. And I loved it. It’s probably my favourite book that I’ve read this year. Hands down. It could be one of my favourites of all time. I’ll be posting my full review soon. But just so you know, I loved it.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: This is my first re-read on this list. I just felt that a good romance that I know and love. I always have so much fun reading this book. It just makes me so happy. It is something that I’m always recommending to customers at work because I love it that much. You can also check out my discussion I had with Ely from Of Wonderland.

Men of Inked #1 -#3 by Chelle Bliss: This series popped up on my Facebook feed recently so I thought that I would give it a go. They were pretty okay. Nothing to write home about, but I enjoyed reading them and will continue reading the series and will most likely read the companion series as well. But we will see. Out of these three, my favourite is between books 1 and 2. I’ve been really in the mood for books that include characters that are tattoo artists and this isn’t a horrible one. I do wish there was more about tattooing though.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer: This is my second read and the latest books that I finished. I saw a post on twitter about this series and it really made me want to re-read it. I love this series so much. It really brought me more into reading science fiction. It’s not a genre that I read a lot of, but I love this series. I think it’s a great series for those just starting to read sci-fi and not sure how they feel about it. Also, I want the new covers so bad!

And that is it for this post! What are some of your recent reads? Have you read anything that I have? Are you planning to read any of these? Let’s Chat!

The Books I Have Abandoned

May 12, 2020

This week I’m sharing the books and series that I have abandoned. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

It’s rare that I don’t finish a book or a series but today I thought I would share some of those. There are different reasons that I abandon books or series. Many different reasons really. Sometimes I fall out of love with the series. Sometimes I just can’t connect with characters or the plot. And Sometimes books are just bad.

So today I’m sharing some of those books and series that I abandoned. Some of these I only got through a few chapters, some I read a few books in the series. Like always these are in no particular order.

Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas: This won’t be the last Sarah J Maas book on my list. However, I actually really enjoyed the first book of this series. It was exactly what I was loving at the time and it felt like I could love the series as a whole. And then it went downhill from there. I don’t like what she does with her characters I really don’t. Everyone hyped this series so much and people still buy this series non-stop today but I just couldn’t.

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey: Now I haven’t full abandoned this one. I just haven’t picked it up since I started reading in January. I started reading it but didn’t get to finish it before my holiday and didn’t want to carry something that I would finish in an hour. So I left it at home. And just haven’t picked it up since. I really hope to soon though.

King Series by T.M. Frazier: I read a good chunk of this series. Not sure why I did. Because I wasn’t enjoying it that much. I just wanted to find out things that happened. But I really didn’t like it at all. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style or the characters. Everything really. I normally don’t like not finishing a book. It happens but not a lot. So I kept on pushing. And then they all left on cliff hangers and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Luckily they were through KU. So I don’t feel as bad. But I will not be reading anything more in this series.

Storm MC Series by Nina Levine: This is another series that I’m not sure why I kept on reading. I wanted to pick up book 2 because it had a single parent. But I hated both books that I read. They were both 1 star reads for me. And I rarely give those out. But I really disliked so much about it. If you are looking for a good MC series, check my recommendations post out.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: This is another series that I haven’t fully abandoned but I just have put it on hold. I’m finding it harder and harder to love young adult fantasy. There are some that I live for and adore. And then some like this one that I liked but just haven’t picked up yet. So right now I am abandoning it. But maybe one day I will read it again.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber: This is another series that I finished the first book in the series but haven’t read anything else. But I think that this is going to stay that way. I thought that Caraval was okay. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. There were problems with it though. I just don’t think it was for me.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas: I said there was going to be another Sarah J. Mass. Much like her other series, I loved the first book. It was one of my favourite books I read the year it came out. But it went downhill from there. Most of the problems in this series were the same from her other books. I don’t like what she does with characters, how they are treated. How she flips everything that they do. I just think that Sarah J. Maas is not for me.

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass: This one is a strange one and I don’t think that I’m in alone as to why I stopped reading this series. I read the original trilogy and enjoyed. It’s my guilty pleasure read. I also started the ‘second’ duology as I like to call it. The first one was okayish. The last – yer not so much. I haven’t read any of the short stories and I might not read anything more by Kiera Cass again. Her books sound good, but they aren’t written well. Not for me at least.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris: I cannot believe that is this on my list. On paper, this sounds like my perfect book. It’s about World War II, come on. But I got maybe 30 pages in and had to stop reading. I don’t like the writing style – at all. It felt very jarring to me and I couldn’t connect with either the characters or the story. I really wanted to love this. We sell it nearly every day at work, but I just couldn’t.

Pawns in the Bishop’s Game by Emilia Finn: I got about 10% into this one before I gave up. It was really horrible. I don’t DNF books a lot. Most of the time I’ve got a clear idea of what I like to read and what I don’t. But this sounded like something that I would like. I was wrong. So wrong. I can’t even pinpoint really what was wrong with it. First, there are different titles for it, but also it’s like the end of one series and the start of another and it took me a while to figure out which book to read first. And second I just didn’t enjoy it.

And that is it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. What are the books or series that you have abandoned? Do we share anything that is the same? Let’s Chat!