Review: Quick read, nice HEA, but a bit depressing at first.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 25, 2013
I love reading stories about women who are in transition, usually after some sort of loss: death, divorce, job loss, etc. This is a story about a young woman who is the 'youngest' of three triplets. Her mother died when she was only three, and she was her father's favorite (although he clearly loved all three daughters) he spent the most time with her, nurturing her love and talent for hockey. But her hockey dreams are over after having played professionally in Sweden (where they allow mixed gender teams) she has been injured and released from her contract. She returns to her small town where one sister has remained and now has a serious chip on her shoulder, after having cared for their very ill father alone for the last several years.So now our h is home, without a job, without a college degree, without any idea of what she wants to do, with a very ill father who is only getting worse, a sister in LA with a drug problem, and a sister at home who is not only cold but downright hostile towards her. The one bright spot in all of this is that there is a recreational hockey league, where the only qualifications are that the player be between the ages of 25-45 and able to play. Unfortunately, it's all male, and most of the town is unhappy (and very vocal) about her desire to join but they are unable to keep her from doing so. So now, she also has a town full of catty women and sexist men who don't believe that she should be allowed to play recreational hockey on the men's beer league.See why I found this a bit depressing? I mean, I like a heroine who has to face some challenges, but seriously, I need to know there's going to be something good waiting for her at the end of the road.Fortunately, her childhood crush and "the one that got away" is still in town, now a sucessful businessman and adept hockey player who decides to let her join his team.Even at this point, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome, and the road to the HEA is long and bumpy. I'm not sure what it was about this story, because I do love angst, but I struggled with my feelings for it. At one point, I just thought, 'Holy crap! She should just pack her bags and start over somewhere else, where no one even knows her name!' I thought the writer may have been setting it up for her to be physically attack, the hatred toward her by the townspeople where she grew up was that strong. But the writing was good, and I hung on waiting for the silver lining. I'm glad I did, because I got what I was looking for in the end. I downloaded this on the free promotion, and I'm glad I did. It was a nice diversion and I'd be interested in reading more by this author.3.5 stars(There are love scenes in this book. The are hot, but not graphic. I like everything from sweet to steamy, but I wouldn't have minded more description in this instance. The H is majorly sexy and I wanted to explore his tattoo a bit more.) Happy reading!