Review: Good and Enjoyable story up until the ending. This one ends really abruptly, but the story and characters are great.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
Review for Ramblings From This Chick. ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.comOn the Fly is the second book in Catherine Gayle's Contemporary sports romance series about the Portland Storm Hockey team. These books can be read as standalones, but they do have interconnected characters with parts of their stories continuing in each book. I would suggest starting at the beginning of the series, but it is not necessary. I have been looking forward to getting to know Brenden "Soupy" Campbell since I read Breakaway, and I really enjoyed his story. This was a great installment to the series, and I am really liking these books. I can't wait to get the next one!Brenden "Soupy" Campbell's hockey career has been full of injuries forcing his NHL career to be on hold. He has bounced back and forth between the minor leagues and pro, and after finally getting called up to the pros and given a contract with the Portland Storm he will do anything to remain on the team. But when he meets Rachel Shaw the new assistant to the general manager, he sets out to not only have the career but to also get the girl. He quickly finds out that Rachel has two young children and she says that she doesn't date. But Brenden isn't about to give up so easily and is determined to win her over. Rachel is holding something back from him though and she is overprotective when it comes to her kids. Can Brenden balance his career as well as a new relationship with Rachel while trying to earn her trust? Can Brenden show Rachel that she and her kids are safe with him and that he won't hurt them?I liked Brenden a lot. He was a really sweet guy that was always looking out for Rachel and her kids. He would do whatever he could to not only take care of them, but to show them what a good guy should act like. He did his best to be a good role model for the kids, and he included them in so much. He really embraced not only the relationship with Rachel, but he also made sure that the kids were a part of that. It was really cute watching him get familiar with the kids and seeing his reactions to them and his growing feelings for them. I thought that Rachel was smart and determined, and she was a really great mom. She had a tendency to hover a bit and had a tough time letting go sometimes with them, but that was understandable after everything that they had been through. It was nice to see her start to open up to someone though and I liked watching her realize that she had a whole new support system to lean on. I thought that Brenden and Rachel had a lot of chemistry, and it was good to see them take things slow. Their relationship really seemed real because it had the chance to grow naturally and wasn't rushed. They really built a solid foundation for their relationship, and I liked seeing them develop the emotional connection and not just a physical one.Overall, this was a good story and I really liked the characters. It was good to see familiar faces, and I really love this group of characters. The Portland Storm hockey team and organization is such a close group, and I really love that they are like a family. They are always there for each other and are the first to help or support when needed and without being asked. I love how Catherine Gayle has showed that even though there are awful things that happen in life, that we can overcome and that there are good people out there that help and ask for nothing in return. Her stories show hope and love, and they are filled with characters that have a strength that is so admirable. Even though these books do deal with some dark and painful issues, they also have such a light and happy feel to them. It is impossible to be in a bad mood when I read them, and they always leave me feeling good and filled with hope for humanity. I really did enjoy this story, and I thought that it was definitely worth the read. I did think that this one ended pretty abruptly though, and I was hoping for more. I wasn't expecting it to stop the way it did, and to me it could have had more. But I still would recommend these books and think that this series is definitely worth the read. I look forward to reading more in this series and from Catherine Gayle in the future.**Review Copy Provided by AToMR**