Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Book Review: Hot Shot

Man. I didn't get nearly as much reading done as I wanted to this weekend, all because I had a couple of pukers here. Whatever the stomach bug is, it appears to hit quickly in the evening hours, you spike a fever, and then you're alright the next day. I mean, you're not eating heavy foods but you aren't puking all day, either. It sucks and its times like this I married a man who is good with bodily fluids because I absolutely am not.
Hot Shot - Robin Bielman

He believes in fate…

Here’s my plan: Crash through the ceiling of my family’s business to become the best hotelier on the West Coast. Nothing rattles me when it comes to a challenge and hard work, but when I spot my almost one-night-stand in my lobby, I’m thrown totally off my game. Alejandra is my dream girl. The one I can’t forget who got away – literally. Which might explain why I blurt out to my meddlesome, matchmaking grandmother that Alejandra is my date for her fast approaching and highly choreographed eightieth birthday party.

She’s been on pause…

Some decisions are harder than others, but agreeing to a date with Drew isn’t one of them. He’s a charming and gorgeous curve ball I didn’t see coming, but the more time we spend together, the harder it is to remember to play it safe. I’ve made a promise, and even though I’m now torn: I have to honor it in order to move on from the past. Drew feels like my future, but I’m about to put everything I want in jeopardy.

Not a very long book, and one that was pretty alright with some definite steamy scenes, it is a stand alone in the American Royalty series. I haven't read any of the other ones but I am assuming these are all similar to a Pretty Woman layout: wealthy man who finds not so wealthy woman, they fall in love, she's hesitant, he isn't, etc.

Things I absolutely loved:

  • Drew is really great. I liked him all around, I can't think of anything about him I don't like. He was a perfect match for Alejandra and know if his character were teased in the previous novels, fans would have been waiting for him because he was a really great guy. 
  • His grandmother Rosemary- I tell you what, we all  need to be a little like Rosemary as we age. Am I bungee jumping at her age? Probably not but to be the matriarch of the family that she is was pretty good and I really enjoyed her parts in this book. 
  • Alejandra was OK for me, not great, but she wasn't the worst either. I liked her level headed approach to things and her commitment to her job and not relying on those around her to keep her afloat. 
  • The scenes of them falling in love and being in love were really great and had me rooting for them the whole time. 
Things I didn't love: 
  • I felt like maybe the plot got away from the author a couple of times. Some things were mentioned (like her sister's boyfriend essentially being a thief and her sister defending him) and I thought they would end up being a larger part of the plot, especially when we learn about Drew's only other serious relationship and how it ended. I dreaded the end of the book knowing what was likely coming and then.... nothing. It ended up being a bit of a let down. 
  • The scene where Alejandra is holding the expensive vase? Yeah, that wasn't brought up at all again and I thought that was weird. I thought Drew and Alejandra would talk about fate more (since it's mentioned on the back cover blurb) and she would mention why she was really holding this vase and no. I don't think the whole fate concept was explored enough and I wish it had been. 
  • I wanted more of an "in the future" ending. You guys. A really great epilogue can make or break a book for me. I have to know how things really end up far in the future. I hate trying to connect those dots on my own. I realize this is just me being picky. 
  • I will say that although I liked Alejandra, her major conflict here was waiting on her boyfriend of forever to come back to see if they could "re-start" things. Which, I don't know. It felt forced and really kind of sad. You see him in pictures with other girls and you know he's out there living it up and you're just here, hanging with old people and living like a monk? Girl, nobody is attracted to a person who refuses to live life but is content hitting pause and letting time fly by you. Live it up. So that kind of drove me nuts and I felt like Drew deserved more than that. 
I am going to give this one 4 stars because while it didn't go out of the ballpark for me, I did enjoy it and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. I really liked Drew and his family, but I felt like we had a missed opportunity of conflict with Alejandra's twin sister and her boyfriend. If you aren't going to use them, don't mention them. I can see fans of the previous two books absolutely loving this one because the author's voice is really great and the steamy scenes.... they are pretty steamy. Enjoy!

   
A huge thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Robin Bielman for having me on this tour and sending a copy over to me for review! All thoughts are my own, and when you read this, I want to know what you thought about it, too! This post contains affiliate links. Happy reading!

1 comment:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Sorry about the things that didn't work for you, but it seems like you enjoyed the book overall and that's the main thing!! I like how you broke down your review here. :)

-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net