Friday, February 12, 2021

Book Review: Love in Moments (Love Distilled #2)

I wish TGIF shows were still a thing. When did we just collectively decide no more wholesome family TV? I've been thinking about that lately.  

Anyways. Today is Friday and I'm so grateful for it. Not that I have an exciting weekend ahead, but I do have a virtual meeting with a friend on Saturday, I have to get my headshots done for Duluth Moms Blog since I no longer look like mine at all, and then I'm hoping that I can have lunch with Matt after and call it our Valentine's date. What are your plans? 

Love in Moments - Scarlett Cole

Swedish hockey player, Anders “Iceberg” Berg, is counting the days until he’s an unrestricted free agent and can land the contract he’s worth. Yet, instead of recovering and resting at home so he can play to impress his dream organization, he’s in Denver for his brother’s wedding at a gin distillery, watching the pretty brunette who organized the whole thing.

Olivia Dyer can’t wait to put the year behind her. Her father died, and the event hall she ran at her family’s distillery was destroyed. The cost to the business and her mental health more than she could ever afford to repay. Rebuilding both takes all her effort leaving little time for anything else. Except for a single night of fun with the hot hockey player who’s been watching her every move.

When a kitchen catastrophe throws Anders and Liv together, it ends with an evening neither of them can forget. It was only meant to be one night. But when Anders is unexpectedly traded to see out the rest of his contract with the Denver Rush, and his plans to leave as quickly as possible are disrupted by the sultry brunette who defines courage, their only option is to give to the attraction they feel for one another.

Yet with Liv stuck in the past and Anders firmly focused on the future, can they put aside their differences and allow themselves to find love in the present?
Full disclosure, I did not read book one and I will tell you that I don't think it matters. Maybe book one talks more about the PR nightmare that is referenced in this book but honestly, for as much as Liv obsesses over it in this book, you won't need it. 

With that, let's just get into it and say that Liv was kind of annoying for me. Let me back up a bit though, OK? Olivia owns/operates a distillery with her two brothers and through a series of bad business decisions on their dad's part before he died, there was a pretty awful incident that became a PR nightmare once people started bombing the company's social media pages with 1 star reviews just because they could. It was pretty awful and a lot of the comments ended up being directed to her and it was a full mob mentality thing, and rightfully and expectedly so, she had a bit of a breakdown. Well, kind of a big one. 

Fast forward to now, a year later, and she's trying really hard to get back into things and kind of find her way but also be confident in what she brings to the table. She has some real PTSD from the entire incident but my problem in this book is it was OVER. THE. TOP. Like, we get it, we understand your issues, let us not beat the poor horse because he is dead. He's a bag of bones kind of dead. 

One night during another mini disaster she meets Anders, a famous hockey player also kind of at a weird crossroads in his career. He has plans but the universe isn't lining any of it up and he isn't able to see that he can really achieve greatness where he is, he doesn't have to be where he thinks he deserves to be. He has some commitment issues but suddenly when he meets Olivia, he realizes she's really too good to pass up. 

I really liked them together, I felt like they were a good balance for each other. Not quite opposites attract, but kind of? I loved that he was able to help her bad experiences with men in relationships and sex were just that, a one off, that all men aren't like that. He makes her feel again, and that piece was done really well and I loved it. 

I also realized I am not reading near enough hockey romance because I love them and I always forget about it until I'm elbow deep into one. I liked the steam level in this one, it felt adult but also maturely done. The romance isn't over the top, again, it feels like it was maturely and intelligently done so it feels more honest. I loved his Swedish terms of endearments throughout, too. 

I think if you're open to reading a sports romance (hockey) with a not overly romantic, but just enough guy, a girl with some depression/anxiety issues, and both of them finding themselves but not at the same pace, this is going to be a great read for you. I can't quite give it 5 star, but it was a solid 4 for me. I flew through the book and I would definitely read more from Scarlett Cole again, no doubt. 

Thank you to Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour and sending me an ARC for review! 

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1 comment:

Why Girls Are Weird said...

I'm open to a solid 4, might need to check this out!