Review: Only on Gameday

Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

“We look like a real couple— don’t worry. It would only be on game days and a few public appearances.” 

Growing up neighbors, Penelope and August were always around each other but while Penelope had no problem being comfortable around his siblings, there was always an awkwardness between them. Now all grown up, August is a professional star quarterback, who's facing some team discipline after going a bit wild and Penelope's trying to find a way to hang onto her grandparent's home she inherited after their death. August comes up with the solution for a fake relationship, she'll make him look respectable and he'll help her pay the taxes on the home until she can come up with a more consistent income. They say it will only be game days but secret childhood crushes won't be denied. 

“Pen, you were always August’s girl. You just never realized it.” 

This felt along the lines of more light and fluffy, if you've read Callihan before, you're going to enjoy falling back into her voice. You'll probably not want to squint to hard at the story setup, August (his last name's Luck, yes I struggled with not picturing him as Andrew Luck) needing to suddenly look respectable because of a few pictures of him drunk and dancing didn't really track as to why and how's but through his pov he does some admitting that he may have forced things when reader's get let-in that he's always had feelings for Penelope. Penelope's story of needing the tax money to hang onto her grandparent's ten million dollar home felt a bit not fitting quite right also, especially when she constantly refuses to accept money from August. It was kind of what are we doing here, just forcing the trope? They are good together though, so you'll enjoy reading about them. 

I’ve often wondered why it is some people shine and others don’t. But perhaps it’s the ones doing the looking that make it so. 

There were times I felt a little spoon fed, instead of learning and experiencing the story thread, thoughts, and feelings from the characters we got blatant spelled out stuff. There was also some feeling that everyone had to act so right and proper, let people be a little messy sometimes, let them learn and grow! I did enjoy Penelope and August's flirting back and forth and their first time together was really good, will draw you into their relationship more. There was also this line drop: “You say you’re a side character in everyone else’s story. In my story, Pen, you are the main character. You always will be.”, which will make you feel good for the character. Some not quite fitting puzzle pieces to get them together, a little bit of family and personal drama for outside poking at, and a sweet couple that may not be memorable but you'll probably enjoy spending some time with.

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Review: The Hook Up

The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.3 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Tonight was obviously an ill-advised hook up for her. And I’m so screwed because it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. 

As soon as Anna and Drew see each other in class, they're hot for each other. Anna carries self-esteem issues from being overweight in highschool and social anxiety, so when she learns the tall good-looking guy that is sending tingles up her spine is the college's star quarterback, she wants nothing to do with that fish bowl. Drew doesn't know or understand fully all of Anna's issues and why she's being so stubborn about acting on their obvious chemistry but he senses deep down that she's The One, so while he'll go slower to earn her trust, he's all in. 

If only he was someone else. Something else. A regular guy. A nobody like me. But he’s not and never will be. When I think of the public scrutiny he, and by default anyone he’s with, endures, I want to hide away, run for the hills. 

The Hook Up was a New Adult story about a sparking chemistry couple in different college cliques that hotly delivered (did it ever!) on it's title, at least in the beginning. I said that Anna was stubborn about acting on their chemistry, don't worry, the stubbornness doesn't last long on the physical front. These two were hot little potatoes and bless Callihan and her open-door scenes in a contemporary romance (not surprising the original pub date on this). However, since I was enjoying those scenes so much, I grumpily felt like it was a little bit of a bait-and-switch when the second half lost some of that fervor in favor of a dragged out Anna and her issues with mini little tangents. I understand that the tangents were there to entice for the secondary characters that will star in later books in the series but too many distracted from the spicy main course. 

“Why won’t you let me kiss you, Anna?” 

I flew through the first half filled with hot, snappy, chemistry between Anna and Drew and liked how, told through alternating povs of both characters, we could see how much Drew liked Anna but was letting her lead and go at her pace, when emotionally it was hurting him because he wanted to share how much he liked her but was scared she'd run. These two had connections, Drew's parents died when he was in high-school, Anna's father left when she was young and has a mom that chases love with the wrong men, they've felt alone. Emotionally and personality wise they connected, and I felt it through their dialogue, it's the outside world that messes with them and Anna's fear of being scrutinized, which with Drew's popularity, is going to be a given occurrence. The second half has them fighting with misunderstanding where the other is coming from. That and how they're both coming into their own, Anna questioning what she wants to do with her life after she graduates and Drew realizing that he's done with the partying, helped to make this have a great New Adult feel. Their romance also had some of those sweet and angsty new adult giddy romance feelings. 

“I’ve missed you.”

The first half I was ready to give this five stars but the second half changed the pace on me so much, a decent amount of it dragging, that it couldn't stay there for me. Drew proclaims his feelings, Anna's “rules” wall crumbles, and we a get a third act break-up that simply gets resolved when Drew gets hurt during a game (people who don't like sportsball, never fear, mentions of football to more so introduce teammates for future books and only a brief look at his practice and even briefer scene of one of his games). The injury works to help them resolve their romantic relationship and then the last twenty percent was about Drew's mental health regarding his injury, it almost felt like a completely different book from how it started. We do get a two years later epilogue to check in on their HEA. A hot, new adult love first half that shouldn't be missed with a slower paced working it out second half, so maybe the best of both worlds for some readers.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

It's college bowl game season, so let's match the seasonal theme 

This is a repub, but with bonus material! 

Anna's just trying to finish college and then figure out her life. 

But what's a girl to do when the star quartback and her end up having a chance encounter that leads to the hottest night of her life? 

You keep meeting up with that quarterback! 

But what if he wants more? 

Oh, to have the problems of romance book female main character 

The Hook-Up by Kristen Callihan (Jan. 7th) purchase link

Chicken Burrito Bowl recipe