Sunday, June 24, 2018

Pucked (Pucked #1) by Helena Hunting


I’ve never been into dating athletes.  Most of my ex-boyfriends have been artists in one way or another, but then I met my current husband who is an avid water polo player and did myself a romance cliché.  The nerd married the jock.  Insert gasps here.  But I, like many other women, don’t mind reading about hot, buff men once in a while… if I have to, you know?  Hockey romances are my absolute favorite, so one-clicking Pucked was no hardship.

Blurb: With a famous NHL player for a stepbrother, Violet Hall is well acquainted with the playboy reputation of many a hockey star.  So of course she isn’t interested in legendary team captain Alex Waters of his pretty, beat-up face and rock-hard six-pack abs.  When Alex inadvertently obliterates Violet’s misapprehension regarding the inferior intellect of hockey players, he becomes much more than just a hot body with the fact to match.

Suffering from a complete lapse in judgment, Violet discovers just how good Alex is with the hockey stick in his pants.  Violet believes her night of orgasmic magic with Alex is just that: one night.  But Alex starts to call. And text. And email and send extravagant—too quirky—gifts.  Suddenly he’s too difficult to ignore, and nearly impossible not to like.  The problem is that the media portrays Alex as a total player, and Violet doesn’t want to be a part of the game.

Review:  I think my favorite part about sports romances is that they focus so little on the actual sport.  I much prefer focusing on the hot men, big dicks, and huge biceps.  And Pucked gives you that and so much more.  It should properly be classified as a sports comedy romance because it was really a hoot and a half.  I read this book while babysitting (after the kids had gone to bed of course) and had to stifle some major laughs to keep from waking up the kiddos.

Pucked is quirky with a capital Q so if that isn’t your thing I’d steer clear.  Both characters struggle with a strong case of word vomit and some major relationship awkwardness which I found to be absolutely adorable given that Alex is supposed to be some sort of sex God, but he’s really just a nerd in a buff dude’s body.  Best of both worlds!

Violet reminded me a lot of myself with her ill-timed jokes and inability to shut up when she needed to most.  I liked her willingness to express her emotions, her strength, her desire to stand up for herself, and the way she was confident in herself.  Sometimes her words and actions had me cringing, but that only made Violet a more real, more fabulous character in my eyes.

Alex is a wonderfully strange man.  The things that came out of his mouth sometimes were utterly bewildering but then they were also hot as hell.  I’ve never read a romance novel with a man who asked permission nearly every step of the way and you’d think that it would be a little dramatic, but oh my god, it wasn’t.  It was so freaking sexy.  Alex was so real that he didn’t seem completely unattainable.  He seemed like someone you could find in a bar down the street.

Helena Hunting has a very interesting way of writing that puts you directly into the character’s minds.  It felt a little like stream of consciousness and took a small bit of time to get used to, but once I did I was totally engrossed in the read.

I started reading Pucked because it was first up on my Kindle and I wanted to read something that wouldn’t be too much trouble to put down if my babysitting parents came home and I had to pause my read for the drive home.  I ended up reading the entire thing before they got home.  I didn’t expect to love a random one-click for my Kindle as much as I did, but I’m so, so, so glad that I gave it a chance.  It was a beautiful thing, this book.  You can pick up Pucked here!

Disclosure: Pucked is no longer free on Kindle, but I think it is totally worth a purchase.  I’ll be scooping up the rest of the series ASAP.  Also, the Instagram user who recommended this book is @tweezyreads.  She is always sharing free or very cheap one-clicks, so if you’re looking for someone to follow I’d check out her IG!

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