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millibee's review
4.0
Socially anxious computer geek meets softball girlboss at college? I was honestly so here for this!
This was a very cute, quick and easy sapphic romance to read with a little bit of smut to top things off. Annie, our main character who has recently come out as bisexual is a quiet, awkward shut-in who spends most of her time repairing fellow students’ electronics for some extra cash. She also has a habit of frequenting the Tornadoes home softball games so that she can get a glimpse of Eve, the edgy and fiery star player.
Annie was relatable and her social anxieties felt authentic to read. There was a scene where Annie wasn’t sure if Eve had asked her out on a date or had asked to hang out as friends and that, to me, is the epitome of sapphic panic.
Some phrases in the narration and dialogue at times didn’t sit right with me and didn’t seem to fit the profile of a contemporary college student but this was nothing that I couldn’t move past.
I felt that towards the end, the angst was introduced and resolved a bit too quickly, with actions that I personally would have expected to result in heavier consequences, however, I do appreciate the way Annie and Eve resolve their conflict in the end with good communication.
As a lesbian in Australia with absolutely no knowledge of sports, the softball and baseball aspects of the novel were easy to follow and not at all too dry, which is nice because it doesn’t isolate the reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for supplying an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.
This was a very cute, quick and easy sapphic romance to read with a little bit of smut to top things off. Annie, our main character who has recently come out as bisexual is a quiet, awkward shut-in who spends most of her time repairing fellow students’ electronics for some extra cash. She also has a habit of frequenting the Tornadoes home softball games so that she can get a glimpse of Eve, the edgy and fiery star player.
Annie was relatable and her social anxieties felt authentic to read. There was a scene where Annie wasn’t sure if Eve had asked her out on a date or had asked to hang out as friends and that, to me, is the epitome of sapphic panic.
Some phrases in the narration and dialogue at times didn’t sit right with me and didn’t seem to fit the profile of a contemporary college student but this was nothing that I couldn’t move past.
I felt that towards the end, the angst was introduced and resolved a bit too quickly, with actions that I personally would have expected to result in heavier consequences, however, I do appreciate the way Annie and Eve resolve their conflict in the end with good communication.
As a lesbian in Australia with absolutely no knowledge of sports, the softball and baseball aspects of the novel were easy to follow and not at all too dry, which is nice because it doesn’t isolate the reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for supplying an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.
andrea_author's review
5.0
Shy college student Annie is crushing on softball player Eve, but thinks Eve is out of her league. When Annie helps Eve with a computer problem, Eve invites her to dinner to say thanks. Is it a date? Eve's got a reputation for playing the field. But could something real develop with Annie?
This is kind of a slow burn, with Annie taking a while to feel comfortable around Eve. The relationship is sweet and steamy, but takes some abrupt turns. The book is told entirely from Annie's point of view, so Eve's motivations often aren't clear until after the fact. She and Annie are both sympathetic characters, and I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This is kind of a slow burn, with Annie taking a while to feel comfortable around Eve. The relationship is sweet and steamy, but takes some abrupt turns. The book is told entirely from Annie's point of view, so Eve's motivations often aren't clear until after the fact. She and Annie are both sympathetic characters, and I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
lilibetbombshell's review
3.0
“Hard Drive” is everything you could ask for out of a short, sweet, femme bisexual romance… almost. And I do absolutely mean that! It is a nice length for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a long read (like, say, you just want something to read one evening when you have a little time free and just need to relax), it’s relatively low-angst for those who don’t want to be stressed out by what they’re reading, the main characters are very likeable (so you don’t have to work hard to love them), the steamier scenes aren’t too spicy for more conservative readers but are still present for those of us who didn’t open this book just to see all the steam happen off-page, there is some warm and fuzzy romance feelies, and a HEA at the end. So yeah, it’s just about everything you could ask for out of what this book looks like and sounds like it’s supposed to be.
Of course there’s a “but”. You knew a “but” was coming. The plot is incredibly boring, making the book relatively boring. The antagonist, who is supposed to be hidden, is easy to suss out very early in the book and it makes the main characters look dumb for not figuring it out sooner. I felt the author needed a sensitivity reader for issues regarding and surrounding anxiety and panic issues because they weren’t handled with as much care as some other books in the same genre that have included the same issue in their books that I’ve read in the last couple of years, and when the turn came, it seemed overblown which made the resolution seem utterly anticlimactic. Ultimately, in the end, nothing the two main characters went through paid off. It was as if you could have cut out 50% of this book and had the same result and the rest was just melodrama.
But I do still give it three stars because for what it is packaged as, it lives up to the wrapping. It is sweet, cute, a little sexy, gave me some warm fuzzies, and I am always happy to read almost any story where members of the alphabet mafia get a HEA in the end.
Of course there’s a “but”. You knew a “but” was coming. The plot is incredibly boring, making the book relatively boring. The antagonist, who is supposed to be hidden, is easy to suss out very early in the book and it makes the main characters look dumb for not figuring it out sooner. I felt the author needed a sensitivity reader for issues regarding and surrounding anxiety and panic issues because they weren’t handled with as much care as some other books in the same genre that have included the same issue in their books that I’ve read in the last couple of years, and when the turn came, it seemed overblown which made the resolution seem utterly anticlimactic. Ultimately, in the end, nothing the two main characters went through paid off. It was as if you could have cut out 50% of this book and had the same result and the rest was just melodrama.
But I do still give it three stars because for what it is packaged as, it lives up to the wrapping. It is sweet, cute, a little sexy, gave me some warm fuzzies, and I am always happy to read almost any story where members of the alphabet mafia get a HEA in the end.
lilibetbombshell's review against another edition
3.0
“Hard Drive” is everything you could ask for out of a short, sweet, femme bisexual romance… almost. And I do absolutely mean that! It is a nice length for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a long read (like, say, you just want something to read one evening when you have a little time free and just need to relax), it’s relatively low-angst for those who don’t want to be stressed out by what they’re reading, the main characters are very likeable (so you don’t have to work hard to love them), the steamier scenes aren’t too spicy for more conservative readers but are still present for those of us who didn’t open this book just to see all the steam happen off-page, there is some warm and fuzzy romance feelies, and a HEA at the end. So yeah, it’s just about everything you could ask for out of what this book looks like and sounds like it’s supposed to be.
Of course there’s a “but”. You knew a “but” was coming. The plot is incredibly boring, making the book relatively boring. The antagonist, who is supposed to be hidden, is easy to suss out very early in the book and it makes the main characters look dumb for not figuring it out sooner. I felt the author needed a sensitivity reader for issues regarding and surrounding anxiety and panic issues because they weren’t handled with as much care as some other books in the same genre that have included the same issue in their books that I’ve read in the last couple of years, and when the turn came, it seemed overblown which made the resolution seem utterly anticlimactic. Ultimately, in the end, nothing the two main characters went through paid off. It was as if you could have cut out 50% of this book and had the same result and the rest was just melodrama.
But I do still give it three stars because for what it is packaged as, it lives up to the wrapping. It is sweet, cute, a little sexy, gave me some warm fuzzies, and I am always happy to read almost any story where members of the alphabet mafia get a HEA in the end.
Of course there’s a “but”. You knew a “but” was coming. The plot is incredibly boring, making the book relatively boring. The antagonist, who is supposed to be hidden, is easy to suss out very early in the book and it makes the main characters look dumb for not figuring it out sooner. I felt the author needed a sensitivity reader for issues regarding and surrounding anxiety and panic issues because they weren’t handled with as much care as some other books in the same genre that have included the same issue in their books that I’ve read in the last couple of years, and when the turn came, it seemed overblown which made the resolution seem utterly anticlimactic. Ultimately, in the end, nothing the two main characters went through paid off. It was as if you could have cut out 50% of this book and had the same result and the rest was just melodrama.
But I do still give it three stars because for what it is packaged as, it lives up to the wrapping. It is sweet, cute, a little sexy, gave me some warm fuzzies, and I am always happy to read almost any story where members of the alphabet mafia get a HEA in the end.
afreeman's review against another edition
3.0
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own*
This was a really fun read! It felt a little like reading a fan fiction (a good thing in my opinion) and had some really sweet (and spicy) moments. There were parts that I'd have loved to explore with a little more depth, but as a light queer romance it was very enjoyable!
This was a really fun read! It felt a little like reading a fan fiction (a good thing in my opinion) and had some really sweet (and spicy) moments. There were parts that I'd have loved to explore with a little more depth, but as a light queer romance it was very enjoyable!
a_stylish_bookworm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this female/female romance. I enjoyed hearing Annie's story and getting to glimpse at Grant and Darren's relationship as well. Being this is Annie's first female romance and being an introvert, I liked how the writer handled her anxieties and address them. I thought the relationship between Eve and Annie was great and both were likable characters.
kelleenmoriarty's review
2.0
I love ladies playing baseball (especially sapphic ladies) so I was instantly excited when I saw this cover of two women kissing with a baseball on the cover. After I found out that it was actually softball, I was still excited! But this one just didn't work for me.
This college-aged, single 1st person present POV sapphic romance follows Annie as her crush, Eve - the star softball player and serial hook-up - asks her out. But that doesn't even feel like an honest description of what this book is "about." I'm not really sure what this book is "about." One of my major issues with this book is that it's definitely not about the central love story between Annie and Eve. The two have almost no chemistry and there isn't much of a story of how they get together/stay together. I didn't feel any emotion getting to or arriving at the HFN. Sometimes in romance we talk about books where there's not plot and nothing happens. In this book, really nothing happens. And it's too short for any of the things that do happen to be explained in any depth or detail.
However, I did find the exploration of Annie's anxiety interesting. If you like college romances, this one might be more your speed.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC.
CW: public outing, revenge porn
This college-aged, single 1st person present POV sapphic romance follows Annie as her crush, Eve - the star softball player and serial hook-up - asks her out. But that doesn't even feel like an honest description of what this book is "about." I'm not really sure what this book is "about." One of my major issues with this book is that it's definitely not about the central love story between Annie and Eve. The two have almost no chemistry and there isn't much of a story of how they get together/stay together. I didn't feel any emotion getting to or arriving at the HFN. Sometimes in romance we talk about books where there's not plot and nothing happens. In this book, really nothing happens. And it's too short for any of the things that do happen to be explained in any depth or detail.
However, I did find the exploration of Annie's anxiety interesting. If you like college romances, this one might be more your speed.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC.
CW: public outing, revenge porn
aplace_inthesun's review
3.0
I was really keen to read this sapphic sports romance. I jumped at it seeing the softball cover. It's a college / YA book.
Its essentially a jock - nerd romance with Eve the softballer and Annie the computer geek. Annie has been pining over Eve in the stands at games, and can't quite believe it when Evie's computer goes on the fritz and she manages to fix it (a pretty easy fix). Eve subsequently asks her out on a date. The book is essentially about their attraction and romance.
The challenge for me was believing Eve and Annie had a romance as the chemistry seemed a little stilted. I didn't feel the romance was central to the book. I felt I didn't learn a great deal about Eve as a character and what made her tick, as the book was from Annie's point of view. It would have been nice to gain more from Eve's perspective. We learned more about Annie, particularly about her anxiety which I felt was well described and made Annie vulnerable, but also brave in the way she reacted to a couple of challenges in the book.
This was quite a brisk read however I would have loved more detail particularly in relation to Eve that I think would have benefitted the story.
Its essentially a jock - nerd romance with Eve the softballer and Annie the computer geek. Annie has been pining over Eve in the stands at games, and can't quite believe it when Evie's computer goes on the fritz and she manages to fix it (a pretty easy fix). Eve subsequently asks her out on a date. The book is essentially about their attraction and romance.
The challenge for me was believing Eve and Annie had a romance as the chemistry seemed a little stilted. I didn't feel the romance was central to the book. I felt I didn't learn a great deal about Eve as a character and what made her tick, as the book was from Annie's point of view. It would have been nice to gain more from Eve's perspective. We learned more about Annie, particularly about her anxiety which I felt was well described and made Annie vulnerable, but also brave in the way she reacted to a couple of challenges in the book.
This was quite a brisk read however I would have loved more detail particularly in relation to Eve that I think would have benefitted the story.
blithesquesttoread's review
4.0
I really need to get to writing reviews because then I end up missing out on books that deserve a lot of hype :'
Trigger Warnings: Panic attacks, accidental outing, alcohol consumption, grief, mental illness (anxiety), explicit sex, bullying, fatphobia, past mentions of - abandonment, addiction, alcoholism, child abused and drug use.
Hard Drive by Shae Connor is a sight to behold. To give a short description - Annie is an electronics everything genius who you can find the most in her dorm room fixing broken stuff for her fellow college peers. She is coming to terms with her being bisexual and is trying her best to contain her crush on college's ace softball player Eve Frederick, who's rumored to enjoy only casual hookups.
Okay first thing I liked about it? It wasn't slow burn. As much as I enjoy slow burn, the thrill about finding out my cutesy characters being upright about their crush on each other while being iffy about it so satisfying oh my. The setting itself was really amazing! The fact that it fits the trope of "The nerd and the jock (aka softball player)" was refreshing on so many levels. The main characters seemed really realistic and it was also good to see how anxiety was represented in the book. As for the plot, it was equally engaging. Annie was an amazing narrator and seeing the story from her perspective evoked a sense of empathy in me because she was very empathetic in general.
I really liked the character development as well as how the book dealt with important topics. One such was enjoying porn, and engaging in sexual practices by oneself which isn't much talked about in general. Oh did I mention the book has good smut scenes? No? Well, I assure you they are really amazing! I loved how consent, interaction and communication was maturely and naturally present in the story. Eve and Annie were really amazing to see - whether it was them being in a romantic and sexual relationship, or them navigating through their personal stuff on their own and coming to terms with their identity. I reallllyyy recommend this book! And omg I am soo excited to read the first book in this series (they are unrelated in general however characters from book 1 are present here)!
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc for this book!
Trigger Warnings: Panic attacks, accidental outing, alcohol consumption, grief, mental illness (anxiety), explicit sex, bullying, fatphobia, past mentions of - abandonment, addiction, alcoholism, child abused and drug use.
Hard Drive by Shae Connor is a sight to behold. To give a short description - Annie is an electronics everything genius who you can find the most in her dorm room fixing broken stuff for her fellow college peers. She is coming to terms with her being bisexual and is trying her best to contain her crush on college's ace softball player Eve Frederick, who's rumored to enjoy only casual hookups.
Okay first thing I liked about it? It wasn't slow burn. As much as I enjoy slow burn, the thrill about finding out my cutesy characters being upright about their crush on each other while being iffy about it so satisfying oh my. The setting itself was really amazing! The fact that it fits the trope of "The nerd and the jock (aka softball player)" was refreshing on so many levels. The main characters seemed really realistic and it was also good to see how anxiety was represented in the book. As for the plot, it was equally engaging. Annie was an amazing narrator and seeing the story from her perspective evoked a sense of empathy in me because she was very empathetic in general.
I really liked the character development as well as how the book dealt with important topics. One such was enjoying porn, and engaging in sexual practices by oneself which isn't much talked about in general. Oh did I mention the book has good smut scenes? No? Well, I assure you they are really amazing! I loved how consent, interaction and communication was maturely and naturally present in the story. Eve and Annie were really amazing to see - whether it was them being in a romantic and sexual relationship, or them navigating through their personal stuff on their own and coming to terms with their identity. I reallllyyy recommend this book! And omg I am soo excited to read the first book in this series (they are unrelated in general however characters from book 1 are present here)!
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc for this book!
heidiandherbook's review
4.0
Hard Drive by Shae Connor
4⭐
I'd like to start this book with a huge thank you for the option to see content warnings for this boom via a website - I feel like content warnings are so important but also people don't always want to view it as it can sometimes spoil the story a little, so to have the choice is something I loved and something I'd love to see in more books.
I think this is the first book that has bisexual characters and I LOVED IT - like, I literally read it in 4 and a half hours, I couldn't put it down. I got completely lost in the world of Annie and Eve, and their heartwarming, emotional journey to finding themselves and coming to terms with who they are and their sexuality.
Written beautifully from the POV of Annie, it was so easy to jump into her mind and really root for her. We were even taken on her steamy, intimate adventures which is always a pleasure - no pun intended.
With themes of loss, grief, toxic friendships and balancing different elements of life, this was a real heartwarming read, and who doesn't love a happy ending?!
I can't wait to read more of this author's work and of this series, I do just have one question for Shae..
Did she get the cheesecake?!
4⭐
I'd like to start this book with a huge thank you for the option to see content warnings for this boom via a website - I feel like content warnings are so important but also people don't always want to view it as it can sometimes spoil the story a little, so to have the choice is something I loved and something I'd love to see in more books.
I think this is the first book that has bisexual characters and I LOVED IT - like, I literally read it in 4 and a half hours, I couldn't put it down. I got completely lost in the world of Annie and Eve, and their heartwarming, emotional journey to finding themselves and coming to terms with who they are and their sexuality.
Written beautifully from the POV of Annie, it was so easy to jump into her mind and really root for her. We were even taken on her steamy, intimate adventures which is always a pleasure - no pun intended.
With themes of loss, grief, toxic friendships and balancing different elements of life, this was a real heartwarming read, and who doesn't love a happy ending?!
I can't wait to read more of this author's work and of this series, I do just have one question for Shae..
Did she get the cheesecake?!