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whitmayo's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
read_nap_repeat's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tseyi's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
savaburry's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This wasn’t bad, but it was boring. I liked the bowling aspect because it’s something we don’t see everyday, and I enjoyed the fact that both of the mains are black but apart from that ….
I have to rate it as a romance because that’s the whole point of reading it, and the romance left a lot to be desired. I guess this is supposed to be “second chance” or “enemies to lovers” but I wasnt understanding why that was the chosen direction. They were bffs in high school, and Grace moves because obviously you can’t NOT move when you’re in grade school and your parents are leaving, and this causes a fallout in the friendship between her and Ava bc Ava ….thinks she’s moving to spite her??? The whole adult reasoning we get for why Ava broke off their friendship is beyond juvenile. Right before Grace moves, her and Ava kiss and 10 years later, as an adult, Ava is mad about it because she thinks Grace only kisses her to “prove that you’re better than me”. What??? That logic ??? Doesn’t make a shred of sense??
So now they’re working together on for the bowling team but even that was boring. All they do is stare at each other longingly, act unprofessional at work, and generally avoid kissing until finally they do but then the romance scenes are so rushed that you ultimately don’t even care. And considering they don’t even kiss until like 75-80% into the story ……I was over it.
If you’re gonna write something as a slow burn, can we have some actual tension to build up to the payoff? I could tell they liked each other but it’s irritating to have to read about characters just NOT getting to business for “reasons”. There really was no justifiable reason for it to be dragged out. And then, to add to that, the whole story has randomly spaced time jumps so the timeline moves faster which makes the issues worse. The jump can be a week, it can be a month, it can be the next day, like there’s no rhyme or reason so then you’re like wow it’s a been a month and STILL nothing has happened ?
Anyway, the characters were also juvenile and everyone felt like a nosy caricature. Everyone was in their business which just added to the annoyance. Even some of the students at the school which…inappropriate 😭🤣. Every time I had to read about TABITHA asking if they were dating I had to roll my eyes.
This was boring, the romance was vanilla, the tropes were a bad decision, and overall the best part was that most of it happened in a bowling alley.
I have to rate it as a romance because that’s the whole point of reading it, and the romance left a lot to be desired. I guess this is supposed to be “second chance” or “enemies to lovers” but I wasnt understanding why that was the chosen direction. They were bffs in high school, and Grace moves because obviously you can’t NOT move when you’re in grade school and your parents are leaving, and this causes a fallout in the friendship between her and Ava bc Ava ….thinks she’s moving to spite her??? The whole adult reasoning we get for why Ava broke off their friendship is beyond juvenile. Right before Grace moves, her and Ava kiss and 10 years later, as an adult, Ava is mad about it because she thinks Grace only kisses her to “prove that you’re better than me”. What??? That logic ??? Doesn’t make a shred of sense??
So now they’re working together on for the bowling team but even that was boring. All they do is stare at each other longingly, act unprofessional at work, and generally avoid kissing until finally they do but then the romance scenes are so rushed that you ultimately don’t even care. And considering they don’t even kiss until like 75-80% into the story ……I was over it.
If you’re gonna write something as a slow burn, can we have some actual tension to build up to the payoff? I could tell they liked each other but it’s irritating to have to read about characters just NOT getting to business for “reasons”. There really was no justifiable reason for it to be dragged out. And then, to add to that, the whole story has randomly spaced time jumps so the timeline moves faster which makes the issues worse. The jump can be a week, it can be a month, it can be the next day, like there’s no rhyme or reason so then you’re like wow it’s a been a month and STILL nothing has happened ?
Anyway, the characters were also juvenile and everyone felt like a nosy caricature. Everyone was in their business which just added to the annoyance. Even some of the students at the school which…inappropriate 😭🤣. Every time I had to read about TABITHA asking if they were dating I had to roll my eyes.
This was boring, the romance was vanilla, the tropes were a bad decision, and overall the best part was that most of it happened in a bowling alley.
thandekile_mg's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
mah_jayjay's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rdebner's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kaceyjoy's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thank you to Netgalley and harlequin for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Childhood best friend turned rivals, turned enemies, turned coworkers, turned lovers, second chance romance, lots of pining, plus bowling, asll set in a small town outside Atlanta! Yes, please!
Started off slow, but picked up about 35% in, but then it all finished way too fast. I was halfway through the last chapter and felt there should have been at least another couple chapters it at the very least an epilogue.
I'll definitely read the next book in the series. The Williams sisters seen pretty great!
Childhood best friend turned rivals, turned enemies, turned coworkers, turned lovers, second chance romance, lots of pining, plus bowling, asll set in a small town outside Atlanta! Yes, please!
Started off slow, but picked up about 35% in, but then it all finished way too fast. I was halfway through the last chapter and felt there should have been at least another couple chapters it at the very least an epilogue.
I'll definitely read the next book in the series. The Williams sisters seen pretty great!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, and Classism
cici_supreme's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0