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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: C+
Regan Hunter can’t keep a tennis coach, period. Of course, she’s the one firing or driving them away for any and all reasons. She’s impossible to work with, she’s set in her ways, she doesn’t want to listen to actual advice and criticism about her game and has found something wrong with every coach who’s come before Ben. Ben is her last shot, her newest coach and the one who’s going to help her finally win a Grand Slam title. She’s on her way to retirement but her ultimate goal is getting just one Grand Slam win, the Baron’s Open and she has two months to get on the same page with her coach and prepare for the tournament of her career. The only problem is, from their first meeting she wants Ben gone, but Ben has nothing to lose and isn’t going anywhere.
Ben Percy, a former Baron’s Open champion as a teen, ended up being tennis’s one hit wonder. After he stormed onto the tennis scene with his Grand Slam win, he was instantly shunned when his father stole all his earnings and ended up as a major news scandal. Ben, originally from Zimbabwe, was broke, found himself kicked out of the prestigious tennis circles he was in for such a brief period of time, and while he gained his US citizenship, he’s been barely making ends meet by coaching young players. He’s trying to save enough money to help bring his sister to the United States, but getting her VISA is expensive and coaching Regan is his chance to finally earn enough money to help her. Regan doesn’t make it easy on Ben, but even worse is Regan’s manager, Des, who warns Ben on his first day to not touch Regan or he’s fired. Too back those pesky sparks start up between Ben and Regan almost from the start.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first half of this story much more than the second. I loved getting Ben’s backstory. He’s still a tremendous tennis player, but being caught up in his father’s scandal all those years ago has made him so wary. He doesn’t care about rubbing shoulders with the tennis elite and being accepted in those circles again. He’s perfectly happy in his years old sedan, working paycheck to paycheck and earning a living coaching a sport that he loves. He doesn’t long for the tennis career he could have and should have had, he’s living in the now and it’s something that he tries to help Regan do.
Regan – what a mess this woman is! She has a tough, thick outer shell. She grew up being bullied and got into tennis to prove to all the doubters that she could do it and it’s that motivation, proving to others that she is as good as them, that’s propelled her to the top of the women’s game. But on the inside, she’s a mess. She has horrible anxiety and panic attacks. She’s terrified to get to close to anyone or to dare hope, in the case of Ben, that what she’s feeling for him might be reciprocated. She’s been alone for so long and hasn’t really had any close relationships or friendships, she’s lost when it comes to the real life outside of tennis. She opens up to Ben, one of the few people who truly gets to know her, and he, instead of using it against her (which is what she fears), uses what he learns to help her overcome some of her issues and to help manage them instead of letting all her emotions get the best of her. I really enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and seeing Ben start to crack Regan’s shell.
The second half of the story lost me a bit. I found their romance to be more on the sweet side and dammit, I wanted more sexy. Also, Regan’s main focus through the entire book is building up to the Baron’s Open (think Wimbledon) and while I get that she’s very tennis-smart but life-dumb in a way, she makes a few mistakes with Ben that causes the angst between them that they need to work through. There’s also a third party who butts their nose into Regan and Ben’s relationship and it felt a bit unnessesary to me. I was really enjoying the story of Ben and Regan, with tennis as their backdrop and didn’t need all the tossed-in angst and problems that they had to get through in the second part of the story. I’d have rather had more romance to be honest.
Overall, I did enjoy the story, even with a few bumps toward the end. It’s not often we get a romance that’s set in the tennis world and I did enjoy that as it plays a huge role in both Regan and Ben’s lives. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a hero who has to have the patience of a saint to deal with a crazy, hard-nosed and at times frustrating heroine, this story would be worth a read.
Blog rating: C+
Regan Hunter can’t keep a tennis coach, period. Of course, she’s the one firing or driving them away for any and all reasons. She’s impossible to work with, she’s set in her ways, she doesn’t want to listen to actual advice and criticism about her game and has found something wrong with every coach who’s come before Ben. Ben is her last shot, her newest coach and the one who’s going to help her finally win a Grand Slam title. She’s on her way to retirement but her ultimate goal is getting just one Grand Slam win, the Baron’s Open and she has two months to get on the same page with her coach and prepare for the tournament of her career. The only problem is, from their first meeting she wants Ben gone, but Ben has nothing to lose and isn’t going anywhere.
Ben Percy, a former Baron’s Open champion as a teen, ended up being tennis’s one hit wonder. After he stormed onto the tennis scene with his Grand Slam win, he was instantly shunned when his father stole all his earnings and ended up as a major news scandal. Ben, originally from Zimbabwe, was broke, found himself kicked out of the prestigious tennis circles he was in for such a brief period of time, and while he gained his US citizenship, he’s been barely making ends meet by coaching young players. He’s trying to save enough money to help bring his sister to the United States, but getting her VISA is expensive and coaching Regan is his chance to finally earn enough money to help her. Regan doesn’t make it easy on Ben, but even worse is Regan’s manager, Des, who warns Ben on his first day to not touch Regan or he’s fired. Too back those pesky sparks start up between Ben and Regan almost from the start.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first half of this story much more than the second. I loved getting Ben’s backstory. He’s still a tremendous tennis player, but being caught up in his father’s scandal all those years ago has made him so wary. He doesn’t care about rubbing shoulders with the tennis elite and being accepted in those circles again. He’s perfectly happy in his years old sedan, working paycheck to paycheck and earning a living coaching a sport that he loves. He doesn’t long for the tennis career he could have and should have had, he’s living in the now and it’s something that he tries to help Regan do.
Regan – what a mess this woman is! She has a tough, thick outer shell. She grew up being bullied and got into tennis to prove to all the doubters that she could do it and it’s that motivation, proving to others that she is as good as them, that’s propelled her to the top of the women’s game. But on the inside, she’s a mess. She has horrible anxiety and panic attacks. She’s terrified to get to close to anyone or to dare hope, in the case of Ben, that what she’s feeling for him might be reciprocated. She’s been alone for so long and hasn’t really had any close relationships or friendships, she’s lost when it comes to the real life outside of tennis. She opens up to Ben, one of the few people who truly gets to know her, and he, instead of using it against her (which is what she fears), uses what he learns to help her overcome some of her issues and to help manage them instead of letting all her emotions get the best of her. I really enjoyed seeing them get to know each other and seeing Ben start to crack Regan’s shell.
The second half of the story lost me a bit. I found their romance to be more on the sweet side and dammit, I wanted more sexy. Also, Regan’s main focus through the entire book is building up to the Baron’s Open (think Wimbledon) and while I get that she’s very tennis-smart but life-dumb in a way, she makes a few mistakes with Ben that causes the angst between them that they need to work through. There’s also a third party who butts their nose into Regan and Ben’s relationship and it felt a bit unnessesary to me. I was really enjoying the story of Ben and Regan, with tennis as their backdrop and didn’t need all the tossed-in angst and problems that they had to get through in the second part of the story. I’d have rather had more romance to be honest.
Overall, I did enjoy the story, even with a few bumps toward the end. It’s not often we get a romance that’s set in the tennis world and I did enjoy that as it plays a huge role in both Regan and Ben’s lives. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a hero who has to have the patience of a saint to deal with a crazy, hard-nosed and at times frustrating heroine, this story would be worth a read.
3.5
The author kindly provided me with a copy of her book, for consideration for my blog, ROMANCE NOVELS FOR FEMINISTS. I didn't think it quite right for the blog, but am happy to review it here.
Temperamental Regan Hunter doesn't want her professional tennis career to end without having captured at least one grand slam title. At thirty, she's at the top of her game, but yet again without a coach (she has a penchant for driving coaches away). She can't imagine one-shot wunderkind Ben Percy, who mysteriously dropped out of the sport after winning one Grand Slam at 17, could be the coach who can push her over the top. Her own attraction to Ben makes the controlling Regan even more determined to force Ben to quit (she can't fire him, as she's promised her manager to give Ben a chance).
Both Regan and Ben have interesting back stories: Regan comes from a working-class background, was always looked down upon by the country club set. But now that she's financially well-off, she feels that her family doesn't quite get her anymore, doesn't understand why she doesn't want to go back to the life she used to have after she retires. Though he was born to privilege, South African Ben has been struggling financially for years, ever since his father embezzled all his tennis winnings, forcing him from competition. It's rare for a contemporary novel to engage in such clear discussions of issues of social class, never mind use class experiences as a reason why two people might make for suitable romantic partners.
I also liked that Ben appreciated Regan's more typically "masculine" qualities: competitiveness, drive, confidence. My favorite lines:
"You jerk off to photos of me looking like an angry bitch?"
"I jerk off to photos of you looking strong and confident and unstoppable.... I'm not here right now because I want that airbrushed woman in the swimsuit edition, all sweet smiles and beckoning fingers. I want the real deal—smart, complicated, tough as nails and sexy as sin."
I wasn't as fond of Regan's penchant for selfish choices, for doing things without thinking through their implications, although it made for an interestingly flawed character. Regan's other issue (she's neurotically controlling, because) also makes her intriguingly flawed, although I'm beginning to wonder at just how many romance novels of late are all about a woman learning to "give up control," and the feminist (or anti-feminist) implications of that trend. Crowley's book in particular doesn't strike me as problematic in this way, since Regan's character is convincingly developed, but as part of a more general trend, it does give me pause.
The author kindly provided me with a copy of her book, for consideration for my blog, ROMANCE NOVELS FOR FEMINISTS. I didn't think it quite right for the blog, but am happy to review it here.
Temperamental Regan Hunter doesn't want her professional tennis career to end without having captured at least one grand slam title. At thirty, she's at the top of her game, but yet again without a coach (she has a penchant for driving coaches away). She can't imagine one-shot wunderkind Ben Percy, who mysteriously dropped out of the sport after winning one Grand Slam at 17, could be the coach who can push her over the top. Her own attraction to Ben makes the controlling Regan even more determined to force Ben to quit (she can't fire him, as she's promised her manager to give Ben a chance).
Both Regan and Ben have interesting back stories: Regan comes from a working-class background, was always looked down upon by the country club set. But now that she's financially well-off, she feels that her family doesn't quite get her anymore, doesn't understand why she doesn't want to go back to the life she used to have after she retires. Though he was born to privilege, South African Ben has been struggling financially for years, ever since his father embezzled all his tennis winnings, forcing him from competition. It's rare for a contemporary novel to engage in such clear discussions of issues of social class, never mind use class experiences as a reason why two people might make for suitable romantic partners.
I also liked that Ben appreciated Regan's more typically "masculine" qualities: competitiveness, drive, confidence. My favorite lines:
"You jerk off to photos of me looking like an angry bitch?"
"I jerk off to photos of you looking strong and confident and unstoppable.... I'm not here right now because I want that airbrushed woman in the swimsuit edition, all sweet smiles and beckoning fingers. I want the real deal—smart, complicated, tough as nails and sexy as sin."
I wasn't as fond of Regan's penchant for selfish choices, for doing things without thinking through their implications, although it made for an interestingly flawed character. Regan's other issue (she's neurotically controlling, because
Spoiler
she has a penchant for unexpected panic attacks
This is a really difficult book for me to review because I am a big tennis fan. Since I am such a big tennis fan I can tell you that virtually nothing in this book that relates to tennis is accurate. Not the scoring, not the tournaments (which is fine), not the level of publicity tennis players' attract (at one point the main character is just wondering around the grounds of a major tournament which IRL would led to a stampede), not the nationality of the players (which at this time in the game are mostly continental Europeans), or really anything else. So for accuracy to the sport of tennis I give this book zero stars.
Then there's the characters in the book. At the beginning of the story, when I was rolling my eyes at all the tennis stuff, I was not a fan of Regan, the main female character. She is so cold, rude, and dismissive and Rebecca Crawley doesn't do a very good job providing us with Regan's background so I couldn't even force myself to feel sympathetic towards her. But, as the story, went on I found myself warming up to Regan, even though I never felt like I knew her that well. I was rooting for her in the end though.
Ben, the male character in the book, brings up some mixed emotions for me. In many ways I really like him. He's a former teenage tennis star who dropped out of the game after his father stole all his money and got Ben in trouble with the law. Ben ended up going to college and coaching teenagers, but he's been brought in as a last resort to help Regan win The Baron's, a Wimbledon-like tournament, that's her last chance at a major tournament before she retires. Regan is notorious for rapidly going through coaches, but Ben, with his mellow personality and good looks is good at disengaging Regan and breaking through her barriers.
I really enjoyed watching Regan and Ben get to know each other and how Regan came out of her shell and acted more normal around Ben, that was by far the best part of the story. But, and maybe it's just the #yesallwomen stuff I've been bombarded with this last week, but Ben's comments about Regan's body and the things he wants to do to her (the story is told through Ben and Regan's alternating perspectives) made me uncomfortable. In the end I do think he respects her as a woman and as an athlete, but still his comments rubbed me the wrong way.
Bottom Line: I could probably easily give this book two stars, but I'm giving it three because I did become really interested in Regan and I liked Ben throughout, minus his comments about Regan. Plus their romance was fun and enjoyable to read about and I suppose that is the whole point of the book. (Because it's certainly not tennis.)
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
Then there's the characters in the book. At the beginning of the story, when I was rolling my eyes at all the tennis stuff, I was not a fan of Regan, the main female character. She is so cold, rude, and dismissive and Rebecca Crawley doesn't do a very good job providing us with Regan's background so I couldn't even force myself to feel sympathetic towards her. But, as the story, went on I found myself warming up to Regan, even though I never felt like I knew her that well. I was rooting for her in the end though.
Ben, the male character in the book, brings up some mixed emotions for me. In many ways I really like him. He's a former teenage tennis star who dropped out of the game after his father stole all his money and got Ben in trouble with the law. Ben ended up going to college and coaching teenagers, but he's been brought in as a last resort to help Regan win The Baron's, a Wimbledon-like tournament, that's her last chance at a major tournament before she retires. Regan is notorious for rapidly going through coaches, but Ben, with his mellow personality and good looks is good at disengaging Regan and breaking through her barriers.
I really enjoyed watching Regan and Ben get to know each other and how Regan came out of her shell and acted more normal around Ben, that was by far the best part of the story. But, and maybe it's just the #yesallwomen stuff I've been bombarded with this last week, but Ben's comments about Regan's body and the things he wants to do to her (the story is told through Ben and Regan's alternating perspectives) made me uncomfortable. In the end I do think he respects her as a woman and as an athlete, but still his comments rubbed me the wrong way.
Bottom Line: I could probably easily give this book two stars, but I'm giving it three because I did become really interested in Regan and I liked Ben throughout, minus his comments about Regan. Plus their romance was fun and enjoyable to read about and I suppose that is the whole point of the book. (Because it's certainly not tennis.)
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed Regan and Ben's love story. Both characters are well-written. The heroine is difficult in the beginning. She's prone to tantrums and accustomed to having things her way. However, I enjoyed seeing the heroine's growth as her relationship with the hero develops. As a fan of game, I appreciated the authentic depiction of the tennis scenes. The author struck a nice balance between sports and romance. I devoured this story in two days and I look forward to reading more from Rebecca.