Monday, May 2, 2016

Review: City of Champions by Chloe T. Barlow

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Series: Gateway to Love Book #2
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5 Stars
How I Got It: Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Self-published

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads
 
How do you find the will to try, when you've spent all your life playing on a field strewn with shattered lives and broken rules?

Tragedy and betrayal taught Jenna Sutherland early on that her safest bet was to fiercely avoid any risk, whether it is in work, life, or love. Now a respected orthopedic surgical resident on the cusp of finally breaking through in her career, she’s more guarded than ever.

When injured NFL quarterback Wyatt McCoy bulldozes into her life there’s no denying he’s cocky, selfish, and downright dangerous — everything Jenna’s sworn she doesn’t want.

Suddenly the levelheaded doctor finds herself facing down her greatest fear, and she’s tempted to gamble all she’s fought so hard to build. The two embark on an intense holiday love affair that quickly teeters on obsession, and tempts them both to think they could go all-in on a real future together. Yet Wyatt's desperation to stay on the field — and out of the operating room — lures him to take dangerous risks with Jenna's trust.

Will they win at love or lose everything — including their fragile chance at happiness?


Review

Have you ever wanted to like a book so you started justifying things that bother you? That's what I kept doing while I read this. I did like it more than A Steel Town but just barely. This may sound mean but the writing needs more polish. It may be an editing issue. The dialogue-internal too-often felt disjointed. There were also some continuity errors which is a personal pet peeve.

The characters are fine. A little irrational but fine. I did like Jenna when she wasn't acting like a hormonal teenager. I totally get being attracted to someone but I don't get potentially sacrificing a job you've spent years and tons of money to obtain on a nice body and good sex.  That's what would frustrated me. Then there was Wyatt who was more likeable than I was expecting. But he could have been better developed.

The romance worked especially when they stopped playing games. There was a decent amount of not talking to each other but what are you going to do. I don't know why but I did find some of Wyatt's behavior kind of inappropriate. He would force himself on Jenna and say she wanted him. It's a tough situation because she did want him physically but was still coming to terms with it in her head. Teenage me would've found this super hot but as I get older I'm starting to see the dangers of this type of behavior. Now, i think ms. Barlow meant it to be innocent but it still sets a bad precedent.

This didn't have suspense elements like her other book. It's more of a straight up contemporary romance which I prefer. It isn't the strongest book but it's OK and a quick read.

Thanks for reading!
Holly

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