Review by Ronny
Writing Mr. Wrong is a fun, witty rom-com and a must have for anyone who loves fake-dating with a hockey player.
Favourite Quote:
Mason could be an asshole. The problem was, even when Mason was being an asshole, he did it in a way that wasn’t cruel. It was…
Her mother called him careless, and that was it exactly. He didn’t hurt others because he was an asshole. He hurt them because he was careless.
Synopsis:
Debut author Gemma Stanton knows romance readers love a bad boy—and she has the perfect prototype for her novel: Mason Moretti. High school hockey god-turned-pro player, Mason was Gemma’s first crush, but she couldn’t forget the sting of his very public rejection. So, she casts him as a hot-headed Highlander in her spicy new historical romance. She never expected readers would find out on live TV when a morning show host invites Mason for a surprise on-air reunion…
As an aging hockey player with a rep for being ruthless on the ice—and roguish off of it—Mason has an image problem. So, when his meet-cute with Gemma goes viral, Mason proposes they build on the momentum with a few fake dates to boost her book sales…and his sagging profile. But when the fictional flirting gets a little too real, Mason realizes Gemma actually makes him want to become a better man—someone worthy of her trust and her love.
Will Gemma give him a second chance? Mason knows it’s a long shot, but taking shots is sorta his thing, and besides, who loves a redemption arc more than a romance author?
Review:
This is a fun read. I didn’t like it as much as Kelley’s previous rom-com, but it’s still a solid fake-dating sports romance. This book is set in the same world as Finding Mr. Write, and we even get to quickly catch up with Daphne and Chris, the MCs from that book. In this book, we get to spend time with Chris’s sister Gemma, whose debut Highland romance is just about to be released, and much to Gemma’s embarrassment, the world quickly knows that the inspiration for her male hero was Mason, a famous hockey player who she went to school with. This book is a bit of a “not for Ronny” book, in the sense that I do not enjoy a male MC who pins and is a bit angsty with his pinning, and I don’t like it even more when both MCs are super pinny. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason, I just don’t enjoy that micro-trope, and when it has a heavy presence in the book, it just becomes painful for me. I think I don’t enjoy a character who sits around and pines, because that is what they are doing, sitting, not acting, not declaring their love, or whatever, that lack of action and lack of confidence can be a bit of a turn off for me. Now, that is not to say that this book isn’t good, because it is. It’s a well-written and entertaining rom-com, and if you like your MCs who have been pinning for each other since they were kids, then you are going to devour this book.
Kelley has taken that typical fake-dating trope and really done some interesting things with it. At first, both Gemma and Mason agree to enter a fake-dating relationship to help promote Gemma’s book and improve Mason’s image in the hockey world. That kind of mutual agreement is fairly typical in a sports romance story, but then Kelley alters it halfway through the book. Mason realizes that his actions often make him come across as being a selfish asshole, and wants Gemma to help him change his behaviour. So now that fake-dating agreement becomes this new agreement with Gemma helping Mason think before he acts and speaks, and in exchange, Mason will whisk Gemma away to a quiet place where she can write. And that fake-dating trope turns into a remote getaway, where these two are going to be stuck together in close quarters. I liked that unexpected turn this story took. It felt like getting two great romances in one.
I enjoyed the characters (except for all the pinning). Mason is an interesting hero, because he isn’t that typical gruff, asshole superstar hockey player. He is a good guy at his core; he just doesn’t think about how his actions or words can affect someone. This often means he comes across as a jerk. He is truly a unique character, and I found him refreshingly different. Gemma’s character is a bit more typical, but still a character I enjoyed being around. When we first meet Gemma, she is a shell of her former self. Her ex-husband really did suck that spark or zest for life that Gemma had. But of course, Mason helps her find the courage and reminds her that life is worth living and to take those chances.
These two are great together. Gemma has never put up with Mason’s crap and always knew he was capable of doing things outside of hockey. It’s pretty apparent that both characters are harbouring and have been harbouring some crush-like feelings for each other since they were kids. There is a slight second-chance romance feel to this story. There was a moment when they were teenagers when it looked like they were about to take that first step into becoming a romantic couple, but of course, high school drama wrecked that. I liked their chemistry and enjoyed the fact that they got to know each other as adults before jumping into bed with one another. It made their relationship feel more real and less Insta-lusty.
Writing Mr. Wrong is a fun, witty rom-com by the talented Kelley Armstrong.
Thank you, Forever Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
