Review by Ronny
Series Name: Milwaukee Growlers Football, # 1
If you are looking for a quick and easy football romance to get you into the Super Bowl mood, then you could give this book a try.
Favourite Quote:
It was the first time he’d uttered her name and the sultry sound of it rolling off his lips sent shock waves throughout her body. Somehow, it was more intimate than the preponderance of “lasses” he’d been bandying about since they met.
Book Synopsis:
It was supposed to be just for kicks…
Andi Larsen learned early on there is no such thing as fairy godmothers. A childhood spent in foster care will do that to a girl. She’s working her way through night school and is on the cusp of establishing her own business without help from anyone, thank you very much. But when her deadbeat ex steals her identity, amassing a staggering debt in her name, her fairy godmother appears in the guise of a spunky, Fireball whisky-wielding septuagenarian. The older woman’s solution for Andi? Tie the knot with a kilt-wearing, moody jock whose legs look sexier in a skirt than hers do.
Declan Fletcher never intended to be a place-kicker for a professional football team. But fate had other plans. Exiled from his beloved Scotland a decade ago, Dex is now a superstar athlete known throughout the league as the “Man with the Million Dollar Leg.” But when a mix-up in his immigration paperwork threatens to send him home before the season begins, he’ll do anything to avoid deportation and facing his greatest mistake. Even if it means marrying a pink-haired waif of a lass with eyes that seem to see everything he’s determined to keep hidden.
A grumpy cat, nosy teammates, and a sizzling sexual attraction make their marriage of convenience anything but convenient.
Review:
I figure I should say right off the bat that this book is only enjoyable for anyone looking for a quick football romance. If you are looking for something that is going to knock your socks off or something that will be your gateway book into the world of football romances, I would not recommend this book. Now, that’s not to say this book is terrible because it isn’t. It’s meant to be a quick, easy read, not something you need to think too much about. It meant to help satisfy that itch some bookworms may have when it comes to this sub-genre, and it does that. There were some things I wish had been done differently, and opportunities for more heart-racing, butterfly-inducing moments that were missed. But I didn’t hate reading this book. It has this silly, romanceland plot, and some things were delightfully bonkers. It was a fun read.
Just For Kicks is the first book in the Milwaukee Growlers series, and the author has teed up the next few books beautifully. She sparked enough interest in the secondary characters that I ended up downloading their books, and I am excited to read them. Now, as with a lot of these smaller football romances, you need to suspend reality while you read it. Things that unfold in this book would never happen in real life; you just need to say “ok” when the author throws another bonkers plot twist at you. Kind of like with category romances, things move fast in this book, and that is what it is supposed to be. I liked the story; it’s fun and interesting enough to capture my attention, and I really enjoy the celebrity-normie dynamic that unfolds on the pages.
I liked Declan’s character; he has this mysterious backstory that, in his eyes, is so tragic that he can never allow himself to be loved because he doesn’t deserve it. When a hero has that kind of backstory, it really just hits all the right buttons with me. I liked the little Scottish slang that pops up every so often when he speaks. Overall, he was an enjoyable hero to read. Andie’s character was also enjoyable. I didn’t like her character as much as Declan’s, and it was hard to connect with her at times. But for how fast things moved in the story, I didn’t dwell too much on her character as a whole.
The romance is good. Their chemistry was ok, for the most part. If you like your romance stories to have lots of miscommunications, ups and downs, insta-lust, then you will like what unfolded between Andie and Declan. One of the things I wish there was more of was dialogue between Andie and Declan. I could see the potential for some fun, flirty, and sharp banter between these two, but it was missing in this story. I liked the marriage of a convenience story; it had this Proposal vibe to it, in a way. It was a fun way to force these two together.
Just For Kicks is a fun, quick read with just the right amount of bonkers to keep me entertained.
