Release Week Reviews: Goalkeeper by Andi Burns & Snowballed by Melanie Ting

GOALKEEPER by Andi Burns

Release Date: June 7, 2021
Cover Design: Christine Coffey

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Moo U Hockey

Winning games has always been his focus, but will winning her heart become the ultimate goal?

Everyone at Moo U knows the party doesn’t start until Paige Underwood arrives. Not only is she beautiful, she’s fun and charming too. Guys want to date her, and girls want to be her best friend. All Paige wants is to have a good time and make videos for her beauty channel--and maybe get that girl down the hall to do her eyeliner correctly. Is that too much to ask? 

According to her parents, yes. They’ve said the party’s over and that it’s time to get focused.

Spencer Briggs knows all about focus. He’s had one goal since he set foot on the ice as a kid: make it to the NHL. After years of hard work and endless practice, he’s the starting goalie for Moo U and mere steps away from his dream. He can’t afford distractions, and isn’t interested in relationships. And he definitely can’t afford to flirt back with the gorgeous girl in his lit class. 

He needs to stay serious. She needs to get serious. But now serious sparks are flying . . . 

What I thought about Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper Spencer Briggs doesn't mess around with his future. He's got his special diet, his practice schedule and a father that just won't let him forget anything he does wrong. Destined for the NHL, he can't make the mistakes of his last year when he partied a little too much and had to drop classes. He's back on track and laser focused on hockey.

Until he meets Paige Underwood. Paige is the life of the party and all around good friend and good sport. When she meets a reluctant Spencer at a hockey house party, they share a blistering kiss during a drinking game. But then everything explodes and Spence knows he messed up. Lucky for him,Paige might just be interested too and he gets a second chance.

I really liked this opposites attract romance. Spence is shy and reserved -- Paige is outgoing and can talk to anyone. When they end up partners in a speech course together, they are able to explore the attraction between them. Turns out they have great chemistry and Spence and Paige are very happy to be together. Spence's dad doesn't quite share their enthusiasm. But this story is really about two very driven people and their discovery of what they love most and what they want their future to look like as much as this is a lovely love story between two seemingly different people.

I loved this story. There's a good mix of light and dark and the heavier moments are justified and handled well by the romantic leads. Goalkeeper was the first book in a very long time that brought happy tears to my eyes with it's wonderfully cute ending. It is really a star in the Moo U lineup of stories in the World of True North.

Snowballed by Melanie Ting

 

Cover Design: Christine Coffey
Release Date: June 7, 2021

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Moo U Hockey

She needs Prince Farming . . . but she got me instead.

Sure, life’s been easy for me. Growing up in an oceanside house in SoCal, playing top-level college hockey, driving a luxury car with a generous allowance—sounds like the dream, right? Turns out what I didn’t have was freedom. And when I decided to transfer to Moo U for my last year of hockey, my controlling father cut me off. 

No money, no car, no friends. I’m just another student struggling to make ends meet. The only place I can afford to live is the Meyers’ farm, where I’ll work in exchange for room and board. Farm work is so exhausting that I don’t even have time to wallow in the crappy turn my life has taken. Zoe Meyers is a hot blonde Amazon with all the energy of a chipmunk on crack. And her positivity is making me realize how lucky I really am, even though I’m broke. Too bad she’s not impressed by a guy who can’t figure out which end of a goat to milk.

Because suddenly I want to impress her. I want to do a lot more with her too . . . if I can get her out of the barn and into my arms. 

What I thought about Snowballed

When Noah Goodwin decides to take Coach Keller up on an offer that takes his hockey career in a new direction, his family cuts him off financially and he's left to fend for himself. Good thing he can get room and board in exchange for helping out at a local farm. How hard could it be?

Zoe Meyers is in a tough spot. Her beloved farm is in danger of being sold if she can't handle the day to day operations of running a small hobby farm. She just wasn't expecting some cocky, egotistical college student would want to take the job, especially one that looks like a hockey god in the flesh.

Things are a little rocky to start between them. He calls her Cracky -- she talks like she's a chipmunk on crack, but a really nice friendship develops between Zoe and Noah as they share rides, meals and chores on the farm. But these two will have some challenges in maintaining their relationship.

I really liked the way their friendship developed in a slow burn sort of way. Noah is so very mature to Zoe's inexperience. There was an immaturity to Zoe's character that made it hard at times to see these two characters going long term in the relationship. There is also an age and experience gap. To me, this was very much a "happy for now" rather than "happily ever after" story.

Don't get me wrong. Snowballed was a quick and sometimes steamy read (with some slow spots). I liked Noah and Zoe, I just had a hard time believing in them as a long term couple, which is why I'm rating this four stars.