Scoring Wilder by R.S. Grey

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Title: Scoring Wilder
Author: R.S. Grey
Published by: Indie
Release Date: June 15th 2014
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 404
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Sports Romance
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 #LetsReadIndie Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Adult Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ IndieBound
My rating:

Blurb:

What started out as a joke— seduce Coach Wilder—soon became a goal she had to score.

With Olympic tryouts on the horizon, the last thing nineteen-year-old Kinsley Bryant needs to add to her plate is Liam Wilder. He's a professional soccer player, America's favorite bad-boy, and has all the qualities of a skilled panty-dropper.

• A face that makes girls weep – check. • Abs that can shred Parmesan cheese (the expensive kind) – check. • Enough confidence to shift the earth’s gravitational pull – double check.

Not to mention Liam is strictly off limits . Forbidden. Her coaches have made that perfectly clear. (i.e. “Score with Coach Wilder anywhere other than the field and you’ll be cut from the team faster than you can count his tattoos.”) But that just makes him all the more enticing…Besides, Kinsley's already counted the visible ones, and she is not one to leave a project unfinished.

Kinsley tries to play the game her way as they navigate through forbidden territory, but Liam is determined to teach her a whole new definition for the term “team bonding.”

A fun & sexy New Adult Romance (age 17+)

My Review:

4.5 stars — OMG, I think this author is a match for me!!  I love her sense of humour, her characters are just sassy and fun and remind me of people I love!  I also couldn’t help but think of the one chick from the Traveling Pants movie…not sure if that was inspiration, or just me.

There were so many areas where things might not have worked for me, but somehow they did.  I’m not a sporty person at all, so I worried I wouldn’t have a connection to Kinsley.  But no problems there!  We may not have a lot in common, but she was just so very down to earth and hilarious, you couldn’t not love her!  I adored her friendship with both Emily and Becca, but especially Becca.  Those two were just hilarious together.

I was also concerned with the blurb and the intention that is implied in seducing the coach.  I feel like that isn’t accurate with the story that I read, so if that’s concerning you and keeping you from diving in (as it was for me, even though everyone I know recommended this one to me), then I would give it a shot.  Maybe I’m on crack, but I don’t remember there ever being an intentional seduction.  It was more like they met, there was attraction and fascination, and then perhaps Kinsley didn’t follow the rules quite as much.  But it wasn’t conniving or anything.

There was a part of me that was concerned I wouldn’t like Liam, b/c he is older than her (6 years when you’re 19 can be a lot), and occasionally I could feel their age difference, but I could also feel their chemistry and I appreciated that while they didn’t resist their attraction as much as they maybe should have, especially given his position of authority, it never felt taboo or anything.  It just was what it was.  I never felt like the thrill of doing something frowned upon ever entered their minds, and actually that was something that neither of them enjoyed about their relationship, it just was what it was.  And it didn’t go on too long either.

Since it was single POV, Kinsley only, I didn’t feel like I really got to know Liam that well.  It really was more the story of Kinsley’s journey in many ways.  But what I saw of Liam I actually really liked.  He was funny, kind, adorable, driven…honestly I had a hard time understanding who he was *before* he met Kinsley…the supposed bad boy.  But the impression I got was that that was a bit of a media fabrication.

The chemistry between them was fantastic though, I really felt it.  I definitely enjoyed their steamy scenes.

I appreciated that the kinds of conflicts they ran across in their relationship felt authentic to their age and the life that they live (being soccer stars).  When Kinsley had a crisis over Liam’s reputation, and her own difficulty trusting, it felt real and expected and I appreciated how it played out.  Did things move a bit fast?  Yeah, but I don’t know if I cared that much.

I REALLY appreciated the secondary characters in this book.  I felt like they really played a prominent role.  I LOVED Becca as I mentioned.  I really liked Emily too.  I loved Coach Davis and some of the conversations Kinsley had with her.  I like both Liam and Kinsley’s mothers.  I liked Penn (even if I thought he got off a bit easy).  I thought the villains were a bit over the top, and while I was fairly satisfied with the ending for Tara, I was more bummed that there wasn’t as much closure with Josh.

The soccer also felt really well done, and now I just feel even more admiration for elite athletes.

So yeah, this one was a total hit for me.  So many areas where it might not have normally worked out for me, just did somehow.  I’m not going to question it!!