Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen

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Title: Overnight Sensation
Author: Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn #2
Published by: Indie
Release Date: January 22, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 341
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Source: Nina Bocci PR
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 AtoZ Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Winter 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

Everyone knows the girl is off limits. But it's so good to be bad.


There's this girl...Heidi and I have been trading hungry looks all year, and everything she does makes me smile. But I don't do girlfriends, and I certainly can't get involved with the league commissioner's daughter. I need shots on goal, not a hookup and a widely misunderstood paparazzi photo.Can I resist her, though? The way she teases me should be a game penalty for interference with my libido. 


There's this guy...Jason wants me, but he won't admit it. That man looks at me the way a hockey player eyes the lunch buffet after practice--and I love it. But when victory is finally within my grasp, I blow it and humiliate myself. Even then I can't even avoid him--as the team intern, I'm in constant view of his hard body and cocky smile. I need another chance. Jason Castro is about to learn the true meaning of an overnight sensation.

My Review:

I received a free copy through Nina Bocci PR in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — Oh those Brooklyn Bruisers…how I missed them.

Jason and Heidi were both so adorable and unique.  It was odd reading about a hero who was so guy-y, so unapologetic about being bossy and who loved being in charge, and just…well guy-y.  But at the same time Jason was SUPER sweet, kind, thoughtful, and a great friend.  And he had such a big heart.  Similarly Heidi was an honest-to-goodness spoiled princess in many ways, and she loved stereotypical girly things, like makeup, shoes, designer goodies…  But she was also super hard-working, thoughtful, sweet, and intuitive.  It was like Ms. Bowen gave us two character stereotypes, and said “aha!  But look deeper!”  I seriously DUG that.  It was one of my favourite aspects of the story.

But while I loved that in a surface way, and while I did truly love our characters, I was never super attached to them either…like neither one made my book boy/girl list.  And I don’t really know why.  It’s not a bad thing, just something indicative of why this is not higher than 4 stars for me.

I think I felt like Jason’s personal struggles lacked something…but then again, they didn’t always.  I found myself crying for him too.  I think I just had a hard time with his turnaround…like it wasn’t unbelievable exactly, but I wanted something more there.

On the other hand, I ADORED the way Heidi stepped up to every challenge set before her.  She had a bit of a raw deal, but I loved that she met each task with dignity and tenacity.  I admire the hell out of her.

Jason and Heidi together were da bomb.  They had amazing chemistry, and I loved how much fun they could have together, even in the steamy scenes.  They made me laugh out loud many times, even as they gave me tummy tingles.

I loved that the hockey boys played a somewhat larger role in this story…  I loved the support that they gave, and the sense of comradery that oozed off the pages.  I am hella intrigued by Silas, and have a few theories of where his story might go, but I keep second guessing myself.

As a total aside, speaking from my own NHL hockey attendance experience, I found the whole mascot thing weird.  Do they do that in other arenas?  Not that it matters, this is fiction…it just startled me and felt unbelievable.  What didn’t feel unbelievable was the section about the Ice Girls…  I don’t know what the conditions are for the girls in this role in real life, but I’ve seen my own team struggle with appropriate attire (though at least now they’re in pants and long sleeves) and finding a balance.

So this review was all over the fucking place.  Sometimes I have all these thoughts, and they really just don’t go together.  And sometimes I write down my thoughts, but moreso bullet point form, and then when I come back to clean it up I struggle.  The gist is that if you love the Brooklyn Bruisers series, you’re going to love this installment.  If you love hockey romances, you’re going to love this hockey romance.  If you love being surprised and inspired by your main characters, well strap in and enjoy the ride.