Elyse Springer

3,75 stars

I try to push myself to read outside the romance genre, but 50/50 is the most I can make myself do, right now. I'd not read anything from Springer before, and picked this one up because of a booktube recommendation.

This book has great characters, good depiction of internalized homophobia, interesting descriptions of diving as a sport, a very nice slow build romance (which is my favorite kind) and pretty decent writing. I prefer books with solid family dynamics, but I also have a soft spot for self-made families, which this one had. Brownie points for having female character(s) that weren't vilified but had their own interests and lives. Overall, this one falls solidly in the sweet romance category in stead of the steamy one (even though it's definitely got its NC-17 bits, too), which was refreshing.

This book isn't a five-star read, but not because there's anything wrong, exactly. Every checkbox I have for a good read got ticked, it just got ticked in the "good" column instead of "amazing". In my books, a four star read is worth a re-read, even if it's not the best out there. (I reserve my five stars for books that change me.) All in all, a very nice way to spend my Sunday.… (más)

2.5 stars
From a story that takes place in Antarctica, I expected more. I feel the author barely touched the surface, and could have gone deeper. That place must be beautiful, and not just that, but there's probably lots of regulations due to the conditions, and life out there isn't easy. I wanted to know more. So much more.

As for the romance, it was cliché. MC makes a bet with his friends, and of course Mr. 'I-don't-wan't-a-relationship' falls in love, but then the guy finds out about the bet and everyone is in tears. Blah. Unoriginal.

I liked that the MC's weren't stereotypical. Asher is a big dude, but he's shy and constantly blushing. Simon thought he was a hotshot scientist, always in the center of attention, so he didn't dare approach him. But Asher is the complete opposite, he likes solitude.
Simon I imagined like a twink... aaand he is kinda like one. :) But Asher thought he was so cool, schmoozing with people, and in turn he also didn't try and approach Simon. So it turned out they were both wrong.

I also liked how.... (damn, this sentence just doesn't want to come out of my brain properly...uh...I've been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to explain). So... you know when you see a guy on the street or wherever and think he's good looking and start fantasizing about him, how he would pin you down with his massive frame... but then it turns out the guy is nothing like the fantasy. He's actually gentle and careful. So you try and merge the fantasy with reality. That's what happened here. Simon was expecting one thing, but got something else. He wasn't too disappointed though. And I liked how that was portrayed.
… (más)

I really liked this book. I felt and understood the protagonist's insecurities and her reasons for dressing up even though it was outside of her comfort zone.

It's always a challenge to tell a romance only from one point of view; I think this one did well. The one problem I had is that there was something akin to 'a big misunderstanding', which is a plot device I detest. Thankfully, it didn't drag out too long and was explained in a way that made sense. Still, I wish the heroine had had a little more faith in herself and the relationship to talk things over at that point.… (más)