So I think I’m now the third Cannonballer to review this series, but that’s okay because it can’t get enough endorsement! A New Adult series about smart athletes on the east coast working together to solve real problems? Just delightful. The series so far is four novels with a novella in the middle. A fifth novel comes out this fall, and you better believe I preordered it already!
The Year We Fell Down was my favorite of them all. Corey and Hartley were so cute together. Corey is a freshman attending the college she was supposed to be playing hockey for, but after a career ending injury is unable to even stand unaided. Hartley broke his leg being a dumb college kid, and their meet cute is by living across the hall from each other. Mrs. Julien reviewed this series last week when I was having a rough day, so I downloaded and started reading immediately. I laughed, cried and just had my heart melt a little.
The Year We Hid Away, while also quite good, did not hit me so perfectly in feels. Scarlett and Bridger both have huge secrets that they’re trying to hide, and issues that felt incredibly heavy for 18-21 year olds to be dealing with. That said, it really felt like they faced their problems to the best of their character’s abilities, and overall for a book filled with a lot of sturm und drang it did not leave you feeling drained, but hopeful for the characters.
Blonde Date is the quick little novella thrown into the mix, and thank goodness! After the last book, I just needed a light, little romance and this one fit the bill perfectly. Blonde Katie (Scarlett’s roommate from the previous book) and Andy (Bridger’s next door neighbor also from the previous book) are set up on a blind date to a sorority event. The little story takes place over one night, and it was delightful to watch from the meeting to the connecting to the fun times. You just want to give this story and the characters a hug.
The Understatement of the Year is back to novel form, and this time it’s two hockey players, Michael Graham and John Rikker. They knew each other as young teens, and after a brutal hate crime occurred each took an opposite approach: Graham firmly cemented himself in a denial closet (even to himself) and Rikker got shipped away to Vermont where a lot more freedom to be who you are happened. Rikker comes out during the story as the first openly gay Division I hockey player, and never apologizes for who he is. Graham spends 85% of the story insisting he’s straight, but finally comes around. Overall it was a really great story, but my personal preference for romances is to have the characters get together earlier. I like when they work through problems together, instead of fighting each other.
The Shameless Hour is the last one published so far, and it’s the one where Ms. Bowen looks out at our current society and says a big eff you to them. Bella is the rake, Rafe is the innocent and the slut shaming and gender discrimination that occurs throughout the book is pretty painful (yet accurate) to read. This was my least favorite in the series, but only because it was so uncomfortable. Poor Bella is put through so much, and because of how we treat women who speak out against discrimination/humiliation, time and again she refuses to ask for help or say anything. It’s a tragic novel to read in many ways because so much of it is grounded in our reality.
All this is to say, if you’re looking for a good time hanging out with some college kids you could do a lot worse! I highly recommend these kids and their courage in facing real problems while finding love along the way.
