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4.5 Stars (Third Read 8/7/2024)

4.5 Stars (Second Read 2/27/2018)

4.5 Stars (First Read 9/30/2016)



This is hands-down one of my favorite NA series. I love the writing, the humor, the depth, the romance, the sex, pretty much everything... but my favorite, my absolute FAVORITE aspect is the characters. They are absolutely fantastic. It's so easy to like them, and by the end of the book, I'm crushing hardcore on both main characters. And this one was no exception. I start and end these books the exact same way...



I'm bummed that this series is technically over, but I've read that a spin-off is in the works so I'm not terribly upset since we'll still get some of these characters back. Now, speaking of characters I love... Tucker & Sabrina *le sigh* They were incredible!

There were a lot of sweet moments, courtesy of Tucker... *major swoon*

He was truly incredible. He knew from the very beginning that he wanted Sabrina, but he also recognized that he would need to approach it delicately, so he was patient and kind in his approach. I loved his hockey related metaphors that showed how solitary her life had been.

She thinks she’s alone. Basically, she’s never had anyone skate with her�� not even her friends, Carin and Hope.

Sabrina James isn't used to people loving her.

I really appreciated how much he could see under Sabrina's tough veneer. He was always thinking about her and what was best for her. He had no shame in how he felt. If he could spend time with her, he made it happen. If she needed him, he was there. If she needed space, he gave it to her. Tucker was just so unbelievably aware of her and her needs that my heart melted every single time they were together.



And the only thing I loved more than Tucker with Sabrina, was Tucker with his daughter. There is something so incredibly hot about a man with a kid. His love for his daughter was immediate and I loved how he made the best of what other's would consider a bad situation.

"That’s my daughter in there, and every time I think that, pride fills my chest. My daughter. Christ. Life is strange and unpredictable and so freaking awesome."

He never felt that way though. Sure, he freaked out, as I'm sure all new parents do, but he never regretted his child.

"This is fucked up. We shouldn’t be allowed to leave the hospital with a kid. I’ve never even had a pet before."

Tucker is funny and optimistic, and just so good. And he never lets anything get him down. It almost seems too good to be true, but I had a friend in high school who was this way... people like this exist. Tucker is book boyfriend perfection <3



Now, for the trickier character... Sabrina. I know a lot of people disliked her, but I never felt that way. Quite the contrary, I really, really liked her. Maybe it's because I understood where she was coming from. Not all of it, but I have a notorious resting bitch face, which almost all my friends make fun of me for, and I can come off very aloof when I first meet people. For me it's because I'm an introvert and awkward, for Sabrina it's purely about survival. But the reasons aren't necessarily important, people see the same thing--a bitch. So I get it. I get her. And maybe that's why I liked her so much. Because I know how hard and hurtful it is to be the person everyone thinks is a bitch. Especially because all we really want are the same things as everyone else, we just have a hard time figuring out how to get it without getting hurt.



I understood Sabrina "pushing" Tuck away early on. I mean, she was pregnant. That's a big deal and she was worried Tuck would regret it (something I totally understand as well). To be honest, I felt Tucker could have been more forward with his intentions. Don't get me wrong, like I said, I freaking LOVED him. He was awesome, and I understood him keeping quiet about his feelings in the beginning, she definitely would have ran scared. But later on, I think she was just waiting for insurance because despite little things he did that clearly screamed I LOVE YOU, he never made his intentions completely clear. Yes, he said I love you after the baby was born, but I think Sabrina had a point--how was she to know it wasn't just an "in the moment" thing? I wanted him to sit down with her and flat out say, "I love you. You're it for me, mother of my child or not. You getting pregnant didn't ruin my life, it made it a thousand times better. This was always what I wanted. A wife and child to love, it just happened a little sooner than expected, which is a blessing because now I get to love you guys longer."

Or something like that... lol. I mean, he does say something along this line at the very end, but I just feel if he said it sooner, we could have avoided a lot of the angst at the end. Like I said, I love Tucker, I'm not trying to be overly harsh or say he wasn't wonderful, because he was. But I just think if we're going to give Sabrina so much crap about being distant, we should at least consider ways Tucker could have stepped up a little more, too. I mean no woman wants to wonder if a guy is with her just because she's pregnant.

I also don't get where she was epically mean to him? I'm not trying to be rude or change anyone's mind or say their opinion is wrong, I just didn't see it and I'm genuinely curious what moment made Sabrina a character to be hated. I mean there were moments (I think this was around 70%) where Tucker asked something of her, like to hang out with his friends, and she did it. She didn't push him away all the time.

"Please?" I flash her my best aw-shucks smile. "It'd mean a lot to me."
"Oh." Her expression melts like butter in the sun. "Okay. I’ll come."

And she doesn't take his awesomeness for granted. If anything, it makes her feel less worthy of him.

I’ve been AWOL for weeks and he still finds a way to look at me like I’m the only girl in his orbit. I don’t fucking deserve him.

Asking John Tucker not to help out is like asking the sun not to rise.

She sees the good in him, unfortunately this is how she sees herself...

I'm trashy. I live with trashy people. I belong in a trashy place.

Anywho... I do wish the ending was different. I was just a little underwhelmed and I hated that she didn't say I love you until (view spoiler)[98% (hide spoiler)]. I didn't understand that much, and when Tuck's mom was reaming her out, I wanted her strong side back, I wanted her to tell her to shove it. But these things didn't necessarily feel like faults of Sabrina, it felt more like the author went off track with her. I don't know if that makes sense, and I'm certainly not trying to be disrespectful. I love Elle Kennedy, her writing, and this series, but I don't think she did Sabrina's character justice in the last 10% of the book.

I feel like all that sounds like I didn't like the characters and/or the book... that's not it AT ALL. But I wanted to go in detail about some of the thoughts I had because I know Sabrina's character has been a point of contention with this book. I respect everyone's views on her but I just wanted to throw in my very long two cents ;)

And, as always, I spent half the book laughing my ass off...

"Aria gives us a rundown of how it all works. It's not very complicated. We drink wine and paint Spector's penis."

Finally, I find my ovaries and turn to face him.

"I'm wondering why we use brass balls to describe someone who’s really strong, because after the second video, my balls tried to climb inside my body. Plus, my YouTube history is officially fucked."

"I swear to God, Tucker, if you don’t go find her right now, I will rip your stupid head off your stupid neck and FEED IT TO THE BABY!"

"How about this? We’ll Rock, Paper, Scissors for it."
Yeah, we're going to make great parents, all right.

And the sex... my God... I loved Tucker's dirty mouth, and their chemistry in general was just off the charts!

"I hate to tell you this, Sabrina. But you’ve made a big mistake."
"What? Why?"
His fingers draw my thong tight, the fabric cutting into my swollen lips. "Because I’m going to ruin you for all future guys. I apologize in advance."

"C'mere and fuck my face. I need more of that."

Her fingers cover my knuckles as she urges me to stroke her clit. "And this." She bucks upward and starts fucking herself on me.

"Now strip. I’m hungry, woman."

Okay, now that this review is longer than the book, I'm gonna wrap it up. I think it's a GREAT addition to the series and if you've enjoyed the others I think you'll definitely want to give it a chance. The heroine is hit-or-miss but from what I've gathered everyone loved Tucker, so read it for him if nothing else ;)

Safety: (view spoiler)[There's no OW/OM. There are groupies around Tucker and he's friends with all his exes but I think he only ever speaks to one of them and only a couple of times. Both MC's have generous sexual pasts, and even though they are very much about each other, they "objectively" view other people as attractive. I would consider it safe, but if you're very critical of these types of issues, I'd maybe read more reviews to get a better idea of if you'd enjoy it or PM for other, more detailed answers ;) (hide spoiler)]

Closure: (view spoiler)[There's a one year jump ahead epilogue, where they're engaged and extremely happy with their daughter :) (hide spoiler)]