I am going to start this one off by saying that if steamy romance is your cup of tea, then you won't be able to put down not only this book, but the entire trilogy.
What can I say about Hannah Cowan? She is hands down one of the best upcoming authors out there, and she deinitely made it from scratch. I found her on Wattpad, the cradle of some of the best contemporary authors, and from the beginning I could not, for the life of me, put her books down.
That being said, let's get to the fun part and what we're here for: the tea on this book, Blissful Hook, second one in the Swift Hat-Trick trilogy. First of all, I would strongly encourage readers to check out the first book in the trilogy, Lucky Hit, before this one. Everything will make more sense, and, naturally, you get a follow up on the lives of the MCs.
Anyway, I gotta say this is definitely my favourite out of the three. The plotline, while being 'brother's-best-friend', is actually quite innovative and has its own unique twists. I loved the fact that it brings back some hints from the first book, but also some things that happen in the time frame we didn't get to see.
Regarding the relationship between the MCs, Gracie and Tyler, it is quite refreshing to see, for one, a male MC that doesn't fall first thing into the relationship. She has to work for it. And don't get me wrong, it is not (only) because he is tring to fight falling in love and all that typical jazz, but he actually has more important things to take care of in his own life. There is also some sense of loyalty towards his best friend that I really respect, even though I was rooting for them as a couple.
Regarding Gracie, I really ended up admiring her perseverance. She knew where to draw the line, though, and she didn't let him walk over her. She understtod the baggage he carried and actually helped him overcome certain things, even when facing hardships of her own.
What I love the most about this story, though, is that it felt real from the get go. The characters are not perfect, not by a long shot, but we get to see their growth and development, and that is something I adore in this type of books. It makes you sympathize with the characters and understand that we are all humans, after all.
When you choose to read mature books, you have to undestand that it is not only the sexual aspect that is supposed to be complex, but the plot and the situations that happen, because that is the way things and people are in real life. We hear it a lot: "Nobody's perfect", right? So why should the characters in books be so?
All in all, this is a great book, part of a great trilogy. I don't think anyone would regret reading this. Except, maybe, for the fact that it leaves you yearning for some hot hockey player for yourself, *sighs*.
**This is an ARC reader review**