Discover new books on Goodreads

Meet your next favorite book

505 ratings (3.63 avg)
403 reviews
more photos (3)

Karina

Add friend

https://www.instagram.com/spanglish_literature_karina

https://www.goodreads.com/karinaaz

Karina’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (1153)
currently-reading‎ (3)
read‎ (550)
did-not-finish‎ (3)

kindle-unlimited-pending-download‎ (383)
owned-e-book‎ (374)
audible-españa-rented‎ (353)
read-from-kindle-unlimited‎ (253)

arc-copies‎ (135)
audible-usa-own‎ (59)
owned-physical-book‎ (42)
alc-copies‎ (16)

biblioteca-online‎ (7)
currently-downloaded-to-read‎ (7)
audiobook-apple‎ (1)

Stats | More…

Karina is Currently Reading

Karina is currently reading

Goalie Interference (On Thin Ice, #3)

by K.C. Carmichael (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-downloaded-to-read, arc-copies, currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

10 hours, 35 min ago

Karina is currently reading

The Risk (Briar U, #2)

by Elle Kennedy (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: read-from-kindle-unlimited, audible-españa-rented, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in January 2024

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Karina said: " Hmmmm...where to start. This is a 3.5 book for me. I had some minor issues but overall, it was good and I really did like the story. Ok, let's start.

First, I don't think this should be part of the Briar U series. Yes, I understand that Brenna goes to Hmmmm...where to start. This is a 3.5 book for me. I had some minor issues but overall, it was good and I really did like the story. Ok, let's start.

First, I don't think this should be part of the Briar U series. Yes, I understand that Brenna goes to Briar, it is all about the hockey and blah blah blah. But it doesn't fit the Briar U recipe. I think the series with Graham, Logan, Dean, and Tucker should have been Briar U series and this should be called the Off-Campus Series. Not only is the Brenna and Jake story clearly not 100% Briar U (because Jake goes to Harvard), but we didn't get a lot of interaction with our fellow Briar classmates. The story within the series was a little confusing but I can overlook that.

Let's get on to the story: Brenna. We met her in the last book as Summer's new BFF. She is feisty. I love how she doesn't take crap from anyone, she wears her armor well and she has balls of steal. Yes, there is a fracture beneath and I wish she let her vulnerability out but, considering the field of work she wants to go into, it's good that she can put up a front. I was actually surprised by Brenna's relationship with her father. Coach Jensen was always described as a hardass with a no-nonsense personality, but I always figured that he was a giant teddy bear at home. Once we learn Brenna's backstory, it's clear why he stopped being so open and tender with his daughter, but it's still sad to see. I'm glad that in the end, they started to work out their differences and relationship. Oh, and the whole reason that he hated Coach Pederson...that was predictable from the start.
But back to Brenna. Again, this girl is fierce. I love how she owns her confidence in her brain and her body. She's a bit of a loner and has that dark edge. I'm not surprised that Summer is drawn to her as a friend (considering that Fitzy can also be a bit like Brenna and Summer is also drawn to him).
Jake: I was first introduced to Jake in The Graham Effect so I wasn't surprised when he was referred to as a great hockey player and that he had the potential to be the next great, along with Garrett Graham. Now I'm actually curious to have more books in the future, where Elle goes into details of how that friendship developed. I basically need Elle to create an episode for the Biography Channel about Jake and another about Graham, or one of those old-school "Draw My Life" Youtube videos that was trending about a decade ago. I was shocked to see that Jake's drive and passion for hockey and his future came to him all on his own from such a young age if his parents weren't interested in the sport. It's obvious that they care about him deeply and there is no childhood trauma so I am confused as to why they don't support him more on this dream (not that they don't support him, they just seem indifferent). The leadership he demonstrates to his team as captain, the confidence that his coach has in him and his hard-working personality, is a great indicators that any sequel story of Jake's life will be good. I hope his relationship with Hazel continues, although, I have a feeling that it is one that could suffer in the long run if she doesn't make an effort with Brenna. It wasn't a surprise to see that Hazel had feelings for Jake. I wish we could have a story where the "hot athlete" and his bff of the opposite sex could have a childhood-to-adult friendship that is and will always be platonic. I hate to think that al stories feel the need to through in somewhere along the line attraction and possibly ruin the friendship.
As for their relationship: it was obvious that this was coming in The Chase. There was sexual tension from the moment they met and it was only a matter of time and having the right opportunity.
As is typical in Elle's books, the bromance is strong. I love the jabs, the ragging, and all the inside jokes between the friendships in her stories. Hollis is pure gold. I found him slightly annoying when we first met him in Dean and Allie's story and very annoying (as well as his brother) in Tucker and Sabrina's story, but Mike Hollis is PURE GOLD. Between his full manscaping in The Chase, to his relationship with Rubi (and the gems that come out of his mouth), I am crying-laughing with this guy. As Brenna says "I would love to spend a day living in Mike Hollis' head for a day. But only one day".
What I didn't like was the ending. The story didn't feel like it was dragging on. I actually enjoyed the pacing of the book throughout the entire thing. I thought that, in the beginning, there was a lot of action-packed in a short amount of time within the story. From bumping into each other at the diner to the Havard-Briar U game, I think only 2 or 3 weeks had passed in the book. That was a lot of action and feelings to evolve in a very short amount of time. But then the ending and, especially, the epilogue felt off. We had a fulling outlined story and then the epilogue felt like an afterthought, just a few extra pages thrown in to summarize the story. It left me wanting more and feeling like the story was unfinished. Let's see if we get any insight into Jake and Brenna's life through the "Campus Diaries" series. I know we will be seeing them at some point. ...more "

progress:

(83%)
— Jan 31, 2024 02:25AM

Jul 11, 2025 01:05AM · see review

Karina is currently reading

Crack the Ice (Tampa Bay Hawks Book 3)

by Lindsey Saenz (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-downloaded-to-read, arc-copies, currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

progress:

(52%)
— Nov 01, 2026 01:46PM

Sep 25, 2026 02:59PM

Karina’s Notes & Highlights

The Dare (Briar U, #4) by Elle Kennedy

1 note & 2 highlights

Men are a failed species.

See Karina’s 14 books with notes and highlights…

Karina’s Quotes

“Wait—do angels even get laid? And if so, are heaven orgasms a million times better than earth orgasms? I bet yes.”
“Uh-doy. Where do you think rainbows come from? Whenever you see a rainbow, that means an angel just came.”
― Elle Kennedy, The Score

106 likes

“I do what I want, when I want. And I don’t give a shit what people think about me.”
― Elle Kennedy, The Score

166 likes

“You know, I don’t think we’re dealing with a Bella’s-magical-blood situation here.”
“No?”
“No. I think you’ve imprinted on this girl’s pussy.”
… “What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re facing a Jacob quandary. You imprinted on her pussy, and now it’s the only pussy you can think about. You exist solely for this pussy. Like Jacob and that weird mutant baby.”
― Elle Kennedy, The Score

164 likes

“I’m adorable, first off. My sense of humor is stellar—obvs.”
“Obvs,” she echoes dryly.
“I’m extraordinarily skilled in the art of conversation.”
She nods. “When it’s about yourself, of course.”
“Of course.” I pretend to think it over some more. “Oh, and I’m a mind reader. No lie. I always know what the other person is thinking.”
“Yeah? What am I thinking right now?” Allie challenges.
“That you want me to shut up and fuck you again.”
She shakes her head in dismay. “Goddamn it. That’s actually what I was thinking.”
I smirk at her and tap my forehead. “Told ya. Mind reader.”
― Elle Kennedy, The Score

tags: allie, dean

115 likes

“You're lucky I love you, babe.
If any other girl had done this to me --"
"You love me? You just said it."
"I ... Well, damn. I guess I did."
"Did you mean it? I want to hear it again."
"Aw shit, babe. Don't make me say it again.
It's bad enough I said it first.”
― Elle Kennedy, The Score

130 likes

More of Karina’s quotes…