Courtney Lacroix’s Reviews > Grinder > Status Update

I have hope that ones with different tropes in the series are probably better? A lot of series like to do the first one as the “player” type guy and they are never as good as the books that follow 🤷‍♀️

Like it just seems like nothing ever happened and this book starts like 6 months or something into the nannying and they are already attracted to each other and im just like ???? huh??? idk man it didn’t really make sense as a plot point imo. Def a fine book if u wanna read a hockey romance but don’t have time for a normal length one.

I think it’s cuz the book Caught Up did it so well and i just recently read it that it’s hard to compare which is fair. I just think it could’ve been a lot better if the book was longer and didn’t rush certain parts of the book. ALSO i don’t really get what even changed for these two and why they started liking each other?? Like why did they never date or anything before now??

Like the classic “she’s a bad mom who doesn’t care at all for her kid and is a gold digger” is kinda old and over done. Idk this whole book felt a little unoriginal? Like it def wasn’t BAD but it just wasn’t GOOD? Just a fine hockey romance book that’s pretty to the point but nothing special. I just really don’t like the immature dad trope and unfortunately gage gave me that energy.

I just felt like the book really rushed everything for no reason and i didn’t really love the main two characters? Not really the biggest fan of the “player” type characters and he just didn’t really do anything for me tbh. Bailey was fine but there wasn’t much to her? Idk. Also the ex, hellen was such an odd character and was quite annoying.

they are both perfectly fine with it and they get married and live happily ever after.
Thoughts: I don’t really like that it feels like the book just jumps right into the middle of the situation? Like no background info or led up and it just jumps right info it. i get that’s part of the reason the book was shorter but idk i really like getting to know the characters and the part where the story is set up nicely.

One of her big goals in life is to have kids in the future but gage is a hard no that he’s not NEVER having in the future (you find out later on he got the snip snip) and she’s basically like i need you to at least consider it in the future or im a gonerrrr. He doesn’t tell her and leads her on for no good god damn reason and she finds out and is upset about it.

Its the old childhood friends to lovers trope but also the “we can’t be together cuz what if things don’t work out how will that affect the kid” trope. He’s a former player now only wants her and they both have MAJOR trust issues cuz of past relationships. She makes it known she likes him first but then he rejects it (an idiot ik) for no good reason and then suddenly he’s interested & they get together

Bailey and Gage 🤷‍♀️ Book rec from chole! Plot summary: Gage is a professional hockey player and is coming off of an injury and his wife left him and their 3 year old a lil while ago for one of his previous teammates. He needs help taking care of his kid, so he gets his childhood friend bailey to be a nanny for him while sorting out what she wants to do with her life.