Fake Start by Jasmin Miller
Rating: 4/5
Steam: 3/5
Angst: 2/5
Trope: friends to lovers; fake relationship; swimming; single mom
Series: Kings of the Water book 4
POV: Dual 1st person
I have been looking forward to Hunter’s story since book 1 of the Kings of the Water series. Throughout the series you get little snippets into Daisy and Hunter because they are such a big part of this core group of people. Daisy is Noah’s older sister who has went through a divorce and has two little boys. Hunter is the youngest of the kings of the water and is still swimming competitively while the other three have retired and are staring their new endeavor.
Hunter has been approached by a company for an endorsement and this company has been on of his goals since he was a little kid. The reasoning behind his motivation is sweet and sad mixed it. That isn’t to say he is doing things for the wrong reason…just the motivation behind his wanting this specific one. He and Daisy have been an integral part of each others lives for years, and being a person in the spotlight, the are photographs of the two of them circulating leading into the speculation that they are more than just friends. And so this little nugget of information leads them down the spiral of the fake relationship. They both have strong feelings for the other, but have been hesitant to do anything. Daisy because she is divorced with two kids and hasn’t had the support needed by anyone except her friends and her brother. I will say, her friends are amazing and wonderful. They see her start to spiral and call her out but in a way that allows her to understand the reasoning behind it. Hunter has goals, and they are big, but he also recognizes his need for Daisy and the boys to be in his life. Even thought he didn’t realize it before, he is a HUGE part of their lives.
These two take a slow approach to that first step, but once they make it, it is full steam ahead. I love their chemistry and their relationship with each other. I adored the relationship between Daisy, her boys, and Hunter’s family and love how Miller set the stage for that. One thing that I really enjoyed is their dark moment doesn’t tear them apart, but rather puts a wedge that they need to deal with. But it is dealt with in such an amazingly mature and natural way. We get an epilogue that is one year out, and then the ARC copy gives us another bonus chapter that is one more year out, and I love where these two go. Thank you to Jasmin Miller for giving us another amazing addition to the sports romance world.
