Review: Hard Pass by Brenda Rothert and Kat Mizera
Rating: 5/5
Series: St Louis Mavericks
Series type: Interconnected Standalones
Tropes: Hockey, Friends to lovers, Mistaken identity, sports romance, Slow burn, Co-workers
Pop: 57%
We are back in St. Louis with the monthly crew of the Mavericks. And this time we are there to watch Nash Riley fall and fall hard!
I love a romance that starts from a mistake, be it a wrong number, misplaced item or a random text. So just from the beginning when Sariah sends a text to a number, she thinks is her ex’s to advise him of the loss of their pet cat Mr Pebbles I was all in!
Sariah is such a dynamic character. She is strong and resilient. She is the type of heroine I want in all my romances. I loved that she held firm to her boundaries not just with Rob/Nash but also with her family. She is determined and mindful of what she want in life. I really connected with her. She is absolutely they type of friend we all need and want.
Nash/Rob is the good guy. The prankster of the team. Doesn’t always take thing seriously but is totally there for when a friend needs a hand. Nash is such a fun character and honestly when he is on the page, he owns it.
Meeting by random text and then having this person show up in your work life is weird and I think that honestly Nash handled it really well. As a pro athlete who could have thought the worst but instead he accepted but he did mess up! Because of his mess up I kind of wanted to punch him in the face. I loved the added pieces of Sariah’s Family. I also liked Nash’s care for his mother but how it also made him face a bit of what he did.
If you are looking for a story with dynamic memorable characters, I cannot recommend this book enough. The pacing of the story is so well done. I was fully invested in Nash and Sariah from the start. There was natural feel to their attraction. I loved how they spent time getting to know one another even though it wasn’t in the most honest way, (looking at you Nash). This story has all the elements of a great love story. The chemistry and emotions on the page do have a slow burn feel but it burns!
