Pucked: The Pucked Series, Book 1

I bought this based on the high 'star' rating and a skim through the reviews. Now, months later as I finally get to it, I find that I did not get what I thought I was getting. Violet is a terrible person. I should have figured that out when she confessed to making up utter, horrible crap about her stepbrother. When the incredibly sweet, hot guy is romantically pursuing her, she is rude and cold. And she picks clothing, using a selection that is either stained or leftover from when she was 12. That doesn't make her sound sexy or appealing in any way. How do women find this endearing in a MC??? The ONE THING that I could not get past, though, was the use of the word beaver. Alex used it once because a) he's a guy and b) he's Canadian. He apologizes for it, too. Violet goes on to use it like a zillion more times. Like said 12 year-old discovered a new word. That's lack of imagination on the author's part, imo. Generally, if I don't like a book, my attitude is 'meh! movin' on to the next book!' but this one makes me feel like I was an idiot for ever buying it.

This book came highly recommended and I don't know why. The constant reference to beaver and monster cock was annoying. Could not relate to Violet. She seemed immature and raunchy at the same time. Alex had the makings of a great guy but seemed to good to be the jerk in the book. Lots of contradictions that did not make for a fun read.

About the book:• 382 Pages • Contemporary • Standalone • In A Series • Happily Ever After • Her POV • His POV • First-Person NarrativeAbout the story:• Light Read • Good Pace • Entertaining • Funny • Sexy • ProvocativeRomance factors:• Forbidden Romance • Sports Romance • +Immediate Hookup • +Romantic Pursuit • +Witty Banter • +BigRomantic GesturesHeat Level:• 4 / 5 (Includes lots of hot and explicit sex scenes) • M / F • Dirty Talk • VanillaAbout him:• Alphamale • High Profile • Hot • Beautiful • Fit • WealthyAbout her:• Pretty • Sassy • Brainy • Curvy • Few Bed PartnersMore details:Violet is a junior accountant for a PR firm specializing in sports financial management. Her stepfather is a hockey scout, and her stepbrother is a professional hockey player. As much as her life’s full of hockey, she’s not into hockey games. The only reason she’s at a game, is to support her stepbrother, on his first away game with his new team. When the team’s hot captain, Alex, slams into the plexiglass in front of her, she’s finding the game to be a lot more interesting…From Violet’s experience, hockey players aren’t very intelligent. When she talks to Alex after the game, and he makes a reference to Shakespeare, she’s curious. Later when he quotes Tolstoy, she’s all over him, and they end up spending a passionate night together.Alex has a reputation for being a major player, but he’s not the playboy everyone thinks he is. He knows hooking up with his teammate’s sister could have a bad influence on the team, but he can’t stay away from her. He sends Violet flowers, chocolates, and other gifts, until she agrees to see him again. Alex and Violet start dating, but they have to keep their relationship on a low profile. They don’t want her stepbrother to find out, because it could ruin the team’s chances to win the finals. Alex’s agent also advises that he appears available, to score several important endorsements on the line. Even though Alex is sweet, romantic, and attentive, Violet is feeling insecure. When Alex makes the wrong statement to the media, misunderstandings and bad decisions are threatening to keep them apart.Overall, the book was romantic, sexy and entertaining. I enjoyed the read, but at some point, Violet’s weirdness was beginning to annoy me. Her obsession with Alex’s junk, her social awkwardness, her vulgar wittiness, and her childish reactions, were a little too much. It wasn’t enough to make me stop reading, it was just enough to leave me with a bad taste.

I am SO disappointed with this book. I picked it up (on sale, thank goodness) after reading strong recommendations from bloggers whose opinions I respect. They called it well written, hilarious, clever, sexy, etc. I adore a good humorous romance, so I went for it. Alas, Pucked is none of those things so far, and I don't hold out high hopes for the rest of the book.Many of the two- and one-star reviews criticize Hunting's crass language and numerous sex scenes, but that hasn't bothered me as much as the main problem I have with the book: There is no plot. None. I mean NONE. Oh, there's plenty of sex, and I normally don't have a problem with that, but a string of sex scenes does not a story make. There are some attempts at a storyline, but they're forced—Violet, the heroine, freaks out about having sex with the hero so soon after meeting him. Later she thinks he's cheating on her only to find out that he's not. Nothing much else has happened, and that's just not enough to keep me interested.There were plenty of opportunities for an actual story: Alex's hockey career (is he good? is he bad? is the team good? is it bad? what are the stakes for the season? so far I have no idea), Violet's job (a mere impediment to her spending every moment having sex with Alex), even the fact that Alex is an intellectual (an intriguing element—two bookish main characters—that's promptly dropped after it's served its purpose as a flirting device). So far none of these things has come into play further. They're only peripheral. Sex-adjacent, you might say. That's not enough to keep me reading.I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to powering through books, but this looks like a DNF from here.