Author: Sarina Bowen (Page 1 of 5)

BOOK REVIEW: Thrown for a Loop (New York Legends #1) by Sarina Bowen

December 3, 2025 / Jen / 0 Comments

Thrown for a Loop by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Zoe Carson, former figure skating queen, needs a fresh start as a hockey skating coach. An NHL gig with the New York Legends is her big chance. Unfortunately, that means facing off against the star player who broke her heart ten years ago.

Chase Merritt knows his game is off, and he’s on the verge of losing sponsors. But he doesn’t need the ice princess from that intense college summer showing up and telling him what he’s doing wrong—even when she’s right.

On the ice, they’re magic. Off the ice, they’re nothing but heat and stubbornness, and everyone on the team is enjoying the show. But when an old video of Zoe and Chase’s figure skating routine goes viral, they’re forced to work together more intimately than ever before. Can the two get it right this time or will the whole world watch them crash and burn?

Review:

I still miss him.

Thrown for a Loop was a second chance, slow burn, hockey romance that was so easy to love! From their first moments of seeing each other again, I loved how everything went sideways. It’s been ten years, and Zoe and Chase were now working together. There were so many emotions haunting them, and you could feel the angst and tension simmering. This story was so much fun, and I was cheering them on every step of the way!

“But I think I have something to offer. I’m good at what I do.”
“You always were,” he mutters. “That was never the problem.”
My heart stumbles. Then what was?

Their past was woven throughout this story, and the switch between past and present was so seamless. I loved that while the present was told by Zoe, we got to see a lot of the past through Chase’s eyes. Their innocence was adorable, and it was so rewarding watching them establish trust with each other. As they practiced, had quiet moments together, to even just eating pizza, I loved watching their friendship form. And for their feelings to turn into more. They were so effortless to fall in love with. But I was left desperate trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

He sighs. “I’ll be there, Ice Princess.”
Ice Princess. My heart does a pirouette at the sound of my old nickname, and I stare up at him with unfiltered surprise.

Zoe and Chase were both such complex characters. I just wanted to hug them. What they had been through, ugh, my heart hurt. But they now had to work together. And I knew that if they could heal from the past, and start to find their friendship again, they would be an unstoppable team! It was a rough road, but one that was so easy to become obsessed with! Especially since you could feel the attraction to each other. I kept finding myself smiling, laughing, and falling even more in love with this book!

“It’s not too late, right?”
“Never,” I whisper.

Thrown for a Loop was a book that’ll make you so happy! It was steamy, emotional, and so swoon worthy! Plus, the found family that was starting to form has left me so excited for how this series will expand! And that epilogue was absolutely phenomenal! I was overjoyed! I’m so excited for the next book in this series! So, if you love hockey, sports romance, second chances and a little bit of romantic suspense, then definitely add this one to your tbr! I loved it so much!

“Practice is for tricky things,” he whispers. “Loving you is simple, Zoe.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book, provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

BOOK REVIEWS: How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams & The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen

March 7, 2025 / Jen / 0 Comments

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
One daring to-do list and a crash course in flirtation turn a Type A overachiever’s world upside down.

When her flailing department lands on the university's chopping block, Professor Naya Turner’s friends convince her to shed her frumpy cardigan for an evening on the town. For one night her focus will stray from her demanding job and she’ll tackle a new kind of to-do list. When she meets a charming stranger in town on business, he presents the perfect opportunity to check off the items on her list. Let the guy buy her a drink. Check. Try something new. Check. A no-strings-attached hookup. Check…almost.

Jake makes her laugh and challenges Naya to rebuild her confidence, which was left toppled by her abusive ex-boyfriend. Soon she’s flirting with the chance at a more serious romantic relationship—except nothing can be that easy. The complicated strings around her dating Jake might destroy her career.

Naya has two options. She can protect her professional reputation and return to her old life or she can flirt with the unknown and stay with the person who makes her feel like she's finally living again.

Review:

With an adorable cute meet cute that ended in disaster, How to Fail at Flirting, snagged me from that first chapter. The characters stood out and were easy to root for. The angst and drama were wonderfully done. There were serious moments and an emotionally abusive relationship that was handled in a thoughtful way. And I loved Naya’s found family, her best friends were so supportive. With a fun and flirty vibe, along with some deeper moments, How to Fail at Flirting was a hit!

The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
She thought it was love. Then he vanished.

On an ordinary Monday morning, Ariel Cafferty's phone buzzes with a disturbing text message. Something’s happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP. The words would be jarring from anyone, but the sender is the only man she ever loved. And it's been several years since she learned he died.

Seeing Drew’s name pop up is heart-stopping. Ariel’s gut says it can’t be real. But she goes to the tree anyway. She has to.

Nobody shows. But the text upends everything she thought she knew about the day he left her. The more questions she asks, the more sinister the answers get. Only two things are clear: everything she was told five years ago is wrong, and someone is still lying to her.

The truth has to be out there somewhere. To safeguard herself—and her son—she’ll have to find it before it finds her. And with it, the answer to what became of Drew.

For fans of Laura Dave and Julie Clark, but with a heart-stopping romance that only Sarina Bowen can execute, The Five Year Lie is a page-turning, spine-tingling thriller that will have you guessing until the very end.

Review:

The Five Year Lie was a mysterious thriller that gripped me from the first chapter. This story was an easy one to devour, especially since we got moments from the past too. It painted a bigger picture, and I loved watching Ariel and Drew fall for each other. Trying to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together had me turning those pages faster. And while I got a good portion of it right, I loved how intricate this story became! This one also hit emotionally hard, and I shed a few tears. If you’re a fan of thrillers that have romance laced throughout the story, definitely add this one to your tbr! I’m excited to see what Bowen writes next in this genre!

Three weeks ago, my biggest problem was which summer day camps Buzz might enjoy – would he prefer Mad Science? Or the one at the arts center?
Then a text message from a dead man blew our lives apart with the force of a grenade. Now I know what it means to be scared.

BOOK REVIEW: The New Guy by Sarina Bowen

February 15, 2023 / Arielle / 1 Comment

The New Guy by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
My name is Hudson Newgate, but my teammates call me New Guy.

That was my nickname in Chicago, too. And Vancouver. That’s what happens when you keep getting traded. Brooklyn is my last chance, especially after my poor performance last season.

But I can make this work. The new guy knows to keep his head down and shoot the puck. The new guy puts the game first.

What he doesn’t do is hook up with the other new guy—a hot athletic trainer who lives in my building. Gavin needs this job with my team. He’s a single dad with responsibilities.

We can’t be a couple. My arrogant agent–who’s also my father–will lose his mind if I’m dating a dude. And my team needs me to score goals, not whip up a media circus.

Too bad Gavin and I are terrible at resisting each other…

Review

Okayyyyy, Sarina, I see what you did there at the end. *side eye emoji*

Coming back into the world of the Bruisers is like stepping into a hot, steamy shower after an incredibly long day. Relaxing. Rejuvenating. Pure bliss. This one actually felt slightly different but I think that was for two different reasons. One being that Hudson was newly acquired by Brooklyn and is coming in as the “New Guy” and Gavin, a single dad, and an athletic trainer was also newly hired by the organization. They’re not in with all of the other staff and the players like you see in the other books but that’s okay. It honestly adds to their specific story and the conflicts that can be found in this book. The other reason this had a different feeling, to me, was for an intentional reason that you’ll find out when you finish the book!

Now to my favorite part–the romance. Sarina knows just how to match the two perfect characters that have the best chemistry. Every. Single. Time. Even though Gavin and Hudson do have their fair share of difficulties (Hudson isn’t out to the world as bi and his dad, who is also his agent, thinks he should wait until he gets a big contract and Gavin is again, a single dad AND a widow) they just work. Hudson immediately takes to Gavin’s daughter, though it doesn’t hurt that she’s adorable and loves hockey and gets under Gavin’s skin in a way that hasn’t happened since his husband died. Gavin gets Hudson to deviate from his very strict diet and eat his homemade ramen and gives him the best damn massages he’s ever had. See? It just works, LOL. Truly though, this book had a lot of ~real~ issues in it. The fact that it’s still so complicated to be gay in the NHL and how hard it can be to be a single dad, even if you have a stable job and are trying your very best. I think that’s another thing that I love about Bowen’s books. Any number of people can see themselves in her wide selection of characters and feel seen and I absolutely love that.

Huge thanks to Sarina Bowen and Tuxbury Publishing for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review!♥

BOOK REVIEW: A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1) by Sarina Bowen

October 18, 2022 / Jen / 6 Comments

A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)
by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
How to behave when the guy who broke your heart two thousand miles away turns up in your office:

One: Don’t drop your lucky coffee cup in shock, even though it’s been ten years.

Two: Don’t get defensive when he asks how you ended up working his family’s ski mountain… and why you kept it a secret.

Three: Give him the worst room in the resort. He deserves it for suddenly waltzing back in like he owns the place. (Which he kind of does.)

Four, five, six, seven, eight and nine: Do not kiss him in the hot tub.

Ten: Try to keep your heart intact after you break all of your rules.

Because Reed is leaving again. Hate can't turn back into love. And it’s a little too late…

Review:

A Little Too Late was a romantic second chance story! With a gorgeous snowy setting, old truths coming out, a fabulous group of friends and lots of family dynamics, I adored this book!

Reed Madigan is going to wreck me all over again. And I’m going to let him.

Ava was someone who was so easy to love! She had a wonderful group of friends and was dedicated and loved her job. So when Reed stepped back into her life, she was shocked. When he left her 10 years ago, after they lost their baby in college, a part of Ava stayed broken and lost. Years later she was still mad at him for the pain he caused her. I loved how she played dirty with him and that she had no problem being open and harsh. He deserved it. But with Reed back in her life to help oversee the sale of his family ski resort, I had so much hope for her healing. The chemistry was still between them. And the banter was too. So when kisses snuck in and moments caused the both of them to smile together, it made my heart so happy to watch Ava heal. Well, as long as Reed didn’t leave her again, which seemed inevitable.

I want a do-over. I want to toss the misshapen mess I made against the art studio floor and start over.
But that’s impossible, so I settle for the next best thing, which is kissing Ava until we’re both breathless and frustrated.

Reed was thoughtful, kind, compassionate and someone so easy to fall for. Yet his past and how he ended things with Ava spoke otherwise. After he lost his mom and his dad turned into someone he didn’t know, he met Ava in college and it changed his world. But after getting hurt again and leaving Ava behind, I couldn’t wait to see how he would redeem himself. I expected him to earn her trust and love back. So when Reed faced the music, he stole a piece of my heart. When he was jealous and always looked out for Ava, he stole yet another. We got to alternate between Reed and Ava and I loved that Reed showed us his heart and it caused mine to faster every time he showed it to Ava.

I close my eyes and try to memorize this perfect feeling. “It’s always been you,” I whisper.
“Shh,” is her reply.

We got peaks into Reed & Ava’s past from 10 years ago and it added such a richness to their story. I loved their moments together, past and present. Even if they both had heart wrenching pasts. And as they both talked and worked together, which I loved, the angst was never too much or too little. It was the perfect amount. And the steam was in that same category too. This story was rounded out with a wonderful cast of side characters. Halley was definitely one of my favorites!

I never believed in second chances until right this moment.

Filled with laughter and love, A Little Too Late was a fabulous second chance romance! There was so much healing in the pages, it made my heart so happy. Between Reed and Ava, Reed and his dad, to even with themselves, all of it was done wonderfully! So if you like adult romance that is charming and heartfelt, then definitely make sure you have this one on your tbr!

BOOK REVIEW: A Little too Late (Madigan Mountain) by Sarina Bowen

October 5, 2022 / Arielle / 0 Comments

A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain)
by Sarina Bowen
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
New from twenty-time USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen!

How to behave when the guy who broke your heart two thousand miles away turns up in your office:

One: Don’t drop your lucky coffee cup in shock, even though it’s been ten years.

Two: Don’t get defensive when he asks how you ended up working his family’s ski mountain… and why you kept it a secret.

Three: Give him the worst room in the resort. He deserves it for suddenly waltzing back in like he owns the place. (Which he kind of does.)

Four, five, six, seven, eight and nine: Do not kiss him in the hot tub.

Ten: Try to keep your heart intact after you break all of your rules.

Because Reed is leaving again. Hate can't turn back into love. And it’s a little too late…

Review

After being immersed in the World of True North for the past month it was fun to venture out into the mountains of Colorado with new characters. I am really excited to get more of the Madigan family after this, too, because like Reed, the two other brothers definitely have a lot to come to terms with in regards to their family dynamic.

This was honestly the perfect amount of angst for me. The topic of miscarriage and how that can cause the implosion of a relationship can make me nervous in a plot but the way that we were getting the present reconnection of Ava and Reed while also getting snippets into their past and what happened, was a balance that just worked for me. The way that both of them were still in such pain even after moving on with their lives the best that they could…sigh. I can’t even imagine the extent of Ava’s panic and depth of feelings when Reed walked into that office and she had no idea he was coming…I would have passed out I think, lol.

I loved every second of them being together in the present and how Reed kept realizing just how lonely and sad life was without Ava in it and had been since he left her. The scenes in which he apologized and explained to her what he was feeling and why he did what he thought he had to do were satisfying and just…all of it made me happy. There were some serious issues that multiple characters within this story dealt with throughout the course of this book and I really appreciated how all of it went down. Reed and his dad finally speaking about things, Reed learning more about his mom and her art, Ava and Reed talking about the past, Reed’s dad finding out about his and Ava’s past. My heart may have ached on several different occasions while reading this but overall I loved how everything was tied up within Reed and Ava’s story and I will definitely be coming back to read Yarros and Perry’s books, too.

P.s. I had an ALC of this and Andi Arndt and Sebastian York hit the narration out of the park, per usual!

Huge thanks to Tuxbury Publishing LLC for allowing me to listen to a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!♥