Title: Holdout
Author: Jacqueline Snowe, Heart Eyes Press
Series: Moo U #4
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance, Sports romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2021

I love how this is a close-proximity / accidental roommate romance. Particularly, I love how well it works out for both of them. Not just the romance aspect, but also the way that Ryann and Jonah seem to actually fit well as roommates and friends. I mean, it’s kind of difficult to find someone that you can live with and not want to tear out your own hair (in my experience at least), so I love that aside from a romance, this was actually a positive roommate story!

Aside from the awesomeness of having good roommates, I did really love the romance between Ryann and Jonah. Yes, they both admit fairly early on that there is a physical attraction. But it’s the fact that they are great friends and companions that really made me root for them. I mean, it’s hard enough finding someone you don’t want to stab as a roommate, but then finding good, solid friendship and physical attraction? Yeah, I was seriously rooting for both of these guys from pretty much the first moment. Plus, they also help each other heal from their past and move onto a much, much better future.

Secondary to the romance and the main spanner in the works for the furthering of their relationship, both Ryann and Jonah have a lot of family drama that they must wade through. It’s kind of sad and painful in moments. And I like that they help each other to process this. Plus, they find a way to live with the complexities of family – as dysfunctional as this can sometimes look and feel. In fact, I thought that Ryann’s brother was going to be much more of a problem than he actually was. And I kind of liked that fact. Yes, he was a hurdle, but in the scheme of things, he was much smaller a challenge than anticipated.

All in all, I loved this romance, it had all of the character development and dynamics that I tend to enjoy in these kinds of stories. Plus a little bit of lust and steam. That’s not even getting me started on the fact that it’s about a bunch of athletes. I mean, I may not be insanely into hockey, but it’s definitely something that intrigues me. And I do love any sports romance I can get my hands on…

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Image source: Amazon