The Right Fit
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Release date: April 12th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Sports, Romance
Pages: 326
Format: eBook
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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Star rating:Heat rating:
She's sworn off love, he's sworn off sex, but together they'll score the goal of a lifetime.
When Maxine Nicholls discovers her fiancé is cheating, she turns to fast food and nighttime soap operas, but her sister has a plan—unbridled rebound sex with a stranger.
As one of Toronto's hottest players, Antony Laurent tallies scores on and off the ice, but when the chiseled defense man hits a slump, rumors of a trade to the minor league send him to ambush a managers meeting at a posh club.
That night a chance encounter ends up as an unforgettable evening of passion. But Maxine and Antony are about to discover a game of casual hook ups can lead to something neither one of them thought they deserved—the right fit.
The Faerie Queen’s review
Hooray for another ice hockey romance! This time featuring a curvy heroine and a hunky French Canadian with Greek roots. Maxine is trying to recover from the discovery of her fiancé’s adultery six months earlier, while Antony is trying to cling onto his position in a Toronto hockey team. After a couple accidental encounters, they get a bit hot and heavy on Maxine’s couch, and Antony finds himself playing better than ever. But wait! Maxine has been lied to before, and Antony doesn’t clue her in on the fact he’s a pro hockey player. Tension! Drama! But oh so much swooniness!
I found it immensely satisfying to read about a curvy heroine. And no, she’s not celebrating her curves, but she is thinking of them in a relatable way. When Maxine goes to her favourite vintage store, she chooses clothes she likes with the intention of losing weight to wear them, while the store owner suggests she chooses clothes that fit her now. I know that the store owner is in the right here, but I will admit that I’ve held back from throwing clothes out (or donating them to charity shops) with the hope that I’ll lose weight and fit into them again. So no, Maxine does not have the Ideal Mindset, but she does have one I could connect with.
And I’d loved that Antony only ever saw her for the beautiful woman she is, which helped me to reframe my own view of myself and think that maybe other people don’t think about my size as much as I do. Where she saw fatness, he saw a pin-up model of the past, and that is what I want to see myself as. Their chemistry was fun and rather hot at times, and Antony was so sweet and caring and lovely, that I didn’t want the Big Reveal to come. But alas, it did.
I think the one main thing that distracted me throughout the whole story was the way Antony was written. English was not his first language, and so French dialogue was included a lot, usually then translated (but not always). As someone who doesn’t speak any French whatsoever, this was sexy but also confusing sometimes. When he spoke English, it was often with words skipped to indicate his lack of fluency. But for some reason, the words he did use made me read everything in a Russian accent in my head instead. Don’t ask me how that happened. I’ve been around French and Russian people, so you’d think I’d be able to hear the French in my head, but no, the skipped words came out Russian…
Special mention goes to the inclusion of a side character with a spinal cord injury. I wasn’t the biggest fan of him being portrayed as bitter for so long, but I get it. That being said, it did teach me about something new: sledge hockey! Which I immediately had to go watch videos of because I couldn’t mentally picture it.
I ultimately enjoyed reading about a gorgeous man worshipping a curvy woman. What a lovely fantasy to have in my head!
About Daphne Dubois
Daphne Dubois writes contemporary romance and believes the right book at the right time can make all the difference. When she's not putting her characters in compromising positions (ahem), she works as a registered nurse. A member of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia, she lives in Eastern Canada, the most romantic place in the world.
You can also find her writing for teens as B.R. Myers.
Giveaway
This sounds very realistically written and relatable, too! Great review!
I love a good romance novel, and was looking for something to take on holiday with me. Perfect thank you!
This sounds like a great read. I love romance novels.