Review: Shenanigans by Sarina Bowen #NewRelease

 

RELEASE DATE: MARCH 15, 2022

What I meant to do in Vegas: Let my hair down for once and celebrate winning a medal at my first women’s hockey all-stars competition.

What I actually did: Got senior prom drunk and woke up married to Brooklyn’s star winger, the great Neil Drake. 

He’s the heir to a billion dollars, and I barely survived my childhood. Our friendship is based strictly only on hockey, takeout food, and smack talk. 

And now holy matrimony. Although we both know it can’t last, especially once his evil family gets wind of our Vegas shenanigans… 

Contains: Meddling teammates, meddling parents, ugly jewelry, and a pretend-kiss that nearly sets the world on fire.

Amazon: https://geni.us/AmazonShenanigans 
Apple: https://geni.us/AppleShenanigans 
Kobo: https://geni.us/KoboShenanigans
Nook: https://geni.us/NookShenanigans 
Google: https://geni.us/GoogleShenanigans
Audio: https://geni.us/AudibleShenanigans

ADD TO GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57574313-shenanigans

SHENANIGANS
by Sarina Bowen
Series: Brooklyn/Bombshells
Format: Advanced Listener's Copy (ALC)

Rating: 4.5 Stars


A few facts: (1) I adore Sarina Bowen and her highly addictive books. (2) I love a good wake-up-in-Vegas-married trope. (3) When Sarina Bowen writes a wake-up-in-Vegas-married story, it’s pretty much perfection.

What Totally Worked For Me

Neil Drake. Sarina Bowen always writes heroes that melt my heart, but Neil Drake knocked me off my feet and shot right to the top of my favorite Bowen characters. Neil was the sweetest, gooiest cinnamon roll and I loved his innate kindness, his thoughtfulness, and his willingness to give Charli what she needed, even at his own expense.

Charli. Few heroines have been more deserving of a happily ever after than Charli - a girl who came from nothing, learned quickly not to trust, and had no one in her corner. Charli had some serious walls up, and came across as one tough cookie, but seeing her slowly let down some of those walls with Neil, and feel the comfort of someone having her back, was everything,

Hockey. Tired of “hockey books” that don’t actually contain any hockey? You’ve come to the right place. Neil and Charli are both fierce competitors and dedicated athletes and Bowen highlights that in Shenanigans. We get both the action of the games and the behind-the-scenes aspects of the professional athletes and I ate it up. The scene when Neil and some of the other Bruisers attended Charli’s game was… *chef’s kiss*.

The Romance, the Suspense, the Feels! The way the relationship between Neil and Charlie unfolded – from the first shockwaves in Vegas until the very end – was everything. I loved the friendship, the banter, the flirting, and the romance. Their chemistry was off the charts and I went from fanning myself to my heart melting. The plot threads with Neil’s family and Charli’s cousin had me 100% invested and I was so satisfied with the outcomes. I seriously adored Charli and Neil together and they are without a doubt one of my favorite couples in the extended Bruisers/Bombshells world.

The Narration. Jason Clarke and Vanessa Edwin were stellar in their roles. Jason is a longtime favorite of mine and hearing Neil’s voice was like swimming in melted butter. Both Jason and Vanessa brought these characters to life and I could hear and feel the emotion in their voices. Individual voices were distinct and it was always easy to know which of the cast of characters was speaking.

But Not So Much

The Inner Kitty-Cat. I have only one minor quibble but it really bugged me. Charli made numerous references to her “inner kitty-cat.” And I cringed every time she said it. Not only was it just… ugh, no… but it reminded me too much of Anastasia Steele’s “inner goddess” in Fifty Shades. It didn’t work for me then and I’m afraid it didn’t work for me here.



16 comments

  1. Is it weird that I do not remember the inner kitty cat thing? It must not have bothered me. Haha. Sorry it bothered you. I agree that this trope written by Sarina Bowen is AMAZING. I want her to write more of it. Great review! I'm so happy you loved it.

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    1. OMG I'm over here dying that you don't even remember the inner kitty cat thing. LOL Isn't it funny how we all react differently to things like that? It bugged me and you didn't even notice. :) That aside, I loved this one and Neil + Charli were just so great!

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  2. The inner kitty-cat?? lol At least you loved it in spite of that quibble.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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  3. That's something I love, though I have no idea why - actual sports in sports romances. Not surprised you enjoyed this one. Great trope by a great romance writer. Looking forward to reading it.

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    1. Right? It's always surprising to me to read a sports romance where there's no actual sports. Just a mention that a character is an athlete or something. This one really delivered. Hope you will love it, too, Sam!

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  4. I enjoy sports romances, and this sure looks good!

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    1. I'm a sucker for sports romance and Bowen's Brooklyn Bruisers series is the best!

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  5. I have actually never read Sarina Bowen and I know I need to change that! Adding this one to my TBR!

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  6. I love this series, but I'm behind. I definitely need to catch up. Glad to hear you loved just about everything except "inner-kitty" lol.

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    1. Hope you find time to catch up on the series, Rachel. It's one of my favorites. :)

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  7. This sounds so good but I'm not going to lie, the 'inner-kitty' would ruin it for me. I about poked my eyes out after trying to read 50 Shades years ago because of that stupid inner goddess stuff.

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    1. The whole inner kitty thing was not used even a tenth as much as Fifty's inner goddess. That was just painful to read. Ugh. Apparently it was used so little that most of my friends didn't even notice it. Ha!

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  8. I loved this book! I honestly don't remember the inner kitty cat thing. Maybe I blocked it out?! Or I am old and just don't remember (this is probably the case). Neil and Charli were fabulous characters.

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