As you surely know by now, clean, cheesy YA romances are my jam ... even though I'm now technically old enough to be the mother of all of the characters. (Seriously, how did that happen???)
I'd never read anything by Robin Daniels before picking up this book, but it was offered for review in one of my clean romance groups, so I took a chance ...
FROM ENDZONE TO FRIENDZONE...
Senior Nick Moody is the second string quarterback on Roosevelt High School’s championship football team. He’s crushed on Mia for years, but she doesn’t know he exists. It’s time to come off the bench and into the game. Nick refuses to graduate without getting the girl or the glory.
Mia Ashlock is the remarkably kind cheer captain. She’s a yes girl, and her penchant for people pleasing always leads to bad relationships. After being humiliated in a very public dumping, her teammates decide to break her bad habit with a ban on boyfriends.
When Nick sees a poster advertising cheer tryouts, he has a crazy idea: quit football and become a cheerleader. It’s perfect! He can get close to Mia and steal the spotlight, using his true and hidden talent—gymnastics. Nick and Mia have instant chemistry, but it does him little good. If Mia’s zero dating rule weren’t bad enough, the team treats him less like boyfriend material and more like one of the girls. Breaching the friendzone will be much harder than he thought.
Overall, this book is really cute! I enjoyed Nick and Mia as a couple—and I loved that Nick wasn't your typical alpha male. He definitely didn't fit the mold of most YA heroes, which I appreciated.
The book is written well and contains a few twists I wasn't anticipating. The romance is pretty swoony, and it was easy for me to root for Nick and Mia. I did wish that Mia wasn't such a doormat (not in regard to Nick, but pretty much with everyone else in her life). She did learn to stand up for herself, but it took her much longer than I'd hoped and involved a pretty major deception. There was also a little more mild swearing and innuendo than I was anticipating (the author helpfully includes a content note on both the Goodreads and Amazon listings; even so, I was surprised at the amount of innuendo). I would definitely rate this book a PG-13 and would hesitate to recommend it to many of the teens in my life*. For adults, though, this is an enjoyable escape. 3-1/2 stars.
*Is this WAY cleaner than much of what is out there? Yes. But just because this isn't raunchy doesn't mean it's appropriate for the teens I know, especially when there are other equally enjoyable but significantly cleaner books out there.
Buy the book (or read for free with Kindle Unlimited).
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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