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Review

3.5 stars

This is a really sweet read. A grumpy/sunshine, forbidden, sports romance between two characters with a murky past, suddenly forced back together. Molly and Logan’s love story is gorgeously emotional, and I really enjoyed their story.

This book is the first in the Ward Sisters series, and is a spin-off from The Marriage Effect, which is the story of Molly’s older brother, Logan. I haven’t read that book (and now I absolutely want to), but you can read this as a standalone.

Ten years ago, 16-year old Molly climbed into the window of her neighbour and crush, 18-year old college football star and party boy, Noah. They had never really had much to do with each other up until that point, but things quickly turned heated until they got caught, and just in time given that Molly was underage at the time. She was left humiliated, and it was a lesson that Noah never forgot, turning his focus entirely onto football from that point on.

Now, Molly is working in marketing for the Washington Wolves, the NFL team that feels like a second home to her given that her brother played for them, and is now a coach, and she spent her childhood running around the stadium. She loves her job and she’s just been given an exciting new opportunity to work closely with one of the team’s new recruits. And it just so happens to be Noah.

Noah and Molly haven’t seen each other since that awkward night, and he is less than thrilled to see her now. She is the woman that almost derailed everything for him, and since then he has never swayed from his commitment to football and nothing but football, to the exclusion of everything else. But their project forces them together, and though things are initially tense and snarky, slowly and surely, the man known as “the machine” slowly starts to open up. Molly is able to reach him in a way that nobody else can, bringing out the human side of him and giving him a glimpse of what he’s been missing in his life.

The story moves pretty quickly, but has the feeling of a slow burn, and the more time Molly and Noah are together, the closer they become until they inevitably act on all that they are feeling for each other. But Noah is still completely focussed on his football, and Molly has signed a no-fraternisation contract. Wanting more isn’t an option… unless they are prepared to fight for it.

This is a really cute romance. I loved Molly and Noah as characters, I loved watching their dynamic shift and change throughout the book, and their coming together was heartfelt and realistic. It’s more emotion than raw passion, which I appreciated, but it’s still steamy in parts, and I thought their connection was really beautifully written.

“Falling in love with you is the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”

I really enjoyed the family dynamic between Molly and her siblings. I want to go back and read Logan and Paige’s book, and I’m really excited to continue on with this series and read about Molly’s sisters.

3.5 stars.

 

The Ward Sisters