Review: Playing Defense (Corrigan Falls Raiders #2) by Cate Cameron

*I recieved an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not in any way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

 

Title: Playing Defense
Author: Cate Cameron
My rating: 5 heart-stopping, cute, romantic hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication date: March 14th 2016
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Synopsis: She’s out of his league…

This Entangled Teen Crush book contains adult language, swoon-worthy kisses, and sexy hockey players. It may cause you to watch a hockey game…or ten.

Sixteen-year-old Claudia Waring has never kissed a boy. Never been popular. Never been to a hockey game. All that’s about to change. Assigned to tutor Chris Winslow, a prank-loving, gorgeous hockey player, Claudia’s perfectly planned life immediately veers off course. And she kind of likes it. But as fun as Chris is, she knows she'll never fit in his world.

After his latest prank lands him in hot water, Chris has to get serious about school or lose hockey. Not an easy thing for someone as carefree as the defenseman. The biggest problem, though, is how much he wants to help his cute, buttoned-up tutor loosen up a little. But while confidence has never been a problem for him, around Claudia, Chris is all nerves. Why would a girl as smart as her ever fall for a jock like him? (synopsis from Goodreads)

My thoughts: This was such a great, sweet, fun and light read. The romance was cute and funny, the plot was interesting, the characters were relatable, and the writing was great. I finished this one in one sitting.

Claudia was such a relatable character

Claudia is a bit socially awkward, doesn’t have that many friends in the beginning, and she’s very focused on school, which is why she doesn’t have that many friends. In fact, she’s so focused on studying, that she doesn’t have any time left to have a life. She has some big issues with saying no to her mother.

   I really liked Claudia, mostly because she kind of reminded me of me. And I loved watching her grow throughout the book. She made some stupid mistakes, sure, but everyone makes mistakes, and she learned from them, so that just made it great.

   I also really liked Chris. He was such a great, interesting character, and I loved reading about his thoughts. He was also relatable, and I just really liked him.

   I hated Annalise, though. She didn’t really feel like a real friend to Claudia. The way she treated Claudia, like just because she suddenly made some other friends besides Annalise and Oliver, it had to mean something was either wrong with her or she was being stupid and making mistakes. Like Claudia couldn’t make her own decisions. The same way Claudia’s mother acted. She was really a bad friend, and I really hated her.

   One very big plus was that this wasn’t like a lot of other romances; there was no love triangle, not a lot of drama. It felt realistic, like this might actually happen. That’s one of the reasons I loved this so much.

   Also, the hockey was another plus, since I’m a big fan of hockey. Basically, it was a really cute, fun and light read, and I loved every moment of reading it. If you are a fan of romantic YA, this is a book for you.