*light knock on the door*
Prosecutor: *without lifting his head* Come in, Miss Katerina.
Me: How did you know it was me?
Prosecutor: It was the smell that gave you away.
Me: Smell?
Prosecutor: The smell of books, fluffy dreams and chocolate flavoured hopes for happily ever afters.
Me: Thanks, I guess?
Prosecutor: Please, sit down. Do you know why I brought you here?
Me: *shifts in her chair* I have my suspicions.
Prosecutor: So you know I'm legally bound to press charges for -
Me: It's no big deal, OK? I didn't mean for my sister to get hurt, she got over it, at least I think she did, she won't talk to me but -
Prosecutor: What are you talking about?
Me: Um, the Incident. Me forcing my sister to hold a book pile some people would call huge in order to take a photo for my Instagram account and said pile collapsing on her head?
Prosecutor: -
Me: Oh, you didn't know that.
Prosecutor: No, but remind me to come back to this later. The reason I invited you here is to try and help you make amends for a felony you committed. * dramatic pause* YOU GAVE The Chase THREE STARS!!
Me: Well, I also gave The Goal 3 stars, but you didn't mind back then! Wait, you know about it, right? In any case, I plead the Fifth!
Prosecutor: As far as I know your problem with The Goal was Sabrina, what's your excuse this time?
Me: It's a long story, really. I dived into The Chase all too eager and enthusiastic, I started it as soon as the ARC hit my Kindle and the whole experience reduced me into a puddle of hormones, and I think I drooled a little or, you know, a lot. The thing is, there was more angst than I expected, and both Fitzy and Summer irritated me sometimes. *pause* It wasn't a long story after all.
Prosecutor: One would say that Elle Kennedy tackled some serious issues, like learning disabilities, spiteful parents, broken families and unreasonable girl-on-girl hatred to name a few, and handled them with respect, she showcased their impact in a realistic way and gave you food for thought.
Me: That's true, I didn't-
Prosecutor: One would also say that since you're in the mood for NA romance you got your fill of steam, more sexual frustration than your ovaries could take, well-written moments of levity and snarky banters, and my records show that you swooned a couple of times.
Me: Three times I think -
Prosecutor: One would finally say that you should be happy and thankful you got back to Briar University and the hockey team that would render you a puck bunny if given a chance. Do you deny all those things?
Me: No, I-
Prosecutor: THEN WHY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH DID YOU GIVE IT THREE STARS? WEREN'T YOU TAUGHT MATH AT SCHOOL?
Me: Jeez, what got your panties in a twist? And what's with all the spit, do I need an umbrella whenever I talk to you?
Prosecutor: Apologies for my outburst, ma'am, I simply don't understand this.
Me: To be honest, me neither. I enjoyed The Chase, hell, I devoured it, but I was left a bit unsatisfied. It was Hunter's involvement, and the fact that Summer did seem like an airhead most of the times -
Prosecutor: *death glare*
Me: Hey I'm not judging her, I'm talking about first impressions. She was the queen of llama-drama and a brat, and even though I eventually found depth in her, and realized she was a wonderful human being after all, I couldn't shake those impressions. And Fitz, his reactions were so...immature, at times. His reservations were founded, I give him that, but his head was stuck in his buttocks for a long time.
But they were great buttocks.
I also loved his tattoos. His muscles. His geekiness. His p -
Prosecutor: *coughs*
Me: - and his scenes with Summer were SMOKING HOT, babe, talk about off-the-charts chemistry.
Prosecutor: Ma'am, let's focus, alright?
Me: What? Oh right.
Prosecutor:
Me:
Prosecutor: Anything else?
Me: Yeah, every hockey hottie from the previous books appeared, except from my favorite. WHERE THE FRACK WAS JOHN LOGAN???
Prosecutor: That's a legit point. Is it enough, though, to justify the three stars?
Me: What will you do if I insist on this rating?
Prosecutor: Will imprisonment deter you?
Me: I'm afraid not, sir, I shall stay true to my humble opinion.
Prosecutor: Fine, you may go.
Me: Wait, that's it?
Prosecutor: Three star ratings are not a crime, ma'am. Gosh, how do you call yourself a lawyer? I just wanted to change your mind.
Me: *nervous laughter* I knew that.
Narrator: Reader, she didn't know that.
*ARC generously provided by Nina Bocci in exchange for an honest review*
