If you wanna see a miracle watch me get down: BLOCK SHOT.

Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I really loved LONG SHOT, the first book in this series, so I was really excited when I received the next two books as ARCs, as they are being re-released. I am a total sucker for sports books, especially basketball ones. These books can be read independently, though some characters do reoccur. BLOCK SHOT picks up with Jared, the stepbrother of August West from the first book. Jared is a ruthless sports agent who has built his agency, Elevation, from the ground up. His life motto is built around not getting attached to anyone, especially women. But he cannot get a certain woman, Banner, his college best friend, out of his mind. They shared one special night together before a misunderstanding tore them apart.

BLOCK is an interesting book. Jared is not necessarily a good guy, and it takes a while to grapple with his desire for Banner. He is dominant, possessive, and pushy. Jared refuses to take no for an answer in all areas of his life, especially with Banner (not sexually, thankfully) or care she has a boyfriend. That's a little difficult to take in. He does grow throughout the course the book, but perhaps not as much as he should. He's not the easy-to-love hero that August was, though you come to understand his flaws.

There's a ton of focus on Banner's weight and while the book seems to be focused on body positivity--Banner loves herself at any size, so does Jared, etc.--that was a stretch at times. Body positivity morphed into a constant discussion of her size and the emphasis is less on health and more on her losing pounds, not eating, what she ate, etc. No thanks, and it seemed rather triggering for anyone with food disorders.

I did love Banner's intelligence and spark. That woman was tough! And freaking smart! It's great to see a woman in the sports agency market, especially one beating all the boys. The basketball talk was enjoyable. Her relationship with Jared was charming and quite sexy. Overall, while I didn't love this one quite as much as LONG SHOT, it was still a fun read. 3.5 stars

I received a copy of this book from SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.


View all my reviews