Hail Mary | Blitz

Leo f-ing Hernandez.

North Boston University’s star running back, notorious bachelor, and number one on my people I would murder if I could get away with it list.

And now? He’s my new roommate.

I used to think I loved him. But that was before I hated him.

He doesn’t remember who I am, or how he made my life miserable for years. And before I unknowingly moved across the street from him, I couldn’t have cared less. I was living my life despite him and what happened that summer, chasing my dream of becoming a tattoo artist.

“The Pit,” as the university so gracefully nicknamed the house he lives in with three other football players, has served as nothing more than a pain in my ass and a constant reminder of the boy who broke my heart. Watching him parade his one-night-stands in and out of it never helped, either.

But with rent this cheap and so close to the tattoo shop, I’ve learned to ignore him — no matter how he’s tried to get under my skin.

At least, until this summer. Because when a water and mold disaster leaves me with no choice but to vacate my house, I have nowhere to go. And Leo Hernandez offers me a deal I can’t refuse.

Live at The Pit with him and the guys, free of charge, until my landlord fixes this mess.

Ignoring him was easy when I lived across the street, but in the same house, with him shirtless half the time and watching me with his cocky grin and searing gaze? It’s impossible.

Still, I have to try. I have to push him away, even when he makes it infuriatingly difficult to do so.

He’s broken my heart once. I won’t let him do it again.

This was a great ending to the Red Zone Rivals series! I kinda had low expectations for this book because I didn’t go in particularly excited about Leo or Mary, but I was so wrong to not be excited. The story, the relationship, and the wrap-up to this series was everything and more.

These two were powering a whole city with the electricity they created together. Leo was cocky and confident, but so gone for Mary. And Mary was jaded and completely herself, but so gone for Leo. Their history together (and the fact that we got to read about it at the beginning of the book) added a whole new layer to their relationship that I loved. I mean, we knew from Quarterback Sneak that she didn’t like him so I figured we were going to get some backstory here as to why, but I didn’t expect it to be so good. I loved them together and I loved that we got a pretty good mostly slow burn from their relationship. It really leveled up the angst that was already palpable between the two of them.

Steiner is an incredible writer. She knows how to develop characters, especially ones that are completely unique to other characters I so often see in books. She has characters with lots of tattoos, that pole dance for therapy, and have hard, real backgrounds and challenges in their lives. I’m pretty sure I could never hate anything she ever wrote.

Overall, a 4.5/5 stars. I’m so excited about the new hockey romance series she’s writing. No doubt she’s going to blow the genre out of the water and I think it’s adult, rather than new adult romance this time.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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