REVIEW: Misadventures with a Rookie by Toni Aleo

Book Review

"𝑰𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’•π’†π’“, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Šπ’”, 𝑩𝒐, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰ π’π’π’—π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’šπ’π’–. 𝑰𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 π’Œπ’†π’†π’‘π’” π’ˆπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏. 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰π’†π’… 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒇 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’”. 𝑨 π’‘π’†π’“π’Šπ’π’… π’…π’–π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂 π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†, 𝒂 π’ˆπ’π’‚π’, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‘π’π’†π’π’•π’š 𝒐𝒇 π’˜π’π’Žπ’†π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 π’“π’†π’‚π’π’π’š 𝒃𝒆 π’ƒπ’“π’Šπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒖𝒑, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒉 π’˜π’†π’π’, π’Šπ’•'𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 π’Žπ’š π’‘π’π’Šπ’π’•. π‘Ύπ’Šπ’•π’‰ π’šπ’π’– π’Šπ’•'𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕...𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 π’˜π’‚π’π’• π’Šπ’” 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’šπ’π’– 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 π’Žπ’† π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 π’‰π’‚π’‘π’‘π’š. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 π’Šπ’π’•π’ 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 π’π’π’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒔 π’˜π’† 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: πŸ”₯πŸ”₯.5
Tropes: Hockey romance, she hates him and he doesn't know why, cocky hero that's really a cinnamon roll
Series: Misadventures #10 (they are all standalones)

Misadventures with a Rookie is the book that introduced me to Toni Aleo as an author and it's how I discovered I love a good hockey romance. In fall 2021, I discovered the misadventures series and bought an array of stories including this one. This book surprised me in the best way because it had more to it than what I anticipated. There were multiple times things pulled at my heart strings and the twist was something I didn't expect. By the end of the story, I was so sad to leave Bo and Gus.

Bo and Gus are so fun together, but I wasn't sure they were actually going to work as a couple when I first started reading. In the beginning, Bo absolutely hates Gus and he doesn't know why. He's attracted to her and isn't used to women turning him down. You would think he'd be turned off or annoyed that she hates him for no reason, but that only intrigues him more. Once they start to get to know one another, things change for the both of them. He realizes he wants more than a one night stand and Bo begins to tear down the walls she's had up for so long. I loved their interactions together and found their banter to be so fun. These two could not stay out of the ER if their lives depended on it. The reasons they got sent there were funny, but also such unfortunate timing at the same time.

Bo is a complicated heroine for me, so it took me awhile to warm up to her. I struggled with her in the beginning because she was so mean to Gus for seemingly no reason. Once we got more insight into her past and I started to put the pieces together, I understood it was a defense mechanism and wasn't really about Gus. I ended up loving Bo because of how layered she is as a heroine. I actually saw a lot of myself in her, especially when it came to pushing away the people she cared about because she was scared. I thought the dynamics with her mom were interesting. I'm glad we got to see her mom help Bo understand that she needed to stop punishing herself and live her life to the fullest extent.

Gus is cocky, but he's also a complete cinnamon roll. I liked the approach he took to winning Bo over. He wasn't overbearing or domineering. He put himself in her path at the ice rink, the multiple trips to the ER, helping her teach her class, and eventually he got her to open up to him. Gus didn't put any pressure on Bo and just simply existed in her world. He teases her that he gets his way, but if she truly asked him to back off, Gus would do it. I say Gus is a cinnamon roll because he is a total goner for her when he sees her. Yes, he's physically attracted to her, but it's more than that. He likes that she's fierce, smart, has goals, and he just wants to be in her orbit. He literally teaches her skating classes because she got injured. Only a cinnamon roll of a man would do that. I absolutely love how he would tease her and get her to smile even when he annoyed her. The way Gus was with his parents locked in my love for him and I'm pretty sure that's what sealed the deal for Bo, too.

The spice is good in this book, although I do wish we got a little more from it. Gus and Bo have a lot of angst and tension, which builds up, but wasn't showcased as much in the spice scenes. I thought it was funny how Toni had Bo and Gus get into some unfortunate situations while trying to hook up. They were πŸ“ blocking themselves at one point πŸ˜‚ I was surprised to find out Unicorn Spit is real (bottom left photo in the edit) and I felt bad for Bo all over again. These two are hot when they're together and I did like some of the spicy talk we got.

I loved this book and I highly recommend it! I definitely recommend the misadventures series, although I haven't read all of them yet. Misadventures of a Curvy Girl, Misadventures in Blue, Misadventures of a Backup Bride, and this one are some solid reads if you're trying to decide which ones to read!

Book Information

Release date: April 10th, 2018

Description:
*The description comes directly from Toni Aleo's website*

Winning has always come naturally for stud ice hockey defensemen Gus "the Bus" Persson. On the ice or off, he's never had any trouble scoring, racking up goals — and girls. As the best player in his rookie class and the number-one draft pick of the Malibu Suns, he's taking his game to the next level and is justifiably full of swagger.

So why does one of the Suns ice girls treat him like he's invisible?

Bo St. James doesn't have time for rookie hotshots who think their gloves don't stink. She knows them, she works with them, she trains them. It doesn't matter that Gus Persson is the hottest newbie she's ever seen. She knows his type. She's got big plans of her own, and she's not going to let some cocky rich kid athlete keep her from her goals.

But there's a chemistry between them they cannot deny. A lust that burns so hot, it threatens to melt the very ice on which they make their livings. The game has changed for both of them. Together, can these two play to win?

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