Book Review: Aced (Blocked, #2) by Jennifer Lane

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Buy: Amazon UK | Amazon US | 

Format: Kindle

Publishers: Psyched Publishing

Published: 2nd December 2015

Pages: 280

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Main Characters: Maddie, Alejandro
Date Read: 30th August - 6th September 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:
Volleyball wonder Lucia Ramirez found her love match in Blockeddespite the glaring political spotlight aimed on her family. InAced, the second book in Jennifer Lane’s Blocked series, it could be her brother Alejandro’s turn to get lucky in love. 
Medical student Alejandro’s hot Latin looks get him plenty of attention, but his deep faith and admiration for his father keep him on a righteous path, with no time for something as frivolous as love. He strives to do the right thing—study diligently, take care of his siblings, represent the family well—so why does he feel so unfulfilled? 
Enter Lucia’s friend and teammate Maddie Brooks, who shines at blocking the ball and acing the serve. Too bad this graduating senior isn’t so confident about her life off the court. Her longtime boyfriend has just bailed on her, and med school applications loom large. Oh, and a nerve-wracking tryout for Team USA also approaches. 
Maddie meets Alejandro when he visits Lucia at school, and she’s soon drawn to his sharp mind. Alejandro is similarly intrigued by Maddie’s talent and strength. But will personal biases and family politics smother the slow burn of their attraction? Unless Maddie can learn to believe in herself, and Alejandro can become his own man, their kindling romance hardly stands a chance.
Will either of them be bold enough to try something new? Find out in this emotion-rich story that refuses to shy away from life’s hardest questions. Because love is worth the risk.

I received a review copy from the author Jennifer Lane in exchange for an honest review.

I don't feel as though the cover as got any better since the first book and I would actually go as far as saying it's worse as I just don't like the guy used as he just doesn't scream Alejandro so it doesn't work for me.

I was a bit nervous going into this book even though Jennifer Lane did say that this book wasn't mainly focused on American politics and I should've had more faith as I felt the politics wasn't as heavily involved. There was some politics involved but it felt easier to follow this time around and what I enjoyed was the different opinions and the banter used was a great addition that I was surprised that I even liked as I didn't in the first book and I think that it was because of the banter as it gave it a more light hearted feel to it. Like Blocked, Aced also had some hard hitting issues tackled and again was done in a sensitive way. I liked the way in which depression was tackled in Aced as I don't feel like it's tackled enough in any kind of media so this made a change. The only thing I didn't like about this book was how quickly the relationship evolved and in the beginning I didn't really believe in them as a couple but the further I went into the book the more I warmed to them as a couple and it was refreshing that what normally happens towards the end of a contemporary book never happened which was a huge plus in my eyes. I liked that Aced wasn't predictable towards the end as I never saw what happened towards the end to happen it was the edge of my seat stuff. As for the ending I felt this was a much better ending that Blocked so I was happy about that.

I had mixed feelings about all characters before I started this book but a lot of my opinions changed throughout this book. Maddie I liked in Blocked so I was looking forward to reading her story and I was surprised with how different she seemed in this book compared to Blocked but this wasn't in a bad way as she had a lot to deal with in her past as well as her present. Maddie is such a caring person and I was always rooting for her to get her happy ever after. Alejandro I was a bit nervous about as I didn't really like him in book one and even in the beginning I didn't think that was going to change but in the end I really liked him. I loved that we got to see a bit more of Alejandro's Dad and I was very much surprised at how much I liked him. I was also surprised at how Lucia took a certain thing that happened as I thought she would've been happier than what she was but I felt she was a bit selfish.

Overall, this book was better than the first and now I'm really excited to read Mateo's story.

Book Review: Blocked (Blocked, #1) by Jennifer Lane

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Buy: Amazon UK | Amazon US | 

Format: Kindle

Publishers: Psyched Publishing

Published: 21st October 2014

Pages: 300

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Main Characters: Lucia, Dane
Date Read: 2nd August - 7th August 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:
College freshman Lucia Ramirez has a secret crush on Dane Monroe. He’s a tall drink of water — blond, brash, and one hell of a volleyball player. ¡Híjole! Lucia hopes her volleyball scholarship to his school will make him notice her.
Too bad what’s noticeable is Dane’s obvious hatred for Lucia. Her family’s politics contradict everything he stands for. And politics are front and center in both their families. Dane’s mother is about to face Lucia’s father in the race for US President. 
When Secret Service throws them together, Dane can’t deny his frustrating attraction to Lucia’s athletic curves and sweet faith in the world. Amid the intense pressure of college athletics and presidential politics, can opposites not just attract, but overcome overwhelming odds to be together? Or do their differences block their match from the start?

I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not overly excited about this cover as I do think it looks a little plain and I don't think it stands out over any other sports book covers that I've seen. Having said that it is giving us an idea of what the book is about with the use of the volleyball.

When I first started this book I wasn't quite sure that I was going to enjoy this book as it was hard to get over certain things that was said/done. I've now read a few sports romance novels and this is the first time reading about volleyball which was a refreshing change as it's also a new sport to me yet I was able to understand all the terminology. The whole politics side of the story annoyed me a bit as I just couldn't get my head around plus it just dragged the story out. The romance side of the story was not as believable as I would've liked as I didn't like how Dane was with Lucia for most of the first half of the book. In the second half of the book he was a lot sweeter to her as he was able to help her and look out for her. I felt they were better friends than anything else plus I don't feel as though we got an ending to their story so I hope we get to see more from them in upcoming books. As well as sports and romance this book had also had issues being tackled such as eating disorder which I don't feel as though its tackled nearly enough. The ending kind of annoyed me as I know the next book is not focused on these two and the way in which it did end made me feel that there was another chapter to come but there never was.

I had a bit of a love hate relationship with most of the characters as they all had good and bad moments except for Maddie which is actually a good thing as she has her story told next. Lucia started off a bit annoying as she was too soft with Dane as I just wanted her snap back at him more than what she did do. I felt sorry for her with all her issues as you can actually see where she's coming from and you could see her struggle throughout the book not just one section which felt realistic as she wasn't magically fixed straight away it took longer than that. Dane like I said before he annoyed me in the way he treated Lucia in the beginning as to me it was just not nice and I don't why she would forgive him even if he did change how treated her through the course. Dane had his issues that he also needed to deal with but by the end I did warm to him because of those issues and how he tackled them.

Overall, a good start to this series that I am looking forward to continuing on with it I would just like less politics involved in the series.