Scoring the Player: Indianapolis Eagles Book 2, Samantha Lind

A woman who's ready to settle down meets a man who appears to be allergic to the condition.  A man who's tired of the puck bunnies and wants someone real meets the one who just might tame him.  When they both get the chance to build something it'll take a lot more than knowing how to play the game to get them to their ultimate score.

With an alternating point of view we get greater insight into both Kinley and Brian.  Both people are ready for the next phase in their romantic lives but aren't sure if their person is really out there.  A coincidence of mutual friends brings them both together and their connection was apparently immediate...though you wouldn't know it from Kinley's view.  At least not until she seemingly contradicts herself later in the scene's wrap-up.  Inconsistencies like that didn't bode well for the rest of the story for me.  Their connection begins something neither wants to end but distance and lifestyles may become too much for them to overcome so they decide to hold off on pursuing anything beyond the platonic connection.

Honestly, though, that's all Kinley's decision.  Brian merely agrees to go along with that until he can wear her down and prove that he's in it for her, for the long haul.  I enjoyed Brian's character more than Kinley's.  There was something a bit more genuine and determined about him that charmed me more than Kinley's avoidance and hesitance.

I felt that the first half of the book was quite juvenile and superficial in writing style.  It was difficult for me to get into the story and I honestly skimmed so much you'd think I skipped whole chapters.  And truthfully?  I didn't miss out on anything.  Everything read more like a teenager's journal or diary entry.  Once things became intimate, however, the punch was there.  Though it really only packed a punch when the sexy times were being described.  Otherwise the writing style still had the same ho-hum feeling of meh.  Curse words added to the inner dialogue as well as during moments of intense exclamation in bed seemed thrown in so it wouldn't feel like I was reading a YA author trying on a New Adult genre for size.  The characters' voices were also interchangeable.  Though they experienced different things I couldn't find much of a noted difference between the way each spoke.  Neither of their personalities really shone through consistently.

I will say, though, that when their dramatic conflict came I didn't really expect it.  Not in the timing, but what actually happened.  It was maybe third on my list of possibilities for conflict and one I shrugged off near the beginning when the exposition was detailing what to expect for each as individual characters.  But to my surprise, it was handled quite well.  I was impressed the way the author handled the emotional recovery.  While there were things about the situation that bothered me as well as using so many timeline fastforwards, there wasn't a way to wrap the book up in the few pages the author left herself to finish the story satisfactorily.

Despite all that, their ending was sweet and well-earned.  Their supporting cast was definitely supportive and I wouldn't mind reading their stories as they come out.  I liked the story but am far from loving it.  This is my first book by this author and I'm on the fence about seeking them out for more.  They did tackle deep issues as well as effectively kept the story mostly light and happy so they do have a few things going for them that I commend.

*$3.99!