Title: The Hooker and the Hermit
Author: L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid
Genre/Themes: Contemproary romance / Sports
Release Date: 5 February 2015
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My rating: 3 Stars
Synopsis
THE HERMIT
Annie Catrel, social media expert extraordinaire at Davidson & Croft Media and clandestine celebrity blogger, can make anyone shine in the court of public opinion. She is the Socialmedialite, anonymous creator of New York’s Finest and the internet’s darling. Virtual reality is Annie’s forte, but actual reality? Not so much.
THE HOOKER
Ronan Fitzpatrick, aka the best hooker the world of rugby has seen in decades, despises the media—social or otherwise. The press has spun a web of lies depicting him as rugby’s wild and reckless bad boy. Suspended from his team, Ronan has come to Manhattan to escape the drama, lay low, fly under the radar. Only, Ronan isn’t easy to overlook, and he can’t escape the notice of the Socialmedialite…
THE PLAN
When Ronan is sent to Davidson & Croft Media to reshape his public image, he never expects to cross paths with shy but beautiful Annie, nor does he expect his fierce attraction to her. He couldn’t be happier when her boss suggests pairing them together.
What lengths will Annie take to keep her virtual identity concealed? And what happens when the hooker discovers who the hermit really is?
My review
This is a very difficult review to write since I absolutely love Penny Reid's books and I'm a fan of L. H. Cosway's stories as well, but this book really didn't work for me. I was naturally excited when I heard they are teaming together to write a romance, a sports one at that, which I particularly enjoy.
The story is told from a dual POV of Annie and Ronan and even though I loved some aspects of it, there were a few things that bothered me and left me conflicted.
I quite liked Annie initially - she just as adorable in her unique and strangely awkward ways as Ms Reid's heroines from the Knitting in the City series which I have come to love so much. Annie is a contradiction in terms - shy and closed-off in real life and open and outgoing in her online persona. I was intrigued by her quirks and was curious how her character will develop throughout the story.
On the other hand, I didn't like Ronan very much initially. He came on to Annie too strong embodying all the stalkerish, alpha male traits so popular in romance lately and which I hate so much. His invasion of her personal space especially during their initial meetings was totally unacceptable for me.
Their relationship went through many ups and downs and throughout the story the characters changed quite a bit. I got the like Ronan more, his past and his character made him more sympathetic. Still, the whole BDSM element came out of the blue for me and it was not a nice surprise. Annie also changed a lot and even though her opening to the world and her acceptance of her feelings for Ronan were part of her growth as a character, I felt she just became a different person overnight. Her quirkiness and hermit-like style was completely gone in the second half of the book.
The story had the trademark wittiness and humour typical for Ms Reid's work but it didn't flow as smoothly as her other works. I found the story employed one too many romantic cliches and elements that I personally don't enjoy in my romances. That is not to say that it's an inherently bad story or badly written, on the contrary, I feel it's good book, just not the right one for me.
In short, I found this book quite different from Ms Reid's previous ones. For me it lacked the off-beat, out-of-the-ordinary quality of her other works and felt much too similar to most popular romances today. I think this story may work better for fnas of hot sexy sports romance with a touch of BDSM.
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