The Hooker and the Hermit

His behavior in the beginning bordered on sexual harassment. Couldn't bring myself to read any further.

Eeeh...nope. I've read almost everything Reid has written except these collaborations with Cosway, and I'm a big Reid fan, auto-buy for sure. I read this on in the Beach Reads Box Set V collection.
In contrast to other top picks by Reid, this reads like under-edited juvenilia and I shan't seek out any others in the series.
Yuck to the lack of consent modeled in the “Her words say no but her sexy lips say yes and I'll crowd her into an airplane bathroom” kind of relationship they have. Creepy, and: no. I want everyone in this book to go to therapy for a few years and then try again to have healthier relationships with every one (self, siblings, workmates, etc.). “‘Hey, I'll behave on this trip. I promise'” he tells her, knowing that he's lying as he says it, crowding her personal space and crossing boundaries she's set. “For several seconds I was wracked with indecision. I'd told her I'd behave on this trip, but the temptation to follow her was too much.” Uh, no, dude: the temptation is NOT too much. You are just too selfish and immature to respect boundaries. What you should say is, “I know I made a promise to respect her boundaries, but I don't want to be self-controlled and so I'm choosing to put myself first over her.”

2.5 stars

I went into this book with overflowing excitement because Penny Reid is listed as one of the authors... by the halfway mark I wasn't excited anymore.

I honestly found the characters to be rather dull and frustrating. I thought I would be able to connect to Annie, but for some reason couldn't, so that was a shame. Yet, at the same time the relationship between the character could (at times) be super sweet and fun. There were times I laughed – mostly in the beginning, over the actions of the characters. For the most part, I found the characters to be relatively mature, which was refreshing, who didn't run away but talked to one another about problems... until running away became the conflict rolls eyes. Maybe I just have a thing against people running away “for good” only to regret it and... we all know how it goes.

I think I just couldn't understand the characters and their actions, so I didn't understand them. Others might fall into the story more and like it more.

There is also light bondage which, I don't mind since I tend to skim over sex scenes anyhow, but other readers might want to know about beforehand.

***Edited to say I did finish this. I couldn't give up when I made it so far. But for the last 20%, I skimmed. After sleeping on it, I'm changing my review from 2 to 1 stars.

DNF at 80%. I just couldn't do it anymore. This book is kind of all over the place. We have an introverted hermit who works for a PR firm and wears baggy clothes and little makeup and a rugby player who needs his image revamped because rugby players are apparently well-known celebrities who are constantly followed by paps and written about in gossip magazines?? Idk. Anyways, rugby player then falls for hermit the minute he sees her and proceeds to stick his hand up her shirt. Aside from that, this book has too many tropes. Insta-lust, a fake relationship that sort of becomes real, a scary parent who still thinks they can control their 30-year-old manchild, a bitter ex, a burglary, and to top it all off, throw some BDSM into the mix. It's too much, especially when there's nothing really likable about the main characters to begin with.

reading for the second time. I still love this one!!!

Definition:
Hooker is one of the positions in rugby league football. Usually wearing jersey number 9, the hooker is one of the team's forwards. During scrums the hooker plays in the front row, and the position's name comes from their role of ‘hooking' or ‘raking' the ball back with the foot.

Ronan Fitzpatrick is known as the best hooker in the world of rugby. He has been force to take a break from playing, after getting into a bloody fight with one of his teammates and putting the other guy in the hospital. The reason for the fight was that Ronan discovered that his mate was sleeping with his long-time girlfriend. Feeling fed-up with everything in his life, Ronan decides to escape to New York City for a while; he's looking to spend his days at the gym training and perhaps having a few one night stands with no strings attached, because the last thing he needs is to get his heart crushed by another woman. His plans are very clear until he meets a beautiful hermit...

Annie Catrel is the most successful media expert executive in New York city, she works for Davidson & Croft Media and on her own time she's also anonymously running a popular celebrity blog. Annie has a great internet persona, well known and celebrated by the public and her online friends but in real life she's shy and socially awkward. Nobody knows she is the person behind The New York's finest blog and since her boss allows her to do most of her job from home, the Annie of real life doesn't really have any friends and seldom interacts with other people. Annie runs into Ronan at a famous restaurant but even though she doesn't really know who is, she can tell his famous. She is turned on by his sexy appearance and appalled by what he is wearing, so she snaps a picture of him and features a funny article about him on her blog; little did she know that the next day she was going to be put in charge into a media campaign to help turn Ronan from bad boy, to golden boy, to advance his career and make him more known in the US. The moment Ronan meets Annie he's mesmerize by her, he can see through her baggy clothes and her anxiety, so he embarks on a mission to get into her pants but after he sees her eating a chocolate eclair the man is a goner, and his as well as Annie's worlds will become completely upside down...

I am not going to say more because this is one of those stories that will completely surprise you and the least you know the best it will be. I can only promise that this book is not just another boy meets girl, romantic story where opposites attract. You will fall in love with both characters deeply and will also laugh, blush and swoon a lot and often. I loved the back stories of both characters; I could totally relate to Annie's insecurities and unattractive snort laugh and Ronan's character was intense about everything he would do and say, I experienced him with every fiber of my being. There were so many layers to this story and as you read you find yourself craving more and more.