Sacked by Jen Frederick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This review isn't going to be good.
(Warning: SPOILERS! Supporters, turn the other cheek and move along.)
Confession: I'm a cover whore. You put a hot, shirtless man, who has an 12 pack that rivals most model's-yea, I'm going to be interested. I'm a woman, he's a man. We're both mammal, okay?
And I gotta say I think the reason I made it so far in the book (49%) was because of the cover. I wanted to give Mr. Right Stuff the benefit of a doubt. I felt like I owed it to him, folks.
Shirtless Cover Model: Read me, Read Me.
Me: But wait...Travis Maddox and the other's will find out. *GASPS*
He was just so damn pretty to look at.
So anyways, back to the review, which is what we're all here for.
Knox Master's is a high profile college football player, who happens to be a virgin. (He's been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He's going places, alright?)
And then you've got Eliot "Ellie" Campbell. A girl who transfers from another school with her brother (Jack), who has a learning disability. And honestly, the only reason she's tagging along in the first place is to do his homework.
It's true. I know people will shrug that off and defend this woman's honor.
She wanted to write grants and play softball yada yada... but no.
Moving on...
Upon first meeting Ellie Campbell, Master's (Whom can have anyone he wants, mind you) decides that she is the one. Why? Because 1) she knows a lot about football, seeing as how she's been around it her entire life. 2) She has a scar on her knee, so she's gotta be athletic. And 3) (My personal fav) She can tell apart Master's and his identical twin brother on the Sports Illustrated cover.
As with most New Adult romances, Ellie has something no other girl has. What? We don't know. And if we did, we'd all be dating Channing Tatum & Co right about now.
So what's so special about Ellie? Besides the fact that she's got a scar, long hair, can do her brother's homework, and has obtained this suspicious vaccine that makes her immune to Master's charm?
Nothing. Not a damn thing. She know's football. And when I say knows, I mean girl knows more plays than her brother, who is on the damn team. I was waiting for the moment one of the players said "You should play for us" to which she would reply "I can't...my knee is bad...." You know the whole sap story gig.
For those who love bringing their husbands drinks during the game and watching Manning excel, this will be the ultimate book. (I think his name is Manning. Peyton? Too fed up with this to search google.)
Point blank: I didn't believe the chemistry. Plus, Master's came off kind of sounding like a teenage girl. His teammates (Hammer, Matty) seem to have overboard personalities, if that makes sense. Like when you watch a movie and see one actor trying so desperately to stand out that it's almost pathetic? That's what we're dealing with here.
I laughed at times, but for the most part I was skimming through the last two chapters I read. Truthfully, I didn't become emotionally invested in these characters. I didn't care what Ellie was trying to accomplish, because she went back and forth so much with wanting Master's, then not wanting him.
And Master's, well, he never gave up the good fight. (As far as I could tell. I only made it to 49 %). He was football obsessed, claiming the reason he'd kept his virginity was so he didn't screw up his football career. He needed to stay focused. And it seemed to be working for him. He'd kept his junk in his KHAKI shorts for two years. But this girl has got him under a spell he can't break.
Knox Master's and his identical twin kept talking about "the test" to see if she was "the one." And even though I didn't finish this book, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say "the test" is putting both men in a room and seeing if Ellie can tell them apart. (Since Ty dated a girl who couldn't tell them apart, and said girl ended up in Knox's bed, claiming she thought it was Ty.)
(PS, I'd really like to know if "the test" was putting both men in the same room to see if perfect Ellie could tell the sex-twins apart. Shoot me a comment.)
In Conclusion: The book was written well. I liked the descriptions and the loose flow that has become so common in the New Adult trend. But it wasn't enough to save it from Ellie Campbell. The material is divided into 2 POV's and when you start dreading the next chapter because it'll be in her POV, well. That's just a bad sign, isn't it?
I will read more by this author. (I loved the way this was written, as previously stated...) But the insta-love and cheesiness just wasn't for me.
2 Stars.
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