Throwback Thursday Review- Taking Shots

                                 


©Throwback Thursday Reviews are books that I read at least 1 year ago.©

Taking Shots (Assassins #1)

Toni Aleo

Publication Date: April 23, 
2013

Publisher: Loveswept

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

3 Stars

From Goodreads:

Elli Fisher has never thought she was good enough, let it be her job, her weight, her love life, nothing. That is until she meets Shea Adler. After doing a promotional shoot for the NHL team, the Assassins, she meets the hunky hockey player who shoots a puck, shattering her world. Shea Adler was tired of the life he was living outside of the rink. The girls, the money blowing, the drinking, everything had to stop and it all did when he met Eleanor Fisher. He had never met anyone like her. She was feisty, witty, shy, and simply gorgeous. When he laid eyes on her, it was as if he was taking the hardest hit of his life into the boards, and he had to have her. Elli is a little skeptical of Shea, but he knows that they were meant to be together, and he needed her in his life. Can Elli throw her insecurities out the window and love Shea with everything inside of her, or will she let a past relationship, and her family ruin any chance of her being happy.

Let me first just say, the 3 stars is not because I didn’t love the story or the characters. In fact, I fell in love with Ellie and Shea very quickly and their relationship was fun and steamy!

My problems with this book stemmed from the writing.

“That’s not what drew me to you, 

it was your eyes…and your ass.” 

Pros:

• ·        Ellie is a normal size woman. Got to love that. Yet she’s absolutely beautiful.
• ·        Shea is the hot playboy stud who recognizes his forever (for who he is willing to commit to completely, monogamously) fairly quickly.
• ·        Shea’s pursuit of Ellie is incredibly swoon worthy. He is passionate about her but so freaking sweet too!
• ·        The minor characters are fun and memorable
• ·        The story/plot is great.

Cons:

• ·        Oh the writing, the writing, THE WRITING! This is so obviously her first or at least one of her first novels. The conversations can be a little stilted with too many “awesome,” and “cool,” especially within one conversation. At times, certain comments or events were incredibly cliché. It was just a little too amateur, and while I obviously think it has great potential, this is the risk of self-publishing. An editor would have most likely helped her to correct some of these flaws.
• ·        While Shea’s pursuit is sweet and passionate, sometimes he was a little too sweet. It almost, but not completely, hindered his masculinity.
• ·        Ellie’s hang-ups are understandable and I empathized with her. However, she took a little too long to recognize that she loved Shea. It drove me a little crazy.

“Whoever thought up

 the phrase ‘Absence makes the 

heart grow founder’ was an idiot.

Absence makes a bitch go crazy.”

Overall, I liked this book a lot. However, it was quite difficult to get past the writing flaws. I have re-read it a few times, but every time, I cringe through and think to myself that I’m suffering through because of how much I love Shea and Ellie.

I still recommend it, but just beware that sometimes it may be difficult to get through. Also, her wrting gets better and better with every book.

About the Author

My name is Toni Aleo!
I am a wife, mother, and hopeless romantic. I have been told I have anger issues, but I think it's cause of my intense love for hockey! I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena's glass, watching my Nashville Predators play! When my nose isn't pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son's hockey games, my daughters dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, and reading the latest romance novel. I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, and did I mention I love hockey? I am currently working on Empty Net, and I hope to have it out by November! I hope to hear from you on here, my Facebook, or my twitter! Thank you so much!

Please visit Toni on her Facebook at: Facebook.com/tonialeo1 

Follow her on twitter: tonilovesweber6
                                                  www.tonialeo.com