playing hurt Review and Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

Check out my review for

playing hurt by Holly Schindler

Giveaway follows

5/5 stars

Summary:

Chelsea Keyes is the star of the high school basketball team in her senior year. She has a gorgeous romantic boyfriend, Gabe, who loves her. Scouted by colleges and on the cover of magazines as the best high school athlete, her life is complete. Then the worst possible thing happens to her, an accident. Her hip is broken and she is done playing basketball. Gone is the college scholarship, the love of her life, and the meaning of her days. Done living in the present. She watches the video of her last game over and over pausing seconds before it happens, wishing she could live there in that moment. Her boyfriend stands by her; his was the first face she saw after waking up from the surgery. Her father seems angry with her and can’t even look at her. Her brother thinks she is losing it. After she graduates, her parents plan a three week vacation, at a Minnesota lake resort, as a graduation gift. Her Dad signs her up for a boot camp to try and get her active again. Clint is her personal trainer trying to coax her into doing something besides hiking. But Clint has some things he won’t do either, like play hockey, go beyond the fishing section of the sporting goods store, or walk through a certain ravine. Can either Chelsea or Clint help the other or will they just end up hurting each other more? Will there be romance or pain? And what about gorgeous Gabe back home?

My thoughts:

I loved this book. It has the strong female character, Chelsea, that has stood on her own two feet just fine. She struggles with adversity and while she melts down she doesn’t end up a puddle to be saved by a guy. Clint is a strong guy who is trying very hard to block out a part of his life that hurts too much to think about. He still stands tall and isn’t wallowing somewhere. Both of them are wounded and struggling. The story is about how they will either help each other through it or create even deeper wounds. I loved the way Holly Schindler takes two strong wounded characters and intertwines them. There is no weak link that has to be rescued by the other. It plays more like real life than most books. Everyone has wounds and strengths. Everyone can either help or hurt others, it’s their choice.

I loved the alternating point of view between Chelsea and Clint. It was fun to try and piece together Clint’s past from the little he would allow to go through his head. While Chelsea dwelt on hers and you knew exactly where she was coming from, Clint avoided his and you had to puzzle it together. There was a complete style change depending on whose POV you were reading. It added so much to the personalities of each. I love that.

My only criticism would be that I wanted just one more chapter. I won’t tell you why but I have decided to write it in my head. That way it will be what I want. Don’t get me wrong, the ending was great; I just wanted a little bit more of the story. I guess that makes it a great book.

Enjoy the read!

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