My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
From the cover:
"Lucy Cooper isn't looking for love when she finds it--or slams into it, rather--during rush hour traffic. But her heart, like her car, is a total loss the moment West Adler steps out of his truck to inspect the damage.
West truly is the perfect guy: handsome, funny, rich. The benefactor of not one, but two children's hospitals. And he's the main sponsor of the Music City Rollers, Nashville's championship roller derby team.
When Lucy discovers the Rollers are actively recruiting "Fresh Meat," she puts her life on the line to catch West Adler's attention. But will accident-prone Lucy skate off with the heart of Nashville's Most Eligible Bachelor? Or will she get herself killed in a sport that promises, "It's not a matter of if you'll get hurt--but of how bad and when."
Alright, I'm going to get one thing out of the way before we get into what I loved about this book. Coaches for skaters new to roller derby should not treat their new girls the way they did in this book. Holy shit, no. Just no. Is roller derby badass, yes. Are skaters tough, obviously. But is it ok to be total assholes to each other? Fuck no. New girl coaches should be nice and supportive and patient, and if you start at a league with coaches who yell at you, call you bitches, and generally behave like some of the coaches in this book...find another league to skate with. That's a red flag. Now that we've got that PSA out of the way, moving on!
I enjoyed the balance in this book between work, dude interactions, and roller derby practices. It drives me crazy when books present characters as working in whatever field, being crazy busy or successful, and then proceed to not ever have that character go to work. In this case, the book starts off with Lucy heading to work, where she is doing well but stressed about her boss...and then throughout the book we see her work, kick ass, and navigate her relationship with her intimidating boss. Say what, women can have careers and hobbies and romantic relationships? I love it!
I also enjoyed the relationships between all the fresh meat skaters. Lucy and Olivia were wonderful, as I knew they would be from early on, but then seeing the two of them bond with some of the other new skaters from practice was lovely. The community you join and the friends you make are far and away the best part of being involved in roller derby for me, so seeing that emulated in the book was heart-warming. Also, shout out to Zoey, the toughest skater in this book, fresh meat or otherwise!
Finally, the relationship arc between dreamy West Adler and Lucy was overall adorable and, at times, laugh out loud hilarious. I legitimately stopped a few times while reading to send my husband quotes that had me cracking up. Watching their relationship develop after their...can you call it a "meet cute" if it's a car accident?...was heart-warming, and it felt a little like seeing a friend fall in-like with someone and then watching it become more. Warmed my icy little heart. If you like solid friendships and sweet love connections, this book might be for you. If you want all of that combined with roller skates and a kickass sport, what are you waiting for? Read it.
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