Winging It, from Cate Cameron (Corrigan Falls Raiders #3)

Hi, there! It’s with deep pleasure that I announce another review for a book by Cate Cameron – I discovered that I simply love this woman. She is a brilliant writer and knows exactly how I like my contemporary YA ❤ A couple of months ago I met Playing Defense (review here!) and was dashed by how much I loved everything about it, so it was only natural for me to beg for jump at another book from her 🙂 And the fact that Winging It, the book of the hour, was the third one in the Corrigan Falls Raiders series – the very same from Playing Defense – was a wonderful surprise! My copy came from Chapter by Chapter in exchange for an honest review and I am delighted to announce that IT IS TIME!

from my Instagram 🙂

Scott Dakins is back in town after almost one year off in Toronto and two people are seriously worried about the fact, but for entirely different reasons…

Natalie West has got a crush on Scott for a while now, but she may as well be invisible as far as the guy is concerned. He never spared her a single glance – and why should he? Nat isn’t popular, eye-catching or even feminine. She is tall, strong and all about comfy clothes and hockey. No reason whatsoever for Scott to notice her existence. But that was about to change and Nat knew exactly who was going to help her win Scott’s attention over.

Toby Cooper is one of the Corrigan Falls Raiders hockey team star. He worked his ass off for his spot on the team and for having a future at it. Since he was a child, he has been all about hockey – well, he and his childhood best friend, Natalie West. Both would give anyone a run for their money while playing, but the time and life cooled their friendship off. That is, until Natalie intimated Toby to be her fake boyfriend in order to attract his cousin Scott’s attention.

Nat knew it was a risky plan and Toby knew it was stupid, but can they measure how much this masquerade will cost to their hearts?

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as reader 🙂

As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. Once again, Cate managed to risk “sleeping” off my to-do list of the day and I only allowed myself to think about the real world again when I had reached the last line of the last chapter of Winging It. I admit that I wasn’t that struck by Toby and Nat as I was with Chris and Dia, but they were wonderful nevertheless and I really liked the amorous triangle that they made with Scott! =O

I know, I know. I can’t believe myself, but it has happened, haha! I loved how this book turned out; it surpassed my expectations and, once again, Cate won me with her brilliant dialogues and impeccable humor that almost made me wake up the whole house in the wee hours of the morning. Five proud stars ❤

The narrative style was once again first person with switching points of view between Nat and Toby and I hadn’t problems with either of them, thank goodness. I mean, I didn’t think I’d have due my history with Cameron, but one never knows, haha! There were times in which I wasn’t Nat’s biggest fan, but nothing serious or that a slap on the face wouldn’t cure.

And can we just take a moment to collectively admire Cameron’s writing style and dialogical constructions? Seriously, she. Is. Amazing!! Winging It made me realize that what she did in Playing Defense wasn’t a one deal thing, that maybe this is her classic YA style AND OMG I LOVED IT SO MUCH I THINK I’LL DEVORE ANY BOOK THAT I SEE FROM HER NOW!

The plot was simple with that touch of complexity that a connection between two human beings in love can cause in one’s life. We had a pretty clear problem to be solved, but in which guy will Nat believe? Will she join the dark side and get the cookies or stay in the light and face her fears? Sometimes, the simple things are the hardest to solve, haha!

The characters weren’t that awesome as on Playing Defense in my humble opinion, but I admit that I’m still waiting for a guy like Chris Winslow to happen again in my bookish life. He spoiled me hard for Contemporary YA heroes, seriously.

Oh, well.

Cameron kept the reality of each person that appeared on the book, making me feel like I was reading some piece of gossip of my old high school than something fictional once again, which I always find extremely cool. Nat was a down to earth girl that felt she was wronged by Corrigan Falls society and became bitter for it; Toby was the good guy struggling to remain that way between so many changes and responsibilities in his life. And we do see Chris again with the other guys of the hockey team and that’s great, but what really surprised me here was that I liked Scott. Not enough to put him on my famous bookish boyfriends list, but enough to learn more about him and not-so-secretly wish that he gets his own book and his own boyfriend. Oh, Toby did made it to my list for one simple reason: THE GUY IS A CLOSETED AUSTEN FAN.

As just a guy, he didn’t catch my eye. But as soon as I learned that he was that kind of romantic I knew I had to have him in my harem.

I gotta confess that I felt a tiny lose end regarding a certain trophy and that I wasn’t particular fond of this cover – I mean, it struck me as sort of bleak – but overall I don’t have negative critics, haha! And of course that I selected a few pieces of Winging It geniality to show off:

“Everything in the real world was confusing, but everything in the shower was totally simple” – Toby

~*~

“She wasn’t being bitchy, just trying to hide her obvious confusion about the soap opera I was somehow involved in.” – Nat

~*~

“He (Scott) raised his eyebrows at me, like he was waiting for me to calm down and be normal. He was going to have quite a wait on that one.” – Nat

~*~

And, to slay it all, this dialogue:

Scott: You know, there was a time not that long ago when you could barely talk to me. And now you’re, essentially, threatening to let your mom set me on fire. That’s an interesting change, don’t you think?

Nat: Well, it takes time to build up to threats about fire, you know? A girl can’t just jump in with that – she’s got to lead up to it.

Scott: Fair Enough.

~*~

Overall, if you love funny and cozy books, contemporary, YA, smart dialogues and loveable characters and hockey, you really should pick up Winging It – have I mentioned it can be read as a standalone? 🙂

Thanks for reading my review! Bellow you can find info on where to find Winging It, about the author and the other books in the series 🙂

You can find Winging It in both paperback and ebook formats 🙂

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca |Entangled Publishing

Center Ice, Corrigan Falls Raiders #1

The hometown hockey hero won’t know what hit him…

Karen Webber is in small-town hell. After her mother’s death, she moved to Corrigan Falls to live with strangers—her dad and his perfect, shiny new family—and there doesn’t seem to be room for a city girl with a chip on her shoulder. The only person who makes her feel like a real human being is Tyler MacDonald.

But Karen isn’t interested in starting something with a player. And that’s all she keeps hearing about Tyler.

Corrigan Falls is a hockey town, and Tyler’s the star player. But the viselike pressure from his father and his agent are sending him dangerously close to the edge. All people see is hockey—except Karen. Now they’ve managed to find something in each other that they both desperately need. And for the first time, Tyler is playing for keeps…

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Entangled Publishing

 Playing Defense, Corrigan Falls Raiders #2

REVIEW HERE ❤

Cate Cameron grew up in the city but moved to the country in her mid-twenties and isn’t looking back. Most of her writing deals with people living and loving in small towns or right out in the sticks—when there aren’t entertainment options on every corner, other people get a lot more  interesting!

 She likes to write stories about real people struggling with real issues. YA, NA, or contemporary  romance, her books are connected by their emphasis on subtle humor and characters who are trying to do the right thing, even when it would be a lot easier to do something wrong.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

That’s it, thanks for reading the whole post! Also, thanks so much to Chapter by Chapter for my review copy and my spot on this tour 😀