Monday, August 1, 2016

Book Review: Settling the Score: Out of Bounds by RS Grey

Settling the Score: Out of Bounds 
By RS Grey
Release Date: August 1, 2016
Source: Author
I despise Erik Winter.

He’s arrogant and cruel—a man I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—and by some twisted turn of fate, he’s my new Olympic gymnastics coach.

I’ve had to contend with gruff coaches in the past, but Erik is far worse. His stern demeanor complements a body built for intimidation, and his reprimands come from a mouth so cunning, I know it could strip me of my defenses—if I let it.

Though each of us would love to be rid of the other forever, we are bound to each other by need and necessity. I’m his rising star, his best shot at proving himself to his critics. And without a coach, I have zero chance of winning gold in Rio.

The easiest way forward would be to wave a white flag and make peace with the man I’ll be sharing close quarters with for the foreseeable future, but he is intent on war.

Fine. By. Me.

If he pushes me, I’ll push back harder. If he wants to test me, to play with my head, I’ll show him just how many boundaries I’m willing to cross. Because I know it’s not a choice between winning or warring—not if you can have them both. At the end of it all, I plan on leaving Rio with gold around my neck and his icy heart in the palm of my hand.


I am obsessed with every book RS Grey writes. OBSESSED. Scoring Wilder will always and forever be my absolute favorite book by her, but I have been loving her Summer Games series and couldn't wait to read about a hardheaded gymnast falling for her coach! 

Erik Winter is not a nice guy. He's as focused and harsh as they come, telling you exactly how it is. So when he first meets Brie, the most talented of the five gymnastic Olympians he needs to coach, he is taken aback by her fiery attitude. Brie needs to win in Rio in order to give back to her mom for everything she has sacrificed for her, but for some reason, Brie just can't help but get under Erik's skin. With an undeniable attraction, Brie finds herself pushing Erik to the edge as he pushes right back. As they continue to play, though, Brie isn't so sure she can handle the game…

Wow, this book is Hot with a capital H. This is definitely the steamiest of books I read from RS Grey and that definitely isn't a bad thing. Brie and Erik start off instantly not getting along, so if you like books where the main couple really doesn't get along and likes to bicker and fight, you'll absolutely love this one. While I did like how much they got to each other, I wasn't a huge fan of how after every single time they even came close to getting together or progressing in their relationship, one of them immediately had to shut down. I understood their reactions the first few times, but after awhile it became repetitive and really slowed down any real progress in their relationship. But the bickering was so much fun and it was just the nature of their relationship. 

I am a huge sports romance fan and it's difficult to find a book that gives me enough sports AND romance. While Out of Bounds gave me hot and heavy romance and some of Brie's training, when it came to the culmination of Brie's actual Olympic games, it was a fade to black and jumped right to the results. Where was the huge moment where she finally competed and proved herself? I wanted to see that! I remember that exact kind of pacing happened in the first book in this series where the soccer games were skipped completely and we only got the before and after. Some people would probably not notice this, but since I love my sports and love seeing the characters really in their element, I was a bit let down. That being said, though, I still loved the whole Olympic village setting, which is where the last half of this book takes place, and it was fun seeing how crazy all of the athletes could get. 

Overall, I still really enjoyed Out of Bound despite the omission of some sporty moments and the intense hot and cold relationship between the main characters. There were fantastic side characters that Brie got to train with and I loved getting to know Erik and seeing him be really vulnerable after seeing him so tough and rough as the gymnastics coach. If you want a steamy romance that will get you hyped for the upcoming Olympics, and if you love a yummy former male gymnast and an insanely talented female gymnast, you must read Out of Bounds!



1 comment:

  1. I know what you mean of the book skipping the actual sport. I wish I had seen more of it as well but this book was still so good! And it's definitely her hottest book yet. I will forever remember the yoga scene.
    (Btw, it's The Summer Games: Out of Bounds) :)
    Genesis @ Latte Nights Reviews

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...