My Review: Fair Catch (Leighton U #3): by CE Ricci

*Please Note, each book in this series is a standalone story, so no worries as much about spoilers*

To see my review of book 1 – Iced Out – Click HERE

To see my review of book 2 – Caught Stealing – Click HERE

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Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

Taking in Kason Fuller as roommate is meant to be a favor; one I regret immediately. The bumbling, virgin football player drives me to the brink of sanity, stealing my food, my sleep, my peace and solitude. My solution? Call a ceasefire. Get him out on dates and out of my hair. Yet as our truce shifts, I realize there’s a depth to this connection unlike any I’ve felt before.

It turns out, I don’t mind his presence. I crave it, along with every morsel I learn about him. But falling for the guy from the wrong side of the tracks wasn’t in the cards. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Now, I’m at a crossroads between the life I thought I’d have, or risking everything to catch him.

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If you’re a fan of CE Ricci books, I feel like this one will continue to not disappoint you in her MM romance-type books!

This title felt different than all the other books I’ve read by her because of its slower burn with the couple of Kason and Hayes. There was spice for sure, but the big difference for me was that there were a lot more softer moments between them too. Their relationship dynamic shifted very organically from reluctant roommates to friends to lovers, and it was freakin’ adorable to see them slowly grow closer and closer to each other and gain that intimacy and trust between them, which makes sense since one of the characters turns out to be demisexual!

The demisexual representation was a huge highlight for me, one because its an asexual orientation that I feel like I’m possibly myself and that it was a huge reason for how this relationship dynamic was handled and also how it was explained too.

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What I Liked:

1. The Demisexual Representation! Demisexuals are slowly getting more and more recognition in romance books, and this book is the second one I’ve come to notice with this specific sort of representation.
2. The Slowburn Romance! This romance in this book was at much slower pace than the other CE Ricci books I’ve read, and I think that really makes this one stand out more too
3. The Softer Romantic Moments! Like it being one of the slower paced books she’s written, it’s also probably the softest book she’s written too. At least, it is amongst the books of hers I’ve written.
4. Sneaking in the Easter Eggs for the Next Books! Considering I know who the couple is for the next book, I liked the subtle set up for it that you can catch in this book too, and will probably intertwine a little bit too!

What I Didn’t Like:

1. The Parents Involvement in the 3rd Act Breakup… I will admit, the snooty rich parents coming between the couple and making them choose between them and inheritance wasn’t the most creative method to have the third act breakup between these guys in my honest opinion. It feels like a very played out or kinda cliché conflict.

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Conclusion:

Overall, another great story by one of my favorite authors! It wasn’t my absolute favorite by her, but it was still a great book nonetheless!

Thanks For Reading!

— Nick Goodsell