Beef Cake

de Jiffy Kate (2020) - SmartyPants Romance

Résumé : If opposites do actually attract, then Gunnar Erickson and Frankie Reeves take the cake.

Frankie Reeves is complicated, even though she won’t admit it. She fills her days working as an ER nurse, taking care of her mom, and searching for the father she never knew. Anything else has no place in her perfectly compartmentalized, purposefully simple life. Attachments? No thank you. She has no time for that.

Gunnar Erickson recently moved to Green Valley to train at Viking MMA with his brother Cage. Being the youngest of the Erickson clan, he’s always felt like he has something to prove, and now that he’s finished with college, it’s his time to shine. But before he can step into the ring, a freak accident sends him to the ER and into the care of one Frankie Reeves.

While he’s immediately smitten, she pretends to be unfazed by this six-foot-three, two hundred and thirty-pound beefcake. Gunnar sets out to prove to Frankie that, not only does she like him more than she wants to admit, but he’s not the uneducated, brute she assumes he is. To Frankie, he’s the worst kind of complication, but that doesn’t make it easy to stay away.


Cette romance est toute mignonne entre Frankie et Gunnar, mais j'avoue que je suis pas super fan de l'instalove. Heureusement, ils ne le sont pas tous les deux ! j'ai aussi eu une toute petite impression que les deux louveteaux avançaient un peu rapidement à un moment, même s'il y a quelques ellipses dans l'histoire.

Gunnar a un coup de foudre, ça peut se comprendre mais un bisou et il pense au mariage, à 22 ans... xD c'est un peu too much, un peu trop parfait aussi, il me semble pas avoir vu des défauts pour lui, c'est Frankie qui porte toutes les failles et faiblesses dans cette histoire, et en écrivant là, je me dis qu'on est sur le schéma du viking charmant qui arrivent sur son drakkar blanc. Par chance, Frankie a l'intelligence de se sauver elle-même, car il fallait qu'elle fasse les choses toute seule pour qu'on évite de justesse le sauvetage par l'amour. J'étais partie avec un bon sentiment et maintenant je suis plus mitigée, comme quoi vive l'exercice de la review.

Jiffy Kate a écrit sur le grand frère de Gunnar, Cage ("Stud Muffin"), et son histoire était beaucoup équilibrée entre les deux héros, chacun avait des obstacles à surmonter et leur relation a été basée sur une entre-aide mutuelle où chacun était sur un point d'égalité. Ici avec Gunnar et Frankie c'est pas du tout équilibrée : Gunnar n'a aucun challenge à surmonter, alors que Frankie en a au moins 5... Et en plus c'est pas les plus simples.

Frankie n'a pas eu une vie facile, elle n'a presqu'aucun souvenir de son enfance, ne connait pas son père, a une mère recluse qui refuse de lui parler de son passé, et fait des cauchemars violents... Frankie est le triste exemple de ce qui se passe, quand un parent refuse de parler d'un événement traumatisant à son enfant : le taire et faire comme si cela n'avait jamais existé, ne permet pas à l'enfant de se construire sereinement. Dans le cas précis de ce roman, Frankie est angoissée par ses cauchemars et leur possible reflets de son passé, elle ne s'attache à personne car c'est plus facile de fuir.

Frankie est une belle héroïne car elle sait ses limites mais quand elle poussée à bout, elle va certes tombée mais elle va se relever et enfin faire ce qu'elle aurait du faire depuis le début. Elle comprend ce qu'elle doit faire pour aller mieux se force à le faire. J'ai beaucoup aimé le dernier chapitre et l'épilogue en ce sens ^^.

The romance between Frankie and Gunnar is very sweet, but I admit that I'm not a big fan of insta-love. Fortunately, it's only for one of them. I also had a feeling that the two lobebirds romance was advancing a little quickly at some point, even if there are a few ellipses in the story.

Gunnar has a crush on Frankie, it can be understood but give him a kiss and he thinks of marriage, and he is only 22 years old... xD it's a bit too much, a bit too perfect too, I don't think there is any faults in him, it's Frankie who carries all the flaws and weaknesses, and as I write this review, I tell myself that we are on the clichee of the charming viking who arrive on his white drakkar. Luckily, Frankie has the intelligence to save herself, because she had to do things by herself and the "love saves everything" was barely avoided. I left the book with a good feeling but now I am more reserved, reviewing helps making up your mind.

Jiffy Kate wrote about Gunnar's big brother Cage ("Stud Muffin"), and his story was very balanced between the two heroes, each had obstacles to overcome and their relationship was based on mutual care of eachother. Here with Gunnar and Frankie it's not at all balanced : Gunnar has no challenge to overcome, while Frankie has at least 5... And they're not the easiest.

Frankie did not have an easy life, she has almost no memory of her childhood, doesn't know her father, has a reclusive mother who refuses to speak about her past, and has violent nightmares... She is a sad example of what happens when a parent refuses to tell his child about a traumatic event : to keep quiet and act as if it never existed, doesn't allow the child to grow up peacefully. In this novel, Frankie is anxious about her nightmares and their possible reflections of her past, she doesn't get attached to anyone because it is easier to flee.

Frankie is a beautiful heroine because she knows her limits but when she's over the edge, she will fall but she will get up and finally do what she should have done from the start. She understands what she needs to do to get better and forces herself to do it. I really liked the last chapter and the epilogue in that regard ^^.


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