Can't fight it

d'Allie Winters - SmartyPants Romance (2023)

Résumé : Mousy bookworm. Psychology nerd. The kind of girl who constantly sticks her foot in her mouth.

The last thing I am is the type to attract the intimidating, motorcycle-riding guy in the apartment next door. Especially when that mouth of mine gets me in trouble and he overhears me talk smack about him…

So no one’s more surprised than me when he shows up as a participant in the psych study I’m running on campus. Or when he generously offers me some much-needed self-defense lessons. Or when we grow closer than I thought possible. It turns out some people aren’t at all what they seem at first glance. They can actually be everything you never knew you wanted in a man.

The thing is, Austin Langford is so far out of my league, it’s laughable. Muscled boxers don’t go for nobodies like me. I need to forget about this one-sided attraction.

Even when it feels like I can’t fight it.


note : 2.5/5 ♥♥-

Avant de commencer, je me dois de préciser que les romances avec des étudiants c'est pas vraiment ma tasse de thé. Encore moins quand on a une thématique sportive, ni quand un stalker fait partie de l'intrigue...

M'étant engagée à faire une review honnête, j'ai essayé de mettre mes préférences de côtes afin de laisser toutes ses chances a ce livre.

Cela dit, j'ai apprécié les 2/3 du livre, mais a un moment donné j'ai décroché car toute était tellement prévisible sur la fin que ça m'a ôté l'intérêt pour les personnages.

On est sur du slow burn avec cette romance. D'abord nos héros doivent s'apprivoiser, ce sont tous les deux des solitaires pas trop habitués aux relations sociales. Petit à petit chacun apprend à connaître, ça se dévoile... Tout deux sont connectés à l'autre, ils comprennent leur difficultés et se portent l'un l'autre pour les surmonter.

Tessa, en cours d'études de psychologie, va aider Austin a prendre conscience de ses compétences (en dehors de la boxe) et à se remettre dans une démarche de formation pour enfin faire un métier qui l'intéresse. En retour, Austin va apprendre à Tessa des mouvements de self-defense, toujours traumatisée par un drame pendant son enfance, elle aussi du mal à faire confiance.

Là où le bouquin m'a perdu c'est lorsque qu'un personnage secondaire devient malintentionné et se comporte en stalker. A partir de là, tout devient super cliché : on voit venir comme un montagne les embrouilles qu'il va générer, comment nos héros vont se faire avoir et comment tout se résout, il n'a plus de surprise. Tout ce à quoi on peut s'attendre se passe, l'intérêt diminue, j'ai commencé à sauter des pages pour aller le plus vite possible à la fin. Un peu dommage...

Before we begin, I must point out that romances with students are not really my cup of tea. Even less when you have a sports theme, or when a stalker is part of the plot...

Having committed to doing an honest review, I tried to put my preferences aside in order to give this book every chance.

That said, I enjoyed 2/3 of the book, but at some point I gave up because everything was so predictable and at the end that I lost interest in the characters.

This is a slow burn romance. First our heroes have to get used to each other, they are both loners not too used to be social. Little by little they learn to know each other, they talked about themselves... Both are connected to each other, they understand their difficulties and support each other to overcome them.

Tessa, currently studying psychology, will help Austin become aware of his skills (apart from boxing) and get back into a college degree process to finally do a job that interests him. In return, Austin will teach Tessa self-defense movements, she's still traumatized by a tragedy during her childhood and she finds it difficult to trust.

Where the book lost me is when a secondary character becomes malicious and behaves like a stalker. From there, everything becomes super cliché : we see his troubles coming, how our heroes will be fooled and how everything is resolved, there are no more surprises. Everything you would expect is happening, interest wanes, I started skipping pages to get to the end as fast as possible. Too bad...


Find Allie Winters online
Website: http://bit.ly/357VYOr
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/389mnNO
Facebook: http://bit.ly/3b5KJdk
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3pOJNhB

Connect with Smartypants Romance
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK
Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/
Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

Not Fooling Anyone

d'Allie Winters (2022) - SmartyPants Romance

Résumé : The deal is simple—pretend to be Ethan’s girlfriend for a psych study and we each get a nice payday. Despite him being a dumb jock who willingly gets punched for fun at my dad’s boxing gym, I can handle it. I’ve mastered the art of keeping others at a distance. Especially after… Well, never mind that.

Except, I didn’t count on him not understanding the definition of boundaries. Suddenly, we’re having to fake being in love all over campus to keep up the ruse. And when he tries to slip under the barriers I’ve worked so hard to create? Yeah, that’s not happening. Even if it turns out he’s surprisingly understanding… and funny… and charming… and smarter than I ever would have given him credit for. Not to mention that muscled body from all that boxing…

No, that’s irrelevant. I may have misjudged him, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested. He has no idea what kind of baggage I’m carrying. A relationship is the last thing on my mind.

Even if I’m not fooling anyone.


Lexie n'a pas une vie facile, elle du mal à joindre les deux bouts, son job de barmaid ne paie pas assez... Sa relation avec son père est moyennement bien, alors quand il lui propose de venir bosser comme comptable au club de boxe où il travaille, elle se dit que c'est mieux que rien.

Dans la salle de sport, elle va croiser rapidement un jeune boxer, Ethan, qui essaie de flirter gentiment avec elle. Lexie n'a pas le temps ou la motivation pour lui. Manque de pot, Ethan assiste au même cours de psychologie qu'elle, il la reconnait et insiste pour lui parler. Lexie s'en serait bien passé, mais voilà que leur professeur cherche des volontaires pour une étude rémunérée, le hic c'est qu'il faut être en couple. Lexie a besoin de l'argent, alors sans même y réfléchir, elle recrute instantanément Ethan comme fake boyfriend.

Ethan est un garçon cool, posé, facile à vivre, Lexie a piqué son intérêt et il décide de jouer le jeu du faux couple. C'est important pour Lexie et il va pouvoir passer du temps avec elle et apprendre à mieux la connaitre.

Ce qu'aucun d'eux n'avait prévu, c'est que jouer au faux couple, ça rapproche. Et quand on se rapproche, ça devient compliqué. Lexie et Ethan ont chacun des soucis, des choses trop compliquées pour les partager de but en blanc avec l'autre. C'est toujours difficile de commencer à faire confiance à l'autre quand on on pas encore confiance en soi.

Heureusement, malgré les quiproquos et coup d'émotions, Allie Winters nous présente deux jeunes gens qui arrivent à communiquer et faire face à leurs difficultés. Lexie et Ethan sont tout mignons ♥

Lexie doesn't have an easy life, she's struggling to make ends meet, her job as a bartender doesn't pay enough... Her relationship with her father is not that good, so when he asks her to come and work as an accountant at the boxing gym where he works, she thinks it's better than nothing.

In the gym, she meets a young boxer, Ethan, who tries to flirt kindly with her. Lexie doesn't have the time or the motivation for him. Bad luck, Ethan attends the same psychology class as her, he recognizes her and insists on talking to her. Lexie would have prefered to avoid him, but now their teacher is looking for volunteers for a paid study, the catch is that you have to be in a relationship. Lexie needs the money, so without even thinking about it, she instantly recruits Ethan as her fake boyfriend.

Ethan is a cool, calm, easy-going boy, Lexie has piqued his interest and he decides to play the fake couple's game. This is important for Lexie and he will get to hang out with her and know her better.

What neither of them had expected is that playing the fake couple brings people together. And when you get closer, it gets complicated. Lexie and Ethan each have worries, things too complicated to share outright with the other. It's always difficult to start trusting others when you don't trust in yourself yet.

Fortunately, despite the misunderstandings and sudden emotions, Allie Winters introduces us to two young people who manage to communicate and face their difficulties. Lexie and Ethan are so cute ♥

 

Find Allie Winters online
Website : http://bit.ly/357VYOr
Goodreads : http://bit.ly/389mnNO
Facebook : http://bit.ly/3b5KJdk
Instagram : https://bit.ly/3pOJNhB

Connect with Smartypants Romance
Facebook : http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4
Twitter : http://bit.ly/2lzyduO
Amazon : https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ
Instagram : http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK
Website : https://smartypantsromance.com/
Newsletter : https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/

Under Pressure

d'Allie Winters (2021) Smartypants Romance

Résumé : Mia knows stress. She’s dealt with it her whole life. So when she gets an opportunity to run a psychology study to help her get into grad school, it should be no problem dealing with the prickly guy she suddenly finds herself paired with.
The one she had a secret crush on last year. The one who refuses to let anyone close. The one she’s discovering by the day may have a softer side than he lets anyone else see…

Tyler knows stress. He’s grappled with it for as long as he can remember. And just because he has to share credit with this girl on his new psychology study doesn’t mean he has to be friends with her. Except she somehow keeps worming her way into his life. In school. In the boxing gym. In his bed.

But everyone knows it’s safer to keep to yourself. You can't hurt anyone that way. Even if it means giving up the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
As things heat up in the Stress Lab, will this match be able to work together without disruption, or will this growing attraction between them eventually... combust?

Cette romance suit deux étudiants en psychologie qui vont devoir travailler sur un projet commun de recherche. Ils travaillent sur la même thématique (la gestion du stress) avec des approches différentes et complémentaires, leur prof n'a rien trouvé de mieux de les combiner ensemble au lieu de ne choisi qu'un étudiant à tutorer...

Les histoires se passant dans les universités américaines m'ont toujours laissé perplexe, je n'en ai pas lu beaucoup, mais j'en ai retenu une impression de n'avoir jamais aucune idée de ce que les étudiants étudiaient xD ... Si je devais faire un seul reproche à ce livre, c'est de ne pas être allé plus loin dans la présentation du sujet de recherche, nous montrer ces deux étudiants bosser (ils sont sensé être au top de leur promo, et en fin d'études) et comment leurs travaux se fond dans leur vie privée et leur histoire d'amour.

La gestion du stress en psychologie, c'est un sujet à la portée de tous, j'aurais pas dis non à des scènes de cours magistraux où à des analyses scientifiques lorsqu'ils commencent à récolter des données pour leur mémoire. Aussi, chose étrange : on sait sur quel aspect travaille Mia, mais on a rien du tout sur la partie traitée par Tyler...

Le fantasme universitaire mis à part (^^'), Mia et Tyler ont des histoires intéressantes (même si un peu too much pour Tyler) et étant quand même étudiants en psycho, ils arrivent à identifier leur problème et faire le premier pas vers l'amélioration leur bien-être.

This romance follows two psychology students who will have to work on a common research project. They work on the same theme (stress management) with different and complementary approaches, their teacher has found nothing better than to combine them together instead of choosing only one student to tutor.

Stories happening in American universities have always left me perplexed, I didn't read much of them, but I had a feeling of never having any idea what the students were studying xD ... If I had only one reproach about this book, it is not to have gone further in the presentation of the research subject, showing us these two students working (they are supposed to be at the top of their class, and at the end of their studies) and how their work blends into their private life and love story.

Stress management in psychology is a subject within everyone's reach, I wouldn't have said no to lectures or to scientific analyzes when they start to collect data for their article. Also, strange thing: we know what Mia is working on, but we have nothing at all on Tyler's part...

The college fantasy aside (^^ '), Mia and Tyler have interesting stories (even if a little too much for Tyler) and being psychology students, they manage to identify their problem and take the first step towards the improvement of their well-being.

 

Find Allie Winters online
Website: http://bit.ly/357VYOr
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/389mnNO
Facebook: http://bit.ly/3b5KJdk
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3pOJNhB

Connect with Smartypants Romance
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2kvDnb4
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2lzyduO
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2lGdIMQ
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kwKsYK
Website: https://smartypantsromance.com/
Newsletter: https://smartypantsromance.com/newsletter/