Review: Blocked by Jennifer Lane

Blocked

Author: Jennifer Lane

Source: Netgalley

Pages: 300

Publisher: Psyched Publishing

Release date: 21^st October 2014

Synopsis: College freshman Lucia Ramirez has a secret crush on Dane Monroe. He’s a tall drink of water — blond, brash, and one hell of a volleyball player. ¡Híjole! Lucia hopes her volleyball scholarship to his school will make him notice her.

Too bad what’s noticeable is Dane’s obvious hatred for Lucia. Her family’s politics contradict everything he stands for. And politics are front and center in both their families. Dane’s mother is about to face Lucia’s father in the race for US President. 

When Secret Service throws them together, Dane can’t deny his frustrating attraction to Lucia’s athletic curves and sweet faith in the world. Amid the intense pressure of college athletics and presidential politics, can opposites not just attract, but overcome overwhelming odds to be together? Or do their differences block their match from the start?

Review: 2 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Psyched Publishing for providing me with a copy of Blocked by Jennifer Lane, I am a huge fan of sports in my books but politics doesn’t usually interest me; I thought this book was ok but I was left underwhelmed by the end of it.

The story is told from the POV’s of star volleyball players, Lucia Ramirez the daughter of the Republican Presidential candidate and Dane Monroe; son of the Democrat's Presidential candidate. Dane and Lucia are under the care of the secret service and end up residing in the same apartment for safety reasons.

Lucia has had a crush on Dane for a while so being thrust together was a positive for her but Dane had other opinions and couldn’t get past their political views and was quite an ass. Unfortunately what let this book down for me were the characters. I found Dane to be extremely rude and immature and Lucia was inconsistent and lacked spark. Admittedly by the end of the book I liked them that little bit more but it did take a while to get there.

Jennifer Lane has given us a slow-build romance which is always my favourite but unfortunately it felt forced and I didn’t enjoy the Lucia/Dane pairing, for an NA book I felt it read more like a YA romance.

There were a lot of serious issues dealt with in this book which I felt was done well such as alcoholism and eating disorders. I did feel that the political portion of the story was too drawn out and I would have loved to have known who had won after everything the families went through. 

Despite this book being written well, unfortunately it didn’t work out for me.

About the author: Get psyched for romance with psychologist/author (psycho author) Jennifer Lane! By day she’s a therapist, and by night she’s a writer. She can’t decide which is more fun. 

Jen adores creating sporty heroines and hot heroes in her college sport romances. Volleyball wonder Lucia Ramirez found her love match in Blocked despite the glaring political spotlight aimed on her family. In Aced, the second book in the Blocked series, it’s her brother Alejandro’s turn to get lucky in love. Aced launches in December 2015. 

A swimmer and volleyball player in college, Jen writes swimming-based romances as well: Streamline, a military mystery, and the free New Adult novella Swim Recruit.

Stories of redemption interest Jen the most, especially the healing power of love. She is also the author of The Conduct Series, a romantic-suspense trilogy that includes With Good Behavior, Bad Behavior, and On Best Behavior. 

Ultimately, whether writing or reading, Jen loves stories that make her laugh and cry. In her spare time she enjoys exercising, attending book club, and visiting her sisters in Chicago and Hilton Head.