Winter Stevens has been caring for her best friend Mallory's newborn daughter, Avery, ever since Mallory died of an aggressive form of breast cancer shortly after giving birth. She hopes to adopt her, but Avery's biological father, former hockey player Harry Stone, must first agree to terminate his parental rights. Unfortunately for Winter, Harry has no intention of giving up his daughter; he didn't know that Mallory was pregnant, and even though he didn't plan for it to happen quite like this, he's always wanted kids. Forced to surrender the little girl she's already come to think of as her own, Winter must figure out a new plan for her life, which is especially complicated given that she's completely broke and has just been evicted from her apartment. When Harry realizes that it won't be as easy as he thought to raise a baby on his own, he reaches out to Winter for help, and they come to an agreement: Winter will move in with Harry and help him care for Avery, but under no circumstances will there be any sort of personal relationship between the two of them. After all, she hates him for abandoning her best friend and leaving her to go through pregnancy and a cancer diagnosis alone. However, the more time they spend together, the more Winter realizes that Harry isn't the man she thought he was. Could he actually be the perfect man for her?
This book truly gave me all the feels. It was heart-wrenching when Winter had to hand Avery
over to Harry because she already loved her and thought of her as her own daughter. At
the same time, Harry's cocky self-assurance that caring for a newborn would be easy made me laugh. I really liked the way the author used Harry's attitude to lighten the mood in that part of the story. I also liked that he fell in
love with his baby girl from the moment he knew she was his. He didn't take custody of her just because it
was the right thing to do, but rather because he genuinely couldn't imagine not having her
in his life. His feelings for Winter grew at a more measured pace, but sparks flew from the moment they met. Their relationship was complicated for a lot of reasons, but I loved Harry's unexpected sweetness and how patient he was with Winter as she worked through her feelings of guilt about getting involved with him.
There was so much emotion (and a fair bit of laughter) packed into this relatively short story, and I adored it. I highly recommend "Pompous Player" for all contemporary romance fans. It was the first book I've read by this author but won't
be the last.
*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Give Me Books Promotions. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Pompous Player"
I hate Harry Stone.
Before I’d even met the selfish former pro hockey player turned CEO, he was at the top of my shit list.
The entire city of Chicago thinks he’s God’s gift to humanity, but I know the truth.
He knocked up my best friend and then ditched her when she needed him most.
She got sick after that, and before she passed away, she chose me to raise her newborn daughter.
I just need Harry to sign away his rights to the little girl who means everything to me.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.
To stay in his daughter’s life, I end up moving in with the man I detest. Loathe. Despise.
Hating Harry Stone is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
But slowly discovering a way to not hate him?
Now that, I didn’t see coming.
Pompous Player is a secret baby/enemies to lovers/sports romance inspired by Cocky Bastard.
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