Book review: DIRTY FLIRT, by Mira Lyn Kelly

Slayers Hockey #10

Ben & Lara

I had a bit of trouble connecting to this story and liking the characters.  Ben and Lara are childhood friends who had a moment of more during senior year in high school, but then went their separate ways, and there was no contact for all of eight years.  Then Lara moves to Chicago for work, on her way to a promotion in New York City. She needed a place to stay, and Ben’s sister offered Ben’s apartment.  I felt like a lot of their history was missing from the narrative, but forged on, expecting to learn more as the book evolved. That didn’t happen, so I couldn’t empathize with Lara’s drive for financial stability.  There’s also a medical issue with Ben, which is mentioned several times, but again, not much information.

All I had to go on is that Ben and Lara were best friends, they had sex in senior year, and agreed to part ways because they had different life goals. But why no contact in eight years? Why break a friendship that meant so much to both? Once together, the friendship flourished again, after some days of awkwardness, and yet, the author doesn’t include a heartfelt conversation where they disclose what happened and why. I love that Ben loved and accepted and was happy to have his friend back. I gathered he suffered from the usual stigma of ADHD children, that “he’s too much”, and Lara is one of the few friends who really understood him.  

The book is supposed to be a standalone in an interconnected series, but too much information is missing to make it a complete standalone. This diminished my enjoyment of the series. Also, the missing clarification of the eight years of silence between the characters. 

Ben is such a cute character, flirty, good times player, keeps a fun façade, great teammate. He partakes a lot of the puck bunnies buffet, to prevent serious relations. I felt all this was a defensive front given his impulsivity and the hurt caused by Lara’s abandonment. He’s quick to forgive, generous and loving. Witness the little whirlwind dog he adopted, Zamboni. Lara remained more unknown. She has a troubled relation with her father, not much information given here, very driven at her work. What redeems her in my opinion, is the acceptance and validation she gives Ben in his decisions and choices. 

I read this author’s Back to You series and loved it, and expected more of the same.  Although the writing is just as good, the structure was not because of the missing information.  Don’t say a book is a standalone if I need to read previous books to get the details! Even so, great writing, loved Ben, and it was entertaining.

Purchase links

Buy Direct: https://www.miralynkelly.com

All other retailers:

Universal: https://geni.us/dirtyflirt

Amazon: https://geni.us/DF_AZ

Apple: https://geni.us/DF_AB

Nook: https://geni.us/DF_BN

Kobo: https://geni.us/DF_KB

GP: https://geni.us/DF_GP

About the author 

Hard core romantic, stress baker, and housekeeper non-extraordinaire, Mira Lyn Kelly is a USA TODAY bestselling author with over a million readers worldwide. She writes sizzly love stories with hot, possessive heroes who know how to laugh, heroines who give as good as they get, friends as close as family, and happily ever afters up-against-the-wall style! Growing up in the Chicago area, she earned her degree in Fine Arts from Loyola University and met the love of her life while studying abroad in Rome, Italy… only to discover he’d been living right around the corner from her back home. Mira now lives in Minnesota with her husband, four amazing children and two ridiculous dogs. When she isn’t reading, writing, or indulging her weakness for hard cut abs, she can be found running the kids around, watching the Chicago Blackhawks, and cooking with her family and friends.

www.miralynkelly.com

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