Book: Savage Titan by E.V. Olsen
Reviewed by Anonymous
Rating: 3/5
🏒 Kicking and Screaming... Then Wishing for Just a Little More
This one was a bit of a roller coaster for me.
The opening had me worried. It leaned heavily on telling instead of showing, and I wasn't a fan of how often the characters described themselves or each other rather than letting those traits unfold naturally. It took me a while to settle into the story.
But then Eli and Alexei started spending real time together.
That's when this book completely came alive.
Their chemistry is fantastic. Eli is relentless, determined, a little bitchy, and impossible not to love. Watching Alexei slowly give in to his feelings was incredibly satisfying, and the push and pull between them had me absolutely kicking and screaming. Their banter is sharp, their emotional connection feels genuine, and I loved how they balanced one another. The sweetness underneath the heat was easily my favorite part of the book.
I also appreciated that this is actually a hockey romance with hockey in it. The sport feels like part of the characters' lives instead of just serving as a backdrop.
One thing I really enjoyed was seeing traits that were introduced early finally emerge through the characters' actions. Once the story stopped telling me who they were and let me experience them through their relationship, I became much more invested.
Where it lost me a little was the ending. After such a strong middle, the momentum started to plateau. Some of the interactions felt a bit more contrived than the effortless chemistry that had hooked me earlier, and I found myself wishing the relationship had been given a little more room to breathe. I wanted to linger with these two instead of rushing toward the finish.
Overall, I really enjoyed Eli and Alexei, and they carried this book for me. While I wasn't immediately reaching for the next book in the series, I'm glad I stuck with this one because the middle delivered some genuinely memorable romance moments.