Goalie[goh-lee]nouna player in the goal whose duty is to prevent the ball from entering or crossing itSee Santos and Mariana DeGuajaradoAs goalie of the Texas Mutiny, Santos is damn good at protecting that net. But he never bothered to protect his marriage. Letting the fame and notoriety go to his head, he lost the things he loved the most… his wife and kids. Now he has one shot to make it … most… his wife and kids. Now he has one shot to make it right before losing at this relationship game and he’s determined not to miss this time.
Mariana has been scarred so deeply by Santos’s betrayals, she will carry the wounds forever. After almost ten years of marriage though, she knows him well, and she knows he won’t let go without a fight. Still, she refuses to be a push over.
Because love is never enough…
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As a rule, I don’t like books with cheating. Period. So, going into this, I knew I’d have problems with it, just because of the content. I almost talked myself out of reading it just because of that. Setting that aside for a minute, it was a well written book, and as much as I hate to say it, more realistic than many sports romance novels, because of the cheating. As much as I love insta-love, and HEA, they aren’t realistic. Especially in a setting where the Hero or Heroine is in a high profile job, such as a sports figure. I seriously doubt that someone goes from having sex with anything that walks to monogamy overnight. I loved the way the heroine stood up for herself, kept telling herself that she deserved better, and how she made the Hero meet her expectations of a relationship because of that. I love how she was able to respect herself and do what was right for herself and her children, despite the fact that she loved the Hero with everything that she was. I love the fact that they did not rush into being together, but instead took the time to make sure what they were doing was right for everyone involved. It was great to see them overcoming so many obstacles, and come out on the other side stronger as a couple. I also liked the fact that despite the fact that there was a physiological reason for the Hero’s cheating, he did not use that as an excuse for his behavior, instead owning up to his mistakes and trying to correct them. All in all, it was a great read, despite my reservations about the content.
It’s a touchy subject for so many readers but kudos to M.E. Carter for handling it so realistically. In relationships things are often not black and white. If you can just get over the infidelity you’d see the growth that both these characters went through. I definitely recommend this book!!!
GOALIE is a story that I would classify as a ‘slice of life’ rather than a romance book. The slice of life focuses on what would be a painful time in any relationship; the exposing of infidelity and the break-up of a marriage.
I don’t actively seek books where cheating features but I am not opposed to reading them – in fact, one of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors, in my mind, incorporates the topic successfully.
Though the author’s writing style is readable, I struggled with this book because I did not believe in the characters or their journey. The overall theme of you can overcome anything as long as you are prepared to put in the work rang false with Santos and Mariana and I was never invested in them as a couple.
Santos is a man I never warmed to. I never bought in to the reasons for his cheating behaviour and I never bought in to his actions after his infidelities were brought out into the open. There are several instances where he plays the blame game and feels sorry for himself. Frankly, I felt contempt for him and my opinion did not change much as the story progressed.
Mariana was also a tough character for me to like. Her devastation at Santos’ actions was palpable but I always felt she would end up bending for him just to ensure he remained in her life. I had hoped that as a divorced woman she would find something in her life that was exclusively about her but apart from a minor makeover, there was nothing. Yes, there was the interest in photography but it felt like a hobby she was given by the author to make her interesting. She never grew as a person. She was vapid. Her life at the end of the book differed little from her life at the start.
I felt the book spent too much time telling and not showing. Readers are expected to believe that this was a happy marriage but early on we learn that Santos’ cheating began before their marriage. Readers never get to experience the good times, the fun times, the times that helped in consolidating this albeit flawed relationship.
A lot of time is also spent with therapists where issues are addressed in a clinical manner but we rarely see the result of Santos and Mariana trying to live these out. Where are the conversations? Where are the discussions? Where is the dialogue? They state they place each other on pedestals but they never discussed with each other how this made them feel. Santos admits he is wary of treating Mariana as the proverbial whore in the bedroom, but their sex life is rarely acknowledged. Instead, I felt by placing a label on Santos’ actions, it gave them legitimacy and I – like Mariana – was expected to accept them and just move on.
I have read other M. E. Carter’s books that I have enjoyed, and I will continue to read her work, but GOALIE did not work for me.
I really hated Santo because of the cheating he did in the 2 other books in this series. Seeing him knocked down a peg, seeing him work on his issues and Mari working on her self filled my heart. It wasn’t an easy book, but the thing I love about it is the fact that Mari wasn’t a doormat. She didn’t just take him back and forgive him. He had to work hard to overcome what he did. The author really did an amazing job with a subject that so many readers hate. I personally love seeing couples overcome cheating. (I personally feel like trust can be learned again) I know they also get a novella after this as a look for what happens after the end of Goalie, and I plan to dive right into it. 4 stars #2OCCJD