“Hard pass.”
That’s what the last girl I slept with said when she got her first sober glimpse of me. She laughed, walked out of my penthouse—and I never saw her again. It doesn’t matter that I’m a rich, professional athlete; what mattered was my face.
Beauty might only be skin deep for some—but I know better.
“Pay up.”
That’s what the last girl I spoke to said over the phone when I made her … over the phone when I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Desperate to sell a set of rare baseball cards, she’s clever and entertaining. I’m instantly smitten, but nowhere ready to reveal myself. Thank god she has no idea who I am—or what I look like.
I’m a professional athlete–how hard can playing the love game be?
more
YES YES YES YES PLEASE. I want more books like this.
Give me a self conscious hero over an alpha male any day.
I fell in love with Noah from the beginning. He is kind of a contradiction… Soft and gooey on the inside but a bit hard on the outside. Not your typical jock and Sara excels at writing those kinds of guys. It brought me back to reading about Rhett in The Learning Hours.
There was fun banter and text messages, a bunch of angst and some really sexy scenes.
The story line was unique and a fun twist on a typical baseball romance.
Hard Pass was a humorous and unique sports romance. I was enjoying myself from the very first chapter itself. Sara Ney knows how to write hilarious (text and in-person) exchanges between characters.
Noah Harding was simply put a giant of a sweetheart. He’s shy, kind, extremely skilled and a great guy who’s been burned one too many times because of his appearance. His confidence had taken a big hit and I just wanted to cuddle him. I found him so loveable that I was getting protective of him.
Miranda Pressinger was a badass, ambitious graduate who wants to start her own business. She is sassy and doesn’t give a crap what anyone thinks. She is a pure soul who saw Noah for the cute, amazing man that he is. Beauty really is in the eyes of the beholder.
I loved the slow burn romance simmering between Noah and Miranda. They had a connection from the start when they were just texting and there was no denying that they had hot chemistry when they met in person.
Their interactions were a bit awkward -which I loved because it was realistic given their age and lack of experience – and whole lot of cute. I loved how the drama was not dragged out. And I can’t not mention Claire- Miranda’s best friend who had her back and was not afraid to kick her in the ass when she needed it as well as Buzz Wallace- Noah’s teammate and “self-proclaimed” best friend. I was not expecting to love Buzz as much as I did by the end. He had me cracking and then falling for his match-making ways. I am so excited for his story in Fall Hard.
I truly love Sara’s sports romances. They are always such a great enjoyable read. This one was no different. I thought oh I’ll read a few chapters before bed now it’s 3am & I’m done, wishing there was more.
Sara’s characters are always so relatable which is something I love about her writing. I felt so bad for Noah throughout this book, sometimes people can be truly terrible. It’s not all money & awesomeness for famous people, they are constantly judged by everybody, I know i could & would never want to be famous.
Miranda was awesome. Determined, ambitious & strong. I love her & Noah together, they were so cute. Had me giggling like crazy from beginning to end.
Buzz, oof I wasn’t sure I liked him at first but man he grew on me & now I hope he gets a book because I can’t wait to read it!
I received an arc of this book in return for an honest review.
Rating:
A different kind of sports romance!
I thought the couple in this book were super cute. This book was extremely humorous, but there were a few things I didn’t like about it. The Hero is a baseball star with an $80 million dollar contract, but he has some serious self esteem issues. He had a girl that he was with sort of laugh at him and say the words “Hard. Pass.” as she was leaving his bedroom when he asked if he would be seeing her again.
I have always said when reading any romance where the heroine is a “curvy girl” that if the book, or especially the heroine herself dwells too much on the fact that she is overweight that it lessens the likability of the book. I think a writer can convey the low self esteem without bringing up the topic too much. Like the fact that this Hero (Noah) thinks he is far from handsome. It wasn’t his low self esteem that was at issue, it was that it was just brought up too much in derogatory ways. Like having him referred to as a brown bagger.
The heroine (Miranda) was very attracted to him and he to her which I liked. So I guess I took the negative references to mean that he just took bad pictures. Because really when you think of it, there are a lot of famous and high paid athletes that don’t look like models, but really nobody says anything about their looks in the press except possible haters in comments and people jealous that they aren’t making a ton of money playing sports.
Anyway, I really liked the story about this shy, but extremely famous guy who tries to stay out of the public eye as much as possible. Noah does that so much that when he brokers a deal to buy a rare baseball card from Miranda, he has his best friend Buzz go pick it up for him. Buzz is also on Noah’s baseball team and is the one that loves the press and the women and has the looks to prove it. Though Buzz is sort of a Neanderthal, an in doing so offends Miranda and she thinks he is Noah, so refuses to sell him any more of her Grandfather’s collection.
I won’t go further into the plot because it is not a long book but to say that despite my issues with whether he is ugly or not, I really enjoyed this book. I liked that Noah is a really big guy and Miranda is a small woman. I like that dynamic, and their romance was terrific. Also despite being a shy guy, he is also rich and famous so it wasn’t like he hadn’t been with women in the past. Because I really don’t enjoy reading about guys who are virgins. It is a bit too weird for me unless they are under sixteen.
The romance was also very hot and steamy, which I liked (heat level: ). It was also super funny (). The supporting characters were terrific, especially Buzz as the best friend. I hope the next book is about him. I would like to see him stay with a woman. He is currently the type that is never photographed with the same woman more than once. Miranda’s friend claire is also very funny.
“I thought you said you felt a tingle in your lady business on Saturday after you talked to him.”
“Claire!” I pointedly shift my eyes toward the back of the driver’s head. Though Claire can’t see him, she knows I’m in an Uber and knows he can hear everything she’s saying.
“Could you not?”
“You know I’m right. You had a party in your pants and you wanted to invite him.”
4.2 stars overall. This book was cute and very funny and I really liked the originality and the story.
I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
This is my first Sara Ney book but oh my goodness I loved it!!! I felt every emotion and fear both Randi and Noah went through, I ached through their pain and laughed out loud with their joy! These characters are so loveable, so real, and such a riot, I’m already counting down the days until we get book 2! 5 star, utter home run! Loved it!
3.5 stars
I loved that the Hero was shy and had low self esteem. He wasn’t the usual overly cocky, manwhore jock. Thank you Sara for writing something different. It’s refreshing.
My only issue is that it felt rushed. It was a pretty short read. They don’t even exchange
“ I love you’s “ until the epilogue.
Sara Ney is always a one-click author for me. Her books are always entertaining and she’s not big on drama (which I hate) or breaking her couples up for the sake of conflict.
I love Sara Ney but this one didn’t pack quite as big a punch as her Douchebag series. However, I still really enjoyed Hard Pass. We have a shy, sensitive hero and a spunky, take no prisoners heroine and they’re fiery together. Funny and cute with just enough spice. Great first book in the series!
A sweet novella.
Miranda aka Randi wants to start her own business fresh out of college and with no capital to do so she is selling her grandfather’s prized baseball cards. When she is contacted by Noah to purchase the card they start a fun banter but the guy who picks up the card does not act like the same person. He is rude and crass. Despite their awkward in person meeting they continue a fun texting banter about possibly selling/purchasing more cards. Although Noah is drawn to Miranda he is terrified to meet her in person because he is insecure due to previous experiences with women. So when the do finally meet he is super awkward and weird around her but she doesn’t give up on him.
So . . . I enjoyed the book, it was cute and somewhat sweet but I felt like I didn’t know who the characters were. I didn’t get the sense of a real back story for either character. Noah had all these insecurities but they were only hinted at with a paragraph or one sentence. I would have loved to learn more about that. And I felt that there was no real development of their relationship. They had one date, the conflict hit the next morning, they made up and then the story ended. It was a bit of a let down after all the build up, awkwardness and hilarity that got them together. Like I said it was fun and cute and I did enjoy it despite my issues. I am looking forward to the next book.
Nice to finally see a character with my name that isn’t evil. That definitely started this book off right with me.
Later, the characters just seemed to get weird on me. Noah is the nice guy that finished last so I was rooting for him and has his insecurities for sure. I can get past the high/low he goes through. However, when Miranda and Noah are together, they are extremely awkward. Both very inexperienced in dating and I think that may be why they were so different.
If you like a weird relationship and okay with hearing others reference to the characters as ugly, this book is for you.
If you don’t? May want to give this one a Hard Pass.
Many like this book but I wasn’t a big fan overall. It kept my attention throughout and I have enjoyed past books by this author, but I just don’t know what to think of this one. These two are definitely made for each other, they just aren’t made for me.
Hard Pass kind of shocked me—adorable and heartwarming, this romance is filled with belly-aching humour, fantastic chemistry and characters outside normative romance characterisation. Sara Ney delivered a memorable collection of characters with interesting quirks and plausible adorableness; the overall cuteness and uncommon nature of this romance is an irresistible combination that will entice readers for certain.
Noah Harding embodies the atypical romance hero we’re unaccustomed to receiving. Kind and shy, Noah isn’t just humble, but sensitive and realistic and filled with self-doubt that isn’t common in heroes. Sometimes the inserted naturalism of self-esteem worries resonates with readers because we’ve all been there; because it’s uncommon to read about heroes who are not affluent, rife with success and described as classically or traditionally handsome. Who wouldn’t become enamoured?
“There’s nothing wrong with being a nice guy! Why do guys hate that so much?”
“Because, Miranda, nice guys usually only finish first in the movies. They are not the trophy boyfriends every girl wants.”
However, my issues with Hard Pass stemmed from Noah. Part of my heart aches for him because the criticism and mistreatment he receives is horrible; no one has the authority to make judgements on another’s appearance and no one should feel less because of said unwarranted comments. It doesn’t excuse his decisions that he allowed to be dictated by disheartened emotions, or be overrun by dejected thoughts though, because what he does is frankly shit behaviour no matter what excuse is used.
One, Noah catfished Miranda, using his friend Wallace to collect baseball cards Miranda advertised to kickstart a business we don’t know a thing about (something we’ll never know about at this rate truthfully). Wallace is cute, I’m sure, but his abilities to converse with others is so lacking, it made me wonder if he actually knew how real life conversations work. What baffled me is when Miranda eventually discovers Noah’s identity, she doesn’t appear to give a fuck whatsoever; instead she’s interested in dating Noah (what?). More on this later.
Two, Noah bailed when shit became too difficult to deal with. Someone photographed Noah on some cute date with Miranda and the next day the tabloids – surprise, surprise – write an insensitive, scathing article. Rather than understand that some human beings are garbage and that you have to ignore them; or contact Miranda to ensure she’s fine with everything happening, Noah ghosts. I understand that criticism isn’t easy to deal with, but if your first response is to bail when shit hits the fan, then don’t have a girlfriend.
I believe, in my honest opinion, Miranda’s lax reactions are because the reading length of Hard Pass is so damn short, there’s no allowance for her emotions to be explored or expanded on. Miranda would’ve been furious, or at least miffed, because let’s be honest here: no one enjoys being catfished or ghosted whatsoever. From my view, it made this romance unbelievable because everything felt rushed and despite the chemistry being fantastic, it didn’t reach its entire potentiality.
Should Hard Pass have been less focused on Noah and his rooted self-esteem issues, but instead showcased a transformation of some kind, this would have been better. Putting aside my issues though, Hard Pass is an overall decent romance worth reading if wanting something with short, swift entertainment, leaning towards cute, fluffy encounters that don’t guarantee much seriousness. Noah and Miranda have an adorable connection; it’s too bad this wasn’t developed further.
Love Sara Ney books. This one is a good read. It shows that not all professional jocks are jerks. Some are actually insecure, hate the spotlight and are sensitive when people say hateful things.
The male lead has a little self esteem issues which i could probably relate to if i were scrutinized by complete strangers. I would want to hide in my shell too. Thankfully he has that annoying but fun best friend who is his opposite and team who all want the best for him and try to push him out of his shell so he can be happy.
The female lead is fun and sassy and sees the guy for who he is before knowing what he does. Regardless, when she finds out she is still attracted to him even though he ghosts her when his insecurities get the best of him.
Thankful for the annoying best friend who meddles to bring these 2 back together.
If you are a fan of Sara Ney I’m sure you’ll love this book.
This was my first book by author Sara Ney and I enjoyed Noah & Miranda’s story. I liked that Noah was not your typical jock and that he was somewhat shy, nice and sensitive. I really enjoyed the witty banter and dialogue and scenes with Buzz had me laughing. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Sweetest book ever! Once I was reading it, I couldn’t stop. Hard Pass is the perfect book if you are looking for an imperfect hero, a very sweet love story, but with quite a bit of steam too.
Sara Ney is one of my favourite romance authors and for me the best sports romance one. I was so excited that she was releasing a new sports series and I was not disappointed. She uses the same style as in her other books, sweet characters, amazing sense of humour and low drama (my FAVOURITE). I always judge how good a book is by how ashamed I am of the highlights I made on my kindle… and I am very very ashamed! Buzz, one of Noah’s teammate, adds the perfect dirty jokes to the book and makes it more than a sweet love story.
Novels with imperfect and shy heroes are always my most-liked stories. Sara has already a couple of them in her previous series (Rhett Rabideaux *swoon*) but Noah is quite different from what we’ve already seen. He is very sensitive and shy, he doesn’t have a lot of confidence, even less around women, and has lived quite a handful of bad experiences. He is not the typical jock and that’s what I loved the most about him.
I didn’t give Hard Pass five stars because this book is way too short. With only 200 pages, I feel like we don’t know much about Noah and Miranda, I’d have loved to know more about their pasts or just to have more scenes of the two of them together. This book is also not as focused on the sport aspect as in her other series, but it is still quite a main subject in the book. I feel like it’s such a shame because I adored Noah and Hard Pass could have easily become one of my favourite Sara Ney books. I would love to get at least a novella about them, because they were truly the sweetest.
So, if you are looking for a quick read, very swoon-worthy, but also funny, go check out Hard Pass by Sara Ney.
I read this book in a matter of hours, it was such an easy read. That doesn’t meant the storyline want good because it was. I found the idea that the $80million baseball player has confidence issues and low self esteem. He wasn’t interested in all the groupies, he just wanted to play ball. Having met Miranda which I won’t explain so as not to spoil anything, I loved the banter they had. I also loved Noahs best friend Buzz, he was hilarious and totally inappropriate. If anything can be learnt from reading this book, it’s to always be kind and never judge people by how they look but rather what’s on the inside. I felt it had an important message which was relayed well.
A great change of pace in a sports romance. The hero isn’t cocky and so sure of himself, he is actually quite sensitive and I enjoyed it! He loves to play ball, but hates all the sideshow antics that comes with it. Another thing he loves, collecting baseball memorabilia so when he sees a classic players card for sale, he jumps in it. Miranda needs the cash to set up her business but what she wasn’t expecting was how much up in her business Noah could get. What I loved was that each character emphasized that beauty can be skin deep and a decent person will look for the whole package not just a pretty face. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder right, so what some troll online thinks is ugly doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Jealousy’s a curse and all. This is a real quick but fun read and I felt we only just got to know Noah and Miranda before it was over so I am hoping that we see more of them in the next two books.
Sara Ney is the master of characters! Hard Pass is centered around the art of selling baseball cards, but instead of money, there just might be hearts involved. I loved every page and never wanted this story to end! I’ll never be able to look at baseball cards the same way again, and I couldn’t be more grateful! This was such a feel-good romance with plenty of laughter and witty banter, you won’t be able to put it down once you start reading.
This was another purchase during the whole Quarantine thing. Somehow I missed out on an early read on this one as well. In fact I never even saw a sign up! Believe me, I hopefully have made sure to be keeping up with all possible future books, and am signed up to review the second one in this series when it comes out. But in order to do that, I wanted to read this one first. And I’m glad I did. One thing I love about Sara Ney’s leading men is that sometimes they aren’t the perfect model image guys that you expect. So often we have the leading lady who is a bit chubby or doesn’t have the best self-esteem, and that is me, so I get that. But to have a guy who often people might describe as a “hard pass”, well that is not always the way things are, and I’m okay with it the way Ney does it. In a way I wondered if this was going to be a bit of a Cyrano de Bergerac story, but it didn’t quite go that way. But there was so much realistic stuff in this one that I sped through it as well. For instance, is it so much to just want to have a conversation with someone on a dating app or texting, and not feel like you’re pulling teeth? To me that shows there is no connection. If there was, I feel like the conversation would flow. In the end I loved how the story went, and now, I am soooooooo excited for Buzz’s story. He cracked me up, and as I mentioned on another review in this post, I love the funny guys!
This book is exactly why I love Sara Ney so much!
The biggest smile was on my face while reading it (when I wasn’t too busy laughing) and most of all I loved how I felt I could mostly relate to these characters. They feel like real people with their insecurities and the way they deal with their issues.
All I can say is, where do I sign up for all that sweetness, Noah??
I am definitely going to reread this before the next book in the series is out…
Such a amazing book. Love anything written by Sara ney