I’ve been texting the wife I lost, the woman I loved beyond measure . . . Now someone else has answered back.
Gunnar Bond is broken.
Three years ago, he lived through the car crash that took his wife and twins away from him—though “lived” barely describes his current state. Giving up professional hockey, going off grid, and drinking himself into oblivion are his coping mechanisms. Another is … oblivion are his coping mechanisms. Another is texting his dead wife about his days without her. Therapeutic? Doubtful. Crazy? Definitely. But those messages into the ether are virtually the only thing stopping him from spiraling to even darker places.
Until someone texts back …
Sadie Yates is losing it.
Suddenly guardian to a little sister she doesn’t know and a misbehaving hound she’d rather not know at all, she’s had to upend her (sort of) glamorous life in LA and move back to Chicago. The nanny has quit, the money’s running out, and her job is on the line. The last thing she needs is her sister’s hockey camp counselor, a judgmental Viking type, telling her she sucks at this parenting lark. Thank the goddess for her sweet, sensitive, and—fingers crossed—sexy text buddy who always knows the right thing to say. In the same city at last, they can finally see if their online chemistry is mirrored in real life. She just needs to set up a meeting …
A ruined man who claims to have used up all his love is surely a bad bet, but Sadie’s never been afraid of a challenge … even if this one might shatter her heart into a million pieces.
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Kate Meader continues to prove why she is on of the best in the romance genre with MAN DOWN. The premise alone—a widower texting his dead wife’s phone only to have a woman reply one day—is amazing. But the story progresses to be one of the most emotional, heart-tugging, charming, funniest and loveliest books l’ve read all year. With a grieving, gruff yet kind hero and a strong heroine with an indomitable spirit, MAN DOWN is a beautiful story of loss, family, healing, and love. So much love. This is permanently on my Keeper Shelf!
Amazing book. Made me buy every book in the series. Even the prequel series.
Kate Meader always manages to evoke all the emotions with her powerful writing & intricate characters. You can’t go wrong with any of her books.
An emotional roller coaster ride to go on. Gunner is drowning in grief but a chance meeting or shall I say text with Sadie turns his world upside down. I adored this book.
I am really loving Kate Meader lately. This book was so emotional, but I also laughed out loud at times as well. Gunnar was so broken and withdrawn. He just wanted to live inside his head. He continues to text his wife (who died three years ago), and one day, she answers. Well, she doesn’t but the girl that got her phone number does. Sadie is a bit of a trainwreck right now, but the two of them form a friendship and it’s bringing Gunnar out of his shell. He has something to look forward to, a light to his darkness. He isn’t looking to replace his wife and the family he lost, but there is something about this woman.
One day their worlds collide and they meet in person, not knowing the other is the one they have been talking to for months. Instantly they butt heads so you know sparks will fly. Eventually they discover who the other is, and they try to make a go of friends with benefits because Gunnar just isn’t ready for more. The thing about boundaries is that you have to actually not cross them. Will Gunnar let himself grieve his loss and move on or will he just continue living in the past? I really enjoyed their story and the growth of character.
Three years ago Gunnar Bond lost his wife and twins in a car accident. He gave up hockey, went off grid and hid from the world. He spent the next three years coping by texting his dead wife about his day and how he felt. Then Sadie Yates texted back and their friendship began.
This book was so emotional and captivating that I couldn’t put it down. I suggest being prepared with tissues because you might need them. Gunnar has barely been living since the death of his family but his text conversations with Sadie makes him reassess. While unintentional, her being there and supporting him even though he was a stranger was enough for him to push him out of his grief a little. He started to live again. I really enjoyed the emotional connection these two had before they even met or knew their names. This book really does a great job at showing the stages of grief and how people cope differently with them.
Sadie just wants to be a fashion designer but she has pushed it aside thinking she doesn’t have a good portfolio. In the meantime she works a job she hates and is now the custodial figure of her teenage sister after her father is incarcerated. Both Sadie and Gunnar are struggling with all the changes in their lives and being attracted to each other doesn’t help. I really liked how hard working Sadie was, even with a job she hated.
Gunnar and Sadie’s relationship was emotional and heartbreaking, and just everything I didn’t know I wanted. They both realize they are not in the right headspace for a stable relationship but they don’t want to lose each other. I really like how it was important for them both to stabilize their life before committing to each other, which is how it should be.
Overall, this was an amazing hockey romance that made me teary a few times. Meader does an amazing job at mixing romance, emotions, and sports. I highly recommend her books if you are looking for some amazing hockey romances.
Y’all, Kate Meader has outdone herself with this book! Get ready to sigh, swoon, fan yourself, and cry ALL the happy tears. Man Down will take you on the very best kind of emotional roller coaster ride!
Gunnar and Sadie’s story is just wow.
This was such a good book…tender…emotional…hard dealing with PTSD brought on by an accident where his lost his wife and children. Felt his pain.
Loved it and the series!
A second chance for love. This is a lovely romance with lots of charm.
Great story premise… loved how it played out.
Wonderful
heroine was wishy washy and leather little sister run over her. She acted like she was a 12 year old. I liked the hero and what he was trying to overcome, but the heroine just frustrated me. DNF
5 star review Man Down (Rookie Rebels #3) by Kate Meader
Hard to believe but Kate Meader is a new author to me. Narrator Ramona Master is new to me too and she did a good job although I felt her male voices were distracting but that is just my opinion.
This story had me laughing and crying and I felt as though I was on an emotional roller coaster.
Loved the story so much that I went and purchased the rest of the series, now I just need time to listen to them.
A fabulous addition to this series. There was heat, swooning, tenderness, guilt to overcome, healing, heart break, laughter, and jaw dropping sexiness – so many feels, but is was an amazing ride. Both Gunnar and Sadie’s strength was inspiring to witness.
An emotional journey for both but well worth the read.
Gunnar needs Sadie!
Man Down is a heartbreaking story when Gunnar Bond loses his family in a car accident and takes a leave of absence from hockey. He texts his wife’s cell phone number about his day trying to deal with his loss until someone replies back.
Sadie Yates answered the message and struck up a conversation with the stranger dealing with the lose of his family but never knew who the stranger was until she had custody of her half-sister while their father was in prison.
Man Down is emotional with Gunnar finding someone who understands him before actually meeting in person and going from a friends with benefits and falling in love.
P.S. I will read anything Kate Meader writes because she writes a really good story that you will enjoy!
This is an emotional rollercoaster, but it is so so good!. Kate Meader takes us on a journey of bottomless grief, burgeoning hope and elegantly weaves us through how love can blossom unexpectedly. What happens when you have everything and then your world is shattered? What does it take to create a new life, when life has knocked you down? This is a beautiful story of grief, acceptance, taking a chance when life throws you off your course. This book is so alive it’s like living the story. Love it!
3 stars. Man Down is the 3rd book in the Rookie Rebels series. I liked this book in parts, but I didn’t completely love it. This book is Gunnar and Sadie’s story. Gunnar is a pro hockey player on the Chicago Rebels with a tragic past. His wife and two young children were killed in a car accident. He is now a shell of a man, just trying to make his way through the grief. After his losses, he still regularly texted his dead wife’s phone number his daily thoughts and how much he missed her. One day, someone texts back. Sadie gets a new phone number and it is the one that used to belong to Gunnar’s wife. She lets him know it is her number now, but she is sympathetic and they start texting back and forth. They can tell each other their thoughts without consequence or judgement and develop a sort of anonymous friendship. But after many months of texting and a few missed chances to meet up, they finally come face to face in a surprising way. When sparks fly between them and feelings get involved, will Gunnar be ready to move on and find new love with Sadie?
This was a good story and I enjoyed the way the couple met. But this trope is very tricky for me. It has to be written very carefully in a way to make me not feel like the new love is lesser than the old love. I just didn’t quite feel that way with this one. I held out hope that Gunnar would come to love Sadie as strongly as his dead wife, but I never really felt like he moved on completely. I felt bad for Sadie. But she let him and others walk all over her. She was too patient and understanding. I wanted at least an epilogue that focused just on Sadie and Gunnar and them looking to the future together, but we don’t even get that. I wanted Sadie to have someone that loved her as more than just a consolation prize. I liked Gunnar as person, but I never felt like he more than liked Sadie and felt like he was settling for her and taking advantage of her love for him. Sadie’s self-esteem issues made it even worse. She deserved someone who worked for her love, but she made it way too easy on Gunnar. The story had potential though. It would have been a good meet cute for a man who was really ready to move on to a new love. But Gunnar was a mess and it took the entire book for him to even be ready to take the first step to moving on. I just didn’t feel like he truly loved and appreciated Sadie the way that she did him and the way that she deserved.
Overall, I did enjoy parts of the book. It just never quite got where I wanted it to by the end. Still, I did enjoy the writing and the story, as well as catching up with other characters from the series. I still enjoy this series and look forward to more from Ms. Meader in the future.