I was very excited to read this book as I have already read the two previous book in this series. I enjoy Sariah Wilson's books and #Awestruck was no exception. I liked the main characters, Ashton and Evan, better than the characters in the second book in this series .These characters seemed to be a little bit more adult or mature, so that made it enjoyable to read. I particularly liked Evan. He is the ideal guy and seems to be perfect in every way. Also, he was genuine. A lot of Wilson's female characters can be very snarky and sarcastic and Ashton didn't have quite as much of that in this book. I don't mind snark and sarcasm, but too much makes them unreachable or hard to relate to- puts up emotional barriers that are hard to get through and take down.

There really wasn't a lot that I didn't like in this book. There were a few things in the plot or story that I didn't understand or get, but it was an overall realistic and plausible story. The characters knew each other when they were younger so they already had some background to their story. It was nice to see a male character as the one that was waiting for marriage, as it is usually written the other way around, but I don't know if his reason for waiting was ever made super clear. He made a promise but I don't know that it was ever discussed a lot. I don't get into PC stuff a lot, but I could see trouble if the story was written the other way around- with men doing everything they could to prove a female wasn't a virgin.
I also didn't understand how Ashton could be traumatized from her bullying, go through therapy and hold a lifelong grudge strong enough to want to ruin Evan's career but then be ok going to a reunion with a room full of people that reminded her of the very past she hated. That didn't seem realistic but didn't really take away from the story. Also, I thought that the hurt feelings at the ending were a little excessive- given that Ashton had made strides to try and tell the truth, even thought it didn't all come out when and how she wanted it to. Thought it should have counted for something and Evan was lying at the same time about their relationship. They each had their reasons for lying but somehow it was made to be that her reasons were worse. He didn't take into account that the initial goal she had was before she even met him again and had obviously changed. But I understand that trust is a biggie in a relationship and any seed of doubt can play with your minds and make you question everything. Taking a step back to re-evaluate wasn't unrealistic.
Even though Evan is a football player, sports didn't overtake the book and it was easily understood even if you don't have a sports background. I wouldn't characterize it as a "sports book". Also, the team themed things in the book were cleverly done. Overall I really liked this book and would read it again and definitely recommend it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story; in fact, I'd say that it was my favorite book of the series so far. The main characters were both pretty likeable, on their own and as a couple, and the secondary characters were also pretty great. (IMO, Charlotte and Rory almost stole the show in a couple of places. Charlotte's too young unless Ms. Wilson is willing to do a time jump, but Rory would be a great character to feature in a future book. It seemed like there was more going on with her than she was willing to admit!) I'm not the biggest fan of sports-themed books, but Ms. Wilson managed to make this story engaging enough to maintain my interest throughout.

That being said, there were a few things that bothered me about the book. Most importantly, it seemed a bit odd that Ashton's family pushed so hard for her to date Evan given his role in what had happened to her in high school. When Evan and Ashton met again as adults, he explained to her that his role in the high school bullying wasn't exactly what Ashton thought it had been, but it seemed like Ashton's parents and sisters knew his side of the story long before she did. Otherwise, why would they have been so convinced that Ashton could trust him? Was Aubrey or another family member in touch with Evan in the years since he graduated? If so, why didn't they ever share his version of events with Ashton? She might not have held on to her grudge for so long if she had known Evan's side of things. (Of course, in that case the entire story might not have happened since Ashton's initial motivation in spending time with Evan was revenge, so maybe I shouldn't pull at that thread.)

Also, it's a minor point but the timeline of events since high school seemed somewhat off to me. For example, based on the author's explanation of Aubrey's life since high school, I think Charlotte should have been younger than 4. Given that Aubrey was organizing her and Evan's 10-year high school reunion while this story was taking place, she should have been about 28 years old. She met her husband in law school and got married as soon as she graduated, when Aubrey would have been about 25. The author says that Aubrey got pregnant with Charlotte immediately after getting married, which seems like it should only have been about 3 years ago based on this sequence of events. If all of that is true, then either they were having their 10-year reunion 2 years late (when Aubrey and Evan would have been about 30), or Charlotte should only have been about 2 years old, not 4. (Charlotte was vastly more entertaining as a 4-year-old than she would have been at 2, so I'm not complaining about the outcome of all of this. I'm just not sure the math makes sense.)

*ARC provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating 5/5

This new adult romance has it all and more! It’s cliche for me to say I am #awestruck with this but it’s the truth! Love loved LOVED this!

This was a very cute read! It goes perfectly with the series! A clean sweet swoony book! I loved Ashton and Evan! They both had trust issues and seemed to both work through them.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review**

3 cute 🌟🌟🌟!!! It was actually a sweet & easy read! The storyline was well written! I really enjoyed it !!

I received this from Montlake Romance and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book was so much fun and I absolutely adored the romance between them! The sports world was entertaining and I am still thinking about this several days later. Wonderful book and I can’t wait to real others by Sariah Wilson!

I’ve been trying to figure out for 2 days on how to review this. This is 100% me and most likely an unpopular opinion which is fine. I like sexy times in my books. I like the build up, anticipation and the connection of it all. This is yet again a PG book. I just feel nothing between the characters and it bums me out. I was getting bored and found myself skimming to see if I could find something that I could connect with. I think this author is just not for me since this is the third book in the series that I’ve read. I just like what I like but if you’re all good on reading clean romances, then this one would be for you.

When I read "payback on the boy who broke her teenage heart" on the synopsys I tought this was going to be a second chance romance and that he broke her heart because they were young. But he was part of a group of people that bullied the heroine when she was a teenager. She suffered a lot and it's obvious that even if she went to therapy, it's something that still makes her feel bad.

BULLYING is a trigger warning for me, it's really painful for me to see or read something about it because I had a lot of bad experiences from high school thanks to bullies.

A trigger warning would be appreciated.

Awestruck was a sort of second chance romance meets revenge turn love book. Ashton was hurt badly in high school and for years she has held on to the hurt and anger against Evan. She has a chance to ruin the NFLs goody two shoe quarterback.

It’s a good story with sarcastic siblings, crazy parents, and a sweet guy. It was interesting to read and had a great ending.

Really liked Evan’s character and how when the hero and heroine reconnected for the first time there was tons of tension. Aka a love hate. Would read this author again.

Another amazing story from falling in love with the famous person. This time it is Ashton who wants to become a sports announcer falls in her biggest enemy and an NFL player Evan. Ashton is prepared to do everything to destroy her former teenage love/tormentor but she didn't count on falling in love again. She was assigned to prove that Evan is not virgin but instead gave again her heart and lost it again. A great funny, steamy slow-burning love story in which we don't see the final act of consuming their love. The story flows smoothly, romanticly, funny with great characters. Loved the great gesture at the end.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Unfortunately this book wasn’t as awesome as I hoped it was going to be. I loved the first two books in this series and had this book on my want to read list for several months. Then low and behold I was able to read a copy through NetGallery this month. I downloaded the book and then almost didn’t make it through the first chapter. The first line in the book sets the theme for the whole story: “Someone in this room is going to prove that Evan Dawson is not a virgin.” From there the first chapter went downhill fast because several of the characters, including the female lead Ashton, were crude, brass, rude, and not someone I would want to know. I reminded myself that I had always liked this author’s works and she is labeled as a “clean and wholesome” author so I stuck it out to read some more.

So the guy, Awesome Dawson is really awesome. He is an all around boy scout and genuinely tries to be a good guy. That is obvious from the beginning. He is honest with her about his feelings and intentions. Even revealing private matters from early on. It’s easy to see why Ashton would fall for him but I didn’t get why he would fall for her. Is it just because she wasn’t falling all over him from the beginning? Anyway Ashton continues to hide her work agenda and we all know how well that will turn out. Plus she is selfish throughout the whole book, always putting her interests first even pushing the envelope as to what he feels comfortable with. She just gets a kick out of pushing him instead of respecting him and his beliefs enough from the start to avoid awkward scenarios.

Maybe I would have liked the book more if I hadn’t been so shocked by the beginning and Ashton’s harsh character or by the ensuing search to defame a nice guy. I understand Ashton had a bad experience as a teenager with Evan and she fixated on him as the ultimate cause of her subsequent bad experiences. Although she says she went to therapy for years she obviously didn’t benefit from it if she thought petty revenge would ever make her feel better. That’s more her as a 13 year old talking instead of the mid twenties adult she is supposed to be.

For the middle and end of the book the romance shapes up nicely but with Ashton’s baggage hanging over her head things quickly get more complicated. Needless to say, the book is not a winner for me

With her lifelong dream dangling in front of her, Ashton Bailey is determined now more than ever to get her hands on it and live the dream... but one thing stands in her way, ridiculously sexy NFL quarterback Evan Dawson. He is a blast from her past, that broke her heart, and she sees this little re-introduction of their's as a way to exact a little revenge too. Her boss wants dirt on the seemingly perfect quarterback, and she wants to make him pay a little for breaking her heart, but nothing could have prepared her for what is about to happen next!!

Between the pages of this delightful novel lies a story about a couple who finds themselves at odds, one wants revenge, and the other wants to make amends. Ashton is out to protect her heart and get her dream job, and Evan wants to make up for the wrongs of the past and get the girl of his dreams. It's a hard fought battle to see which one of them will win out, and whose dreams will come true... and a fun little battle to watch unfold. I really enjoyed the story I found here, it was a first time read that impressed on several fronts, the words were well crafted and heartwarming, and the characters were entertaining and came with a very realistic feel. Highly recommend you check you it out, it's sweet, swoony, and good for the heart!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

WOw! You know what is crazy! I thought this author wasn't so great a couple years ago and now I can't get enough of her books! I have loved this LoveStruck series!!!!! This was so much fun! I enjoyed reading every part of this one. I love how real Ashton was, I could totally see my younger self doing something similar. She makes a massive mistake but it's so true to life. We all allow our ego and fear to make decisions for us and it always backfires. I loved Evan! Geeeezzzz he was great but even he had to learn the hard way. I love that someone is actually writing books about waiting to have Sex till you are married and the fact that it is possible if you are careful and make a commitment. It is real this does happen and I love that someone is telling this side of the story. This is an older teen read. They do talk about abstaining from sex but it is lighter then the first two books in this series. I would let me 17 year old read this one.

4 1/2 stars. Evan Dawson is a unicorn!!! He is everything a book boyfriend should be. Gorgeous, thoughtful, honest, sorry for past mistakes and NOT a man whore. Ashton is snarky and sarcastic but in the best way possible. She finds herself forgetting about revenge and falling fast and hard for her childhood crush. Their relationship progressed so naturally and I really loved how Ashton let herself really see what a good man Evan was. Brenda was a real crazy and I would have liked to see her get some comeuppance, And I definitely wanted more of the story. A peek into the rest of their lives isn't too much to ask, is it?? :)

Oh my goodness she’s done it again! This series has been so fun. After both the 1st and 2nd books were so good I just knew the 3rd would be good too. I laughed out loud so many times at this book. It is so snarky! I love Sariah Wilson’s writing style. It’s fun, upbeat, Whitty, snarky, romantic, etc etc. For half a second part of me was a little disappointed that the book seemed a little like one of the other books... but I liked it so much I didn’t even care after that millisecond was done. This book is a quick enjoyable read, like the other 2 in the series have been. I feel like there are some big topics in this book... big topics dealt with kindly and with great care. While it was fun and romantic, it dealt with bullying and lying and all the ramifications of these things. These are things we can all relate to and the author does a good job showing how these things negatively affect all involved. But there’s also redemption and forgiveness and grace included too which is amazing. We don’t have to stay stuck in hurt and bitterness and anger! Check out this book! You won’t be disappointed.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

Another fun one from Sariah Wilson! I liked that this one had the hero being celibate even though he's a gorgeous, sexy professional athlete. It was a twist I hadn't expected but really did enjoy! Like her other books, this one is sassy and swoonworthy--tons of parts that made me laugh out loud and romance that made me sigh and melt into a little puddle. I love that her books are clean and that I can pass them along to my mother or my daughter without having to feel embarrassed. I can't wait for the next one!

I usually am not that fond of plots when one character is keeping a big secret about his/her motives in their relationship from the other. We all know how that is going to end. The secret will come out at the most inopportune time possible and everything will blow up. The couple will break up. There will be a lot of crying. Then, in the end, they’ll kiss and make up. And we’ll be left with the moral of the story that one should always tell the truth to one’s true love and not avoid explaining everything hoping he/she will never find out.

That’s basically the plotline in this novel. You know it within the first chapter or so how it’s going to go. What saves everything is the snappy dialogue between sportswriter intern Ashton and superstar QB Evan Dawson. They are both witty with perfect comebacks. Evan is just as awesome as his nickname. He turns out not to be the bullying SOB from Ashton’s painful experience with him in high school. He is determined to explain and apologize to her and then to pursue a relationship with him. Ashton is torn by the totally unethical demands of her boss. The girl needs to learn about taping conversations with her boss and using that as leverage.

I ended up enjoying this book much more than I expected from the first chapter. I still wanted to smack Ashton upside the head but, once I got over that aggravation, it was sticking around for Awesome Dawson.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of the other stories in this series and this one was just as good! It is a nice, clean friends-to-lovers romance story. The author does a great job hooking the reader and taking them on this rom-com adventure.

Ashton has to decide whether she is more committed to her job as a sports reporter or to her previous high-school crush (Evan).

I have LOVED all of the other #Lovestruck books by Ms. Wilson, so it pains me to say how much I did NOT like #Awestruck. From the first pages, I was turned off by the direction of the story and by Ashton's overall attitude. Ashton was petty, vindictive, and childish from the start. Brenda, Ashton's editor, is not much better, but could have been just the villain in the story.

Evan Dawson is likable enough, but his egocentric nature does not give him any winning points in my book. I did appreciate how he did evolve over the story -- esp. in setting the record straight about what happened in high school.

Over all, I could not get past Ashton's selfish and childish behavior throughout the story. I never felt she grew as a person. Even at the very end with the HEA, she seemed insincere.

I do enjoy Ms. Wilson's books and will continue reading them. I would suggest you skip #Awestruck and go back to #Starstruck!! #Starstruck is a solid 5 stars!