This book had good bones. The young adult readership would have benefited from a book that not only featured a Native American female protagonist but one who was also a rising star in an unlikely sport. Unfortunately what we get is a romance book with a pinch of golf, some questionable stereotyped characters and a plot that falls so flat it’s in the bunker.

I requested this book ten years ago, and am no longer interested in reading. Thank you for the opportunity.

I'm sorry I was not able to read and review this book before it was archived due to serious health issues.

The cover of this book doesn't go well with the overall story. There is no crazy steamy love as the cover may suggest. This book is on the low end for any romance.

Fred and Ryan were decent characters, nothing about them jumped at me. Fred is a girl who like to golf and joins the golf team. An all boy golf team, which isn't going to be easy being the only girl right? But she ends up taking the spot from Seth, and well he can be quite the bully because of it. I REALLY wanted Fred to do something for herself. Do NOT let the bullies win, Fred should have fought back and have a stronger character. The lack of strength from her character really annoyed me.

Then you have Ryan who is the definition of SPOILED. But for someone who can have anything he wants, he sure isn't happy. Except if you put him in a golf field, he softens a little and uses golf to escape his world. I will say he tried to make an effort in getting to know Fred. Though it didn't really get to any point that I would have liked to see.

Overall, it wasn't the greatest book out there.

My Thoughts:
I have made it a mission of mine this year to get my NetGalley tbr down to zero. I was flipping through my shelves on NetGalley, and found Hooked. I thought the premise sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. Despite it having a few flaws, I found myself enjoying the book.

First of all, I loved the diverse representation in this book. It was on point. I love the fact that Hooked had a female Native American main character. That's so rare it's almost unheard of in young adult literature. Also, I loved the fact that the book made me so emotionally invested in the characters. I was a sobbing mess during certain parts of the book because I could empathize with the characters, and feel what they were feeling.

There were a few things that I didn't like about Hooked as well. I wasn't a big fan of the way the point of view kept switching. It was confusing, and took a while to get used to. By the time I would figure it out, the author would move onto to the other character's point of view, and I'd have to get used to it all over again. I also thought it was confusing that the female main character was nicknamed Fred, and she played golf. I had to keep reminding myself that she was female, and it made reading the book a lot more complicated than it should have been. I'm all for weird nicknames, but this one just didn't work.

Despite all of that, I did have a lot of fun reading Hooked. I thought it was a great young adult contemporary with a creative cast that usually isn't seen in young adult literature. I recommend this book to anyone who loves an enjoyable contemporary with a diverse cast of characters.

I give Hooked: 3.5/5.

I really hard a hard time getting into this one and enjoying it.. I was so bummed because it seemed like the perfect book for me! I will recommend it to others who I know will enjoy it.

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 3 stars! Oh Hooked, you could have been a contender. I was all on-board for the plot of a girl golfer joining an all boys' team and an interracial romance, but Fichera didn't make them her primary focus. For that reason, I think that was what made this book just okay instead of amazing.

♥ Review: This was another one of those NetGalley requests that fell through the cracks years ago, and I'm finally just now getting around to reviewing it. The main factor I could appreciate about this book is that I like to think that Hooked was ahead of the curve with its diversity and tackling school bullying, but that was pretty much all this book really had going for it. I believe if the author had zeroed in on the romance and golfing aspect, letting it be the most important element of the book, then my reading experience would have went a lot differently. I really enjoyed Ryan and Fred (not a fan of the name, just fyi!). I thought they were really cute together when they were actually together, but the author chose to have too much drama interrupt the flow of the story and keep them apart. I could understand a little, but after a certain point, I was just exasperated and and over it, like, "Really? We're still doing this? #DramaLlamaForYourMomma". Seriously, there was still some crazy bullying psychopants stuff happening at 95%. Additionally, my main pet peeve in books is communication issues– when every problem between a couple could be solved with one little conversation. Fred and Ryan suffered from hella communication issues. It was frustrating. Aside from all the drama unfolding around our duo and the communication problems between them, I also was missing out on some character growth, especially from all the secondary characters that were introduced. The story just seemed to fall off a bit at the end, so it didn't feel like a complete story for me.

Overall, this book really had some cute moments, but I was left with a "meh" feeling when I finished. It could have been great, but as the book stood in the advanced copy, it was still missing too many elements for me to give it more than three stars.

♥ Teaser Quote:
"...His fingers, like his kisses, were gentle and curious. Nothing like I expected. When I closed my eyes, I could still see him, feel him, his arms wrapped around me, his hands pressed against my skin, mine against his, exploring each other. When I kissed Ryan Berenger, I swear I saw more stars than all the stars in the sky."
– quote taken from the eARC of Hooked, Fred's POV, at 52%

♥ Rec It? Maybe? I think this book will be a hit or miss for a wide range of readers. People will either enjoy it or not, so I say this one is definitely a borrow or wait until it's on sale recommendation. It had a lot of potential, but missed out on the overall execution.

♥ A very special thanks to Harlequin TEEN and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this title.