I really liked this book. I’m not obsessed with it but I didn’t hate it. I still gave it four stars even though I’m not a fan of sport romances. Overall the plot was great and the spicy level was kept on the lower side. One of the things I loved about this was that even though it is a romance book it didn’t entirely surround the couple and nothing else. The main couple definitely was the main focus but I got to see aspects from the family dynamics, friends, and other couples interactions. Another thing is how unlike other books our female main character was not falling to her knees the second she saw the love interest(although mentally she was) and how the love interest was on the more dominant side she stood her ground on what she wanted and she was in control of herself. Eventually we got to see how in love the two were together and how our male main character was so protective of her. I went through a whirlwind of emotions from happy to sad then sad to pissed but in the end I was happy. My only real complaint is I wish there was an epilogue but I hope I’ll be seeing them in the second book. So I definitely intend on reading the sequel when it comes out in a couple of months.

There is A LOT to unpack in this book.

I believe that there was potential for the idea of this book but it was not executed correctly. A lot of the time I was just confused. The author's writing style is difficult to follow and did not flow. I was confused on whether it was dual POV, 1st person, or 3rd person. If I read this book drunk I would probably understand it better.

I also think that the author was trying to fit too many events into the book. A lot of the time events and scenes felt like fluff, just there to occupy some space.

On a positive note, I liked how Mikah and Piper's relationship was drawn out. I am not a fan of insta-love but enjoyed their relationship at a normal pace compared to other books with the same trope. I would have loved this book if it were not for the poor dialogue and execution of writing.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review*
This review was posted on Goodreads on May 22, 2022

2.5⭐️

I love sports romance books so I was beyond excited to read Pure Love.

Piper’s cousin Delilah offers Piper $1,000 to teach purity classes to a sorority & $2,000 to get some of the hockey players to attend and pledge to bring up their bad reputation. This turns into more purity minder opportunities for Piper and more chances for Piper to spend time with Mikah, the hot hockey player who she met on the elevator while being half naked due to a costume malfunction.

Piper & Mikah have undeniable chemistry.

While I liked the storyline and the twist on this sports romance story, I struggled with the writing.

I had to keep re-reading sentences to figure out whose thoughts I was reading and who was speaking.

I also wanted more details about what was going on in the character’s heads to make me feel more connected to the characters.

i enjoyed this book and felt that the plot line was good, but i also felt that the execution was lacking at times. however i did enjoy mikah and piper’s story and watching it all unfold !

This one was a lot of fun. It gave me major Off-Campus vibes and if you've been following me, you know it's my favourite series ever!

Pure Love follows the will they/won't they romance of Piper and Mikah, both characters I adored! Mikah is everything you want in a book boyfriend!

The book was just a lot of fun. The storyline and the characters had me laughing, cringing, gasping, and just being freaking happy 😁

Oh and lots of spice too!

Turns out, ice hockey romances are my kryptonite, so well done fo getting me hooked Emily!

Pure Love is the first in a series and releases May 27, the second book Perfect Love (which I really hope to get my hands on ASAP, please Emily 🙏) is out July 1st

HUGE thanks to NetGalley and Emily Bow for allowing me to read a copy in advance in exchange for my honest feedback 💖

story had lots of potential and cute romance. The meet cute in this book was funny and unique and the story definitely had the potential to be great!

Unfortunately for me, I found the dialogue and the way the author writes to be a bit challenging to read. It felt clunky and didn't flow together nicely. I found myself having to go back and reread parts to figure out what was going on.

Thanks to the author and NetGallery for the ARC!

To be honest I had to push myself to finish this book.
I love Micah and Piper's chemistry however I felt like the writing was inconsistent.

The writing is very choppy and hard to follow. There isn't much world/character building taking place at the beginning, and we are thrown into a storyline about a purity pledge. I was a little confused as the characters talked about the dancers for the hockey team, but then mention the purity pledge is for the sorority. Again, the plot was difficult to follow due to choppy writing.

I am going to be honest I chose this book because of the cover. I thought it would be a fun quick read but I had to push myself through it. The author Emily Bow has creative ideas for stories. But this book could have used a lot of editing. The writing is choppy, and juvenile, and the female protagonist doesn't have a lot behind her for the reader to get invested in. The writing is clipped and fractured and there were times when I dropped the book and went forced myself back to it to give it another chance and I finally got through. It did get better toward the end. The women's friends were developed well and like I said there were some creative story ideas but it lacked the oomph to get it through the goal line.

What could have improved the story was following through on a scene and not getting into the immature mind of Piper too much. Also, Mikah's non-commital epiphany coming sooner and then putting another drama line more developed there would have helped.

Promising but fell flat.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher, for the opportunity to read and review 'Pure Love'.

I was excited to read this ARC. Love hockey romances and slow burns. Ultimately, this book just wasn't for me. The purity pledge trope really turned me off and the pacing was inconsistent. Enjoyed the dynamic between the FMC and MMC.

I love a good hockey romance, and, when I saw the blurb for Pure Love - and that cheeky purity pledge mention - there was no way I could pass up on that level of intrigue. And boy did this exceed my expectations (in the best of ways)!

The chemistry and tension between Mikah and Piper was fire and ice, the gravitational pull that kept drawing them together relentless. I loved seeing the roots formed by their friendship, even as they teased and tempted one another, the lines drawn between them blurring as defenses folded and love struck…hard.

Bow’s execution of humour was crafty and fun, the unique meet-cute and wild antics of the team enjoyable and a great testament to why Piper landed herself this unexpected job opportunity as their purity minder. There was a healthy dose of laughter and allure that glided from page to page, and the banter shared not just between Mikah and Piper, but the rest of their group, was often natural and homely, like they were their own little family.

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the concept and many of Bow’s characters, these wins were challenged by the executions in the narration and some of the plot points. While there were some beautiful and tender moments shared between them, there were also moments that I didn’t appreciate the way Mikah continued to push for a fling and “one weekend”, defending his reasoning for avoiding commitment even after Piper had made it clear where she stood and what she wanted. I also wasn’t a fan of the stacked cheating trope utilised and felt that it ended up being too much - especially all at once - for the climax.

That said, this was still an enjoyable read that brought something fresh to the sports arena, and I wouldn’t be opposed to reading more about the Snowers and the challenges they face off the ice.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the advanced copy of Pure Love.

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: friends to lovers, sport romance,

Thank you NetGalley and Emily Bow for the Arc, but my thoughts and opinions are my own.

The plot was very unique which made the story itself very interesting. The meeting between Piper and Mikah at the beginning of the book was funny and cute at the same time.

I liked how their feelings evolve and especially Mikah's fear of not being like his father disappears throughout the book.

But in the same time some parts where average to me. I love sport romances, especially hockey, but I felt that something was missing. Sometimes I had to reread the paragraph because I couldn't understand what was going on or who was talking.

Overall the book is cute, funny and easy to read.

I really liked this story, but I can't give it more than 4 stars. I typed a whole review about what I didn't like, and realized it had spoilers, so I deleted and started over. Here is what I did like, I liked Piper and I like her sister (YAY, I see the next book is about her). Piper's parents were really awesome too. I didn't like Mikah's family and I didn't much like Piper's cousin, Dahlia either. At the beginning of the book, Piper didn't feel like an h that I was going to like, but she grew stronger and stronger as the book went on, I was worried we were never going to see any growth for Mikah, it was almost too little too late, but he did redeem himself. And I am really excited to read Calista's story! I read the blurb for it and can't wait! All in all, probably a solid 3 3/4 stars rounded to 4. Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy.

“i dream about how you feel. how you taste.” *passes out*

WOW WOW WOW I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK!! i’m a sucker for a hockey romance and this did not disappoint! the plot was very unique and quite wholesome and i absolutely loved the tension between piper and mikah!! and i love how it based around purity but the spice was awesome!😂

totally recommend this book if you love slow burn and/or hockey romances!!

this book just wasn't for me. I wasn't able to fully get into it and enjoy it and put it down at about 15-20%

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. I was very excited to see this book. I love me a broody hockey player (see Tom Wilson). Unfortunately this book didn’t hit it for me. There were a lot of missing parts here. I don’t know if it was missing dialogue, information for a purpose? Or if there was stuff that needed to be edited out. I would definitely give this author another try though!

Love a good hockey romance however this book did not do it for me. I felt really confused most of the time while I was reading it because it felt like there was missing information. It almost felt like being dropped into the middle of a series.

i received this book as an arc from netgalley!
okay, this book was cute, but the amount of times i cringed was not good… it was so frustrating to see him fight and stand his ground against commitment, but i suppose it adds something to the book. i’d be interested to read ronan and calista’s story together!! :)

Loved this book so much. It was realistic and I now want to read the entire series. It was a cute romance with problems that were believable. I related to the main chapter so much with past relationship trauma and being in grad school. So well written and I couldn't stop reading it.

I’m a sucker for a hockey romance (I have no idea why, I’ve only ever watched ice hockey with my ex and *bad memories!*) so this got me excited but unfortunately while I loved the storyline, I really struggled with the execution.

The way the author writes is almost in short statements. The story dives right in but a lot of information and dialogue is missing. I found myself having to re-read a lot of paragraphs because I didn’t know which character was talking or where they were. A lot of time inbetween was cut.

The character names were all very unique but the cheating trope was put in three times, there was a lot of events that did not need to be in the novel as they were unnecessary and did not make much sense. They did not contribute to the story or the characters in any way.

This novel would of been a lot more enjoyable with better editing for sure

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this novel