Name: Kadi Frease's review of The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen
Item: The Understatement of the Year
Rating: 3
Author: Kadi Frease

Sarina Bowen

What happened in high school stayed in high school. Until now. Five years ago, Michael Graham betrayed the only person who ever really knew him. Since then, he’s made an art of hiding his sexual preference from everyone. Including himself. So it’s a shock when his past strolls right into the Harkness College locker room, sporting a bag of hockey gear and the same slow smile that had always rendered Graham defenseless. For Graham, there is only one possible reaction: total, debilitating panic. With one loose word, the team’s new left wing could destroy Graham’s life as he knows it. John Rikker is stuck being the new guy. Again. And it’s worse than usual, because the media has latched onto the story of the only “out” player in Division One hockey. As the satellite trucks line the sidewalk outside the rink, his new teammates are not amused. And one player in particular looks sick every time he enters the room. Rikker didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome from Graham. But the guy won’t even meet his eyes. From the looks of it, his former… best friend / boyfriend / whatever isn’t doing so well. He drinks too much and can’t focus during practice. Either the two loneliest guys on the team will self destruct from all the new pressures in their lives, or they can navigate the pain to find a way back to one another. To say that it won’t be easy is the Understatement of the Year. Warning: unlike the other books in this series, this heartbreaking love story is about two guys. Contains sexual situations, dance music, snarky t-shirts and a poker-playing grandmother. Sarina Bowen's Ivy Years is my favorite New Adult series of all-time! -- Elle Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author of The Deal "It's so well done that I just want to read it over and over again." - Mandi Schreiner of Smexy Books "Sarina Bowen serves up yet another gut-wrenching story that left me limp at the end with relief that these two found their happily ever after." - Amy Jo Cousins, author of Off Campus "A beautiful love story about self-acceptance. I laughed, I swooned, and I shed a view tears. This is a must read." - Megan Erickson, author of Strong Signal "I gasped, I cried, I stayed up all night to finish. This book broke my heart in the best possible way." - Diana Peterfreund, author of the Secret Society Girl series. "6+ Stars! I can honestly say that this is her best one yet." - Jenn Gaffney of Once Click Bliss "This story was beautiful from start to finish." - Angie of Badass Book Reviews Keywords: new adult, college romance, hockey, gay, MM romance, Ivy League, male/male romance, LGBTQ romance, gay romance, hockey team, coming out. For fans of: Santino Hassel, Kindle Alexander, Elle Kennedy, Amy Jo Cousins, Megan Erickson, Lucy Lennox, Amy Lane, Leta Blake, Roan Parrish, Annabeth Albert, Ella Frank, TJ Klune, Riley Hart, NR Walker, Devon Mccormick, Eden Finley, Sloane Kennedy, Felice Stevens, Avon Gale, Alexis Hall, Heidi Cullinan, KJ Charles, Josh Lanyon, Cat Sebastian.

An MM Hockey Romance

The Understatement of the Year

Kadi Frease

Quickie Review----May Contain Spoilers, Proceed At Your Own Risk

The Understatement of the Year is a story I went into completely blind and I am happy that I did so. This book was a pure delight and one of my catnips is second chance romances and seeing how Sarina Bowen handled this setup was so unique. I was also delightfully surprised to see that this was a M/M romance as well. That is one of my favorites in sports romance especially. But when it comes to Sarina Bowen, she really knows how to develop these M/M relationships so well. I really love the moments that we see between this couple. They have such a bitter past which is painful for both of them. We get to see them work through the guilt and pain and find a relationship with each other once again. We also see some solid friendships but also seeing that there was some bigotry that was implemented. So be mindful of that. I wasn't really a fan of that aspect, it felt a bit too much in the way that it was handled. Overall I had a fun time with this one and eager to continue to the next installment of a fun series.

Lover of Romance 

Quickie Review----May Contain Spoilers, Proceed At Your Own Risk

The Understatement of the Year is a story I went into completely blind and I am happy that I did so. This book was a pure delight and one of my catnips is second chance romances and seeing how Sarina Bowen handled this setup was so unique. I was also delightfully surprised to see that this was a M/M romance as well. That is one of my favorites in sports romance especially. But when it comes to Sarina Bowen, she really knows how to develop these M/M relationships so well. I really love the moments that we see between this couple. They have such a bitter past which is painful for both of them. We get to see them work through the guilt and pain and find a relationship with each other once again. We also see some solid friendships but also seeing that there was some bigotry that was implemented. So be mindful of that. I wasn't really a fan of that aspect, it felt a bit too much in the way that it was handled. Overall I had a fun time with this one and eager to continue to the next installment of a fun series.

amber baardsen

it’s giving gay men written by a straight women for straight women

sophia n

wanted to like this more than i did. it was definitely not BAD, but a little too angsty. i partially understand the fear the characters felt, but it was also a little too much to take on as the reader. but it was a sweet story. not as good as Him, which was partially why i felt a little let down. hard to not compare the two.

Megan Lowe

Here’s a fun fact for you, apparently I have read this book. Twice. But I have ZERO memory of doing so the first time. I have no idea why I don’t remember, but nothing was familiar to me.
Aside from that mind blowing fact, this is a great starter MM book. I say that because it’s not really heavy on the MM (although I’d love more!) 
I love Rikker, thoroughly. Graham is great but I’d like to see more of a religious aspect to his character.
Skippy, Ross, and Rikker’s grandma are great characters too.
One thing that did bother me about this book, in terms of the series, is that it kind of came out of nowhere for me. Graham wasn’t really mentioned in the previous books, so I would’ve liked a little more connection.
But this is a solid book, great for people unsure of MM. Give it a go!

Sahi K

This book is about two hockey players, who were best friends and lovers in high school but were separated due to a hate crime. That incident changed their lives forever and has so much impact on their thought process than they realize. When the openly gay Rikker transfers to Harkness, Graham gets the shock of his life. The story follows them on their journey to find themselves, their friendship and love again.

Rikker is such an amazing character. He is honest and caring and so full of love, it was a joy reading about him. He doesn’t choose to be the only openly out player in Division One hockey but when circumstances force him to, he doesn’t let it change his love or focus for the game. He is also totally comfortable in his sexuality, but can’t escape the homophobic comments of his teammate or rival teams. But his biggest weakness is his first love, Graham.

Graham is a self loathing, paranoid guy who is dead set on trying to prove that he is not gay but he cannot keep away from Rik. But he is also such a douche. He treats Rik so badly for most of the book, first by being so uncomfortable even being in the same room as him and not even acknowledging their past and then being secretive about their relationship. It was good to see him finally accept the truth about himself but I wish he had treated Rik better.

I also loved the characters of Graham’s mom and Rik’s grandma. They are so sweet and supportive and love their children no matter what, and irrespective of their religious beliefs, it was just so endearing. Bella is also a great friend and I was so sad for her, but she is so understanding and caring, it made me tear up. Rik’s ex Skippy is an absolute live wire and brings some amazing humor and laughs whenever he appears.

If I ignore the stupidity of Graham for a bit, I really loved his relationship with Rik. They share an old and beautiful friendship, understand each other deeply and it felt so good to see them get together. It broke my heart to see Rik love Graham so much but still have to hide it from the world. The ending definitely warmed my heart but it was also so abrupt and I was disappointed to not get to read more about them being together and happy.

This is an amazing book about friendship, first love, second chances and trying to find happiness by being and accepting yourself for who you are and not what the world wants you to be.

Helena Cristina Nogueira Pereira

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I'm a huge fan of Sarina Bowen's Ivy Years series and was so, so, SO thrilled to get a copy of The Understatement of the Year super early in August. I got the book, started it and finished it the same day. I didn't even stop to eat dinner. I was so taken with and invested in Graham and Rikker's story I couldn't walk away until I finished it. There is so much good about this book and I'm going to attempt to tell you all of it, without spoiling it and without totally fangirling either. 

The Understatement of the Year is the first M/M romance I've read. Now that I've read one this incredible I'm wondering why I waited so long. I don't want to harp too much on the gay aspect of the book, even though it plays an obviously huge role in the things that happen. Why? Because I don't want to separate it from other amazing NA books. It's not a fantastic *gay* romance. It's an all-around fantastic romance that just happens to be between two men. I have a lot of gay friends. I have since college, so you might say I'm pretty familiar with relationships between two men. And I have to say, Sarina totally hit the nail on the head with this book. It was so realistic. The struggles over their feelings and coping when one person is out and the other isn't were both so powerful and real. 

I loved Graham. I loved Rikker. I loved them even more together. I like that they had a history as friends, even if their whole history wasn't all puppies and rainbows. The things they went through in high school definitely shaped the way they were today – Graham retreating to the closet and Rikker being far more comfortable with himself and his sexuality, even if he doesn't always love being in the spotlight as the gay hockey player poster boy. I loved following along as they reconnected as friends and even more so as they realized the old feelings are nowhere close to being gone. Of course, they encounter their fair share of bigoted pricks along the way, but they also realize they have a lot of people supporting them. 

Holy hell, this book was full of feels. And trust me, I felt every single one of them. It was so easy to get completely wrapped up in Graham and Rikker's story. They were easy to root for, even through the tough times. They were just so right together. It was obvious in every look, touch and action. This led to some serious sexual tension and, when things heated up, they REALLY heated up. 

Each book in Sarina's Ivy Years series has been wonderful in its own way, but The Understatement of the Year is officially my new favorite. I applaud Sarina for taking a chance with this book and giving us Graham and Rikker's story – and for doing it in such a relatable and real way. I hated giving up Graham and Rikker at the end. I love these guys. It was also wonderful to get a little update on the characters from earlier on in the series – namely Corey (!!!) and Hartley – in this book. If I wasn't already in love with Hartley, I would have totally fallen for him after reading The Understatement of the Year. He's just such an amazing, stand-up guy. I adore him. 

Everyone should read this book. It's one of my favorites of the year. It had a great message about finding yourself and surrounding yourself with the people who love you just as you are. It was neither easy nor angsty, but instead just absolutely perfect, sexy and full of feels. I can't think of one thing I would change about this book. (Except to make it longer, but not because it was unfinished, but because I'm greedy.) 

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Kadi Frease &
The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen

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