Feeling Ballsy

“Feeling Ballsy” by Beck Erixson is an empowering and relatable journey of self-discovery. The story revolves around the close friendship between Elin and Hawk, who face failed relationships and newfound feelings for each other.

When Elin's relationship ends, she leans on Hawk, and their single status sparks an arrangement to preserve their friendship. The book evokes a Hallmark movie's warmth and charm, with a genuine evolution of their relationship. Elin and Hawk's story feels authentic, and readers will root for their love to blossom. The novel's handling of sensitive topics and diverse supporting characters add depth to the narrative.

“Feeling Ballsy” is a heartfelt and inspiring tale that celebrates the strength of human connections and the beauty of embracing one's true self.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This story was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Friends-to-more is one of my favorite tropes, so I was very much looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed getting to know Elin and Hawk, and there were some truly sweet and / or funny moments between the two.

There were a couple of things that didn't quite work for me, though. It took me some time to get into the story. And In some of the scenes, I had a bit of trouble figuring out what was going on, and I caught myself re-reading a number of paragraphs where it wasn't clear to me what was happening or who was saying what.

I also wished Elin had broken up with Nate a lot earlier - no-one deserves to be stuck in such a “relationship.“ But I really liked the frienship and camaraderie between the Bees - and Hawk's family was a hoot!

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso book tours for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb for this book was so appealing, which is why I requested this arc in the first place. Unfortunately, this was a big miss for me.

I'm not exactly sure what went wrong with this book for me; I just know I was super bored and confused a lot of the time.

The pacing of the book was very off, and even the writing was a bit confusing. I couldn't tell who was actually speaking a lot of the time, so I had to re-read a couple of paragraphs.

Now to the main characters. I was truly confused by their relationship. One second they're the bestest friends, and the next, they're kissing. Then they don't see each other and try to get over their “awkward moment”, then they're going on dates, then they're kissing. It just felt like I was being tossed around for no real reason. There were just a bunch of filler scenes, I guess that just didn't contribute to the story in any way.

The ending. It was cute but like why? It was so fast. Like they were barely together throughout the entire book. they kept saying how they've known each other for so long, but as a reader, I didn't feel that.

Overall, it could've been good.