Review: Hooked by Liz Fichera

 Title: Hooked (Hooked #1)

Author: Liz Fichera

Source: Received from publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done.

But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.

But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...

GET HOOKED ON A GIRL NAMED FRED.



Review:



 

Hooked is the first book in a new series by Liz Fichera. This story is about Fred, a girl who is offered a position on the school's boy golf team. Because she is such an amazing golfer, she is just handed the position – she doesn't even have to try out. Fred takes the spot on the team – not knowing that a boy named Seth is kicked off the team to make room for her. Revenge is Seth's #1 priority.

Fred has a tough time on the team. It doesn't matter that she's the best player – the boys are cruel to her because she is a girl, and because she is Native American. Seth's best friend Ryan is one of these boys. He is upset about his friend getting kicked off the team. Soon, the coach pairs Fred and Ryan up for golf tournaments and they are forced to spend more time together. Ryan ends up being torn between his feelings for Fred, and his popular friends.

I will admit that I couldn't stand Ryan in the beginning, he was a big jerk. Mostly, he just couldn't think for himself and did whatever his friends did. I can't stand people who do things they know they shouldn't, just so they can look “cool”. People that just follow the crowd are weak-minded. For lack of a better term, Ryan finally grew some balls in this book. I didn't think I could like him, but I eventually did.

Fred isn't a particularly strong character either. I liked her, and she had to put up with a lot on a daily basis. I wish she would have stood up for herself more though. However, she didn't immediately give up and quit the team like I probably would have. She lives on the Reservation, along with a few others her age, and travels to the “white person” school each day. She deals with constant discrimination . It's appalling how she is treated because of her skin color. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with the bullying because my son is bullied all the time at school for being different. Kids can be so cruel. Not only does she have to deal with the discrimination, but she has home issues going on as well. Her family is very poor and her mom is an alcoholic.

Honestly, I had trouble getting into this story. The first half of the book was pretty boring to me. It might have held my interest more if I was interested in golf, but I'm not sure. The cover does not appeal to me at all, and I probably wouldn't have read this book if it weren't for some great reviews from other book bloggers. The cover is also misleading. I expected a lot of romance and some sexiness to it as well, but the romance was fairly dull. I didn't even really feel much of a connection between Fred and Ryan. Also, there were a lot of issues that were not really explained well, or not tied up at the end.

However, the plot was unique and the writing was good. I liked reading from both Fred and Ryan's point of view. The author did well with making the reader feel the emotions of the characters. I have a feeling that the next book in this series will be better. The next book features Riley (Ryan's younger sister) and Sam (Fred's friend from the reservation). They both seem like likable, strong characters.

Visit the author here:

http://www.lizfichera.com/

Find this book at the following places:

Amazon (kindle)

Amazon (paperback)

B&N

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