I really liked this book compared to most any book. However, compared to Jennifer Echol's other book it is probably my least favorite. ( )

"2 out of 5 stars, because I liked the concept but Nick and Hayden bickered way to much for me to enjoy it. It was like..."

Read more of this review and TWO TEASERS here: https://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2010/08/disappointmentville-ex-games-... ( )

I originally read this in the bind up Winter's Kiss, but I have yet to read the other book, so I figured I would post my review here instead.

There is not a lot of depth here, so if you are looking for something profound, you might want to try something else. That being said I had a lot of fun with this book! Even though I thought it was a bit annoying that our main characters couldn't talk about a mishap from the seventh grade without yelling at each other.

I couldn't help making a connection to Jane Austen's Persuasion, which undoubtedly helped encourage my enjoyment of this book. I'm pretty sure I make unwarranted connections between books and Jane Austen because I love her, and she's never too far from my mind.

This plot centers around a couple looking for a second chance at romance after a long period of time and a battle between the sexes snowboarding competition. Even though I live in an area with plenty of snow, I've never been snowboarding, but this book makes me want to try it. Let's be honest though, if there's one thing I love almost as much as Jane Austen connections, it's a good battle of the sexes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was just the right amount of ridiculous that I found myself smiling while reading, but not so out there that I was rolling my eyes out of contempt for the saccharine plot. ( )

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols is a fun romance set in Colorado over winter break. It's two main characters, Nick and Hayden are not the tocken Young Adult Romance or Romantic Comdedy characters, either. Nick's rich because his family has Krieger Meats and Meat Products so they live in the big house, have the great cars and he has the girls fawning over him and Hayden (a vegetarian, by the way) moved to Colorado with her hippieish parents in junior high and loves, loves, loves snowboarding. But not the jumps. She doesn't do jumps.

And, oh yeah, Nick and Hayden went on one date in seventh grade but since then they've been enemies of a sort--the sort who hate each other but also sort of secretly lust after each other.

Throw in a boys vs girls snowboarding competition (with jumps!) for all the marbles, some sexual tension, Hayden's two girl best friends who date Nicks two guy best friends, and they're complicated history and there's a great story that has the romance but also some depth.

While I didn't love The Ex Games as much as I loved Going too Far, it's definitely a great book and has me looking forward to Jennifer Echols' next books. I really liked that Nick and Hayden had a past (both of their own and as a couple) but then didn't just fall all over each other once the book got going. Echols characters really are actual characters that are well developed and stay true to themselves throughout the story and have enough of a history for their present and future to make sense and for you to care about them without it weighing the story down.
There were seperate plot lines and they all progressed very well without detracting from any of the other parts of the story, something not all books can manage.

I also really, really appreciate that there's--so far--always a character that's not caucasian but isn't the token something or another character but just another character.

I had a great time reading about the progression of Nick and Hayden's relationship as well as that of the individual characters themselves.

If you're looking for a book to read over break or on the way to a vacation or flying somewhere--or really just anytime, this is a good choice for sure.

8/10

huge, huge thanks to Jennifer Echols for the book. ( )

So Hayden and Nick dated back in 7th grade. They're in 11th grade now and they're friendly, although they tease each other like crazy. Hayden still likes Nick and she thinks after the most recent touchy-feely way he's been acting that he may like her again. But Hayden has doubts about Nick's feelings because of what broke them up back in 7th grade. And then once their mutual friends stir up their competitive juices and pit them against each other, Hayden is even more unsure about Nick's intentions. That doesn't stop her from making out with him once or three times. (I actually thought it was cute the way they'd appear to be on the same page so they'd make out and then one of them would open up their mouth and insert foot and then they'd fight haha!) On top of all that, Hayden has a deep seated fear of heights, and one of the snowboard challenges is to do a jump. So can Hayden get over her phobia in time to kick Nick's ass?

The Ex Games is definitely a romantic comedy. There's the oddball group of friends, the annoying younger brother (who is super funny) and even a cute dog that manages to get in everyone's way. I really enjoyed the snowboarding aspect to this book. In contemporary sports romance novels, usually only one person is the athlete (football or baseball player for example). So it was nice to see the h/h pitted against each other. It definitely creates some great tension and a good reason for the characters to debate back and forth and give me that back and forth dialog I love so much.

Speaking of the younger brother, here's a classic Josh-ism:

"Why is Nick Krieger telling you that girl snowboarders are no good and your win doesn't mean anything? Does he like you or something? Make sure he knows we're vegetarian. Mom and Dad would die if they had to pay your dowry in kielbasa."

LMAO!!

Nick was hot too. Excellent hero material.

The Ex Games was a fun read and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for something different but funny. ( )