Review: Claire (Hart University Book 2) by Abigail Strom

It's sophomore year, and Claire Stone has sworn off romance. She's just gone through a breakup and she wants some time to find out who she is on her own. The only flaw in her plan is her friend (and hot quarterback) Will McKenna, who's a walking temptation to forget all about her singlehood pledge.


Will has had a thing for Claire since freshman year. Now that they're both single, he wants more from her than friendship. But Claire doesn't want to be anyone's girlfriend right now, and with football season underway, Will's got issues of his own to deal with.


When an injury on the field changes everything, Will and Claire are driven apart. But when the two of them end up trapped together in a snowstorm, they're forced to deal with each other again. Can they confront their feelings without ruining their friendship? Or will their friendship turn into something more?


4 Stars!
Review by Trinette Dungee 

Claire Stone is a sophomore whose boyfriend of four years has just broken up with her. To prove to herself that she is significant on her own and not as someone’s significant other she decides for a minimum of one semester she’s going to concentrate her band, her studies and herself. She enlists the support of her friends to help stay on track and they readily agree to support her. This sounds like the perfect plan except for one thing, Will McKenna. Claire has been attracted to Will for the past year but she had a boyfriend and Will had a girlfriend, but Will’s been dumped too. Rather than pursue a romantic relationship with Will, Claire opts for a deeper friendship but the more time she spends with Will, the more attracted she becomes to him. Now Claire has to decide if pursuing Will is worth to ruining the special friendship they’ve developed.

Will Mckenna eats, sleeps and breathes football. It’s constantly on his mind. Something else, that’s constantly on his mind, Claire Stone. Will has wanted Claire since they met as freshman and now that they both are “free agents” so to speak Will is free to pursue Claire. Unfortunately for Will, Claire’s taking a break from relationships. Being a good friend he supports her in her decision but more time with Claire just convinces him that she’s the girl for him. When Will’s football dreams take a detour he’s suddenly insecure about who he is, he’s always been identified and associated with football; now that it’s gone he’s not sure who he is or if he has anything to offer Claire.

This is book number two in Strom’s Hart University series. I read book one, Rikki, and loved it. Claire did not disappoint. These two characters were easily likable and I had an instant connection with them.

All though Will is a “hot jock”, he’s not your typical “hot jock”. He’s not the most sexually experienced guy; he’s only been with one girl. He’s not a panty chaser, although he wants to be. Claire plans on being a doctor and she’s the lead singer in a band and while she appears to be very sure of herself, she’ far from it. What I really liked about these guys? They were real young adults. They’re no longer kids but not quite adults. Their insecurities and inexperience shows. They want to do the right thing, but they still need some parental guidance in doing it.

After their night together, they don’t turn into those clingy “oh, we are girlfriend and boyfriend” people. They still don’t quite know what to do with each other. I will say I was a little disappointed in the ending. You get your HEA but there was just something about that last scene that felt a little anticlimactic. Like my advice on “Rikki”, just read the book. There are additional books on the horizon and I’m anxious to get my hands on those as well.