Review: Thrust

Thrust by Rachel Spangler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finished on June 17, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "I only mother you because you're not housebroken."

I heard about this book for the first time maybe a month or so ago and I was intrigued. I read and loved Fire & Ice, so I wanted to see what Spangler could do with fencing. When she put out that review copies were available, I jumped at the chance to get to read this book. So, I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and that’s what she’s going to get.
    
Jess joined the varsity fencing team when she was 13, something that isn’t traditionally done. In her first year she became a state champ, came out, and was gently let down by her captain. Her captain did make a pact with her though, Jess could ask Lauren out again when she was on the road to the Olympics. Jess comes back ten years later in order to hold Lauren to that deal. Lauren has been through a couple of things over the past years and has wound up teaching/running a fencing club in a warehouse back where she grew up. Both of them have plans for the future, but can their plans mesh together?

I don’t know what it is about Spangler’s writing, but she writes sports in a way where I want to know more about them. I want to learn about them, watch them, try them out. She did it with curling and now with fencing. Both were sports that I had no previous interest it, but now I want more. She wrote about the sport, and the characters’ love for it, in such a way where I felt drawn and compelled to feel the same way. It was amazing and awe-inspiring, but it also means that now I want to watch a bunch of fencing bouts.

I adore every character that was in this book, with Ansel being the exception. Lauren and Jess are amazing characters who share such an amazing bond with each other. Lauren and Jess are both such passionate characters about all things fencing. Jess is a hot-head force of nature, but she’s not mean or stuck-up or anything like that. Lauren is the mom-friend, especially after the situation that brought her back home, but it’s clear that she cares for all of these people around her. I also want to know more about Haley and Kristie. Both of them intrigue me.

This book was absolutely amazing. I was riveted to this book once I picked it up to begin reading it. Jess and Lauren have great chemistry together and share a connection that sparks almost instantly once Jess is back in town. The two are absolutely amazing together and I adored every scene where they were together, even if they were having a disagreement. There is the standard conflict towards the end, but it was handled relatively quickly. The conflict made sense and wasn’t drawn out over too many pages.

This book is amazing, and I highly recommend that people pick it up and read it. I was blown away by how much I adored the characters together and how much this book made me want to learn fencing.

Bonus Favorite Scene: Them almost getting caught outdoors