What is “Famous Last Words” by C.W. Farnsworth about?

Harlow Hayes loves water. In its liquid form.

The chlorinated kind she swims in. The perennial droplets soaking her adopted hometown. The waves she ventures out on to observe the ocean.

Water in its frozen state holds no appeal to her. That’s not the only—or most divisive—difference between her and Conor Hart. The arrogant, arresting captain of Holt University’s hockey team spends every second not picking fights or partying atop a sheet of it.

Plenty of girls fall for the charming lines and that cocky smirk. Harlow knows better. Knows more.

The fuel for the fury that makes him such a dominant force on the ice. The reason he ignores her as resolutely as she pretends he doesn’t exist. The history they share but didn’t write.

Knowledge meant to ensure he’s the one guy she could never—would never—like, much less love.

Famous last words.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

This was the first book I’ve ever read by C.W. Farnsworth, and it took me a little bit to get into the book, but once I did, I really liked it. Conor and Harlow were interesting since they had a sort of ‘enemies-to-lovers’ vibe even though they hadn’t interacted too much directly with each other prior to the start of their ‘enemies’ feeling towards the other, with the reasoning being mostly revealed throughout the book.

It was fun for me to read about a school with Division III sports teams, since that’s the kind of college I just graduated from. (I have no idea if we even have a hockey team, but our football team won their championship right before COVID hit, so I guess that’s sort of similar?) Like Conor, I was an English major…but then I changed my major and added a double major so that’s where those similarities end. I know absolutely nothing about the ocean, so I had nothing to go off of there in terms of Harlow’s education, but I liked the schoolwork was actually mentioned in the book, which doesn’t always happen too much in college books.

I kind of wished we would’ve gotten more interactions between Conor and his estranged family and with Harlow and that same family before they met, just to really show the differences in their relationships, but I think that was shown later on in a pretty sufficient way — I think the same about Harlow and her best friend, Landon’s relationship. Still, I really liked her friendship with her roommate, Eve, and how even though at the start her and Conor didn’t get along, they (for the most part) weren’t outwardly rude or mean to each other for no reason. Considering Harlow’s love of swimming, and the fact that we get to see her out on the ice with Conor, I think that a scene where he swims with her could’ve added a lot to their relationship development.

Overall, I think this is a fun sports romance for anyone looking to read a new adult book set in college! The characters are seniors, in case that makes it more interesting to any of you. As with all new adult books, I’d recommend them for 18+ due to some of the sexual content, but as always, you do you! If you’re looking for another hockey romance series, I recommend starting with “Heartless Player” by R.C. Stephens, or the Kings of Rittenhouse series by Maya Hughes. I haven’t read her series yet (even though I’ve started collecting the ebooks), but loved her Fulton U series, so I’m sure it’s great!

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