Skye Daniels: Where you've always been

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243300617-where-you-ve-always-been

Noah and his family move across the state (Texas) after his father loses his job thinking his life as he knows it is changing (and not necessarily in a good way) when they move into his grandmother's home he is surprised to find that there are other kids in his new neighborhood and instead of ditching him they bring him into their friend group with open arms, he is especially enamored with this fiery red head who has already decided for him that they are going to be best friends forever.

Ella struggles with PTSD after an event from childhood led to her not liking to be anywhere that she can't easily get out of because of that she sits at the end of the booth, doesn't like crowds and has probably relied too much (her thoughts not his) on her best friend Noah when she's struggling with her anxiety.  

Noah struggles with emotions from long term grief over the loss of his father at a young age and feelings of having to become the "man" of the house early on he has been taking care of others for ages and that includes all of his friends he doesn't mind doing it he is happy to help.  Noah, Ella and their friends all live together in a large house making for some light hearted funny moments along with arguments throughout the book.  

Noah and Ella have always said they would never lie to each other but they have both been holding back a big secret... the reason they have never been able to make a relationship work with anyone else is because they both have been in love with each other since the day they met.

But are they brave enough to face the truth and tell each other how they feel taking that big leap from friendship into the unknown of something so much more?  Will their new relationship status be able to survive the ups and downs when other secrets kept are revealed?  

*2026 read  *State challenge- Texas  *Friends to more *childhood best friends  *slow burn

*spice  *college romance  *Indie author *mental health representation  *grief  

*dual POV  *mutual long term pining  *she's more experienced  *soul mates

Thoughts:

This is a really sweet story about finding the love of your life at a young age and being afraid to take that next step towards something more than friendship due to not wanting to change what they have... but both knowing that their love is true and inevitable. 

The lead characters faced real life serious issues related to mental health and dealing with anxiety, PTSD and loss the author deals with all of these issues in a thoughtful way.  

The lead characters are easy to love and I also loved their friend group who were loud, sometimes meddling and borderline obnoxious but always true friendship goals.  

There were some truly laugh out loud moments that I could see happening when you are living with that many people at that age group in a big house.   

The story was heartfelt and I truly enjoyed it!  I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series which comes out later this month.  

Jillian Arly: The Perfect Assist

 Green Bay Bobcats Book 2

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241208075-the-perfect-assist

Niko (MMC) is the captain of the Bobcats NHL hockey team he is a leader on the team but recently he's been struggling his little girl (she is 4) has been waking up and coming to his room he can't get enough sleep and he doesn't want to keep asking for help from his parents he really could use another nanny but he can't understand why he can't find a decent caregiver... he's had a series of duds and he now feels he can't trust anyone with his precious girl.

In comes Sadie she's 2 of his coaches best friend and the team has recently hired her for at least the season for yoga sessions and meditation for the guys to be able to get in the right head space before the games... she's also the first woman in awhile that makes his heart beat a bit faster, she's gorgeous and caring and his daughter seems to love her... he might just feel a bit more for her too.

After a minor injury Sadie offers to help Niko with childcare and he offers her a place to live... which works out because Sadie's not going to be able to afford her apartment once her best friend/room mate moves in with her boyfriend.  

Before long lines are blurring between friendship and employer/employee when these two can't seem to stay away from each other... but is this only a temporary situation or could this possibly be forever? 

 Both of our leads struggle with abandonment issues which leads to miscommunication/no communication which adds to the drama will they be able to come together to try something real?  or will what they have fizzle out before either of them give it a real chance? 

*ARC read  *Hockey Romance *Sports Romance  *Single Dad  *Captain of the team *Spice

*Yoga instructor *miscommunication/no communication  *friends to more  *Nanny (kind of)

*Slow burn *found family *forced proximity *pining (both sides) *dual pov 

*State Challenge Wisconsin

Troubled past:  MMC has issues with being left by his ex-wife, FMC has abandonment issues with her family 

Thoughts:

Likes: 

Likeable lead characters and side characters, Niko is green flag book boyfriend material I love a hockey guy!  I liked that Niko's daughter Sophia was a lead character and wasn't just pushed aside for the unfolding romance. 

Enjoyed the side characters (friends) and I will probably check out the next in the series. 

Neutral:

Cozy read, nothing really stood out as new and I could predict where the story was going way in advance, I did start to skim through areas that were repeated monologues of previous sections or overly descriptive these sections could have been edited down so the book wasn't over 400 pages long I struggled at points to get through the book.  

Dislikes:

I'm not sure the author knows how long it takes to be a surgeon but at one point it's mentioned that Sadie is the oldest of 6 (and she's only like 30) then all of her younger brothers and sisters became surgeons and lawyers to appease her parents... it takes like 13 + years to be a surgeon.

There is a very brief section where she stands up to her family but Niko is the one who stands up to them first... it would have been nice if she had taken the lead on that situation.

The miscommunication at the end seemed more forced considering both leads at that point know a bit more about each other's history with abandonment.   

Monty Jay: Shattered Ice

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54494406-shattered-ice

Fury Book #3 can be read as a stand alone

Malakai Petrov is a wall in more ways than one he is a goalie and used to blocking goals, but he also has walls up around his heart he suffered terrible abuse as a young child in Russia growing up in a brothel with his mother and even though he was able to leave his terrible situation as a teenager when his mother passed away and he went to live with his aunt in the States some scars stay.

Charlotte runs into Malakai in a chance encounter while on a school trip she is brilliant and even though their meeting is short the mysterious stranger who creates beautiful art (he's been doing graffiti) he leaves a lasting impression on her and no other guy has measured up to this handsome artist, she even chose the school she attended in hopes that she would run into him again one day.  

Malakai agrees to let his teammate move in with him while his place is being renovated... shortly after he agrees to also let his team mates twin sister move in and this might be the worst decision he's ever made as this girl from his past doesn't keep to herself like he had hoped she barges into his life and makes him see the world in a different way his world is brighter with her in it and since he has been living with the pain of his dark past he doesn't know how to deal with this intrusion into his heart.  

The longer they are together the closer they get and he is losing his inner battle with keeping her as just his room mate when she makes him want things he doesn't deserve to have will he finally be able to let love in or will he keep his walls up?  Also will Charlottes brother be accepting of their relationship if this turns into something more? 

*Netgalley  *twin brother's best friend *childhood trauma  *FMC is dealing with a sick mother 

*strangers --> more  *Spice  *hockey romance  *sports romance *musician FMC *long term pining (FMC)  *Goalie  *Brooding MMC  *State Challenge Illinois 

*darker sides of life (childhood trauma, side character dealing with addiction related issues) --> Check your trigger warnings if you read this book 

Thoughts:

Likes: 

Both leads are broken in different ways and even though Malakai feels he isn't worthy of love Charlotte comes along and rocks his world in a good way even when he wants to distance himself he can't help the pull he feels towards her and once they come together it is truly beautiful like the healing/mending of two imperfect souls.

Where Malakai is closed off and doesn't know how to love, Charlotte has enough love for both of them and it makes the ending so sweet. 

I enjoy Hockey Romances and while this book had darker themes which is different from what I usually read and maybe could have been a bit longer to deal with some of these more emotional situations that the characters were dealing with I enjoyed the story overall and liked the ending.  

Dislikes:

Charlotte distanced herself from her mother (suffering with dementia) and her brother for a few years because she was struggling with her mom remembering her brother and not her, I get she was feeling forgotten but her brother was struggling in his own ways and really could have used her support during this time he was hurting too.

I felt that the book was fairly short so everything had to happen really quickly leaving some of the story line to feel more rushed and not as natural for pacing.  

Kai is really cruel to Charlotte to push her away after she has a moment of vulnerability and shares her feelings due to his own feelings of low self worth... Charlotte really lets him off easy when he comes to his senses about his own feelings. 

Debbie Charles: Dances With Pucks

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223879486-dances-with-pucks

Cam our MMC is good at his job and wants to make sure he's prepared for the upcoming season he's been given an amazing opportunity and has been selected for an expansion team for the NHL he's got to make a good impression and wants to make sure he is the starting goalie... one of his ways to stay limber is a not so secret secret he's been taking ballroom dance lessons since college... he feels it's a way to stay close to his mom who passed away years before.  

Cam finds a dance studio willing to give private lessons and soon he is dancing beautifully with his new partner Christina she's stunning and keeps him on his toes... he's soon surprised to learn that she is one of the owners of his new team along with her brother and sister while Christina feels the pull towards Cam too she holds herself back for obvious reasons... he's too young for her, he's her dance student and now he's also on the team that she co-owns... so many reasons to hold back and not get involved as anything more but she can only resist for so long... he is the most handsome guy she's ever seen and it's been awhile since she's been with anyone.

Christina has some medical issues which have led to the end of her competitive ballroom dance career as well as made it impossible for her to get pregnant since ending competitive dancing she has focused on her career with her families financial portfolio and also is now to help guide the hockey players (if they want to use her services) with their finances... knowing that Cam is so young and might want a family some day should she just end things before they really get started?  Or can she let go and take a chance on something that has the potential to be amazing?  Always in the back of her mind is her poor relationship with her last partner that ended badly. 

They both say it's just casual but as they spend more time together even though they haven't admitted it to each other everyone can see it's already so much more.  

When the truth comes out about Christina's health conditions will there even be a relationship to worry about saving?  

*Hockey Romance  *Sports Romance  *Dual POV  *Spice  *strangers --> more  *dealing with grief (MMC loss of mom)  *workplace romance *reverse Age Gap  *Goalie MMC  *position of power (female owner)  *Dance partners *forbidden romance *complicated family relationships (MMC) *secret relationship *millionaire/billionaire romance  *slow(ish) burn *State Challenge: Texas  *Indie Author

Thoughts:

Likes: 

This was a cute hockey romance with some humor and some spice, it did take me a bit to get into but both of our leads are likeable and I did root for them to give each other a chance to make things work.  Both characters have their individual struggles --> FMC with health issues and infertility, and MMC with an absent/distant father/family.  

Good chemistry between our leads.  Love a handsome hockey goalie! 

I liked the interactions with Cam and his team mates and everyone should have a group of girlfriends like Christina's.  I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series and have pre-ordered the 3rd book.  

Dislikes: 

I did find that some of the book seemed to focus more on positioning of their dance moves (kind of like an instruction manual), or lengthier descriptions on hockey positions and financial management and I think those portions could have been trimmed to add additional scenes with our couple getting to know each other better.  

Took awhile to get to actual spice for the amount of inner monologue from both sides about how their body was reacting to each other... every chapter in the beginning seemed to bring up wetness gathering on leotards or painful bulging by looking at Christina's amazing dancer's body... yes we get that you both want each other... get together already!... or talk about something else 😂 (probably just a me problem...)

  

Tequilla Havens: The Long Game

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242997803-the-long-game

Kaius Merrick (MMC) left his small hometown to pursue his dream career of being a professional baseball star he left everything and everyone he knew to go after this dream including the one always on his mind Avaline... after he made a name for himself and had money in the bank he would come back for her... but would she still be there waiting for him?

Ava has big walls up when it comes to her heart and Kaius is a big reason why... instead of taking her he just left her why was she so easy for him to walk away from?  Now he's back in town saying that he wants to right his wrongs and be part of his family again and with any luck he would love nothing more than for Ava to give him a second chance even though he knows he's in the wrong he's trying in a big way... he's making big changes in his life and all he wants is the opportunity to prove he deserves another chance.  

Once Kai is back in town weird things begin happening at Ava's book store the lights are flickering, there are smells of cinnamon everywhere and pumpkins and books are being rearranged... even though it starts in her bookstore it becomes so much more when letters get shoved under her door, messages begin popping up in odd places and old friends return with unexpected gifts that may or may not be the key to solving this budding mystery where clues are popping up but without coming back together and facing their past how will they ever be able to solve the case? 

I went into this book without reading the back summary I thought it was going to be a baseball/second chance romance (which it is) but it also focuses on their friend group coming together to solve this mystery each have been getting pieces of the puzzle but until they are willing to be honest with each other and reveal all of the secret clues will they even be able to get to the end of this mystery?  

I really enjoyed this book it wasn't what I expected and I enjoyed that the author was able to keep this eerie mystery vibe throughout the story.  I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series!  

*Indie author  *baseball star MMC (book focuses on the town mystery not so much his career it is off season)  *book shop owner FMC  *ghosts of the past  *Paranormal activity *mystery

*Multiple POV's  *2nd chance for romance  *small town  *State Challenge Indiana  

Emily Blackwood: House of Lies and Sorrow

 Fae of Rewyth book 1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60816947

Jade Farrow is used to struggles in her life she has been forced to grow up quickly after her mother passed away and her father turned to drinking instead of focusing on taking care of his family she has been responsible for protecting her younger sister, she hunts and forages in the forests surrounding their cottage and she takes the brunt of their father's anger so that her younger sister won't have to deal with him... only time is running out for her in a moment of weakness to save his own life her father made a deal with the Fae King that he will give his daughter's hand in marriage to one of the King's sons.

While in many stories it would be a dream come true to be married to a handsome prince it is not the case in Jade's story, while the prince (Malachi) is handsome he is also the most dangerous Fae in the land and if rumor has it correct his previous 3 human wives died on their wedding day... rumor has it he is the one responsible for their demise.  

Only when Jade goes to the Fae Kingdom expecting this to be her last day alive Malachi surprises her... while he is still just as dangerous as all the rumors make him out to be, he's not a danger to her he is just as upset about the outcome of his previous marriages he has had enough... no one is going to touch what now belongs to him and that includes his new bride Jade. 

Without knowing who she can trust Jade meets many shady characters in her new home including his 4 ruthless (but slightly less powerful) brothers, his father the king who has been using him as a weapon of mass destruction for an unknown period of time to take out his enemies... even Malachi's ex situationship has her on guard.  His sister seems trustworthy even if she does keep talking her into doing things that lead them into a bit of trouble... but someone in this place wants her gone just who could it be?  Will she even get a chance to eat her wedding meal or will she be gone before the end of the day as she originally expected?  

If she does make it past the day will she ever be able to see her sister again?  

*Fae  *Romantasy  *arranged marriage  *age gap (😁)  *fierce FMC  *Shadow Daddy MMC  

*Touch her and 💀 *enemies to more  *no spice just kisses  *magic  *magical realm  *young adult

*Slow burn  *ends on a cliffhanger  *need to read in order

Thoughts:

*My husband saw the title and he sang in a Meatloaf voice "In the House of Lies and Sorrow, Girl there is no tomorrow, no, no, no" he has asked me to put this into my review*  

From reading a few other reviews if you are a super big Romantasy fan and have read a bunch of them this one might not be for you, I haven't read many and haven't read the popular ones but a lot of the reviews compare it to being ACOTAR fan fiction.  I thought it was an interesting enough start to a story to continue with the series and finished this book in a few days.  

I thought it was a quick read, I wouldn't really consider this as much of a romance story at this point as they kissed a few times and might have felt some "heat" of some sort but neither character makes much effort to get to know the other one and our MMC spends a lot of time away from the FMC doing Princely business.  Also seems his protectiveness in book one stems not as much from actually having "feelings" for her as it does that he's had enough of losing his human wives and wants to put an end to that... however he has to do it... You can see towards the end that maybe his feelings are starting to change so looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book.  

Our FMC is fierce and stubborn and sometimes gets herself in trouble by doing things that are obvious to us as the reader as a bad idea... like going by herself to meet try to meet a shady character at night, or venturing out into the forest when she was told to stay in the room with the guard outside.  She really doesn't have much control over her life before or after going to the Fae world.  

The book is fairly repetitive, it is hard to determine the timeline of events or how much time has truly passed between any event.  The dialogue is sometimes awkward at points it is more modern (like we speak) and other times it tries to sound more romantasy worldish "Saints."  The book also goes from not much happening to things happening quickly at the end feeling more rushed, so maybe some of the pacing will work itself out in the rest of the series.  Hoping to learn more about the world and about how any of the Fae's magic works there are vague hints but nothing concrete.  

Nikki Lawson: Offside Hearts

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/134097798-offside-hearts

Noah Blake is an NHL superstar, Margo is a woman on a mission she is looking for a job as a social media manager in a chance encounter the two get stuck in an elevator together and have an intense moment in time where Margo is afraid and Noah is happy to comfort her however she needs to be comforted.  

Margo thinking she will never see this handsome stranger again is so wrong since he is one of the stars on the NHL team where she is starting her new job as their social media manager... so she will be working with him a lot she can't mix business with pleasure (even if she wanted to) and she needs this job it's an amazing opportunity for her and nothing will get in the way of her career even a super hot shot hockey guy.

Noah has been a ladies man in the past (the past being very recent) but the moment he sees Margo things change for him she is "The One" he knows it... he just needs her to see that they would be amazing together and to do that he needs to convince her that she should give him a chance to prove he's worth her time and not a playboy like the tabloids say.

Margo briefly rejects his advances towards her only to very quickly give in and next thing she knows she is in a very fast paced secret relationship with Noah who is so much more than she originally thought him to be and just maybe she's falling a bit more for him daily... but what will happen if their relationship comes out to the public?  Is there a rule against dating one of the players?  She doesn't want to be seen as a jersey chaser or even worse be seen as "just Noah's girlfriend" she wants to show she is good at her job on her own.

While Margo's family is very caring, loving and welcoming Noah's family is old money and very all about appearances what if Margo can't live up to their expectations?  

Naturally secret relationships with someone very much in the public are hard to keep secret and when a bit of scandal occurs will their relationship last?  or will it be just a moment in time like their elevator encounter?  

*Hockey Romance *Sports Romance *strangers --> more  *golden retriever MMC  *Pierced 👇

*spice (lots of it) *family drama  *Scandal  *workplace romance *she falls --> he falls harder  *NHL

*book boyfriend *miscommunication/no communication  *3rd act break up  *insta lust/love *cheesy

My thoughts:  May contain spoilers:

Likes:   I loved Noah he was a super sweet guy and he really cared about Margo.  Margo's family was family goals very supportive and willing to stand up for her even against a pro athlete if needed.  Loved Noah's team mates and might check out the next book to see if it’s any better.

dislikes: : I love hockey romances I really struggled to finish this book like I started reading it in June of 2025 and just finished it today (1/8/26) I almost DNF multiple times but powered through.

*I didn’t like the FMC she was obnoxious at times and I was actively rooting for Noah to find a new woman throughout different parts of the book 

*I just don’t believe that a person can go from a player seeing different ladies all over the country to all in with a stranger in a matter of a few days

*the spice starts with these two strangers in an elevator and in the middle of a panic attack the FMC grinds herself on this mans thick thigh… seriously

*the spice just continues from there I began to skip past some of these scenes to get back to plot

*the FMC gets hired as the social media manager but they act like the team needs to find fans for their franchise through her efforts alone… they are a NHL team I’m sure they have plenty of fans… she also knows very little about Hockey and is new to social media management I don’t see how she beat out all the other competition for this job or why it’s portrayed as basically just her with her cell phone recording things some days? Big teams have bigger social media teams it wouldn’t just be one girl with her phone.

*At any little issue instead of talking our FMC blows things out of proportion and jumps to conclusions not even waiting for the MMC to be ready to talk about the issues.

*Margo tells Noah she loves Sunflowers when they are in the elevator together… he calls her this all the time sometimes multiple times on the same page.

*Noah is so sweet and perfect… like too perfect do you have any flaws at all now?  Of course you do handsome we love you anyways but be real 😉

*the book was at least 100-150 pages too long, padded out with a bunch of filler which was a slog to get through.

*I could go on about this but basically this one wasn’t for me, I’m not saying it won’t be a good book for the right person. 

  à  Possible spoilers

 

*Margo has a secret she stole 20k from her previous employer but justifies the embezzlement because the guy was a jerk and her sister needed the money to get out of a bad living situation (I’m sorry but the family was really supportive I’m sure that if she went to their parents and brothers they could have found out a different way to deal with this  à also someone has embezzled from me and my neighbors in our association (it was 40k… and it really sucks to be stolen from… she now has to pay us back at $60 a month me and my neighbors are going to die before we get our money back… anyways back to this story)    

à Noah is totally fine with her stealing she is a wonderful person, the best one he knows and she is so great at her job… His stuck up father later hires an investigator and finds out from a former co-worker of Margo’s that she stole the money… if the other employee knew about the theft how did Margo get away with it? 

•   I was ok with how this part was resolved at the end and how Noah stood up to his father.