Book Blurb:
Don't get mad — get even.
A grudge hates to see Olivia Hinckley coming. Years ago, a dirty hit ended her late father’s NHL career with the Minnesota Freeze. It was never fair that Erik Parker walked away with little more than a penalty, but it’s worse that her father's rival is now up for Hall of Fame induction. On top of that, Erik's son—hockey’s golden boy, Brody—just signed on to play for the Freeze. Determined to dismantle the Parker legacy, Olivia enacts a revenge plot that has her donning the Freeze’s mascot costume to gain intel on the Parkers. And she can’t help but mess with Brody’s gameplay—and his heart for good measure. After all, what’s a little fake dating between enemies?
Brody Parker only ever wanted to play hockey for fun, but the pressure of being part of hockey’s “First Family” has him dodging nepotism allegations along with high sticks. Erik might act like Father of the Year when the cameras are on, but behind closed doors, Brody struggles with his father’s impossible expectations. Preserving Erik’s image is a full-time job, but lucky for Brody, his new connection with Olivia is a welcome (spicy) distraction.
When Brody finally opens up to Olivia, she never expected she’d pity a Parker for anything. Suddenly, she wants to protect her once-enemy. The romantic feelings she faked are now unexpectedly real, but after leading Brody on for so long, can she keep the lies and the truth straight before she accidentally blows up his whole life?
*Netgalley ALC 2/7 (new set) *fake dating *enemies to more *long term grief *loss of parent (in past) *family drama *sports romance (hockey) *Dual POV *Spice *Hockey Star x Mascot *FMC and MMC Hockey players *State Challenge Minnesota (Duplicate) *revenge plan *green flag book boyfriend *toxic father (MMC) *Secret identity
Thoughts:
Olivia (FMC) is dealing with long term grief after losing her father he was a former NHL star for the Minnesota Freeze, his career ended early after a dirty hit on ice from rival player Erik Parker while her dad's health continued to decline Erik Parker went on to play for years and worst of all he's set to be inducted into the hall of fame. Olivia has lost her path in life and now is barely getting by with occasional free lance jobs her mother has sold her child hood home and she now is crashing at her sister's with some less than thrilling room decorations (her sister's girlfriend is a taxidermist).
Olivia seeing news that Brody Parker (Erik's son) is now to be on her father's old team... not on her watch. Olivia using a family friend decides to try to sabotage Brody by getting a job with the team... only the job available is the mascot fine she can do that... it will get her close to the players... only she ends up getting way closer to Brody than originally expected when he hits her with his car.
Brody is handsome, charming, a bit cocky and an excellent hockey player if you asked his father he would say that it's because of him that he has everything he has now not because he worked hard and proved himself time and time again on the ice. Brody's father to the public is a Hockey legend... away from the public he's a true bully nothing Brody does is ever good enough and he's had enough... at least with choosing a team in Minnesota maybe it will be cold enough that his dad won't want to visit... he is used to the Florida sunshine these days.
Olivia at first makes plans to sabotage Brody anyway she can and it worked to her advantage that Brody has asked her out... great now she can get up close and personal. First chance she gets she talks Brody into cutting off his beautiful flowing hair... only this plan backfires when the public finds him even more handsome and he ends up with a new sponsorship... seriously this guy just can't lose!
Olivia and Brody continue to get closer together throughout the story and what originally starts out as a revenge (ish) plan fizzles out pretty quickly as she begins to notice that Brody isn't anything like his arrogant father he's thoughtful, caring, a good team mate and an even better boyfriend... is he her boyfriend?
Naturally there is a huge problem hanging over her head and that is that she hasn't been honest with him about her sabotage attempts and there were a few other things she was hiding as well... the longer she keeps this secret the harder it will be to tell him and at this point he has become as vital to her as her heart.
This was a heart felt funny rom-com that had me laughing out loud at parts, some of this story felt more YA than adult especially with the sabotage efforts which were a funny sequence of events... but felt like a high school prank gone wrong. Even with that this was a sweet and cozy listen that had me rooting for Brody to find his voice to stick up for himself against his father and for Olivia to finally tell the truth already so they could be together without this big secret.
I thank the author and Netgalley for this early listen copy I really enjoyed it the narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life! 💓
Have you read this book? what did you think?
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