Elysia Wages: Fall To Me

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/233994011-fall-to-me

Book Blurb:

River

Carter Graham has been after me for a year now; leaving my favorite coffee on my desk every morning, showing up when I think I’ve successfully avoided him. I don’t want to find him attractive. God, I really don’t. Every time he pierces me with those glacier-blue eyes, it feels like he sees right down to the depths of my soul. I become confused, my pulse races, my cheeks warm, and tingles spread throughout my body. It literally feels like the ground shifts under my feet. Usually, that’s when I run. Running is something I’ve become very good at.

Carter

River Hendrix. Man, I’ve had it bad for that woman since the day I laid eyes on her. She took my breath away. But it wasn’t only her beauty that shook me, it was how she looked at me like I was an idiot when I held out my hand to shake hers. Since then, that girl has lit me up and torn me down in the same breath. Chasing her is a high that makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt in my life. Every glance, every time she brushes me off, or pops off with one of her smart remarks, only makes me crave her more. The more she turns me down; the more determined I become. I’m not one to give up easily. I don’t quit . . . ever. Mark my words. One day, she will be mine.

After a painful divorce, River is still piecing herself back together, wary of letting anyone in. Carter is relentless, determined to win her heart. When a wild night in Vegas ends in an accidental marriage, they’re forced to confront what they truly want. Will River’s past destroy their chance at happiness?

Or will Carter prove he’s worth the risk?

Tropes:

*High Gravity ALC  *Hockey Romance *Workplace Romance *Forced Proximity

*Slow Burn *spice *Accidental Marriage *Drama *Green Flag MMC *Fierce FMC

*Protective MMC *humor *Golden Retriever MMC *mental health representation

*Found family  *State Challenge New York (Repeat) 

Trigger Warnings: *Toxic Ex *DV  *Check for other triggers 

Thoughts:

I received this ALC from High Gravity and was really excited to start this one after finishing up the first book especially since the ending of the first book set us up for the 2nd book.

Carter (MMC) is hot (he knows it, we know it) he's a Hockey superstar, wealthy and has charm for days he can get any woman he wants... or at least he thought he could until he ran into River (FMC) but he knows they were meant to be and he'll wear her down eventually he just needs to be patient.

River has a bad history with men since getting away from her awful ex it will be a long, long time before she wants anything to do with men... especially Carter, he's handsome (yes) but he's also got a temper which she's seen on the ice... she can't deal with that again.

Carter and River are in Vegas for their best friends wedding and when they get thrown together for the night to do a pre-wedding game, maybe have a few too many drinks and wake up the next day with a rotten hangover and evidence that their night might have been a bit too much... of everything since now they are married and it will be a bigger PR nightmare to get this annulled... I guess they are doing this.

Carter was surprising to me in all the best ways in the first book I saw how sweet he was towards River... but just when I thought he was just a hot, goofy party boy hockey player... he shows up and steps up as the man River always should have had he's caring, supportive, protective, he's truly kind, he even teaches her self defense techniques, he's everything that she didn't even know she was missing with a man in her life.  

River is unsure of herself after the end of her last relationship and still trying to figure out who she is now by herself without adding another person to the mix... but Carter is so easy to love. 

Their love is not over night it happens slowly and I appreciated that it was a slower progression and not an instant situation especially since River had been fighting any feelings she might have towards him for the last year.  The longer they were together the harder time she had staying away from him and the closer they became throughout the book the harder time she had wondering why she was putting up so much fight against him... he is nothing like her ex and showed her day after day that he was one of the good ones. 

Just when things are going so well between our couple a wrench gets thrown in the middle... will they ever be able to have a happy ending or will her past keep coming back to haunt them?

When this ALC popped up I downloaded it immediately and I wasn't disappointed it has a full-cast of amazing narrators: Teddy Hamilton, Andi Eloise, Corvin King, Stella Hunter, Aaron Shedlock, Lauren Beck, Brandon Francis, Leanne Blade, and Audrey Obeyn.  

I was drawn in from the first chapter and truly felt like I was going on an emotional journey with our couple if you enjoy a hockey romance with humor, a green flag protective book boyfriend, a fierce FMC (and like I said some more emotional/harder moments too) add this one to your list... and do yourself a favor if you are an audio book lover and get the audio version too!  

Have you read this one?  What did you think?

A.L. Richards: Blocked & Bewitched

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254455293-blocked-bewitched

Blurb:

The moment Lachlan Fraser walked into her shop, Calla Brighton knew he was going to be a problem.

Calla liked her life predictable. Her herbs are organized, her wards are maintained, and her emotional entanglements are kept to an absolute minimum.

Then a cursed hockey goalie walks into her shop.

As the starting goalie for the Victoria Seawolves, Lachlan "Lock" Fraser is used to pressure. He's even gotten used to the bad luck that's followed him for years. What he isn't prepared for it discovering that his bad luck isn't bad luck at all.

It's a curse.

When a magical accident binds Calla and Lock together, staying apart isn't an option. Distance tears at the magic. Closeness keeps it stable. But, while proximity buys them time, it does nothing to stop the curse from escalating.

As the danger grows, so does the connection between them.

The longer they remain bound together, the harder it becomes to ignore what's growing between them - and the more there is to lose if they curse wins.

Because this time, the curse isn't just threatening Lock.

It's coming for both of them.

Blocked & Bewitched is a paranormal hockey romance featuring a cursed goalie, a sarcastic witch, forced proximity, found family, magic, humor, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Tropes:

*ARC Read 2026 *Hockey Romance  *Goalie MMC *Reverse Grumpy x sunshine

*Black cat FMC with a black cat familiar  *curses *magic *strangers --> more

*Golden Retriever MMC *Witch FMC *found family *Slow burn *spice *Sassy FMC

*paranormal elements *Banter *Forced proximity *opposites attract *Mystery 

Thoughts:

You could say that Lachlan Fraser (MMC) leads a charmed life he's living many peoples dreams as a starting hockey goalie on the Victoria Seawolves and he's a pretty happy guy usually but lately things have been more off than usual and it's making his job to catch these fast flying pucks harder when he's losing focus and there have been disturbances around him.  Being superstitious as any other hockey player he decides to go into a local shop for something to help with this issue... maybe a potion?  Or a charm? 

Calla (FMC) has been living a very ordered life, everything has its proper place and she likes her guards up... around everything especially her heart... she's a bit on the broody side and when Lock stumbles into her shop she knows it will lead to trouble... she's just going to help him and hopefully he won't come back(?)

Only Lock keeps coming back he needs her help especially since she straight up told him he is cursed... what can he do about it?  Lock by accident messes with an object not meant for him... Calla was trying to strengthen her bond between herself and her Cat familiar "Hex"... but the second he touches it their worlds collide and now they are bound together.

What happens when a closed off broody witch and a Sunshine hockey goalie are bound together?  Actually it's straight up magic.  Lock is a big personality on ice and he storms into her life, forces her to get out and socialize and see that she can still be orderly and let her hair down from time to time, she on the other hand shows him that love can be shown in many ways like comfort and support even when his job has him on the road a lot of nights.

As our couple that started out as strangers learn to work together as they are now both dealing with being tied to Lock's curse they quickly find themselves falling for each other... but will they ever get to the bottom of the curse?  What did he even do and how can they fight the unknown?  

Things that were a bit off for me involved the time line I was never sure at any given time how much time had passed, and I think that a lot of things maybe happened off page and just told to us later.  I also wish there might have been a better explanation of the magical system there was a lot of speak of "Magical" wards/barriers, tugging/straining on magical lines but without further explaining what Calla knew about her magic and curses it was hard for me to follow, there is a bit more explanation later on in the book though so that helped to clarify things a bit but until then I kind of just felt it was magical filler words without much background knowledge, that could be a me thing though.

Calla's brought into the WAG group and forms fast friends with most of the other ladies but this was part of what I feel was more off page as they only met up a few times and had a group chat but we were more told than shown how close they were.

Overall this was a cute cozy read and I enjoyed it.  This is a fun take on a hockey romance with a bit of a paranormal element thrown in I loved seeing Lock and Calla go from strangers to inseperable and Lock's team mates and their girlfriends made for a fun found family addition to this story.  I'm looking forward to the next in this series.

have you read this one?  What did you think? 

Riley Paige: Kiss Me First

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242868907-kiss-me-first

Book Blurb:

Joining the insomnia thread at PCU was supposed to be harmless, a place to burn through the quiet hours with strangers who'd never know my name. A way to take my mind off the NHL scouts breathing down my neck.

Just honesty at 2 a.m. with a girl I only know as LittleTooMuch.

I didn't plan to fall for her. But somewhere between the late-night confessions and the things I'd never say out loud, I did.

Then Harlow walks into my life—guarded, beautiful, and my team captain’s little sister.

The more time I spend with her, the harder it gets to ignore the feeling that I already know her.

And if I'm right, I'm in a lot of trouble.

Tropes: 

*Hambright PR ARC/ALC  *Hockey Romance *College Romance  *Mental Health rep

*Check your Trigger warnings *Brothers Best friend *Brothers Team Mate *Anonymous Penpals

*He falls first *Slow Burn *spice   *Long term Grief  *You've got mail vibes *Golden retriever MMC

*Toxic Ex  *Found family *friends to lovers  *State Challenge California (Repeat)

Thoughts:

To Start with I would like to thank the author and Hambright PR for this ARC/ALC Copy, I'm a big Hockey romance fan and when I saw this pop up in my email I was right on top of submitting my request!

Grayson (MMC) is a hockey star on the college team and even though many might think he has it easy he is battling performance anxiety, high expectations that have been placed on him and long term grief over the loss of his brother which has led to long nights as he struggles with Insomnia, thankfully he has found a kindred spirit online a girl (so they say) on the schools forum for their Insomnia thread that calls themselves "LittleTooMuch" even though he's never met her in person he spends late nights chatting with her and looks forward to the next time they talk.

I appreciated the online friendship portion of this book it was sweet and reminded me of You've got mail where they are falling for eachother's personalities first and even though they've never met they already have a strong bond, they talk about anything and everything late into the night and are building that trust that sometimes takes years to form.

Harlow (FMC) has struggled with mental health over the years after the decline of a high school relationship sent her spiraling since then everyone checks in on her (possibly too much) but she's finally doing ok even though she spent some time taking online classes she feels this is her time to join people her age and get out and start living her life again, while she loves her older brother he is towards the over protective and over bearing side, but she has been getting to know a few of his team mates better including Grayson, and she has an online friend that she really can't live without they talk every night and maybe part of the reason things are so great is because they haven't met in person.

The more time Grayson spends with Harlow the more he sees the similarities between his best friends younger sister... and the online girl he's never met but dreams about... this is possibly too big to be a coincidence but at this point things are going well she's opening up to him as herself in person and what if it's not her?  But if it is her will she feel betrayed like he's keeping secrets? 

Harlow is relatable to anyone who has gone through school bullying she's a beautiful girl but struggles with self doubt due to things toxic people have said in the past, it was moving to see her pull herself from the darkness and come out on top.  

Grayson is the ideal green flag book boyfriend he's patient, kind, caring he knows that Harlow has had these struggles in the past and he is there for her without being an overbearing presence, he's very mature for his age (such a sweetheart, I love him!) 

Their relationship didn't feel rushed and the longer they spent time together it felt more inevitable it was meant to be.

If you are a hockey romance fan and enjoy the above tropes add it to your list!  This was a sweet story of two college aged kids who were struggling but found safety in each other.  

some negatives for me:

There were a few side plots that were picked up occasionally but just got dropped so I don't know if those will pick back up in the next book or not, It might be interesting to check out the next in the series.  

I did listen to the ALC for part of this book and the narrators did a great job but I just struggled with the way the book was written at times it was repetitive, I felt like some character in the book asked Harlow if she was "Ok" every other paragraph I found myself getting irritated for the girl everyone is walking on eggshells treating her like she's super fragile it's hard for her to have progress when she's being so sheltered.  

Could just be a me thing but her being in a constant state of stress/anxiety was causing me to have stress and anxiety... I'm reading to relax.   

The other thing that took me out of the story was sometimes there were so many analogies I was wondering if we would ever move towards more actual plot, it was a lot of filler and led to nothing much happening for many pages/chapters but the same stuff.

There was a big build up to the game against her ex then it happened and ended so quickly we don't even fully know what happened after discipline wise, like what!? 

Elysia Wages: Fall Wherever They May

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221031918-fall-wherever-they-may

Book Blurb:

After a phone call, secrets about Aspen’s life are unveiled. Between the discovery of her past and the complications that arise in her small Oklahoma hometown, the single mom finds herself suddenly moving to New York to start a new career and a new life with her ten-year-old son.

Callan is the center iceman for The New York Blaze. He’s focused on one thing and one thing his professional hockey career. After his life was upended, he wants no complications, no distractions.

A series of chance encounters between Aspen and Callan force them together and turns their world upside down.

This is the first installment in The Blaze Hockey Series.

This book is a standalone and ends with a happily ever after.

Tropes:

*High Gravity ALC  *Hockey Romance  *broody MMC  *Single parent (FMC) 

*banter *emotional read *grief  *Slow burn *Neighbors  *Boss x employee 

*spice *workplace romance  *Enemies --> friends --> more  *found family

 *State Challenge New York (repeat)  **Check trigger warnings 

Thoughts:

First of all Thank you to the author and High Gravity Productions for this Audiobook!  I'm a huge hockey romance fan and I was excited to start this one! I've read at least 60 Hockey romance books and this one didn't disappoint.

Callan (MMC) is a broody NHL star who has been going thru the motions of life but not really living for several years, we as the reader know it has something to do with his past but don't find out more of the story until later in the book.  He has been on his current New York team after being traded and the contract ends at the end of this season so he has some big choices to make. 

Aspen (FMC) is a single mom who has recently moved across country to New York to start her new job taking over for her father who recently passed away (not expected).  Aspen has big shoes to fill as she's not only starting this new role... she's the boss/owner of a professional hockey team... talk about big life changes.  She never met her father and is now upset with her mom for keeping so many things from her.

Callan and Aspen have a less than ideal initial meeting in the way of a fender bender where they both exchange less than pleasant words... turns out they will be seeing a lot of each other since they live across the street from each other and Callan is one of Aspen's star players.  

I really enjoyed watching Callan and Aspen go from sharing barbs to finally settling on a truce and becoming friends... but underneath all that there is a buzzing chemistry they both like each other but are holding back due to their past history.  Will they be able to let their guards down enough to let each other in and be more than friends?  

But Aspen also has her son to worry about because Tucker (son) loves Callan and what if they they try something more and it ends badly... Tucker would be crushed!  on the other side of the coin what if everything comes together and they could help heal each other, what if they are each others missing half.  

Aspen's doesn't have a good history with men in her mind men in her life are no show's or they leave as evidenced by her own father and her son's father who isn't in the picture.  

Callan has a truly heartbreaking back story and there must have been someone chopping onions in the room when he finally willing to open up and share his story.  

This was a slow burn and I appreciated that they truly were friends by the point that they decided they were ready for more it made it feel more believable. 

Some Things that were off for me: 

1) I didn't really understand the whole situation with Aspen's father staying away from her in order to "protect" her... I think that since he was such a family man I think her parents would have found some way for him to be in her life without her getting put in the public eye. 

2) once the spice was introduced it just didn't feel like what they were doing would have been for them... seemed like it was more tossed in to make the book a bit more naughty (?)... just felt awkward for this couple. 

3) sometimes the dialog felt like it was meant for younger characters, it was heavier on slang and curse words 

4) towards the end some information comes out and I felt by that point Aspen would/should have been more understanding and allowed Callan to at least explain himself but instead she shut him down and needed space, I just didn't feel that she would have done that since she had been open to communication and even demanded it prior to this event.  

5) sometimes it felt like the scenes were really pushing for setting up the couple for the next story but I was still trying to stay more with the couple from this book.  

Overall I truly enjoyed this story and the narrators did a great job bringing these characters to life, this was a heartfelt story about 2 broken souls coming together and building their own family.  If you are a hockey romance fan like me add this one to your list!   I'm looking forward to getting to the next book in the series.

Have you read this book?  what did you think? 

Heather C. Myers: Exes and Goals

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34208007-exes-and-goals

Book Blurb:

Most people have no regrets. She has one.

Harper Crawford is a big fan of the Newport Beach Seagulls, despite their abysmal previous season. It's been a year since Ken Brown's murder and Seraphina Hanson, Ken's youngest granddaughter, just survived her first year as the new owner and manager of the national hockey team. Barely. The last year was dismal to the point where Seraphina is making drastic changes. Like hiring Harper as their official blogger. Harper gets to travel with the team, write character pieces, critiques, game summaries, and the like. It's her dream job.

Another change? Putting together practically a new team, including Zachary Ryan, first line center. At six foot four and two hundred and twenty pounds, he is tall, dark blond, and solid muscle. He's arrogant and direct and the minute he sees Harper at Taboo nightclub during a team bonding session dressed in a plaid shirt and converse sneakers, he has to get to know her better.

Except there's a problem from her past that won't go away. Harper has an ex that won't stay in her past - where he belongs. He starts showing up at her place, reminding her of all the wrong choices she made, bringing up things she wants nothing more than to forget. When Zachary gets involved, things get heated and his notorious temper flares.

Harper doesn't want to get involved with a hockey player - especially with an overzealous ex who won't leave her alone - but Zachary plans to change her mind. No matter what the cost.

Tropes:

*Hockey Romance *Work place romance *Hockey Player x Journalist/blogger *toxic ex

 *spice *protective MMC  *State Challenge:  California (Repeat) 

*trigger warnings -DV 

Thoughts:

This is the second time I've read this book and this time I read it as part of a group challenge I'm in this book was one of the options on a bingo board, I already had this one in my kindle and haven't read it in a few years so thought I would give it a re-read to help our group! 

To start with we have Harper a sports blogger who is a fan of the local hockey team the seagulls... unfortunately in recent years due to a series of unfortunate and tragic events (namely the owner's death) and a losing team most of the better players of the team requested trades leaving to the new owner (the grand daughter) having to put together a team from scratch.  

With efforts to change things and in need of some good publicity Seraphina (new owner) decides to hire Harper to work for the team as their personal blogger she's happy for the opportunity this is a dream come true.  Another change for the team is aquiring Zach Ryan (MMC) from another team who wanted him to go after a scandal of sorts involving a team mates wife... while he hasn't openly shared his side of the story he hasn't done anything to settle the rumors either... Harper has a big task here making this team look good.

Harper's job with the team puts her closer together with many of the players including Zach and she just can't believe that any of the rumors she's heard are true he is nothing like what the gossip says... although he may be dangerous to her heart, especially since she her last relationship was a dumpster fire.  

In comes the Ex, Harper wants nothing to do with this guy but since the restraining order ended and she forgot to refile he's coming around again... trying to get close and thinks he has a say in her life and who she dates... newsflash he does not.

This was a shorter book and even though it's a "hockey" romance the hockey is in the way back as like a side story, they spend more time at the club, hotel, or her apartment and I would have liked a little bit more of the sport to be in the story, or even portions of some of the articles she was writing about the team, when mentioned it usually was brief and that she "turned it in" to her boss.  

I enjoyed the relationship Harper has with her grandmother and I did like seeing both of our leads let down their walls and fall for each other... even though it did feel like it happened super quick.  I appreciated how protective Zach was over Harper. 

Harper and the ex... she should have immediately gone to see if she could get a new restraining order against the guy as soon as he started coming around again... he was bad news and I don't think that she should have been around him at all let alone meet him willingly even though she had her reasons.  There were a few issues with the time line as well at one point the relationship with her ex had been over for like 8 months and another point in the book it was a few years.  The other thing that bothered me at one point was that she was so sick she had to call out of work yet the MMC comes over to bring her soup and then they end up in bed together... not sleeping...I'm sorry but if she's that sick let that girl eat her soup and sleep she's not well enough to do all that.  

There were a few other issues with the plot but I over looked some things I know it's fiction and enjoyed the story enough to be willing to read it for a 2nd time and plan to continue the series.  Amazon labels this as an enemies to lovers trope... I didn't get those vibes.  

Have you read this one?  What did you think?  

R.A. Smyth: Stick It

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/240929102-stick-it

Book Blurb:

In a game built for men, I came to make history.

As the only girl on an all-male Division I hockey team, I’m not a novelty—I’m a threat. A spark in a powder keg of testosterone. But I didn’t come to play nice. I came to dominate.

I didn’t expect them…

The golden boy captain who carries the team on his shoulders.
The brooding guardian with a darkness that calls to me.
The hot and cold viper who kisses me breathless in dark corners—then acts like it never happened.
And the quiet bruiser who speaks my language in video games.

I live with them. Train with them. Compete against them.
They’re temptation wrapped in danger—
And the first ones to ever look at me like I belong.

But this game has enemies off the ice too.
And someone wants to break me for good.

Let them try.

Because I’m not just here to play.
I’m here to rewrite the rules and claim my legacy.

Tropes: 

*Netgalley ALC  *Enemies to Lovers *College Romance  *Hockey romance 

*Reverse Harem *Darker elements check your trigger warnings  *Team mates

*Fierce FMC  *Why Choose  *team Drama  *death of parent (FMC Father prior to story starting)  *Spice  *Protective MMC's  *Touch her and 💀 *State Challenge Vermont 

*Found family *mental health  *Multiple POV's *over 600 pages 

Thoughts:

I'm going to start this a bit differently because I have read and enjoyed a lot of hockey romance books and there were elements of this book I enjoyed I loved the idea of a fierce FMC (Dylan) not only putting herself out there and playing in a male dominated sport... but also competing with the men and skating circles around them while she's at it!  yes please!

Our girl Dylan has had a really rough time since she's come to college she was on a different All Male D1 Hockey team (the rivals to her current team) but after the death of her father (who was an NHL superstar and passed away tragically) her life felt like it was going off the rails... she got into a relationship with her former teams sleezy captain only for him to blind side her and betray her needing a fresh start with the help of a family friend (the Coach of her new team) she was able to not only land a spot but proved her worth and landed a spot on the first line... this causes a problem with the team mate she pushed out of his spot Kyle.

Dylan can't even get away from Kyle during practice and games since he is one of her room mates... along with a few other team mates, this is going to go well.  What first starts as a strained relationship with all of her team mates, especially since it doesn't help that team captain/room mate Ethan has decided to deal with the situation by having the whole team ignore her... yep that's going to help.  Thankfully she meets a friend and occasionally stays with her throughout different times in the book to get away from the chaos that is her life.

So on to the males in her life now and listening to the book it was at times hard to figure out/remember who had the POV I think this audio could have done with a bigger cast for narration (maybe it would have helped) but several of the voices were similar/the same especially for the male narrator the female narrator did a great job.  The guys had varying degrees of the same personality, other than Dylan we don't get much background information on any of the other characters which is surprising for such a long book.

Ethan --> captain, he was getting closer to Dylan throughout the book but also trying to keep his distance because he knew it was wrong to want her. (room mate)

Jax- likes to play video games, troubled child hood, strong silent, broody type (room mate)

Griffin:  takes an automatic liking to Dylan and probably has the best relationship with her out of all the guys (not one of her room mates), goalie

Finn: this guy was confusing to me as his name was so close to Griffin but he's a hottie with a rockin body and likes to take advantage of the "puck bunnies" that hang around the team... until Dylan comes along.  He has been best friends with Kyle since they were kids... and often feels torn throughout due to the fact that he knows Kyle and Dylan are having big beef.

Once all the guys stop being so hard headed and realize that Dylan isn't trying to ruin their chances for the championship and is a really great team mate they all begin to get closer to Dylan in their own ways often having their own spicy encounters with her as Dylan struggles with what she's even doing with all of them... and she has other things to worry about as well.  

Dylan continues throughout the book to receive threats from known and unknown subject(s), she has a few run ins with her evil ex from her old team, continues to deal with long term grief r/t her father's passing (which her guys eventually help her thru) and her complicated relationship with her mother it's a lot for anyone to have to deal with... all while continuing to want her dream of making it to the NHL.

I did feel for Dylan and her past history and wanted to see her be happy but there was a lot going on in this one.  I'm sure that plenty of people will like this book... and I did like Dylan's friend (I think the next book is about her and I might check it out... if it isn't so long).  

Negatives: 

I have to say this one was not my favorite I probably enjoyed the hockey related sections more than her relationship with the guys to be honest.

Out of her relationships with all the guys I truly only felt that Griffin was worth her time... the rest of the guys spent too much time not being on her side/actively working against her... it reminded me of the things that she said happened on her old team that she left and yet she let them do this to her again... history repeating itself.  

At any instance of drama... her guys (minus Griffin) are all on the "don't believe" her bus without even having a conversation... are you with her or not?  Are you willing to hear her side of the story or not?  

The guys were hard to tell apart and don't get equal time throughout the story with our girl... it was almost like all the main character energy went into a few characters and the others kind of were dimmer in comparison/not as noticeable... story could have maybe benefitted by not having as many male love interests since it felt like the story became more muddy with all the relationships that weren't even all that serious in my opinion the majority of the book she was in a situationship with 1-4 of them at any given time, while she becomes jealous of "her guys" being near other women.

I feel this book could have benefitted by being about 2-300 pages shorter, there was a lot of filler chapters where nothing much was happening to move the story forward and it was just a repetitive inner monologue or the same things were happening

This book had the feeling of too much going on but nothing going on at the same time making it feel like a slog to get through at times.  

For a college romance... did these kids ever go to class?  there wasn't much homework going on either... they had a lot of time after practice or games to hang out at a bar or play video games.  

I had a hard time imagining that even if they were to allow a female on the previously "all male" team that they would have her share a locker room with them.

I could go on with some more things... but I think I'll just end it here, this one was just ok for me, I do enjoy hockey romance but at over 650 pages I think I could have been ok skipping this one.  

 

S.L. Scott: XOXO Summer

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252245791-xoxo-summer

Book Blurb:

I can’t decide if my new summer tenant—a devastatingly handsome hockey player and single dad—is the answer to my problems or the start of a new one.

When big-city developers threaten to buy up my small town, I need to save the rental cottage next door from demolition. I have a plan . . . until Daniel Sutton checks in.

Six-four, a face chiseled by the gods, and a body built by a career on the ice, I’m knocked sideways. He’s charming with me and adorable with his son. And when we touch, it’s electric.

But two things change everything. The pipes break in the cottage, and his agent calls. Before I can stop myself, I’m offering him a place to stay, and Daniel is offering me the answer to my problems. He’ll buy the cottage for me if I help him clean up his reputation.

Sounds simple enough. But when I start to fall in love with him, even though I know he’s leaving in a few months, it’s suddenly more complicated than ever.

I’m willing to take a chance on us and pour my heart into a letter. But with him skating on thin ice, he’s going to have to sacrifice something—me or his career.

I just hope XOXO, Summer isn’t the last thing I ever get to say to him.

Tropes:

*Hambright PR ARC/ALC  *Hockey Romance (off season)  *Small town romance 

*Single Dad *Age Gap *He Falls first  *Insta Love *One bed *forced proximity

 *spice *cozy read *hallmark vibes *sweet but nosy family *Sassy Grandma  

*State Challenge New York (Repeat) *Dual POV 

*grief (loss of parents)

Thoughts:

Summer (FMC) is the eldest of 4 sisters who had to grow up too fast after their parents tragically passed away when she was a teenager she's a hard worker and has been spending her time working at her sister's store and managing some rental cottages for an elderly lady (who is her grandmother's nemesis).  While she's been saving up money with plans to offer for the properties soon she is heartbroken to hear there is a big developer that has been sniffing around her small town of Mountain Laurel Cove and she knows without a doubt that she can't compete with big buck developers when it comes to making an offer.

Daniel is a handsome hockey superstar during the season but it's summertime and wanting to spend some quality time with his son Roman with some help he finds a cozy, quiet cottage to rent that's right on the water, this is perfect just what he needs to destress and be out of the public eye.  When Summer goes to greet her new renter she gets an eyeful Daniel is quite possibly the hottest guy she's ever seen in real life and even his abs have abs... this should be illegal.

Daniel and Summer have an instant attraction which they briefly try to avoid since she is the rental property manager and he is a guest... but when a plumbing disaster leads to no where else for Daniel and his son to go they are about to get a whole lot closer after Summer not wanting to lose her bonus offers her own home to the pair, only problem is she doesn't live by herself she has a house full of gossiping sisters and a sassy grandma who sees way too much.

This was a cute cozy read I enjoyed the moments between Daniel and his son where he was trying to be (and was) a much better father to his son than he had.  I loved the interactions between Summer and her sisters and grandma (I love a sassy grandma) and how they brought Daniel and his son into their home and treated them like family right away.  I hope that this is a series I would love to see Summer's sisters get their happily ever after too.  

I appreciated that both of our leads were driven with their careers and kept to their goals Summer wanting to work towards getting a chance to save her town from big developers and get the property and Daniel was trying to save his career by cleaning up his bad boy image... it helped once he had sweet Summer on his arm.  I liked how both of our leads learned that they didn't have to be so focused on just one thing and could let others in to help them too... they didn't need to make their journey alone.

Things that felt off/didn't work for me:

For me while Daniel and Summer were very cute/sweet/cozy/ all the things together --> I feel that it all happened so fast it felt like Summer just met him at the cottage and a few days later they were not only in bed together but making big proclamations about their fast moving feelings this continued throughout the rest of the book as they went to a few work related events together so Daniel could be seen in a more family friendly light.

I wasn't a super fan of the sisters names (but that probably is just a me thing) they are all named after Seasons with middle names also reflecting the season like: Autumn Leaf.

While this didn't have much emotional depth it was still a fun Summer read with cozy hallmark vibes which had me rooting for this small town girl to keep her beloved cottages/land out of the hands of the greedy big corporation and also get her guy.  

I enjoyed this one over all just continued the story knowing it was going to be over the top on the insta- everything, and like I said before I'm hoping for the sister's to have their own stories!! 

Thank you to the author and Hambright PR for this ARC copy and surprise ALC copy I didn't really listen to much of it as I had already read about 75% of the book when I received the ALC but the narrators did a good job and I especially enjoyed the male Narrator's sections. 

Lexi LaFleur Brown: Evening the Score

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239453919-evening-the-score

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?  

Julia Connors: Cross Checked

 Boston Rebels Book 3

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213814340-cross-checked

Alessandra Jones (A.J.) has worked hard her whole life she has been focused and driven to make a name for herself in a mans world and she's done it she's a general manager for the Boston Rebels Hockey (NHL) team and others are seeing all her hard work as evidenced by being up for the GM of the year award... this is everything she could have dreamed of and nothing and no one are going to get in the way of that... maybe

Ronan McCabe is a handsome, hot head hockey player he's up for contract renewal and is tired of being put off... he's the Captain and has worked hard for this team while he's been on it so he doesn't understand why they don't even want to give him even the small raise he's asking for (since he has extra responsibility)... feeling like he's being brushed off by his current teams management he is starting to look for other teams who might want to work with him... maybe he'll move closer to his sister out of state so his daughter can grow up with her cousins.

McCabe has a history with AJ she scouted him when he first started and after an incident on occurred she also got him traded... they didn't even have a conversation about it first he just got the boot.  Unfortunately he has mixed feelings since he had a bit of a crush on her back then and even though he kind of hates that she is now his boss... she's still beautiful, maybe even more so than she was when he originally met her.

After McCabe's nanny flakes on him and he has to bring his baby to the game with him AJ goes above and beyond and takes care of Abby (the baby) so that he can focus on his job and less on worrying about his daughter... in fact AJ really goes above and beyond for all of her team and even helps him find a nany (her younger brother).  Until her brother is available she continues to help provide "nanny" care to his daughter and ends up getting hurt when a fight breaks out in the stands.

McCabe insists on making sure AJ is ok and feels indebted to her since she saved his daughter from being harmed when the doctor insists that she have someone stay with her to help her with her daily activities McCabe takes the job seriously... it also helps that they just found out that they are neighbors... Helping with daily tasks leads to touching, spending more time together, and some definate lines being crossed now feelings are on the line... but can they ever make a true go of things when they don't even know where he is going to be next season?  If he does stay she is still his boss.  

*Hockey Romance *enemies --> More  *Forbidden Romance  *boss FMC  *Reverse Age Gap

*forced proximity *workplace romance  *single dad *Grumpy MMC *secret relationship 

*FMC (infertility complications, divorced, toxic ex, toxic family)  *found family *Slow burn *spice 

*insta lust/love  *State Challenge: Mass 

Thoughts:

I could kind of see the attraction from our MMC's side he didn't like her at the beginning of the book but he had a "thing" for her in the past prior to his trade to his current team. What I really wasn't feeling was AJ's side... she works with lots of hot/handsome hockey guys but since she's been so driven with her job for so long I just don't see her "risking" it all on a spur of the moment unethical fling with one of her players that was grumpy and guarded with her until she became his interim "nanny" even one she did have this past history with but it was never romantic in nature she had been married at the time and he was younger than she was.

McCabe tries to have actual conversations with AJ about where their relationship is going because he would like more but she runs off and avoids him.  The other thing is for a single dad romance his daughter really isn't in the book much.  

Looking over those things their whirlwind romance happened over the course of a very short period of time where he goes from disliking her greatly to "all in" just doesn't seem long enough for that even when they were sharing things with each other and having such a "deep" connection.  

This one was just ok for me I do love hockey romance and there were some moments I enjoyed but unfortunately this one just fell kind of flat for me I actually started this awhile ago (maybe like 6 months ago) got like 30% thru and lost interest because the plot just wasn't plotting for me...I ended up picking the book back up and having to start from the beginning because I really just couldn't remember enough of the story to continue from where I was in the book, and I found the same issues I had the first time the story is a bit repetitive and way longer than it needs to be (460 pages), there is a lot of spice (once it starts) and at points in the story it overpowers the plot.