Jennifer Sucevic Hate You Always

Western Wildcats Hockey Book 1 read in 2024

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217004776-hate-you-always?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2CUrcy3tdo&rank=4

Ryder McAdams is one of the Hockey teams star players he is hopeful to sign with a NHL team after college but while he's in college he doesn't see why he can't play the field being on the hockey team is huge and it doesn't hurt that they have their own groupies (Puck Bunnies).  What he has kept to himself though is the fact that he has a crush on his best friends sister Juliette but knows that he needs to keep his distance because she is off limits to him.

Juliette is also focused... on school but she has been a bit of the opposite she hasn't been living her best college life which becomes apparent when she finds a "bucket list" of sorts that she made around freshman year of the things she wanted to accomplish while in college... some of these things are on the spicy side and now that she's going to be graduating soon she sees that she has checked off nothing from her list she was so focused on school that she forgot the socialization and the fun side of things.

Juliette thinks that Ryder doesn't see her as anything more than his friends sister but that's because he's been good at pushing her away, that is until he takes her home one night (on the one night she decides to let loose at a hockey party) he keeps her safe and make sure she gets home ok after drinking a bit too much... unfortunately for Juliette he also finds out about this bucket list and as a surprise to her he wants to help her check off the items on the list... all of them he isn't letting anyone else help her with this list! 

Some drama thrown in since they end up in a "secret" situationship and the brother doesn't know, also Ryder is having some issues getting along with his new hockey coach the coach is just trying to prepare him for the next step because he knows that the NHL will be a lot tougher on him in every way. 

I thought the book was ok and I went on to read more of the series (I can't remember if I have finished the series or not at this point).  

some negatives for the book:  

• some awkward/cringeworthy writing during spicy times  (her "honey" 😬)
• Juliette and Ryder are both supposed to be close to her brother Maverick but he isn't in the story much
• When the brother did come into the book he was a bit too over protective over his sisters love life... she's a grown woman who can make her own choices, or at least she should be able to  
• some misogynistic type vibes in the book at times  
• repetitive words/phrases throughout the book
• The characters are very horny all the time and get turned on very quickly, I don't mind spice in a book but sometimes find myself skipping those scenes if it becomes too much

*Brothers best friend *college Hockey *enemies (frenemies)--> more  *Sexy Bucket list  *YA  

*open door spice  *Sports romance *good girl  *opposites attract  *pining forever 

*dual POV  *childhood friends  *secret arrangement

S.J. Sylvis Weak Side

Read in 2024

Bexley U book 1 

This is a forced proximity fake dating --> more type of story.  Starts off when Theo Brooks (hockey star and ladies man) and Claire Bryant (dance major, hard worker and has a boyfriend who is a tool) anyways they end up with a dorm room mix up where the admissions team rearranges Claire's name and places her in the male dorm room with Hockey hottie Theo.  Theo is a bit arrogant and believes that Claire must be a puck bunny who snuck in to be near to his royal hotness... she of course didn't sneak in and is upset with the mix up but it's too late to swap rooms as there is now nothing else available so she is going to have to live with this guy for the semester. 

While Theo complains about puck bunnies sneaking into his room to be with him he is also spending the beginning of the book bringing them home with him, poor Claire is working hard and going to school she just wants to relax in her own dorm but ends up walking into some spicy times with Theo and a random hook up a few times... but she should have known better because there was a scrunchie on the door handle.  

Claire is crushed when she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and Theo makes her a deal that will work for both of them if they can fake date for a short period of time it will make her ex jealous and it will help keep him focused on Hockey by keeping "all" of the women that are after him away (even though he brought a lot of them to his dorm himself...) this is prior to fake dating Claire and he doesn't have any hook ups after they start fake dating.

After they agree to this fake dating situationship starts to become more after a few kisses and then some spicy times in their shared room.

Claire also has some family issues going on with her mom constantly asking her for money and upset that she isn't getting back with her ex, Claire has financial issues and has always been told that her dad didn't want to be in her life by her mom but that may not be the case after all.

Really enjoyed the team dynamics and how protective Theo's team mates were towards him and Claire. 

*Spice  *forced proximity  * College romance  *hockey romance *fake dating --> more  

* dancer  * found family  * slow burn *enemies to  more 

Katy Archer: The Game Changer

 

Nolan U: Book 3 read in 2025

This book is about Casey who we have seen in the first few books as a one night stand play boy, he gets around with the girls on campus... and frequently and doesn't intend to see or call them again.  Even though our leading female Carolyn knows this she still has a huge crush on him and decides to shoot her shot at a party one night.  Casey being the kind of guy he is immediately is drawn to her then finds an empty room for some "fun" even though she is warned by her best friend and room mate not to expect much out of this encounter she does anyways after having the best bedroom experience of her life.  She gives Casey her number he is also blown away by the experience and makes the mistake of saying he will call her... he doesn't.

Over a month later we find that Carolyn is in a frenzy because her period is late, they used protection she is now pregnant... how could this happen?  While the story line from here is just ok for me, there are some trigger warnings if you want to read this book including the options available for our couple in keeping, putting the baby up for adoption or terminating the pregnancy.  

Casey is a walking red flag but we kind of knew that from the previous books. I did like how he went from a child himself to working on changing his ways throughout the book as he gets to know Carolyn better and realizes he can be "boyfriend" material.  red flag #1: he never calls Carolyn back  #2: he forgets her name just remembers the sexual experience and at times refers to her or her body parts in just an "ick" kind of way "Fun bags" mentions her as a puck bunny (no woman carrying your child wants to be called that).  #3 he has loads of tattoos and you find out early on that he has a tattoo to commemorate the most "memorable" ladies he has been with.  On Carolyn's side of the story writer  continues to refer to the Vagina as a "V-jay" same as she did in the first few books.  

I don't feel it's fair to bring up Casey being immature when Carolyn is shown to be just as immature and irresponsible throughout the book.  She's portrayed as wanting to be sexually active and explore this side of things while at college (which is fine) but she doesn't seem to understand that she should possibly be on a form of birth control to prevent this very issue she's now in since condoms are not a 100% sure way to prevent pregnancy.  I also didn't like that she has this huge decision to make about the baby and what she wants to do but a good majority of the book focuses on her pushing off making any decisions about this huge thing hanging over her head while she doesn't tell any of her family and continues to get closer to Casey.  

Carolyn also felt terrible with the way she was ignored by Casey yet she is doing the exact same thing to a guy who wanted to get to know her better (Ben) to the point of hiding when she sees him out in public so she doesn't have to talk to him.  

A lot of spice in this book as our couple takes "advantage" of the surprise pregnancy to have lots of unprotected sex, also discusses frequently how overly sensitive her body is due to pregnancy hormones. 

There is a scene in the book where Carolyn asks what a horrible smell is and Casey tells her that it is his recent smelly dump and she will have to get used to it because he is proud of his smelly poop and that's just who he is as a person.  

***possible spoiler

Leilani (the sensible room mate) discusses that Carolyn really needs to tell Casey at some point that he might not even be the father because she had relations with another guy the same week.  I felt this is where I started to like Carolyn less when she found out she was pregnant she went to tell the guy that she liked more and had a big crush on that he was the father... without even knowing for sure and ignored the other possible father completely.  The fact that she was hiding this from both potential fathers felt manipulative on her side and felt as if she was using the baby as leverage to get playboy Casey to stay with her.  I did have a harder time getting through the book after I found this out about Carolyn hiding this fact and just the fact that she is making poor decisions in general... maybe it's because I'm older now but this book was just so-so for me. 

surprise pregnancy// College Hockey// Dual POV// trigger warnings: discussion of abortion, adoption, keeping the baby, miscarriage. 

Katy Archer: The heart Stealer

 Nolan U: Hockey Book 2 read in 2025

Rachel thinks that Theo is the love of her life she quickly moves in with him and is now working two jobs saving up for a romantic vacation to Hawaii.  It is unknown if Theo even has a job but he has the great idea that Rachel should pick up the 2nd job to help with their savings.  Rachel comes home from work one evening and Theo has his rowdy friends over playing poker, she just wants to relax after a long day and things escalate quickly into a DV situation and Rachel is now scared and packs up whatever she can shove into a bag and leaves in the middle of the night the only place she can think to go is Colorado where her best friend Mikayla (from book 1) lives.

Mikayla is not home when she gets to Hockey House but Liam is from the first book we can see he is naturally good at comforting and caring for others and this seems to include a scared woman showing up at his door he invites her in to wait for Mikayla she falls apart and he stays to comfort her.  When Mikayla gets home she states that of course her friend will be staying, Liam being the sweet guy he is offers his room to Rachel while he now stays on the spare couch... one morning going to get some clothes he gets back to the room and Rachel doesn't know he's there and just out of the shower she takes off her towel he now sees her bruising from the DV incident that led to her coming to stay with them she now has a secret with him as she is ashamed that this has happened to her and doesn't want anyone to know.

Liam is also dealing with his own demons his dad is an alcoholic with PTSD after leaving the military, Liam being the protector kept his sisters safe per his mother's direction while she was dealing with the wrath of Liam's dad and now even though they finally have a restraining order against their father he still keeps coming back to their home when he is drunk.  Liam drops everything to go back home to protect his mom and sisters when his dad is around he used to respect him but now he can't bare to even be around him and just wants him out of their life.  This remains an on going struggle especially when his sisters and mom really want him to be more forgiving towards his dad.

Throughout the rest of the book you see their relationship progress from Friendship to lovers.  Rachel is a hard worker and starts a job at a local diner Liam wanting to make sure she's ok walks or drives her home at the end of her shift.  They end up going to California with Mikayla and Ethan to see her dad where things again go south... (possible spoiler but I don't understand why no one calls the cops or takes the people who need to be checked out to the hospital) 

Pretty early on you learn that Rachel took Theo's poker winnings (about 3,000) and she is terrified that he will come after her to get it back.  Liam starts teaching her to defend herself but she still feels so much better when he's nearby.  As the reader you wonder when or if Theo is going to find her it's hard to move on with your life if you have this kind of thing hanging over your head.

I enjoyed this book more than the first one, I didn't feel that people would stand around and not call the police in one section of the book (I can understand Rachel being scared and not wanting to reach out at the beginning). The 2nd book still has some of the same phrases as the first book like calling lady parts a "V-Jay" the hockey guys use "Puck" for everything and our leading male is supposed to be bilingual but the author seems to just insert a random Spanish word into the story when they remember.  

*possible spoiler but how is Theo funding tracking Rachel when he maybe didn't even have a job(?)  

*dual POV *college romance * Hockey romance  *trigger warnings: DV (including flash backs of child hood abuse) 

Katy Archer The Forbidden Freshman

 

Nolan U Hockey Book 1

read in 2025

This book kept popping up on my Facebook wall, I enjoy Hockey Romance and college romance so thought I would make this my next read. 

Mikayla (our lead lady) is a freshman it’s made clear to the reader pretty quickly that she is in a precarious situation  where she has lost her housing after the dorm she was staying in caught fire and now has no other options but to pledge to a sorority where she doesn’t fit in in order to stay at the school.  Mikayla’s father left when she was younger and she is reliant on her mother and her mother’s wealthy fiancé to help pay for school, they have made her sign a ridiculous contract where in order to continue to have her school paid for she needs to abide by a set of rules, which includes pledging to a sorority (the same one her mom went to when she was at the college).  Mikayla has had no say where she goes to school and now can’t even just focus on school as she is now part of hell week at this sorority, she doesn’t want to be in.     

Her soon to be step sister is the president of the house and has given her an impossible initiation task of making campus playboy Ethan (star hockey player) fall for her and then publicly shaming him and breaking his heart Mikayla not wanting anything to do with this at first (she doesn't even want to be in this group just needs a place to stay) storms away from the house only to end up unknowingly running into her intended target (if she takes the mission) he is handsome, charming and saves her from a car full of creepers while she is walking alone at night. 

Ethan is not a relationship type of guy college is for fun, partying and sleeping around, not getting tied down to one woman, no thanks! Betting with one of his hockey buddies one night on a game of darts he ends up losing the bet and now he has to be celibate for omg... a whole month it's going to seriously destroy him he can't do anything to take care of his "needs" for a month or he has to walk around campus naked for a day (which isn't happening it will upset the coach).  This part of the plot I found laughable if your biggest issue is not getting any for a month things are going well in your life. 

Mikayla spends the night after meeting Ethan sleeping outside the hockey rink, she gets a call from her mom basically demanding she apologize to her heinous step sister and do what she wants her to do to "not embarrass" her and remind her of signing a document agreeing to this or her school won't be paid for, Mikayla feeling trapped due to having no other options with her dad out of the picture and not wanting to rack up a bunch of student loan debt feels that her only option is to return and apologize to the sorority sisters.

This is where we have our main characters in a situation where Mikayla agrees to try to get Ethan to "fall" for her when she knows it's an impossible task and Ethan now in a dry streak not able to satisfy his needs but he finds he likes Mikayla and wants to hang out with her but can't go further leading to misunderstandings on both sides.  Mikayla is also very emotional and frequently gets upset and doesn’t want to talk it out, it did feel like Ethan was the more mature one of the pair.  The reader could see that the path was headed down to Ethan’s wager being found out and Mikayla’s initiation plan being revealed but when?  If Mikayla doesn’t get into the sorority, where will she live?  Will her mom and the fiancé still pay for school if she doesn’t get in?  Will her mom ever accept her the way she is?  Why did she sign that contract anyways!  

I enjoyed the hockey team/roommate’s dynamic, and it was cute to see Ethan actually start to fall for someone when he gave himself more than a few fun nights.  The story kept me interested, probably could have been a shorter book. It was pretty repetitive at times; the writer often discussed that Mikayla "didn't fit in" and continued to work this into the story.  Some spice, more in the back half of the book. Ethan has given Mikayla the nickname "little mouse" which is used frequently, and the teammates that live together use puck in place of another four-letter word "pucked up" "puck off" etc. 

The last chapter was used as the start to the next book, maybe we will get more about this couple throughout the rest of the series, I downloaded the bonus chapter but as of now I have not read it yet.