Book Review: Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (Catching Feelings #1) by Kate Watson

February 10, 2026November 23, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 378 pages
Author: Kate Watson
Publisher: Little Biks Creative
Release Date: July 22nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s not about the wedding, it’s about the marriage…license.

Sean

When my ex cheated and begged me to take her back, I made a rash, too-public vow: the next woman I kiss will be my wife. It seemed like a good idea at the time—anything to stop being everyone’s second choice. The ultimate fallback guy.

Then the Kayla Carville walks into my bar, all bold and stunning. When she hears my ex tearing me apart, she kisses me to shut her up. And when she learns about my stupid promise, she offers me a way to save face: we’ll claim we’re engaged.

The thing is, this isn’t about some stupid vow anymore. It’s about finding the courage to stop being the backup goalie and finally go for what I really want.

If I can.

Kayla

My ex is the worst, so my dad bought me a baseball team.

Classic billionaire-dad move.

Now I’m living in a small Southern town that hates me, trying to convince everyone I’m an absolute delight, not some generic “Boss Babe.”

They’re not buying it.

Except for Sean O’Shannan, the hot hometown hockey hero and bar owner who gave me the courage to break up with my fiancé months ago. He’s the kind of guy who remembers my smoothie order, saves a seat for me at the church potluck…and proposes when he discovers I don’t meet the team’s “ownership residency requirement.”

Saying yes is easy.

The hard part?

Not falling for my husband.

THIS WAS SWEET.

Y’all know I am a big fan of marriage of convenience. If I see that as a potential part of the book I AM SO THERE. I thought this was a really sweet way to bring Sean and Kayla together. It was a simple situation between them. I do think it led to lacking in some sort of push/pull. They were super smitten from the get-go and while they absolutely led to some great moments I think I needed more of a slow burn in that department.

I adored all of the hockey and baseball content. As a big sports girlie having both MC’s connected to sports in some way was awesome. And I loved how Kayla supported (and lovingly pushed) Sean to pursue his dreams and reminded him of how much he mattered.

I could always do with less ex related drama but it’s alright. If you’re needing a soft closed door romance, Kate Watson is slowly becoming an easy go-to author.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: closed door between a married couple
Violence: low

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Book Review: Check the Halls (The Ottawa Otters #2) by K.M. Gillis

December 13, 2025November 6, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: K.M. Gillis
Publisher: Literary Lupin Publishing
Release Date: October 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She thought her future was set…until her past skated back into her life.

On paper, Madelyn Clairmont has it all: a dependable fiancé, a dream job in a new city, and a bright future planned. But when she comes face to face with the man who stole her heart a decade ago, she’s left wondering if the “perfect” life she’s planned is the one she’s meant to live.

Ben Michaels is known for being a player, both on and off the ice. But lately, the all-star NHL defenseman has been working hard to clean up his act. A chance encounter with Madelyn—the one who got away—only confirms what he’s always known: he never stopped loving her. Unfortunately for him, she’s engaged to someone else.

When Madelyn needs a host for her Christmas charity gala, Ben doesn’t hesitate to step in—as a friend. But their time together stirs up old feelings and unanswered questions. She’s afraid of repeating past mistakes. He’s determined to prove he’s not the same man who let her go.

Love doesn’t always go according to plan and this holiday season, their second chance might be a real game changer.

WHERE WERE THE HOLIDAY VIBES?

I had a good time with this book. My favorite is the first one [for now] but I still had no problem picking this up and reading it as fast as I could. I love this hockey team and I’ve missed hockey romance!

I loved that the flashbacks only took up a few paragraphs each time. I don’t like long winded flashback chapters and this delivered on the little glimpses of the past and how they fell in love. And how communicative Ben was??? Good heavens YES. I LOVED IT. The man is so down bad. Y’all know that’s my kryptonite.

I did miss the holiday/Christmas moments. There were a few mentions but it definitely didn’t stick out enough in the plot to necessarily call this a holiday romance.

I’m still dialed into this series and I can’t wait for the next book!!

Overall audience notes:

Hockey Holiday Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 3-4ish open door
Violence: low

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Book Review: My Merry Mistake (Holidays with Hart #3) by Courtney Walsh

November 29, 2025November 11, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Holiday Sports Romance
Length: 412 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sometimes the perfect gift is standing right in front of you. . . You’re just too stubborn to see it.

I don’t like to make mistakes. Ever.

Especially when those mistakes are witnessed by the same person—flirty Finn Holbrook—who can’t seem to leave me alone. Can I really trust him not to tell anyone that the night we met, I tried to kiss him? Or that I fell apart after I got fired from a job I loved? Or that I’m not as strong as I want everyone to think I am?

The simple fact that he’s boomeranged back into my orbit after all these years feels like a great, big cosmic joke.

Only now he’s a professional hockey player, and while he doesn’t look like the goofy college bartender I met all those years ago, he still acts like one—immature, flirty, and unable to take anything seriously.

Which is why I never, ever fall for his game.

I know better than to get swept up in romance. I don’t have time. I’m busy making myself irreplaceable in my new job with the Chicago Comets. Work isn’t just something I do, it’s who I am.

And while my sisters are constantly on me to slow down and take breaks, those things aren’t on my schedule, so . . . I push on. Do more. Load up my schedule. Overcommit. Until eventually, my stress lands me in the emergency room.

The prescription? A month off. No emails. No work. No distractions.

Unless you count Finn Holbrook, who keeps showing up at my door, determined to leverage his positive, golden retriever energy to show me there’s a great, big world outside that I haven’t bothered to explore, most of it covered with white twinkle lights and Christmas decorations.

I begrudgingly go along with his grand plans, and little by little, I start to see there really is more to life than work—and more to Finn than flirting.

Which makes me wonder . . . how can someone so obviously wrong for me start to feel completely right? And more importantly . . . how do I make those feelings go away?

My Merry Mistake is an opposites attract hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the third book in the Holidays with Hart series, but can be read as a stand alone.

OH, OH THIS BOOK.

While highly relatable on many levels for I’m sure lots of people, this one hit me square in the face as a fellow eldest daughter. DAMN. The amount of times I’ve literally ran myself into the ground and ended up having to rest (which I hate resting sooooo). I GET IT RAYA. I GET IT.

But let me tell y’all FINNNNNNNNNNN? The softest of golden retriever’s EVERRRR. I loved his temperament and the fact that this man has been down bad for YEARS. I LOVE TO SEE IT EVERY TIME. The banter and ridiculous chemistry between Finn and Raya will have you begging them to kiss. The slow burn is torturous.

And there is definitely enough holiday cheer to say this is without a doubt a Christmas book. It had me craving everything December. I’m also obsessed with how close knit both of these families are too. I don’t think that’s written in books often enough and it is one of my favorite tidbits. The sibling dynamics, facetime chats and showing up in the hard moments made me want to sob. THIS BOOK WAS INCREDIBLE.

An official *all time great* for my holiday book recs.

Overall audience notes:

Holiday Sports Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content warnings: loss of a sibling (recounted), grief depiction

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ALC Book Review: Moms of Mayhem (Mayhem Hockey Club #1) by Aimee Vance

November 25, 2025November 23, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Hockey Romance
Length: 428 pages
Author: Aimee Vance
Publisher: Revel Books
Release Date: September 5th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Starting over was never part of the playbook.

Fresh off a failed marriage and years of putting everyone else first, Emmy Hudson returns to her small hometown determined to rebuild a life for her and her teenage son, Jace. With her brother close by and Jace joining the once-elite Mayhem Hockey Club, it seems like the perfect second chance.

Beckett Conway is back in Linwood for the worst a blown-out hip, a tanked NHL season, and a mom whose health is declining too fast for his liking. Coaching the local youth hockey team wasn’t on his rehab checklist, but watching Jace sneak onto his backyard pond to practice brings back everything he loved about this little mountain town.

Too bad Jace’s mom is sarcastic, stubborn, and somehow the most attractive woman he’s ever bantered with. As if that wasn’t enough, Emmy is his best friend’s sister and in charge of clearing him to play again.

Sparks fly, lines blur, and before long, Emmy discovers that maybe finding herself means letting someone else in, even if that someone was the last person she expected to fall for.

Thank you to Aimee Vance for a gifted ALC.

HOW I LOVED THIS.

I legit gobbled this book up. I’ve been a big fan of Aimee Vance for awhile and was so excited to get my hands on her latest romance. I’m back in my hockey era and I love it.

While I think this book can be loved on many levels, it was super relatable to motherhood and watching your child grow up, protecting them, and finding yourself too. Many of those sentiments and themes hit me in the chest full force.

I loved the dynamic between Emmy and Beckett. Sparks were flying from the first time they met each other [again] and I loved the way Beckett showed up Emmy AND Jace. It was important and memorable and made this book so dang good.

The spice is spicy but I did find it easy to skip over. And I loved all of the different types of relationships this book presented too. From friendships, family relations, romance, teammates, etc. They all held weight and they all pushed the book forward in amazing ways.

I am sat for the rest of this series.

Overall audience notes: