Tag: hockey romance

ARC Book Review: Runaway Bride and Prejudice (Appies) by Emma St. Clair

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There’s one rule smart hockey players know not to never, and I mean, NEVER date the coach’s daughter. But no one ever accused Van of being smart.

When the mouthy bad boy of the Appies catches the groom cheating on the coach’s daughter, he can’t just walk away. Not on her wedding day.

Maybe his own relationships are casual, but he would never cheat and never treat wedding vows so carelessly. Not after he and his sisters watched their divorced parents cycle through marriage after marriage.

But forcing the groom to come clean sets off a chain reaction Van couldn’t have expected.

Ending with a black eye, an unexpected trip to Florida with one runaway bride, and a secret bargain struck with Coach.

A bargain that may just jeopardize the very real and very inconvenient feelings he’s developing for the very last person he ever should.

Runaway Bride and Prejudice is a closed door hockey romance featuring the team bad boy and a very good girl who also happens to be the coach’s daughter. It’s a sports romance with all the sizzle and swoon, but no spice.

This is part of the Appies hockey romance series, featuring Just Don’t Fall, Absolutely Not in Love, a Groom of One’s Own, and Romancing the Grump. These books are standalones but may be best read in order.

Thank you to the author for an eARC!

HI, I LOVE THIS BOOK.

It was absolutely everything I could have hoped for when I was thinking about Van’s story. I devoured this read. And I feel like it’s hard to even put my words down because I don’t want to spoil a thing about this book. This is truly a best read blind book and trust me, it will DELIVER.

I loved getting Van’s perspective. A character I have been waiting to know and understand better. I loved the layers and journey. He’s such a charming man and I could not get enough of his heated and swoony actions. His love language is physical touch, and you. can. tell. Also I got a jersey moment which is one of my favorite tropes in sports romance so of course I went feral when that happened.

And I liked Amelia a lot too. She was slightly frustrating but in that way that is totally relatable and had me sitting there going, yeah I’d respond the same way too. I loved that she found her courage and voice in the end and got a chance to live her love story.

I’m always obsessed with any interactions involving the Appies and the text threads were *chefs kiss*. One of my forever favorite fictional hockey teams. I LOVED Van’s sisters too. They were the perfect balance for him and I loved seeing them take Amelia into their family.

I honestly could just keep going. I loved this book. It’s always hard for me to choose a favorite Emma St. Clair book but this definitely ranks up there.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: physical altercations, loss of a parent (recounted from past), divorce, cheating (not between the two leads in any way)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Deal (Off-Campus #1) by Elle Kennedy

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 360 pages
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 24th, 2015
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The international bestseller! A standalone novel* from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy!

She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice…even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

…and it’s going to be oh so good

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

IT WAS ADDICTIVE.

I binged this sucker in under a day. And it DELIVERED. Definitely by no means a perfect book and I could easily pick out a few things I didn’t love, but it gets all the points for wrapping up my attention and delivering me Garret Graham.

Garrett Graham is going to be living rent free in my mind for the foreseeable future. I LOVED him. He was a nice balance of being the cocky all-star hockey player while also being respectful and protective of Hannah and her needs. The longer this book went on the more smitten I became. And that ending?? I’m a sucker for grand-ish gestures like that and I adored it.

I also loved Hannah. She was incredible and was such a light. I liked that she bantered so beautifully with Garrett. But was the shoulder to lean on and the support he needed through his issues too. I just loved them both.

The drama of this new adult romance + college life seemed a little far fetched at times, but lets face it. I didn’t really care. This was an escape. I’m obsessed.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 5+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: multiple mentions of rape (recounted from Hannah), child and domestic abuse (physical and emotional, recounted by Garrett), slut-shaming, alcohol consumption, death of a parent (off page)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Dukes and Dekes (Chawton Falls in Love) by Torie Jean

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 460 pages
Author: Torie Jean
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can a professional hockey player reform his rakish ways for a winning shot at his best friend’s guarded heart?

Nestled between rocks and mountains, the slumbering town of Chawton Falls, NH, blinks alive every autumn when the Wentworth Estate hosts the Jane Austen Regency Fair.

For event coordinator Aulie Desfleurs, fall is a dizzying season full of bonnets, muslin, bicorn hats—and, unfortunately, this year, playing the role of the foolish Lydia Bennet. A sensible woman to her core, she has no time to worry about her mysterious chronic illness or love life.

So what if a spicy photo of her best friend Jack Parker in a penalty box threatens to reignite a spark from years ago? If she maintains her distance—an easy feat during hockey season—she’ll be fine.

Jack Parker, the bad boy of the American professional hockey league, is suspended…again. Forced to flee to Chawton Falls, Jack comes face to face with a swell of repressed emotions…and a goat. Seeking a distraction, he soon finds himself in the fair cast as the infamous rake, George Wickham.

Wearing breeches isn’t exactly on brand, but after five years of harboring unrequited feelings for Aulie, Jack’s willing to sport the high-waisted pants if it means convincing her he can be the dashing hero she deserves.

With a less than stellar dating history, and a suspension deadline looming, Aulie knows falling for Jack would be foolish.

But when he kisses her like a man possessed, one day, and takes care of her like a saint, the next, Aulie’s forced to choose: either embrace Jane Austen’s signature truth, “we are all fools in love,” or risk living like the author without a happily ever after of her own.

“Dukes and Dekes” is a friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend romance that deals with grief and chronic illness. It contains adult language and open-door intimate scenes that realistically depict endometriosis (i.e., no penetration).

SO CLOSE.

I was very close to giving this five stars, but the more I thought about it, the more a few things bugged me (I would definitely still recommend this book though!!).

I AM ABSOLUTELY GONE FOR MEN WHO HAVE FALLEN HARD. The mutual pining in this book was off the dang charts. I loved it so much. I loooved that Jack was this grump of a hockey player who every time you got to his POV you saw this blushing man trying to work up the courage to confess his feelings. STOP IT. MY FAVORITE.

And I adored Aulie too. Her health battles and journey brought tears to my eyes. I loved the endo rep and the knowledge this book brought about the struggles and how this effects every aspect of your life.

There were lots of cute and saucy moments between Jack and Aulie. I thought the spice level was great and brought more to the story rather than take it over.

What I didn’t love/find necessary was the ex drama. I thought that was done with and causing ridiculous internet nonsense added more pages, but not more to the plot. I also feel like I have a few background questions that didn’t get answered??

Anyways, I will definitely be reading the next book in this series! I do love the way Torie Jean writes. And if it’s the couple I’m thinking of I love it already.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2 brief open door
  • Violence: low-moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: bad doctor experiences (including misdiagnosis), endometriosis rep, loss of a father to cancer (recounted), grief depiction, loss of family memebers

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: My Lucky Charm (Holidays With Hart #2) by Courtney Walsh

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 376 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Indie Published
Release Date: February 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A humiliating break-up leads to an impulsive New Year’s Kiss with a complete stranger.
What could possibly go wrong?

It’s no secret that I love life. And Dr Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. . .

So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I’m all in.

I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove.

It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off-putting, reclusive guy I’ve ever met.

It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year’s Eve.

I can do this job. I can do this job. I can do this job.

And I can. Really well.

I can make Gray’s life easier, show him all the reasons to fall in love with this city, and in the process, hopefully completely forget that the amazing kiss ever happened.

How hard can it be? We’re total opposites anyway.

I love people . . . and all their stories. Gray loves hockey . . . and nothing else.

I love to talk. Gray only stares.

I’m happy-go-lucky. Gray’s all work and no play.

There’s just one problem. The more time I spend with Grayson Hawke, the more I start to see that underneath his bristly, standoffish exterior, he’s nothing like the man everyone thinks he is.

And suddenly, all the reasons for keeping my distance, staying professional, and not falling for someone again. . .are impossible to remember.

My Lucky Charm is a grumpy/sunshine, sweet hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the second in the Holidays with Hart series, but My Lucky Charm can be read as a stand alone.

I LOVED THIS.

I think this might be my new favorite Courtney Walsh book. I adored this entire read and found every spare moment to continue reading. I loved how Gray’s grumpy nature was portrayed and watching him sincerely work on himself and learning to let love in. Let people help, build a community and space that can motivate and support him through the ups and downs. There’s many super sweet moments too that you’ll have to read to see!!

I loved Eloise too. She spoke something to my soul about her life aspirations and where she wanted to be. I’ve often felt the same way and seeing a character with these attributions healed something in me. I thought Eloise and Gray had fantastic chemistry and some AMAZING sizzling kissing scenes. The push and pull tension had me shaking my kindle and I loved how life came together for them.

This whole book was an absolute gem. Loved the hockey content, all of the teammates, the themes and the sisterhood. An incredible read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph