Hockey romances are still having their moment, and this recently released multi-author series capitalizes on that. If you aren’t familiar with multi-author series, each book can stand alone, but they all share a common setting. Protagonists from one book will likely be side characters in another. Stores, events, and side characters will also be repeated, allowing multiple views of the setting.
Very mild cursing. Various issues such as parental divorce or neglect, alcoholism, death of a parent, chronic illness, infidelity, sexual harassment. This is hockey, so there are injuries and the occasional fight. People drink. This is closed door romance, so we don’t see more than passionate kisses. There is a hint that sex happens.
Romance fans, hockey fans, hockey
romance fans. Anyone who likes well-written books where characters grow and
develop over the course of the story.
Breaking the Ice
by Whitney Dineen
ASIN: B0DC5Y77DQ
Publisher: 33 Partners Publishing (August 3,
2024)
Paperback: 194 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8991232807
Publisher’s Blurb:
What do an entitled billionaire and
small-town ice-skating coach have in common?
Ellie
My life is not turning out like I thought it would.
My mom’s arthritis has gotten so bad that I had to move in with her. I’m making
ends meet by giving ice skating lessons at the arena in Maple Falls. I’d be in
serious trouble had the Harts not given me that job.
Which makes it impossible to say no when they ask me to let Troy’s obnoxious
billionaire brother stay in the cabin on my mom’s property during the charity
hockey event they’re running.
Zach
First the tabloids call me out for being a cheapskate and then Yolanda Simms
takes to national television to tell everyone what a vicious heartbreaker I am?
Yeah, my life has been better.
My brother thinks I can fix my bad press by coming to Maple Falls and donating
big to his new charity endeavor. Too bad he didn’t mention the woman who owns
the cottage I’ll be staying at hates me with a passion.
He also didn’t mention she’s everything I’ve ever looked for in a woman…
Enemies to lovers, billionaire,
forced proximity.
A good choice of author to start
off the series, Whitney Dineen has the responsibility of introducing us to the
town of Maple Falls and the idea of a charity hockey team. I like the angle of
this being a hockey romance without involving any actual players of the game.
Instead, we get the billionaire benefactor of the team. He finds Ellie
attractive on first sight.
The Rebound Play
by Kate O’Keeffe
ASIN: B0DCZLSXHQ
Publisher: Independently published (August 13,
2024)
Paperback: 174 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8329933260
If you get a second chance at love
with your hockey star ex, should you take it?
Keira
What do you do when your NHL superstar ex skates back into your small town?
Drop to the ground and hide behind the bleachers, hoping he doesn’t see you.
But Lady Luck must be in a bad mood today because Dan spots me, my hood over my
eyes, pretending I’m not there.
Mature? No.
Necessary? Oh, yes.
Humiliation washes over me, and the wall around my heart stands firm. Dan might
be back, but I can’t afford to let him in again. Not after the heartbreak of
losing him once before.
When he offers to coach my nephew, I reluctantly agree. Every smile he flashes
at me, every kind word, threatens to crack my resolve. But I can’t go through
that again. I have to protect my heart.
Dan
I want Keira back. End of story.
Second chance, jock/nerd.
When Dan “The Man” went off to
college on a hockey scholarship, he and Keira thought it best to break up,
knowing that long distance would be hard. Ten years later, neither has found
anyone. When Dan returns to town for the Ice Breakers, he looks forward to
seeing Keira. She’s been avoiding him for ten years.
The Friend Face Off
by Grace Worthington
ASIN: B0DFC3X7NK
Publisher: Poets & Saints Publishing
(August 26, 2024)
Paperback: 228 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8988770930
Getting involved with your brother’s
best friend is risky enough. But when he's a hockey player? It's a whole new
level of bad idea.
As a ravenous reader, I’ve got a
secret: I’m obsessed with hockey romances.
But there’s a catch: for me to
accept, I have to pretend that he’s my fake boyfriend.
And while he’s unfairly gorgeous,
he’s also my brother’s teammate AND his best friend.
Keeping him in the fake boyfriend
zone is the only way to deal with my secret attraction.
Turns out, the line between fake
and real isn't just blurry, it’s become impossible to tell the difference when
he looks at me with those eyes that say, You’re mine.
DAWSON
The first time I met Emmy, her
brother warned me to stay away. As hockey teammates, that made her totally
off-limits.
Emmy and I are both fiercely
competitive, and I’m determined to win her over.
A romantic face-off between friends who are insanely attracted to each other.
Brother’s best friend, friends to
lovers, You’ve Got Mail.
We turn now to Dan’s sister, Emmy,
and best friend, goalie Dawson. Emmy and Dawson met a few years prior when
Dawson and Dan visited home from college. Emmy wasn’t interested in a hockey
player, because she figured they all emphasized the word “player”, but did end
up making a pact with him that if either of them needed a date when they were
25, they’d be there for each other.
Love in Overtime
by Melissa Baldwin
ASIN: B0DF7XYGRK
Publisher: Independently published (August 26,
2024)
Paperback: 170 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8335895125
Playing hockey in Maple Falls was
meant to be just a charity gig, but then my new publicist showed up, melting
the ice—and my heart.
I never anticipated being roped
into a charity hockey game during the off-season. But here I am, heading to
Maple Falls, all because my publicist decided to retire. Change was inevitable,
but I didn't foresee it coming so soon.
I still can't believe I landed my
dream job. The excitement is overwhelming, and I'm determined to carve out my
path in the industry. But there's one obstacle standing in my way-- Cooper
Montgomery, the seemingly uncooperative hockey star. Nevertheless, I'm ready to
tackle the challenge head-on, and perhaps some time away in a quiet town like
Maple Falls will work wonders.
Grumpy/Sunshine, workplace, slow
burn
The overall plot is cute, but
there’s not much depth to this one. I’m not asking for it to be Great
Literature, but there’s just not much there. The biggest conflict is that she’s
his publicist and he’s her client, however can they make this work? There’s no
real backstory to why Cooper is so closed off and grumpy, just a couple of
mentions of a difficult childhood. We see a bit of Blair’s parents, but again,
all we know is that she’s confident, chipper and upbeat. She goes through no
change in this story. Cooper…learns to smile more? That’s really it.
The Parent Playbook
by Elsie Woods
ASIN: B0DDG5ZBKZ
Publisher: Puppy Love Books (August 16, 2024)
Paperback: 206 pages
ISBN-10: 2492606422
ISBN-13: 978-2492606427
I don’t know when dad jokes and
mismatched socks became my type, but that hockey dude skated into my life like
a runaway puck… and I think I like it.
Angel:
I know I should be thankful that my
charity was selected by the Ice Breakers hockey team. It’ll make a huge
difference in children’s lives all over the state.
I hate hockey dudes.
The only thing I love more than
hockey is my daughter.
But Lily comes first. And if I have
to leave behind a future with Angel before it’s started in order to do what’s
right, I will.
Single dad/single mom, second
chance.
Again, the interactions between
Angel and Scotty are cute. I had a few moments of wondering why a 35-year-old
man was being called Scotty, not Scott, but then I remembered my 40-year-old
nephew, who still gets called Scotty, so I’m giving a pass on that one.
Love at First Skate
by Ellie Hall
ASIN: B0DC593HZH
Publisher: Independently published (September
18, 2024)
Paperback: 216 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8334931848
Publisher’s Blurb:
They say love is messy. Turns out
friendship is too, especially when you’re stranded in a cabin with your best
friend and hearts are on thin ice.
Teddy
I’ve heard that men and women can’t be friends without it becoming something
more. Harlow and I put that theory in the penalty box, thank you very much.
She laughs at my jokes, secretly admires my hockey butt, trusts me with her
biggest fear (it’s safe with me). In turn, she knows everything about me. Well,
almost.
There’s been a recent development. I’m gone for her. Down bad. Solid Crush. She
lives rent free in my mind. I’ve caught feelings. This wouldn’t be a problem
except, you know, the whole shattering our friendship thing.
Harlow
You know those days you want to erase? It went like this: my boyfriend broke up
with me (it was overdue), and then I broke up with my job while at a work
conference (it was mind-numbing).
In an ironic twist, I won the raffle for a romantic getaway trip for two. Who
else to bring other than my best friend who’ll gladly commiserate with me? He
has a hockey event nearby, so it works out perfectly.
Until we’re stranded in the cozy cabin together. There’s a blaze of attraction.
A friendship-changing kiss.
What now? Do we hit the reset
button? Salvage what we had? Pretend it never happened? These are things I’d
talk to my bestie about, but I can’t because I’m head over heels for him.
Forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, best
friends to lovers.
This is the one I clicked with the
least. There’s plenty to like about it, but it just didn’t do it for me like
the other books. I had a difficult time connecting with grumpy Harlow. We get a
little bit of her backstory. But some of the hints are give us unfulfilled
curiosity. Likewise with Ted…why is he the way he is?
Penalties and Proposals
by Anne Kemp
Publisher: Red Bird Publishing (September 10,
2024)
Paperback: 170 pages
ISBN-10: 0473719436
ISBN-13: 978-0473719432
It only takes one bad apple to ruin
the bunch. When life hands me reformed hockey star Noah Beaumont, AGAIN, am I
supposed to make cider or is there a sweeter surprise in store?
Noah: I’ve spent years trying to make amends for my past mistakes,
questioning if I still belong in the world of hockey or if it's time to step
back, be ‘normal’. But seeing Willa again brings everything into sharp focus.
She’s the woman who’s haunted my thoughts since the day I met
her.
Enemies to lovers, forced proximity,
second chance.
I really liked Noah’s redemption arc
here. He was honest about the faults of his past, but didn’t wallow in them. I
also appreciated that Willa, once she learned the truth, adjusted her opinion
of Noah.