Synopsis

Bishop Scott, co-captain. Not too shabby, huh? It’s all part of my fresh start with the NHL’s latest expansion team, and that means new teammates, a new coach, a new city, and a big new contract. Basically, I cannot f***ing wait to show my old squad what they’re missing.

But first, I decide to check out the town before the grind begins. Turns out Arizona chicks are totally smokin’, and I’m fortunate enough to meet one who’s looking for the same thing I am: a night of anonymous, unforgettable, no-strings-attached sex.

Fast forward to the Vengeance arena. It’s the last place I expect to see her again—let alone in her own office. Then bells go off and I finally realize who this girl is: Brooke Perron. My new coach’s daughter. All of a sudden, we’re picking up right where we left off, which means our hands are all over each other. That’s when her dad—my boss—walks in. And before I can get a word out, Brooke’s introducing me as her fiancé.

Sure, she just saved my ass. So why do I get the feeling Brooke’s going to turn my world upside down? Maybe it’s because this fake relationship feels way too real. . . .

Review

BISHOP is the first book in a new hockey romance series by Sawyer Bennett, and it was a pretty decent start to the series.

What I liked:
1 – How bold and confident Brooke was with Bishop the night of their one-night-stand. It was nice to see a woman not ashamed to admit exactly what it was she wanted.
2 – That while Bishop was surprised by his growing feelings for Brooke, not once did he get scared or push her away because of them. He might not have wanted a relationship originally, but he was willing to see how things would progress between them.
3 – Meeting some of the other players on the team, especially brooding and damaged Tacker.
4 – Getting a quick introduction to the team’s owner, who seemed like a pretty cool guy.

What I didn’t like:
1 – Bishop insisting that Brooke sleep with him in return for him going along with the fake engagement. Yes, she wanted to keep sleeping with him, but the idea of a man using his power over a woman to demand sexual gratification did not sit well with me.
2 – The several mentions of anal sex that never happened. If the couple aren’t going to have anal sex, why have them keep talking about how it’s going to happen?
3 – Nanette’s involvement in this story, as well as the fact that her involvement was not finalized. I can only assume—and hope—that we will find out what is happening with her in the next book/s, otherwise there was no point to her being in this book at all.
4 – The book’s abrupt ending. There seems to be a growing trend recently where a book will finish immediately after the couple make up, with no epilogue, which makes me feel like I’ve been left hanging. I am not a fan of it.

BISHOP is told in dual POVs, and while I didn’t fall in love with this story, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Bishop (Arizona Vengeance #1)

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Arizona Vengeance Series

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Synopsis

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there’s no logical reason why I’m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don’t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I’m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn’t help that he’s buddy-buddy with my brother.

And that his best friend has a crush on me.

And that I just moved in with them.

Oh, did I not mention we’re roommates?

I suppose it doesn’t matter. Fitzy has made it clear he’s not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I’m not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I’m not about to start. I’ve got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he’s missing?

He knows where to find me.

Review

THE CHASE is the first book in the Briar U series (a spin-off of the Off-Campus series, which is one of my all-time favorite series) and I won’t lie, I have been waiting for this book for a very long time. Almost two years to be exact and I’m very glad the wait is finally over. As with any book from Elle Kennedy, THE CHASE was a very enjoyable binge read that left me wanting more.

It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago I was excited about seeing Fitz.
Now I’m dreading it. My unicorn is no longer a unicorn. He’s a judgmental donkey.

I liked Summer and Fitz, but Summer was definitely my favorite character. She was a breath of fresh air and was so open and honest. A special mention also has to go out to Brenna, Summer’s new best friend and the daughter of the school’s hockey coach, who was just as ballsy and unapologetic as Summer was. Fitz was a good guy, but he did try my patience with how negative he could be towards Summer simply because her personality was different to his.

I’ve made more of an effort to be social, but deep down I’m still the guy who wants to remain invisible.
Summer is the most visible person I’ve ever met.

THE CHASE is most definitely an angsty, slow burn romance, with Summer and Fitz pushing and pulling each other for more than two thirds of the book, which for me was a very long time to wait for them to get together. I was left with a lot of questions relating to both Summer and Fitz, and if those questions don’t get answered in the following books, it will annoy me greatly. I was a little disappointed with the ending because it felt abrupt, came without an epilogue and came almost immediately after a very big scene had been played out.

THE CHASE is told in dual POVs and comes with a nice enough ending for Summer and Fitz. I’m very much looking forward to Brenna’s book, THE RISK, which is scheduled to be released in February 2019, and I’m desperate to know who her love interest will be. Will it be Hollis, Summer and Fitz’s roommate? Or will it be Jake Connelly, a rival hockey player from Harvard? Time will tell, and I for one hope time flies.

* Please note: This book includes talk about—and includes a couple of scenes of—sexual assault, so take caution if this topic is a trigger for you.

The Chase (Briar U # 1)

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Briar U Series

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Synopsis

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

Review

I don’t know if it was me or the book, but I found HOLDING ON to be just an okay read. I’ve read and enjoyed many books from Pamela Clare, but when I got to the end of this one, I realized that I had not been invested in the story or its main characters.

That being said, I did like the sweet and emotional ending. I also liked Kenzie, who was ballsy and laughed in the face of danger when she was terrified.

HOLDING ON is told in dual POVs and while it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. However, when Meg was updating Harrison about everyone back home, there were a lot of names thrown out and even though I’ve read the previous five books in this series, I felt confused trying to remember who everyone was.

While I didn’t love HOLDING ON, I would gladly read more from this series.

Holding On (Colorado High Country # 6)

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Colorado High Country Series

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Synopsis

He’s a hockey player, not a housekeeper.

Cameron Bowes is the face of the San Francisco Dragons, so when the team needs a gimmick to improve their fan relations, Cameron becomes the focus of the new video “At Home with a Dragon”. Unfortunately for Cam, his bachelor pad looks like an earthquake hit it. Repeatedly.

She’s the sexy maid a teammate hires as a joke.

Dakota Kelly has been working non-stop since she was unexpectedly awarded custody of her young niece. Though the little girl’s grandmother swooped in to help, the old woman’s overbearing ways have left Dakota no choice but to work as a janitor and moonlight as a maid in the hopes of one day getting some much-needed space from her niece’s highly controlling Nana.

Lucky for Cam, Dakota turns out to be the miracle worker he desperately needs, and he jumps at the chance to hire her as his live-in housekeeper. Soon, the two can no longer ignore their smoldering chemistry, and it seems turning their business relationship into a happily-ever-after for all three of them will be the next play. There’s just one problem: Nana doesn’t approve, and she’s not about to let her granddaughter go without a fight.

Review

CLEAN SWEEP is the first book in the San Francisco Dragons series, a new hockey series from Kate Willoughby.

I thought Dakota and Cameron were very likable characters. Dakota put her dreams and her life on hold to take care of her orphaned niece, Zinny. She was not afraid of hard work and was not ashamed of what she did because it helped provide for her and Zinny. Cameron was just an all-around nice guy and he never treated Dakota like a piece of meat. Instead, he seemed embarrassed for her at what she had to put up with just to provide for her family. He was there every time Dakota needed help and he was a wonderful father figure for Zinny. The only complaint I have against Cameron and Dakota is that I didn’t feel any chemistry between them.

Story wise, there’s hardly any hockey included, so if you’re after a hockey read, you won’t find it here. Additionally, there were some inconsistencies, some things left hanging, and some events that felt out of place, as though they weren’t put in the right part of the timeline. However, I was reading an advanced reader copy, and I know the author was still tweaking the book after I received my copy, so maybe these things have been fixed for the final copy.

CLEAN SWEEP is told in dual POVs and comes with a HEA for Cameron and Dakota. While it is part of a series, I’m assuming each book can be read as a stand-alone.

Clean Sweep (San Francisco Dragons # 1)

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San Francisco Dragons Series

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Synopsis

The NHL’s biggest bad boy is about to fall for the virgin next door…

I am the world’s biggest dating failure. We’re talking my last date went home with our waitress kind of failure.

But I have an ace in the back pocket of my mom jeans–my sexy-as-sin best friend, NHL superstar forward, Justin Cruise.

Justin owes me favors dating back to seventh grade, long before he became a hotshot with a world famous…stick. So in return for my undying platonic loyalty, all I want is an easy-peasy crash course on how to be a sex goddess.

How hard can it be?

***

I have never been so hard in my life.

The things I want to do to my sweet, kindergarten-teaching, mitten-crocheting best friend Libby Collins are ten different kinds of wrong. Maybe twenty.

But I’m a firm believer in teaching by example, and by the end of our first lesson, we’ve graduated to a hands on approach to her education: my hands all over her, her hands all over me, and her hot mouth melting beneath mine as I prove to her there isn’t a damned thing wrong with the way she kisses.

Give me a month, and I’ll transform Libby from wall flower to wall banger, and ensure she’s confident enough to seduce any guy she wants.

Problem is… the only guy I want her seducing is me.

Review

One of my favorite authors said that HOT AS PUCK was one of the best hockey romances she’s read, so with that glowing endorsement I thought I’d be in for a good and enjoyable read. Sadly, I struggled with this book from beginning to end, unable to get into the characters or their story.

I didn’t feel any connection between Justin and Libby at all, who suddenly go from a decade long friendship, to friends with benefits, to being madly in love in the span of about a week. I couldn’t get over the fact that Justin was suddenly attracted to Libby just because she wore tight and revealing clothing one night, which made him shallow in my opinion. It was the same with Libby, who was suddenly attracted to Justin just because he touched her that same night; something I’m sure he would have done many, many times over the course of their very close friendship.

HOT AS PUCK is listed on Amazon as being a romantic comedy, but I don’t remember finding any part of this story funny or chuckle worthy. Apart from some make out sessions, some sex and some knitting/crocheting, not much else happens in this book. The conflict was a little on the weak side, and while I found the resolution to be somewhat cute, it was also a little cheesy.

HOT AS PUCK is told in dual POVs and comes with a HEA for Justin and Libby. While this story didn’t do much for me, I would give this author another go.

Hot as Puck (Bad Motherpuckers # 1)

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Bad Motherpuckers Series

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Synopsis

Marek Fabritis is used to delivering blows, not receiving them. But when he gets tipped off by an anonymous email about his ex-girlfriend, the news leaves him ice cold—and it’s not because Gracen Moore is getting married to a total jerk. It’s the fact that Marek has a three-year-old daughter he never knew about. Now he’s going back home, not to play knight in shining armor but to make damn sure that no man takes what’s his. For the first time, there might be something more important than hockey.

Gracen Moore has always loved Marek. That’s why she let him go, so he could pursue a career in the NHL. And that’s why she never told him about Lilly. Only now does Gracen realize that she made an unforgivable mistake. But is that any reason for Marek to crash her wedding and make an epic scene? If the spark that still smolders between them is to be trusted, maybe. Still, Gracen’s not getting her hopes up. Because she knows better than anyone that appearances aren’t always what they seem. . . .

Review

MAREK is a second chance, secret child romance, which for the most part was a very enjoyable read and a good addition to the Cold Fury Hockey series. The story was entertaining, kept me turning the pages and brought out a wide range of emotions from me.

I loved Gracen, who apologized several times for keeping her daughter a secret and she meant each and every one of those apologies. She was willing to accept Marek’s anger towards her, but she was not afraid to stand up for herself and put him in his place when he went too far. Given how their breakup went down, I don’t blame Gracen one bit for what she did, especially when she believed she was simply honoring Marek’s wishes.

I also loved her daughter, Lilly, who was a gorgeous and sweet little girl.

I wish I could say I liked Marek, but I just can’t. While he became a good father to Lilly, I didn’t like how he kept playing the victim or how badly he treated Gracen throughout most of the book. From memory, he never apologized to Gracen for the cruel way he broke up with her, or take into account her feelings or try to understand why she kept Lilly a secret.

While MAREK can technically be read as a stand-alone, the scene where Marek rushes to stop Gracen from getting married⏤and learns about his daughter⏤only appears in the previous book. So if you haven’t read REED, you will miss that particular heated and emotional scene that sets up this story.

I also have to say that the synopsis does not match the story at all, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a glaring disparity between the two. The synopsis says that Gracen let Marek go so he could pursue his NHL dreams, and that Marek rushes to stop her from getting married after learning he has a daughter. That is not even close to what happened. Instead, Marek dumped Gracen when he reached the NHL because he didn’t want to be tied down to her, and only learned of his daughter after he turned up to stop Gracen from getting married.

There’s not a great deal of hockey in this book, as the story mostly takes place during the off-season. But despite that, and as I said above, the story is a page turner and I devoured it quickly. MAREK is told in dual POVs and comes with a HEA for Marek and Gracen.

Marek (Cold Fury Hockey # 11)

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Cold Fury Hockey Series

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Synopsis

Violet Vasquez never met her biological father, so learning he left his beloved hockey franchise—the Chicago Rebels—to her is, well, unexpected. Flat broke and close to homeless, Violet is determined to make the most of this sudden opportunity. Except dear old dad set conditions that require she takes part in actually running the team with the half-sisters she barely knows. Working with these two strangers and overseeing a band of hockey-playing lugs is not on her agenda…until she lays eyes on the Rebels captain and knows she has to have him.

Bren St. James has been labeled a lot of things: the Puck Prince, Lord of the Ice, Hell’s Highlander…but it’s the latest tag that’s making headlines: washed-up alcoholic has-been. This season, getting his life back on track and winning the Cup are his only goals. With no time for relationships—except the fractured ones he needs to rebuild with his beautiful daughters—he’s finding it increasingly hard to ignore sexy, all-up-in-his-beard Violet Vasquez. And when he finds himself in need of a nanny just as the playoffs are starting, he’s faced with a temptation he could so easily get hooked on.

For two lost souls, there’s more on the line than just making the best of a bad situation… there might also be a shot at the biggest prize of all: love.

Review

HOOKED ON YOU is the final book in the Chicago Rebels series, and it is a little sad to say goodbye to the three Chase sisters who did what nobody thought they could: take control of the worst hockey team in the league and lead it to success.

While I liked Bren, Violet and Bren’s two daughters, and that we got to see more bonding between the Chase sisters, this book didn’t engage me as much as I was hoping it would, and it did take me a few days to finish it. I found myself frustrated by the number of times Bren alluded to something terrible he did in his past before it was finally revealed towards the end of the book. There were also a couple of hockey related mistakes, like the name of the opposing team changing in the middle of the game, and the away team having home ice advantage for game seven of a playoff series. These aren’t huge mistakes and maybe most readers wouldn’t notice, but they were big enough for this hockey fan to notice.

HOOKED ON YOU is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. It comes with a HEA for Bren and Violet, and an ending for the team that I think fans of the series will be happy with.

Hooked On You (Chicago Rebels # 3)

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Chicago Rebels Series

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Synopsis

He’s the hottest player in Major League Baseball, the most notorious playboy in all of Manhattan…
And my fake fiancé for the next three months.

I was drunk-dialing my ex the night I met him.

Six-three, sexy as sin and so incredibly rude I could smack the asshole smirk right off his face. Long story short, we got off to a bad start. But when the tabloids interpret our sparring as Drew Maddox “groveling” with a “mystery brunette,” his agent presents us both a proposal:

Shacking up as a couple this summer.

It’s an alleged “win-win.” I need to prove to my ex that I’m fine. Drew needs to prove to his team that he’s stable. Thanks to his on-field brawling and never-ending lady drama, Drew Maddox has suddenly found himself on the trade block – which means he needs a fast, easy way to show the team that he’s settled down.

Hence this fiance thing.

Our fights are real, our kisses are fake, and thanks to the nonstop heat between us, I’m starting to mix up all my signs. But whether it’s real or fake, there’s one thing I do know:

I’m already addicted.

Review

HOTHEAD is the first book I’ve read from Stella Rhys and, given how much I enjoyed it, it probably won’t be my last. The story was engaging and kept me turning the pages from beginning to end.

I really liked Evie. She was sweet and had a kind heart, but she could also dish out some attitude when the situation called for it. She was definitely too good for Mike, her douchebag of an ex-fiance. The only time she disappointed me was in one scene when she didn’t fight like I thought she should have. She just walked away from those who had hurt her and I felt like that didn’t give her the closure she needed and deserved.

I liked Drew as well, who was very blunt and honest about his opinions. I found it refreshing, even though it was sometimes hard for Evie to hear. He spent quite a bit of this book being an asshole, but when you learn how he’s been hurt and betrayed over the years, it’s no wonder he’s an asshole. 

HOTHEAD is told in dual POVs and comes with a HEA for Drew and Evie. It could use some proofreading, as there were quite a few instances where a sentence was missing a word. While it’s part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. Though I will say that while reading, I did wish I’d known the histories of the other couples brought up in this book. HOTHEAD is book 4 in the Irresistible series, so maybe I’ll go back to the start to get better acquainted with everyone.

Hothead (Irresistible # 4)

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Irresistible Series

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Synopsis

My name’s Max Hall, and I need to f***. As a pro hockey player who’s been away from the game for over a year, my libido has picked one hell of an inconvenient time to come roaring back to life.

After my wife died from a rare form of cancer, sex was the last thing on my mind. Same with hockey, the other love of my life. Now, after fifteen months of eating too much, drinking too much, and generally just feeling sorry for myself, I’m facing a steep uphill battle to get my ass in shape and play my way back onto the Chicago Aces.

So I’m not looking for a relationship. Just sex. Yeah, I know how that makes me sound. But the truth is, I’ll never love another woman the way I loved my wife. When I meet a sexy bridesmaid at my teammate’s wedding, I decide to scratch that itch. A fling with Kendra Armstrong in her posh hotel room could be just what the trainer ordered.

Not only is Kendra smokin’ hot, she’s dynamite in bed—one of the perks of being a sex toy designer. Since she lives in New York anyway, we agree to keep things casual, no strings attached. The arrangement is perfect . . . until one of us falls in love. And it’s not me.

Review

I hate to say it, but I struggled with SLAP SHOT. It did not engage me and despite skimming through several chapters towards the end, it still took me four days to finish reading this book.

Character wise, I can’t say much about Kendra other than she was nice and was way too good for someone like Max. I can however say quite a bit about Max, and not for good reasons. This is a man who lost the love of his life, yet I found I didn’t like him and felt no sympathy towards him at all. He constantly blurred the line of his sex-only relationship with Kendra, yet she was the one who ruined a good thing when she thought he’d be willing to take what they had to the next level. And for a man who claimed he’d never love another woman as much as he did his wife, he certainly had no problem making unflattering comments about her when comparing her to Kendra.

Story wise, I found it quite repetitive, with most of the story being made up of three things:
1 – Max discussing his training, his diet, and listing all the food he eats;
2 – Max and Kendra meeting up, having a copious amount of sex and then parting ways; and
3 – Max consumed by guilt for spending time with Kendra and being happy with her.

I really wanted to like this story. I really did. But not liking Max and finding the story too repetitive prevented me from doing so. SLAP SHOT is told in Max’s POV, except for the epilogue which is told in Kendra’s POV. While it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone, though I did have trouble keeping up with the scenes that involved all the previous couples from this series.

Slap Shot (Aces Hockey # 5)

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Aces Hockey Series

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Synopsis

Dante Moretti has just landed his dream job: GM of the Chicago Rebels. And screw the haters who think there should be an asterisk next to his name because he’s the first out managing executive in pro hockey. He’s earned the right to be here and nothing will topple him off that perch—especially not an incredibly inconvenient attraction to his star defenseman, Cade “Alamo” Burnett. Cade has always been careful to keep his own desires on the down low, but his hot Italian boss proves to be a temptation he can’t resist. Sure, they both have so much to lose, but no one will ever know…

As Dante and Cade’s taboo affair heats up off the ice and their relationship gets more and more intense, they’ll have to decide: is love worth risking their careers? Or is this romance destined to be forever benched?

Review

UNDONE BY YOU was a sweet, hot and enjoyable read, one that fits in nicely with the Chicago Rebels series.

Dante is the newly appointed, openly gay GM of the Chicago Rebels. Cade is one of the team’s defensemen, who is in the closet and not ready to let the world know who he really is. Knowing that Dante is someone he can trust, Cade seeks him out, and after a bit of a rough start, the pair embark on a secret relationship.

I loved Cade and Dante, as individual people and as a couple. Dante is older and serious. Cade is younger and the life of the party. Together, they just worked. Despite Cade being in the closet, I loved how open and honest he was with Dante. Again, that’s because he knew he could trust Dante, so he was never afraid to hide his thoughts or his feelings from him. I absolutely loved that about him.

UNDONE BY YOU is told in dual POVs and while it’s part of a series, it could be read as a stand-alone. It is a novella, one that focuses mostly on the M/M romance side of the story. So if you’re expecting to read several scenes about games, the team, or get more insight into the sister-owners, you might be disappointed. I’m not saying those things aren’t in this story, because they are, there just isn’t a great deal of it. UNDONE BY YOU comes with a happy ending, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved the epilogue.

Undone By You (Chicago Rebels # 2.5)

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Chicago Rebels Series

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