I LOVE Kendall Ryan and I was so excited when I found out she was doing a hockey romance series. Playing for Keeps is the first book in the Hot Jock’s series and can be read/listened to as a complete standalone.

Elise has had a crush on her brothers best friend/roommate/teammate Justin since she was a little girl. Justin has always seen Elise as the off limits girl. He grew up with her, her brother is his best friend. He doesn’t want to ruin anything, however, after one night of drinking the line gets blurred and their friendship is in trouble. Will they both be able to navigate their new relationship as friends with benefits or will things become too complicated?

There is no denying that Justin and Elise have chemistry, but it is there friendship I loved more than anything. They have known each other forever and the foundation they built over the years made their relationship so much more. This story was super enjoyable. It had a few funny scenes, it was steamy and it was sweet. It is the perfect summer listen.

The secondary characters in this story were AMAZING. I love the entire team and Elise’s group of friends. When they entire gang was together it was FULL of laughs. I can’t wait to get more of them in the future books, especially Owen (Elise’s brother) and Becca (her best friend). There was a lot of teasers when it came to their relationship.

I did listen to the audiobook of this story and I LOVE Jason Clarke. He nailed Justin and I felt really brought the character to life. Virginia Rose did a great job at bringing Elise to life. As a duel narration this was great to listen to and their voices were fantastic and did a great job at telling the story of Justin and Elise.

This is a MUST for any fan of Kendall Ryan or for anyone who is new to Kendall’s stories!