I really liked this book. It's a grumpy/sunshine trope, which I feel like I'm warming up to in recent months. It was nice to see Asher break down his walls and let someone in. So far, he's definitely my favorite character to follow in this series, although Beck and Jacobs are close behind. Kole was cute too, although I felt like his character was a little flat. I didn't hate him, but beyond being pre-med and hating hockey, we don't learn much about him. At all.

Overall, if you like the grumpy/sunshine trope, and you love hockey romances, give this one a shot.

This is a really good book. Emphasis on good. It wasn't great or mind-blowing, but it was sweet and sincere. And as someone on the ace spectrum, I really appreciated the representation. I thought it was well-done, and I liked that the author seemed to actually understand the spectrum as a whole. I've read other books where this isn't the case and it can put a damper on the whole experience. I really liked Cohen too. I can always appreciate a true (but respectful!) himbo.

If any of that sounds appealing, you should honestly give this book a go. If not, I don't think it's a "must read". 

I loved the rivals to lovers aspect of this book, but something about the rest of it didn't really grab me. It's not a bad book by any means, but everything kind of works out too conveniently. Beck's father does a lightning fast heel–face turn, Beck and Jacobs have almost no conflict (past them getting over hating each other in the beginning), and they all get exactly what they wanted.

That's not a bad thing, just not my thing. In fact, if you like low stakes romances, this would be perfect for you. 

I'm so conflicted about this book. On one hand, it's not like it's the worst thing I've ever read, but on the other, I didn't really enjoy it at all. I will admit that I listened to the audiobook and I hated how the female narrator did male voices; she was so dramatic, using a pitched down version of her regular voice, and I couldn't take it seriously. Sorry to whoever narrated this book but it definitely dampened my experience.

I also didn't really like any of the characters. I found them all super annoying, especially the main character Jessica. Her frustrating fixation on her college years was incredibly weird to me. I guess I can just never imagine being that obsessed with a period of your life like that. I also hated Eric. It felt like he knew exactly who did it but had to drag it out on purpose. Caro was the most annoying to me of all, though. She was so pompous and stuck-up. I do not feel sorry for her in any way.

I almost wanted to give this book a 1 star rating, but it felt kind of unfair. I did think the mystery was done well, even if I hated the characters. I also really liked the ending. The final line is killer (in a good way).

 

I honestly don't have much to say about this book. I read the first half before I realized that it was part of a shared universe, then once I realized it was, I went back and read the Fake Boyfriend series before finishing the second half of this one. It was a cute book, and the romance was very sweet, but it was also just... there. I enjoyed my time with this but I'm not sure if I'll be back. However, if you like the "brother's best friend" trope (I'm not a fan, which hindered me some), I think you should give this one a shot. 

I thought about rating each story individually, but then I realized I would be rating them all 3-4 stars, so I didn't see the point. I liked the little insights we got into each couple and where they ended up, but I also felt like the time we got with them was a little short. Additionally, the timeline was really confusing to follow. Some of it took place before Hat Trick, some of it took place during it, some after, and I felt like nothing about it was really labelled properly. I think this could have been made clearer.

Overall, I'm glad I read this, although I don't see myself ever coming back to it. I can finally start the CU Hockey series, though, so that's exciting. 

I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book. This my second favorite in the series after Blindsided. I am not generally a fan of age gap romances, but this time I was won over (since the youngest is well into his twenties). I did feel like their relationship moved a little fast,

especially considering that they only had a one-night stand and then basically three years of no contact,

but they ended up being so sweet I didn't care that much. It's not a big deal, just a little niggle of annoyance.

Jet and Soren were so cute together. I really loved them by the end of the book. If you're looking for a hockey romance (within this series), I'd recommend this one over Deke for sure.

This is my favorite book in the series by far. I really loved the friends-to-lovers dynamic here. I can't give it a full five stars because I think the freak-out that one of the character has at the end felt out of character and like it came out of nowhere. But it's not such a huge deal and it got resolved in a very sweet way, so I can say it didn't take away much enjoyment for me. 

This is the only couple that I want a sequel from (so far). Not that I didn't enjoy the other couples, but I actively got invested in this one whereas the others I wasn't really feeling either way. I hope the next (and final) couple can live up to Talon and Miller.

I found this book truly average. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Unlike the other books in this series which I found (mostly) inoffensive, there was some stuff in this book that pissed me off more than the others, which is why I'm giving it a lower rating. Maybe it's because I've read a lot better hockey romances than this one, or maybe it's because I found Lennon more annoying than any other character in this series (so far).

Seriously, Lennon doesn't want to be with Ollie at first because he doesn't want to be in the closet, then turns around as says he doesn't want to be in a public relationship with him when he does come out. Then, Lennon gets fired from his job for something that is in no way Ollie's fault, but blames him for it and lashes out. Even if Ollie hadn't come out with Soren, Lennon would have lost his job because he told his boss he wouldn't out someone in an article. LITERALLY NONE OF THAT IS OLLIE'S FAULT. Ollie didn't even mention Lennon at all during the press conference, so it's not like he revealed anything he shouldn't have.

Lennon wouldn't have annoyed me so much if he had actually apologized for this, but he gives a generic "I'm so sorry" to Ollie and then it's never brought up again. I just found it really weird, considering the care the book takes in every other issue

(like Ollie's family trying to force him to come out)

.

To be honest, if all you're looking for is a gay hockey romance, you can probably skip this one. I'm glad I read this because I'm trying to catch up on all the "lore" for the Puckboys series, but if you just want some good hockey romances, read the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid.

Honestly, I feel the same way I did about this book as I did Fake Out, the first book in the series. It is cute and fun, but nothing super special. I liked it just as much as the last book. 

However, I was surprised there wasn't more "sports" in this one. Considering the last book featured a "retired" player, it made sense that sports weren't such a huge focus, but here, one of the main characters is an active football player

and they win the Super Bowl at the end

, so you'd think the focus would be on that a little more.