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kimalah's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Hot Flashes and Hockey Slashes is a fun and touching later in life romance between Roman, an aging hockey star and Olivia, a perimenopausal shoe designer and innovator. His daughter is her daughter’s best friend. The young women devise a plan for him to attend Olivia’s ex-husband (and her children’s father)’s destination wedding as her fake date.
Shenanigans ensue, as well as a thoughtful look at various ways life changes as you age, whether physically, emotionally or mentally. It is a smart and sexy romance. One thing I really appreciated was the nuance it found in the change in relationships after divorce. I really enjoyed the entire book and look forward to the next one.
Shenanigans ensue, as well as a thoughtful look at various ways life changes as you age, whether physically, emotionally or mentally. It is a smart and sexy romance. One thing I really appreciated was the nuance it found in the change in relationships after divorce. I really enjoyed the entire book and look forward to the next one.
christie72's review
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I absolutely LOVED, LOVED this book! It was one of my favorite rom-com reads of 2023 if not one of my all-time favorites.
I loved that the characters in the book were older. Olivia is a successful engineer and is now the owner of a thriving business she built on her own. While her professional life is moving along successfully, her personal life not so much. She is a hot mess, going through that lovely time in life called perimenopause. Now, she has to go to her ex’s wedding to a younger woman in Belize. Roman is a hockey player who has had a successful career, but now he is contemplating retiring but not sure of the changes that will bring to his life. Olivia’s daughter and Roman’s daughter are college roommates, and they decide to be matchmakers, setting up Roman to be Olivia’s fake boyfriend for the week. What begins as a fake relationship might just be the HEA neither one of them was expecting!!!
How could I not love both Olivia and Roman!!! Olivia is intelligent, and her inner beauty radiates from within making her beautiful…even though she doesn’t see it. Roman is about as close to perfect as any man can get. He is so attentive to Ollie, and he knows what she needs even when she doesn’t realize it. He boosts her self-esteem and just goes along with the hot flashes and insomnia. Like Ollie, he is at a point in his life wondering what the future holds. He hasn’t always been the best father to his daughter, but he is trying to make up for the past and embark on an even better relationship with her now. The two are such an amazing support to one another.
The book was very well-written, even down to the dialogue. The authors gave me quite a few laughs. I can totally empathize with night sweats, emotional rollercoasters, and hot flashes. There wasn’t too much angst or drama, and they built a great cast of secondary characters. I’m so glad to see that this is the beginning of a series. Thank you, ladies, for showing us age is just a number, and that you can find love at any age!!!!
I loved that the characters in the book were older. Olivia is a successful engineer and is now the owner of a thriving business she built on her own. While her professional life is moving along successfully, her personal life not so much. She is a hot mess, going through that lovely time in life called perimenopause. Now, she has to go to her ex’s wedding to a younger woman in Belize. Roman is a hockey player who has had a successful career, but now he is contemplating retiring but not sure of the changes that will bring to his life. Olivia’s daughter and Roman’s daughter are college roommates, and they decide to be matchmakers, setting up Roman to be Olivia’s fake boyfriend for the week. What begins as a fake relationship might just be the HEA neither one of them was expecting!!!
How could I not love both Olivia and Roman!!! Olivia is intelligent, and her inner beauty radiates from within making her beautiful…even though she doesn’t see it. Roman is about as close to perfect as any man can get. He is so attentive to Ollie, and he knows what she needs even when she doesn’t realize it. He boosts her self-esteem and just goes along with the hot flashes and insomnia. Like Ollie, he is at a point in his life wondering what the future holds. He hasn’t always been the best father to his daughter, but he is trying to make up for the past and embark on an even better relationship with her now. The two are such an amazing support to one another.
The book was very well-written, even down to the dialogue. The authors gave me quite a few laughs. I can totally empathize with night sweats, emotional rollercoasters, and hot flashes. There wasn’t too much angst or drama, and they built a great cast of secondary characters. I’m so glad to see that this is the beginning of a series. Thank you, ladies, for showing us age is just a number, and that you can find love at any age!!!!
nchrisman1's review
5.0
Oh my what an amazing first book! It’s so hard to be the bigger person when you’re going through menopause! This is the predicament Olivia finds herself in when she’s invited to her ex-husband’s wedding to his younger woman bride. But she is determined to be supportive of her children and the best for them so she goes. Of course taking a hockey player hottie as her date isn’t at all what anyone expected! The two actually connecting and supporting one another while falling for each other is just the present Olivia derserves from karma for all her rising above! This author combo team was amazing and I can’t wait to get the next book!!
p0laris's review
5.0
Cute and fun midlife vacation fling with meddling children and what surprisingly turned out NOT to be any OW or OM drama (blessss). I especially really enjoyed the mature resolution of relationships with the FMC, her ex, and his fiancee.
maustinreviewer's review
5.0
This was a great 5 star read. I love these two authors together. I had several LOL moments and I can relate to the hot flashes. Olivia quickly became a favorite character for me and Roman wowza. Roman was perfect for Olivia, I loved the bantering between them and the things Olivia would sass back to him. You could feel the connection between these two coming off the pages. The authors pull you in with their writing and you feel like you're right there with the characters. All of the characters added a great element to the story. I can’t wait to read more from this series and the authors. 1-click and get started today.
bibliophilenerd's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
5.0
This was a fun and quick read! Olivia has been invited to her ex husband's wedding in Belize. She is feeling frumpy with twenty extra pounds, not very confident, and also perimenopausal. But she decides to go to support her kids. Holly, her daughter and Hannah, her new college roommate, think it is a good idea to set her up with a fake date for the wedding week. Roman, Hannah’s dad, is a professional hockey player and the oldest player in the league. He would do anything for Hannah since he has been absent for a lot of her childhood while on the road, so he says yes. The week in Belize is amazing, the walks, the sunsets, the laughter, and even the romance. I loved the characters, I loved the idea and story line, I loved the location, and I didn’t want it to end! It was nice to read a romance book where the characters were not in their twenties and have lived some life. I devoured this book in a day and will now be looking up the rest of the books written by these authors!
tytanmom23's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hot Flashes and Hockey Slashes (Hot Flash Hookups Book 1) by Marika Ray and Sylvie Stewart. This book is hilarious and I could relate with the hot flashes 100%. Its the story of Olivia who is going thru Perimenopause and has been invited to her Ex's destination wedding. She can't go single without looking like a loser so her daughter sets her up with her friends dad. Its just supposed to be a pretend date though. Roman is a a professional hockey player and will do anything in his power to make his daughter happy so when she asks him to pretend to be her best friends date he's all for it. He has issues with women in his past so he's not looking for a relationship so this will be easy. Or so he thinks! The more time they spend together and the more chaos they find sparks fly between them. This is such a funny, romance about a 40 something woman and all the challenges that age brings. I laughed out loud several times!
julesherb's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Wow what a great start to a series I know is going to be Amazing! . It is such a fun read with great characters, a fantastic storyline, plenty of funny banter as well as steamy and melt your heart moments. I had so many laugh out loud moments that my family was starting to question my sanity LOL. I have to admit I read it in a day because it made me so happy and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for more!!!
bwagner's review
fast-paced
4.0
This is the first book in this new series for these authors. What a great start it is and I look forward to seeing what is next in this series. This is a well written story that is full of romance and steam. If you enjoy reading a single dad, hockey player romance story, this book is for you. The characters pulled me in from the start. They are connectable and I enjoyed watching their growth and chemistry. Their story is what happens when a hockey player and a fake date come together into something they never see coming. This is a fast paced story that is hard to put down. An easy romance story to read that is engaging and one that kept me turning pages to the end. I really enjoyed this story and I highly recommend it.
meggs1717's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a very cute romantic comedy that will have you swooning for the MMC and commiserating with the FMC all while laughing out loud. Olivia has been invited to her ex-husband's wedding (to a much younger woman) and her kids decide to set her up on a fake date with aging hockey star, Roman, so that she doesn't have to attend the event (in Belize, no less) alone. We get to follow along between Olivia and Roman (it's a dual perspective...YAY!) from beginning, middle, and end as the adventure happens. It's a super cute story and I love the way the authors work together to create a seamless tale of life, love, and happily-ever-after.