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romance_book_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
A great debut!
Thank you to Love Notes PR for this ARC!
I love a hockey romance, especially when it’s fake dating!
Nina and Rhode meet one night when he uses a rideshare app. An accident and a little white lie cause them to have to fake date for Rhode’s sponsorship. Rhode is 33, a cat daddy, and ready for marriage/babies. Nina is an art student, 22, and leaving for a pottery fellowship in a few months. They don’t think their lives align, but the attraction is off the charts.
I didn’t like how Nina’s sister treated her. I also think that the “she’s too young” thing went on too long. But overall a fun and steamy time!
Tropes:
Hockey romance
Fake dating
Age gap (11 years)
Anxiety representation
Cat Daddy MMC
Thank you to Love Notes PR for this ARC!
I love a hockey romance, especially when it’s fake dating!
Nina and Rhode meet one night when he uses a rideshare app. An accident and a little white lie cause them to have to fake date for Rhode’s sponsorship. Rhode is 33, a cat daddy, and ready for marriage/babies. Nina is an art student, 22, and leaving for a pottery fellowship in a few months. They don’t think their lives align, but the attraction is off the charts.
I didn’t like how Nina’s sister treated her. I also think that the “she’s too young” thing went on too long. But overall a fun and steamy time!
Tropes:
Hockey romance
Fake dating
Age gap (11 years)
Anxiety representation
Cat Daddy MMC
awright20's review against another edition
3.0
Okay so it felt like I was waiting AGES for this book and it was a sweet intro of writing for Meredith, but did leave a bit to be desired. I think I was hooked by these two at the get-go: I mean it was such a unique and beautiful meet-cute and seeing Nina go through a very relatable anxiety experience early was really nice to read and relate to. As for Rhode, I loved his crafting hobby so much I think it's what endeared him to me the most.
That being said, I feel like they kinda jumped from intrigue during the first scene to an unstable relationship after dancing around each other, but there wasn't enough development. They did have chemistry but it just needed a bit more for me I guess.
I also was so IRRITATED by her sister. I mean her sister's an absolute POS and it really took away from the story for me (maybe as a younger sister I have my own things to work through but even during my bullied years, my siblings didn't do anything this bad).
I'll give this a 3.5/5 Stars, with the spice 2.5/5 (the few scenes were spicy but there weren't many)
Thank you to Meredith and Love Notes PR for an honest review- check this out on KU or other book platforms too!
That being said, I feel like they kinda jumped from intrigue during the first scene to an unstable relationship after dancing around each other, but there wasn't enough development. They did have chemistry but it just needed a bit more for me I guess.
I also was so IRRITATED by her sister. I mean her sister's an absolute POS and it really took away from the story for me (maybe as a younger sister I have my own things to work through but even during my bullied years, my siblings didn't do anything this bad).
I'll give this a 3.5/5 Stars, with the spice 2.5/5 (the few scenes were spicy but there weren't many)
Thank you to Meredith and Love Notes PR for an honest review- check this out on KU or other book platforms too!
raemay_sunshine's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book’s ending is really good but it took me forever to read. Usually a book this size I could finish in a week or even three days but it took me forever. It was boring at the beginning of the book and even in the middle of the book. The ending is what I love most about this book. I love how Nina and Rhode end up together and I just love the ending. Although I absolutely hate Rhode forgiving his Dad but that’s beside the point.
adelinaz's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a big fan of age gap in books, it's not a trope that I enjoy, but this was surprisingly good. I think that it's perfect that not all the focus was on the main characters, because I got to know more about Patty and Cruz, so I'm very excited for their books.
katelynnreads's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book!
Rhode and Nina are endgame. He falls first, and he falls hard. Friendships turned to family, sacrifices turned to legacies, healing family & anxiety. I love how Nina loves Chicken. Seeing Nina go from a shell over her anxiety to a bursting ray is a delight. I loved reading Rhode and Nina fall in love. The laughter, small jokes, soft moments through anxiety & hard conversations, and the chase. Always coming back together, always showing up even with difficulty, as true love does. I loved the friendship and brotherhood of the men on the ice, how they embraced their feelings and showed how real mean cry. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for Wyatt’s book in August! I hope we get a glimpse oof Rhode & Nina after her graduation and the start of her fellowship in Argentina!! I would. love a glimpse of retired Rhode and aspiring Nina, following their Hearts and dreams, maybe mini tthem? 🥹🤣
🏒🐢🐈🍀🪴❤️
How Rhode loves Nina >
🌶️🌶️🌶️
“I brush my lashes against her warm cheek like she said her sister used to do.“ 🥹 loving her unapologetically even when he didn’t know it was love, just being a soft, gentleman.
“Don’t lie and say this means nothing when you mean everything to me.”
Rhode and Nina are endgame. He falls first, and he falls hard. Friendships turned to family, sacrifices turned to legacies, healing family & anxiety. I love how Nina loves Chicken. Seeing Nina go from a shell over her anxiety to a bursting ray is a delight. I loved reading Rhode and Nina fall in love. The laughter, small jokes, soft moments through anxiety & hard conversations, and the chase. Always coming back together, always showing up even with difficulty, as true love does. I loved the friendship and brotherhood of the men on the ice, how they embraced their feelings and showed how real mean cry. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for Wyatt’s book in August! I hope we get a glimpse oof Rhode & Nina
🏒🐢🐈🍀🪴❤️
How Rhode loves Nina >
🌶️🌶️🌶️
“I brush my lashes against her warm cheek like she said her sister used to do.“ 🥹 loving her unapologetically even when he didn’t know it was love, just being a soft, gentleman.
“Don’t lie and say this means nothing when you mean everything to me.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
mioureads's review against another edition
4.0
ARC Review
3.5 ⭐
I'm so grateful to have been able to receive this ARC ,it's my very first one and about a book I've been dying to read.
It brings together some of my favorite tropes: Hockey romance, Age gap.
This is a very good first novel.
I liked a lot of things about it: the mental health rep, the friendship between the boys, the thinking and decisions Rhode has to make, the fact that they standing up for each other, the unconventional meet cute, the spice (
batchelder95's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
talafave's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.75
thebookplatypus91's review against another edition
5.0
This book was perfection. The banter, the chemistry, the spice, the angst.. it’s all here and I devoured this book.
Thank you Probably Smut Book Box for introducing this author to me because I’m definitely a new fan.
Art Student/Female/22
Pro Hot Player/Male/33
“I’m well aware that Rhode Tremblay would never fall for an art student. He’s not my happy ending, but we can have fun for now.”
Nina has her career just starting off as an art student, and is working on herself. She has intense anxiety that use to cripple her but she’s come so far and is such a beautiful character. She’s truly relatable.
Rhode is at a cross road of whether he should continue his hockey career or stop and try to experience life outside of being icebound because he wants a family and love and he’s not getting any younger.
This unlikely duo were an absolute hoot to read about. The chemistry is undeniably so adorable. Both Nina and Rhode decide to be friends with benefits once they realize they both want very different things in life because of that decade age difference.
“I hope that whoever created his soul also made mine”
Beautifully written.
Fantastic side characters
HEA although I’m dying to see like an epilogue into the future. lol.
Thank you Probably Smut Book Box for introducing this author to me because I’m definitely a new fan.
Art Student/Female/22
Pro Hot Player/Male/33
“I’m well aware that Rhode Tremblay would never fall for an art student. He’s not my happy ending, but we can have fun for now.”
Nina has her career just starting off as an art student, and is working on herself. She has intense anxiety that use to cripple her but she’s come so far and is such a beautiful character. She’s truly relatable.
Rhode is at a cross road of whether he should continue his hockey career or stop and try to experience life outside of being icebound because he wants a family and love and he’s not getting any younger.
This unlikely duo were an absolute hoot to read about. The chemistry is undeniably so adorable. Both Nina and Rhode decide to be friends with benefits once they realize they both want very different things in life because of that decade age difference.
“I hope that whoever created his soul also made mine”
Beautifully written.
Fantastic side characters
HEA although I’m dying to see like an epilogue into the future. lol.