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briochebun's review against another edition
DNF @ 62%
”It's as if his aura takes up so much space all on its own that he compensates by making the other pieces of himself smaller.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚
This novel combined two of my favorite things: hockey & why choose romance. Unfortunately — it still wasn’t able to live up to my expectations.
I admittedly wasn’t the biggest fan of the prequel to this novel — ”That One Night” — but I’ve heard <b>amazing</b> things about ”Pucking Around” so I still wanted to give the novel a go to satisfy all of my curiosities.
One of the main issues that I had while reading ”Pucking Around” was in regards to Rachel’s characterization (which was a bit confusing at times). It felt as though she was all over the place most of the time — there was no consistency to her character.
In the beginning of the novel Rachel stated that she cared about her position too much to risk anything with Jake + Caleb, but not long after that she ended up sleeping with them & forming a relationship with the pair. I understand that she had to cave at some point (it is a romance novel after all), but I did expect her to hold out for at least a little bit longer than she did…
Another issue that I had with this novel was that all of the relationships seemed to lack healthy communication (at least up until the 62% mark — which is where I stopped). I was more of a fan of Rachel + Ilmari & Jake + Caleb as separate couples rather than the MMFM that they were in the process of forming because there were moments where I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them / it didn’t feel like a true why choose MMFM romance to me.
ੈ✩‧₊˚
It’s possible that I’ll attempt to give this one another go in the future — but for now I will just say that I’m glad that others have read and enjoyed this novel & leave it at that. ♡
”It's as if his aura takes up so much space all on its own that he compensates by making the other pieces of himself smaller.”
ੈ✩‧₊˚
This novel combined two of my favorite things: hockey & why choose romance. Unfortunately — it still wasn’t able to live up to my expectations.
I admittedly wasn’t the biggest fan of the prequel to this novel — ”That One Night” — but I’ve heard <b>amazing</b> things about ”Pucking Around” so I still wanted to give the novel a go to satisfy all of my curiosities.
One of the main issues that I had while reading ”Pucking Around” was in regards to Rachel’s characterization (which was a bit confusing at times). It felt as though she was all over the place most of the time — there was no consistency to her character.
In the beginning of the novel Rachel stated that she cared about her position too much to risk anything with Jake + Caleb, but not long after that she ended up sleeping with them & forming a relationship with the pair. I understand that she had to cave at some point (it is a romance novel after all), but I did expect her to hold out for at least a little bit longer than she did…
Another issue that I had with this novel was that all of the relationships seemed to lack healthy communication (at least up until the 62% mark — which is where I stopped). I was more of a fan of Rachel + Ilmari & Jake + Caleb as separate couples rather than the MMFM that they were in the process of forming because there were moments where I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them / it didn’t feel like a true why choose MMFM romance to me.
ੈ✩‧₊˚
It’s possible that I’ll attempt to give this one another go in the future — but for now I will just say that I’m glad that others have read and enjoyed this novel & leave it at that. ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Abandonment, Medical content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Biphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Bullying, Sexism, and Alcohol
erkietheturkey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Outing
unicornofthesea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Alcoholism
heathrinwonderland's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read That One Night which is the prequel, and I immediately downloaded Pucking Around. I’m not really sure what happened between the prequel and the actual book, because they are not at all the same. I was NOT expecting this, in the tiniest bit.
The Characters:
⊹ Jake Compton [Angel]
Golden Retriever, Defensemen, very sensitive, and loves Ice Cream, Sushi, and Pelicans!
⊹ Rachel Price [Seattle Girl, Rakas, Hurricane]
A literal Goddess. Rock-Star’s daughter, the wild child turned Sports Medicine Doctor. She had a colored past, and I love that even as a medical professional, she still did everything she could to be her authentic self.
⊹ Ilmari Kinnunen [Mars]
Quiet, strong, Finnish Viking Goalie - he is literally my favorite. Never once did he waiver in what he believed in or wanted. He was the strongest and least
⊹ Caleb Sanford [Cay, Devil]
Grumpy, Tatted, Daddy Dom with Piercings (!!!) - he is very closed off, hard to like really, but in the moments that he does let his wall down, he’s a dream!
What I liked:
♥︎ Bi Representation (MM)
♥︎ Bi Representation (MM)
♥︎ The SPICE!! WOW!
♥︎ The individual and group relationship development
♥︎ Ilmari Kinnunen ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
♥︎ How it ended
What I didn’t like:
♡ This book was so long. There were so many repeated details that could have shortened this book by at least 200 pages.
♡ Everything was so OTT - who has full-blown emotional breakdown conversations mid-sexy time, just about every single time?
♡ Why does there need to be so many pages filled with “You’re mine, I’m yours” - like we get it …
♡ Breeding Kink - totally not my thing (not shaming anyone who is into this)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Addiction
tab_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received an ARC and here's my honest review.
5⭐️ 4🌶️
MOOD: lighthearted, funny, emotional
TROPES: instalove, instalust, friends to lovers, lite dom/sub play
FAV QUOTE: I groan. Just slather me with butter and jam because I am so f*cking toast.
I really enjoyed Whiskey & Sin so I figured I'd probably like this MMFM/poly story.
THE GOOD: I could not put this down. I did not read the prequel novella That One Night and was fine navigating the story and characters. There is a lot of character depth and growth and the overall story is interesting. Also, lots of spice.
THE NEUTRAL: It's over 700 pages. Not my length of choice. On the plus side, the story moves along nicely and it doesn't feel that long.
THE MEH: I was sad when I finished cause there wasn't more.
CW: From the author: mentions of addiction, substance abuse, bullying/homophobia, harassment, suicide, and eating disorders. Detailed sex scenes with multiple people including elements of impact play, choking, voyeurism, bondage, double penetration, double vaginal penetration, toy use, degradation, spit play, and breeding kink
5⭐️ 4🌶️
MOOD: lighthearted, funny, emotional
TROPES: instalove, instalust, friends to lovers, lite dom/sub play
FAV QUOTE: I groan. Just slather me with butter and jam because I am so f*cking toast.
I really enjoyed Whiskey & Sin so I figured I'd probably like this MMFM/poly story.
THE GOOD: I could not put this down. I did not read the prequel novella That One Night and was fine navigating the story and characters. There is a lot of character depth and growth and the overall story is interesting. Also, lots of spice.
THE NEUTRAL: It's over 700 pages. Not my length of choice. On the plus side, the story moves along nicely and it doesn't feel that long.
THE MEH: I was sad when I finished cause there wasn't more.
CW: From the author: mentions of addiction, substance abuse, bullying/homophobia, harassment, suicide, and eating disorders. Detailed sex scenes with multiple people including elements of impact play, choking, voyeurism, bondage, double penetration, double vaginal penetration, toy use, degradation, spit play, and breeding kink
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
ymalima's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
5⭐️ 4🌶️
First things first, read the prequel That One Night: Pucking Around! It’s a quick, but juicy novella that perfectly sets the stage for book one of the Jacksonville Rays series.
First things first, read the prequel That One Night: Pucking Around! It’s a quick, but juicy novella that perfectly sets the stage for book one of the Jacksonville Rays series.
Pucking Around is a why choose hockey romance which is reason enough to read it, but if you need more reasons…
✅Strong Tatted Doctor FMC
✅Golden Retriever MMC
✅Brooding Daddy MMC
✅Strong Silent, but Wise MMC
✅MMFM polyamorous relationship
✅Bisexuality and coming out
✅Found family
✅Multiple POVs
The characters are multidimensional each with their own journeys personally as well as within their relationships with each other. It highlights how different personalities can bring out different parts of your own and the benefits of having multiple partners bringing out different sides of you and nurturing your relationship in different ways. Lucky Rachel gets to have it all the ways.
It is such a 🌶️ book, but there is also soo much plot that it it never feels like too much. (I mean it’s a lot 🥵 but in the best way possible) There are fluffy, blushing, giddy scenes and swooney, sweaty scenes and uncertain, tense, and heartbreaking scenes - it truly has it all!
I love Rachel, Jake, Caleb, and Ilmari equally and you cannot make me choose a favorite because they are a team!
I loved this book so much I forced myself to take breaks in reading it so that it lasted longer - and it’s a 700 page book and I still wanted more! I’ve never envied an main character quite like I did Rachel and I am already counting down the days until book two is released!
Disclosure: I received a free Arc of this book with no obligation to post a review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction and Bullying
laura_rheads_too_much's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Addiction
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