A review by bribreez
Behind the Net by Stephanie Archer

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5

4.5⭐️/ 4🌶️ 

*Check Trigger warnings before reading 

I have FINALLY read my first book by, Stephanie Archer, and all I have to say is, I can understand the hype around her books! This was a book I had on my tbr for quite some time, and had been saving it for a special day. As an avid hockey romance reader, seeing Stephanie’s newest series be all about hockey players, it was an instant YES to finally dive into her books. This story followed, Pippa Hartley and Jamie Streicher as the two worked together since Pippa became Jamie’s new personal assistant. There was also some slight history between Jamie and Pippa as the two of them once went to the same high school, and unbeknownst to them, they had crushes on each other! Now, as adults Pippa and Jamie navigated a busy career, trying to find their footing, and growing closer as they spent more time together. If you’ve been wanting to read a book by, Stephanie Archer I would highly recommend this book to be the one you start off with!

You know what else I love among soooo many reasons about reading hockey romances? It’s when it’s also grumpy/ sunshine and the MMC secretly has been PINING OVER THE GIRL FOR A LONG TIME! In the case with, Jamie, he had a crush on Pippa when they were in high school, and now having her as his assistant definitely brought back those feelings he had for her back then. I found it ironic how Jamie was crushing on Pippa again especially after seeing her for the first time in years, but due to him being frazzled and nervous around her, his responses and behavior accidentally came off harsh and grumpy. Meanwhile, Pippa just thought that Jamie was rude and grumpy, but nope, Jamie was just a nervous mess around her haha. I also loved reading Jamie’s point of view because, seeing how much he was affected by Pippa’s presence in his life made it clear he was head over heels for her. Plus, with Pippa spending more time around Jamie as his assistant, Jamie’s grumpy attitude lessened and he became more soft and protective with her. All in all, I very much adored Jamie and his way of pushing Pippa to pursue her love of music once again, supported her, and above all was a man who loved anything and everything Pippa did. I LOVE A MAN OBSESSED WITH THE GIRL AND THAT WAS HOW JAMIE WAS WITH PIPPA! 

Another reason why I loved this book so much was how fast paced it was, and yet it didn’t feel rushed at all. The way Stephanie Archer wrote this book, and I’m assuming her other books feels like once you’re reading the book, you’re fully in it, which was how I felt while reading about Pippa and Jamie. I loved how immersed I was in this book, and how grumpy Jamie was, but also how Pippa didn’t back down from Jamie’s bossy attitude at times. There was a lot to love about this book, and I can only give high praises for it. Plus, once again WHO DOESN’T LOVE TO SEE JAMIE BEING ALL ABOUT PIPPA EVEN WHEN SHE DOESN’T KNOW HE HAD A SECRET CRUSH ON HER?! 

As much as Pippa and Jamie had feelings for each other, there was some obstacles they faced. For Jamie, he was always in the mindset that his career and his family (his mom) always came first, but with Pippa coming into his life, his priorities started to shift. Jamie didn’t do serious relationships, he was more of the casual hookup type, but Pippa was someone who couldn’t do casual which was totally fine. I could see that Pippa and Jamie had good chemistry together, and even when things got spicy between them, there was still that level of concern and worry over potentially losing the special connection they formed  especially since Pippa became Jamie’s assistant, which added a bit to the problem of them being together. Like any romance, in order to achieve their happy ending, Pippa and Jamie had to go through some tough things, and reconsider what they truly wanted moving forward, especially for Jamie to think about if he could truly give Pippa all his affection and more. 

Overall, this was worth the wait, and I definitely enjoyed reading Stephanie Archer’s book! Stephanie wrote a well rounded hockey romance that highlighted the journey of Pippa rediscovering her confidence, and reigniting the desire to pursue her dreams with music. Jamie as much as he was initially a grumpy man in the beginning was actually a big supporter to Pippa, and always showed his passion and enthusiasm with Pippa’s songs, and singing. If there was ever a man who was to be known as Pippa’s number one fan, it’d be Jamie. Jamie also managed to make peace with his past, and how he always assumed his career and his mom’s needs had to come first before anything else. I did like seeing how Jamie and his mom eventually worked through getting her the help she needed, but it was something that took time for Donna to finally understand she needed to do what was best for her health. The romance and spice in this book was amazing and yeah Stephanie really gave plenty of swoon worthy moments as well as Jamie being a possessive, protective man over Pippa which I LOVED! There was lots of love about this book, and with the way it all wrapped up it was perfect. With the scenes we got with Hazel and Rory in this book, I can only hope their book ends up being great as well. Highly recommend this book if you love, hockey romances with spice, lovable characters, character growth, depth, and humor.