Olivier by Brenda Rothert

 

3 Star

Olivier is not used to being hounded by reporters like his players but after he saves the life of a senator’s daughter from a burning car, he can’t get them to leave him alone. He’s now trending on Twitter where everyone wants Olivier and Daphne to have a fairytale romance and happy ending. Neither of them is interested in that but to appease the masses and the reporters they meet up. Olivier is attracted to her and is interested in spending more time with her. Daphne hates being told what to do and when her parents push her to spend time with Olivier, she’s not sure what to do with him. Will they find their happy ending?

I wanted to like this more then I did but I didn’t like Daphne. She was hard to connect with. If her mom said the sky was blue, then she argued it was green. Even though she liked Olivier she wasn’t interested in pursuing him because that was what her parents wanted. Like I get not wanting to do what your parents want but if you like him why would you walk away from something that could be great just because it’s what your parents want. She was younger than him which isn’t a problem usually, but she read younger than her actual age. I can’t even describe how ridiculous she was. At one point he donates funds to her nonprofit and she gets mad about it and then gets out of her own head and contacts him. He happened to have left his phone off for a weekend away with his daughter and she got mad that he didn’t respond right away. She understood why after he explained but it was just ridiculous couple of scenes. Overall, it fit in with the rest of the series and it was definitely not my favorite book.

Book 9 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Kit by Brenda Rothert

 

3.5 Star

Molly is asked to do an in-depth article on Kit Carter. She is used to doing hard hitting articles with deep dive into the subject matter. Kit wasn’t expecting this when he was asked to sit down with a reporter. Molly surprises him in many other ways and he wants her to keep. Will she be able to get out of her own head and see what she would be missing if she walks away?

I loved these two. The struggle they both had with having a good and healthy adult relationship after everything they both have been through was an interesting read. Kit was a shy and reserved player who didn’t want the spotlight and it was fun to see how he handled this aspect and having to give an interview. Molly had her own issues. She was very OCD about things and felt she had to have control over everything and that led to problems with Kit. There were some issues that were brought up in the story that weren’t resolved and that was a bit frustrating. The couple ends up together and were a super sweet couple but would have liked some things to be wrapped up more. Overall it was a solid story just missing somethings.

Book 8 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Jonah by Brenda Rothert

 

3 Star

After the death of his wife Jonah has no intention of finding someone new. He isn’t ready for someone else when his cop brother asks him for a favor that means he will have to pretend to be the boyfriend to an undercover FBI agent to take down a sex trafficker he’s willing to take on a girlfriend. Reyna has spent years undercover and to get close to a billionaire suspected of trafficking girls she is willing to just about anything even if that means pretending to be the girlfriend of a hockey player.

This one was just ok. I looked forward to Jonah getting his happy ending after the loss of his wife in a previous book, but I didn’t really feel a connection to Rey or felt like they meshed. It was well written book, and it fits with the rest of the series but it just wasn’t one of my favorite books. I’ll still read the rest of them.

Book 7 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Easy by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Erik never planned on setting foot in his hometown again after he had his heart broken by his high school sweetheart. But life has other plans for him. His aunt breaks her hip, and his mom breaks her ankle and they both need help so he will have to suck it up and spend some time in Greentree Falls WI. On his first day home he runs into the one woman he has never gotten over. Will he walk away from her this time, or will he be all in?

This one just broke my heart. I want Allie and Erik to get their happy ending with everything they went through. They both had no win situations as teenagers and now that they are ten years older, they realize how much they missed each other, and I love the workaround they came up with so they could be happy together. This book had good pacing and it drew me in so fast and I didn’t want to put down. I did like the drama in the book didn’t have anything to do with Erik or Allie but Allie’s family instead. I just overall really enjoyed this book.

Book 6 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Alexei by Brenda Rothert

 

3 Star

Alexei has been partying to hard and drives drunk, crashing his car into the side of a barn. He’s given an ultimatum to either go to rehab or no team will touch him. His current team released him, and the Chicago Blaze will take him on but only with rehab. There he meets his new councilor Grayson. Grayson is there to help him find awareness and understanding of his addiction. The problem she very much has a crush on Alexei that’s inappropriate and she had promised herself to never trust an addict. How will she be able to work through all of obligations and feelings?

I struggled with this one for personal reasons. The writing was still good, and I enjoyed that part of it. The problem I had was the ethics of have a licensed therapist hook up with a former patient. I will say she was no longer treating him, and it was I think 6 months after he left rehab, they start dating. To me it’s very grey, grey line that I struggled with. If you’ve read the other books and liked them and this doesn’t bother you, the book will work for you. This is very much a me issue. Still enjoying the series and can’t wait for the next one.

Book 5 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Knox by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Reese finds out her fiancé is cheating on her in the worst way at the altar. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t two of her bridesmaids. She is determined to enjoy her honeymoon even if she isn’t married. After a freak accident in the ocean leads her to meeting a NHL player Knox. He knows she’s on the rebound and has plans and it will only be a relationship while they are on island. They are hot and heavy and walked away. A year later and chance encounter has brought them back together. A year of experiences later will they still have the spark they had in Hawaii?

OMG I loved this book so much. I loved how it starts with Reese being left at the altar. I wanted to slap her ex upside the head. Switches to Hawaii where we get a couple of chapters with Reese and Knox. It then jumps ahead to a year later. This veered from previous books where there wasn’t such a big jump, but this worked as it led to growth from both Knox and Reese, and it led to the book not being a traditional rebound love story. It still held with the other books of one of the characters having to work through something to find a happy ending. I liked everything about this book and these two. Can’t wait for the next one.

Book 4 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Victor by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Lindy Boring has a crush on NFL player Victor. She sees him all the time at the arena he plays at. She is a quiet girl who still lives at home with her dad. Victor doesn’t see her until one day he’s struggling with life. He’s not playing well, and he’s been called out on it. No one knows where his head’s at and no one can reach him to get through to him until Lindy runs into him. He’s intrigued but he’s concerned about his secret being revealed and everyone looking at him differently. Will he get past his past to find his happy ending?

There is a trigger warning on this one for crimes against children. It’s talked about in abstract not detail.

I enjoyed Victor and Lindy’s story. It was reminiscent of a couple different fairy tales. Poor girl working her butt off falls for a wealthy man who sweeps her off her feet. I enjoyed the progression in the book between them. The series so far have been heart wrenching situations and the main characters have to work through their trauma to find their happy ending. This book isn’t any different than the first two, but it is still fresh and unique. Can’t wait for book 4.

Book 3 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Luca by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

After a tragedy Abby puts all her effort into her home furnishing business. For her personal life she’s only interested in one-night stands. She doesn’t have the time or mental ability to have more. That is until she meets hockey player Luca. Luca was a single parent to his nieces and nephew since the death of his brother and sister-in-law. He was fine with a one-night stand as that is all he had time for until Abby blew into his life. It starts as a one off until they can’t get enough of each other. Will they be able to work through their own trauma to find their happy ending?

I really like these two. Abby has lost a lot in her life and is sure she doesn’t want anything more than her work. Luca throws her for a loop and makes her both want more and also want to hide since she will have to confront her past to have a future. Luca has his own problems being a single father to his brother’s kids. You get to see the nitty gritty Luca has to put up with juggling work and grieving children. I loved watching them both struggle with what they want and finding a way to come together. I can’t wait for the next book.

Book 2 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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Anton by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Sexy brooding captain Anton is known as Father Anton. After meeting the woman, he would love to spend the rest of his life with he’s decided to remain celibate. He knows he can’t be with Mia as she is the wife of a teammate. What he doesn’t know is Mia is separated from her douche of a husband and trying to make enough money to afford a divorce. He finds out when he shows up at the bar, she’s working at he’s very confused since he and his teammates make millions so why is she bartending? When he finds out about all she’s going through he offers to help no strings attached. Will she be able to keep from falling for him?

I loved these two. They both have struggles they are working through, and they were able to come together and find their happy. It wasn’t easy getting their happy which made it all the better when they got there. There are some heavy topics talked about in the book, but they were handled with care. I laughed and cried while reading this book which to me makes this an awesome read. I finished and wanted the next one so definitely worth a read.

Book 1 Chicago Blaze Hockey

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