Playing to Win

Very memorable hockey romance!

I found the storyline in this book quite compelling. I really enjoyed it. It’s one of the most memorable hockey romances I have read. Maybe even a favourite. The author found a good balance with the romance and the hockey. I appreciated the look at the marginalized sides of hockey, particularly women’s hockey. The reader comes to a better understanding of the disparity and challenges as Braydon learns and grows.

When Braydon Mitchell got the opportunity to move up from his team he was supposed to sit the bench as a back-up goalie for an NHL team, but found himself actually in the net. “Getting the call-up had been nerve-racking enough when I’d expected to warm the bench. I was never supposed to get this far.” It threw him when he ended up sharing his debut game and the spotlight with a goalie from the women’s league. Some upsetting news ignited his already existing frustration and a viral video of his drunken rant left him in a precarious position. Jayna, an injured player from the women’s league and a social media manager for the teams, was tasked with improving Braydon’s image by faking a romantic relationship with him. They wanted to “…prove that Mitchell didn’t have an issue with female hockey players by having him date one.” There were plenty of complications along the path as the fake started to fade away and feelings became very real, but there were still challenges to be faced. “We had no future, so the sooner we were done, the better.”

There were many layers to this story. I felt it was very well-crafted with so much more than just a simple fake dating romance. And the story offered a reasonable justification for the fake relationship. The progression of the relationship felt grounded and gradual as the characters learned more about each other and acknowledged attraction. The main characters were nuanced, well-developed, and engaging. I enjoyed the secondary characters as well. They added a lot of depth to the story. I look forward to more stories about some of them. After growing up in a hockey-loving community, one thing that I find with many hockey romances is that while the authors have researched the details of the sport, they don’t quite capture the zeitgeist of hockey culture in a hockey community. It’s just a feeling that exists in a story. I immediately felt like this author got it and must have personal experience. I was not at all surprised to learn that the author is originally from Canada. I would consider this one of the more successful hockey romances that I have read in immersing the reader into the hockey culture. I look forward to more books in this series. This is a detailed open door romance with innuendo and strong harsh language throughout.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.