Slapshot

I have enjoyed the whole series, this one learning the background and seeing who they can come when they find support in each other that is only found when you let yourself and find the soul you connect with.

I’ve read this book a few times now, as I love this series. It’s the Sockeyes book I struggle the most with, yet in the end appreciate it as thought-provoking (not typical of my escape reading!)

Mild spoilers ahead:
Bryce’s pursuit in the beginning is too much for me, and would be seriously creepy and maybe even borderline criminal if Tia wasn’t also on the same page. That gave me food for thought right there. Sometimes we just read signals wrong, so what then?

Later, as the stepbrother gets pushy, I’m once again thinking about how much of Tia’s response is driven by her gut feeling and little else. Well, until a certain conversation.

Bryce and Tia aren’t terribly likable people in the beginning. Which also makes it a bit hard for me to root for them. Their chemistry feels as if it could go wrong - as if they could use each other for their own selfish purposes.

They don’t. They also grow as people, and experience real-world consequences of their behavior. And while the ending is happy, not everything is fixed and perfect.

So while I do get there, and do like how I’m pushed to think about things like consent, it’s a “chewier” read than most of the series - to me.

I received a complimentary early release e-book prior to release and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was kind of a sad story with some great suspense and a bit of a Cinderella story starring hockey player Bryce and spoiled rich girl and horse woman, Tia who we have met in previous books. In this story we get her whole reason for why she acts so badly.

In this story Tia is our Cinderella and her father's mistress and now fiancée is the evil stepmother to be with her evil son and they are after Tia's fathers' wealth, and they want to destroy Tia.

Bryce plays Prince Charming in this story and from his first scene with Tia you can feel the magic between these two. What starts up as a hook up ends up meaning a lot more to two very broken people who end up really needing each other.

This is not a light read but it is full of hot scenes, lots of drama, suspense and a horrible villain and a chance for Bryce to save the day. It was a really different story in this series, but it was intense and highly entertaining.