Roughneck
Book
Derek Ouellette's glory days are behind him. His hockey career ended a decade earlier in a violent...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Offside (The Barker Triplets, #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
Though how those triplets are related, I'll never know. They're always arguing and b*tching about one thing or another in each others lives and it drove me wild whenever they were together in the same room. I get sibling rivalry, but jeez! They were vicious.
As for the romance between Billie-Jo and Logan, I really liked it. It was slow and sweet and had me sighing at certain parts.
I liked the storyline, a female ex-professional ice hockey player playing on an all men's team and showing them that she's good enough to do it and in most cases better than them.
The bits we saw of Bobbie-Jo kinda made me like her, though I'm sure I'll come to like her fully <b>when</b> I read her and Shane's story. As for Betty-Jo, she seemed like a bit of a b*tch with what she did to Billie in this and at present I'm not a fan.
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated Date with a Devil (Dallas Devils #1) in Books
Jan 14, 2021
Kindle Edition
This light and at times steamy kicked off the start of 2021 with a bang (of bodies hitting the boards, and the clashing of hockey sticks as pucks hit the ice)!
Austen hosts a popular online section for the Dallas Devils, going on "dates" with the players and introducing them to the fans... All went well until it was the turn of jock Dane, an athlete with a reputation for disliking the media and being a fan of the puck bunnies!
What follows for the duo with a great deal of chemistry, is a bumpy road which threatens to impact both of their careers and their relationship!
The first in the Dallas Devils series, and Winters does not disappoint with this contemporary sports romance. It was an easy read with a great deal of depth, well paced and oozing chemistry.
The story progression worked well with Winters' writing style, with added drama from a historical back story which is explained in further books, and a great antagonist.
Hoping book 2 is just as interesting!
Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
9.0
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Book
Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping...
Romance
ClareR (5721 KP) rated The Winners in Books
Mar 8, 2023
Over the course of this trilogy I have become involved in the lives of everyone in Beartown and Hed. I don’t watch Ice Hockey (my son plays field hockey, and I imagine that’s slightly less dangerous - although he’s had his share of black eyes and sprained ankles!).
This book is about the lives of the people of the two towns. How, despite their animosity towards one another, there is more that joins them together than drives them apart. They just have to learn that.
The novel starts with the storm of a generation: trees are blown over, houses and businesses damaged. In fact, this is something of a sign of things to come for these people.
Life isn’t necessarily easy for any of the characters in this. We read of the trials and tribulations of their lives, their successes and failures. The observations made by Backman are so full of insight , like he has really taken the time to understand these people.
Emotions run high between the towns, especially when it’s discovered that the council want to shut one of the rinks down. They’ve clearly not thought this one through and have no understanding of their constituents!
This novel contains all of the struggles of so many small towns today: addiction, violence, families in trouble, people in need, corruption, criminality, love and loss.
It’s a long book, but it flies by - and that’s all Backman’s writing (and the translator Neil Smith’s translating!). I’m so sorry to see this trilogy come to an end. It’s been quite the ride.
Shadow and Light (Arizona Raptors #3)
RJ Scott and V.L. Locey
10.0
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Book
Is it easier to fall into the shadows than hold onto the light? Injured in a horrific car...
Contemporary MM Sports Romance
ClareR (5721 KP) rated Us Against You (Beartown #2) in Books
Aug 25, 2018
There’s a lot of ice hockey: not a sport we see much of here in the U.K., but it’s done in a particular way that I didn’t feel it was a story about sport.
“Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. We’ll end up saying that violence came to Beartown this summer, but that will be a lie; the violence was already here. Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do anything else.”
This is a story about human nature: all the good, bad and messy bits. And I loved it. Five stars for me means I would read it again, and I probably will.
Many, many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this wonderful book.
Grinder (Seattle Sharks #1)
9.0
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Book
Gage McPherson was the Seattle Shark’s best grinder, until he shattered his shoulder last season....
The Winners
10.0
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Book
It’s often said that winners write history, but there are no winners here’ This is a small...
Sports Literary fiction Sweden Hockey Family In translation
Van: A Cold Fury Hockey Novel
Book
Score one for the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team as a stone-cold badass melts for a woman who makes...
romance