Hockey runs in the Bukowski family’s blood. All three sons play professional hockey and growing up their family billeted other young hockey stars. Then there’s Gracie, who knows more about hockey than anyone but is set aside by everyone, including her family. Liam is one of the hockey players that grew up living with Gracie’s family. When he was younger they were best friends but as he got older he became friendly with her brother Kow and slowly dropped Gracie. Now that he’s playing pro he realizes she is the one that he let get away and now that he’s been transferred to the New York Stars where Gracie lives he’s determined to get her back.

This book came on my radar through an article or blog about great sports romances and I have to say that I would have to agree. There is a lot of sports in this romance, mostly because that’s part of Gracie’s personality. Growing up in a hockey household, she has the eye of a coach and gives her brothers, including Liam, tips about their playing that has helped them tremendously throughout their careers. Unfortunately for them, she delivers the news in a brash, blunt manner. That is Gracie. She doesn’t hold her punches and her family doesn’t really understand her. This has caused problems with her three brothers, but not the billeted players like Liam who’ve lived in her household. Liam in particular, loves this about Gracie. I love that about him- he sees her as she is and loves her despite these characteristics.

There is an interesting plot point that causes psychological conflict for Liam. He was kidnapped off the streets, tortured, and held for ransom because of his high profile status. This kidnapping has made him suspicious, paranoid, and uneasy about life. If this is a trigger for you, you may want to avoid this novel, but I thought this was a really interesting aspect to his character that I wanted to know more about. How would Gracie handle this quality? Does this make him crazy or is he still a lovable guy? All of these things ran through my head while reading making this a rather unique read.

Needless to say there is a lot of emotional drama due to the kidnapping, and Gracie’s relationship with her own family, but the bond between Liam and Gracie is the important one and that felt pretty special. With the exception of the drunk scene at the beginning of the novel, I really enjoyed this story. That first scene just didn’t fit the feel of the rest of the novel and I wish it had been thrown out in edits. The rest of the story was great. I’ll definitely be looking for a book #2 in this series and will be looking at this author’s other novels under the name Serena Akeroyd. If they’re all like this one, I’ve got a bit of reading in front of me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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