I’ve been on a hockey romance kick lately and this book didn’t disappoint with equal parts drama and spice interspersed with fluffy moments and swoon-worthy romantic gestures. The icing on the cake was definitely the fact that the book was set in Vancouver, BC with the main character being from my home province of Ontario. The description of Carter’s house in the North Vancouver mountains (with seven fireplaces) gave me major real estate envy too.
This is so nitpicky, but despite being set in Canada, the characters in the book used the Imperial system which drove me nuts. Every time one of them mentioned the temperature in Fahrenheit or speed and distance in miles, it ripped me out of the story. Also unrealistic that they didn’t stop at a single Tim Hortons. My Canadian soul is starved.
Something I really appreciated about this book is the amount of patience Carter had for Olivia during their conflicts. It was fascinating to see such a healthy dynamic that persevered despite arguments. Carter has to be one of the most emotionally healthy men I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. Even in volatile situations with Olivia, he was able to think logically and put their relationship above his own feelings and that was some big-picture thinking I loved to see.
I also adored Olivia’s friendship with her best friend Cara and how supportive they were of each other. Cara’s boyfriend Emmett, who also happened to be Carter’s teammate was also a total sweetheart and the group brought a found family vibe to the book. When they were hanging out together, the book felt cosy and gave me all the warm fuzzies.
My biggest qualm with this book was how long it was. It took me a week to get through and a lot of the plot felt redundant and predictable, especially with the third-act breakup that seemed like it honestly could have been cut out of the story. I know Becka Mack recently released a new edition of the book with 21k fewer words, so hopefully, new readers won’t have to drag through the book.
Four out of five stars.
Paging Kait 