“Kelly Jamieson is an auto-buy for me.”—Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author
You Had Me at Hockey, an all-new opposites attract sexy sports romance standalone from USA Today bestselling author Kelly Jamieson is available now!
Can a spirited, down-to-earth influencer get an uptight hockey player out of his shell?
Josh
I am a warrior. That’s been my motto since I recovered from a near-death accident when I was younger. Now I enjoy my nice, settled life in Dallas playing pro hockey—a boring life is better than being dead. I’m not a party guy or an adventurer; I like my routine and peace and quiet. So being traded to New York is the worst possible change that could happen. And meeting unfiltered and fascinating Sara Carrington throws my life into even more chaos.
Sara
I’ve been considered weird my whole life, which is why I’m still a virgin, but I’ve turned it into a career with my YouTube videos. Who knew people would love watching me talk about my zits, taste-test meatless burgers, and try to learn TikTok dances! Now I’m launching a podcast. Getting hockey star Josh Heller as a guest will help gain listeners for sure. I expect a bearded jock with no teeth and nothing to say, but I get a hot as H-E-double-hockey-sticks grouch with a surprisingly dirty mind. My mission to make him laugh is successful, but I want to know why he’s so uptight underneath that panty-dropping smile. Maybe
I can teach Josh to have some fun . . . and maybe he can teach me a thing or two along the way. . .
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Review:
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
You Had Me at Hockey is the second book in the Bears Hockey series by Kelly Jamieson. The main characters are Josh and Sara. Josh is the newest transfer to the Bears and Sara is a successful youtuber. Sara's career was more interesting than Josh's, to be honest. I wish we have a little more focus on that because what she did seemed so fun! Sara is asked to do a podcast where she will be talking with Josh and from that moment forward they hit it off.
Each book in the series is a stand-alone and I think this is the first time in a series that it bothered me. If you haven't read Must Love Dogs...and Hockey you will not have a single problem, but personally since I have read the other book, I was expecting something more from this one. You see, in Must Love Dogs...and Hockey Easton mentions Josh to Lily because they used to be friends before the crash and he had some unfinished business with him, so I was expecting that part of their mutual past to come up sooner than it did. I also was expecting it to be more developed. Another thing that I expected to have more impact in this book was Easton standing up for himself and making sure that everyone knew how abusive their ex-coach was. I assumed it would have had a big impact on the team, but it was barely mentioned.
What I like about the series so far is that the characters are human and they are not perfect all the time and they have a kind of unique charm that wins me over. Josh needs a light slap on the head because he didn't always treat Sara right (nothing abusive though). They are opposites in many ways, but they worked well together.
Overall, the book was good but not as good as Must Love Dogs...and Hockey, hence the 4 stars. It had some good parts and others that didn't work for me.
Excerpt
I ask the driver to wait while I go inside to get her. I texted her to let her know I’m here and she said she’s on her way down. I enter the red brick building through brass doors beneath a small canopy and wait in the lobby. I study the marble tiles and woodwork and the art on the walls under the watchful eye of the doorman.
She emerges from the elevator and I watch her walk toward me, her faux fur coat hanging open. My gaze wanders from a chunky gold necklace shining at her throat, down over the short black dress to her excellent legs, and then lower to sexy black shoes with impossibly skinny heels.
Whoa.
What a contrast from the girl I hung out with the other day. But when I meet her eyes, it’s the same person, those sea green eyes dancing with life and humor. “Hi.”
“Hi. You look gorgeous.”
“Thanks. You look gorgeous too.” She touches the lapel of my black wool coat.
“The taxi’s waiting for us.” I set my hand on her low back and usher her out as the doorman opens the door for us. We slide into the back of the bright yellow car and I give the driver the restaurant address.
Sara shifts so she can face me. “I’ve heard of this place but never been there. This’ll be fun!”
We make small talk on the way there. I discover she watched the game last night, which startles me. Although . . . I like it.
“I have questions,” she announces. “So many questions.”
“About?”
“Hockey. I mean, I didn’t understand much. You guys move so fast out there! They drop the puck and wham, everyone’s skating all over the place.”
“Uh, yeah.” I’m amused by her description.
“They were talking about you.”
“Who was?” Clearly, her mind zips all over the place.
“The TV guys. They seem to think it was a good deal to get you from Dallas. They said . . . hell, I don’t remember what they said, but they were complimenting you.”
My mouth twitches into a near-smile. “Oh yeah? Were they talking about my passing and shooting skills? My controlled entries?”
She frowns. “Why does that sound dirty? How do you make hockey sound dirty all the time?”
“It’s one of my hidden skills. They probably didn’t talk about that.”
She snorts. “No! They didn’t.”
“It must have been my amazing skating. My hockey sense? My high compete level?”
“Well, they weren’t talking about your modesty.”
Goddamn, she makes me laugh.
“They probably said all those things,” she admits. “It sounded really good anyway. I thought how cool it was that I know you.”
I like that she’s maybe a little impressed with me since I’m kind of intimidated by her.
Traffic is nuts. We’re barely moving. The driver keeps honking, but there’s nowhere for the cars in front of us to go, so I don’t get the point of it.
We keep talking, but after a while I pull out my phone to check the time. It feels like we’ve only traveled two blocks. “Shit,” I mutter.
“What’s wrong?”
“Our reservation is for seven. This traffic is nuts.”
“Of course. It’s Saturday night in Manhattan.”
I hate being late. I hate rushing. I hate not being in control. “We could get out and walk there faster.”
She laughs softly and pats my leg. Well, that’s distracting. “Not in these heels, dude.
Kelly Jamieson is a USA Today bestselling author of over fifty romance novels and novellas. She writes the kind of books she loves to read--sexy romance with heat, humor and emotion. Her writing has been described as "emotionally complex", "sweet and satisfying" and "blisteringly sexy". She likes coffee (black), wine (mostly white) and shoes (high!). She also loves watching hockey. She is the author of the popular Heller Brothers Hockey series, Aces Hockey series, and the Rule of Three trilogy.
Connect with Kelly
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BookBub: https://bit.ly/39LQaxm
Website: https://www.kellyjamieson.com
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