This Aces Hockey novel is a second chance romance. If you enjoyed the prior books, this installment will not disappoint. It is well written, entertaining and steamy.

Back Check By Kelly Jamieson is the 4th book in the Ace’s Hockey series. Tanner is not a fan of weddings but a teammate is getting married and wants him in the wedding, he can’t say no. Katelyn is the wedding planner and Tanner’s the one who got away. It’s interesting to see just how this story plays out. A great and easy read.

4 1/2 stars!! Tanner Bennett hates weddings after the way he grew up with multiple step-parents on both sides. While hanging out at his friends he runs into his college sweetheart Katelyn. Life keeps throwing them together until they both decide to give it another try. Tanner and Katelyn make a cute couple and I enjoyed seeing how they work hard to repair the damage from the past and learn the adult they are now.

I absolutely loved this series of the Aces Hockey team. Being able to follow characters from previous books in the series and be updated on their relationships is exactly what readers want. This story was a great ending to this series.

Kelly Jamieson is all of the things to Hockey romance. I bow to her awesomeness.

Back Check: An Aces Hockey Novel by Jamieson
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Contemporary/Sports Romance
Loveswept

Reviewed by Kini

The so-bad-they’re-good alphas of hockey’s Chicago Aces are back in this emotionally charged novel of sex, love, and second chances from the bestselling author of Top Shelf and the Heller Brothers series.

Tanner Bennet hates weddings. They just remind him that he simply isn’t cut out for any kind of healthy, committed relationship—never has been, never will be. After getting rejected by the girl he thought was “the one” all those years ago, he made a huge mistake and married the wrong person. Now that the divorced heartbreaker has reluctantly agreed to be a groomsman for one of his NHL teammates, the last thing he expects is a chance at redemption with the one that got away.

After Marc Dupuis of the Chicago Aces hires wedding planner Katelyn Medford, she discovers that her big break comes with a twist: a reunion with her college sweetheart. The way she dumped Tanner still haunts her. Eight years—and three broken engagements—later, Katelyn knows she’ll never have that kind of innocent, wide-eyed passion again. Still, she and Tanner soon generate enough body heat to burn up the sheets. And even with Tanner’s career with the Aces up in the air, Katelyn’s wondering whether the time is right to let him in for real.

Second chance romances are one of my favorite tropes, so I was all over this book. Jamieson did not let me down. This is 5th in a series and reads well as a stand alone. Tanner and Katelyn reconnect while she plans the wedding of his team-mate. At first they both try to avoid the other. Katelyn begins to think that Tanner hates her. They then decide to give the whole “let’s be friends” thing a shot. We know in rom land that never works and of course they end up having dirty sexy times together.
Jamieson writes some super hot sex scenes and this was no exception. After they try the friends thing for like two days and then they are at a party together, things get pretty steamy, fast.

“I don’t think we can be just friends,” he continued. Because there’s too much heat between us. But truthfully, Katelyn?” She blinked, trying to resist leaning into his touch and rubbing her cheek against his palm. “I want to fuck you so bad, baby.” Heat rushed through her in a dizzying wave.

After they engage in some let’s get reacquainted sex, they decide that perhaps they can try again at their relationship. Things didn’t work out when they were in college because they were young and trying to find their way. Tanner called drafted into the NHL and Katelyn wasn’t able to leave her family. Tanner comes from a dysfunctional family with divorced parents and both parents have remarried several times. Tanner hasn’t had a model of someone loving him long-term and unconditionally. This comes into play for the big conflict.

When the conflict arises, I felt the author did a good job and kept it realistic. Tanner refers to himself as a loser of few times and who amongst us hasn't felt like that at times. Obviously he comes to his senses and does a pretty good job at groveling.

There are a lot of characters in this book, as it centers around a hockey team. Again it can be read as a stand alone. I’ve only read the one prior to this. But if a lot of characters annoys you, this might not be the book for you. There is one character Hallsy, he lost his wife in book 4, and I am here for Hallsy and his story. I hope that it will be next.

Overall, this was a solid read. Jamieson is one of my go to authors for a solid story, some hot sex, conflict that is not overblown, and of course a satisfying HEA.

Grade: B-

Really enjoyed this book. Another great one to add to the series. I love this group of friends. Tanner sees Katelyn after many years. Katelyn is planning Lovey and Marc's wedding. They do their best to down play how they know each other.

I loved both Tanner and Katelyn. They fit together. I was happy with the end of the book. whether or not Tanner was being traded from the team weighed heavily through out.

Looking forward to the next book.

Kelly Jamieson is tops when it comes to writing sports romance, and you just don't find many that come close to her Aces Hockey Series. This one is a great addition to the series. Tanner and Katelyn are fantastic characters with some steaming chemistry! I loved the storyline in this one, and the second chance romance. I can't wait for more by Jamieson!

Love the idea of series based around the Aces hockey team, and love the idea of a rekindled romance. Decent story, but this one didn't grip me the way Ms Jamieson's books normally do. Good, but not a must read...

I absolutely love the Aces Series! Katelyn Medford is trying very hard to make it in the Event Planning Business. Planning the wedding of Marc Dupuis and Lovey Armstrong is just her ticket. Too bad in the middle of the wedding party is the man that broke her heart eight years ago. Tanner Bennet absolutely loathes weddings. His parents divorced and married and divorced again so many times, he doesn’t even bother getting to know his step-relatives anymore. After getting signed to play hockey at nineteen and leaving the one girl he loved behind, Tanner thought he had found his match. Turned out he fell in love with the idea of love. A failed marriage later, he is determined to remain single for life. But for his friend he agreed to face another wedding and play the groomsman. What he didn’t expect was to find Katie again. Even more beautiful than she used to be, she takes his concentration, breath and sense away. Katelyn is determined to keep her professionalism. She won't let her attraction for Tanner disrupt her work. But when he pushes her limits, all the emotion and chemistry they shared long ago takes over. Loving each other was never their problem, it was sticking together through thick and thin that threw them off. Now as contract negotiations eat at Tanner, will they risk it all to finally see their love through. Bad Check is a sexy as all get out, intense go and get the one you love story of two ex lovers who meet again. They've hurt each other in the past, tried to find happiness elsewhere, but couldn't do it because they've always been each other's HEA. As they meet again, this becomes their second chance. They've grown from their mistakes and know just how to make this work, yet before they get it right… they manage to screw it up along the way. Like I said. Perfect!

Tanner's first marriage ended in divorce. So he swore he would never get married again. Nor is he interested in anything having to do with weddings. Every time it seems he has been part of a wedding party, their marriage ended in divorce. So even though he is not thrilled, he does when his teammate asks him to be a groomsman and help with the wedding, he agrees. Imagine his shock when he discovers the weeding planner is the only woman he has ever really loved, but she refused to go with him when he was drafted into the NHL. Will he get a second chance? Katelyn is trying to get her business off the ground. So when she is given a chance to plan a wedding for a NHL player she jumps at the chance. She is surprised she will be working with Tanner. While she rejected him, she has often regretted her choice. Now she too has a second chance. Can they risk their hearts? I like how this author pulls in players from the previous books. Makes them all feel like a family. I have never been disappointed in this authors books and this one is no exception. Review posted on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

This is a light, predictable romance.
Which in my book makes for a quick, enjoyable read.

This book was just okay for me. I found it to be very predictable and at times it felt drawn out.

Standard story of boy meets girl, couple fall in love, boy gets offer to play in NHL, girl can't go so boy and girl break up. Years later they meet back up, living in the same town as they prepare for an upcoming wedding.

The end was very predictable as was the scenario that led up to the end of the book.

3/5 stars


It was a pleasant reading, the cover is gorgeous, by the way (no hard pecs or chest, just a beautiful male face)


The blurb was great, but I think the length was not enough to develop enough angst…. I wished the book were longer, and the sex scene were great, but the lines felt sometimes a little odd, I mean I know Tanner and Katelyn have a past together, but the sexy talk came a little too fast for my taste.

Really, the characters and story are good, all the friends make a great family, we have some hints of Hockey world and aspects professional players struggle with (trades, uncertainty etc.…) but the book felt a little too short to really enjoy the love story of second chances between Tanner and Katelyn.

I am a huge fan of the Aces team and was glad I could return to them pretty quickly.

What I love the most about this series is that the couples from the previous books and also the other teammates still play a big role in the books. It makes me feel absolutley at home with the characters and the world around them. I also love the big role hockey is playing in the books. I have never watched a hockey match in my life but this series makes me feel like I did and makes me curious about the sport.

Tanner and Katie made a super sweet couple and I enjoyed them finding their love again. Katie was an independent woman starting her own business as an event planner.
I liked that the drama was rather short and not overdramatised.

I enjoy Kelly Jamieson writing style and how she develops her stories. I am already looking forward to the next book in the Aces series.

Back Check is the fourth book in Kelly Jamieson’s Aces Hockey series and I enjoyed it quite bit despite the fact that I honestly didn’t grow to love either one of the main characters something that surprised me greatly as normally I love the characters Ms. Jamieson offers up in her books. Back Check is a second chance love story, college lovers are reunited when his teammate’s fiancée hires his ex-college girlfriend as their wedding planner. Having no contact in the 8 years since they last saw one another make their reunion interesting especially as their back story unfolds and they both begin to see things through the eyes of the adults they are now than the 19 year olds they were then.
Event planner Katelyn Medford is struggling to keep her business afloat so she really can’t turn down a wedding even though it’s 6 months out and especially when another planner left the couple high and dry. Finding out Tanner Bennet, her ex-boyfriend from college, is a groomsman throws her a bit and seeing him again after 8 years throws her a lot, but she’s not alone in being stunned by being around him again, but with them both still reeling from their past finding common ground may prove to be difficult.
Honestly I didn’t feel the connection between these two for quite awhile in this book, their interactions were so uncomfortable and stilted and considering the all encompassing relationship they had, I expected them to be more comfortable and “in tune” with one another despite the way their young relationship ended. Yes, they were both hurt and the situation they were put in was hard especially since there were extenuating circumstances, but I just didn’t “feel” that pull between them.
I admired Katelyn’s drive and ambition and the fact that she was determined to make her business a success. I did find it a bit strange that given her profession and her outgoing personality that even after several years in the city she only have one friend and that was her friend from college. I never really felt like we got to know Katelyn very well and thus I had a hard time connecting to her character at all.
I was really surprised by how insecure Tanner was about life and love, but hearing his back story made it easy to understand his issues and after “meeting” his Dad, I could understand him even better. I liked Tanner and it was easy to see his friends and teammates meant the world to him, but he also held himself back from them because of his fears. I was happy to see him open up emotionally to them because I felt like he was growing as a person and on the track to working through the baggage that held him back.
What I really loved about this book was the friendships between the players and their significant others, Ms. Jamieson did a fantastic job of showing how much of a family they are and how much they grow to rely on one another. I enjoyed seeing the couples from the previous books and catching up on their lives and getting to know some of the other players a bit better.
While Back Check wasn’t as satisfying as some of the other books in this series, I did love the camaraderie, and the fact that two people found their way back to one another despite the years they were apart.

A tad trouble to get into as I'm not a third person reader but once I did I'm glad I kept going. I made have screeched a little a time or two. :)
This story fascinated me.

Great story - really enjoy being able to lose myself in books of this genre.

Thanks for the chance to read this

We all know I like to start my reviews by thanking NetGalley and Random House Loveswept for providing us with a copy of these books so that we could bring you this review.

Well what can I say about the 3 sexy hockey players other than WOW... I mean these are books 2-4 of the series and having already been in love with the Ace's hockey team how could I not be anxious to read the other books. I love Duncan and his innocent sexiness. What do I mean by that simple... he doesn't know how sexy he really is and things he innocently says that make him so much sexier is fantastic, I love it. Amber and her father's past was a little sad, but it helps her become the person that she is so much that its what makes her perfect for Duncan. Sidney reminded me so much of one of my favorite shows Bar Rescue and how in that show they are helping bars improve, which is what Sidney does for a living. It made me laugh how Rupp starts to fall in love with Sidney and doesn't even realize it, but once he does I love how he tricks her into giving them a chance to have a relationship. Now I have to say that I started to read Tanner's book before I read Rupp and Sidney's so I was looking forward to what was going to happen at the end of Top Shelf. Now let me get to Tanner and Katelyn... which I will say was my favorite book of all them. I guess we all know how I feel about second chance love stories, but the fact that Katelyn is kind of like the antithesis of what Tanner believes in is awesome. She helps him see how things can be different. My heart breaks at one point for the things that Tanner has had to endure when he was young.

I give these three books a combined total of 4.75 body checking kisses...

Happy Reading... Adri