I think by now a lot of people my know about my love for hockey romances. I just love those, don't ask me why but I do. So when I first heard about Bad Romance I got really excited about it. I was even more excited when I read it was perfect for Kelly Jamieson's fans. I love Kelly's books, she's amazing and her hockey romances are more than amazing (more about that tomorrow when I review another one of her books XD). However, I ended up a little bit disappointed with this one for a lot of reasons. Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable but I still had a few problems with it.

Let's talk about the first problems, the characters and by characters I mean mainly Cassie because I kind of liked Chase. As you might have read in the blurb this book is about best-friends who end up falling in love for each other. Great right? NO, and mostly because of Cassie. I didn't like Cassie at all. She was a great friend to Chase, and it's incredible how she handled some of the things he would do, but she wasn't that great when they became more than friends. I hated the stupid things she constantly thought about Chase. He's her best-friend and keeps showing her he cares for her more than a friend. What does she do? "I'm probably just one of the girls. I'm pretty sure he was with someone else last night". COME ON GIRL!! You could think a little bit better of your best friend. There were a lot things I didn't like about her but the way she would treat Chase and what she thought about him got to my nerves. I did like Chase, as I said before. He wasn't perfect but he knew what he wanted and he never disrespected Cassie once they were in a sort of relationship. I also loved his dads... and yes, I said dads.

The plot itself was kind of predictable. It was okay but once I read they were going to Vegas I knew what would come out from that and I didn't like it and I didn't like how it happen. there also some things they were kind of ridiculous in my opinion. For example, if you have a big event the next morning you don't go get drunk with your friends because they thought it was a good idea. It was clear from the beginning it would NEVER be a good idea.

Overall, I kind of enjoyed this book but I had a lot of problems with it. Would I recommend it to anyone? I don't know. I know I wouldn't want to read it again but there are probably a lot of people who would love it... just not me.

A fun start to a new series by Nicole Edwards!

Chase and Cassie have been best friends for years, and, despite what everyone else thinks, that is all they've been. They are comfortable in their friendship and with their prescribed role in each other's life. But then things start to change and suddenly friendship might not be enough on its own any more.

I liked that they truly were best friends and knew and appreciated the other, quirks, issues, and all. You really do get the sense that they are nervous to acknowledge their feelings for fear of losing their friendship. Often that reasoning doesn't work well because you don't feel the strength of the bond they share. However it made sense here as their bond is well established.

This is the first book I have read by Nicole Edwards and I am looking forward to the next in the series!

Bad Reputation is not what I expected. I thought I'd get a super sexy, kind of angsty, friends-to-lovers romance. What I got was a fair-to-middling, kind of boring story. Chase and Cassie are best friends, have been since college. Chase is known as the bad boy of hockey and she's the computer/techie geek, successful best friend who puts up with him being a manwhore, love em and leave em guy. At least, this is the premise. What was actually presented was very different. Chase didn't come across as a bad boy or a manwhore at all, so not sure where this reputation of his came from.

Of course, Cassie and Chase have real, romantic feelings for each other, because what best friends don't in romances today, but both stuff those feelings down deep where they don't have to think about them. It all comes to a head when they take a trip to Vegas together, where Cassie is supposed to deliver a keynote speech for her company. She makes some out of the left field, stupid decisions and something big (read bad) happens and things fall apart after that. Before that, though, the story was very draggy, and not a lot was happening. I still cannot for the life of me, figure out where Chase's reputation was supposed to have come from, because he did not display any kind of bad boy manwhore tendencies. In fact, he was the best part of Bad Reputation. He was presented as sweet with a huge heart. And my God, his two dads?! Especially Chief? Awesome!

The real downer of Bad Reputation, and why I can't rate it higher, is Cassie. I wanted her to be vivacious and tough, strong enough to deal with a professional athlete. But, she was kind of boring, and really self absorbed, selfish, actually. And I didn't like that she did a 180⁰ when she made her bad decisions, because not only were they completely out of character for her, but they were really stupid of her. And her behavior after she made those bad decisions, clear until the end, was when her true self-absorption and selfishness came out and ruined the story for me. If Chase had a heroine of his equal, and had the story had a quicker pace, I would have loved it. As it's written, though, I couldn't justify more than 3 stars because the pacing was really slow and Cassie was annoying, to say the least.

A friends to lovers romance. Chase and Cassie are best friends. Chase is a bad boy athlete and Cassie is a VP and passionate workaholic. This story line has lots of potential but lacks depth and chemistry.
Normally I like dual POV in a book because that gives the reader the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. This book has dual POV but within each chapter. That was sometimes a bit confusing.
The characters - especially Cassie - develops through the story. Cassies development is not believable and seems odd.
There are hot scenes and emotional ups and downs. I wish the would communicate about their feelings. I like that Chase has two dads. Nice twist. I like the character of Chase. He is relatable and sometimes a gentleman.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book for my honest review!

A sweet, sexy AF best friend to lovers romance that I didn't want to put down. Fun, flirty and just what I needed to read to pull myself out of a book funk.

What a great book!! I would definitely recommend reading this!

Famous bad boy, hockey player/playboy Chase Barett loves playing hockey, he plays for the Texas Tornadoes. He's known for his mad skills on the ice and for sitting in the penalty box more often than most during games. He's a huge player with the women, so much so that when he does break things off with them, they hate him because he treats them like a princess while he's dating them. No one can EVER tame Chase, except maybe his best friend, Cassie Desrosiers, whom he has secretly been in love with for years. They've been best friends for 7 years, since college at UW, and now live in Texas.

Cassie Desrosiers, is very dedicated to her job,she's the youngest VP of app development in her company and she's on her way up the corporate ladder. Her only social life revolves around Chase and Natalie, her assistant.

When the annual technology conference in Vegas starts looming, her boss asks her to be the keynote speaker, she hesitates before answering because she doesn't like giving public speeches, but in the end, gives in. After Chase's hockey season ends without his team making the playoffs, Cassie invites him to Vegas and promises some him fun.

Only that fun turns out to be WAY too much and it costs her her job. And also brings Cassie and Chase much closer than they have ever been before, in more ways than one!

A must read!!!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is smoking and hot, and really any girls dream for what happens when your best friend is someone you can't live without. Chase, a star Hockey player has been best friends with Cassie, an IT tech executive, have been best friends for years. They are so close, that they have keys to each others houses, know each others families, and those family members are basically counting down the days until the two become more than the excuse of being "just friends."

This author outlines all the ways why Cassie and Chase should remain friends, however one fateful night while out in Vegas, the tables turn and Chase and Cassie take steps in a direction where there really is no turning back, no matter what their hearts or their heads are telling them. This book takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster, and I liked it. I really came to love these two, and were rooting for them really from the beginning. There are some surprises in store for these two, and its how they deal (or avoid dealing) with the fallout of their actions that really helped to define their relationship.

I couldn't put this book down from the moment I started reading, and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I have chosen not to review this title or feature it on the blog.

Cassie Desrosiers is a 28 yr. old woman from Wisconsin who is the Vice President of app development at a company working with software. She now lives in Houston, Texas where her best friend Chase Barrett lives. Cassie met Chase at the University of Wisconsin, & they have been inseparable for the last nine years. Chase is a professional hockey player for the Texas Tornadoes & has a reputation as the bad boy of hockey in the NHL. He’s popular in the media, & fans call him Sin. Cassie & Chase have always secretly been attracted to one another, but never acted on it. Cassie thinks Chase could never handle a relationship with his manwhore ways, but she also cares too much about him to ever screw things up. He’s like family to her, and she can’t imagine him not in her life. She doesn’t ever want to mix friendship with pleasure, & is more focused on her career, but she still could use some male attention.

When Cassie invites Chase to go to Vegas with her for a work conference, things get complicated. The sexual tension is high & one kiss suddenly changes everything. Chase values their friendship. He’s always wanted Cassie, but never acted on it because he didn’t want to lose the best thing in his life. She knows him better than anyone else, & is the only woman to ever make him feel this way. Now that he’s had a taste, he craves her. He’s scared to try for something more, but he’s wanted her for so long he doesn’t feel like he’ll ever get enough of her. As friends turn to lovers they are insatiable. There’s no stopping the inevitable, but falling in love with your best friend is complicated.

I really enjoyed this sexy friends to lovers romance! Chase was absolutely delicious & I always love a bad boy who falls hopelessly in love.

Bad Reputation is a friends to lovers story, the first in a new series from Nicole Edwards. Nicole writes a passionate, entertaining story, and Bad Reputation is an enjoyable read. I think that I was a little disappointed in the brevity of the story, perhaps as a result of the set-up time required for the series. I appreciate her sense of playfullness and the humor with which she infuses her series, and I look forward to the next installment.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Sports Romance

This is a push-pull story between two friends. They are playful and love each other as friends first.

Chase is a cocky hockey player who is loving his single life. He has a great family and set of friends, but he really wants to have Cassie love him.

Cassie is a strong woman and knows that she wants to have a great life. What her life doesn't include is love.

These two dance around each other and then when things finally go to the next level, their communication sucks.

This had a ton of potential for me, but the back and forth was just a little too much. Overall, it was a sweet story – there was just a little too much young adult drama.


Angie – ☆☆☆☆
Chase and Cassie have been best friends for several years. Everyone calls Chase "Sin" and he has a reputation for being a bad boy... but really he isn't. Chase has had a crush on his BFF forever! Cassie calls Chase out all the time for all his crap, has never thought of him in a sexual way even though he is hot AF. When Cassie has to go to Vegas for work, she invites Chase. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... yeah, right. There were a few things that happened in the book that were so predictable it kind of ruined the storyline for me. It was still a good book, but I expected and wanted more, not something so predictable. There are a few other players on the hockey team that I would love to read their stories though, hopefully without being able to guess the end of the book before I am half way through it.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
What I really loved about this book was the fact that it takes two people with a solid friendship and shows the progression from friends to lovers in a well told out romance. It takes been there, told that story to new heights and it’s a story that’s told very, very well.

Chase and Cassie are the best of friends and have been since college. Chase plays professional hockey and when Cassie has the opportunity to accept a promotion in the same city he’s in, she jumps on it.

Being close friends, they give each other grief about everything, from potential hook-ups to what each other wears, to how hard/much the other works. Chase likes to have fun and does his best to get Cassie to let loose a little. Yes, Cassie is driven and knows that Chase is just as driven in his hockey career, only with the different professions it shows itself in different ways.

Life goes from being pretty good, to being out of control when a night out in Vegas tanks Cassie’s career. Through it all, Chase is Cassie’s rock and she doesn’t understand why.

It takes a tough nut to crack her shell and have her admit that the reason that she and Chase have been such good friends all these is years is because they fell in love as kids and grew into that love as adults.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars of friends-to-lovers romance

This is a sweet, fun sports romance, heralding a new series from Ms. Edwards. It is definitely lighter than many of her books which I have read.

Told from both Chase and Cassie's viewpoint, we soon realise that they really are a team, who just haven't succumbed to the desire... yet! At times I found their voices to be younger than the careers that they had, but the informality wasn't entirely annoying. Thanks to the set up, it wasn't difficult to predict what was going to happen, but it was fun watching it roll out.

There were definite hints as to other characters who could have their stories told in future instalments and I await them with interest.


Shannan – ☆☆☆
Bad Reputation is a friends-to-lovers sports romance. Two best friends who have feelings for each other but don't want to ruin what they have.

Cassie and Chase met in college. They become as close as two friends can. Feelings have developed but neither wants to cross that line. Cassie doesn't think someone like Chase would be interested in her and Chase knows Cassie isn't into him like that.

Chase is the bad boy of hockey. He's fierce on the ice and a player off the ice. He's known to be a hard hitting player. All the girls fall for Chase, but he's not interested in more.

Cassie's mother ruined her view of love. She's moved from husband to husband, choosing to marry for money. Having that as a role model has deterred Cassie from wanting love.

You know where the story is headed pretty early on. I have to say I did skim some because at some point the internal dialogue seemed almost childish. The banter between the two was entertaining. I enjoyed Chase's character more than Cassie's.

Ms. Edwards has definitely left the door open for more from the secondary characters. Bad Reputation is an easy, quick read.

I liked the storyline of this book however I had some trouble staying connected to the characters. Thank you for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book. Even though I didn't love it I will still advertise it on my blog as I understand just because I didn't love it doesn't mean other readers won't .

Love, love, LOVE this awesome friends to lovers read! It's fun, sexy and I didn't want to put it down.

The chemistry between Chase and Cassie is explosive. I loved the conflict that comes with a friends to lovers book. The should they, shouldn't they feel. It kept me on the edge wondering when they would have their lightbulb moment.

This was my first book by this author and it will not be my last! The characters were very well written and made me feel like I was part of the story. It pulled me in and I was fully invested until the last word was read.

This is a must read!

I love this book. Strong and independent women with a bad boy hockey player. Passion and hot sex. Family troible. All mixed together

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.

I enjoyed the writing style, editing was fabulous and loved the characters. My only beef with this book was the repetiveness. Over and over we learned the same things. Yes, I understood the first time. By the fifth, I was just impatient to get on with the good stuff. The actual story. I'm thinking a 1/4 of this book could have been deleted with the redundancy. Had that been the case, I would've given it 5 Stars.

Nicole Edwards came to my attention with her self published Club Destiny and Alluring Indulgence series. They are steamy, erotic, often BDSM themed stories, some featuring polyamorous relationships, that I greatly enjoyed reading. Now she’s turned her hand to a more conventional trope – a friends-to-lovers romance with a hockey player hero. I had high hopes it would be as good as the previous books I’ve read by her and everything was going along well until a mid-book plot decision derailed the story, leaving me in the dust.

Chase Barrett is one of the bad boys of hockey, a role he relishes on the ice as it sets him up in the penalty box every game. His best friend Cassie Desrosiers just rolls her eyes at his antics, knowing that underneath his cocky attitude, he’s got a heart of gold. Since college these two have been fast friends, and while Cassie’s never entertained thoughts of them being something more, Chase has secretly harbored an attraction to his workaholic friend. When Cassie is tapped to give a keynote speech for her company’s new technology reveal at a convention in Las Vegas, she asks Chase to come along for the trip as moral support and to give him something to do now that the hockey season is over. Chase is happy to do so. A night of drinking leads to some decisions that rock both their worlds. But will it doom their friendship or lead to the start of something even better?

The hockey-related elements of this story are limited to the first quarter of the book, as it’s the end of the season for Chase and their team doesn’t make the playoffs. We see him on the ice and the actions that have given him his reputation, but the scenes off the ice with his friends show him in a different light. Yes, he’s a playboy and he hooks up with a lot of women, but he treats them well and they never have anything bad to say about him afterwards. And he doesn’t sleep around as much as Cassie thinks he does. In fact, it’s actually been several months since he’s had sex at all, which is why his fantasies of being with Cassie seem to be coming up more frequently in his dreams. In his favor are his actions when at a house party with a bunch of his teammates. He has Cassie and her friend round up the keys from all the people drinking and put them in a safe place to ensure there is no bad decision-making after a few drinks. And while he again has the chance to hook up with a single woman at this party, he doesn’t because Cassie is there. So even though he has a ‘bad’ reputation, he comes across as a pretty decent guy.

Cassie is a software developer and her career is very important to her. She spends long hours working, rarely dates and likes to spend her free time with Chase, who is always trying to get her away from working in what should be her off hours. She’s never thought of Chase in a romantic way, knowing that he’s got an abundance of puck bunnies willing to warm his bed. She’s a likable character too, and the scenes between her and Chase really show their honest affection for each other.

There is an interesting contrast in their relationships with their families. Chase has two fathers – Chief and Dad – who adopted him when he was very young and to whom he’s very close. They’ve met Cassie and like her, and the feeling is mutual. They question Chase periodically as to whether things between him and Cassie have changed, as he’s confessed to them his true feelings for her. Cassie has a much more tense relationship with her mother, a woman who flits in and out of relationships with questionable men. It’s made her leery of being in a committed relationship, one of the reasons she’s never entertained thoughts of more with Chase.

But everything changes on their trip to Vegas. Now, one can probably guess at some of the things that could happen in Vegas, but I want to keep spoilers to a minimum. However this is the start of Cassie and Chase seeing each other as more then friends, and after a slow burn start, there is plenty of steamy sex to heat up the second half of the story. I have no issues with the fact that their friendship changes to a friends with benefits arrangement. However, there are events that happen related to Cassie’s professional career that are completely at odds with how she’s presented in the first half of the story. These events lead to some plot holes that had me questioning how certain things are played out, and how the fallout affects them. It’s as if once Chase and Cassie start to have sex their hormones take over and nothing else matters. They get a happy ever after, but the fun and entertaining start to this romance doesn’t hold up to the end.

This review has been posted at All About Romance.

I love a good friends to lovers romance. Bad reputation did all of that and more. Chase and Cassie were perfect. I loved Chase even if he is a bad boy and had one night stands, while Cassie is the total opposite of Chase and was a bit selfish at times but the chemistry between them was real. They loved each other before they were lovers and when didn't want to cross the line but things happened and they did fall more in love. Great hockey romance!

A friends to lovers story that has some fun twists and is Hot! I'll definitely be reading more books by Nicole Edwards. Cassie and Chase have been friends since college. Both of them want more, but don't want to ruin their friendship. This was a fun book with a very satisfying ending. If you enjoy hockey romances, this is definitely one to read!

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

I really liked this book by a new to me author. It had a really sweet ending. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I couldn't stop reading this book. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I can tell you it was a lot more than I thought I'd get. I absolutely loved Cassie and Chase's friendship. The author did a really good job of building on it and making their relationship so incredibly real. That foundation really made taking their relationship to the next level believable. The chemistry and sexual tension flowing between Cassie and Chase was insane. Their sexy times were just that-sexy and well thought out. Loved the shower scene. This book gave me all the feels and I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this read. Looking forward to more from this author!