Awesome book and hot, hot, hot! Kelly didn't disappoint. Kendra and Max had a chemistry from the get go that just smoked the pages!

I have been waiting for Max Hall's story because I knew it would be full of heartache. This was such a beautiful story between Max and Kendra. I love how she took care of him and did not rush his feelings. She was totally understanding, kept up with his newly revived sexual appetite, and helped him to live again. Max was a bit of a punk to her sometimes, but I could see where he was coming from. He had such a devastating loss and a huge sense of guilt. But he definitely made up for it in the end when he finally realized what it was he wanted. Max and Kendra's story was worth the wait. It was heavy subject material but not so heavy it was depressing - just wroften perfectly.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book and absolutely loved the relationship between the main characters.

Kendra and Max meet at her cousin, Lovey's, wedding and decide to go for a one night stand. It is Max's first foray into the casual sex scene since the death of his wife 16 months earlier. Kendra does not know his backstory, just that she finds him hot and wants to have a night of fun with him. When things don't go exactly as planned, both find themselves winging it. Kendra lives in NYC and Max lives in Chicago so both know that a casual fling is totally doable. When they find themselves around each other unexpectedly, Max and Kendra come up with a plan of "no-strings sex" until such a time as one or the other calls it off. As usually happens, feelings get involved and one of them winds up getting too attached.

It was interesting to see Max grow and realize that his life didn't end at the same time as his wife's did. He realizes that he was living in a shell and that he needs to get out of it. He is goal oriented and focuses on remaking the Aces hockey team after being off for more than a season. He also takes baby steps in letting others in.

Kendra was notorious for trying to fix others and it has bitten her more than once in her life. She knows that she has a tendency to get attached and really thinks it won't be a problem with Max. There were times you just knew her feelings were going to be tested, but she put a smile on her face and kept her chin up and moved forward. I respected her ability to rationalize what was going on and not lashing out at times. I did like how she realized her true worth and genuinely liked herself. It helped her overcome some obstacles.

I liked the way this one ended and thought it was a good addition to this series. Kelly Jamieson did a good job of portraying Max as a conflicted man who was caught between his past and his future. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Max Hall is a professional hockey player who’s been off the ice since the death of his beloved wife sixteen months ago. In that time, he not only quit playing hockey, but he fell into a deep depression and cut off nearly all human contact. At a friend’s wedding, he meets the gorgeous and intriguing Kendra, a woman whose offer of no-strings-attached sex has him breaking his self-imposed celibacy. The two agree to a strictly friends-with-benefits arrangement, but how long can that last before one of them develops feelings for the other?

some mild spoilers ahead~

I was pretty excited when I saw Slap Shot on Netgalley since I’ve read some of Kelly Jamieson’s previous work. Loveswept requests that reviews not be posted until the book is published, so this book sat on my virtual shelf for a bit while I read and reviewed books with more pressing deadlines. But then I was feeling like a good smutty romance, and this seemed to fit the bill, so I jumped in.

And... it was okay? I guess? I mean, it took me six days to read a mere 276 pages, which isn’t great. I’d give it two and a half stars, but I’m rounding up to three since a Goodreads rating of two stars seems low. The beginning of the book was great. You can go back in Goodreads and see my notation that I was already in love with Max by the 4% mark, which is coincidentally the part of the book where he mentions his favorite musicians:

“What kind of music do you like?” she asks.
“I dunno... Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, Blink-182. Taylor Swift.”
I’m not sure if he’s supposed to be serious or if he’s just messing with Kendra at this point, but Max just listed four of my favorite artists, so he won a small piece of my heart.

At this point in the book, I was also feeling a connection to Kendra, who happens to be a fellow Wisconsinite. So, we’ve got a hero with my taste in music and a heroine from my home state (which is so often neglected in books) -- what could go wrong?

Well, it turns out that a lot could go wrong, mostly in the form of completely, 100% unnecessary angst. I could have told you exactly how this book would play out without even reading it. This starts around the 25% mark and made me pretty much lose interest in the entire book. I mean, is it even a spoiler to tell you that obviously one of them develops some feels and the other one is all like, “Um, hey, we had an agreement about this? So bye...”

But the thing is that Max and Kendra are in a relationship, even if they don’t define it. Even if they’re trying to avoid that label. Even if they pretend that they’re not. They’re always calling and texting each other (I’m going to come back to this). They’re always thinking about each other. They’re exclusive. They love and care about each other, even if they pretend that they don’t.

So I don’t really understand the point of the whole “Remember, we’re not in a relationship” thing that runs throughout the entire book. Was this only there to cause drama? Because, last I checked, you can still have a smutty romance with characters who are in a loving relationship. A smutty book and a healthy relationship don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Now, some of the sexy scenes are pretty sexy, but can we talk about the sexting for a minute? I’ve talked before about how I’m in a very, very long-term relationship. We’ve been together for almost nine years now, and the dating landscape has changed so much. I am honestly terrified to ever be single again if what happens in romance novels actually happens in real life. Take, for example, this conversation between Kendra and Max:

Max: 👉👌🐇🐇
Kendra: 😍
Max: 👉👉👉👉👌 💦
Kendra: 👄 🍆💦
Max: 👍
Max: 🏒
Kendra: ?????
Max: 🍆

Is this actually how people do relationships now?

Anyway, the final thing that I want to talk about is Max’s relationship with his now-deceased wife and how unhealthy it is. First of all, Max likes to say that he doesn’t want to compare Ariana and Kendra, which is fine and great and wonderful, but then he does compare them. But I can get over that. Because that, I think, is a very realistic thing to do. (Not that I’d know, but I can assume.) The thing that really bothered me was Max’s image of Ariana sitting on a while cloud somewhere, sobbing her eyes out because he had the audacity to move on.

I don’t want to be crass or rude or mean, Max, but Ariana is dead. She’s not crying over you or anybody else. She’s dead. And, if there is an afterlife and Ariana’s made it there, I sure hope that she’s not plotting to keep you single for the next fifty years just to spite you. I hope that she’d want you to move on. That she’d want you to be happy. I certainly hope that if I go before my life partner does, they’ll know to keep living their life.

But, anyway, this is the fifth book in the Aces Hockey series, and, coincidentally, the first one I’ve picked up. I feel no burning desire to go back in the series and read the books that I’ve missed, but if I come across them, I wouldn’t say no.

All in all, this was more of a miss than a hit for me, but I think that a specific demographic of hockey-loving romance fans will enjoy it a lot.

Final rating: ★★★☆☆

I received a free ARC of Slap Shot from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I have not read very many books with the male telling the story from his side of the story and Maxes story was heartbreaking. I loved Max I loved Kendra. Max has had such a hard life since his wife died. He wants to go on with this life but he honestly does not know how. At his buddies wedding he meets Kendra. The attraction and chemistry between them is instant. I loved them together from the beginning. As the story goes on you can see feeling change, you can see hurt feelings and misunderstandings on both side. This book is unbelievable. It hurt so bad for what Max was going thru and what he was feeling, I honestly could not put this book down. It is an amazing story of 2 people overcoming past hurts and moving on. I don't want to spoil the book so I am not going to say anymore except this book is a 5 star. I highly recommend that you give it a try. Complimentary copy provided via Netgalley for an honest review.

Holy, Hot, Max. I loved this book from the Chicago Aces series. Max & Kendra have the best scenes of the series so far. The emotional ride that we took with Max over his loss & the guilt he felt for having feelings for Kendra was tremendously sad. Kendra ever the strong, determined woman that she could do no strings attached but found out how wrong she was, when she fell hard for Max. I loved the back & forth between them, how they couldn't stay away from each other. I also enjoyed the razing that Max got from Army(Kendra's cousin & his teammate) & Duper. I loved how Kelly Jamieson showed Max's determination & mindset to return to the team & become an active, productive team player. I also loved how Max was with his brother in law Kevin, as well as the fans. Also how Max lost his mind when someone would look at or make a pass at Kendra, was a hoot. I definitely recommend this book & the series

Max lost his wife to cancer a year and a half ago and he stopped playing pro hockey to take care of her. Now he has to work hard if he wants to get back on the team. He doesn't have time for anything other than training and doesn't want a relationship because he still loves his wife. Kendra has a busy life of her own but can't resist Max and it's red hot lust at first sight. Great sports romance about second chances.

So many emotions! I knew Hallsy's story would bring the feels, especially given that when last we saw him he was struggling with the death of his wife. It's now more than a year later and he's ready to move forward. When he meets Kendra Armstrong at his friend's wedding, he just knows she is smoking hot and has awakened his libido. What starts out as a hook up becomes a friends with benefits, long distance sitch that fills something within him. Told from Max's pov, Kelly Jamieson really brought it in Slap Shot. I loved the easy camaraderie that Max and Kendra had with each other. Their chemistry was fantastic and Max's dirty talking self was hot! Kendra was fantastic and so supportive of Max as he's struggling to meet his goal of returning to the sport he loves. Even when he's being a douche and fighting his feelings, Kendra never makes him feel bad but she also doesn't back down. The supporting cast from the Aces series is all here and I couldn't have enjoyed this one more!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and this was so good!! Max and Kendra have a beautiful love story with laughter and pain and everything in between. The unimaginable heartbreak for Max and the strength he has to get out of bed daily, shows that he's a strong character. You don't get that in a lot of books. It's usually the heroine who has these issues.

Beautiful story and the bonus is there's hockey involved!

Slap Shot is the fifth full book in Jamieson’s Aces Hockey series. If you’ve been following the exploits of the Aces team you’ll be glad to catch up with Max Hall in this one. We’ve had snippets about him in earlier books. He sat out the previous season trying to cope with the death of his wife from cancer and then an addiction to antidepressants. Max now feels like it is time to pull himself together and regain his place on the Aces first team.
At a colleague’s wedding sparks fly between Max and one of the bridesmaids. Kendra Armstrong knows what she wants and when she sees Max she really wants her Hockey Dude. Kendra is feisty and in need of a fun night with a sexy stranger. As a sex toy designer she isn’t afraid to push ahead for what she needs. Living in New York she knows it isn’t going to go anywhere while he is based in Chicago but they are both happy to live in the moment and enjoy a night together in the luxury hotel.
An agreement to keep things casual between them starts out with good intentions but it isn’t long until one of them falls in love and that is very bad news indeed. As always with Kelly’s Hockey books this is a smoking hot read with strong and believable characters and some very steamy sex scenes. Max is a broken man coming to terms with his grief and his guilt and any thoughts of entering into a relationship just can’t be entertained.
You can read this book as a standalone story but I can really recommend starting at the beginning and following these through in sequence:
Major Misconduct
Off Limits (novella)
Icing
Top Shelf
Back Check
Slap Shot
Supplied by Net Galley and Loveswept in exchange for an honest review.
UK Publication Date: Oct 17 2017. 276 pages.

I love Kelly Jamiesons books and this one was as good as all the rest I've read.Max Halls wife has died and he has gone through a really tough time grieving for her.He attends his team mates wedding before he starts to get ready to try out for the team again.There he meets the brides cousin.The sexual sparks fly and they start a sex only,no relationship affair.The book had me engrossed in their lives as they try to keep things simple.But simple takes a turn for complicated when one of yhem proffesses love.I loved this emotionally,sexy book and highly recommend it.

Don’t let the blurb for this book fool you, Slap Shot is not your run of the mill romance. I was going to pass this book over because of the blurb. But, I have read and reviewed a few of Kelly Jamieson’s books and they have always been good reads. With that in mind, I requested Slap Shot and was kinda “eh” when I got accepted. All because of the blurb. I was not ready for the feels and the ugly crying that happened while reading this book. My advice to everyone, don’t let blurbs inhibit you from reading books. Because you might pass over a gem.

This isn’t your typical boy meets girl, boy and girl have sex and then they fall in love. Of course, that did happen but there was so much more to Max and Kendra’s relationship. The book is told only from Max’s POV. This is different from the other Kelly Jamieson books that I have read and reviewed. Some people might not like it but I felt that it was needed in this story. The focus needed to be on Max and his healing. I felt that Kendra’s POV would have taken away from the story. I am glad that the author chose to only have her POV at the end of the book.

Like I stated above, this isn’t your run of the mill romance. Actually, Slap Shot started off with Max only wanting a one night stand. Which turned into something more on both on Kendra’s part. That is also what made this book work. If it had started off with InstaLove, then Max’s issues wouldn’t have been so real. So again, I am glad that the author went the route that she did.

My heart broke for Max. He was having a very tough time adjusting to his wife’s death and the impact that it had on his life afterward. He fell into a bad place after she died and ended up getting removed from the roster for his hockey team. He was also having a very hard time getting over the death of his wife. Listen, if my husband got a cancer diagnosis and died shortly afterward, I would have been a mess too. I would also have had the issues Max did. His emotions ran the gauntlet with Kendra but guilt was the main emotion that ruled him. He had what is called survivors guilt.

Kendra was a bit of an enigma because the book was written from Max’s POV. She had a crappy childhood with a narcissist mother and a father that enable the mother. But she rose above it and went on to become a successful person. She was a psychologist but quit that. The reason is given in the book, so no hints here. She went on to start a company that designed and sold sex toys. I laughed my tush off when I read that. It was a huge first for me to read about someone who does that. I do think that Kendra’s background in psychology was a huge help with helping Max get over his wife’s death.

The sex was hot. Usually, if the author writes one sex scene, the other ones are lacking. It’s almost like all the creative juices were put into that one scene and the rest of the sex scenes are dull. Not with this book. Every single sex scene was hot. They were hot because the author had built up to almost every sex scene. The dirty texts were hilarious. I will never look at an eggplant emoji the same way ever again…lol.

The only complaint that I have about Slap Shot is that I did not know that the Aces Hockey series was connected to the Bayard Hockey series. The only reason I connected them together is that I had read Ben’s story right before I read Slap Shot. I also had an issue with who was shipped off and who finally made the roster. I know Jacob did but I didn’t see Ben’s name on the roster. He was in the final group that made it to the end and then….nothing? Please tell me that he made it!! Other than that, I didn’t have an issue with the actual story….lol.

The ending was charged with emotions, so be ready to cry your way through it. Kendra’s POV does make an appearance during the epilogue. I couldn’t have been more thrilled about it!!

4 stars

Slap Shot is a romance that will pull at your heartstrings. Emotionally charged the entire book, you can’t help but root for Max in both his professional and personal life. This is a book that will make you cry and cry often. So I suggest tissues and lots of them. This is the 5th book in a series but can be read as a standalone. Which is great for people like me who tend to pick books up mid-series.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex, language and mild violence

I would like to thank Kelly Jamieson, Loveswept, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Slap Shot

All opinions expressed in this review are mine and I also received no compensation for this review

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Kelly Jamieson does it again! I just love this author and this series. This book is no exception. Her books are well written with style, humour and flair and omg are they sexy. I didn't want to put it down and can't wait to read more Kelly Jamieson books in the future.

This story has a lot of potential, and it is sexy but it also has a lot of unnecessary details that deviate from the main topic. It makes the pace of the book feel very slow. I think it is great the idea of reading about the struggles of this man and how he overcomes them but I don't think the specific details of the ingredients in all his meals, and all his workout sessions are much relevant to him finding new love and acceptance. Honestly a lot of those details that went on for pages, becomes a clutter. Other than that I think it is sweet the patience and work it takes for Kendra and Max to bond.

4 stars.
I looked at a few other reviews of this book before I started writing this and I realized that I really like Kelly Jamieson and the way she writes books and this one was no exception.
It is probably impossible to write a romance that involves a dead wife without receiving some criticism about how you treat the subject and not everybody will necessarily like this story for that reason alone.
What I personally like about her books is that her characters do have flaws and they feel more realistic to me (maybe because of this).
Max is getting over his wife's death and he is not looking for a relationship but when he meets Kendra(a beautiful bridesmaid) at a teammates wedding he is attracted to her and they spend the night together after agreeing to a no-strings attached arrangement. When he unexpectedly meets up with her again, he realizes that they are good together and he likes her. She lives in New York and he lives in Chicago and they both agree to a casual relationship with no expectations.
Max is working hard, trying to restart his stalled hockey career and Kendra is developing her business selling sex toys to women.
This story is very much about grieving, letting go of that personal grief and moving on to where you can open your heart to somebody else and something new.
I really liked Kendra. Her sweet personality along with her kindness and forgiving nature made her strong in my eyes even though she may be perceived as weak by some readers.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review from netgalley.

I loved this one. I've been waiting for Max's story and I was not disappointed. He and Kendra were a great couple and it was so sweet (and a little frustrating) to see them transition from friends with benefits to a relationship based on friendship and love. Both characters were easy to fall for and I was kinda sad when the book ended. This is a great series by a gifted storyteller.

This is the fifth book in the Aces Hockey series and I have read and enjoyed all of these charming stories. Each book is a standalone but the characters are all interconnected. Kelly Jamieson knows how to write fun, sexy stories. I love reading about the hot hockey players on the Aces hockey team as they fall in love.

Max, a veteran on the Aces hockey team has taken some time off from hockey and is now training hard so he can get back on the team’s roster. He is only interested in hockey and doesn't have time for anything else in his life right now. Max is attending a wedding for one of his teammates when he meets Kendra. Max and Kendra start a no strings relationship but things turn into something more and they aren't sure how to handle it. I found Max easy to like. He is a sensitive, honorable guy going through a rough time and and the last thing he expects is to fall for Kendra. They have a passionate affair. Kendra makes Max feel things he hasn't felt in a long time but he wracked with guilt.

Kendra is a psychologist and has started a business selling sex toys. She is smart and hard working and not afraid to talk about sex or ask for what she wants. I admired Kendra’s passion and courage. She is always open, honest and upfront. She tries to get Max to talk about his feeling but he keeps everything bottled up and has a hard time expressing himself. Max and Kendra are great together. They not only have explosive sexual chemistry, they are also comfortable with each other and have a lot of fun.

I enjoyed everything about this story and can't wait to read more books in this series. There are fun secondary characters including the the guys on the hockey team. This has an engaging plot line and the characters are realistic and easy to sympathize with.

Wow! I'm a big fan of hockey romance but this story was so much more. Told from Max's pov which is perfect because he's got some work to do before he can be truly happy again. He lost his wife to cancer and left hockey to spend important time with her. More than a year has gone by and he's out of shape and working his way out of depression and back into public gatherings at his teammates wedding. There's a hot girl on the dance floor and his body has taken notice. Kendra is in from NYC for her cousin and meets a hot guy who might be good for a one night stand, because that's just about all she'll agree to after a string of bad choices and repeatedly broken heart. Hotness alert!

The story unfolds as this no strings pair slowly falls in love over time in weekend visits, texts and skype dates. I enjoyed Max working so hard on his diet and fitness to get back into shape even though he hates it and being an experienced player to mentor the new kids trying to make the team. Everyone heals from loss at their own pace, there is no set path to make peace with your past, but Max's interaction with Kevin, his wife's younger brother was a high point for me.

The journey to love is bumpy and a bit painful, but they get there. I'm looking forward to seeing them pop up in future books in this series.

Max's life is slowly on the road to recovery. His life changed after his wife's death and he is training to return to hockey. He is struggling with the daunting task of training but is determined to,return to his team. Giving his life the purpose he once had. At a wedding he meets Kendra. It was only supposed to be a casual fling but she called to his broken soul. He slowly began to smile more and feel he could accomplish his every goal. Their passion would drive them breathless and desire for something they never intended. What happens when you open your heart open again to love?