Hockey: ✔
Romance: ✔
Second chance: kinda
Friends To Lovers: kinda
Military Romance: kinda
Good Guy has it all for the romance lovers out there. I've been a fan of Kate Meader since her Hot In Chicago series, which led me to her Chicago Rebels Series and here we are are with the spin-off Rookie Rebels. Characters from the previous 2 series are in Good Guy and I'm so freaking happy about it. To have so many threads connect makes me glad I did read those books before, but her books can always be read as standalones because you never feel lost. Please let Kershaw have a book soon! His super-glutes are killing me

I have read Kate Meader before and loved the Chicago Rebels series so I was excited to read the next generation of Rebel Rookies. This book did not disappoint. Flawless from start to finish, with smart dialog, a side story about contemporary issues facing professional women today, hot sex scenes, hot & funny hockey players and the perfect amount of sweet moments (Levi’s volunteer work at the Mission and him taking care of Cookie...swoon) this is honestly, in my opinion, the best Rebel book so far.

Levi is the quintessential ex-military strong but silent hero who becomes a 30-year old NHL rookie. I mean, what could be hotter than that? Military and Hockey are my favorite tropes and you get both here. Levi is the perfect hero, gruff but a good man.

Jordan, the widow of his best friend, is out to write his story. But Levi is hiding more than just his personal history, he is hiding his history with Jordan, and watching Jordan learn who Levi really is was a beautiful journey. But this is also a story of Jordan learning who she is and what is more important to her, her career or love.

I loved that we got to see some of the original Chicago Rebels here and I am now impatiently waiting for more Rebel Rookie books to come....Maybe Theo and Elle will be next (fingers crossed). Overall, this was good, slow burn read that contains all the hotness, hockey and romance you want to read.

Good Guy is the first book I have read by this author and I am definitely impressed. I’m a huge fan of sports romance and this book hit the spot.
I enjoyed the characters and always like a HEA.
Thanks NetGalley for the copy to read and review!

Good Guy was my first book by this author and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Good Guy is about Jordan who is a sports journalist and Levi who is a former Green Beret turned NHL player. He also happens to be her deceased husband's best friend, who also has had a crush on her for a long time.

I really liked both characters and the overall premise of the story. I found the plot to be engaging and I read the story in one sitting. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author or more about some of the other characters mentioned in the book.

Guys. I LOVED this book. I am a huge fan of KM. this was the first of her new series and it did not disappoint. It had all of one old hockey favorites along with the firefighter Dempsey’s. ALL the feels! It was terrific and I can’t wait for the next one. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

Levi Hunt is the Chicago Rebels hockey team's oldest rookie, having chosen to join the Green Berets rather than start his pro-hockey career out of college. He may be the strong silent type but he also volunteers at a homeless shelter and acts as a mentor to the younger rookies.

Jordan Cooke gets her big break from local sports when the opportunity comes to cover a fellow journalist's spot while he recovers from a heart attack, reporting on hockey, especially the Chicago Rebels for Chicago SportsNet. At the interview Jordan discovers that what gave her the edge was her previous association with Levi Hunt, her late husband's best friend and Green Berets team-mate, pity Chicago SportsNet don't know that Levi hates her guts. He never liked her, never thought she was good enough for Cookie, always had a sneer on his face, especially after she climbed him like a monkey the evening after Cookie's funeral. It may have been inappropriate and fuelled by grief but that steamy kiss five years ago still gets her a bit hot and bothered all these years later. But if an in-depth article on the Rebels' newest rookie is what they want Jordan will pull up her big girl panties and deliver it.

Levi doesn't hate Jordan, not even a little bit, not even at all (sorry, channelling Ten Things I Hate About You), he fell for her the first moment he heard her gorgeous laugh, but he was too slow and she only had eyes for his mate Cookie. Ever since then he has felt guilty for the feelings he has for his best friend's wife, but he never did anything about it, well not until after Cookie's funeral when there may have been a kiss which haunts Levi to this day. Now Jordan is back, digging into his private life that he wants to stay hidden, and just as beautiful as ever.

I always laugh when I see the titles of some of the category romances, you know the "Cowboy Sheikh Billionaire's Secret Baby" variety, but honestly I kind of see their point. Kate Meader had me at former special forces, best-friend's girl, sports-romance - when she threw in a dog I just about squealed with joy!

Reading about Jordan and Levi's romance as she tries to dig into his personality and he does all he can to resist her was pure joy, there's a backdrop of casual sexism and harassment which Jordan and the other women working in the sports world face on a daily basis, as well as some thoughts about letting women fight their own battles.

I loved this start to a new series and I can't believe I have missed three books from the last series - off to Amazon I trot!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

‘Good Guy’ combines forbidden attraction, hockey and a reporter desperately using anything she can to get a scoop on the latest (and oldest) rookie’s life, with a little bit of a twist. But Kate Meader is a near-auto read for me most of the time and this spin-off from her popular Chicago Rebels series brings them all together again, albeit a few years down the road on an unusual premise to start.

Much of the story deals with Jordan following Levi Hunt and the team around in order to get a read on him to get her article up; it’s essentially, her desperate bid to build her career that drives her efforts to get close to a man with whom she’s already has sort of history and a process that reunites them in an unexpected way.

‘Good Guy’ sits in the middle of a few intersecting tropes here and with Meader’s assured writing, it’s not a hardship at all, to go through all of it. Like many authors these days in romantic fiction (a genre written mainly by women for women), Meader shines a light on the issue of gender equality, workplace ethics, harassment and assault, especially in male-dominated fields like sports reporting. It’s also a thorny theme that drives characterisation, which in some ways, proved to be my personal stumbling block.

Jordan felt a little preppy and chirpy for my liking—I was surprised not to get the gravitas or the lingering sadness that normally surrounds a widowed heroine—and whose personality felt incongruous to the role she was playing in this romance. I didn’t quite her exploitation of her connection with Levi to get ahead, or how she pushed and needled her way into prying him open for the sake of her story: it did feel too calculating at times and I had a hard time trying to reconcile this picture of a cheerful, warm protagonist who had a manipulative side to her that she tried to ‘reframe’ in so many different ways which Meader valiantly tries to justify. That Levi had found himself grovelling quite a few times made her seem unfairly blameless when she clearly wasn’t.

In contrast, it was easier to like Levi, whose only crime it seemed, was wanting his best friend’s widow from afar. Past the gruff, stoic exterior, he seemed more highly evolved than many others, given that he didn’t deny his attraction for Jordan and the keen sense of right and wrong that he carried which made him easy to gravitate towards.

Different strokes for different folks, is all I can say in conclusion. Meader rarely goes wrong with a writing style that I can always get on board with, nonetheless, and I’m eager to know what this new story arc is all about in the Rebels finding their second wind.

Jordan is a sports reporter who covers hockey. Levi is former Green Beret turned pro hockey player. He was Jordan’s husbands best friend and served with him in the Special Forces. Jordan has been hired to do a profile on Levi but he is not an outgoing or talkative person. She has always thought Levi hated her but he really cared about her. When some things come out about Levi and the Rebels manager. Can Levi forgive her for telling his secrets and finally realize he is good enough for her?
Good story about hockey, journalism, secrets. It also touches on discrimination of women in a mans world. Abuse. Second chance at love. Some sexy scenes.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

I really enjoyed Levi and Jordan’s story! Levi was instantly attracted to Jordan years ago but she fell for his best friend and so he kept his feelings to himself. When they married, Levi was the best man and was honestly glad that the two optimists found each other. Levi didn't feel worthy of Jordan due to his tragic childhood but when her husband is killed in action he feels even worse due to survivor's guilt. They were in the same unit. Now his feelings for Jordan haven't changed but she's a sports reporter and he's a rookie professional hockey player who hates giving interviews. They try to fight their attraction but it's too strong. Enjoyable romance with lots of heat.

This is Levi and Jordan’s book, Levi is a military veteran who put his NHL career on hold to serve his country. So when his new Chicago rebels bosses tell him to cooperate with the press he’s ready to do his duty, until he finds out who he has to work with, the flame haired freckle faced and impossibly perky Jordan Cooke! Jordan is a sports reporter and a widow. Jordans husband who passed away in the military and his best friend Levi is now in the NHL! Jordan because she has a back story with Levi ,her boss wants her to do a profile on the ex military veteran and she’s just the person who has the right in with him! But Jordan for reason she can’t fathom knows Levi despises her! but she has no idea why ?! Jordan knows her sports reporting future relies on this interview with a sexy grumpy NHL star, will their past get in the way? Jordan might have to play dirty to get the scoop but she’ll play even dirtier to get the man! This book was really good! I definitely enjoyed reading this one I’ve read all of the series attached to this , the firefighter and hockey so it was nice getting a glimpse into the other characters lives also. I did get a feeling that I read some of this so maybe the timeline coincides with some of the other books? because I could tell what was going to happen or I knew what was gonna happen, it was kind of weird because I knew this is a new book LOL I highly recommend reading this it’s well worth the read! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

Wow!!!! Levi is swoon-worthy as he fights his attraction to Jordan, his best friend's widow. Their relationship sparked so much that I'm surprised my kindle didn't ignite...

Levi has fought his attraction to Jordan since the night they met and she chose his best friend. Jordan is trying to make it as a sports reporter - a very male dominated business. Her goal is a profile on Levi, however, at every turn Levi is labeling a subject as off limits.....basically everything that makes him a good guy is private. Add in Jordan's attraction to Levi, and she is afraid her story will be compromised if she acts on her attraction. Even worse, she fears that she'll be forever tarnished and her career destroyed.

I loved this book! I fell in love with the characters and found myself wanting them to get their HEA ending. I couldn't wait to see what happened next and was flipping pages just as quickly as possible. I stayed up way too late at night to finish this one.

This is the first book in a spin off series that has some of my favorite characters from prior books making a cameo appearance. This is a stand alone novel and it isn't necessary to have read her prior books to enjoy this one, however they're so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all.

Put this one at the top of your TBR list as it is a must read for fans of the genre. The author is on my must read authors' list.