When I read the Chicago Rebels series last year, I knew I wanted more from this author. I was really hooked with her books! I do have to say that even though I completely enjoyed this novel, Kate's touch was missing (this seems to be the case with other authors as well).

Levi Hunt could have been high on the Hockey fame years ago, but he preferred to join the Green Berets and serve for his country. It was there he met Josh and Jordan. From the start, he'd always scowl at her and "couldn't stand" her, according to Jordan. Now he's back to join a hockey team again and he has to prove he's good, no matter the years off the ice. Jordan is ready to get her big break in sports reporting. And since she knows Levi, her boss sends her off to do an interview with him.

This was a quick and enjoyable read for me. We get to see some of the characters from the Chicago Rebels series, which was really cool. This book, while being light, also brought various topics into the mix, such as homelesness, bullying, sexism in the work place, domestic violence, and the list goes on. I honestly liked that the author included these topics, but it got to a point that it was too much. In every conversation had, one of these topics had to be brought up and it felt like it was more of a filler than anything to keep the story going.

Other than that, the romance was super cute and I adored Levi Hunt. I also loved his relationships with his teammates, especially Theo aka SUPERGLUTES! Theo had me laughing my ass off so much in this novel. I can't wait for his story and Sergeant Cupcake. I know it will be a hilarious, yet heartwarming story.

Levi is a rookie on the Chicago Rebels team, an older one since he opted to go into service in Special Forces instead of immediately playing on a profession hockey team. Now nine years later he’s been hired onto the Chicago Rebels hockey team. Everyone wants his story, but he is a very private person and doesn’t feel like much should be made of his service in Special Forces. Levi suffers a bit from survivor’s guilt since his best friend, Josh didn’t make it out. Teaming up with Josh’s widow, Jordan, a sportscaster isn’t something Levi is looking forward to either since the last time he saw her was the night of Josh’s funeral when they kissed five years ago.

Jordan is assigned to get Levi’s story, but she has her doubts because he never seemed to approve of her when she married his best friend. It’s even more awkward because of the kiss they shared when Jordan was at her lowest, overcome with grief. Levi isn’t making things easy either, but she’s persistent. Spending time together leads to sparks between them, and even though neither wants to feel what they’re feeling ignoring their attraction is a losing battle.

Oh, I just love the quiet, broody types, especially when they have a hot-melty center! Levi was intense, and passionate, and when he stopped fighting his attraction to Jordan, she was his focus. Jordan, you lucky girl! Of course, there’s some bumps in the road, Levi is insecure about Jordan’s true feelings and Jordan worries about how their relationship will appear with her position as interviewer. Nothing overly dramatic, and I loved experiencing all the ups and downs in their journey towards a HEA!

I have a special weakness for hot, complicated hockey men so I was thrilled to get back to the Chicago Rebels team! This is book one in the Kate Meader’s Rookie Rebel series, but it picks up with the same team as her Chicago Rebels series, with glimpses of the previous characters.

A copy was kindly provided by the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ah, what a refreshing twist to a sports romance. Veteran turned ice hockey player, army widow turned sports journalist and a whole slew of skeletons in the proverbial closet for her to unearth. Or at least that’s what’s she been tasked to do until she learns that there is more behind Levi’s cold and aloof facade. As Jordan delves deeper and gets to know him better she’s surprised to learn the truth about why Levi always kept her at a distance. And as second chances go, they both seem to have hit the jackpot where careers and love are concerned. Waiting for the next book.

Good Guy is a great second chance, hockey romance that is a spin off from the Chicago Rebels Series. Jordan and Levi were perfect together and their chemistry was steamy. What a great start to a new series.

Levi Hunt is the newest addition to the Chicago Rebels. A special Forces veteran He's a little old to be a rookie but he here now and hopefully ready. Jordan Cooke is trying to make a name for herself as a sports reporter. Her big chance comes when she's tasked to write a profile on the new rookie. Problems is Levi and Jordan know each other. Jordan's husband was Levi's best friend in the military and was killed in action. I liked Levi and Jordan well enough but this story was to all over the place for me. To much going on. It took me a while to read this. What saved it for me was all the secondary characters. I couldn't believe Jordan would ever leave her laptop where the competition could see it. Levi aggravated me with the idea he wasn't good enough for her. It's just old. It was a ok story for me but nothing i would reread over and over.



Find out more about Kate Meader and this series here www.katemeader.com

So I was pretty much all in for this romance until I hit the last quarter or so, and it devolved from there. I loved the romance and how tenderly the aspect of Jordan being Levi's best friend's widow was handled. While a big part of the plot, it wasn't really angsty and overwrought. Levi has always been in love with Jordan, she was firmly in love with her husband, he died, and it is now five years later and she is ready for her life and finding new love.

Okay, romance is great, check. That said, I did not like how Jordan acted as a reporter. I felt she was very unethical and acted in a way contrary to what she was hoping to achieve as a female sports reporter. It is one thing for her to have feelings and start having sex with the subject of her assignment (Levi), which I felt was handled kind of okay, but a whole other thing for to be hiding in bathrooms to spy on the owners of the hockey team she's embedded with. Plus, if you are going to be exposing the sexism, harassment, and trolling women face while trying to do their jobs, maybe stop with the butt jokes about one of the young rookies on the team?

I recently read a different romance featuring a woman reporter who is asked to do a piece on her ex, and that story was miles ahead in making me feel like the profession was being depicted correctly and respectfully

I liked the main characters and the return to the world of the Chicago Rebels. If you like a story about pining this is for you, since Levi always had the hots for Jordan---but it was his friend's wife! Yikes.

Anyways, I don't really love reporter romances bc I feel like the low moment is going to be so predictable, which was the case here. I did like Jordan's struggle with workplace discrimination and her fight for equality.

Honestly, tho, the best part about his book for me was the inclusion of many of the characters from the first Chicago Rebels books. Lots of Harper, especially, but also Remy and Bren and Dante. I found myself anxiously looking forward to more of those little snippets with them.

I adored Kate’s Chicago Rebels books and was super bummed to see that series come to an end. It became my go-to when I wanted a fun and sexy hockey romance. So when I saw that she’s writing a spin-off series I jumped on it quicker than you can say “puck”. What? Too cheesy? Whatever. You get what I’m saying here, ok?! But whatever. I digress. My point here is I was uber excited for a brand new sports series from one of my favorite authors. Plus have you SEEN that book blurb? Talk about your book crack.

I just so happen to love the broody grumps. And just when I thought no grump could out grump Bren St. James from Hooked On You, in skates Levi Hunt. The man was the most endearing grump I’ve read in a while. The man is a retired veteran, a Green Beret with battle scars and a heart of gold. With his military career behind him, he’s now become hockey’s oldest rookie. And just when he thinks he’s finally got things together, a blast from his past blows it all out of the water.

Jordan is a sports reporter that’s working her tail off in order to prove that a woman is just as deserving of a coveted reporting spot as a man. So when she sees a chance to use her history with Levi as an in to get the chance she’s been waiting for in her career, she’s not above using it. Jordan also happens to be the widow of Levi’s service teammate and best friend. But worse than that she’s always been the woman he coveted from afar but never allowed himself to get. At first she was his buddy’s wife and then she was his widow, so she’s always been hands off.

Levi wasn’t hard to love. The man just tugs at every heart string you have. And the more you learn about his connection with Jordan and peel back the grumpy layers, the more you fall for him. Jordan, admittedly, was a little harder to love. While I love that the relationship with her husband was never diminished, I also struggled with seeing her as a widow. She loved her husband, yes, but I struggled to feel that connection to her. And yes, it’s been 5 years since the loss, but I just never felt that grieving for her. Perhaps that makes it easier to see her move on, but I wished that I got little more emotion from her. She seemed almost standoffish to me at times. And I get that she put her career on the backseat for her husband’s military career those years ago, she was almost a little too…hard…with her career aspirations here. She reminded me a little bit of Harper when it came to how hard she was in order to prove herself, but I just had a tough time connecting to her. She did ultimately win me over, but it did take some time.

If you’ve read the Rebels series, you’ll definitely appreciate all of the cameos in this book. And if you haven’t, I highly recommend you check it out.

Good Guy was a sweet romance that shined a spotlight on several issues like gender inequality in sports, which I really enjoyed. And though the story wasn’t my favorite of Kate’s, it definitely did the trick of hooking me on a new series.

4.25 stars---GOOD GUY is the first instalment in Kate Meader’s contemporary, adult ROOKIE REBELS erotic, hockey, romance series-a spin off from the author’s Chicago Rebel series. This is former Special Forces Green Beret and Chicago Rebels newest rookie Levi Hunt, and sports reported Jordan Cooke’s story line. GOOD GUY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the original series is revealed where necessary. There is a slight cross-over with the author’s HOT IN CHICAGO firefighter series and the appearance of Kinsey Taylor-Almeida as Jordan’s best friend.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Jordan and Levi) GOOD GUY follows the best friend’s wife scenario as former Special Forces Green Beret Levi Hunt becomes the oldest rookie on the professional hockey circuit with the Chicago Rebels. Five years earlier Levi Hunt lost his best friend Josh Cooke to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, leaving his wife Jordan a widow at twenty-three. Fast forward to present day wherein Levi Hunt has returned to the game that he loves, a game that will bring him face to face with the woman he has loved since the day they first met. Enter reporter and journalist Jordan Cooke. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Jordan and Levi, and the potential fall-out as words said in anger trigger too many hard feelings between our leading couple.

Levi Hunt knew the moment he saw Jordan Cooke, he had fallen in love but Jordan fell for Levi’s best friend Josh, a man who would lose his life all too soon. Levi would soon discover that Jordan’s latest assignment was Levi himself, an assignment that would both push and pull our couple together and apart. Jordan Cooke knew getting the coveted story about Levi Hunt could make or break her sports reporting career but getting the real story meant going against everything she believed including the potential to destroy the man with whom she was falling in love.

The relationship between Jordan and Levi is one of second chances of a sort. Levi is a bit of a loner; a quiet but powerful hockey play who has been in love with his best friend’s wife for as long as he can remember but keeping his distance meant keeping away from the woman that called to his heart. Jordan knows that to get her story she is going to have to get close to our story line hero but getting close is about to backfire when her fellow reporters sense something else between our leading couple. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including several members of the Chicago Rebels previously introduced in the author’s CHICAGO REBELS hockey series, team manager Dante Moretti; Chicago Rebels owners-Harper and Isabel Chase, Violet Vasquez, and their significant others, as well as the introduction of several members of the sports media; hockey players Theo Kershaw and Ford Callaghan, and Special Forces support team member Elle Butler.

GOOD GUY is a story of family, friendship, heart break and betrayal; a story of loss, love and second chances. The premise is entertaining and captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are colorful and energetic.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

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I really liked this one. Anytime I pick up one of Kate’s books I know I’m in for a treat. I read this in one day, so very good!

Jordan is just pure sunshine!

Levi and his best friend Josh fell in love with the same girl ... but Josh met her first and the rest is history. Shortly after they get married, Josh is killed in Afghanistan leaving Jordan alone. Five years later, Levi leaves the Green Berets and becomes the oldest rookie in the NHL. Meanwhile Jordan has become a sports writer and when her boss finds out that Jordan and Levi know each other, he assigns her the task of getting the dirt on the oldest rookie. Jordan remembers Levi as this quiet grumpy guy and is hesitant to interview him. But when they meet again, the sparks fly.

This is a great spin-off series and I like the fact that characters from the Rebel Series appear in this book. I really liked Jordan ... after her husband died, she picked herself up and made a life for herself and was such a positive person. Levi was just a grump at first, but I liked him much better by the middle of the book. I just loved some of the other characters that I know will have books in this series and can't wait. A great start to a new series.

I received an early copy courtesy of the author through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Good Guy is the first book in Kate Meader’s new series, Rookie Rebels. It is a spinoff of the Chicago Rebels series. I have not read any in the Chicago Rebels series and didn’t feel confused at all. Several characters from the original series show up in this one, but they are explained quite well.

This book focuses on Levi and Jordan. Levi is a Special Forces veteran, who is now a rookie on the Chicago Rebels hockey team. Jordan is a sports journalist, who also happens to be Levi’s best friend’s widow. They haven’t seen each other in 5 years, since Jordan’s husband’s funeral. Levi is quiet, reserved and doesn’t want to do publicity, specifically on his military years. Jordan has been assigned to do a story on him, mostly because of her connection with him. Both are trying to prove themselves in their respective careers. Levi is the ultimate good guy: volunteers at the homeless shelter, helps his friends, great leader. Jordan is strong, smart, independent woman working in a male dominated industry. As Jordan follows Levi around, they get closer. I enjoyed watching their romance unfold. The writing is good, paced well, and is an entertaining sports romance, and I look forward to the next books in the series.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This is my first book by this author, so I haven’t read any of the Chicago Rebels books. This is a Spin-off series.

Good Guy started slow and was hard to get into. When it got going it had too much stuff going on, it just didn’t do it for me. I’m not a big fan of the writing style.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it. Great book. Every time I start another book, I remember how much I enjoy this series. I'm so ready for the next book!

Another hot hockey read from Kate Meader that is full of action, heat, rough hockey players with secrets, passion, and the ability to make most readers swoon.

If you loved Hot in Chicago then dive into this new series and discover great characters, familiar faces, and a writer who delivers each and every time.

For my full review check out my blog post this week.

I usually steer clear of these kinds of sports romances, but I'm glad I took a chance with this one! The hockey part had been perfectly vowen into the story and there was just enough of it to not make you want to skip half of the book. Loved it.

The only reason I didn't give it full five stars is that the dialogue made me shake my head at times thinking who would actually say something like that. It felt a little forced and awkward. But that's just me. Thankfully those moments were rare, though, and it didn't ruin it all for me. Most of the book flowed very well.

I also really enjoyed how big a part the treatment of women in the sports world was included in this. I had never thought about how the female reporters must feel in a men-dominated world. I really enjoyed having something truly thought-provoking added to an otherwise quick and feel-good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed all the banter between the guys as well, it has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

All in all, I really enjoyed this! It definitely changed my mind about sports books as I've avoided them mostly until now. Looking forward to reading more about all these characters!

Kate Meader makes me fall in love with her writing more and more with each book that I read. Levi and Jordan have a tangled past that seems to strangle their future. I love the depth of these characters and I love the chemistry and interaction. A perfect love story.

My first Kate Meader book did not disappoint. It was an easy light hearted read that tackled some very important issues in society today, especially involving women in sports related jobs whilst also taking on homelessness and how hard it is to even find a place that will keep you warm at night. These issues did not detract from the overall story of a man trying to rebuild his life again after leaving the army and being called up to the major leagues in hockey. Or the girl he fell for years ago who married his bestfriend, became a widow and who is now a reporter tasked with writing an article about his life. All things he wishes to keep private. She will push and prod him, worming her way in to his heart again, but can he trust it? Can she have it all? Her career and love? They have some trials ahead of them and it's certainly makes for some interesting reading! Overall 4.5 stars of easy romance with a touch of sadness that will keep you company for a few lazy hours this summer.

Good Guy
By: Kate Meader

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Can they overcome guilt?

In the first book in the A Rookie Rebels Book we meet the oldest rookie in the NHL. After putting his hockey career on hold in order to serve his country, veteran Liam Hunt is back in the NHL playing for the Chicago Rebels. He’s story gold and every sports reporter wants to get the goods but to his dismay his former Green Beret and best friends widow gets exclusive access to him and will be with him and his team for months.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me engrossed throughout. I really loved the characters and the way they interacted with each other. This is a fun, hot, romantic must read book and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.


Authors Blurb: The woman he should not have kissed the night she buried her husband, Levi's best friend in the service.

Hockey-stick-up-his-butt-serious Levi Hunt might despise Jordan for reasons she can't fathom--okay, it's to do with kissing--but her future in the cutthroat world of sports reporting hangs on delivering the goods on the league's hottest, grumpiest rookie. So what if he's not interested in having his life plated up for public consumption. Too bad. Jordan will have to play dirty to get her scoop and even dirtier to get her man. Only in winning the story, she might just lose her heart ...

Well let me start by saying
This book has everything I love in a book. Then you add that it's beautifully written and believable. It is easily a five star read. Written in dual POV my personal favorite this story flows so incredibly well that the next thing you know your 80% into the book and loving every second of it. The believable way the characters interact is perfect. Run, Hop, Jump or use your (1 click) finger to do whatever you have to do and get this amazing book. It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all. The chemistry is steamy and sweet and oh so romantic.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

I love romances where the characters pine away for each other, believing that the other person is not interested, might not like, or even might hate them. A sweet, steamy, romance with plenty of angsty pining, lively back and forth banter, sizzling sexual chemistry, humor, and a thought-provoking exploration of serious societal issues affecting military veterans and women in male dominated professional sports, Good Guy does a brilliant job of exploring that trope. It’s the first book in Rookie Rebels, Kate Meader’s new Chicago Rebels spin-off hockey romance series focusing on rookie hockey players who are a little older than usual because of having to delay their entry into the NHL.

At the center of the novel are Levi Hunt and Jordan Cooke whose lives are tied together by her now deceased husband, a member of Levi’s Green Berets team and his best friend. Driven by his upbringing and painful secrets from his childhood, Levi chose to enlist and serve in the military to protect and serve the vulnerable and the U.S. from its enemies instead of starting his professional hockey career as a young man. After being discharged, he’d expected to play in the AHL for a couple years, but an injury to a team member on the Chicago Rebels resulted in him being called up to make his NHL debut on an emergency basis. Fans and media interest in the former Special Forces Veteran is high, but Levi keeps to himself, avoiding both as much as possible. Consequently, his team owner and manager force him to agree to fully cooperate with the reporter they’ve chosen to shadow him and the team and to write a profile on him. A widow of five years, Jordan hosts a successful weekly hockey podcast and covers the AHL in the regional Midwest. While filling in for a sick hockey reporter at Chicago SportsNet on the Chicago Rebels beat, Jordan gets the opportunity to take her career to the next level, but it all rests on getting Levi to open up to her, breaking his press silence and refusal to grant interviews, for an exclusive profile on his transition from military to civilian life and his big break into the NHL. Since she’s convinced he has not only never liked her, but actively hates her, her chances of scoring her dream NHL hockey reporting job looks like it will remain just that—a dream.

Levi is grumpy, taciturn, cynical, rarely smiles, extremely guarded about his personal life and privacy, honest, honorable, kind, dependable, and, as Jordan learns once she begins to spend more time with him, he might just be a true American hero. Not just because he was a Green Berets, but because beneath all the gruff reserve he is a genuinely good guy with a good heart. Jordan, on the other hand, is friendly, vivacious, always ready to laugh joyfully, loyal, determined, and maybe a little naïve and too trusting because she tries to see the best in people. They couldn’t be more different. As they say opposites attract, and despite their differences, Jordan and Levi are perfect proof of this. The chemistry between Levi and Jordan sizzles every moment that they are in each other’s presence, initiated by an unexpected kiss on the night of her husband’s funeral five years ago. Those differences are what Levi believes make him the type of man Jordan would never choose.

Good Guy is rounded out by a colorful cast of secondary characters from Meader’s previous series’ Chicago Rebels and Hot in Chicago, which readers of her other series will love as they catch up with those characters. Unfortunately, readers who are looking for a lot of detailed hockey game play will be disappointed. While the novel is sprinkled with authentic details about the ins and outs of hockey and the players, the novel features very little detailed actual hockey games. I love the game of hockey and I love when hockey romances have in-game action weaved into the story. Especially since Levi had been away from the game for so long, I would have liked to have seen more of his POV during games. That being said, the primary focus was the relationship between Jordan and Levi, as well as the societal pressures and issues they faced as a military veteran and a woman reporting on men’s hockey. Meader’s exploration of both was nicely done.

The novel starts off very slowly. But once Levi and Jordan start interacting, the pacing picks up, and it doesn’t take too long before their story draws you in. Meader’s description is vivid bringing the characters and story to life.

ARC provided by author via Netgalley.