"Calling the Shots" by Kelly Farmer is a charming contemporary romance that will sweep readers off their feet with its witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and heartwarming romance.

I unfortunately couldn't get into this one, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it to someone else!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This was my first book by Kelly Farmer even though it technically is the 3rd book in a series so I didn’t really know what to expect. I absolutely loved the romance in it, it was written so well! I love that it’s a hockey romance and even more that it’s sapphic. The characters were all really well developed and all had their own distinct personalities. I’ll definitely be reading more books by this author soon

This has been on my NetGalley shelf for over a year, and I still haven’t picked it up. I've tried, but it just isn't for me (right now). I hope other people enjoy it more than I did.

This was a super fun, fast, and fluffy read. I really appreciate a queer take on a sports story, the tension is always immaculate.

Title: Calling the Shots
Author: Kelly Farmer
Summary: Retired superstar Regan Lane is known for being outspoken. She’s never been one to keep her opinions to herself. When she lands a head coaching job in the women’s pro league with the Boston Ice, her brash promise to win the championship in her first year shocks no one. Especially not Tierney McGovern, head coach of the rival New York Lady Libertys.
Single mom Tierney knows what it’s like to live in someone else’s shadow, and she won’t let Regan steal the spotlight. Besides, she knows exactly how Regan operates: when it comes to delivering on her promises, she falls pitifully short. At least she did when she ghosted Tierney after their long-ago amazing week together.
As their teams face each other game after game, it doesn’t take long for them to realize their hockey rivalry isn’t the only thing heating up. And that maybe the real victory is in taking big chances on the ice—and off.
*Note-this is the 3rd book in the series, but I have not read the first two books* What I loved about this book: 1) Female hockey romance leads to nice tension between the two MCs. 2) One of the MCs is divorced and is working to co-parent her kid with her ex. I love a book that’s not the stereotypical single, queer 20 something!
Opportunity for improvement: I have zero negatives about this book, and can’t wait to go back and read books 1 and 2! ARC provided by @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Calling the Shots was a sapphic hockey romance of my dreams! Full of beautiful characters (I am never getting over Regan Lane, what a queen), a realistic and raw love story (with its ups and downs that made my heart squeeze in pain AND delight), and HOCKEY! What more could a person want - except maybe a Regan Lane of their own.

This book took me by surprise honestly. I was not anticipating being so in love with the two main characters in this book. Their animosity to friendship to relationship status was fraught and tension filled but romantic and tender all at the same time. While the story didn't have much of their previous stint together I could feel the growth that they had in the nearly twenty year interim. This was truly a beautiful book!!

Calling the Shots by Kelly Farmer is the third in her stellar Out on the Ice f/f hockey series. It is a bit of a rivals, opposites, second-chance story.

Rival coaches Regan Lane and Tierney McGovern shared an incredible week ages ago. While they both clearly champion women’s hockey, they couldn’t be more different in their public approaches. And Tierney is fiercely protective of her daughter, which adds another layer of complication to their lives and their navigating being in the public eye.

Kelly Farmer’s writing is immediately immersive. There’s no “just taking a quick peek”—I urge you to do yourself a favor and just block off the day before picking this up because you won’t want to put it back down. I loved getting to know Regan and Tierney, and their teams and friends and families. And getting glimpses of members of the Boston Ice from prior books is just a lovely bonus.

Regan and Tierney’s relationship is both easy and challenging for them. They discover quickly that their mutual chemistry is as strong as ever, and yet their upbringings and pasts interfere. Ms Farmer lets readers see that love can sometimes include apologies and work as well as unsurpassed joy.

Calling the Shots is a fantastic romance, and I can’t wait for more from Ms Farmer.

I hate DNFing books, especially. ARCS but I did at 30%. It's a bit slow in my opinion and I didn't relate to the characters. I enjoyed Tierney but didn't really care for Regan.

I always have a little extra love for a book that gets me out of a reading slump.

Coach Regan Lane is loud and personable, the general public loves her for both her talent as an ex-professional hockey player turned coach, and her willingness to always say what’s on her mind. Whether that’s fighting for pay equity in women’s sports, snapping back at a jerk in the stands, or throwing down a challenge to a fellow coach. When she is offered a head coach position with the Boston Ice she finds herself on the opposing bench of Coach Tierney McGovern, her ex-something and who isnt exactly thrilled to see her.

Tierney has lived in the shadow of her star hockey player dad her whole life. Now she is the head coach of the New York Liberties and, outside of her daughter, they are her world. She doesn’t have time or the patience for ex-flames, particularly ones who ghosted her. For some reason Regan seems hell bent on being her friend and despite her best efforts Tierney can only hold off so long.

Tierney and Regan have great chemistry, but more than that they have true understanding for who they are as people. I loved the conversations of them sharing their pasts and trying to communicate their needs. While they do have issues throughout the book none of it seemed forced for drama.

Another part of the book I enjoyed was the relationship between Regan and Tierney’s daughter Hope. So many romance novels use a child as a plot device to get the character’s together or to create a bond more quickly. Hope spends time with Regan, but it is very clear in the beginning she is struggling with her parent’s divorce. The adults in the room talk heavily about protecting her from getting too close, before they have figured out what their relationship is.

I love a good sports romance and we seem to see a lot of M/F and M/M romances but not as many F/F!
This is the third book in a series but it mostly stands well on its own-there were a few scenes early on with side characters that made it apparent that I was missing context from earlier books but nothing major.

Unfortunately, I didn't lke this book much and DNFed it after some chapters. I really liked Tierney, her personality, and her part of the story, but Regan hit me as brash, overconfident, and a too flirty. I appreciated the open side of her which made Tier confide in her, but it feels illogical considering how hurt Tier was by Regan's departure. Also, I was unable to process their ages, especially Regan's, looking at her abnormal behavior.

I received a complimentary e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Calling the Shots is the story of two big-shot lesbian hockey coaches in the Women’s Hockey League, with a sexual history and a lot of remaining tension. Overall the story is interesting, with the two in competition with each other, and a lot of attraction, but trying to navigate their relationship while facing the various factors of their lives: all of the travel coaching requires, their rocky family history, and divorced motherhood. The book doesn’t shy away from complicated family issues, and it shows what healthy communication looks like between people who understand each other and their pasts. The characters are a joy to get to know and their banter is lovely. There are a lot of character names to keep track of, most of who’s stories are not entirely interesting, and Regan’s persistence in the beginning feels like borderline harassment, but she improves greatly as the story continues. If you love hockey, but want it sapphic, this is a great place to start.

This was a fun one! There were moments where the writing was a bit clunky, but they were few and far between. I fell in love with both of these women, but most of all I fell in love with wise little Hope. If you’re looking for rivals-to-lovers, lesbian hockey coaches falling in love, a good sports romance, or a divorced mom in a second chance romance, this one’s for you 💕

If you’re looking for a second chance hockey romance, then this book is for you. Tierney and Regan are coaches of two rival hockey team, both have completely different personalities and a history with one another. Throughout the book, Tierney deals with becoming a single parent after a divorce and Regan moves to the women pro league. Both have significant character development throughout.

The only downfall of this book is there are many characters referenced throughout, which at times, felt very overwhelming as I endeavoured to keep track of everyone. If you have read the first two books within the Out on the Ice Series, then you will not encounter the same problem I did. I, however, did not realise it was the third book in a series until I had read the book. Although it can be read as a standalone there were many confusing moments within the plot and the characters.

Read this book if you enjoy:
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance Romance
Sports Romance
LQBTQIAP+ Romance

I saw sapphic hockey romance and went say no more I have to read this.

This is the third book in a series but it mostly stands well on its own-there were a few scenes early on with side characters that made it apparent that I was missing context from earlier books but nothing major.

My favorite parts of the book were the hockey and Regan and Tierney. Kelly Farmer did a great job highlighting the disparity women's hockey faces and I liked seeing the team dynamics and back office team stuff. As for our two leads, they were both very driven and flawed and I liked seeing them come together and work through their issues. I wasn't totally sold on the rivals to lovers thing, but that's mostly a personal preference. Overall the romance was really sweet.

My two gripes with this are that it felt too long and that there were scenes that I had to go back and reread because the I wasn't sure who's POV we were actually in at the moment, like a scene would be from Regan's POV but then there would be a line of internal dialogue that felt like it was actually Tierney.

The characters were enjoyable but the book is a bit unmemorable. I read it without reading the others in the series.

This book was set up to be the perfect five star for me, hockey romance, enemies to lovers, rivalry teams. I couldn't help but adore reagan and tierany as characters, their chemistry was stunning and honest and real. overall I loved every second of this book and cant wait to read more from kelly farmer.