This was a cute book that I really enjoyed. I loved the two main characters, especially Alexei and his broody self. I loved that they both had parts of themselves that were hard to share, and fractured backgrounds, but they fought through them and found each other, and were able to find the best version of themselves with each other.

So this is your typical fake dating sports romance, but it also delves into aspects such as grief and family. It starts off with the trope of team owner's daughter and the 'bad boy' player who get caught in a situation where the only option is to fake date for three month to try and repair their image....what happens? They fall for each other. But this book does it in such a way that it doesn't feel like the author is pushing anything but that it flows really well with consistent pacing that kept me wanting to read more. I loved the fact that there were aspects of enemies to lovers, a lot of tension, and forced proximity, but also that there were moments of playful banter and emotional scenes along the way. Overall, it's a great book

Thanks to the publisher for giving me a copy of this ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This enemies to lovers fake dating hockey romance was so much fun and everything I wanted!

I loved every single minute of it. This book had me laughing so many times. It gave me all the feels as I was reading it. It was so stinking cute and sweet how Alexei fell for Kennedy! It was so easy to see how hard he fell for her and how he clearly always was into her and the way she was giving black cat grumpy girl that was hard to crack but once they both admit their feelings oh my gosh it was amazing.I loved their interactions, their steamy times and their longing for each other, even when they didn't want to admit it to themselves. Their friends and family could see it, tho! I loved the side characters, as well, and I'm hoping maybe we'll get a book about Briggsy so I am very very excited for the next book hopefully!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the banter between the two characters, and pretty much every chapter bounced back and forth between the male and female MC. I think the “hatred” of each other was a little forced/unbelievable but I don’t feel like it took away from the story. And the undercurrent of hurt and healing both characters went through was honestly touching. I literally sat down and read this in one afternoon because it was just so cute. Another great hockey romance book, nothing too original but still enjoyable.

This story follows Kennedy (team owner's daughter) and Alexei (ice hockey player) who are required to fake date to improve fans view of Alexei. This enemies to lovers story is extremely easy to read, you could say it's a feel good story mixed with some really deep and important messages.

I devoured this book in a day, as I said before it was extremely easy to read and it gets you hooked from the begining. I also really enjoyed the dual pov as it gave the reader both perspectives whilst also giving us the chance to understand what both characters were thinking.

This book was so cute!! It was a nice easy read. Alexei and Kennedy are enemies who then jump in to a fake relationship. She's the hockey teams owners daughter, he's the star player. Throughout the relationship the hate turns to like which blooms real feelings. The banter and friendship in this book is so cute.

4.5 ⭐️

We all know I’m a sucker for sports romance, but if it’s a hockey romance, sign me tf up instantly. When I saw this book on Netgalley, I gravitated towards it and I have never thanked myself so hard until now because this book shook my world.

Kennedy Cole’s dad owns the Palmer City Wolves. Alexei Volkov is the newest player to join the team. His worst enemy equals Kennedy’s now ex-boyfriend, Justin Ward who got traded from the Wolves to another team. A misleading photo of Kennedy and Alexei in a compromising position gets out and let’s just say…things get a little bit complicated.

Not only does this book have enemies to lovers, but it also contains fake dating. AND WAIT, there’s more… he f*cking falls first. When I tell you all, that I was quite literally on my knees every time Alexei spoke…instantly added to my list of top book boyfriends.

The chemistry between Kennedy and Alexei was to die for. The tension was mind-blowing, and I couldn’t get enough of it. They suited each other so well and brought out sides of each other they had hidden for a while due to various factors.

The fact this is Kathryn’s debut release is insane to me. Her talent is amazing, and this book was exactly what I needed. Whether you’re looking for a new hockey romance to add to your list or a new author to check out, I definitely recommend this book to you all.

Thank you, Netgalley and Kathryn, for an arc copy! Congrats, Kathryn, on this release!! I’m incredibly happy I stumbled across it and definitely will continue to look forward to what comes next from you <3

This was an easy read. I wish there would have been a little more tension for the enemies to lovers part but overall I enjoyed it.

Out - 3/8/23

Now guys… IT WAS A HOCKEY ROMANCE! What can I say - an automatic 4/5 for me haha!!!

But seriously I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the first books in a while where I have read it over a longer period of time as I was reading it in the car park before work! An enemies to lover with a love triangle, coaches (or owners) daughter and fake dating - how can you not just want to read this book!

“Warmth filled my chest. It took only one night with Kennedy to remind me of what I’d always wanted and never found. A simple relationship. Someone to share my life with. To wake up to in the morning, with a feeling of gratitude that they existed and chose me. Someone to do normal life stuff with, like eat breakfast and tell stories about our days.”

I love how Kathryn touched on some harder themes such as dealing with grief through a fun and steamy romance. Falling into a safe and predictable life was something that Kennedy had got used to after her mum died but when her boyfriend dumps her, moves away and she is face to face with her enemy she has to make some decisions that threaten to push her out of her comfort zone.

I loved the development of their relationship throughout the book! THE CHEMISTRY!! OMG you could tell how attracted they were to each other and how they had to fight to stay away from each other (although this doesn’t last long!)

In reality if you love a fake romance, a sports romance or just want a good read you need to get your hands on this!!

𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤: I enjoyed this one! I flew through it. I enjoyed the hockey elements and Alexei was perfect in all the best ways. I’m a sucker for some fake dating and celebrity like fame elements. I also loved that this was a romance but also dealt with some more heavy emotions. Kennedy has to confront her grief and loss of her mother as well as discovering herself. She dealt with and developed her relationship with her dad. Alexei and Kennedy had all the chemistry and I was here for it.

Definitely read if you like :
Sport romances
Dual pov
Boss’ daughter
Fake dating

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and though I am a little behind as it is now live, I enjoyed every second! This was my first book by the author and my first hockey romance—which is crazy as I love hockey—and I was not disappointed! It was so great to see some of our favorite tropes—enemies to lovers, fake dating, one bed, etc.—combined with hockey, a fun cast of supporting characters, but most importantly a journey of healing and self discovery combined with emotional connections and support. I loved the tension and the banter most of all! Lots of laughs and love in this one! Very enjoyable!

This was a random pick from Netgalley purely based on the cover. Illustrated covers are all the rage these days and when I saw it was a hockey romance I knew I wanted to read it.



Kennedy the heroine, has become a different person since her mother passed a way a year ago. Her long term boyfriend, Justin a hockey player, stayed with her through it all however when he is traded to a another team just as she is getting better in life, he leaves her.



Alexei Volkov (I swear this name is SO common in the book romance world) is a total hot head and has a huge rivalry with Justin Ward. Because of this he is offered only a 1 year contract on the basis that he stays out of trouble.



When a photo of Alexei with Kennedy goes viral, even though it’s completely misleading, he needs to decide what he will do about it to not further ruin his image. They can’t stand each other but Kennedy wants revenge on Justin and who better to get it with? Fake dating his rival seems like a great idea and it’s a win win situation for them both.



This was a cute read and it was chockful of tropes. I unfortunately found it a little confusing to read because the characters were thinking one thing and then they would choose to do the opposite. It was almost like I missed a part of the scene.

I also found that Kennedy needed to find her sense of worth alone. She has a character arc in this book but I don’t think it was enough. Bringing her ex Justin back into the fold was annoying and what was more annoying is that Alexei basically just let Kennedy deal with him alone. Where is my fave trope of ‘Touch her and die?’

I didn’t find the the romance believable; like there wasn’t that delighted feeling of when characters get together, know what I mean? It was flat and kinda read like … ‘ oh ok’. Honestly I had to go back and check Goodreads to see what the character names were so that’s telling you something.



I think if there was a deeper story development and maybe a round of editing then it could have been much better.



2.5 - 3 stars


If you like:



Hockey romance

Enemies to Lovers

Slow burn

Fake dating

Only one Bed

Forced proximity

Dual POV

This was a fun and easy read. I am a huge fan of hockey romance and this was the perfect book. It was super fast-paced and the characters were all well developed. this book had one of my favorite tropes which is enemies to lovers. I also really liked that the FMC was a sassy, won't-take-your-shit type of girl. It was really refreshing to see. Overall I would rate this book 3.5 stars because although I enjoyed it I felt like there was a lack of conflict where the characters had to overcome it and I found myself losing interest during some parts along the way.

A perfectly put together hokey romance. The side characters were so well developed and the main characters had great arcs and redemptions throughout the book. Fake dating is a personal favourite troupe of mine and this book did it really well. I cannot wait for Zach’s story. he was my personal favourite character in this book and really added an element of comedy as well. I hope the author is planning on making this a series!!

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kennedy Cole has fallen into a rut doing the same things over and over again, she's been lost since she lost her mother and she can't bring herself to do the things she enjoys because they remind her too much of her mother. So she ends up just floating by babysitting and not really doing much else, besides her relationship with Justin Ward. When she thinks things are getting serious she gets dumped.

Alexei is looking for a chance at redeeming his career after everything his been through. He's use to the on ice antics and it was even praised at one time. But now it seems like everyone has turned against him and dislikes him for the same antics they use to praise him for. Now is his to chance to start over in a new state with a new team and prove himself. But before he can even start playing he gets caught up in a scandal with Kennedy

Now they think the only way to get ahead of this scandal and not ruin Alexei's already ruined reputation is for them to fake date. This might actually help Alexei and make Justin jealous at the same time. Win-win right and they just have to tolerate each other for three months and act like they like each other.

So when I started reading this book I was like I don’t see how they will eventually like each other because they were always at each others throats, like every time they talked and every time they went out on dates. I couldn’t see how they would get from that to liking each other, but I was so invested.

And then after one fight where we could see they were ready to hang up the towel they decide to call a truce to make the fake relationship work, which really helped. They started to talk about things that they didn’t argue about, which brought them a bit closer together. Then I could see a relationship start to build between them.

There were so many misconceptions about the other on each part. A lot of the misconceptions about Alexei were because of the jerk Justin. And because Kennedy didn’t like used those misconceptions to not like Alexei that made him dislike her. When they finally got to the bottom of it, they realized none of it was true.

I really loved watching them go from enemies to lovers and even more after that. Alexei pushed Kennedy in a way that she needed. She had checked out a bit and didn’t want to move forward with her life but he pushed her to be more. And she was there for him and by his side when he needed her the most. I loved that he wanted someone to come home to, to build a future with it was so sweet.

And I absolutely loved how he took the new rookie Zach in and helped him, when he could have just let him go to a hotel and stay there. He took him into his home and mentored him to show him the way. Zach was so hilarious, I absolutely loved him and can't wait to see if there is a book in the future for him.

I am not a fan of Hockey usually but I have to say I absolutely loved this book and the Hockey aspect too. Right before this I also read a romance about Hockey, will this be my new obsession? I loved everything about this book and how it all played out. This was one of those books that I could not put down from start to finish.

After losing her mom a year ago, Kennedy Cole's life stalled. She abandoned college and her job with the Palmer City Wolves hockey team. Ready to move forward with Wolves' star player Justin Ward, he gets traded, leaving her behind. Alexei Volkov, known for his hotheaded reputation and rivalry with Justin, joins the team to prove he can stay out of trouble. When a misleading photo of Kennedy and Alexei goes viral, they pretend to date to fix the negative press. But their sizzling chemistry blurs the lines between pretense and reality.

I love a hockey romance and when I found out my book club friend Katie was writing one, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! Told in alternating first-person perspectives between Alexei and Kennedy, Play Your Part is the perfect mix of banter and heart. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers, fake dating romance full of tension and angst. Once I started I couldn’t put it down and I had the worst book hangover once I finished it!

I would recommend this book to fans of hockey romance and the fake dating trope.

Thank you so much to Kathryn Kincaid and Netgalley for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this debut novel. It was such a cozy hockey romance, and I breezed through it in a day. I loved the fake dating trope, and the banter between Kennedy, the coach’s daughter, and Alexei, the bad boy on the team, was just *chef’s kiss*. Such a fun read, and I can’t wait for her next book!

I thought this was a very sweet hockey romance story. The characters were a little younger then I anticipated, but they were well developed and the story flowed smoothly. Great chemistry between the two main characters. I especially enjoyed their banter.
For me, Briggsy stole the show! I hope he gets his story told one day after he grows up. Lol!

Honestly such a cute read, if a book has all my fave tropes.... it most likely is going to be incredible and this is a prime example of one.

Enemies x lovers
ex-rivals
slow burn
forced proximity
dual POV

Amazing writing and truly just left me feeling happy. I'm a sucker for hockey romances and this met all of my expectations.

This book was cute however it does read a little bit like fan fiction. The story moves a little quickly and I feel like it doesn't make sense all the time. It's a SUPER quick read though. I was able to fly through this in about a day. The characters are interesting enough I suppose. This is really just an average enemies to lovers hockey romance.