I would like to thank netgalley and JPC Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, especially the anxiety rep.

In Absolutely Not in Love, we meet Appies NHL feeder team goalie Felix pining for his neighbor, cellist and music teacher, Gracie. But fed up during her childhood of her parents caring more about her brother's hockey games than her music and a cheating hockey-playing ex-boyfriend have sworn Gracie off hockey players for good. Of course, until she meets Felix. His undeniable attractiveness, love for music and books, and kindness shine through and she debates giving him a chance. Eventually, a broken pipe in Gracie's apartment pushes these two closer together.

We're first introduced to Felix in Emma St. Clair's Sweater Weather starter, Just Don't Fall. After reading that book I was BEGGING for more books on all the Appies players, so I was so glad to see the conclusion to the collection to give us Felix's story. This was also my first Jenny Proctor book! I had heard so many good things, but it was great to finally see them for myself. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book. I adore hockey romances, whether sweet or spicy, and this closed door take on it was as touching as it was tension-filled. I will definitely be reading more of Proctor's work and am still holding out hope for a series!

Thanks to the author for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor was another fabulous read in the Sweater Weather series. I am not a hocky fan but still loved the story. We met Felix in the previous book and I was thrilled that he got his own story. How can you not love a hockey player that loves to read and names his library, Ivy. He was the perfect boyfriend material even if Gracie was fighting it.
Gracie was a relatable character. She has her reasons for not wanting to date a hockey player between her family’s obsession and her ex-boyfriends poor decisions.
The author created fun situations to put them in. This is a closed door, sweet romcom with tension and sizzle. It was perfect.

This book was super cute! A nerdy bookish hockey player who’s also the sweetest person ever sign me up. A cute small town romance, good characters, I love it.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

What a fun end to the Sweater Weather series!

I was ready for Felix's story since we got a glimpse of him in Logan's story by Emma St. Clair, Just Don't Fall. I'm so happy Jenny got to round out this story AND that it was a hockey story!

I loved that Felix had so much depth. I feel like a lot of hockey romances these days are just about HOCKEY playing, and not about all the nights, weekdays, weekends, time at home spent with others, etc. Gracie got to see Felix in all of these normal moments with a really sweet hockey goalie, and a lot of the story took place away from hockey, because Gracie is so anti-hockey and Felix is so pro-Gracie. There was a lot of talk about music and books and cooking. There were family struggles that were hard for both main characters. And yet, there was so much care between the two, and the way Felix just wanted to care for Gracie and his choices revolved around that made me like him that much more.

Other things I liked: glimpses of other Sweater Weather couples/characters, talk about mental health/therapy, family time and family growth, sharing of hopes and dreams, supportive main characters, and grand gestures.

This story felt whole and complete and is the perfect sweet romcom for this spooky season!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for early access to this book. These are my honest thoughts.

A fantastic, romantic story with a side of hockey.
I had previously read Logan and Parker's story so I knew of Felix and his charming neighbour who had captured his attention.
I loved the tropes and how they were woven together close proximity and enemies to lovers.

An amazing book from Jenny Proctor . This is by far my favourite of the series . Gracie hates hockey , but what happens when her neighbor is Felix the hockey goalie player for the Appies . So what if he is the most handsome man she has ever seen , loves classic music and loves to read . Felix is smitten with Gracie and he is trying to win her . When the pipes at her apartment brust and she has to live with him they get really close . Will ahe be able to change her mind and fall in love with an hockey player ?
I loved Felix characher , despite having anxiety he really tries to be around people and he always works and helps . I loved the relationship he had with his grandmother and the way he he honors her memory .
I received this book from netgalley and the publicer as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor is the love story of Felix and Gracie. Their love story is a next-door neighbour to lovers, frenemies to lovers and small-town love. Gracie is a middle school teacher and cellist who happens to live next to the Goal of the Appies. Felix has bad social anxiety and just happens to play for one of the biggest minor league teams. He also has Ivy (His beautiful library) which helps him get out of socialising.
I truly loved this book, the characters and the fact their love story is the best. Plus I'm a lover of a teacher and hockey player romance.

I'm usually not one for clean slow burn romances. I like them well enough, as long as the plot keeps me engaged, but they're not my favorite. However, this book was actually really good and kept me up way too late finishing it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ all the way. 👏

I absolutely adored Felix. He was just the perfect character. He was strong and protective, yes. But he was also incredibly vulnerable, suffered from social anxiety his whole life (I can relate), and was such a nice and caring guy. And he loved classical music and could cook! Seriously, he was the best and there honestly wasn't anything I disliked about him. Even the whole inevitable 'breakup' at the end was one that I couldn't really fault him for, although he could have made a better decision and thought about who his loyalty and priorities lied with.

I liked Gracie as well. She was a little too hung up on 'I don't like any hockey players' mantra for a while there and it was a bit annoying when she wouldn't even give Felix a chance. I mean he was literally doing everything right. But forced proximity quickly allowed her to see the great guy he was underneath those goalie hockey pads.

If I had any complaint, it would be that the author didn't really write a true epilogue for us to read with the book. Instead, you have to download it afterwards. That honestly annoys me when an author does it since it's just a marketing ploy to be added to their newsletter list. The only time I'm okay with that is if it's a bonus bonus epilogue way down the road and the existing epilogue was already great enough that I'd be happy with it and the bonus was just me being greedy and wanting more. This time the epilogue included in the book was okay, but it didn't really show future Felix and Gracie like I wanted.

Kudos to mentioning the Hurricanes! As a new Canes fan (I've lived 15-30 mins from their arena for 23 years, but finally went to my first game a few weeks ago lol), I loved that this book took place in the mountains of NC (one of our happy places) and included mentions of our local NHL team. :)

I'll definitely read more from this author and will try to go back and read the previous 6 books in this series.

Upon reading this author's bio and seeing who published her previous books before she turned indie, it seems as though she was a Christian romance author previously, but branched out into contemporary romance/romantic comedies. I honestly wouldn't have guessed that and definitely avoid her former publishing house's type of books, not that there's anything wrong with them, they're just not my cup of tea. So if you're reading this and are on the fence thinking this is going to be a religious romance, just know that at no point did I feel I was reading anything other than a clean contemporary romance.

Gracie grew up in a household where hockey was all. She's a good enough cellist that she's in a symphony and teaches students but her brother's hockey playing meant that her parents were always missing her big days because they were at her brother's practice or games.
Her neighbor Felix? He's a minor league hockey player. Handsome as all get out, a good cook, knows his classical music but Gracie isn't interested. Until her pipes break and she needs a place to stay. As her landlord (did he not tell her that yet?), Felix wants to make sure she has a place to stay. And that time together might mean that Felix finally has a chance to get to know his gorgeous neighbor and she might have a chance to look beyond his sport.

Three and a half stars
This book came out October 12, 2023
ARC kindly provided by JPC Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I loved this book so much and it was my first book by this author. I’ve tried a few others in this series but this one by this author was by far the best! Highly encouraged to read such a fun story, with a little bit of spice without being open door! Loved that! I definitely want to read more from this author and will be looking into adding her books to my library for all my closed door fans.

I’m literally obsessed with this book.
I’ve now downloaded the six books before this one. Sweater Weather series is precious.

I’m obsessed with hockey so when I found out about hockey romance, I have obviously been consuming every single one I can find.

This book was a fun romcom. I loved the tropes that were in this book. It was a fast read and I did enjoy it. That being said I don't feel like there was anything special or that stuck out to me as I was reading it. Parts felt a little long. Liked it but didn't love it.

I have really enjoyed reading the Sweater Weather series over the past couple of weeks. Absolutely Not in Love is the third book I've read though it is the 7th in the series. I love that they are all set in the same season in the small town of Harvest Hollow, this book and the series overall gives of Stars Hollow vibes, I love all the quirky characters, the sense of community and the small-town feel.

Absolutely Not in Love is a sweet hockey romance, perfect for those who love Hallmark movies and are looking for a sweet fall read.

Gracie is a teacher and cellist who has sworn off hockey players since one broke her heart in high school and she has a hard time with the sport as she always felt her and her interests took a backseat to her brother who was ... you guessed it a hockey player. So imagine her surprise when her next-door neighbour ends up being none other than Felix, the star goalie for the local minor league team the Appies. Gracie has made her stance well known but after a minor disaster makes her apartment uninhabitable she is forced to reevaluate her opinion ... at least as far as Felix is concerned.

Felix is a through and through good buy, he will do anything for those he cares about as well as most others who find themselves in need. While he is a professional goalie he struggles with anxiety and prefers a quiet night at home to going out with the guys. He loves Ivy - his home library (complete with a sliding ladder) and more so he loves listening to the classical tones floating through the wall from the apartment next door.

This was a really enjoyable book, I loved seeing the relationship develop between Gracie and Felix, the fact that they both love classical music and this is what bonds them was so sweet. I did struggle to understand Gracie's disdain for hockey, realizing she felt neglected growing up with so much attention on her brother and then the situation with her HS boyfriend certainly would cause wounds but she is still firmly against anything to do with the sport.

Two things I really loved:
♥️ Felixs letter
♥️ The grand gesture

Thank you to Jenny Proctor Books for the book to review. All opinions are my own.

Gracie knows one thing for certain. She is NOT interested in dating a hockey player. Hockey drew her parent's attention away from her and her classical music ambitions, so she's written off the sport as a whole. But she has to admit, even though she definitely won't date him, her professional hockey player neighbor, Felix is quite nice to look at. And as Felix shows up more and more in her orbit, she realizes maybe he's not the man she stereotyped him to be...
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Jenny Proctor scores a hat trick with this one! She nails the chemistry, character development, and entertainment value in this story. Her writing is seamless, so your reading experience is as well. I flew through this book and devoured all the depth she has packed into this rom com. Because these characters have adult conversations where they deal with their feelings and their hang ups, you get to enjoy so much more the pay off of their love story. Plus there are plenty of swoony flirty moments and kisses to keep you turning the page for more!
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This is a closed door, kisses only romance.

There is a bonus scene available by joining the author's newsletter. Make sure and check that out!

I can't really rate this book because I did stop reading it like directly after the first chapter because I also have a brother who plays hockey and it annoys me when authors try and use something as small as that to judge an entire group of people. this is totally a personally thing, I just find that plot line really annoying. also this is apparently the seventh book in a series and even though it's just interconnected standalone you can kind of tell and it's really off-putting.

Hockey seems to be the in-thing in the book world at the moment and I am loving it.

Absolutely Not In Love sees hockey hating Gracie move next door to a hockey goalie - Felix who also happens to be her landlord.

After a water pipe bursts in her apartment Gracie gets much closer to Felix despite her misgivings about hockey.

This is a slow burn dual POV story that had me totally hooked. Well written and engaging and I can’t wait to read more in the series. If you love romcom, this one is for you!

I have mixed feelings about this story. I like that this wasn’t a smut-filled hockey romance because that’s what all of the hockey stories I have read have been. This story had an okay plot but not anything significant. Gracie had a bad relationship in high school and swore off hockey players afterward. She also has issues with feeling abandoned because her family chose her brother's budding hockey career over her classical music career. She came off as really boring. There wasn’t anything remarkable about her except she was the “nerdy” girl who gets with the handsome pro hockey player. Felix was underwhelming, too. He’s a secret nerd, which is his quirk and sets him apart from others. He’s overly helpful and has dad problems. The family issues they each have become a connection that brings them closer together. Felix was meh. He didn’t come across as original to me. I don’t know what I was expecting from this story, but I finished it feeling pretty okay about it. I’d say to those wanting to read it, read it. You may like it more than I did. There just wasn’t anything special at all to me for me to like it.

A hockey-hating cellist ultimately falls for her adorable neighbour, who just so happens to be the goalie of her local hockey team.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were amazing. Felix is the dream boyfriend. Hot, a book nerd and a classical music fan, whilst also being kind, caring and super thoughtful. 10/10, no complaints.

The only thing that bothered me was the amount of times Gracie said she hated hockey players. I get that getting hurt by one when she was 17 may have put her off but to completely write off all hockey players because of one man seemed a bit dramatic to me.

Overall - 4.5⭐️

Absolutely Not in Love is the seventh and final instalment in the Sweater Weather series - a sweet fall romance series available on Kindle Unlimited.

In Absolutely Not in Love, we find Gracie - who swore she'd never again date a hockey player after a bad experience, and we get to revisit Felix - goalie of the Appies (minor league hockey team) and resident bibliophile. When some pipes burst in Gracie's apartment, and it only makes sense for her to move into her attractive neighbor (and landlord)'s apartment, she and Felix get to know each other better.

I loved seeing Gracie and Felix's relationship grow from quiet neighbors to really great friends, to more. I thought these two had incredible chemistry and loved their banter. I loved revisiting some of the characters from the previous novels in the series, and thought this book brought the whole series together better than any before it.

What you'll find in Absolutely Not in Love:
-forced proximity
-"will never date a hockey player"
-sports romance
-no steam (closed door) but plenty of chemistry
-fixing broken relationships

Absolutely Not in Love is a fantastic way to close out the Sweater Weather series on a high note, as I believe it to be the best one of the whole series. These can all be read as stand-alones, but you will find some characters and locations in Harvest Hollow popping in from other books.

Absolutely Not in Love is out now and available to download for free with Kindle Unlimited, also in paperback.