Given that Cait Nary’s earlier books were angsty, I did not expect the extremely fluffy cuteness of this s-l-o-w-burn romance.

Zeke’s been crushing hard on professional hockey player Spencer McLeod for years, so he freaks out when he realizes that he’s going to be teaching Spencer’s secret daughter when she begins kindergarten at the school where he works. Zeke knows he needs to give up his ridiculous fantasies once real life and his professional responsibilities intrude, but that’s hard to do when Spencer is right there, needing help to survive his first reading circle and volunteering at the school. And maybe, just maybe, Zeke doesn’t have to? Maybe Spencer feels something, too? But that’s ridiculous, right?

Well, this romance burns very, very slowly, so it takes a while for Zeke to accept that he’s not imagining things. At about a third of the way into the book, Zeke starts to finally believe that Spencer truly is interested in him, and that’s just when they start texting on a regular basis. Their first (daughter-chaperoned) date occurs a couple of chapters later, and they don't get to the naughty bits until the halfway mark. Some readers may lose patience before that happens.

The reward for sticking with it is a funny and super cute opposites-attract romance. Zeke has big feelings and is the antithesis of cool, the kind of guy who babbles the most embarrassing things when he gets flustered, while Spencer is mumbly and grumbly and prone to blushing, especially around Zeke. The way they nervously dance around each other as they get acquainted is 100% adorable. They do have some issues to work through as their relationship progresses—Zeke feels insecure about being too much to deal with, and Spencer's career as a semi-closeted hockey player and newly acquired daughter don't leave a lot of room in his life for Zeke. But the story overall is mostly just sweet, with plenty of steam once they get going.

Zeke and Spencer are great, but the secondary characters make the story even better. I especially liked the way Zeke’s best friend Jake and fellow coach Samar both support him and give him grief when he’s being ridiculous, and Spencer’s friend Franky does the same for Spencer. Zeke and Spencer never would have gotten anywhere without those three pushing them together.

One final note--this is not a conventionally written romance. It's told solely from Zeke's perspective, rather than a dual point of view, and the plot doesn't include a big crisis point in the third act. There's also no epilogue, which seems to be a must-have for a lot of people. So, if all those things are your jam, this probably isn't the book for you.

For me, while I think the book did stretch on a bit too long, I enjoyed Zeke and Spencer's story so much it wasn’t a problem. This is going down as my first 5-star read of 2024.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for me to review; all opinions expressed are my own

This is a wonderful book featuring hockey and single dads. I enjoyed this book, my only complaint is it just stopped, I really did not care for the way in ended. I liked the story idea, the daughter, the PE teacher and the hockey star. The characters were wonderful, so lovable and fun. The pace was great. An excellent book by a first-time author for me. I will definitely check out more of her books.

Hockey is my sport of choice during the winter.  So, of course, I'm going to be drawn to the hockey romances, right?  There's just something irresistible about these big, strong, hockey players turning into piles of goo for the object of their affection that makes me melt.  That and I'm a sucker for a good love story.  So, when I read the blurb for Lucky Bounce, I knew it was going to have everything I needed - a brooding hero, a goofy hero, a crazy family, and eventually, a dog.

Zeke is a lot and he knows it.  But he also embraces his crazy and, when necessary, leans into it.  He struggled with a lot of things, but he's also very in tune with his own feelings.  It was kind of refreshing to see a character who was out of control and knew it.  That was one of the biggest things that endeared me to Zeke from the beginning.  

Spencer is a bit more of a mystery, since we never get his point of view.  However, Zeke is fully enamored and, with his ability to see through his own baloney, you get a pretty good idea of the kind of man Spencer is.  More than that, the moments you see between Spencer and his daughter, Addie, or his sister, Oliva, you really get an excellent picture of the conflicted, but caring person he is.  

Jake, who is Zeke's best friend, Olivia, and Samir, Zeke's work partner, are probably the best side characters I've read in a long time.  They're all hilarious as well as eager enablers once they discover that there's a chance Zeke might get his dream guy.  I'd love to see future books focused on any of them, or even Franky freaking D'Amico, as Zeke loved to call him.  So many fun characters in this book.  

As much as I love Zeke, being in his head the entire duration was a bit exhausting.  He's funny and he's also very self-aware, but at times, his insecurities got to be overwhelming.  It would have been nice to have had another point of view to tone down his franticness at times.  Spencer's or even Zeke's best friend, Jake.  However, it was very sweet to see Zeke overcome some of his internalized issues as his relationship with Spencer grew and became more solid.  

Lucky Bounce was exactly what I needed this hockey season.  Cute, a bit angsty at times, and steamy enough to warm me in the darn cold temps.  I found myself being moved through all my emotions - happiness, worry, amusement, sadness - as I turned each page.  Nothing better to me than a book that evokes all these feelings.  I hope to read more from this author soon.  She has a fabulous way with characters and all the things they're going through.

I'm not usually a fan of stories where a child is the reason the leads meet, but there's something about this story of a single dad, hockey player meeting his daughter's teacher who happens to be a big fan that hits all the right spots. It bounces from fun to sexy to heartwarming at a great pace that made it go by way too quickly.
It's charming and romantic with just the right amount of anxious neuroses on the part of leading man Zeke. The man has no chill, but it's a perfect counterbalance to Spencer's stoic shyness. They're an interesting pair that shouldn't work yet still manage it.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the great read!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Zeke Boehm is a Physical Education teacher at the Rittenhouse Friends private Quaker school in Philadelphia, where he teaches K-5 students of the rather wealthy. He’s an out gay man with a complicated family that he loves, but doesn’t like. Zeke grew up on a farm, and his country folks can’t understand his need for a city job or his “lifestyle choice” sexuality. His childhood best friend and roommate shares his work-comped tickets to Philadelphia Liberty hockey games, which Zeke loves, because he’s a broke teacher trying to pay back his school loans and live within his means.

Zeke is a superfan for the Liberty, and especially of Spencer McLeod, a first-line winger who recently returned to the line-up full time after overcoming debilitating migraines. Zeke has very little chill when it comes to Spencer, barely able to ask for his autograph on one of the FOUR McLeod jerseys he owns. So, he’s absolutely gobsmacked when Spencer, his mother, and Spencer’s (apparently secret) daughter, Adeline, turn up to back-to-school night at Rittenhouse Friends.

Zeke is trying to maintain some level of professionalism, but his major hockey crush keeps showing up and being basically adorable with five-year-old perfectionist tyrant Adeline. (Who is pretty cute, especially with how she takes no crap.) She’s also having some issues with abandonment after her mom checked out, her gran died of cancer, and this move to Philly after Spencer took custody. Zeke is an excitable man, and he’s tamed these impulses with yoga, running, and all sorts of activity, yet Spencer’s constantly overloading his circuits. And, well, the more they engage, the more Spencer’s teammates push Spencer out of his shy, introverted, closeted comfort zone and into Zeke’s orbit.

This is a really wild stream-of-consciousness romance narrated completely by Zeke’s hyperbrain. His thoughts come six miles a minute, and he’s got a brain-mouth filter that can’t always keep pace. For me, this was constantly entertaining. I can imagine that some readers would find it off-putting, but I felt absolutely immersed in his sweet and sensitive character, who’s totally gaga for a pro-hockey player that’s best described as taciturn. But, Zeke was pretty much smitten before they ever met, just from being a fan and watching Spencer’s moody and mumbled press conferences. Observing how Spencer is a gooey marshmallow with his daughter? If Zeke had ovaries, they would have exploded.

This book has a hockey player, but the POV is that of his love interest, so we get a super-fan’s perspective and not the athlete, which was rather unique for me as a reader of lots of sports romance. So, there isn’t a lot about training or even performing on the ice. Zeke attends some games, but the story is more centered on the development of their relationship.

The men don’t get hot and heavy immediately. It’s complicated with Adeline and Spencer’s work schedule. And Spencer’s mom, who’s living with him temporarily to help Addie get settled and manage her care when Spencer’s on the road. But they develop some rapport via text and a few shared outings, and once Spencer’s sister comes to relieve his mom on child help duty, they have more relaxed visits. Addie just adores Zeke, as a teacher and a “friend” of her daddy’s.

The whole book charmed me, with the spare dialogue and Zeke’s intense internal monologue. He’s working so hard not to flail, or panic, or reveal anything that would make him seem too needy, since that caused his other boyfriends to run. Spencer sees Zeke as he is, though: an eager, fun, and compassionate man. I adored Zeke’s incredible vulnerability so much, I just could have read a whole other book and still wanted more of Zeke being hopelessly in love with Spencer, who’s also actually quite in love with all of Zeke.

This book wasn’t perfect, but it worked for me. It had a satisfying HEA without third act breakup nonsense and it had a cute kid and a pet, and supportive families and friends. I enjoyed this story and recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed this one a lot! I’m glad to see that Cait Nary has a couple other titles out because I plan to check them out after reading this one. She wrote very well, kept me hooked and entertained and invested the whole time. Plus it was good and steamy!

I really enjoyed the characters of Zeke and Sebastian, the chemistry was palpable and Sebastian’s daughter Addie was truly adorable. I loved the way the three of them interacted right from the very first page.

I definitely recommend this to everyone who enjoys the best M/M romances! Especially a closeted single dad hockey player falling for his secret daughter’s teacher! So swoony!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Harlequin - Romance, Carina Press, and this is my honest feedback.

Everyone knows I have entered my mm hockey romance era and I gotta say this is a fun one.

Lucky Bounce follows a teacher and the dad of one of his students who also just happens to be a hockey player.

This has some great banter moments and some of the flirting was just so bad and so relatable that I laughed out loud.

I do wish this had been multiple perspective as I think that would have helped with some of the emotional disconnect I had. While I fully understand the main character, I didn’t really feel anything for the hockey player that I wanted to.

The kid was adorable, the steam level pretty good, and the conversations around self-acceptance, long term illnesses, and the family dynamics were well done and made the story more engaging than some other romances I have read.

I give this a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and would recommend it to anyone who loves this sub-genre and wants a fun and fast-paced read for a cozy night in.

There’s just something about MM hockey romances that have me hooked, so when I saw Lucky Bounce on Netgalley, I had to jump on it. But, while I enjoyed parts of it, it left me wanting more.

Ezekiel (Zeke) Boehm is an elementary school gym teacher at a private school in Philadelphia. He’s sweet and sunshiney despite his struggles with his family accepting his sexuality. He has a simple life but loves his job, his students, browsing for dogs to adopt online and watching Philadelphia Liberty hockey games. So, when Spencer McLeod (Zeke’s favorite Liberty player) shows up at his school with his secret 5-year-old daughter Addie in tow, Zeke is star struck and keeps finding himself drawn to the broody hockey player.

These two keep their distance for a while but keep being drawn back together. With Spencer still being in the closet and being a public figure, they have to keep things quiet, spending stolen moments together whenever they can. I think Zeke and Spencer were cute together but I didn’t feel much of a connection to either of them - so much of their backstories was just mentioned in passing and I think it could have made the story even more interesting to see them work through things together or at least share about their past without it being something they’re forced to do. Ultimately I think their relationship had potential, but I just didn’t feel invested in them.

I wish this book was written in dual POV - the entire story is told from Zeke’s POV and I really felt like I didn’t get to know Spencer well at all because of that. But it also felt like they didn’t know much about each other either…they tended to lean more into the physical side of their relationship than into conversation and spending actual time together. It also bothered me that Addie felt like a plot device more than an actual character - she popped up when it was convenient and then would disappear but we never really got to see much of her relationship with Spencer or even the new side of her relationship with Zeke outside of school.

Overall, this one was just okay for me. It was an easy read, but it left me wanting more from the story and for all of the characters in it.

Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary releases today and features and opposite attracts romance between a star winger and an elementary school teacher. This was a cute romance with not too much angst, but plenty of sweet moments as these two awkward and lonely people and make a connection together.

Zeke Boehm is surprised to see Spencer McLeod, his favourite player on the Philadelphia liberty at his school dropping off his young daughter for his class! Since when has he been a parent?

This whole parenting thing is new dispenser and he’s happy that his daughter’s favourite teacher, Zeke is willing to give him a hand and some pointers … and it turns out they have some things in common, like a mutual attraction!

This is a story about two shy guys, trying to figure out their relationship starting is teacher parent to friends to lovers and more.

As a first person narrative, I found I was missing Spencer‘s point of view, which would’ve added a lot to the story and the character build up. I enjoyed seeing these two grow their relationship and I found as a reader I was nervously anticipating a third act break up or a final drama and was left feeling like something was missing at the end when we didn’t have anything to really force these two to overcome together.

In the end, I enjoyed Zeke and Spencer‘s romance awkwardly adorable romance, and I think readers going into it, expecting a slow burn without a third act break up will enjoy themselves!

Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary Is available today!

Thanks to you Harlequin publishing for my e-book review copy.

This is a new to me author and enjoyed the story for the most part. Both characters didn't wow me and I certainly never saw any chemistry but what I DID like was how Zeke was able to pull shy, quiet, introverted Spencer out of his shell. Both men had some serious insecurities that could be seen in how they talked to each other and responded to each other "whatever" being a much overused answer. I got taken out of the story too often by some of the lingo (chirping/chirped/don't chirp me-maybe I was too old for the story lol) and some supremely long, run on sentences with over exaggerated inner thoughts in parenthesis (I mean, we already know it is Zeke's POV), so yeah perhaps a bit of editing might have helped. I get that we are meant to see all of Zeke's thoughts, it was just a bit overwhelming. 3.5 stars for me.

Happy Release Day for this unique single dad/daughter’s teacher hockey romance! I really enjoyed this, but also understand some of the criticism that without a dual narrative lead to lacking some depth and repetition. Still, I liked it and would recommend it to other fans of sports romances looking for a fluffy, feel-good read - but probably not for newbies to the sports romance world.

Zeke was a unique MC - just a normal queer elementary school teacher with wit and banter (not connected to the hockey world) - I thought this perspective was fun and different than other books. Sure, he’s a hockey fan and may have a slightly obsessive crush on the star Philly hockey player no harm in that, it’s not like he ever has a shot...

That is until his newest student is the daughter of this very same, Spencer McLeod. Spencer is the brooding silent-type, so with that in mind - a dual POV might have not been as good as it sounds.

The ending was fine for me, a little abrupt - but happy-for-now instead of a full HEA works for me in certain situations. Not everything has to be a whole winning-the-Stanley Cup and exchange rings moment (although those are adorable too).

Thanks to @harlequinbooks and @netgalley for a chance to early review this story in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC!

I loved Cait Nary’s previous books! I was so excited to read this!

It started off great! I loved Zeke’s and Spencer’s slow burn romance. It was so sweet. I was definitely connecting with the characters.

Then it ended. Literally it was such an abrupt ending it felt very unfinished.

I was so disappointed. I will still eagerly read Cait Nary’s next book but I hope it doesn’t end so abruptly.

Heat Factor: It takes a little “is he or isn’t he” back and forth to get there, but once they do it’s kind of all they do

Character Chemistry: I was hooked in the beginning, but it started waning somewhere after the first date

Plot: Elementary school PE teacher has his athlete crush’s secret daughter in his class, gets super awkward about it, but good news: the athlete crush thinks that’s cute

Overall: I think I’m disappointed?

I’m not totally sure how to collect myself for this review. I was really looking forward to this book; it was on my TBR for most of last year. When I started the Lucky Bounce, I was struck by the writing, thinking, “Is Nary trying to find her voice? I don’t remember this writing style at all.” And I was at least a little bit right, this book is different from the other two. This book is a single POV written in a close 3rd present… I don’t think the story was served by these decisions. Her prior books were written in a more standard 3rd past and used a dual POV. So my problem boils down to this: Zeke was really fun to listen to for the first few chapters, and I thought we might pull off the single POV because Spencer wasn’t being particularly forthcoming about his feelings, but once they got together, a lot of things that should have become illuminated just weren’t, and there was no plot.

At one point, I looked at my percent completion and saw 99%, and I didn’t know what to think. There was no problem. Everything that had been raised as a possible problem was left unaddressed. The conclusion was surprisingly sweet, but even it didn’t hit right because it still felt like the characters hadn’t overcome anything to get to it. I’m not saying they had to suffer! But really, once they get to New Year’s and talk about their social and financial differences, everything that comes after feels like it’s taking us somewhere, but that somewhere is actually nowhere. Considering that I read this book almost straight through, the fact that the ending left me so low is shocking. And disappointing.

The character development also wasn’t strong, thanks to the single POV and the number of sex scenes. If you’ll recall our conversation about sex as a tool in storytelling, you’ll understand that I’m referring to scenes that do not contribute to the emotional growth and development of the characters and that therefore get in the way of the narrative. Very few of the sex scenes in this book do anything different than any other sex scene, so the fact that there are so many means that there is less time to explore and understand Spencer or any of the secondary characters (including his daughter, who is a constant in both Spencer’s and Zeke’s lives for different reasons, and yet hardly shows up at all). A clear picture of the protagonists’ fears and motivations, even if they are small, is essential to a successful romance, but that was pretty muddy here.

And so, here I sit, pondering all my feelings. I wasn’t really looking forward to a 3rd act breakup or fight between these characters, but maybe that was because it felt like they had nothing hiding in the background to fight about. I read this book every minute I could spare in the day, but I was so let down by the ending that I’m wondering why. I had fun reading Zeke’s voice, but I feel disconnected from the characters (who showed their affection largely by being rude to each other, which also didn’t really hit right). I think this one was a swing and a miss. What a bummer.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

a bit of a departure from the typical hockey romance script in a good way. the kid writing was well done and felt like an asset to the story especially since their relationship was at first friendship both due to questioning rep but also figuring how how to navigate gym teacher/daughter is his student aspect. A sweet and fun romance story

Note: as this is an e-book, I have not indicated that I will purchase/handsell this title. However, I enjoyed reading this hockey romance and will be recommending it to fans of the genre!

Cait Nary's debut, Season's Change, was one of my favorite reads of 2022, with its lovable idiots-to-lovers duo and their sweetly oblivious romance. I admire her writing style quite a bit; she manages to cleverly make her work conversational (such as with the use of multiple sets of parentheses) (which may not be to everybody's taste). Lucky Bounce is a quick, breezy standalone hockey mm romance.

Lucky Bounce is the single POV story of Zeke, a grade school PE coach, who falls hard and fast for his celebrity crush, hockey player Spencer McCleod, who is a parent at Zeke's school and new to an active role in fatherhood (Spencer's daughter was the result of a one-night stand with contested paternity).

Zeke, like all of Nairy's characters, is likable, funny, intelligent, and he feels real to me, with his mounds of student debt, his small shared apartment, and his self-doubt. His relationship with his parents is really well-done; they are portrayed as well-meaning, old-fashioned types who can't accept Zeke as queer (and think he's high and mighty for going to college), but who can't cut ties either. The damage that kind of relationship can leave is very vivid and realistic.

Lucky Bounce is steamy, but the romance left me kind of cold and I'm not sure why. I don't read a lot of celebrity romances and when I do, they tend to be of the ordinary person meets famous person and then falls for them variety. I think I prefer that to reading about someone's preexisting crush actually materializing into a love story, but YMMV. It seemed like Zeke's crush did some of the work that I want to see in the romance: like yes, we get that Spencer is hot and good at hockey, but it felt more like tell then show, especially in the beginning.

I'm not huge on kids in romance, especially now that I'm a parent; they're always a bit (or extremely) precocious and while I don't need realism in my romance necessarily, it throws me out of a book to read about kids who hit only hollow notes. Addie is in the slightly precocious, but tolerable category for me.

Maybe 3.75 stars? Maybe 4? I think hockey romance and single parent romance readers will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC! This was a delight, soft and fluffy but with enough depth to keep it from being too sweet.

The main protagonist is Zeke, an elementary PE teacher at a prestigious private school. He has a job he loves and good friends, but is somewhat estranged from his family due to homophobia. He’s a big hockey fan, and gets his world shaken up when one of his favorite local stars enrolls his daughter at the school

Spencer is a 24yo hockey star who’s struggling with a lot - he’s coming off a year of leave for health issues, and also newly assuming full custody of his five-year-old daughter Adeline. (Side note, I’m very picky about kids in romance, and I thought she was written very well.)

Spencer isn’t in the closet, exactly, but he’s not used to taking what he wants and he’s working through some complex feelings. So, it takes some time for these two to straighten out how they feel and get past the crush stage. But when they do, the romance is full on blazing.

The book lost a star for me at the end. There was no 80% breakup, which I really appreciated, but there was also no conflict or villain or climax at all. While I was left really happy for Zeke and Spencer, there were clearly a lot of problems they’ll need to deal with in the future (how will they handle media interest? Is Zeke’s job cool with him dating a parent?) and I had no sense of how they’d deal with them as a couple. I would have liked to see more there.

Overall, loved the book and Zeke and Spencer’s relationship!

The overall story and romance in this book are sweet, but I felt the characters lacked depth. I find the best romances are the ones where the characters have full and complete lives outside of their relationship with each other. I like to see problems, triumphs, and losses that have nothing to do with or are not caused by the relationship. I know the relationship is frequently the number one focus of a romance, as that is the point, but those ones never crack three stars or my list of top favorites. I definitely didn't *dislike* this book, but I wouldn't rate it among the best I've read - I wouldn't even rate it top amongst all the hockey romances I've read. I appreciate greatly the opportunity to have read an ARC of this book, and I would still recommend it to others looking to explore the genre, but I don't know that I would read it again.

This book had potential... and I stuck with it until the abrupt end... which I wouldn't even call a HFN... they made no progress, they had an I love you moment that went nowhere fast, and the last dialogue from one of the characters is "You want to stay tonight, too?" followed by "it's closer to school". It's like the author hit their word count and said I'm done...

This book needs a serious edit and plot movement. I wanted to like it, but I'm left more confused than ever.