4.5 🌟
Single Dad
Black Hockey Player
Black female firefire
New chance at love

Naima Simone's Hockey Romance is an emotional journey of second chances, love , forgiveness, setting boundaries, trust. Adina and Solomon were opposites with a common experience. Coming together was tricky but needed for both. Sometimes crossing paths with someone you least expect is the very key to healing. This was a sweet, heartfelt experience. 🩷

I really enjoyed this read. It was refreshing to see two Black and successful characters finding each other through lost and past heartbreak. I loved that Adina was a Firefighter, you don’t see too many books that feature female firefighter We also don’t see many Hockey romances that center a black or biracial hero.

Great read!

Sexy with really complicated emotions around grief and how it can really shut you down.
I appreciated the conversation around being a black Roman in a male dominated field and working in the same industry your male relatives work in.

DNF @ 40%

I really wanted to like this book but it did not hit the mark for me. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the MMC gave me the biggest ick. I had a hard time finding the romance in the book. It was more lust/objectifying Adina than anything. It had so much potential and I may try to give it another read sometime in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've tried to come back tot his several times to have more of a connection with the characters but the writing/plot just wasn't my cup of tea. It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters for me their personalities were just too much.
It's labeled as a sports romance but the only thing sports related is stating the MMC is a professional athlete. In fact it was hard for me to find even the romance in this one. I read dark romances as well as bully ones, so I feel like I am good at finding the romance in a book but for me this one was lacking big time. I'd say maybe the last 10% of the book had some romance but it was lackluster at best.

****SPOILER & TRIGGER WARNING****

Was there even a point in the revenge porn?! It happened then that particular storyline went nowhere. It was a weird thing to throw in there then not really do anything with it.

Quick read. Not sure I was feeling the chemistry or romance between the Adina and Solomon. I think maybe if the book was a little longer the author could have built on that relationship more in the way that would get me really invested. 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was really hoping I would love this book but I just didn’t. Unfortunately it was a DNF for me. I understand wanting to show a strong attraction when the main characters meet but this was a bit much. Sometimes when the male characters are so forward in their thoughts from the jump it gives me the ick. This is 100% a me thing. I do appreciate the opportunity to read this book and I might try to pick it up again another time.

Adina and Solomon’s story is a beautiful slow burn, both having known heartbreaking loss—Solomon losing his wife, Kendra, and raising his son Khalil with his in-laws’ help, and Adina grieving her fiancé, KeShaun. Their journey toward healing and finding love again, sparked by Solomon’s journal, is touching, though not without its challenges from inside and outside forces. While I understood Dina’s hesitation with Matt, I didn’t like that she kept it from her family and best friend, Noni, who was clearly her ride-or-die. And Minnie? She needs serious help—revenge porn, really? Despite a few frustrations, I enjoyed this single-dad, second-chance, hockey sports, and firefighter romance. Solomon even managed to make me chuckle at times.

“One thing you not gon’ do is lie to me. Just tell me you don’t feel like talking about it, and then we can talk about it.”

Thank you, Naima Simone, NetGalley, and Montlake Publishing for the advance review copy. Four stars!

𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 via NetGalley. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑚𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛. 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘.

It wasn’t giving sports romance at all but we love a book with black MCs so I wouldn’t say it was bad just not my favorite honestly just needed more and I love the sports aspect of sports romance books which is why it’s not it for me

4.25 ⭐️
This was the first book I have read by Naima Simone, and it won't be the last. She wrote a smart, sexy, story that really touched me. I felt like I could relate to both main characters who were dealing with the after effects of losses so big, they had encompassed their worlds. It was the one thing they had in common that not only brought them together, but also lay at the center of their primary conflict. Great, emotional storytelling! 💖

Here's what I liked about this book: Naima Simone didn't shy away from creating actual conflict between the hero and heroine. Adina and Solomon meet over, essentially, her violating his privacy, and they sort of go from there. Both Dina and Solomon have somewhat recently lost partners and are still grieving, and as a result have their walls up and are quite prickly towards one another for a decent portion of the book. Solomon also has his young son to consider and doesn't want to jump into anything serious because he believes his late wife was the sole love of his life. Which is rough for Adina especially when she starts to fall for him, even if they're EXTREMELY blunt about their initial intentions towards one another.

Regarding the secondary plots, there is a workplace sexual harassment in this book; Dina is one of the few Black, female firefighters in the area and not only deals with racism and sexism, but she also feels like she cannot go to her superiors without blowback on her, despite her family being in the business for generations.

Solomon is also one of the few Black men in his profession, hockey, and he's in this weird place where his (white) boss is also his late wife's father, who constantly questions his parenting choices and it does get to the point where he tacitly threatens Solomon's career. Again, rough to read, but I appreciate the nuance with which Naima wrote this situation. That being said, it started to feel like they were going in circles and rehashing the same issues over and over without much changing until the tail end.

There was also a revenge porn situation that felt extremely last minute did not tie in with the rest of the plot, especially considering the culprit.

The sex:

UBER HOT, as is standard for this author. The dirty talk is super explicit, and the body worship is THERE because if there's one thing Naima Simone does better than probably any other romance author I've read, it's eroticizing bodies of all shapes, skin tones, and sizes; Adina is tall, curvy, and Solomon is obsessed. Highlights for me are probably Solomon's tendency towards hand necklaces, his admittance that this is the first time he's looking a woman in the eye while he's inside her because Dead Wife Feelings and whatnot, and the quite frankly excellent command, "fuck it like you own it".

Overall:

I love Naima Simone's writing style and the chemistry in her romances are always super hot, and though this book is no exception, I felt the plot was not as tight as it could have been. However, if you're a fan of hockey romances or single dads, this might be your jam.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.75/5
Heat Level: 3.75/5
Pub Date: September 3rd

A little disappointed with this book. I love hockey romances, and a female firefighter sounded very badass, but it felt like the whole book was extremely focused on the sex and nothing more. Just wished they focused a bit more on their connection and had some more meaning full conversations. Also the nickname for her was very cringey.

I was expecting a lot more sports since it was supposed to be a sports romance, but there barely was any. The book just was about their loss of their partners and than being sexually attracted to each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The characters were well-developed, storyline was believable, dialogue and banter between the characters were both engaging. This was a beautiful story of life, love, and letting go. I enjoyed the glimpses into the hockey world. Author did a great job providing the perfect balance of game/sport detail without drowning us in unnecessary terminology.

One of the things that jump out at me about the book was the banter. I LOVE good banter between characters, especially the hero and heroine. This banter was great. I laughed at these too. The heroine gave as good as she took. I also like that the characters were from two different world and each were willing the navigate the others.

If you’re looking for an entertaining read, I would highly recommend this one.

Sassy, strong black ”firelady” meets a sassy strong black hockey player in this page turner of a romance. Both Solomon and Adina have experienced the ultimate pain of the death of their partner. Together they navigate the possibilities of starting over. Solomon’s in-laws, Adina’s best friend and family, and the cutest 5 year old boy also add to the drama of whether this couple will get their second chance. A spicy read that focuses on the grief of lost love and starting over, black and female discrimination, and woman empowerment. I didn’t always love Solomon’s approach with Dina or Dina’s unwillingness to confide in her family but as the plot developed, I found I was utterly engaged in this book.

The story was soo good. The fact that both of the characters were dealing with similar and different things was so compelling. I really felt for them. And was rooting them. The characters were so good and had good development.

I did feel like maybe the way they talked was exaggerated or something. It just seemed the way characters talked did not really match up with who they were supposed to be and it bugged me a bit.

The spice was really good though. And it ended so well.

Fantastic steamy grumpy-sunshine firefighter romance
This grumpy-sunshine, second chance at love for a widow and widower is full of emotion – and emotion-filled hot seggs that all readers of steamy contemporary romance will enjoy. Both Adina and Solomon are still not quite over their lost loves when they meet, and their individual journeys and their evolution to love is as well-told as any of Simone’s books. Add in Solomon’s dirty mouth in the bedroom – and various other spots – and you might need your own firefighter to put out the flames when you’re reading.
Solomon had the added complication of in-laws (his dead wife’s parents) who help with his son but are not yet ready for him to move on…one of whom owns the team Solomon plays for. This conflict was also well-handled, amping the tension and causing Solomon to question the right path forward. I felt the parents seeing the error of their ways was a bit too quick/unrealistic for me, but as it’s not the focus of the book, I was willing to buy it.
Two minor things I’d really have liked – given the mess-ups Solomon had with Adina, I would have liked to see his grovel be deeper. And I’d like to have seen more – and I’d say the same of quite a few other books lauded as hockey romances – actual hockey and team dynamics.
<Note to publisher> I did not comment on the typos, incorrect pronouns and verb tenses where it had been changed from 3rd person past to 1st person present, and repeated echoes of 'mugged' by all characters, as I was told this had not gone through final proofreading. Hopefully those are changed in the final book.

This story starts when Adina Wright finds a journal after her fire-engine responds to a fire in the local hockey team’s locker room. To discover who the owner is, she starts reading it against her better judgement. That is how she meets Pirates’ star Solomon Young; hockey player, single dad and grieving his deceased wife.

She is feisty, he is gruff and icy .. but they connect over the loss of their respective partners.
The author knows how to beautifully handle mourning and how people handle it in their own way, while trying to find the courage to move forward. It was brought very respectfully and realistically for me.

The main characters have a lot of big topics/issues to handle and therefore there is quite a growth arc. There is also fiery chemistry, lots of tension and instant attraction between Adina and Solomon which goes from fake dating into situationship of sorts. Once they are on the same line, the book is at its end but I kinda missed a more rounded finish with some more details or an epilogue or something.

Where the writing was not completely my style, the story and characters were very intriguing and made me want to keep reading on. However, some of the internal dialog or conversations felt off for me. Not sure of it was the way it was worded or the use of specific words, but it just didn’t completely click for me personally.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the chance to read a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. This book honestly wasn’t a page turner. I had to put down for a while before I eventually went back to finish it.

* received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book follows Adina and Solomon, who are both going through the waves of grief. I thought this topic was explored really well and depicted how various people would handle being in a similar situation. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and thought the flow of the story and the main characters inner monologue was executed well. By the end I felt their pain when certain situations occurred, which I think is all props to the writing.

This book had so much potential, but unfortunately I just didn't connect to the characters in a romance capacity. I felt like the relationship between Adina and Solomon was purely physical for majority of the book, and then when their relationship started to build as more, the book was over. As individual characters they mentioned the changes in their feelings for one another, but they never fully explored this together, which I felt like they needed to do with the trauma they were both going through!

I also got frustrated with Solomon by the end. I went through waves of liking him. I understood that he was trying to handle his situation the best that he could, and that he was technically a "grumpy" character, however, the man fumbled some serious situations (consistently). Although Solomon is a professional hockey player, I don't think you should go into this book expecting it to be a sports romance, as hockey isn't explored in depth.

My favorite summer read!
I love this author, and I’ve probably devoured everything she’s ever written. Getting to read “Played” before the release date was a gift and it did not disappoint!!! It had all the feels, super-spicy bits and characters so relatable and real that you just want to buy them a drink and hug them. Dina and Solomon had to work hard for their HEA…but it was worth the tears, laughter and frustration to see them get there. The writing style with Ms. Simone is just so fun and fresh, and every now and then I found myself highlighting something because it was just too damn funny not to read again. I hope this turns into a series where we get to see the other characters in the book and their stories.