I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I have not read many sapphic romance books that kept me engaged throughout the whole book! I definitely need a sequel cause I can't get enough of Nat and Darcy!! I also love a good hockey romance so having a rivals to lovers storyline with hockey being the sport made me squeal of happiness! I definitely will be buying my copy as soon as they go on sale!

This book was very fun and I LOVED the concept of it but it unfortunately did not meet my expectations. Nat and Darcy have a ton of history and I could understand the complexity of their relationship but I think because there were so little flashbacks featured, it was hard to fully grasp why they really liked each other. I would have loved to see more bonding moments, both platonically and romantically between them in the flashbacks and present day scenes. If the book was just a little bit longer I think I would have enjoyed it more but it just felt like it was missing lots of important moments!

This felt like a super low-stakes romance - while the world of sports romance has some high-flying moments, the sportscasting side isn't as tension-filled. That let Nat and Darcy play with the second-chance romance without the adrenaline surges of competition on the ice. The competition they created for the Olympic news segments felt more fun, and their adversarial tones were snarky, not cruel.

However, I won't be recommending this read because the communication and relationship building made me feel like I was reading YA: knee-jerk reactions and complete lack of conversation about issues felt like the prefrontal cortexes needed some developing. Great for escape, not great for suspesion of disbelief or adult-level depth of romance.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book after watching a lot of summer olympics, so I was definitely in the mood for sports plot. Overall the book is comforting and easy. The character development is a bit surface level but it is still enjoyable to read. Also it had me googling hockey rules which is fun!

A new LGBTQ+ romance filled with rivalry, fake dating and of course hockey?! Sign me up.

Cut from the U.S. women’s hockey team right before her third chance at gold, Natalie Carpenter is scrambling for a plan that’ll help her avoid moving back home. The answer: a guest hosting gig on Wake Up, USA’s winter games coverage. Her co-host: Darcy LaCroix, Nat’s ex-girlfriend, one-time college teammate turned adversary.
Since leaving Team Canada, Darcy has worked hard to make a name in broadcasting. If her big break requires sharing screen time with the former cocky freshman who turned her world upside down, so be it. At this point, there’s nothing between them except history.

I loved this book so much. As someone who watches every moment of the Olympic and Paralympic coverage, I could easily picture both Nat and Darcy on screen. I obviously loved Nat and Darcy’s characters but this was one of the funniest books I’ve read in a while and I loved it even more because of that. At times it was a little repetitive and therefore was longer than it needed to be but I was having such a fun time following their antics and banter that I never got bored. It did get a little spicy at times but nothing too crazy that I couldn’t skim.

I’m honestly surprised to see this book have a lower average of ratings than I thought because I loved it and highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this storyline! I read it for Pride and it just took me a while to post my review. I knew the summer Olympics were coming up, so the timing of a winter Olympic book was a little odd, but it is what it is. I’m always down for a hockey romance and a second chance Olympic sapphic hockey romance was even better!

Being former rival teammates (and secret girlfriends), and now having to work together to broadcast the upcoming games together, Nat and Darcy made quite a great pair. They still had excellent chemistry that made it to the viewers who were “shipping” them, while they demonstrated all of the other sports leading up to the games. Being back in close proximity again of course brought out the worst in their rivalry and reminded them why they broke up, but also made them spend that time together again truly speak and discover who they had become.

A beautiful story about the next stage of life after ending a sports dream and truly inspiring. I highly recommend it! Excellent sapphic romance and great change of pace for hockey romance lovers.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Harlequin Romance (Carina Adores), and this is my honest feedback.

This book found me at just the right time.

Hockey romance, but with lesbians? Sign me up!

And this book did not disappoint (for the most part). Anyone who knows me knows that I've been trying to devour as many sports romances as possible since the olympics began and this book had all those aspects that I loved.

It had great banter, some good steam, forced proximity and second chance romance.

Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

While not necessarily something I would have normally picked up, it was a LOVELY read.

The characters were believable and the romance was swoony!!

Was really disappointed with this book especially because I was really looking forward to it! The relationship didn't feel very flushed out, the characters weren't all that likeable, and the pacing felt slow. It was okay but I was hoping for more.

Nat and Darcy are former college teammates and national team rivals in ice hockey. Nat is American, Darcy is Canadian. They have History from college, but it ended badly, hearts were broken, etc.

Darcy is now working as a reporter, and getting sent to cover the Olympics is her big break. She's been working in anonymity for several years, despite her former star status and a hockey HOF dad. She's determined to make it on her own merits. Her producers team her up with Nat, recently cut from the US National Team--the last round of cuts before the Olympics. Nat is bitter--bitter over being cut, bitter over her treatment by Darcy in the past and, honestly, in the present.

BUT sparks are gonna spark and they aren't able to deny their attraction and their feelings. I enjoyed this quick, funny, lighthearted read in the run-up to the 2024 Summer Olympics. It was romantic and sporty and hit all the right notes.

ARC generously provide by NetGalley. Opinions my own.

This book was a 5 star for me! Was it a little cheesy yes, but all the best romcoms are. In my opinion. This book gave the vibes of all my favorite straight romcom movies from the early 2000s but make it lesbian hockey! 🥰 thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy!

This was such an incredibly fun, enjoyable sports romance! I'm so excited to see more diversity in hockey romances, and can't wait to handsell this one. Natalie and Darcy had wonderful, humorous chemistry, and I was really rooting for the two of them through the entire book!

DNF @ 20% / Ch 15



I was sooooo excited for this one, but unfortunately it's not working for me. :( The characters seem kinda flat, and I've only just started to be able to tell them apart. As a hockey-loving d*ke, I am desperately hoping that some edits get made to the ARC and that the final published version will be better; I'll pick it back up then.

♡ Second Chance
♡ Fake Dating Vibes
♡ Queer Sports Romance

Absolutely lovely. The history, the chemistry, the atmosphere was so incredible.

After having a bit of a thing in college what better way to reconnect with an ex than to be in a fake-ish relationship with her so your TV views do better? It sounds like a fool proof plan to me and why not throw in a bit of a friend’s with benefits while you’re at it.

Seriously though this book had the rivals to lovers and/or enemies to lovers vibes combined with a second chance romance. It had all the sapphic moments you could ask for. And I loved how Darcy just shut down a misogynist on live TV she ate with that one.

Mid way through it did feel like it was dragging out but the last ten or so chapters really had be invested. I loved the epilogue and Nat’s dad at the end was so wholesome.

In theory this should have worked so, so well on me. I love second chance romance, I love sports romance, I love a vague fake relationship where the rules are really unclear— this just didn’t hit like I wanted it to. I think part of it is that Natalie really, really annoyed me. Her behavior would make sense if she was in her twenties, but at her age I was like… HOW is she behaving like this. I also think the writing is fairly simple and didn’t really intrigue me or make me laugh, it was fairly rote, and it didn’t inspire me to continue the book during the slower parts.

I still had a fairly good time and it was fun to read during the Olympics!

What an incredible book! As a lesbian who grew up in the world of hockey, I had never understood the appeal of hockey romance until I read this book. Cochrane manages to balance the incredibly accurate attitude that is pervasive in the hockey world and can appear as rude, domineering, or cocky, with heart and care for the sport itself and the team it creates. Not only does she clearly understand the dynamics of the players, she understands how the sport itself works.
Not to mention the perfect second-chance romance! Never once did it feel like either main character was settling on their previous hurt in order to make the current relationship work. They talked and worked though their issues, which is all I can ask for for this trope.
Absolutely fabulous!

Wake Up Nat and Darcy
 
Fairly disappointing read but nothing badly offensive. It felt like a rushed trope-filled romance that at its core was a second chance romance but confusingly flicked between rivals to fake dating to friends with benefits  to lovers for no apparent reason. The story never really got deeper than surface level and so I felt disconnected from both characters. The internal narratives of both characters also got very repetitive. The story took a downturn toward the third act break-up because I just completely lacked empathy for the way Nat was acting. And it’s a shame because I love the idea of a rivals to lovers sports romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher, for the opportunity to receive an EArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time on the heels of the inaugural PWHL season, and during an Olympic year this book was an easy YES for me to be excited about.

I enjoyed getting to know Nat as she navigates a mid life transition after being tied to her athletic identity. And I enjoyed getting to know Darcy as she tries to advance her career and continue to grow herself professionally.

Together, we we see Nat and Darcy during their college days and in present tense as a career opportunity brings them back together.

I overall enjoyed this story and am always a champion for sapphic romance in the throws of sports.

Some areas that gave me pause– there was some repetition and I don’t know if maybe the late night read got the best of me and my eyes were just uncharacteristically hyper focused on repetitive words but I think I read “swan dive” or some variation of it… one too many times. That isn’t to say it was appropriately used, I just think there may be other phrasing that could have made this story stronger… though admittedly this might just be my weakness.

The other area that stood out was the conflict or 3rd act breakup- the miscommunication or really just Nat’s disagreement with Darcy… This is personal opinion and I encourage you to have your own experience, but Nat was out of pocket and frankly made me really dislike her.

Anyway, I can be the most critical of the stories I appreciate the most. I look forward to reading more by Kate Cochrane, this fast paced and light hearted sports centric sapphic romance is a great read for anyone that finds those words sparking interest!

3.5. Nat has just been cut from the Olympic roster when she finds out she will be working along side her rival/ex/ Darcy. They haven’t spoken to each other in over a decade! You get the flashbacks to college to get a sense of what happened to caused the present day rivalry. The problems/miss communication gets a little repetitive. The olympic reporting was fun and this was an ok sports romance. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This fell a little flat to me. I LOVE sapphic romance, and I was eager for the Olympics bent. The pacing was slow for me, and the spice didn’t sparkle as much I as wished it would. Their banter was entertaining and fun, and I appreciate seeing women represented in as the players in hockey romances!