Amber and Ford are childhood friends with a little secret between them. Ford loves her and she has no idea. Coming off a break up, Amber needs insurance and Ford needs his family off his back. A marriage of convenience just makes sense.
Unrequited love, single parent, sports romance, friends to lovers, marriage of convenience... what could go wrong? I enjoyed this one from Leah (not my favorite of the series) but I liked the attention she gave to how a single parent would respond in these circumstances. Ford's sincerity and character was beyond heartwarming. This book has a quality "my wife" moment that made my heart pitter-patter.
The narration is great! Highly recommend reading via audiobook with Alex Picard and David Bendena's performances.
Thank you to Dreamscape and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

My Quick Takes:
- 4.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
- Language 🤐 mild
- Spice 🔥 kisses, fade to black
- Content consideration 🤔 Single mom, baby daddy abandonment, heart surgery

Each book in this series just gets better and better. The marriage of convenience trope was a new one for me to read but I enjoyed all the tension. Any book with forced proximity and I’m there 👌🏼

I really enjoyed Ford’s neurodivergent character and the dynamics that brought to the plot. Just as I’ve come to love the D.C. Eagles guy gang, I’ve really enjoyed the additions each book adds into the girl’s significant other gang too. I can’t wait for more… *cough* Bruce *cough* 🫶🏼

My first book by Leah Brunner was a VERY SATISFYING SUCCESS!! The audio narrators were a perfect match for their characters! Do I have the ebook and immediately want to reread with my eyes?? Maybe hehe...

Getting to know Amber and Ford from children all the way to their adult years was so sweet! And then adding in a fake-romantic relationship to their friendship brought on alll the awkwardness and I loved it hehe! From Ford making space in his life to help Amber and Nella after her surgery to Amber knowing how his autism affects his social experiences to both of them taking care of a baby, they really make a great team. Speaking of babies, the scenes with Ford and Nella were ADORABLEEEEEEE. I was squealing during those maybe a tad more than the Amber and Ford scenes haha. I'm weak for a man that is gentle and sweet with kids <3 Also, the scenes with the hockey team and their significant others were so good. Although now I feel like I cheated since I know the outcomes of the couples from the first two books in the series haha.

A small side story that may be a small spoiler, but I just about cried at the PCOS mention. I recently was diagnosed with PCOS and felt so seen in that small addition.

Content:
There is a closed-door scene, but there are also a few mentions of breastfeeding and a naked Ford in the shower (after they're married ofc lol).

ALC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ford and Amber met in the second grade. They immediately bonded and quickly became each other’s person. Despite almost three decades of friendship, they still have a lot to learn about one another.

When giving birth unearthed a heart defect, Amber learned that she must undergo an operation in order to live a normal life. With no reliable family, she turns to Ford for help. Will Amber’s ask be too much, or will it force the pair to reevaluate their relationship?

Betrothal or Breakaway is the third book in Leah Brunner’s D.C. Eagles Hockey series. How I have managed to go this long without knowing about Brunner or her series is a mystery to me?!?

2024 has been my clean, hockey romance era. In the last six months alone I have read upwards of a dozen books fitting this description. I can safely say that Betrothal or Breakaway has become my ALL time favorite!!!

Ford and Amber are my ideal couple and they shared the sweetest love story. I appreciated how they took things slow for both of their sakes. Not only did it make for the perfect slow burn, it resulted in romantic gestures and swoon worthy scenes.

Please read this story if you enjoy:
- (best) friends to lovers
-marriage of convenience
-cinnamon roll MMC
-single mother FMC
- neuro divergent representation
- clean romances
- hockey

* Alex Picard and David Berdena did a fantastic job narrating!!! I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as it made the story truly come alive.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Leah Bruner for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this story as an audiobook. I have previously read this story and loved it so listening to the audio gave it a whole new life. We get a dual narration for this story which is my absolute favorite! The narrators do a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.

This is a dual pov, clean romance. It is part of the DC Eagles Hockey Series but can be easily be read as a stand alone novel. I absolutely LOVE this story. The way Ford and Amber just get each other is so sweet and makes you instantly fall in love with them. I enjoyed that we got to see Ford as a neurodivergent character. I feel like that isn’t seen often in books and appreciated the character and the depth Leah went into to make his character true to that.

And let me just say I absolutely love Nella. I adore when we get to see single parents in stories just because of seeing their kids bond with their parents new significant other. Amber is a fantastic mother and I applaud her for how much she kicked butt and rocked being a single parent.

I picked this one up because I love hockey romances but I didn’t realize it was part of an interconnected series but I could totally understand this one without having read the others. I went into this one without really any expectations and ended up loving this one. I didn’t want to stop listening and couldn’t wait to see how the two main characters would come together. I love the friends to lovers trope and it was done well in this story. This book was a closed door and is one I will be recommending to my friends who don’t like much spice. If you like hockey romances this one is definitely worth picking up. This was a 4.25 for me!

This was such a fun, engaging listen. I thoroughly loved this book!! Ford is a great representative for Asbergers in a way that gives hope to parents of children with the same diagnosis. Ford is successful and thriving, not to mention a major stud. He is so good to Amber and her baby! I absolutely loved these two and their love story. Easy five stars for Betrothal or Breakaway!

Oh my gosh! This was the cutest! This is a friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, single mom, hockey romance. Ford is the captain of the D.C. Eagles hockey team and only has had eyes for one woman, his best friend Amber. Amber is a newly single mother whose ex-fiancee ditched her after she found out she was pregnant. When Amber needs to have minor heart surgery, she tells Ford she's not sure how she will afford it. Ford comes up with the plan to marry her to get Amber on his insurance plus she will stay in the area and have Ford's family to help out with her daughter. I loved seeing Ford doing any and everything for Amber & her daughter. This is a closed door spice, so no spice involved, but still a cute book. I can't wait to go back and listen to the rest of the series.

Mini Review:

Betrothal of Breakaway by Leah Brunner third in the D.C. Hockey Series. This book was adorable and one that I couldn’t help but just smile constantly over the sweetness of the couple. FYI. I have read all in the series so far. I first started by reading them but when they came out in audiobooks I started listening to them instead. I absolutely love the whole series. Ford was just a lovable character and I could feel everything he was going through in the book and I loved that. I love the found family within this book between the hockey players and loved that when Amber came on the scene she found a family she didn’t have before. This is a friends to lovers story which I think is done perfectly well. Ford has had feelings for Amber since they were kids and we get to see glimpses of their past in the book which is so special. We see how Ford has feelings for Amber and I love how their friendship blossoms into more as the story goes on. This book was beautifully written.

Some Things I loved:

The Neurodivergent Rep
The scene’s from their childhood
How Ford is with Nella (Amber’s Daughter)
The ring shopping scene
Ford interaction with his team, I just love the whole team.
The teams interaction with Nella
The Sick bed scene
And the My Wife Scene (Oh my)

Some Tropes included found family, marriage of convenience, friends to more, & single mom.
I believe the author has this one labeled fade-to-black or low-spice. I will say there is no open door scene. It’s the perfect sweet with heat kind of book. There is a small amount of language in this book.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the #gifted ALC to read and review.

I was so excited when I saw this on NetGalley. I’ve been wanting to read this series and this was the perfect intro to Leah Brunner.

Expect 👉🏼 Hockey Romance, Friends to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, Single Mom, Autism, Unrequited Love, Closed Door Romance

Amber’s fiancé found out she was pregnant and promptly dumped her. Alone with a baby and a heart condition, Amber turns to her best friend, Ford for support and got a lot more than she asked for.

I seriously love reading about autistic characters. Ford was sweet, protective and swoony and while still remaining human. I love how Amber truly saw, understood and supported him through everything. Their friendship is beautiful and their love story was the cherry on top.

Love these DC eagle stories. I wasn’t sure about this one based on the summary, but I was pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to the next installment.
Narrators: great dual narration
🌶️: low
Teens: yes

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
This was a really wonderful read and a great addition to this series! I look forward to more by Brunner in this series and others.

Omgosh. Ford is absolutely my favorite DC Eagle now. The relationship he had with Amber was the perfect amount of everything. And then him with Nella. Don’t even!!!!!! He was so cute and protective of her and Amber. There’s no one specific part of this book that is my favorite!!!! It was fun seeing more of his interactions with his teammates. The way Ford cares for them both and spoiled them at every turn. His family was hilarious as well throwing in their own cuteness.
Leah did such a great job with Fords neurodivergent character. This was the perfect marriage of convenience story. I’m excited for Bruce’s story but he’s really got some large shoes to fill. 😉
The authors did such a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I enjoyed listening to them. It was easy to fit myself right into the story and feel the emotions both Ford and Amber were feeling with each other.
Thank you Leah and Netgally for my review copy. These words are my own.

I loved this so much. Ford is the sweetest man, we must protect him at all costs. Single mom, he falls first and hardest, autism rep. This author is becoming a new fave.

The narration was really well done as well.‘I wouldn’t say it enhanced the story but it did it no harm.

I enjoyed this hockey romance so much! It's the third in a standalone series, but I had no difficulty following along.
It was funny and heartfelt. I felt like the MMC's Asperger's was handled so well. Both main characters were so endearing, I absolutely fell in love with them. The dual narration was excellent. No notes!
I'm looking forward to reading the first two books in the series!

This book had me tearing up on multiple occasions! I loved so many things about Ford and Amber! I loved the childhood flashbacks that laid the foundation of their friendship and how his family always accepted her. I loved the gentle representation of autism and neurodivergent MMC, and how Amber truly understood Ford. And of course the precious baby girl that stole Ford’s heart and made him the sweetest instant dad ever!

Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, but I love it even more when the couple gives into their mutual feelings early on and we get to experience true glimpses of their marriage. There were a few times I was worried that things were going to turn around… but then the author surprised me and used those scenes to bring them closer together, rather than tear them apart!! Love this so much, so thank you for writing about a healthy relationship that grows whenever it can!

I listened to the audio of this book, and loved it so much! Alex Picard and David Bendena truly brought the book to life!

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC. I have not read the other books in this series, but I will. I loved this book so much. Ford is so sweet and he understands his effects on people and their effects on him. His best friend Amber has been there for him since 2nd grade and she knows him best.
When Amber needs help Ford is right there for her and being together everyday starts to bring out feelings that are not so innocent anymore. A must read.

This was SO cute! I absolutely loved Amber, Ford, and obviously, baby Nella. Hockey romance. Aspergers rep. Single mom. Childhood friends in a marriage of convenience with fade to black romance. I definitely recommend!

The male narrator in this one just didn't work for me.
I did enjoy the story and the author's writing style though. I would recommend people read a physical or e copy of this one if possible.