You know you’ve hit the jackpot when a book is so good you have to devour it twice—first with your eyes and then with your ears. “Betrothal or Breakaway” by Leah Brunner is that treasure, and trust me, it’s even more delectable the second time around. 😎

Let’s talk about Ford: a neurodivergent, hulking professional hockey player with a heart as big as his biceps. 💪 He’s got the whole protective vibe down to a science, and his unrequited love for his best friend has him shying away from anything that even remotely smells like romance. Dating? Not on his radar. 😅

Enter Amber, who’s having one of those “life just kicked me in the teeth” moments. Left high and dry by her boyfriend and now a single mom, she’s in desperate need of a medical procedure.😬 Ford, our knight in slightly dented hockey armor, steps up with a proposal that’s more about practicality than passion—or so she thinks. 😏

Their friendship adds a delightful layer of fun to the story. The dual POV format lets us peek into both of their minds. Amber slowly realizes her feelings for Ford, but quickly realizes her attraction, while Ford is constantly pining for Amber. 😉

And Ford’s affection for Amber’s daughter? Cue the swoon. 🫠 Seriously, the way he dotes on her is enough to melt the ice in any hockey rink. It’s downright sexy. 🔥

This is an adult, closed-door romance, with scenes fading to black and just a sprinkle of mild language. The narrators breathe life into the story, making the listening experience as engaging as the reading one. 🤓

What are you looking for? Hockey? Marriage of convenience? Virgin MMC? Childhood best friends? Single mom? Neurodivergent representation? This book has it all! I freaking ate this story up! I loved how sweet and sincere Ford and Hope were! The flashbacks to their childhoods were heart wrenching! I also adored Ford’s relationship with Amber’s daughter Nella.

I am so upset with myself for taking so long to read this one. It is SO good! Books don't usually make me cry, but this beautiful story absolutely did. I just don't even have the right words to adequately describe how much I loved it. Do yourself a favor and read it as soon as possible!

Amber...I love a spunky redhead and she totally delivers. Amber has overcome a good deal of adversity and I really appreciated how she doesn't let it all bring her down. She has such an optimistic outlook on life and a great personality. She just brings joy to everyone and I really enjoyed that about her.

Ford...Mitch has always been my favorite D.C. Eagle, but I think he's officially been toppled. Ford is the swooniest. I lived for all the tiny details and ways he shows how much he adores and cares for Amber. His love is next level and it was truly the sweetest gift to witness it all.

Things I loved:
❤️Flashbacks
❤️Neurodivergence rep
❤️Nella (and all her adorableness, especially with Ford)
❤️More D.C. Eagles interactions (I love these guys so much!)
❤️WAG (I wish Mel, Noelle, Andie, and Amber were my friends in real life)
❤️"my girls" and "my wife" (enough said)
❤️Ford's family (the absolute best)
and so much more. I can't say enough good things about this one!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️

🎧𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 - 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘
𝙳.𝙲. 𝙴𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙷𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚢 #𝟹
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗮 #netgalley
⏳ 𝟬𝟴𝗛 & 𝟮𝟵𝗠
🎙️ 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗮 & 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱

🏒𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
🍼𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎
🏒𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
🍼𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛
🏒𝙿𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘

❝ ᴀᴍʙᴇʀ & ꜰᴏʀᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ꜰᴏʀ 26 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ꜱɪɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ 8 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴏʟᴅ. ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴀᴍʙᴇʀ ꜱᴜᴅᴅᴇɴʟʏ ꜰɪɴᴅꜱ ʜᴇʀꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀꜱ ᴀ ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴍᴏᴍ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ, ꜱʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴏʀᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ. ꜰᴏʀᴅ ɪꜱ ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ʜᴇʟᴅ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ, ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅɪɴɢ ᴍᴀʀʀʏɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ…❝

💭𝗦𝗛𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗢𝗥! Can this book be any cuter? I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this tooth-rotting sugary sweet hockey romance, I feel like getting a cavity after listening to this. This was so freakin’s cute, I adore every single second. 𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗢𝗔𝗗🍭

✔️What makes this book work so well for me is Ford! That man is precious and must be protected at all costs. The way that man has been pining and loving Amber, got me melting on the floor, I swear I kept tearing up at how sweet he is🥹. He’s got Asperger syndrome and he’s very uncomfortable with physical touch, hence why he’s still a virgin at 34. Amber is the only other person apart from his family that he feels comfortable enough to touch.

💖He spoiled her rotten, and though it was met with resistance initially, she finally gave up and let her man spoil her rotten. And I live for everything Ford’s done for her, my gosh, 𝗦𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗡!😭

✨The reason they never got together all this time made sense to me(so many FTL didn’t work for me, because the reasons are always dumb). And once they agree to this marriage of convenience, they no longer try to deny their feelings. Also, no miscommunication trope here, which I love! I cannot rave enough about this book, I absolutely adore it and I for sure will read all the other books in this series, highly recommended!!!

✅𝙷𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝙽𝚎𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚅𝚒𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘
✅𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚟𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝟸𝟼 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜
✅𝚂𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝙷𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
✅𝙷𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚃𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝙷𝚎𝚛
✅𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝙳𝚘𝚐 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝙷𝚒𝚖!
✅𝙽𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙰𝚌𝚝 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚙

✨ 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 DREAMSCAPE MEDIA 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 ✨

Betrothal or Breakaway by Leah Brunner audiobook was so good. It is the third book in the D.C.Eagles Hockey Series but can be read as a standalone. I absolutely adored Ford Remington. Amber is a strong independent single mom. I have loved all the books I have read from Leah and this one did not disappoint. The narrators Alex Picard and David Bendena were wonderful. I loved the flow of the book and they hit the mark.

* Single Mom
* He Falls First
* He Takes Care of Her
* Hockey Romcom
* Childhood Best Friends
* Marriage of Convenience
* Neurodivergent MMC
* The Lingerie scene

”I stare into Amber’s eyes, and she smiles a secret smile. A smile that promises a lifetime of love. And I smile right back.”

“I’m sorry. I feel like we’ve turned your life into a living, breathing tornado.” He looks at me, his brown eyes locking with mine “Thankfully, I’ve always liked storms.”

"Ford, this is a once in a lifetime…once in a universe, type of love.”

“You need to understand something.” He pauses, and I nod. “What’s happening between us, not the fake marriage stuff, but the real stuff. It means something to me. I take this seriously. It’s my honor to take care of you both—it’s a privilege. And I plan to take care of you very, very well. For as long as you’ll let me.”

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Leah for the early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve never been a fan of single mom romances, but this audiobook completely changed my perspective. The main characters won me over with their unwavering loyalty and genuine kindness. Their story made me laugh, cry, and fall in love all over again.

The plot revolves around a fake marriage, adding an intriguing twist that kept me hooked from the start. The main male character, a tender-hearted sportsman, was simply perfect. Despite the challenges he faced with autism, his loyalty and niceness shone through every moment. His relationship with the single mom and her child was touching and authentic, making their journey together truly special.

Listening to this audiobook was an emotional experience. The narrator brought the characters to life in a way that made me feel every high and low. This book is a beautiful reminder of the power of love and the strength found in overcoming obstacles. It’s a story that stayed with me long after I finished listening, and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're looking for a romance that will make you feel deeply and believe in love again, this is the one.

A light and fluffy book about two friends who finally get together—single mom and friend who has loved her for years. Definitely worth reading. Fabulous narrators!

I received a copy from Netgalley and the publisher.

Absolutely loved this book! Got the audio on NetGalley. Really enjoyed the dual narration - woman narrator for Amber’s chapters, male narrator for Ford’s chapters. The narrators were both fantastic and easy to understand, enjoyable to listen to.

I am not the biggest fan of friends to lovers, but I thought Amber and Ford were so cute. I loved that Ford was neurodivergent, I thought that topic was handled well. Loved that there was no third act break up, but had just enough other tensions to have a sweet resolution at the end.

Love the DC Eagles and I was happy to see the teammates interacting. Can’t wait to get Bruce’s story!!

I really enjoyed this book, just like I have enjoyed every book in this series so far. There is just something about this team and how sweet, wholesome, and comforting all of these books are.

This book had so many cute moments and lots of sweet gestures of love whether it was a special little gift or just the effort put in for each other.

I absolutely love all of the boys on the team. They are so funny and lighthearted but also there whenever someone really needs them. They always have each others backs and show they care. Same with their wives and girlfriends. I love how they all brought Amber in and made her feel welcome and like a part of their friend group. The found family aspect was so perfect.

Ford was so adorable with Ambers daughter Nella. He really tried so hard with her and was always doing anything he could to make her happy and make sure she was safe. It was the sweetest.

I also love love love the Aspergers representation within pro sports in this book. That is something that I had not yet seen and I love how it was talked about and treated by all of the characters as well.

This book and this series as a whole are so perfect to listen to on audiobook because it is low stakes, fluffy, cute, closed door, and the narrators are always fantastic!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and series and I can’t wait for the next book to come out.


Tropes:
- dual pov
- childhood friends
- marriage of convenience
- single mom
- hockey
- one bed
- roommates
- closed door
- found family
- autism representation

This childhood friends to lovers, marriage of convenience romance focuses on Amber and Ford. Best friends since first meeting in the second grade, Amber is now a single mom, having been dumped by her terrible ex fiancé when he found out she was pregnant. Ford has always held a candle for Amber, so much so that he’s never been with another girl, but was never willing to risk their friendship by making his feelings known. Ford is on the autism spectrum and is slow to trust people, so Amber is the only real friend he’s had. When Amber needs heart surgery, but lacks the insurance or money to afford it, Ford suggests they get married so she can use his insurance and he can pay for the rest. Amber questions what he will get out of this deal, but ultimately agrees to it. When thrown together to make their marriage look real, Amber develops feelings of her own to match those that Ford has always had.

I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. It is a fast read with interesting characters. I always like a friends to lovers story, and I was surprised by how well I thought the marriage of convenience worked in the plot (this is a trope I’m not always a fan of). However, I think there were maybe a couple too many tropes thrown in here: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, single mom, virgin hero, hockey romance, autistic hero, unrequited love, etc. The book was not quite long enough to make me feel like each trope was fully fleshed out. In fact, I was pretty shocked when the audiobook ended - it felt very abrupt in a lot of ways. It was, ultimately, a fun and entertaining read, but I wish more time had been spent to round out the ending and some of the tropes that felt like they were left unresolved or undeveloped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook arc!

This is super sweet, I loved their friendship and progression of their relationship! I tore through this in one day and could not stop listening to how sweet this story was! I involved how caring Ford is to Amber and her baby too!

Betrothal or Breakaway is book 3 in the DC Eagles hockey series. It’s about Ford Remington, Remy to the team, the beloved captain and his childhood friend, Amber. We were SO excited for this book! Leah really creates a lot of mystique and intrigue around the quiet team captain with a delightful sense of humour in the other books. Ford and Amber have been best friends since second grade. She’s a single mom to 3 month old Nella, and a hair stylist. She recently found out she has a hole in her heart and needs a surgery she can’t afford. The solution: A fully platonic marriage to her best friend (and wealthy hockey player) Ford.

This book! We love a friends to lovers trope and this book hit so perfectly for us. The characters are well written, and their backstories and family life give so much depth to this story. The tension between these two is delicious. Leah is an expert at writing low spice stories that steam your glasses. There’s caretaking, close proximity, hockey, found family, real family, and a whole bunch of “my wife”s. Something really important to us is neurodiverse representation and the MMC in this book is autistic. We thought this was so wonderfully and intentionally done and we want to thank Leah for it.

We listened to the audiobook, performed by Alex Picard and David Bendena. It’s narrated in a dual POV and both Alex and David took such care to bring these characters and all their nuances to life. Highly recommend.

This contemporary romance was completely adorable! I ate up every little bit of the heartwarming story. The audiobook narrators did a really wonderful job with the voices and were very easy to listen to.

It is the third full length novel in the DC Eagles which follows a team of hockey players. I love the way the players show up for each other in each story. They turn the head on stereotypes of toxic masculinity in athletes and the whole series is therapy positive, emotionally healthy, and uplifting without feeling too cheesy. The scene with the teammates all helping to babysit an upset baby was one of my favorites of the book.

The romance was really tender with a long term friendship turned to more with the female main character being a single mom. There were so many great moments between the leads as well as within the parenting journey. I loved the neurodivergent representation and how it was woven into the male main character’s development in really thoughtful ways.

There are not many actual hockey scenes in this one, so if you’re not a sports person, don’t let the hockey aspect scare you off!

Trigger/content warnings: past parental neglect and past bullying. Steam level is light innuendo and closed door sex scenes (no details on page).

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. oh my gosh these two are honestly the sweetest couple and baby Nella is so sweet. I loved seeing them all as a family, they fit together perfectly! Amber is perfect for Ford and vice versa. They way these two get each other completely melted my heart. His family was so supportive from day one and i just loved the bond they had. highly recommend this one and i cannot wait to go back and read the previous books in this series!

What an absolutely sweet marriage of convenience between besties romance. MMC with asperger’s! Down on her luck single mom with a heart condition! A cute baby that acts like a baby and not a plot baby! An excellent start.

But aside from the romance (which was sweet and cute with the best touch of angst via “how do I tell my best friend I’m in love with them), I resonated with Ford’s overstimulation SO MUCH. Just the pure skin crawling, suffocating feeling of having to much sensory stimulation going on at once was so spot on. And I liked that his neurodivergence was something we see him struggle with. Not because autism is a bad thing but because some of us had a bit more of a journey to accepting that it’s not a *flaw*. It’s just part of our DNA and that’s normal for us! Plus big man hold baby is an automatic yes from me.

The MCs are both super loveable and sweet (Ford is a bit of a grumpy gills McGhee. Love). And the marrying for insurance purposes is a favorite angle of mine in romance because if more people could do it, they absolutely would and I don’t blame them. It’s sweet to see these two form a little family with baby Nella and grow into a romantic relationship with each other. I mean Ford was already in love but Amber’s “oh shit is this love was adorable!

Closed door isn’t something I gravitate to but every now and then I need closed door because spicy books can burn me out quickly but the chemistry is deffo there!

Some things were resolved a tad too easily for it to have been built up over the course of the whole story but I appreciated that there was at least an attempt to inject some conflict into an otherwise toothache sweet story. Like Amber’s ex wasn’t a problem until he was and then he went away fast? Ford telling his teammates about his autism (which off I understood why he kept it from them) was kinda anticlimactic? Just nit picky things that kept this from being perfect for me!

The audio was great, but I did struggle with the MMC narrator because at times he got really…monotone? And it was a strange, jarring choice.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I absolutely love Leah’s books. This one was one of my absolute favorites. Marriage of convenience, friends to lovers, disability rep, A MAN WHO TAKES CARE OF A BABY. I loved every bit of it. The audio was so well done and fun to listen to!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A sweet and fun book you need to read if you’re in your hockey romance era!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🏒 Hockey romance
💗 Best friends to lovers
👦🏻 Neurodivergent Hero
🤱🏼Single mom
💍 Marriage of convenience
🏠 Forced proximity
🤒 Sick bed scene
👰🏼‍♀️ “My wife”
🖤 Fade to Black

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
I love a cinnamon roll hockey player
No third act break up
Great side characters


I really enjoyed the narration

Amber and Ford been BF since children and Amber known Ford is special he has High functional Autism and it hard for him to express his emotions and doesnt like to be touch. Ford love Amber but she had a fiance until he leave her pregnant and she is on her own. She come to visit Ford and tell him she has to have surgery and if anything happens to her she want ford to look after her child. Amber is struggling with financially so Ford ask her to marry him to help her but the real reason is because he love her and want to help hwr and she is the only person her touch does t irk him. I love it because this hit home my five year is Autistic and everyday i worry for his future so reading books about it, ease my mind.

This is my 2nd Leah Brunner book and it won’t be my last! I really like the characters in this series and can’t wait to read more about these hockey players and their WAGs (wives and girlfriends).
🌹
Ford and Amber have been childhood best friends but Amber finds herself a little lost and alone as a single mother and turns to her friend Ford. He thinks of a creative solution to her problems and their quickly marriage of convenience gives everyone whiplash.
🌹
I liked the past sneak peeks of their friendship and how they always trusted each other. And friends to more, this was a satisfying HEA with some swoon but closed door romance.
🌹
I listened to the audiobook which released 2 weeks ago. The narrators were perfect! I loved seeing Ford care for Amber and loved how Amber took care with Ford’s neurodivergence. Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the alc.

Even though Ford is a hockey player he is absolutely the most amazing guy and I loved how the author handled his challenges. There was such a steady strength to him and I was in love. Amber was so easy to like and I just wanted all the happily ever after. It’s so far out of my life and was therefore the best escape read.

The narrators did an amazing job keeping me interested and I loved the dual POV.