Thank you to Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for an ARC of this book; in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a short, sweet, and very wholesome Hockey Romance. Ford and Amber were perfect for each other; and the way baby Nella brought them closer together was just swoony! I loved the audiobook version with dual narration. Also, this is part of a series, but can definitely be read as an interconnected stand alone!

Read if you enjoy:
-unrequited love
-hockey romance
-marriage of convenience
-autism representation
-childhood best friends to lovers
-closed door romance (no spice)

“Good morning, girls.”

“Being around Amber Park makes me feel like I’m normal, whole, complete. Like every step feels like a step closer to safety. A step closer to forever.”

* Okay but why are they so cuuuute
* Ford is such a softie and I LOVE him!
* They are so sweet and so tender and my heart is so full
* The proposal! 😭😍
* Oh my gosh not the puppy!!!

Yet another hockey romance by Leah Brunner that I’m obsessed with.

Amber is so good and so funny and I loved seeing how she interacted with Ford and really just saw him for who he was. And her with her baby? Ahh my heart!

And Ford? LOVE him! He is such a sweetheart. I love how much he loved Amber and her baby. He was such a natural at becoming a husband and a father and I loved to see it.

The whole best friends forever and now we’re married? So good! And their chemistry and kissing! Yes! 👏

Thanks to NetGalley and Leah Brunner for this ALC. I thought the narration was great! All opinions are my own.

✨NO third act breakup!
✨best friends to lovers
✨fake marriage
✨Asperger's rep

Best friends since 2nd grade turned lovers?!!! YES YES YES!

Have you ever been so into a book that you HATE getting interrupted because you don't want to stop listening/reading? THIS WAS THAT BOOK FOR ME!

I loved the characters and the storytelling was amazing! By also sharing how they met and how their lives were in the past was a perfect way to show how far they've come as adults. Ford will forever have a special place in my heart! He is the true definition of a book boyfriend! The way he loves and caters to Amber & Nella was truly swoon worthy! This book is now on my list of favorites for 2024!

I loved this one and will be buying a copy as soon as I can! Already recommended it to a few friends!

Thank you NetGalley and Leah Brunner for the ARC of Betrothal or Breakaway! I loved this so much!! There wasn’t any spice at all but it was a beautiful story! I feel like a few details were rushed such as her love, Theo, the mom, her mom, etc. I did, however, LOVE Ford! Everything from him start to finish was perfection! I want a Ford!! Beautiful, sweet and romantic read

This may have been my favorite of this series so far! I loved the high functioning autism inclusion. Ford and Amber’s story was very sweet, and I loved the way he treated her so well from the very beginning. There were lots of swoony moments and it was a great read. I do feel like Ford having autism was a little glossed over and unrealistic. Sometimes it felt like he struggled with it, and others it seemed to disappear.

4.5/5 stars

Tropes:
- Best friends to lovers
- Single mom
- Forced proximity
- Autism representation
- Marriage of convenience

This book follows the story of Amber and Ford. They are childhood best friends that have always been just that, best friends. Until Amber finds herself single, with a newborn baby, and a newfound heart condition. With these challenges, she also has no health insurance. As a way to remedy that, her and Ford come up with a plan- get married.

I adored this book. I usually don't like friends (or best friends) to lovers books. I've found that most of them focus on miscommunication, which is a trope I'm not particularly fond of. Luckily, this book didn't really have that trope. Amber and Ford understand each other in a way that prevents you from imagining them with anyone else. Ford has Asperger's Syndrome, which he is pretty selfconscious about. He doesn't want anyone to treat him differently or see it as a weakness. It felt like he was always guarding himself from other's due to his condition. But when it came to Amber, he was always his true self. I loved how Amber embraced him and was conscious of his reactions being different than others. They both just fit perfectly together. Especially Ford with Nella. He fit into the dad role for Nella so organically that it made it hard not to swoon. All in all, I absolutely loved this book and would definitetly recommend this as a nice and short read.

*As for the narrators for the audiobook, they did an amazing job portraying Amber and Ford. You could hear the difference in emotions and reactions of the characters. They truly brought the story and characters to life.*

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape for the audio review copy, and Booked with the Emilys and the author for the print copy. Leah is a local-ish author to me, and I’ve seen her books raved about by people I love on booksta, so when I learned she was releasing the audio to the third book in her DC Eagles series, I rushed to request it.

What to Expect:
-Hockey Player MMC
-Single Mom FMC
-Marriage of Convenience
-Childhood Friends to Lovers
-It’s always been you
-Neurodiverse representation
-’That’s my wife.”
-Found family

Ford is the captain of the DC Eagles hockey team and would do anything for his best friend (and longtime crush), Amber. When Amber’s fiancee leaves her to raise her daughter, she also learns during childbirth that she needs surgery to repair a hole in her heart. Ford offers money for Amber, but after another family holiday where his parents are concerned with his single status, he comes up with the mutually beneficial idea – get married for insurance, and to show his parents that he’s not going to be alone forever.

I inhaled this book – alternating between the audio and physical copy, I read it all in a day. There were so many heartfelt moments where Ford shows up for Amber, but I can’t overstate the ways Amber provides emotional comfort for Ford when he’s overwhelmed and overstimulated. They both truly saw each other, and I loved seeing how their relationship grew together. The narrators – Alex Picard and David Bendena – were perfectly cast for Ford and Amber, and at 8 hours 29 minutes, this book is the perfect hit of swoony, sweet, hockey romance.

Even though Betrothal or Breakaway is the third full length book in the series, you can absolutely enjoy it as a standalone – I did! I already went back and listened to Passion or Penalty, a novella set before the first book and I’m jumping in to Desire or Defense today.

What a great find this audiobook was. The author and therefore the series was new to me so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Ford Remington team captain of the DC Eagles hockey team is realizing that though his dream of becoming one of the best in hockey, that’s not all that life’s about. His love life is non -existent mainly because the one that really has his heart is not interested in him. Or is she?
Amber has been Ford’s best friend forever. She has her life all set until her fiance, now ex, leaves her pregnant and at loose ends. But she’s determined to have the baby, but things get complicated when with no insurance and issues with the baby has her desperate.
Ford will do anything for Amber and proposes a marriage of convenience so that the baby can be taken care of.
But what happens when true feelings are revealed ? These two characters are perfect as their imperfections and stresses make them real. Coping with autism, a sick baby and an unknown future can’t be more real.
The plot was engaging, and as mentioned , a story with likable characters .
The narrators Alex Picard and David Bendena bring the story to life.
An audiobook worthi your time and an author that I’ve added to my TBR list.
I was entrusted a copy of this audiobook by Netgalley and Dreamscape. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Betrothal or Betrayal is the third hockey romance in the D.C. Eagles Hockey series. When Ford’s best friend, Amber, comes to him asking for help there is no way he can turn her away and he doesn’t want to. Amber has just discovered she is a hole in her heart that she needs to have fixed and with a baby and no support system it’s going to be a hard road. Ford comes up with the perfect solution to help Amber with her surgery, childcare and money issues: fake marriage. It would be a win win for both of them. Amber would get the support she needs and Ford will get his well meaning mom off his back, but what happens when real feelings start to develop? Will Amber and Ford be able to make it through this fake marriage without heartbreak?

I was expecting your typical hockey romance when I started this book, but got so much more. Instead of the typical steamy romance, this was a much sweeter read. I enjoyed both of the main characters together and liked the friends to lovers trope. The supporting characters were also great and I want to go back and read the other books in this series that I haven’t read yet. Since this is the first book in the series I have read, I can definitely say it can easily be read as a standalone romance. If you are looking for a good friends to lovers hockey romance look no farther!

This is book 3 in the DC Eagle Hockey series.

amber and ford are childhood best friends and have bee through everything together and are still best friends to this day. The only issue is Ford is in love with her and has never told her.

So fast forward and Amber is a single mom cause her deadbeat ex left her when she told him she was pregnant. But now that she's had the baby she fond out she had a small heart issue and needs sugary but needs help paying for it. Ford has a great idea to help by getting married for the insurance and help with the baby.

What could go wrong?

This was a cute story but my least favorite in the series. I really wanted more of the drama then a short issue. I know thats bad to say but I am who I am. But I was a fan of the couple! I love the help she gives him by just being herself.

I also hope the next book with be about Fords sister!!

Thank you Netgalley for this audio-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Too. Freakin. Cute.

I am officially obsessed with Ford Remington. He immediately climbed to one of my top book boyfriends. Literally the sweetest, most precious man, I can’t say enough about how much I love him. As captain of the DC Eagles, he’s there for his teammates both on and off the ice. And he brings the same fierce love and loyalty to his longtime best friend, Amber, and her sweet angel baby of a daughter.

This book is so fun and well written, you’ll be cheesin’ the whole way through. The narrators did a phenomenal job bringing the MCs voices to life.

I’ve been reading through this series when I get to them so I was happy to see that this was on netgalley!

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Ford and Amber. They have been best friends since childhood and have remained close through the years. He is there for her even when she is in a relationship. He truly cared for her and asked no questions when it came to helping her out with a fake marriage. One of my favorite tropes and it was nicely done in this book.

I liked seeing Ford step out of his role as captain of the hockey team and putting on the role of husband and father. His interactions with the baby was cute! I’m sure that Amber felt the same because there is just something about that makes your heart melt. I liked seeing Amber interact with his family and the other wives and girlfriends. She really needed a support group outside of just him and she found it and I loved that for her. They were all so welcoming.

Although I did like this book I just didn’t connect with it entirely and I feel like it is due to the trope friends-to-lovers. Its hard for me to feel the connection because it has already at some point started off page. This is totally on me and my brain, ha.

Overall, this was a light and sweet romance. I’ll be looking forward to more books by this author.

Betrothal or Breakaway is Leah Brunner’s friends-to-lovers fake-marriage tale in her DC Eagles Hockey series, which follows her novella, Passion or Penalty, and Desire or Defense and Flirtation or Faceoff. This story will be enjoyed more if read/listened to after the earlier stories. This is a closed-door sports romance told in dual POV, with some mild cursing (no F-bombs).

34-year-old Ford “Remi” Remington is the Captain of the D.C. Eagles hockey team. He was a minor character in the earlier DC Eagles books and was always mentioned as a steadying presence in the other players’ lives. Remi is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and has loving parents and two younger sisters. Remi is a high-functioning autistic man, and only his immediate family and lifelong best friend, Amber, know this.

Amber Park was introduced in earlier stories as Remi’s female friend from back home, who was having a hard time. Some of Remi’s teammates wondered if she was taking advantage of Remi’s generosity and fame. In Betrothal or Breakaway’s Prologue, seven-year-old Amber is preparing to start second grade and has an inattentive and unkind single mother. She immediately befriends Ford, who is hiding under their desk in their classroom. The reader learns that Amber and Ford form a tight bond that lasts through adulthood, and Amber is determined not to benefit financially from Ford/Remi.

Now Amber is a hair stylist in their Ohio hometown, with a three-month-old baby daughter, Nella. She’s not speaking to her mother, and her fiancé, Theo, abandoned her after learning of her pregnancy. The only thing keeping Amber in Ohio is her clientele at the salon where she works. Although Theo is a medical resident, he has not provided any financial or other support to Amber. During childbirth, doctors discovered a hole in Amber’s heart that requires a surgical repair. Amber doesn’t have any health insurance and her meager savings will only cover a fraction of the cost. She is very reluctant to accept any help from Ford but is desperate.

Ford offers to marry Amber so that she will be covered by the NHL’s health insurance, and he can care for Nella during her recovery period. They agree to keep the reasons for their marriage a secret, and to stay together for two years. Amber gets a job at the fancy salon where Ford/Remi and several other players get their hair done. It turns out that Remi has secretly been in love with Amber for years, and now he has a chance to try to win her romantic affection. There is a subplot involving Remi’s younger sister’s romantic drama.

I enjoyed listening to Flirtation or Faceoff. The narrators, Alex Picard and David Bendena, do an outstanding job giving life to Amber and Ford/Remi. It was great to have a hockey story with a neurodiverse character. The cameos from the characters introduced in the earlier stories added to my enjoyment. I cannot wait to read Secret or Shut-out, Bruce’s story!

After purchasing the e-book from Amazon, I received an advance review copy (ARC) of the audiobook from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

✨ 𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤.”

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🌶️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Closed door
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧: 68%
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Childhood friends-to-lovers, single mom, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, it’s always been you, he falls first
𝐏𝐎𝐕: 1st person, Dual POV
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Dual
𝐊𝐔: Yes

Alternating timelines
Autism rep
Cinnamon Roll MMC

Childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this one was such a sweet story!! Ford (MMC) is the biggest cinnamon roll ever and I ate it up (pun intended). I love every trope in this book, and they were all done so well. Each book in this series keeps getting better.

I also loved the neurodivergent rep! My brothers have autism and I loved seeing it represented so well in a romance book! It was so sweet getting to see these two get their happy ending. I highly recommend this book!


⚠️𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:⚠️
Some innuendo
Mild language

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
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Strained family relationships, bullying (recounted), abandonment, discussions of infertility, minor heart surgery, broken engagement & panic attacks

This is a book three of the series yet wholesome in itself. I absolutely love the dual POV used in this book and the characters were so amazing and wonderful at the same time. The plotline was well paced and written with a smooth naration that it enhanced my listening experience of this audiobook.
I finished it in two sittings and enjoyed it thoroughly. I am definitely looking forward to read the rest of this series.

Best friends to lovers, fake marriage, hockey romance.

Amber's fiancé left her when he found out she was pregnant. Now she needs to ask her Hockey star best friend for money to cover her very expensive heart surgery and possibly be the guardian of her daughter. She is shocked when he not only offers to give her the money but comes up with an alternative solution. They could get married!

Ford has been in love with Amber most of his life, so when she comes to him with her issues, he uses this as an opportunity to get what he has always wanted.

This story was so cute! I loved Ford and Amber; they had such great chemistry. This is the first time I have read a friends to lovers' story where it was actually believable that one did not know that the other had feelings. The author did a great job writing Ford's anxiety, I literally felt anxious with him.

The audiobook is narrated by Alex Picard and David Bendena using dual point of view. They both did a great job narrating this story. Their voices fit the characters perfectly. I was easily able to tell when there was a character change. The chapter changes were announced making it easy to determine when a new chapter started.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this title. This is my very honest review.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Leah Brunner for the copy of this audiobook!

Representation: single mom, heart defect, Asperger's, PCOS

BETROTHAL OR BREAKAWAY is such a sweet, sweet hockey romance! I'm a sucker for a childhood friends-to-lovers storyline, and this was made even better with a redheaded FMC, lots of good disability representation, and a hunky hockey player. I love how Ford was so supportive of Amber during her surgery and with her baby -- just making her feel so cared for. SWOON. This is just a moodlifting, lovely read.

This was a cute, closed door romance. I love the friends to lovers trope, and thought the relationship between Ford and Amber was great. I also absolutely loved Ford’s connection with Amber’s daughter and any scenes where he is having conversations with her.

I did think that the language and discussion around Ford’s autism could have been much better. Asperger’s is an outdated term and functioning labels (“high functioning”) is also outdated and ableist. I love having more neurodivergent main character representation, but in this case I feel like a lot more research could have been done.

cute friends to lovers hockey romance. very sweet and quick. part of an interconnected series of standalones