Book Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sutton just started working as a physical therapist for Alabama’s professional hockey team. Making the move wasn’t easy, especially when the only person she knew was her lifelong rival, Shaw. Being best friends with Sutton’s older brother meant Shaw often found ways to torture her. Despite being adults, the rivalry is alive and well. However, now that the two are working together in a professional setting will they be able to set aside their differences? Or will history repeat itself?

I am in my clean, hockey romance era. In the last few months alone I have consumed a dozen or so books fitting this description. While most would find this repetitive, it is authors like Annah Conwell that keep me coming back for more.

I loved the dynamic between Sutton and Shaw. Their rivalry sparked so much chemistry and included the best banter. But as their relationship progressed I loved seeing their softer sides emerge. The scene in which Shaw took care of Sutton melted my heart and endeared me to him.

While I usually consume my books via physical or electronic copies, I had the opportunity to listen to this on audiobook. I very much enjoyed being able to multitask while being entertained by Conwell’s story. However, I did struggle a bit with the narration as a whole. I found I gravitated to Kim Churchill’s portion far more than Oliver Clark’s. Her voice acting kept me engaged whereas he didn’t always hold my attention.

With that being said I will be continuing with the More than a Game series. Though I have every intention of reading them via electronic or physical copies.

Special thanks to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Annah Conwell for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved this book. I’m a big hockey romance junkie and thought this one was original! I loved the brothers best friend trope and how much he loved her and had always wanted her. I love a pining guy and this gave me just want I needed!

I think if I had read this book when I was seventeen I would have fallen head over heels, unfortunately for Conwell 22-year old me has a more discerning taste. Determined and stubborn Sutton meets teasing and hardheaded Shaw in this romance novel where Shaw finally has the chance to convince the girl who’s “hated” him forever to give him a chance. This basic premise intrigued me, and I am a sucker for a good brother’s best friend setup, however I feel like this story had no real tension. As far as I could tell, Shaw had liked (more like loved) Sutton for years and the only reason he hadn’t confessed his feelings earlier was because she hated him because he was always teasing her?? Even Sutton couldn’t really think of any reasons not to like Shaw, other than him having the same profession as her lame ex-boyfriend. When it came down to brass tacks I felt like the only thing stopping the two main characters from being together was…..? I don’t really know, and without that tension I had no investment in the story. There were also a few beyond cringey lines, and I usually love a quote that would make me hurl in real life but swoon in a romance book. One of the redeeming qualities of this book was the lack of an unnessecary third-act breakup, but upon further reflection I think that plot device was missing because these two characters are so paper-thin, and the conflicts are so fragile that no deep conflict is possible.

Honestly I would have DNF’ed this book if not for the audio narrators who made it easy enough for me to listen. However there were chapters were I could hear very heavy breathing in the background which was irritating and distracting.

Overall if you like an overtly fluffy, insta-lovey romance book you’d probably really enjoy this one. I personally just didn’t connect with either character or the plot.

*Squeal* This was a dream to listen to!! Anna did the enemies-to-lovers, brothers best friend tropes wonderfully. Sutton and Shaw are ADORABLE. Their banter was fantastic and when they finally admitted they were in love?! SWOON. I love how protective and confident Shaw is. And I love how gone for Sutton he is the entire book. This is a 5 star romcom! Now give me book 2!

I like a rom-com as much as anyone else, but this being the first book I've read by this author, I was a little disappointed. It was very PG and I like my rom-coms a little more spicy. Honestly, this was almost G rated with how tame it was. The storyline was far-fetched per usual for a rom-com, but it was especially lackluster due to how bland the love scenes were. I also really disliked the chapters beginning with the character saying their full name as if I didn't know the man speaking was the MMC and the woman was the FMC. If I could give half-stars, I'd rate a 2.5.

This book was absolutely phenomenal. I loved every second of it.
The way Shaw acts with Sutton is setting the standards for me.
The cycle of Shaw and Sutton was so perfectly painful and investing. Their arguing and bickering and feeling the spark of something more, I loved it all.
The ending was so cute and I’m so glad we got to follow more into their relationship.
The dual POVs was an amazing and unexpected touch.
This was my first hockey romance and brother's best friend and it did not disappoint! I truly enjoyed this and can't wait to read the rest of the books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute romance! I loved all the pranks and competitions between Sutton and Shaw both in the present and in their childhood. Their antics had me giggling because it was so obvious they liked each other even as teens and were too blind to see it. This was a fun, quick, and adorable romance read. I look forward to more in this series.

Sutton gets her dream job as a physical therapist for a professional hockey team. The only issue is that her brother's best friend and archnemesis, Shaw, is on the team. Sutton tries to put aside her disdain for Shaw in order to be professional and do her job. Shaw on the other hand does everything he can to tease and protect Sutton. Soon their teasing and bickering turn into flirtation and love.

The Golden Goal by Annah Conwell is a sports romance full of the best tropes - brother's best friend and enemies to lovers. I loved their rivalry, it never crossed the line into mean and was always a funny interaction. The chemistry between Sutton and Shaw is amazing! I enjoyed their banter and interactions. There are so many swoon worthy moments (who doesn't love a man that takes care of you when you're sick?!?) that left me with a new book boyfriend. I also love Sutton, she is a strong independent woman who takes her job seriously but still knows how to laugh. The burn was slow, maybe a little too much, but you knew exactly where it was headed. This is a book that will have you smiling while you read it. I liked that it was dual POVs, it was nice to see how Sutton and Shaw both viewed their interactions. Overall this was a really cute and sweet hockey romance without overly descriptive spice. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for more of a clean sports romance that will have you falling in love with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy of the audiobook. I enjoyed the two narrators, Kim Churchill and Oliver Clarke. They helped me fall into the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio version of this sweet hockey romance! I thought the narrators did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life! Shaw & Sutton's chemistry sparks off the page and I loved watching them as they realized the "enemies" part of their relationship had the possibility of leading to more! Shaw is a cinnamon roll MMC and seeing the way he tried to care for and protect Sutton was so endearing. I loved Sutton's love of Star Wars and the friendships portrayed throughout the story! I'm so excited for the next story in this series!

Sports romance
Best friend’s sister
Enemies to lovers
He falls first
Clean romance
Workplace romance
Close proximity

Audio review
Narrated by: Kim Churchill, Oliver Clarke

This was a cute easy read. Shaw has loved Sutton since they were kids. He has always been protective of her. As a young boy, he didn’t know how to express his feelings. Everything he did was misunderstood. Now they are all grown up and she works for his team. He had to find a way to her heart.
Shaw was amazing even when Sutton was being stubborn. I loved how he always had hair bands at the ready. She finally caught on and really saw him.

Easy to read, low drama. No breakups

Another great read from Annah Conwell! This enemies to more book was done right. I loved the banter between Sutton and Shaw. They are rivals and compete about everything but there was still an undercurrent of friendship beneath it all and then the teasing turned to flirting. I love when a guy falls first and you get to see the sweet side that many guys don’t show. It’s the little things that matter and Shaw with the hair tie…swoon! I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!!

*Edit to add* After reading this book in January, I have come back in August to listen to the audiobook version. I have read enough other books in between that I had forgotten quite a bit so it was like a new story again. Second time was just as amazing as the first! The narrators were great, though I did have one minor issue. I did not enjoy the female voices during the male narrator's chapters. They sounded silly and distracted from the story quite a bit for me. Otherwise, the pacing and clarity were great.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A sweet romance that will have you laughing and jumping for joy! First, can I say that the audiobook is simply fantastic! Kim Churchill and Oliver Clarke are the perfect duo to bring these characters to life! Oliver's voice makes Shaw even more yummy with the perfect growly voice! The author wove delightfully realistic characters that the narrators brought fully to life for the reader! Now, about the book! Fun, entertaining and swoony! I'm not sure you can call it a true enemies-to-lovers trope when one of the "enemies" has been in love with the other since high school and is finally getting his shot to show her how he feels! I am so excited that this book is set up perfectly to be a tip off for a series as there are so many wonderful characters to follow as they find their own love stories! Definitely a happily ever after, Hallmark style love story for those who like a wee bit of drama and low spice levels.

I love the Narrators in this book. They really brought the characters alive and I was really excited to read this one the story is great.

4.5 stars

i love a good bit of unrequited love & i will always DEVOUR an ice hockey romance 😭

shaw is the cutest golden retriever bf to exist and their banter is just so good i was so surprised by how much i loved this book!

there was some parts of the book i would have loved explored further - like shaw’s background & just, everyone’s childhood? they seem to reminisce about it a lot, and i would have loved to see it shown more!

but overall so much fun and so sweet!!

Pining in all the best ways possible. This book has it all. Brother's best friend, childhood rivals, he falls first ... fantastic!

This book follows our female main character,Sutton, who is about to embark on a new career path as a physical therapist for an NHL team. Unfortunately the boy who has always been the bane of her existence, Shaw, who also happens to be her brother's best friend is one of the team's top players. Because of all their history I liked that this was a slow burn but there was so much pining and banter. This made them a couple you want to root for plus it made sense. Anyone who has been a part of someone's life for that long would go slow but the love and lust is still there and not brand new. I really enjoyed this book and found myself not wanting to put it down.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good hockey romance full of pining and missed opportunities. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

⭐️ 4/5
🌶 0/5
🩷 4/5
🎧 4/5

📚 I swear thay every book Annah writes is pure comfy cosy romance of the best kind! There may not be any spice, but the tension, the romance, the swoon, the butterflies in your tummy, lusty love she writes is perfect. Romance, with some banter and lots of love.

🎧 Dual style - female does all her own chapters, male does his own. This is not a duet style, where they read all of their own respective genders dialogue. If it was a duet, it would have been 5 stars for audio, for sure.

🎙 Narrators - These actors that are doing romances at the moment are absolutely cookie crumb perfection to my ears 🤌

Overall, this audiobook was exactly what we all want and would love to listen to for a romanctic experience 😘👌

This audiobook was a joy to listen to!! The voice actors did a phenomenal job at differentiating characters & they kept me engaged the whole entire way!!

I adore this story & characters and the way the author weaves it altogether!!

Id definitely recommend for anyone needing an audiobook to listen too!!

✨𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨

“𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩. 𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙥𝙨. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.”

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🫑
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Closed door
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧: 82%
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Sports romance (hockey), rivals-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, he falls first, it’s always been you
𝐏𝐎𝐕: 1st person, Dual POV
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Dual
𝐊𝐔: Yes

This was such a cute hockey romance! Conwell is quickly becoming one of my favorite closed door romance authors. I’m a Physical Therapist so I loved seeing an FMC as a PT! I thought all the medical content was well written.

There are also plenty of Star Wars references which was fun! Although I disagree with the FMC, Episode III is my favorite 😉. I also love any book where he falls first and the “it’s always been you” trope so I knew I would enjoy this.

The rivals-to-lovers was a fun element with lots of banter. Overall, this was a fun read and would recommend it.

4.5⭐️ | 1🌶

What to expect:
~ Hockey player MMC
~ Physical therapist FMC
~ Childhood enemies to lovers
~ Brother’s best friend
~ He falls first
~ Slow burn
~ It’s always been you

Review:
This is a delightful hockey romance that combines sizzling chemistry, witty banter, and a heartwarming love story. If you're a fan of sport romances and looking for a story with playful tension and a lot of swoon, this one’s a winner!

The story centers on Shaw Daniels and Sutton, childhood rivals turned adult frenemies. Shaw, who’s pretty much every romance reader’s dream—considerate, sweet, and oh-so-swoony—has a heart of gold and a sarcastic streak. His protectiveness for Sutton is both adorable and heart-melting. Sutton, on the other hand, is an independent FMC who knows how to stand her ground, especially when dealing with the wild world of hockey players.

Their love language? Sarcasm and quips… just the way I like it! Their rivalry morphs into an electric connection, with Shaw falling first and hard. I listened to the audiobook and it captured their playful exchanges and Shaw's caring nature perfectly, making their dynamic even more fun. Though there are a few cheesy moments and some high school-esque drama, it’s all part of the charm.

The hockey scenes, the camaraderie with the teammates, and the family dynamics were fantastic. The playful back-and-forth between the two MCs kept me hooked, especially with the insights from Shaw's POV. I enjoyed watching Sutton slowly come to terms with her feelings and the gradual build-up to her falling for Shaw. The chemistry was off the charts, making the story even more captivating. Surprisingly, I didn’t miss the spice at all because this sweet closed door romance is written so perfectly!

Annah has crafted a story that’s not just about romance but also about the joy of sports and finding love where you least expect it. If you're ready for a ride filled with laughs, swoons, and maybe a happy tear or two, ‘The Golden Goal’ is your ticket. So, lace up your skates, grab your headphones, and dive into this fun, heartwarming rom-com.