This book was good. More on the okay side of good when it had the potential to be great.

I saw brother's best friend paired with rivals turned lovers and immediately thought, "Sign me up!!" But the rivals part was more a mild competition than any true rivalry. Honestly, even though the characters are supposed to be in their early 20s, it felt as if they were still in high school. Sutton's emotions were all over the place. And Shaw kept emphasizing he wanted her to see him differently, as a man, yet he preferred to "poke the bear" rather than be a decent guy? I guess, in the end, it worked for him, but it seemed unnecessary.

3.5 stars rounded down.

First of all, I love Annah Conwell's fresh take on a sports romcom series! Instead of following different members from a single team, this series follows four professional athletes, all from different sports, who form a close friendship after being introduced by their shared sports agent. (Who also happens to be the best friend and the brother, respectively, of the MMC and FMC in this book.)

The rivals to lovers storyline is so well done. I love that the characters, in hindsight, can see that they were always drawn to one another. They loved to go head to head due to their competitive natures, but the way in which they competed only pushed them both to excel. The witty banter and undeniable chemistry morphed right along with the storyline as they went from rivals to friends to more. I love that the author was able to create so much tension in this story while keeping the door firmly closed!

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and it was fantastic! The narrators brought the story to life with their engaging delivery and spot on pacing. They also sounded age appropriate. I started the audiobook and didn't want to stop!

If you enjoy clean sports romance, this book is not to be missed! This is the first Annah Conwell book I've read and it will not be my last. I am so excited to see what she does with the rest of this series!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

🏒🥅🏒
Book Review
3🌟🌟🌟
📚36/100
📖The Golden Goal
🏒🥅Genre🥅🏒
Fiction/Romance
✍️Author:
Annah Conwell
Narrated by Kim Churchill; Oliver Clarke
✨✨✨✨✨

📝Synopsis 📝
Sutton lands a job as a Sports Medicine Therapist in the Rockets Hockey team, but Houston there’s a problem…Shaw!
He’s the best friend of her brother, but her rival. He made her life impossible throughout their school years and even college. She has to put her pride aside and work next to him but little does she know he has other intentions.

💭My Thoughts 💭
This was such a cute hockey rom-com but was a bit too peachy for me. I loved their banter and liked the plot, but I feel the build up took too long that it ended up falling short in the end. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely had a cute HEA. In my opinion it lacked steam, but their chemistry was spot on. If you enjoy clean romance stories that have a slow burn and are hockey fan, then this is definitely your cup of tea 🫖 The audio version had great narration from both characters that brought so much life into the book.

✨Thank you @netgalley and @dreamscape_media
for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📌Publication Date:
July 30, 2024
✨✨✨✨
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This was a straightforward fun, happy love story and I enjoyed it. Plus, as something I always deeply appreciate, there was (mild spoiler) no third-act break-up. While the characters felt really immature, that’s to be expected when they’re in their early 20s. It was light and cute, a perfect palette cleanser.

3.5 stars.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I thought this book was okay, but I was left wanting more. It was a cute, lighthearted quick listen for me.
I am such a sucker for the brother’s best friend trope and when I saw that was paired with rivals to lovers I was sold immediately. Unfortunately the rivals to lovers aspect was a bit too lighthearted for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Workplace romance, pro-hockey player x athletic trainer, childhood enemies, rivals to lovers, he’s been in love with her for forever, brothers best friend, dual pov, very slow burn

I. LOVE. THIS. This book and author has been on my radar for a while, so when I saw there was an audiobook available I signed up immediately. AND IT WAS SO GOOD. Any possible second I could listen to it, I did. I finished it in a day. One of my favorite audiobooks.

Listening to Sutton slowly realize her feelings for Shaw was so sweet. Realizing that there might be something more beneath all the teasing and bickering they do, and realizing that Shaw won’t hurt her the way her ex did. Also, listening to Shaw from page, one scene one his pov protecting Sutton and not giving up on her. It was beautiful.

The only kinda problem is I wish it was longer! While the slow burn was delicious, I wanted to see more of Shaw and Sutton.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and the author for an early listen of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not receive money for reviews.

This was fine. It was cute, if predictable. It was too superficial for me as I wanted more plot and character development. When it got to the epilogue I was quite surprised that the story was done. I never made any connection with the characters or really cared much about them because all we learn happens in the very beginning. Entertaining and enjoyable enough but there are better hockey romance's out there.

Oh so sweet! One of the better "it's allways been you" books I have ever read. Cute, hockey rom-com, what more do ypu need! Great banter and for the love of slow burn this will keep you going...

Narrators did a great job.

For fans of Elle Kennedy and Liz Tomforde.

Golden Goal starts out so strong- there’s banter and wit, likable characters, and a man obsessed. No awful tropes. The ending felt too rushed and quick.

I love this story. After reading so many of Annah's books, this remains my favorite. The narrators were fantastic as well. A great audiobook all around!

Such a good listen. This was different from other hockey romances in the sense that it had no spice, but all the romance. Shaw is just the sweetest most devoted guy ever. It took Sutten some time to realize Shaws true feelings, but it was worth it. So beautiful.

This was such a cute and wholesome story. A very sweet romance. I loved their chemistry and seeing how patient he was with her.

I love that they have knows each other their whole lives and that there was very low drama.

I listened to the audio book and the narrators did an amazing job bringing this story to life.

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 🌶️ - kissing

This book was really good - plan and simple. This is a perfect hockey romance read for someone who doesn't want a lot of smut in their books. Shaw (MMC) is such a perfectly written fictional man, he has traits about him that remind me of Aaron Warner from "Shatter Me". Mostly the way he is obsessed with Sutton (FMC) and he refers to her as love - immediate swoon. My initial thoughts about Shaw were he was a giant from the way he is described, but I don't know much about hockey or hockey players so maybe it is totally average. I did find it a bit odd that they both were so established in their careers, since they would have only been out of college for a short time. However, I suppose if you are that amazing at your sport it wouldn't matter his age and he could possibly be able to pull getting Sutton a job. Their banter and chemistry felt real and organic, from years of hoping for a relationship on Shaw's part and her realizing that maybe all those feels of hate and annoyance were just a mask of other feelings. Though it took him a while to finally express his feelings there wasn't any miscommunication between the 2 of them. And the way he continued to take care of her only opened her eyes to the truth behind her own feelings. As she grew as a person she was able to see that many of the things she thought about Shaw from when they were younger weren't actually true. She was an enjoyable main character, a lot of times I don't like the heroine of a story but I liked Sutton. The epilogue was really cute, but I could have done without the 2nd epilogue (I didn't really care for Miles, but I might read the second book in this series)

Tags/Tropes: Rivals to lovers, brother's best friend, golden retriever MMC, he falls first and harder

Thanks to #netgalley for an e-copy of #thegoldengoal by Annah Conwell to read and review.

Are you looking for your next scrumptious hockey romance with medium spice?! Because hello here it is! This book is SO CUTE. I was hooked from the start! It is like a cross between Mile High and Pucking Around, but much more mild on the spice. If you love hockey romances, you definitely should give this one a try! The audiobook was done so well, but of course it was, it’s Dreamscape!

Thank you to Net Galley and Dreamscape for an ALC!

📖 if you’re looking for a feel good easy read romance then this was a pretty good book to start with.
It had a very easy story about two childhood friends from enemies to lovers. The writing style was very relaxed not as in detailed as some other books but a cute little romance nonetheless.

Tropes:
-💗Frenemies to lovers
-🏒Hockey romance
-🥵Brothers best friend

Rated: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sutton and Shaw have a hate relationship.. But only one has hate the other is secretly in love with the other. But they can't get out of there own way and just keeps on picking and making them mad.

When Sutton comes to work as the physical therapist for Saws hockey team they really get to see another side of each other. It is a cute clean romance.

Nothing super special or anything that really stands out.

Thank you NetGalley for this audio-arc for my honest opinion .

The Golden Goal is the first book in the new sports romance series More Than a Game. Sutton has just landed her dream job as a PT for the Alabama Rockets hockey team. The only problem is Shaw Daniels, her twin brother’s best friend and star player on the team. Sutton and Shaw have been playing a game of cat and mouse for years and Sutton swears she hates him, but is that the emotion she’s really feeling? As the duo spend more time together the line between love and hate starts to blur.

I am a big fan of hockey romance, brother’s best friend romances and enemies to lovers romances so this book checked a lot of my favorite boxes. At the beginning of this book I was hooked and loved the banter between Shaw and Sutton. The chemistry between them was great and I was rooting for them to get together, but parts of this story seems better suited for a high school college romance instead of a professional hockey player. This is a slow burn and aside from a few steamy kisses at the end of the book, lacking in the typical spice of a hockey romance. I am totally fine with that, but it seemed a lot more ‘college’ romance than ‘NHL’ romance to me. Sutton also got on my nerves a lot because of her ‘do it all myself’ attitude instead of being able to accept help. Anyway, overall this was a good read and I did enjoy the book, but it was a little slower and more subdued than I was expecting. If you are looking for a hockey romance that is very toned down and has a good amount of banter and chemistry this is a good choice. I do look forward to seeing what else comes in this series!

Okay I absolutely LOVED this book! Hockey romance, brother's best friend, childhood enemy done SO well. I loved both Sutton and Shaw so much. Shaw was so swoonworthy with how much he paid attention to everything Sutton has ever loved. I cannot wait to see what else Annah has in store for the rest of her series - they are books that I will definitely be picking up for sure! The narrators in the audiobook were also fantastic.

The Golden Goal
Annah Conwell
This is the story of Shaw and Sutton. They met as children. Shaw was Sutton’s twin brother’s best friend and the bane of her existence. His home life wasn’t very pleasant, so he spent as much time as possible at their home. He and Sutton had a rivalry. She wanted to beat him at everything, but he always managed to out do her. In high school Shaw always managed to sabotage her relationships.
Shaw grew up and became a professional hockey player. Sutton studied physical therapy. When she applied for a position as team physical therapist without her knowing Shaw helped her get the job. She was drawn to him but resisted it. She was coming off a bad relationship and didn’t want to get hurt again.
I loved the following scenes: she had the flu, and he came to take care of her, the first time she told him she loved him, their dance when he put his low on her waist. This was a fun read. I enjoyed watching Shaw woo Sutton. The characters had depth. The plot was well written and moved along at a nice pace.
This is a rom-com. It is a fast read.

Thank you Net Galley for providing a copy for review.

4.5 Stars🌟 this was a cute closed door hockey romance! There were so many good tropes and micro tropes on this book: brother’s best friend, childhood rivals to lovers, he falls first, “it’s always been you,” taking care of her while she’s sick, keeping a hair tie for whenever she needs it, angry love confession. I wasn’t a huge fan of Sutton, but I loved Shaw - he was very swoony. I did feel like there were some parts that could’ve been written better (more showing, less explaining), but overall, I enjoyed listening to this book!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions above are my own.