A cute, short easy read! Dual POV hockey star meets photographer. Its a great options for a quick afternoon read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was another quick, fun, kissing only romance. It is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.

This was my favourite from the series. There was a lot of depth and emotion, second chance romance, small town romance, with a happily ever after of course.

Recommended to fans of those tropes - sports romance fans may be disappointed as there is not a lot of hockey featured.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this! While I liked the story between the main characters, it was a little hard to connect with them.

This is the final book of the multi-author Love on Thin Ice series and tells the second chance, enemies to lovers romance of Willa and Noah. Noah is a professional hockey player with a bad reputation and an unprofessional run in with Willa several years ago. Willa wants nothing to do with Noah, but he is determined to show her that he's changed and want nothing more than to impress her.

We all love a reformed bad boy! Such a fun, sweet and quick read. This is part of a super cute series of just kisses ice hockey romance stories. Each is written by a different author, which increases the fun of the series! I've read one other and while neither gives great background on side characters, there is a list of characters at the end, which I found super useful. I had it bookmarked in my kendle and would refer to it when a character was introduced. The setting was gorgeous and a small town style. Just so much fun!

Big thanks to Netgalley, Red Bird Publishing and Anne Kemp for a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

A cute and really quick sports romance between a hockey player and a photographer. The small town was adorable and so cute with the best autumn vibes. This book is part of a series of closed-door sports romances but I did not read any of the others and don't believe that they need to be read in order to enjoy this one. I certainly didn't!

The FMC - Willa, was just not all that intriguing - her backstory wasn't very interesting and she just didn't hold my attention. Noah, the FMC was slightly more interesting and seemed very real. His remorse felt real and heartfelt and he wanted to get away from his toxic company and really be a better person.

The book was really short so the entire thing felt rushed so the love story was entirely unbelievable - there was no connection and I was more than baffled by a few of the scenes (the bookstore!? - seriously how poorly written and just a bit squeamish). I did love the banter though and enjoyed the cheesy moments as they were very well written and cute.

Thanks to NetGalley and Anne Kemp for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

For someone who isn’t usually a fan of small-town romance, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! With its shorter length, the story is easy to read, and you quickly dive into the sporty vibe of this hockey-centered romance.

The book starts with an enemies to lovers dynamic that, even though it progresses fairly quickly, is well-paced. The characters are endearing, and the romance is sweet (if a bit fast). The plot unfolds smoothly, and you can’t help but enjoy the ending—even if it’s a little predictable. All in all, this is a lighthearted read that lifts the spirits (and melts even the softest of hearts).

---------------

Pour quelqu’un qui n’est habituellement pas fan small town romance, je dois dire que j’ai été agréablement surprise ! Avec son format court, l’histoire se lit facilement, et on plonge vite dans l’ambiance sportive de cette romance centrée sur le hockey.
Le roman commence sur un enemies to lovers qui, même si elle évolue assez rapidement, reste dosée. Les personnages sont attachants, la romance est douce (bien qu’un peu rapide), le fil rouge se déroule bien et on aime la fin (bien qu’elle soit quelque peu prévisible). En bref, une lecture légère qui fait du bien au moral (et aux cœurs de chamallow)

“I guess being the focus of your anger at least means me being the focus of your … anything?”

Willa is a photographer and her first meeting with Noah left a bad taste in her mouth. He came to the shoot intoxicated and Willa didn’t have a choice but to kick him out and somehow his team made her the bad guy and got her blacklisted. Years later after working hard to get back on track, she gets an assignment and guess who she’ll be working with? If a leopard can’t change its spot does that mean she should kiss her promotion goodbye?

Noah has had a rough few years but after getting rid oh his bad habits and the toxic people in his life, he’s determined to get back on track. People are already dubbing him the comeback king. When he crosses path with Willa again, with her emerald eyes he never forgot, he’s ready to prove to her that he’s nothing like the guy she first met.

A sweet small town hockey romcom about second chances with all the chemistry and the swoon but none of the spice.

I enjoyed this series, all the small town goodness, I will definitely miss Maple Falls. Maple Falls sounds like such a great town, but would definitely visit!

This is the last book in the Maple Falls series but can definitely be read as a standalone.

2nd Chance romance
Sports romance (hockey x photographer)
Enemies to lovers
Small town
Closed door
Dual POV

Willa Blackwell, a photographer, has an opportunity for a promotion that would help her with her mother. This requires her to go to Maple Falls to photograph a charity hockey team that has been gaining attraction by none other than Noah Beaumont “the Comeback King”. Noah nearly cost Willa her career because of stupid decisions he made at set all those years ago, now she has to work with him again and hopes this is not a repeat of the incident. Noah’s past is something he’d like to forget, but once he runs into Willa again those memories of what happened on set come crashing in and now he will do what he can to show Willa why he is called “the Comeback King.”
This nothing short of a cute small town closed door romance with all of the chemistry. I loved seeing how once Noah remembers and realizes what had happened all those years ago, when he met Willa again, he was adamant to explain and show her what was going on in his life. But it also makes him realize in the process where he wants to be in his life on his road back the NHL and one things for sure is that it’s with Willa, if she chooses to forgive him for his past mistakes.

This is a very short story that feels like a one shot fanfiction. With it being so short that means that everything felt a tad rushed. I don’t know that I agree on the “enemies to lovers” portion as they are only enemies for 35 seconds because they immediately jump into dating. Going in (I may have/probably missed it) I did not realize this was completely closed door romance. I don’t even think there was a single curse word!

The characters feel very thrown together. Willa falls pretty flat and is kind of boring to the point that I didn’t really care about her a ton. Noah is better worked out and feels more of a whole character. It’s as though they wrote out a whole intricate backstory where he worked through his alcoholism and then were like “oh yeah I need a second character” and just shoved Willa together.

I will say the bookstore scene was suuuper weird; shameless plug anyone?

The weird not quite a miscommunication trope towards the end was…. Something else. It made me hate Willa all together. You’ve actually known this man for barely a month and you’re expecting him to just simply not do his job? “When you let go of my hand and walked away to front the media” so he was just supposed to NOT go do pressers post game?? Girl shut up

Thankfully that didn’t last long and they made up almost immediately and everything was wrapped up nicely in a tight little bow.

Thanks to NetGalley and Red Bird Publishing for the ARC!

My only criticism is that there are no spicy scenes. I do love spicy scenes when it comes to hockey romances. But, that is minor. I loved the book, especially the second-chance romance. Character development, love story, big group of supporting friends - it is all very good to give a bed review. However, I would like boys to be closer, as friends, teammates etc.

Penalties and Proposals is a sweet and heartwarming second-chance romance that will leave you smiling. Willa and Noah's story is filled with chemistry, banter, and a whole lot of adorable moments. If you're looking for a quick and enjoyable read that will make you believe in happily ever afters, this book is for you! #netgalley #annekemp#PenaltiesandProposals

This book is one of my favorite tropes enemies to lovers. Noah Falls first and I honestly love that so very much. The banter between the two characters amazing. I loved reading about them getting past their first impressions of each other. I honestly didn’t want this book to end!

💗 Second chance romance
😈 Enemies to lovers
👫🏻 Forced proximity
📷 Photographer
🏒 Hockey player
🐦 special blue bird
🍌 Banana bread
🥅 youth Girls hockey
🙏 Charity hockey series
🌶️ Low spice
📖 Novella, 172 pages

This book was everything I need in a small town hockey romance and it could’ve been longer in my opinion but it didn’t lack anything. I love the bread recipe was included in the back! Check this series out!

This is my first time reading this author. And since I love hockey, and sweet romance, I figured I’d give this one a shot. I have to say I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed this book. It’s sweet and charming with a nice blend of humor and wonderful very likable characters. Willa is awesome and I love how she doesn’t pull any punches. Having to have Noah be the subject of her photos is not something she really wants to do after an incident years ago with him blew up her career. I love Noah and how he knew he had to do something about his bad behavior in the past and actually did something about it. Now he is here at this crossroads in his hockey career and isn’t quite sure what he wants. Except for Willa that is, he knows he wants her.
This was a quick but fun read! Maple Falls sounds wonderful!

Cute but quick sports romance about a second chance between a hockey player trying to make amends with a sports photographer he caused to accidentally lose her job! It had the cutest fall backdrop in a small town and was an entertaining read for this autumn. This book is part of a closed-door sports romance series written by different authors that have characters intertwining but you don’t need to necessarily read the others to understand each book (but I’m sure it helps!) 🏒✨

I think I was a little underwhelmed by our FMC, Willa Blackwell. Most of her backstory and main character motivations are mostly told to us versus shown. For example, she spends a lot of time telling the reader that her job is so important to her or telling the MMC that she wants to help out her mother. But I didn’t feel much of a connection to her? She spent most of the book holding a long grudge against Noah for something that he didn’t mean to cause and even when they overcame that together, she kept pushing him away for no reason? She wasn’t a very fleshed out character so it was a little disappointing because I think she had more potential had it been written out with more character development.

Noah Beaumont was a bit more interesting, in my opinion. You could tell he was very remorseful and trying to change his ways compared to how he was when he was still surrounded in his toxic work environment. It was admiring to see him really work to get Willa to see the other side of him that he had been working on for so many years. I thought he had more going on in terms of motivation as he struggled to decide between making his way back to the NHL versus finding himself drawn to the humanity aspect of hockey by teaching future generations as a coach. He was also very wholesome talking about Willa and being an all-around gentleman in being direct but sweet about his feelings for her.

Since the book resembles a novella, it’s quite short and the way the story is told completely rushes Willa and Noah’s relationship. While I did find Noah’s initial attraction to her endearing, it felt very insta-love hearing him talk about when he first saw her. I found it hard to believe that Willa started to see feelings for Noah so quickly and so deeply despite only two times of bonding being somewhat of a catalyst for her to switch from holding a grudge against him to finding him intriguing. Even the ending, while super sweet and fluffy, just fell a little short for me when you consider the context of how fast-paced their relationship was. I just felt like I didn’t connect to their feelings and it didn’t make me want to root for them?

I think I was so set on giving this one 4 stars and I was willing to overlook the unrealistic relationship bonding into a full-blown love. Until this super weird thing happened where the FMC walks into a bookstore and “just so happens” to pick up a closed door romance book about hockey from an author “new-to-her.” And guess who the author is? Anne Kemp, author of this book I’m writing a review on. And Willa’s promoting Anne Kemp’s book, so really… Anne Kemp is using her FMC to self-promote her other books 🫣 as if it couldn’t get any more ridiculously random, Willa asks the bookstore owner for recommendations. And the owner proceeds to gush about and list the authors that wrote the other books in the series. By full name and by which books they’re known for 🫤 it was the most awkward and juvenile thing I’ve ever seen an author do in a book before, so that was what bumped it down from 4 to 3 stars. I had the hardest time trying to get back into the book because it was so out-of-pocket and it was all I could think of reading the rest of it

That being said, my favourite part of this book was the fluffy, cheesy moments between the MCs! Taken out of context from Willa and Noah, I actually found myself saying, “Oh, I wish I had that” to every romantic moment that was happening between them. Noah throws a bunch of hay into the air while he and Willa giggle as the photo booth shutter takes their impromptu moment on camera. Willa showing up to Noah’s game wearing his jersey to support him. Noah blowing her a kiss and Willa reaching out to grab it and pat it on her heart. Those were my favourite moments between them that without considering the context and the fast-paced relationship were just plain adorable.

Tropes:
- Sports photographer FMC x hockey player MMC 📸🏒
- Dual POV
- Second chance romance
- Enemies (more like dislike?) to lovers
- Small town 🏡

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Bird Publishing for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

If you are looking for a quick closed door sports romance. Then this book is perfect for you! The romance is perfect and so fun!

This is a super short book that could be read in a day or a few depending on how fast you are. It is apart of a multi author series so I highly recommend reading all of them!

Penalties and Proposals is set in a small town in Washington state (which I loved because I live in Washington!). It's slow burn, grumpy-sunshine, workplace romance set in this small town with all the sizzle and chemistry, but none of the spice. It's a second chance enemies to lovers story with forced proximity

Looking for something cute and heartwarming? Check out PENALTIES AND PROPOSALS by Anne Kemp.

Another addition to the Love on Thin Ice series, this romance was well written, sweet and the perfect length.

I loved the hockey parts, seeing how much Noah had grown and Willa's determination to succeed. I would have liked to see more give and take because it felt like Willa went from obsessively hating someone to falling for them so quickly.

Overall, this was a short and sweet hockey romance!

Thanks to Red Bird Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC! Opinions are my own

Another Love on Thin Ice sweet small town hockey romcom book in the series. I was given the opportunity to read this ARC in return for my honest review. This is the third book from the series that I have read - written by different authors. They all have a similar style and continue with related characters (though they can also be read as standalone). If you enjoy, light, rom-com books, this will fit the bill! I enjoyed it immensely and was a nice break from all of the real world craziness going on right now.