This romantic comedy, *Behind the Net* by the viral TikTok author, is a fun, witty, and surprisingly heartwarming take on the marriage of convenience trope. The story centers on Georgia Greene, who finds herself in a fake marriage with Alexei Volkov, a grumpy, no-nonsense hockey player. The twist? Their marriage is the only way for Georgia to secure her inheritance.

At first, Alexei is the epitome of the "brooding jerk," with his competitive streak, jealousy, and icy demeanor. He insists that his feelings for Georgia are purely transactional—he's marrying her for citizenship, not love. But as the story progresses, the cracks in his tough exterior start to show. Despite his gruffness, Alexei proves to be surprisingly caring, protective, and generous, going out of his way to make Georgia feel special with thoughtful gestures, secret flower meanings, and acts of kindness.

The dynamic between Georgia and Alexei is electric, full of banter, tension, and undeniable chemistry. Their constant bickering, while initially humorous, gradually reveals deeper emotional connections. What starts as a marriage based on mutual inconvenience transforms into something more complex as Georgia starts to question if this fake marriage is, in fact, the real deal.

The author does a fantastic job of balancing humor with emotional depth, making Alexei's character more than just the stereotypical "grumpy hero." His development is subtle but impactful, showing that even the toughest exteriors can conceal vulnerability and tenderness. Georgia, too, is a relatable and likable protagonist, navigating her own feelings and insecurities while caught up in the whirlwind of her fake marriage.

Overall, this story is a perfect blend of humor, heart, and romance. It's an enjoyable read for fans of enemies-to-lovers tropes and those who love a good "fake marriage" turning into something much more. With its witty dialogue, charming characters, and sweet moments, *Behind the Net* is a delightful escape into a world where love catches you when you least expect it.

Thank you so much for the arc!
I really enjoyed the book. There isn’t a Stephanie archer book that I don’t like.
The banter between the characters were top tier. I enjoyed the character development throughout the story. The daily flower delivery basically has its own character development and I love it.
I will say I was confused on a few minor details almost where I felt like I missed a conversation between the characters but it was still really good!

This was so good, it was like a dessert as soon as i bit into it i was enjoying it. I definitely enjoyed my time with this story. It had the banter paired with enemies to lovers vibes yes please. The story was well written, it had everything you would want in a sports romance.

Georgia needs to marry to unlock her inheritance and save her research program for sports rehabilitation. Alexei needs to marry a Canadian to secure his citizenship. Despite their mutual hatred, they strike a deal that solves both of their problems: a marriage.

I LOVE a marriage of convenience trope with a dash of enemies to lovers. It's the perfect combination, and this book delivers all the teasing, banter, and tension. There were so many “my wife” moments…perfection.

This is, hands down, my favorite Stephanie Archer novel that I've read. As a huge fan of hockey romance, I can confidently say this one really hit the mark. When I talk about loving sports romance, I mean books like Gloves Off! This was the perfect balance of plot and spice. We get to see both characters grow individually, alongside the development of their growing love, which makes the reader even more invested in them ending up together. I absolutely adored this romance.

Read if you like:
- Marriage of convenience
- Hockey romance
- Banter
- “Enemies” to lovers
- Strong FMC
- Down-bad MMC

This was EVERYTHING I wanted. After gobbling up their interactions like a peasant for three books, finally being able to read their story was the highlight of my week and I was not in ANY way disappointed.
Georgia and Alexei were absolutely chemical together. Watching them grow to love each other, overcoming their preconceived notions about the other, and finally getting their happy ending!!?? Perfection.
The pacing of the story was great, I love that it slowed down a bit at times to show domesticity and how they were growing together. I liked the involvement of all the past couples and characters I loved and the hints at a possible upcoming story line.
This series is incredible and I’ve loved every single book!

I really enjoyed this book! The plot was fresh and interesting and I really enjoyed the characters, as well as their different personalities!

My first Stephanie Archer book and let me tell you I could not put it down. I need to find out how it turns to love and both characters were stubborn about their feelings.

The hate to love was good. Alexei and Georgia, the banter, the trying to one up each other. The possessiveness that creeps in with both characters but more so with Alexei, how can you not fall for him. Both of them were down to earth expect they didn't that about each other and once they care they care for those they love. The little details as they began to fall for each other, Alexei with flowers and their meaning and Georgia and her bunnies.

Gloves off is a nice rom-com. My minus points was it came off a bit repetitive, maybe some of it could have been edited, in my opinion and you still would have a good story. Miscommunication right off the bat, both characters too proud to show their real colors to each other, which I didn't mind because it was the story.

It was engaging, fun and a good read.

Stephanie Archer is a top author, and Gloves Off did not disappoint! I have loved this series from book one and it's so amazing to revisit this world and these characters, and to see how past book couples have grown. I am obsessed with Alexei and Georgia! It was incredibly frustrating to have them both be so biased in the beginning, but it made the growth of their relationship all the more beautiful.

This book is filled with a grumpy, possessive man obsessed with calling Georgia "my wife" and I am here for it all the way. I love that all of Stephanie's female characters are bad ass women with goals and lives that don't get pushed aside to make way for a man. Get it, Steph! I am beyond thrilled that Stephanie get picked up by a trade publisher and it makes me so happy to see her books on the shelf!

Ahhhh the way I loved this book so much like it was such a fun read. When i say all i was thinking about was reading the other books in the series. This is a hockey romance with marriage of convenience for a visa. The banter was great, the steam was good and i just loved the characters! The fmc is a doctor and she and the mmc, a hockey player on the cusp of retirement hate each other at first because of a misunderstanding. They agree to a marriage of convenience and while they try to keep their distance they obviously cant stop the attraction and chemistry.

I loved just the friendship, romance and spice as well as him falling first. I loved both characters background and how it impacted the relationship. This book was just so cute and a fun spicy read. Thanks to Dell Romance for the arc for an honest review.

Read for:
- Hockey romance
- Opposites attracts
- Enemies to lovers
- Steamy scenes
- Hockey player mmc and Doctor fmc

I’m not usually one for enemies to lovers when it feels really angry or hate filled. While this one did have those elements, I found I was somehow cool with it when it came to Alexei and Georgia?? Slow burn at its finest here and I really liked seeing these characters bend and make hard but necessary changes to be with each other.

This is the fourth book in a series that I haven’t read, and I didn’t mind or find it tough to join the obviously well established gang of characters at all. I can’t wait to go back and read through the series!

I loved this one so much. I'm not normally a fan of contemporary enemies to lovers or marriage of convenience with this was excellent. I love Georgia and Alexie.

I’ve been excited for Gloves Off since The Wingman, and boy did Archer deliver!! This one is funny, gorgeously romantic, and I think the spiciest in the series so far!! Cannot WAIT for book 5. In the meantime, can Georgia be my best friend?

This was the first book in the Vancouver Storm series I read and I was not disappointed! I give it a solid 4.5 stars, I loved the slow burn and enemies-to-lovers elements of the story. The only thing that prevented me from giving it a five star rating was that they acted a little too much like enemies at the beginning for my taste, more so Alexei than Georgia. I grew to love Alexei but I hated how the whole enemies trope impeded his sense of just being a gentleman in the beginning. For example, letting her walk home alone at night and not helping her during the moving process were instances where, yes he could have still hated her, but still could have just had some common decency and helped her out. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the romance, humor, and how Alexei and Georgia overcame their preconceptions of each other. It's refreshing how the author didn't drag out their "hate" and the characters honesty regarding their feelings towards one another. It made the transition from enemies to lovers a lot more enjoyable and I adored the little details that made their relationship special - like the shoes and flower meanings. It made for really special and unique elements to their love story. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A cute easy read - was able to read it in two days!
Low-conflict and fast pace. I do wish there was a little bit more conflict around the 80 percent mark? But overall I enjoyed the story, the humor and the characters!

Also. Stefan and Damon were hilarious.

4.25⭐️ honestly
so this book started off very meh. and trust me i was excited to read this for many reasons:
-marriage of convenience ✅
-this series has me in a chokehold ✅
so when i started it and was noticing a few things that were bothering me i was a tad bit worried! (i will state those down below with a spoiler warning!) but gradually as the story went on i was pretty much HOOKED.

this is a SLOW BURN tbh. and maybe not in the sexual way…they have a few scenes throughout the midway point. but in the emotional way. i don’t think they begin trusting and opening up to each other till about 75-80% but honestly the pay off was pretty great! their relationship felt very real and like they’ve just gone through hell and back to get to where they are now and it was very wholesome.

and let me tell you. these two HATED each other. this is HATE/enemies to lovers to the MAX. some of the things they did or said had me thinking there could be no redemption but she did a great job of turning it around tbh! so if you are looking for a real and true enemies to lovers, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!

SPOILERS:
*
*
*
so here’s what had me angry and annoyed throughout the book:
-in the beginning, it’s an off the bat miscommunication. one that could have EASILY been solved with one or two conversations. which they didn’t have and it felt childish.
-felt like the whole marriage thing was rushed a bit. also oh my god. THEY WERE TERRIBLE ACTORS! how could no one think this was fake? how were they not arrested???? they obviously did not like each other and were avoiding each other. it was bad.
-also thoughout the book, the author did this thing that i hate in books where the characters are thinking one thing but say another thing. so Georgia would think ‘wow i really want to kiss him’ and then say “no stay away from me” because she didn’t want to “give into the game” like girl. to me that’s unrealistic bc im not able to hold back like that LOL so i hate reading things like that! like just GIVE IN!!!!

anyways tho i did like this book but sometimes things just piss me off a little LOL

I love me some spicy and heartwarming hockey romance and Stephanie Archer just knows how to write a great one! This is the 4th book in this series and somehow it still manages to standout among the other books in the series. We've been teased about Alexei and Georgia in the Wingman and I couldnt wait to read their book - safe to say, I was not disappointed.

It appears to be your typical marriage of convenience story between the grumpy and elusive Alexei and the spitfire doctor Georgia. These two have a lot of hate towards each other so it seemed unlikely for them to want to be fake married. They did though thinking they'd be perfect to do it since they won't risk falling in love due to that hate. Im not gonna lie, for most of the half of the book, I was like its too much. How can they fall in love when they banter and hurl insults like theres no tomorrow? But of course, once they get to know each other and actually communicate, they find themselves questioning all that hate in the beginning. What I truly loved in this book is the found family aspect between the teammates and their partners. Its good to see glimpses of the couples from the previous books as well. I love the flowers and their meanings storyline. It's so sweet and showed the progression of their relationship. I love the rabbits - Damon and Stefan. Truly enjoyed Alexei's green flag moments (swooon).

So why not a 5⭐️? I felt like the spicy scenes were a bit lacking. For how much they hate each other, I didnt feel that chemistry there. I guess I expected more. I also did not like the whole miscommunication/assumptions in the beginning. I guess it makes the story but if they somehow just stopped and told one another that they were wrong with what they assumed this other person is or does, they probably would have gotten along fine and not constantly bicker. Like it didnt make much sense to me why.

Overall though, I still very much enjoyed the book. This whole series is the perfect romcom to pick up when you're in the mood to laugh and fall in love with hockey players.

Thank you to the publisher, Stephanie Archer and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I have loved this series and eagerly await each book. Gloves off was no exception to this series being great. I loved that it was a GENUINE enemies to lovers and they didn't immediately fold into romance as soon as they were forced together. I loved Volkov being a real yearner once he was crushing on Georgia and loved the slow burn of their relationship. And the sleepwalking was a great tool for sharing a bed. As always, Stephanie writes good spice! I overall enjoyed this book, but I still think "The Fake Out" is the stand out in this series.

Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer is the latest in her Vancouver Storm series and it doesn't disappoint. While it can be read as a stand-alone, you'll probably enjoy it more if you read the others in the series so you are already familiar with some of the secondary characters.

Georgia and Alexei don't like each other - at all - but they need each other. Georgia needs to be married to get an inheritance and Alexei needs to get married so that he can get his permanent residency. So OBVIOUSLY they decide to put their mutual hatred aside for one year to get married and achieve both of their goals.

Along the way to their happily ever after we get witty banter, to witness them starting to like and then fall in love with each other and to see some characters from previous books in the series.

The author takes us from them seriously disliking each other to wanting to be together forever and makes it believable. I really enjoyed this quick read and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Stephanie Archer hockey romances are sweetly romantic, a touch spicy, and low drama which is why they are so comforting to read. Gloves Off is an excellent addition to the series and you can tell Archer has grown as a writer if you've read her earlier works. The pacing and character development are better formulated and the plot, the whisper of a plot that exists in what is basically a series of romcom vignettes, gets the reader to a satisfying end with no third act break up. Georgia and Alexei's "hatred" for each other is both hilarious and extremely transparent. We all know these two want each other so badly but convince themselves that they don't in the cutest ways imaginable. I could see the beats of the story coming from a mile a way but Archer writes the characters so charmingly, I didn't care! Of course there will only be one bed! Of course they'll have to fake kiss! Give me more. This book is a warm hug beginning to end, top to bottom.

when i say they hate eachother!!! they hate each other.
a marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, hockey romance, Georgia and Volkov got off on the very wrong foot from the beginning. BUT they both ended up needing eachother for their own benefit!!

the TENSION and hatred between these two was insane, but the moments we got outside of that were so wonderful. this book really harped on the little things in relationships that hold meaning & i appreciated that. the flowers! the little gifts! the protectiveness! and the growth they both shared with eachother, and individually was all you could ask for. Another 10/10 for me