Coach's Kid
Hockey players who like to live dangerously
I didn’t set out to make this a hockey roundup as well, but with hockey being the best-represented sport in romance at the moment, it was probably inevitable. In any case, please enjoy this roundup of subversive “workplace” romances that definitely didn’t set off my “daddy issues” detector at all!
Breakaway by Grace Reilly. Penny Ryder has a terrible ex, a bucket list of sex stuff, a lot of baggage from the injury that ended her ice skating career, and an overprotective father who happens to be the hockey coach at her college. Cooper Callahan has daddy issues, a seemingly endless dry spell that’s affecting his performance on the rink, and an ambition to become his college hockey team’s captain before he heads, hopefully, to the NHL. After an exciting interlude in the supply closet of the local ice rink, they both agree a secret fling is just what the doctor ordered, so Penny can get her list checked off and Cooper can get his groove back in time to secure the captain position.
You know I’m a sucker for a girl with a list, and I thought the stakes of discovery were sufficiently high that it made their little agreement exciting, sexy, and ultimately satisfying as they both realize that what was meant to be an interlude could be, in fact, their ideal destination.
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
The Risk by Elle Kennedy. Book 2 in the follow up series to Elle Kennedy’s iconic Off Campus series features two people we’ve seen a few times before in the past; Jake Connelly, Harvard hockey’s star forward and thorn in the side of Briar U hockey players from this generation, and Brenna, the daughter of Briar’s hockey team. So unlike the other two books on this list, Brenna isn’t Jake’s coach’s daughter, but she’s his rival’s coach’s daughter, which is, in some ways, way worse. What I liked about this set up is the stakes mostly fall on the coach’s daughter, not the athlete, in this case, because it’s not just general trust that would be broken by their relationship, but would also seem like a betrayal due to the team rivalries.
In a twist of fate, Jake and Brenna fall into a situation where the only way out is to pretend to date each other, for a career-defining internship for Brenna and for, well, Brenna for Jake. Because he wants their fake dates to feel real. And then he maybe kinda wants them to be real.
Elle Kennedy is the queen of new adult hockey romance for good reason, and though the stakes of this book weren’t quite at the level I’d prefer given the amount of melodrama at some points, these characters felt lived in, they were undeniably sexy together, and I can’t help but root for them.
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen. As far as he can tell, Leo Trevi has nowhere to go but up, especially after he gets drafted by the Brooklyn Bruisers. Things get complicated for him, though, when he realizes that not only is his new coach his high school sweetheart’s dad (who hates him), but also, that selfsame high school sweetheart is doing PR for the team.
Georgia Worthington broke Leo’s heart at 18, breaking her own in the process, and neither of them ever got over it. She had her reasons, but as a professional adult now, she needs to at least pretend she’s fine to get through the day. She has a lot to prove if she doesn’t want to be known as a nepo hire, and she’s determined to do it.
TW: sexual assault in the heroine’s past (that, yes, has something to do with why she ultimately broke up with Leo back in the day. It wasn’t Leo OBVIOUSLY but felt worth mentioning!)
This is a solid workplace romance and it’s also a fun subversion of the coach’s kid set up because the coach knew and approved of them back in the day, but staunchly does NOT approve in the present. So while their initial reunion follows the pattern of the other books by having to be a secret, there’s some additional layers to complicate things.
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Next week, it’s Thanksgiving! I hope you’re thankful for MEMES, because that’s what you’re getting!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!
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