After her surrogate father accepted a new job as the head coach of the New Jersey Blizzards professional hockey team, single mom Amara Miller packed up her 9-year-old son, Maverick, and moved across the country to be with her family. Coach Watson's wife had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Amara's flexible job as a beauty influencer allowed her to help care for her as she went through treatment. While visiting Coach Watson at the arena one day, Amara literally ran into Blizzards team captain Ryan Donnelly, who was drawn to her from the moment he laid eyes on her. When he learned of her connection to Coach Watson, however, he placed her firmly into the off-limits category. Besides that, Ryan had sworn off dating after one too many bad blind dates orchestrated by his best friend/ex-girlfriend, Maddey, plus Amara had no intention of getting involved with a hockey player after her son's hockey-playing father abandoned her as a pregnant teenager. Unfortunately for Amara, her son Maverick quickly bonded with Ryan and decided to play matchmaker for him and his mom, helped by Ryan's sister Jordan and her "girl gang," the Coven. Would Ryan and Amara be able to fight their well-meaning friends and family, not to mention their own feelings for each other?
Ryan and Amara's romance was definitely a slow burn, with much of the first half of the book seemingly focused on the antics and matchmaking interference of their friends and family. To me, it felt a bit longer than it needed to be, but I might not say that if I had already read the previous books in the series. Longtime fans will probably enjoy the chance to catch up with so many favorite characters from past stories, and even I got quite a few laughs out of their text exchanges. At any rate, when Ryan and Amara finally went on their first date, it was just about the sweetest thing ever. I completely adored Ryan's thoughtful, creative idea to give Amara a taste of the teenage experience she missed out on by taking her to an indoor amusement park. From there, the relationship development was well paced and the conflict between them at the end was understandable, though painful. Ryan's grand gesture showed once again just how well he knew Amara, and I loved it.
Ryan and Amara's romance was definitely a slow burn, with much of the first half of the book seemingly focused on the antics and matchmaking interference of their friends and family. To me, it felt a bit longer than it needed to be, but I might not say that if I had already read the previous books in the series. Longtime fans will probably enjoy the chance to catch up with so many favorite characters from past stories, and even I got quite a few laughs out of their text exchanges. At any rate, when Ryan and Amara finally went on their first date, it was just about the sweetest thing ever. I completely adored Ryan's thoughtful, creative idea to give Amara a taste of the teenage experience she missed out on by taking her to an indoor amusement park. From there, the relationship development was well paced and the conflict between them at the end was understandable, though painful. Ryan's grand gesture showed once again just how well he knew Amara, and I loved it.
On a separate topic, as someone who has battled breast cancer, I very much empathized with the challenges Mama Watson and her family faced as she went through
treatment. I appreciated how sensitively the topic was handled and that
the impact on caregivers was highlighted as well as the patients.
Overall, I loved "Scoring Beauty" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance, especially romantic comedy and sports romance. It was the first book I've ever read by Alley Ciz, but I will definitely be picking up more of her work in the future.
Overall, I loved "Scoring Beauty" and highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance, especially romantic comedy and sports romance. It was the first book I've ever read by Alley Ciz, but I will definitely be picking up more of her work in the future.
*Review copy provided by the author/publisher via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Scoring Beauty"
RYAN
I’m done with dating.
Happily-ever-after isn’t in the cards for me, so I’m officially taking myself off the market.
Hockey is my mecca.
The arena my temple.
The ice the altar I worship at.
Then…I met her.
Strip me naked and run me over with a Zamboni—she’s the textbook definition of a bad love match.
Amara Miller, beyond beautiful and effortlessly drawing me into her orbit and making it impossible to resist her.
AMARA
It should have been a simple cross-country move.
Instead, it sent me crashing—quite literally—into the captain of Coach’s new hockey team.
Did I mention he was half-naked when it happened?
It doesn’t matter that he’s sexy as sin and the swooniest motherpucker I’ve ever met.
I will not lust after hockey players.
Been there.
Done that.
Bought the maternity shirt.
And Ryan Donnelly? He’s pretty much Mr. Hockey.
The problem is, I’m not the only one enamored with him—my kid is too.
It’s turning into a problem, because this mama doesn’t have time to play games when it comes to our hearts.
Scoring Beauty is a sporty, sexy romcom featuring a hot-mess (at least in her eyes) single mom who’s about to knock this swoony motherpucking hockey player on his very fine behind. This interconnected stand-alone comes complete with your favorite can’t-mind-their-own-business Covenettes, a next generation trying their hands at the matchmaking shenanigans, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
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