Five years after being left at the altar by her professional hockey player fiance, Astrid O'Malley has created a new life for herself. She's sworn off both relationships and anything to do with hockey, a challenge given that her dad is the head coach of the Harbor City Ice Knights. She's working a shift as a bartender one night when she meets a handsome man and breaks her own rules to hook up with him. The following evening, her father invites her to a dinner which turns out to be a welcome party for his newest assistant coach: Astrid's hookup, Cal Matsen. It's a shock to both of them, but they manage to hide their previous acquaintance from her father. It's an even bigger shock when Astrid's father announces that he wants her to work with Cal to help her ex-fiance, now the goalie for the Ice Knights, get over his case of the yips.
Cal's NHL career ended prematurely due to a traumatic injury, and his singular goal since then has been to get back into hockey in whatever way he can. Landing a coaching position with the Ice Knights has him one step closer to that dream, and the last thing he wants is to jeopardize it by getting involved with the coach's daughter. But no matter how hard they try, they can't seem to stay away from each other. Can Cal have it all or will he be forced to choose between hockey and Astrid?
This was such a fun story! Astrid and Cal had great chemistry, and I adored their flirty, witty banter. After everything she went through with her ex-fiance, particularly the media attention in the aftermath of their breakup, Astrid's concerns about getting involved with Cal were completely understandable. It took a lot of courage for her to overcome her fears and learn to trust in love again. As for Cal, he needed someone like Astrid to help him see that there was more to life than hockey. They made a wonderful couple, and I loved cheering them on to their HEA.
I highly recommend "Walk of Shame" for all steamy romantic comedy fans and look forward to whatever the author writes next.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Walk of Shame"
One night. No strings. And a really good puck.
Five years ago, Astrid O’Malley experienced the ultimate in public humiliation. Being dumped at the altar by her childhood sweetheart was horrifying enough. That fact that he was a professional hockey goalie and her dad was his coach? It was all anyone in sports could talk about.
Eff hockey. Eff goalies.
These days, Astrid lives a life (mostly) free of hockey and free to pursue whoever she wants with exactly zero shame in her game. Like tonight’s hook-up. This guy’s nailed the lumberjack aesthetic perfectly. Especially when he has the stamina and creativity to back it up.
Because the rule is: it’s one night only. Which is gonna be a problem because she’s just discovered he lives in the apartment upstairs.
And he’s joined her dad’s team. As the goalie coach. To train her ex.
Now Astrid is in some kind of hockey hell–filled with her ex, her family, and the best sex of her life. And somehow she’s been roped back onto the team.
Puck my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments make my day! While I do not expect everyone to agree with my point of view, please note that I reserve the right to delete any nasty or uncharitable messages, as well as spam. Open discussion is welcome and appreciated, but personal attacks are not. Thanks for understanding and have a nice day. :-)