In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush, Kelly Anne Blount

In the Penalty Box

by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount

Willow Covington has conquered every obstacle thrown at her to become one of the best figure skaters in the nation, until a devastating injury shatters her Olympic dreams. Instead of hanging up her skates, she switches to hockey; blocking shots and slapping the puck around takes her love of the ice to a whole new level, and suddenly she has a new goal - earning a hockey scholarship to Boston College. If only the team, especially the super talented (and, okay, hot) Brodie Windom, wasn’t so frigid toward her...

Hockey sensation Brodie Windom has one goal for his senior year: to win the state tournament, which would secure a spot on the famed Boston College hockey team. His eyes are on the prize and there’s no room for distractions - until figure skater Willow Covington joins the team and throws him off his game...

Reviewed by Baroness Book Trove on

5 of 5 stars

Share
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the YA Bound Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount is a great book about a hockey player and a figure skater helping each other out.

Will Willow go back to figure skating or continue playing hockey?


Willow Covington


Willow is our first main character, and she is trying to get back in shape to return to figure skating. The problem with that, though, is that what she is already doing isn't enough. Wind is helping her to get better while she helps his hockey team by being their goalie. Brodie also said that he would help her train for both. Now that is an accomplishment. The question is, will Willow loves playing hockey more than she does figure skating? That is the biggest question that she has to ask herself a lot throughout the book. Along with will she keep her figure skating dreams in the forefront of her mind?

Willow is a great character, and I loved following her journey of recovering from her injury to figuring out that maybe going home wasn't such a bad thing. She is great because Willow knows that she might not be able to make it back to figure skating, but she is hoping to, yet maybe she could find another passion on the ice that won't hurt herself even more.

Brodie "Wind" Windhom


Brodie is focused on getting to State Championships again to get into the same college as his grandfather and dad and be on the hockey team to get through college. He has two problems with those dreams. Will that be enough to get his dad to stay at home again? And is spending so much time with Willow be a good thing in the long run for him? Those two questions he has to ask himself throughout the book.

Brodie has two different sides to him that he shows throughout that makes him such a great character. He is a typical jock type of character when he is near his friends, and only certain people see his gentler side that is reserved for his home life. Brodie's homelife is complex, and I feel so bad for him. I hope that something good happens to him.

Five Stars


In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount is such a fantastic book that I didn't want to put it down for anything. I admit I love watching the Cutting Edge films, and this book did such a great job of representing both hockey and figure skating life. Both sports require a lot out of the athletes, and that if it helps some people recover from injuries as it does with Willow, that is fantastic. I love the banter between Brodie and Willow. In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount deserves a five-star rating and a recommendation to anyone that likes a young adult sports romance.


Organized By:



To find all the tour information, click the banner at the top of the page.


Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this review of In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 January, 2021: Finished reading
  • 18 January, 2021: Reviewed