Slap Shot (Aces Hockey, #5)

by Kelly Jamieson

[Sam@WLABB]

I am trash for hockey romances and this one did exactly what I wanted it to - it made me smile, grin, swoon, laugh, and even cry a little.



Who?
Max, a professional hockey player, who is trying to get back on the roster after taking time off following his wife's death. Kendra, an intelligent and independent entrepreneur, who was a sort of "fixer" with a big heart.

What?
After a wedding encounter, where sparks flew, the two mutually decided to a strings-free, physical relationship.

Why?
I instantly shipped these two. They had a natural ease with each other, and I loved that Kendra was able to get through Max's numb layers, and help him slowly climb out from under his grief.

I was really impressed with the amount of sports talk in this book. We are taken through Max's comeback process, as well as, training camp and some games. I enjoyed reading about all that stuff a lot more than I expected, but let's be honest, I was all about the romance, and this one did its job taking me through a whole spectrum of emotions.

It was fun to watch their relationship grow and change. They kept saying it was all sex, but you could see there was a lot more to it through their interactions, their texts, their phone calls, but the road to their HEA was not an easy one. Max was still grieving and trying to reconcile his growing feelings for Kendra with his love for his late wife. He struggled, and Kendra struggled, and I sighed and cried a little, but in the end, I think Jamieson did an admirable job finding a balanced solution.

I usually read duel POV romance stories, so this was a little bit of a change for me, as it is told almost predominately from Max's POV. It worked really well though, because the major obstacles to this relationship were Max's issues, and I think it was important to be inside his head, and see things from his perspective. It was great seeing the juxtaposition of his manly and mushy side, and overhearing the conversations between him and his teammates, who were also his friends and confidants.

Overall: A fun and heartfelt friends-with-benefits to more romance, which features a hero and heroine you couldn't help but love.

**I would like to thank the publishers for the advance copy of this book.

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