Confessions of a former PB (Puck Bunny) is book 4 in the Taking Shots series but you can read it as a stand alone. The former PB is Lindsay, the editor of the school paper. The hockey player is Ryder aka 'Ox'. Lindsay and Ryder are pretty different. She is about to graduate; he is a sophomore. She is all about words and language; he loves math. His dad was a pro hockey player; her mom is a gold digger. And Ryder is pretty much the only guy who doesn't know she slept with half the hockey team...
I liked Lindsay's approach to treating her addiction to hockey players. She didn't like the person she was becoming and she really does treat it similar to a drug addiction! She decides that she must quit cold turkey. However, like most addicts, she slips every once in a while...by looking at pro hockey players photos online! She wants to be different; she fears turning into her mother. So, when Ryder starts to show her some attention and interest, she panics and tries to bolt on him repeatedly. Ryder is determined though and makes a deal with her: he tutors her in math so she can pass the class and graduate and in return, she agrees to do fun things with him. I kind of loved Ryder's tenacity when it came to Lindsay. However, I could see the writing on the wall as to how this would play out...eventually he is going to find out she was a PB. Eventually his dad is going to find out Ryder is giving his time and attention to something other than hockey. Eventually Lindsay's mom will do something awful.
I have enjoyed this series a great deal! Anatomy of a Player was my favorite and ironically, the hero from that book, Hudson, is the hockey boy who broke Lindsay's heart and is now the reason for her former PB status. You get cameos from Beck and Lyla, Hudson and Whitney, and Dane and Megan which always makes me happy to see in a series. I didn't expect to like Lindsay quite so much. PB have a terrible reputation in any book about hockey players! They are always the sluts trying to steal away other girls' boyfriends. They are the sleazy girls who show up to a hockey game (where there is ICE) in tiny skirts that show their ass cheeks and hold signs letting every player know they are willing to 'ease their pain' after a game. So, picking up a book where the heroine was one of those girls? Yeah, I was skeptical that she would come across as vapid and narcissistic. However, Lindsay has realized the error of her ways. She still admits that she is physically attracted to the look of a hockey player but she doesn't want to be 'that girl' any more. Her struggle to 'stay clean' was actually a fairly enjoyable twist on the PB trope. My biggest issues with the story stemmed from the overall predictability of the plot.
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: hockey; college
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
The Score by Elle Kennedy, The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan, Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen...then you will probably like Confessions of a former Puck Bunny!
See full review on The Book Disciple