Pucked (Pucked, #1)

by Helena Hunting

[stacey_is_sassy]

I didn't realise Canadian's sounded so Irish... 😉

This is the kind of audio that I really look forward to. I've read the story, know what's going to happen and I'm prepared for every bump in the road to happiness. I can relax sit back and enjoy the journey without stressing about background noises or my attention drifting. It doesn't always happen, but if there's a lot going on around me, I can sometimes get distracted from the storyline. In Pucked, I was able to follow along well, get a bunch of laughs (embarassingly, on the train...again) and experience the connection of the main characters.

The narrators do a good job but admit to loving the female narrator a touch more. She is easy to listen to and jumps from a male to a female character with ease. The male narrator was ok but admit to being a little distracted from the storyline by his accent. I'm convinced he's Irish, or maybe originally born in Ireland. Lots of rolling with an almost melodic flow to his narration. It was all good, though.

I'm glad I got the chance to listen to Pucked and I'm keen to try a few more audios of this series.

No change in rating as I enjoyed the audio as much as the read.

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All the stars and planets aligned.

For me, a book has to cross A LOT of hurdles to be a five-star read. The cover must be appealing, both the hero and heroine have to be at least likable, preferably lovable and I have to get drawn into their world. Pucked ticked all my boxes. I needed a good laugh and this one definitely delivered. My son's, aged 12 and 9, kept asking me what was so funny? This is NOT one I could fudge and come up with an age-appropriate explanation...normally I give a slight variation of what's really going on. How do you make an age-appropriate explanation of why it's so funny that her mum walks into her room as she is "jilling" (who went up the hill with Jill...a thing guys like doing...an action that ends with off) herself? Ahhh...I got nothing. Pucked ended up being my own little giggle, snort party.

Violet lives in the pool house on her mum and stepdad's property. Her mum Skye, has a very bad habit of walking in whenever she feels like it. This drives Violet crazy but you can tell they have a very close relationship. Violet's stepdad is a hockey scout and stepbrother a professional hockey player. She's a little bit of a nerd and had a nasty end to a relationship with a hockey player. Both of those things and the fact that Buck (the stepbrother) is a manwhore, makes Violet weary of hockey players. Then she meets Alex and decides she might make a one-time exception for him.

Alex is the captain of the professional hockey team Buck plays for. He has a reputation that he refuses to agree or deny about to sports reporters. His manager Dick (very appropriate), thinks any reputation is a good reputation, but Alex is starting to get sick of it. When he meets Violet he is really attracted to her. She is funny and says the most inappropriate stuff. For Alex, it's a little bit of a shock when Violet doesn't jump at the chance to have a relationship with him. He must convince her that the reputation is not always earned. Challenge accepted.

Pucked is a very funny sports romance with a spunky heroine and a hero that isn't as confident as he lets everyone believe. There are a lot more ups than downs, and the sexy times were steamy with great humour as well. Alex does have a brain malfunction later on in the story, but it wasn't bad enough to reduce my like...lust...love for him.

If you're looking for a very lighthearted, funny romance that's a little silly and a lot goofy Pucked is perfect. I was thoroughly satisfied.