Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Pucking Sweet

Poppy St. James has landed her dream job. As the Director of Public Relations for the Jacksonville Rays, the NHL’s hottest new team, she’s got twelve months to prove she’s worth keeping. The PR part is easy, but the players themselves are proving to be a handful. Brash, bossy partyboy Lukas Novikov is a PR nightmare who seems to find new and creative ways to drag his teammates—including fellow defenseman Colton Morrow—into trouble that Poppy has to get them out of. But the moniker of PR Barbie doesn’t stop Poppy—poised, powerful, and always professional—from doing her job. Until one phone call from her family knocks Poppy’s carefully balanced life off-kilter. One night—one mistake—leads to a web of tangled feelings, and now she’s staring down at a plus sign with no strategy and no idea what’s next. All she knows is that nothing will ever be the same.

Diving back into the world of the Jacksonville Rays NHL ice hockey team, Pucking Sweet is a funny, emotional, and engaging story from start to finish. The plot and subplots create a great balance of humour and tension, with some truly epic banter and utterly heartfelt moments. That I wasn’t put off by a plot point that’s a major nope for me

(accidental pregnancy)

speaks to the quality and depth of Rath’s writing, especially the love she inspires for her characters. Featuring a diverse and fascinating cast, I loved seeing my favourite characters again and getting alternative views of events from the previous novels, as well as getting to know FMC Poppy and MMCs Lukas and Colton better. I especially enjoyed Poppy’s character arc. Strong and empowered in her career, it was rewarding to see her further develop her confidence and translate those strengths to face challenges within her personal life and her family dynamics. Lucas’ and Colton’s arcs were equally rewarding to experience as they navigated personal challenges, the complexities of their romance with Poppy and growing feelings for each other, and their NHL careers.

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The span of this story is from the start of the first book in this series, through the second book in the series, and even beyond that. Yet I’d still say you can read this one without reading those two books. The other characters are in and out of this story, but their backstories are not needed to be fully immersed in this book.

That being said, some things happened in the last book, Pucking Wild, that gave a peek at the polyamorous relationship of Poppy, Lukas, and Colton and I couldn’t wait to find out how it all came to be and how it would play out. Lukas has not been what I would consider a likable character throughout the series. He likes to snipe at everyone, especially Colton. He teases Poppy relentlessly as if they’re in kindergarten and never seems to take anything seriously. Of course, that is all to keep everyone at arm’s length. Lukas cannot afford to form attachments to anyone as he knows those attachments are never real and never last.

Colton is such a lovely laid-back person who is fantastic at being the glue to the frenetic energy of Poppy and Lukas. I love the way he loves them. Not that he doesn’t need affection and care, too. Poppy knows this and eventually so does Lukas. This trio doesn’t work on paper. But when they are alone, when the walls are down, they are perfect. Lukas allows himself to be vulnerable, Colton allows himself to exert his powerful nature, and Poppy gives over her need for control. It works for them. If only they can realize that it can work just as well outside of their secret bubble.

Although Poppy has a lot to deal with in her family and Lukas had a terrible upbringing, there isn’t the same level of angst in this book as there is in the previous stories. There is conflict and confusion and many things to work out, but there never seems to be despair even when things look grim. There is great chemistry all around and I was always rooting for them to find their way to each other.

One final note that is specific to the audiobook: up to this point I have only heard Sean Crisden narrate the Icehome series by Ruby Dixon. In other words, I have only heard him be an alien. It was a joy to hear his voice in another context. I will admit that when Colton would get gravelly I’d think of those aliens! That’s not a bad thing though.

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I cried, laughed, and enjoyed the spice throughout this whole book. Novy is going to be my fav character of the month, I’ve already called it. His journey throughout this book cause so much laughter and tears for me. And I loved Poppy and Colton, too. Enjoying an accidental pregnancy plot was not on my bingo card for this year, but it happened. Wrath can do no wrong.

MMF Romance, Enemies to Lovers and Friends to Lovers, 4 🔥

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ermunleybooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ermunleybooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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iamsammie27's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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nadine_b's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

eARC reader who received an advanced copy of the book.

Oh Dr Rath has done it again! I couldn’t put this down - I love Novy and Morrow so much, and their relationship with Poppy is incredible.

Tons of spice y’all - it comes at you fast and you’ll want to skip ahead to the next spice but keep reading - it makes it so much better!

Loved the intertwining of the story with previous books (happens in parallel) and getting snippets of characters we know and love.

Can’t wait to reread it - slower this time - and already chomping at the bit for the next book that she teased at the end of this one. Have mercy, Dr Rath!

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