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clairew97's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
rebakesl's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
britwalsh16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Romance, Music, Hockey, this book weaves together some of my favorite things! I just loved it from page 1! I need to read more hockey romance books! I’ve read other sport romance books but I know nothing about football, and I’m not a genius with Baseball or Basketball. But I LOVE hockey! Blackhawks all the way!!! And this is my first hockey romance book & it just makes me want to read sooo many more hockey books!!! I’ve found a new sub genre I love!!! 💜
As for this story, I love how Pippa & Jamie are there for eachother & once they decided to stop fighting their feelings they didn’t let anything get in between them, they fought for eachother no matter what! I love relationships like that, & that is the kind of relationship I dream of having one day, & reading books with that relationship just make me overjoyed! 🥰😞
As for this story, I love how Pippa & Jamie are there for eachother & once they decided to stop fighting their feelings they didn’t let anything get in between them, they fought for eachother no matter what! I love relationships like that, & that is the kind of relationship I dream of having one day, & reading books with that relationship just make me overjoyed! 🥰😞
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol
gabs_parr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
LOVED their friendship and their romance. I loved the slowburn buildup so much that I could even tolerate the miscommunication between them without wanting to bang my head against the wall too badly. Their relationship is one of the healthiest I’ve ever seen portrayed in a romcom novel. I love them. They really felt like a real and genuine couple that you know and admire in real life, like your friends that your not-so-secretly a little jealous of but are so happy for them that they found each other because that’s how good they are together.
The side characters were fun and almost solid enough when they were shown, but they could have been fleshed out more. That was one of my biggest hang ups throughout the book. They didn’t have friends. Either of them. I get that she was coming off a 2-year tour and he was moving back after 10-years of playing somewhere else, but STILL. They grew up in Vancouver. They didn’t have any childhood friends to reconnect with? Pippa’s only friend is her sister who she doesn’t spend much time with? Jamie made no friends while he was away for 10 years? He just had one friend, Rory, and when that friendship spoiled, he never made another friend? Hayden on the team seemed like a promising character, but he never became fleshed out or a real friend, which made me think he was introduced more as a set-up for the 3rd book than anything else. Their lack of friends is a red flag, for both of them. I would have such serious reservations about dating a man without ANY friends. But she didn’t have any either, so idk. It’s weird to not have friends. I’m hoping to see more developed friendships in further installments of this series, especially amongst the players. That’s half the fun of sports romcoms.
My only other critique is more of a personal preference, so it’s not something that impacted my star rating. There were too many smut scenes. Every scene included was incredibly well written. In fact, I was impressed. She’s one of the best romance scene writers I think I’ve ever read. But maybe sticking to 3-4 scenes would have been sufficient. 5 would have been a lot but like, okay, sure, if they’re very good. I lost count of how many this book included but it was a shocking amount and I think I read like 80 romance books last year alone. I’m not new to the genre. Maybe if some of them had at least been shorter, that would have been better. There were definitely several scenes that I when I was reading them I was actively thinking, “This could have been closed door.” Like I said, it’s personal preference, so I can’t knock a star for it, but it was just a lot. 5/5 on the spice scale not because anything was so dirty or scandalous but just because of the sheer endless amounts of it once it starts.
Overall, I would recommend this book to my romance reading friends, especially to anyone looking to enter the hockey romcom world. Just with the warning of full spice (and a lot of very sweet, wholesome love) ahead ⚠️
The side characters were fun and almost solid enough when they were shown, but they could have been fleshed out more. That was one of my biggest hang ups throughout the book. They didn’t have friends. Either of them. I get that she was coming off a 2-year tour and he was moving back after 10-years of playing somewhere else, but STILL. They grew up in Vancouver. They didn’t have any childhood friends to reconnect with? Pippa’s only friend is her sister who she doesn’t spend much time with? Jamie made no friends while he was away for 10 years? He just had one friend, Rory, and when that friendship spoiled, he never made another friend? Hayden on the team seemed like a promising character, but he never became fleshed out or a real friend, which made me think he was introduced more as a set-up for the 3rd book than anything else. Their lack of friends is a red flag, for both of them. I would have such serious reservations about dating a man without ANY friends. But she didn’t have any either, so idk. It’s weird to not have friends. I’m hoping to see more developed friendships in further installments of this series, especially amongst the players. That’s half the fun of sports romcoms.
My only other critique is more of a personal preference, so it’s not something that impacted my star rating. There were too many smut scenes. Every scene included was incredibly well written. In fact, I was impressed. She’s one of the best romance scene writers I think I’ve ever read. But maybe sticking to 3-4 scenes would have been sufficient. 5 would have been a lot but like, okay, sure, if they’re very good. I lost count of how many this book included but it was a shocking amount and I think I read like 80 romance books last year alone. I’m not new to the genre. Maybe if some of them had at least been shorter, that would have been better. There were definitely several scenes that I when I was reading them I was actively thinking, “This could have been closed door.” Like I said, it’s personal preference, so I can’t knock a star for it, but it was just a lot. 5/5 on the spice scale not because anything was so dirty or scandalous but just because of the sheer endless amounts of it once it starts.
Overall, I would recommend this book to my romance reading friends, especially to anyone looking to enter the hockey romcom world. Just with the warning of full spice (and a lot of very sweet, wholesome love) ahead ⚠️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, and Car accident
culzean's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
miasreads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic relationship and Pregnancy
avidreader87's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Stephanie Archer does it again! I wasn't sure I was ready to leave her Queens Cove series, but Behind the Net has me so ready for all the Vancouver Storm love stories!
Pippa is SO loveable and extremely relatable. A strong female lead who is getting back up from some tough stuff. Jamie is like this exceptional balance of give her the world, but encourage her to be a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man (even if she wants/has one...she doesn't need someone else).
No third act breakup. Chef's kiss. . Just a story between two people with baggage to sort out, new paths to forge, and love (and a healthy amount of lust) to own up to.
But my favorite part is definitely Daisy. The dog that Jamie wasn't even going to acknowledge, then couldn't abandon at even the nicest shelter in the state, then hired an assistant to care for the dog that he hadn't even named all in like the first five minutes. Jamie and Pippa's love story is fire, but Jamie and Daisy's love story is a slow burn you don't see coming and it's beautiful 🤣
This review is based off an ARC received from the author, and is my true and honest opinion and thoughts.
Pippa is SO loveable and extremely relatable. A strong female lead who is getting back up from some tough stuff. Jamie is like this exceptional balance of give her the world, but encourage her to be a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man (even if she wants/has one...she doesn't need someone else).
No
But my favorite part is definitely Daisy. The dog that Jamie wasn't even going to acknowledge, then couldn't abandon at even the nicest shelter in the state, then hired an assistant to care for the dog that he hadn't even named all in like the first five minutes. Jamie and Pippa's love story is fire, but Jamie and Daisy's love story is a slow burn you don't see coming and it's beautiful 🤣
This review is based off an ARC received from the author, and is my true and honest opinion and thoughts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism