Talk Hockey to Me – Kelly Jamieson – NextBookAroundTheCorner

Hunter

Timing. Hockey careers are made or broken on it, and mine has taken an exceptionally broken road. I’m not a star. I’m a grinder, I work hard, and I’m finally at the point I can put the past behind me and get the fat, long-term contract I deserve.

But my agent—the man who stuck by me through every crash and burn—has had a heart attack. I need another agent now, or my one chance for the good money will slip through my fingers. Kate’s a rookie, but she loves the game like I do, so I pick up the phone. And I wonder if she remembers that one night in Cancun as vividly as I do.

Kate

Hockey. All my life I’ve lived it, breathed it, played it. Now it’s my business. As an agent, I’m tied to my phone at all hours, but nothing prepared me to hear Hunter’s voice. The last time I saw him—three years ago—there was a lot of bare skin and horny hormones involved.

I’ve handled it all in my short career—sexism, harassment, being broke, being laughed at. Resisting the attraction between us should be easy. Until it isn’t. And Hunter’s past shakes his confidence hard enough that he could make the worst decision at the worst possible time…

My review

Having read Game Changer, I thought this hockey story was from the same series. It is not. This one is from the Bears hockey series. But it is no problem if you haven’t read the other parts. Whereas Firecracker and Game Changer are full of hilarious dialogues and situations, Kelly has a bit more serious topics woven into this story.

Hunter has PTSD as a result from a very serious car crash with his hockey team on a bus. Several teammates have died or had serious injuries. And although he wasn’t physically harmed, the accident has caused him severe mental trauma’s. But Hunter has come a long way since then. When he is on the brink of a breakthrough his manager has a stroke. So he needs a new manager ASAP. And the only name that comes to mind is his high school best friend Kate.

Kate can’t believe it, when after six years, out of the blue Hunter calls her and asks her to be his manager. Since she has just started her own business, she could really use a high profile client like Hunter. But is she willing to sign up the guy who she wash crushing on during high school and who left her without a backwards glance all those years ago? While Kate and Hunter reunite, they learn more about their different pasts. And about the fact that they both secretly where crushing on each other, but where afraid to show it, out of fear of wrecking their friendship.

But while exploring their romance, Kate also needs to get Hunter signed up with one of the big teams. However, mixing up business and pleasure may be a bit more difficult than suspected. So, maybe Kate needs to chose between her job and her love life.

A wonderful read, where Kelly does an excellent job in combining more serious subjects like PTSD and phobias with hilarious banter and cute situations. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.