Breakaway Hearts

Love and Hockey #2

by Nikki Lawson

He’s my best friend. A star forward in the NHL.

And now…My fake boyfriend.

Reese Sutton is every woman’s fantasy, with his crooked smile, warm brown eyes, and broad shoulders. But to me, he’s always just been my best friend. The man I rely on to have my back no matter what.

I know he would do literally anything for me, so when he asks me for a favor, I can’t say no… even after I find out that he wants me to pretend to be his girlfriend to help him win back his ex.

I should laugh at him for even suggesting it. But I don’t. Instead, I do the craziest thing I’ve ever done and offer him a deal.

I’ll play the role of his girlfriend, wearing his jersey to his games and hanging on his arm in public. And in exchange, he’ll help me get over my awkwardness by giving me lessons… in bed.

Our arrangement should be simple. We’ll spend a few months fooling the world, and in the end, he’ll have his ex back and I’ll feel confident enough to jump into the dating pool again. We even write up a list of rules to make sure no lines are crossed and our friendship will remain intact.

But then my best friend kisses me for the first time…

...and all of our rules start to unravel.

TROPES IN THIS BOOK

Fake dating
Spicy ‘lessons’
Friends to lovers
Golden retriever hero
Boy obsessed
Curvy heroine
Forced proximity
Breakaway Hearts is a contemporary hockey romance loaded with banter, feels, and deliciously dirty steam. It is a complete standalone with a HEA!

Genres: Hockey, Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Friends To Lovers, Fake Dating, Hockey Romance

454 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2023

Reviews

[Brittani · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’m convinced that the reason the fireflies all gravitated toward Callie is because she gives off her own light. She shines so brightly and is so damn full of life, it’s no wonder the fireflies mistook her for one of their own.”

✨Fake Dating
✨Best Friends to Lovers
✨Hockey Romance
✨”Teach me” lessons
✨Plus Size FMC

To say I’m obsessed with this book is an understatement. This book is just another perfect example as to why I LOVE the fake dating trope. There’s no better feeling than reading how the two main characters realize what they have is real. 😩🥰

Reese is desperate to win back his ex-girlfriend. One night while out at the bar with his team, his ex-girlfriend, Sienna, shows up. He ends up blurting out that he’s dating someone. When she asks who, the first person he could think of to say is Callie, his best friend. After lots of convincing, Callie agreed to play the fake girlfriend part, because she’d do anything for her best friend. Reese claims he’ll do anything for her to pay her back for helping him out. Callie decides she wants Reese to teach her how to be “better in bed”. Well, one things leads to another, and I’m sure you can figure out what happens.

First off, I can’t tell you how many times I was freaked out reading Callie’s POV about her self conscious thoughts, because I swear, it felt like I was reading out of my own damn diary. I related to Callie on so many levels, with learning to love my body and not feel self conscious about my weight, to accepting love from partner. Seeing her glow while being with Reese was just absolutely delightful. I loved seeing her so happy. Her personality was perfect for her career as a 3rd grade teacher, and as Reese called her, she truly is like a firefly.

Now, Reese? Perfection. Ultimate book boyfriend goals. He lives and breathes hockey and is a huge star in the NHL. He is a golden retriever boyfriend, with huge over-protectiveness. He only ever wants the best for Callie and treats her like the freakin’ queen she is. The way he showed his love and adoration for Callie was having me blush throughout more than half the story. He never once judged Callie for her inexperience and consistently told her how beautiful she is. The friendship he has with Callie is so adorable and genuine, and I loved reading the banter between them as friends and lovers.

I absolutely adored this book. It has all of my favorite tropes, including fake dating, hockey romance, and “teach me” lessons. The two main characters were very relatable and lovable. There was definitely a lot more spice than plot in my opinion, but nothing wrong with that when you have a man like Reese. The length of this book is a little unnecessary, but at the end of the day, I loved every minute of it. Highly recommend this to anyone and everyone!!

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hear me out...

...okay okay! I know enemy's to lovers is a hype all on its own but sometime best friend to lovers can too that, IF it's written well and this was written Sooooooo well. Callie is a curvy red headed school teacher who's bestIe is a cinnamon roll hockey god Reece.
Their fake dating is supposed to be a ruse but if course they fall in love and it's a lovely story with banter, confidence building, dirty talk and spice. I loved it, loved both MMF & FMF to bits.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: 1
Writing: 1
World building: .5
Characters: 1
Themes: .5
4/5

Spice: 4/5
Audiobook: 5/5

What you can expect:
- Fake dating
- Best friends to lovers
- "Teach me"
- Dirty talk 🥵🥵
- Dual narrated
- Hockey romance
- Fun, witty banter

I will take enemies-to-lovers over friends-to-lovers any day, but Breakaway Hearts was so steamy and fun I found myself appreciating it. Reece and Cali's friendship has already built in trust and security that transitioned really well into a relationship. Their banter was also hilarious. I love how protective he was over her and how that changed before he even knew it. I love how he took care of her and appreciated her hobbies.

Nikki Lawson is turning out to be one of my favorite authors for dirty talk because let me tell you, this book is spicy!! Not just a couple times either, it's in there at the forefront of the story. I loved every second of it. If I had a bf who decided to pick up my romance books the way Reese did, I'd give him Offside Hearts and Breakaway Hearts first. lol.

Read this if you love it when the MMC wants the FMC to sit on his face.

Quotes:

"How's that book? I haven't read it yet"
"Oh, it's good. Really good."
"Good to know." He takes it out of my hands and flips it so that I'm holding it right-side up. I grimace. Oops. Sh*t.

"Show me how you use it"

"The reminder of how safe Reese makes me feel is the last push I need to make the leap."

"Good girl." His voice is husky. "Now crawl to me." 🤤🥵☠

"Gonna mark you,"..."Gonna mark you everywhere, Firefly."

[Mia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet but….

Ok this one was a little more of regular story, a friends to lovers romance, but the tag or premise kind of puts it all out there. Friends that are besties but begin sleeping together to help with s8x life. Yes you know exactly where this going and this author I’m starting to see likes 3rd act shake ups. It was still a good story, 4 stars because when the MMC Reese gets his revenge it’s pretty good, would’ve liked to see that drawn out a little more but I’m deep into dark romance so that might be my little dark voice wanting more. Ok.

[Tasneem · Rating 5 out of 5]

wearing something green at every game

eating the brussels sprouts

the friendship bracelets.

and he cried for her on MULTIPLE occasions.

i want to be someone’s firefly,
i NEED to be someone’s firefly.

new fave book.

[Brooke Hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good but there was sooo much smut it was like smut overload.

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reece and Cali have been best friends since college. They’ve never crossed any lines, but when Reece asks to fake date Cali to try to get his ex back, they’re put in positions that make them see each other in a different light. A light where there could be a possibility for more than just friendship.
Cali isn’t sure what to make of all these new feelings that Reece is making her experience. She needs him to choose her, over his ex, but she isn’t how to know how to tell when he wants her as more than just a rebound.


This book was so good. If you are looking for books that are high plot as well as high spice this is the read for you.
I loved reece and cali’s friendship, and how they just fit together.
I loved how reece proved to Cali they were the real deal.
I can’t recommend enough!! I feel like this series is so underrated and I never see it talked about enough!

Tropes:
-hockey romance
-best friends to lovers
-fake dating
-hockey player x teacher
-spice coaching
-forced proximity
-“one more baby”
-“crawl to me”

[Erin Fitzhenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so maybe I’m slightly obsessed with these silly romance books SUE ME

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

This was one of the best fake dating books I've ever read. It was very well written, the characters were amazing and realistic and I loved it.

I love the boy obsessed trope and boy, Reese delivered. he was so down for Callie, it was insane. He started off as wanting to get back with his ex but he abandoned this idea pretty quickly. He was so into Callie, it was almost obscene and I LOVED it.

HE STARTED READING ROMANCE NOVELS BECAUSE SHE LOVED THEM AND ANNOTATED THEM. AND HE TABBED THE ROMANTIC THINGS OR THINGS REMINDING HIM OF CALLIE. HE WAS BUYING HER BOOKS FROM HER TBR LIST, OH MY GOD, THE ULTIMATE BOOK BOYFRIEND.

LISTEN. LISTEN. He moved her into his place and then SWITCHED ROOMS WITH HER SO SHE COULD HAVE A BETTER LIGHTNING FOR HER ART. He PUNCHED HER EX-BOYFRIEND WHEN HE ACCOSTED HER IN PUBLIC. HE GOT HIS EX FIRED FOR GOING TO THE MEDIA AND EXPOSING CALLIE LIKE THAT. HE CONFESSED HIS FEELINGS FOR CALLIE ON THE NATIONAL TELEVISION AND GREEN WAS HIS LUCKY COLOR BECAUSE OF HER EYES. OH. MY. GOD.

And then. And THEN HE MADE HER AN ART STUDIO IN HIS PLACE AND PROMISED TO MAKE HER A LIBRARY TOO. HOLY SHIT. And throughout all that he loved Callie and complimented her and told her repeatedly how beautiful and sexy she was. And I loved how often and with excitement he'd picked her up and just carry her. I loved that.

The spicy scenes were spicing. i LOVED them. The cinema? The restaurant? The face sitting, AND THE FIRST SCENE WITH THE TOY OH YES I LOVED THAT. The scenes were so good and well-written and just awesome.

The ex was so annoying by the end but Karma is real and I loved that too haha.

I will definitely read the previous book in the series and the next book (whenever it comes out). My only problem with this book was way too long - some scenes were dragged out or unnecessary. And there's no way that Reese is blonde. His rizz proves that he's tall, dark, and handsome lmaooo.

[Kayla Skrlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good tropes, poor delivery

I loved the slow burn, friends to lovers. But it lacked plot and was way too long for tackling the issues this book tried to tackle. A little bit of a boring read.

[Meghan Caito · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long flight days call for a binge read….the friends to lovers didn’t hit me in the feels like it normally does

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
3.5🌶️

💙Best friends to lovers
🏒Fake dating
💙NHL player/elementary teacher
🏒Curvy FMC
💙Forced proximity
🏒Only one bed
💙Spicy lessons
🏒He reads her romance books

I jumped immediately into the second book and it did not disappoint. Read it in a few hours. Only took a break to sleep 🤣 Best friends to lovers, when done well, is such an underrated trope. I absolutely loved this book. It’s an interconnected book in a series, but could be read as a standalone.

[Catherine Bibby (Rochelle's Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 "I don't want to just fall for you, baby. I want to fall with you" stars ✨

[elenas.library · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ THIS BOOK!!! i was not expecting to like this more than offside hearts! my expectations were pretty high, and they were extremely exceeded. i loved every single part of this book. the characters. the plot. the pacing. i wanted more!! and this is a pretty decent length of a book. reese and callie had such amazing chemistry OMG, they really melted my heart. im telling you, i will always love the fake dating trope, but its EVEN BETTER when they are already best friends. every time i tried to put the book down, i immediately picked it back up. the deeper topics in this book (the fmcs insecurities) were dealt with really well, in my opinion. callie was an absolute sweetheart who deserves the world, and reese was so good to her. i cant wait to read the rest of the books in this series! im so freaking excited for theos book! thank you so much, nikki for the ARC. i absolutely loved it!!

[Noelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content Warnings: sexual content, toxic relationships, fatphobia, body shaming, emotional abuse, misogyny, and mention of death of a parent.

I love the concept of fake dating between best friends that forces them to unravel their complicated feelings for each other but this just felt so drawn out. Have you ever read a romance book where there are so many spicy scenes that they no longer hit because there's just so many? Idk maybe that's a me thing but sometimes I just want to know more about how the relationship is going to develop emotional than sexually 🤷🏽‍♀️

The timing seemed a bit off as well. Some chapters ended in a way that felt the next chapter should have immediately picked right up after but the author chose to jump days or a week and there were other times where the entire days was written out but a lot of it seemed like unnecessarily information...

[Jaylynn Schubauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my first friends to lovers trope that I have read and I absolutely loved it! This is going to become one of my favorite tropes to read.

Reese and Callie are everything 🥹 What started out as friends fake dating to actual love was so sweet to read. Since they were already best friends, they already knew so much about each other but it was fun to watch them learn more. You could see their feelings blossom and once they declared their feelings, everything became perfect. And the SPICE 😱 holy moly was this book spicy.

Like a lot of romance novels, there is some conflict but it luckily doesn’t last long. I didn’t mind this conflict as both Reese and Callie were able to better themself and figure things out. What I liked about this conflict was how Reese handled it and handled the one who caused the conflict.

I’m excited to read Theo’s story next!!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had so much fun reading this. I did not know that Nikki had a second book in the works for this series until I saw the application for ARC readers that I am so lucky to have been picked. That being said I always want to give an honest review of the book This book helped pull me out of my reading slump and just like the first one that I could not put down once I started this one I couldn't stop. Callie and Reese's story was wholesome with some spicy twist along the way. It was fun to read along as these two best friends go from fake dating to their own happily ever after.
Nikki Lawson is a fantastic Author who always manages to bring me into her stories and keep me captivated from page one all the way through. I cannot wait to see how the rest of the series goes.

[Jess • bestiebookshelf_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Reese and Callie were so cute together; they had amazing chemistry and you could really tell their friendship was so beautiful and genuine. I love fake dating trope anyway, let alone spicy lessons and forced proximity! HELLOOOO! I enjoyed the pacing of this book, it was hella spicy and Reese was so encouraging of Callie, going at her pace and making sure she enjoyed herself! The “conflict” was dealt with well, I appreciate when the characters only take space as they aren’t apart for long. Such a good, solid read and looking forward to Theo’s story next!

[Chayde - thequeenofbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

fake dating

I can’t decide if I wanted to ride his f…. Or c…. I’m jealous of a fictional character 🤣

But seriously Reese was absolutely perfection. His love for his best friend even though he ignored it from the moment he met her. The chemistry they had together once they started fake dating was everything and more.

- hockey romance
- school teacher x NHL player
- teach her
- fake dating
- best friends to lovers
- forced prox

[Ayanna S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved tf out of this. I binged it , I couldn't even put it down , this was such a natural and genuine friends to lovers book , even though they've always secretly loved each other they remained simply friends and truly were there for each other for years even while dating other people , but to see their dynamic as friends and watch it transition to lovers ? Absolutely amazing. Ugh just yes .

[prish · Rating 3 out of 5]

this honestly wasn’t bad it just didn’t stand out to me too much but the love confession went craaazyyy when will i get my best friends to lovers trope (also fuck sienna glad that bitch got what was coming to her)

[Tereza Jurakova · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG. What a excellent book ❤️ I was afraid that nothing would surpass the first book, but this was amazing. I think that i found my fav series. Do you love off campus? This is something similiar but with grown up. Come on I need another story here.

[Yvonne]

2.5⭐️ 3.5🌶️

[Alicia Fernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something about childhood best friends to lovers that does it for me... 🩷✨

[EB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is 4 stars for the characters. There are many quibbles I have and I'm genuinely not sure the best way to review this so how about some lists:

The good:
1) Both main characters. Do you crave a cinnamon roll hero who also has a mouth like a sailor and a kinky streak a mile wide? Hello hello hello. Is Reese absolutely pure unfettered fantasy? Yes. Do I care? No! And as a fat woman, I am really severe on the "curvy woman" in most romances, but Callie's insecurities worked here because for the most part they DON'T control her life and her feeling like she can't take on the world treating her like an abusive ex absolutely makes perfect sense.

2) Holy GOD the sex scenes. Are you kidding me? Were there too many? Sure. That's one of my The Bad points. But every single one of them was so goddamn good it was hard to hold it against the book.

The Bad:

1) The Pacing. Oof. OOF. This book needed 100 pages cut out of it badly. Not even from one particular section, it just badly needed to be tightened up and for the forces keeping the two of them apart to be shifted toward the middle of the book instead of the end.

2) The first 50% of the book really needed to take a breath from the sex to establish more of them being scared to fuck up their friendship with the fake dating and then the sex lessons. Or something. Something needed to be there to make it make sense that they didn't just go "wait, we're just dating now.". Hell, even a Pretty Woman "no kissing" trope or SOMETHING. They're way way way too easy in the fake dating to make sense that they aren't just...dating.

[Jessica Bromley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the friends to lovers trope. This book did it justice.

[Sarah Stafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Lorelai Stager · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My heart knew it belonged to you before my mind caught up”

[Autumn Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reese is absolutely perfect. That’s all I have to say ❤️

[Holly Wimbush · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect blend of sweet and spicy. I really loved this!