Textbook Defense

Hockey Ever After #5

by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

Rowan Chadha’s job as a children’s librarian might be temporary, but at least it comes with adorable, hilarious patrons. When he bumps into Jordy Shaw—NHL star and super-hot dad of one of his favorite library kids—at a charity event, he suggests they team up as a fake couple to fend off unwanted attention, never expecting the connection to last.

Jordy is in desperate need of a new nanny, and his daughter, Kaira, already adores Rowan. When Rowan’s apartment becomes uninhabitable just as his library contract ends, Jordy offers a stopgap solution: Rowan can crash in the nanny suite in his home and help with Kaira while Jordy trains for the new season—just until Rowan lands a new job and Jordy can find permanent childcare.

As the lines between fantasy and reality blur, the attraction that’s been simmering between them bubbles over. But while they’re free with their bodies, they struggle to defend their hearts, knowing their arrangement has an expiration date. After all, Rowan’s a librarian, not a nanny, and Jordy could be traded at any moment.

Their arrangement is temporary, right? Or maybe some things are worth staying for….

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Romance, M M Romance, Sports Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2025

About the author

Ashlyn Kane is a thirtysomething writer, editor, procrastinator, and dog mom. She likes cheese, puns, and hockey.

Reviews

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had TOO MUCH CHILD. You know how you know going in that one MC is a single dad, but somehow it doesn't hit you how much time parents actually spend with their kids, especially at that age(6)?

Yikes. Well. I know, now.

So I was REALLY frustrated the first 40% because Kaira was so SO underfoot 😩

But while that had an impact on how quickly things could progress (derogatory), it also had an impact on how quickly things could progress (complimentary) because the DELIGHT my spirit felt at the realization that these two were actually falling in love withOUT anything physical whatsoever taking place between them? Indescribable.

64% in I HAD to change my mind on the kid thing because they had a fight over her that I WOULDN'T MISS FOR THE WORLD lol terrible reckless things were being said and I legit thought they'd not make up after that because there are things you can't really unsay especially to a parent💀

Whew.

Not Jordy hiring an Emergency Nanny™ at the butt crack of dawn AM lololol these two are so fucking dramatic.

'Rowan still wasn’t home, and Jordy aggressively didn’t care why.' 😂😂😂😂😂😂can you even aggressively NOT care about something?

These two, istg.

These two were so boring and domestic at first that I almost couldn't believe they could be so MESSY.

I have never seen someone mangle a love declaration so badly that there's reasonable doubt. Oh my God?! There's no way you beat around the bush twice. So terrible that you communicate the exact opposite? Nah. Immediately jail.

Oh my God. It's not even just one. The other's ALSO stupid. I can't even 😂😂😂😂

Want to bang their heads together like cymbals. Bumbling idiots, the pair of them. Too stupid to live.

Tagged this as surprisingly good, not because I didn't expect this from this author duo but because of what a historic comeback it made. I swear I put this book down soooooo many times. Only knowing that their previous books were hits for me kept bringing me back.

Will not rate 5* because a whole 40% of a book being a boring bitter pill to swallow is hard to get over. But 4* definitely well deserved because to make such a stunning comeback is commendable.

It helps that this is a hockey romance containing almost 0% actual hockey 💀. Just how I like them.

Also, idc if authors get on a soapbox and push an agenda if it's about public libraries. Talk your shit.

[Monikat · Rating 3 out of 5]

God save us from men who cannot actually end a sentence to save their lives, and hearts.
Points off for using this trick a few too many times.
Slowburn, slow awareness. Demi Jordy, obviously, he's too slow to realize what's in front of him. Cute and funny reading. (But not really my thing as a theme). This drags on for a bit too long
The moment the switch flips for Jordy is so sudden and out of the blue it's almost unbelievable. Then, the lust he displays when they finally get together feels over the top since he just realized his feelings. None of it feels convincing.
And then, miscommunication resulting in painful frustrating moments for the child involved.🤔🙄🙄🙄
This was a great, wholesome story but I'm giving it three stars because it wasn't for me and in my opinion had flaws. It could have been so much better.

[Tess]

DNF’d at 40%

There’s nothing wrong with this, just not the type of m/m hockey romance I prefer.

[Crisana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just keep these coming. I am not sure why I love this series so much but I just do and stopped caring after the second book.
I got a bit frustrated with the lack of communication and ability to end conversations without someone misinterpreting something and running away (I am looking at you Rowan!) but not enough to taint my enjoyment overall.
But I wish Jordy's feelings were a bit more fleshed out. It went from friend to ILY in his thoughts so quickly I had to reread it again to make sure I got it right.
Also, Kaira suffered quite a bit at the end and even though I don't care much for children in books, I do have a heart and I felt for her. Adults suck, peanut.

[Merel · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

Okay

Here's the thing. I adore (ADORE) Max and Grady. Absolutely do. Unrivaled is my comfort book and I read it at least eight times a year.

HOWEVER
Much as I love these series, it's starting to... Drag? Can we find another trope that is not built on the fundamentals of miscommunication and getting traded? Please??

This book had so much potential, Jordy and Rowan's romance was to die for and Kaira can have anything her little heart desires, but the second I realized he was definitely gonna get traded and that was definitely gonna be the third act break-up/problem, it lost a whole lot of magic for me. It's starting to feel like these books are turning into a ctrl c, ctrl v situation and I don't like that.

And also, much as I love seeing glimpses of the earlier books' characters, here it was a bit over the top with the entire NY situation thing. Like, every other player they saw was one of the earlier books, and I love that, really, but not when you have to start rereading lines to realize that it's a known character.

[ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm generally a pretty big fan of this series despite its flaws and usually have a great time with them, but this has one of the worst written children I have ever encountered (I absolutely cannot tell if she's supposed to be a toddler -- which is a word that gets used to describe her at least once -- or if she's somewhere between six and ten which is bad enough, but she's also unbearably precocious in the way that a lot of kids get written and in turn makes her dad cloyingly, obnoxiously sweet.

Also, I get that the kid is a tool for the plot and that the single dad bit is like a Thing for a lot of romance readers, but if my fifteen year old sister called and told me she was pregnant, there is no way I would be like, oh hell yeah, punish your body so I can raise that baby! I would've taken her to get an abortion like a normal person and, unless this is going to veer into Jordy being a weird religious conservative (which would be its own problem!) it feels like a super forced, super fucking weird plot point. I know hockey players are conservative as a breed, but the pretend gay ones in books don't have to be. Write the change you want to see, etc. etc.

Also also, Rowan isn't any better written either, so I really think this one just doesn't have the juice sadly.

[yazaleea · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, I love this series, but this book didn’t do it for me. I had a feeling I wouldn’t enjoy this the moment I saw the blurb a few months ago, and yeah, I didn’t love this.

I disliked the first part of the book. Rowan, a librarian, meets hot single dad hockey player Jordy Shaw after reading for Jordy’s daughter, Kaira. After a few misadventures, Jordy offers Rowan a position as a live-in nanny, but spending so much time with the gorgeous athlete and his adorable daughter might give Rowan dreams that can never come true… unless?

People called this a slow burn, but for the first half of the book, Rowan’s only personality trait is that he is a horny bitch. He cannot have a single conversation with Jordy without mentioning how hot Jordy is or how horny he is. That was so off-putting. The whole nanny development was so unnatural, I just didn’t enjoy their first interactions.

Then I actually started to find them super cute. I do love single parents romance, when the kids aren’t too annoying and Kaira was cute! I thought her relationship with both Jordy and Rowan was adorable. So yeah, middle section of the book was nice.

Then the final conflict felt so forced and tired. Jordy is traded, Rowan doesn’t want to leave his life behind. Miscommunication that felt so contrived and excruciatingly frustrating I was about done. Jordy tries to tell Rowan he loves him by telling him that being with Rowan made him realise how much he wanted him as a partner and Rowan somehow understands that Jordy wants someone else as a partner??? Was so fucking braindead.

Rowan as a character didn’t work for me. He had no personality and the whole miscommunication thing at the end didn’t help. Jordy wasn’t much more interesting to be honest.

I think that my issue is by not having two players, this book didn’t feel like a hockey romance. It felt so divorced from the rest of the series, even with the cameos of past characters. It didn’t have the tension and the stakes the other books had and I missed it.

Yeah, despite some cute moments, it was a somewhat frustrating read for me.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

As much as I enjoyed this it did feel a bit on the too long side of things and there was a bit too much repetition for me. I did enjoy the way it showed a realistic view of domestic life as a parent - so often author's just portray children in books as being overly perfect and obedient, whereas here we get to see the tantrums, the meltdowns, the inability to understand big emotions, and the irrational thought process of a six year old and it felt so good to read because it was so real!

I really enjoyed the relationship between Rowan and Jordy and how it gradually progressed. They were definitely idiots in love, and their miscommunications were actually funny because each thought they had made themselves perfectly clear, when they were as clear as mud 😂😂

I loved the single dad plot, and the way Rowan becomes Kaira's other dad was so cute! The only one's who didn't seem to realise they were a family now were Rowan and Jordy and that just made me laugh every time other people said it.

Hopefully there's more to come in this series because I do enjoy getting updates on all of the other character's from the series too!

[anonymous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I recently finished Dream Girl Drama but reading this just made me stew more about the difference between Hockey Romance (TM) and romance novels where one character just happens to be a hockey player. I love this series so much but this book was so different from the others it barely seems to belong in with the rest. I get that there's only so many situations in which you can put characters who are in a hockey league together before it gets repetitive, and the authors are certainly entitled to mix it up and try new things, but this was a total miss for me. Rowan is entirely too forward with Jordy at first and it was so off-putting. By the end he runs away every time Jordy tries to have a conversation with him and yet somehow Jordy is the one making the grand gesture as if the miscommunication is squarely on his shoulders instead of like 75% due to Rowan. I HATE miscommunication as a trope. I'm also no big fan of the single parent trope and while Kaira was cute as times, it felt like half the book was about her. And Rowan quitting his DREAM JOB that he JUST got to move ACROSS THE COUNTRY for a man with NO PLAN about getting a new job?! BYE.

[Alyssa Perez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was happy to have a book where it's a hockey player and a non-player, but single parent romances are so boring. Being expected to drop your dream job right after you get it for a man is not romantic to me.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good single dad romance, but throw in a librarian who the kid immediately connects with and I’m apparently a goner!

This book was sometimes frustrating (do men know how to communicate?) but i truly loved the characters and their connection. I got hooked and couldn’t put it down (nor did i want to).

From children’s librarian to a fake date for half of a gala to a friend to a temporary nanny to more, we get to follow this journey over move than 6 months as they figure their shit out. I loved following along and getting to see the heartwarming moments with Kaira! And each other.

Highly recommend - truly a joy! I’m always laughing during this series!

[kait of LitWit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t figured out yet why this… just didn’t work for me. I love the series! I’m obsessed w Ashlyn Kane! Hockey! And yet…
I was underwhelmed, bored, and disappointed. Fake dating trope, why? Librarian to nanny? I mean, I guess. There were many good elements that just … had no chemistry. Was the baking soda expired? Idk.

I have to give it more thought to understand but don’t want to relive the let down. 🥸

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not my favorite of the series but I liked the vibes...could have more hockey in it but I liked the librarian theme.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous mix of humour, frustration, and smooshy love.

I love these books. The authors have the perfect blend of angst and romance for me. The MCs' communication, as usual, is useless. I found myself yelling at them both to ‘come the fuck along and spill it!’

But I absolutely love a single dad’s romance. It feels more grown up in a way, more mature. I love the relief you feel when Rowan realises what he’s doing, even though, of course, you know it’s coming.

Absolutely recommend this series if you haven’t already read it.

[Emma Greco · Rating 2 out of 5]

idk this book just lacked something that the other ones had.

I'm inclined to think it was a lack of personality between rowan and jordy. their relationship and characterizations felt much more surface level than all the other books in this series.

[Sjoukje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the previous one in the series but also not my favorite. So many unsaid words and misunderstandings. I kept looking at the number of pages left and wondered if they’d even have a few pages left where they would be together. I really don’t like it when people are so oblivious and not talking. And I also don’t like open ends, for example Rowan’s job. Does he just quit? Does he find something else in Vancouver?
And what I also didn’t understand is why Jordy didn’t just bring Kaira with him. She’s in first grade. It wouldn’t really matter if she’d change schools in between holidays. I get it that it was necessary for the story, but it didn’t feel a realistic choice for a single parent.
Anyway, I did like the story and I like the writing of this author pair a lot as well. So quite some flaws in my opinion but still four stars.

Don’t think I’ll reread but definitely recommend.

[Jude]

DNF.

I love the rest of this series but this one was a miss for me.

[Kafui · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐

This is definitely my least favorite book in the series.

The entire story was structured around the child, Kaira, and I’ve come to realize I’m not really into these kinds of stories, even if the kids are super cute.

If you enjoy stories where cute kids play a central role or where characters connect over them, this one comes highly recommended.

[Sian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was alot of miscommunication in this one, which was a little frustrating. This one is also a slow-burn which seemed to drag a little. Although I did like the story its self, it was enjoyable and very cute. I loved the characters and the connection they had.

[Mac]

🥱
I read the rest of this series early last year and while I never particularly loved any of them, I remembered them being entertaining at least. Not this one. I was very bored and almost dnf’ed☹️

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole, I thought this was a fun and enjoyable read. I generally am not a fan of kid!fic, and the kid is Very present here, but in a way that felt very believable and realistic, which balanced some of it out. I enjoyed the characters and their connection, though I did think the book was a little longer than it needed to be, and the pacing could have been tightened up a smidge. I really enjoyed the build-up, but once we got to the actual smut, it was fine, but didn't totally do it for me, a small quibble on the whole. There's some standard miscommunication, that was a little drawn out (one of those things that could have been tightened up). Honestly, the only reason this isn't a four star read for me, even with those other issues, was the ending, which essentially had the non-hockey player partner giving up their dream job and the life they'd established for themselves in the city they lived in to chase their hockey player boyfriend across the country, because they realized, of course, that it was all meaningless without their love, blah blah blah. It was just the biggest point of tension and contention throughout the whole book, and that the resolution happened so easily in the end with zero concessions from the hockey player dude just really left a sour taste in my mouth. I wish the author had put more work into coming up with a solution to the very real problem that didn't involve one character doing a total 180 and deciding that all the stuff that was super important to them for their entire life suddenly didn't matter.

[Bethany Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

WDYM this book has some of the best spice and emotional scenes I’ve read when I’m CRYING MY EYES OUT BY END????

How dare.

The last book in this series went out with a bang and had me crying into my tissues. I just cannot believe how much I enjoyed this book and this series and the way I am so sad to say goodbye to these characters that I fell head over heels in love with (so many great cameos in this final book too!!) but Nico and Ryan’s might be the best lol

When I started this book I couldn’t stop giggling at Rowan’s sense of humor. He just felt so familiar and like someone I would definitely be friends with. His inner monologue was the best. And Jordy! Single dad. Hockey superstar. Big dumb hockey player. My favorite kind of idiot, one who is in love. They hadn’t kissed by 43% and I was STRESSED. But they resolved that shortly after phew. Rowan and Jordy are terrible at communicating and understanding what the other means. I loved it (secretly) even while I was in pain with their misunderstandings. Also Kaira was very cute and precocious. I enjoyed her immensely.

But baby we need to talk about the spice! Because !!!!! Ashlyn and Morgan did the damn thing!!!!!! There are two absolutely *filthy* in the best way scenes in this book. Top tier. Sweating. Panting. Blushing like mad. They were scorching. Just a couple words. “Untouched” and “Jersey.” You gotta read for the rest.

I’m so glad these two dummies figured it out and the end of this book made me so emotional. Christmas! Vancouver! New Years! The epic grand gesture by Rowan had tears rolling down my face. And Kaira!! 😭😭😭

I love them your honor. They are so perfect.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

I enjoyed Textbook Defense, but it did feel like it dragged in places, with a bit too much repetition that made the pacing slower than I would have liked, especially considering how I ADORED all of Kane/James' other novels in this series - seriously they're all bangers.

Some moments felt like they were stretched out unnecessarily, making the conflicts feel more drawn out than they needed to be, and sometimes things moved so fast that I was left reeling and kind of had to suspend my disbelief...

That being said, I really liked how the book portrayed the ups and downs of everyday life, especially with kids. Too often, books with single parents make the child seem like a perfect little angel, but here, we get the full rang. It felt refreshingly real and grounded.

Rowan and Jordy’s relationship was a slow burn, and while I usually love a gradual build, there were times when I wished they would just get there already. Their dynamic was adorable, though—textbook (pun intended) idiots in love. The way each of them thought they were being totally clear when they were, in fact, not at all was a highlight.

I also loved the found family aspect, especially how Rowan naturally became Kaira’s other dad. The way everyone else saw it before Rowan and Jordy did made for some great moments. However, some of their relationship development felt a little unconvincing—like I wanted one more emotional moment to really seal it for me.

Overall, a fun, heartfelt read with great humor and warmth, even if it moved a little too slowly. I will continue to fangirl over all these boys and SO LOOK FORWARD to what's next.

Thank you to Ashlyn Kane/Morgan James for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Age6ixRacer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a joy to read! The clever writing and attention to details, the found family, the messy humanness of it all.

Even though this book had some of my least favorite tropes (fake dating, miscommunication, nanny); it was another great edition to the series and I think those tropes were done in a way that felt realistic and definitely gave me new perspective. I didn’t see the chemistry at first, as it was definitely Rowan’s story more so than Jordy’s, but it all came together in the end.

I cackled so much at the cameos and the side characters. Can Gem get her own sapphic spinoff?! Like with Rowan’s boss at U of T? “Rowan couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her eat something that wasn’t a cocktail garnish.” 🍸

As always, I can’t believe I was lucky enough to get another ARC in this series! It’s such a privilege and I hope there are more books coming our way. I am so soft for this series. 🥺

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rest of this series was cute and fun. This book takes miscommunication tropes to the most implausible, unpleasant, brutal extremes. I don’t expect realism per se in the genre, but multiple characters can’t accidentally-on-purpose go out of their way to say idiotic things that make zero sense and have the author expect me to enjoy or finish the book. DNF finally at 74%. I just couldn’t take it anymore after about the tenth conversation where nobody expresses themself or their feelings clearly and the conversation partner gets the wrong impression, yet again.

(In good news, if unbelievable miscommunication tropes light your fire, expect this book to be a scorcher.)

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily my favorite of the series. Certainly some unnecessary miscommunication went down, but the cuteness of the family moments more than made up for it. There is very little hockey in this one, but there is a lot of armadillo talk, so do with that what you will.

[Andrea Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Loved the fake dating. Loved the forced proximity. Adored the very realistic life with a six year old because gosh having kids is hard. Adored their chemistry. And this was just a cute one to read.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was definitely better than the last installment, but still not as great as book 1 and 3 were for me however I really liked that the love interest wasn't a teammate or another hockey player but just some guy!

I wish there was more effective communication and less misunderstandings but I guess that's a staple of the romance genre oh well!

[Nikki]

DNF

[Mir]

I can’t seem to get away from the kids!!!