Desire or Defense

D.C. Eagles Hockey #1

by Leah Brunner, Monika Wiśniewska (Translator)

Nie jestem bohaterem tej historii.
Jestem jej czarnym charakterem...

Mitch - notorycznie niezadowolony, zrzędliwy obrońca D.C. Eagles, który po prostu nie potrafi utrzymać swojego temperamentu w ryzach. Temperamentu, który doprowadził do zawieszenia go przez NHL na piętnaście meczów. PIĘTNAŚCIE!

Jakby tego było mało, Mitch zostaje zmuszony, by w tym czasie trenować młodzieżową drużynę hokeja. Jego menedżer uważa, że to „odbuduje jego wizerunek”.

Już pierwszego dnia energiczna blondynka wparowuje na lodowisko, by zwrócić mu uwagę, że jest niegrzeczny wobec jej młodszego brata.

Coś w tej zadziornej dziewczynie i chłopcu, którego tak bardzo chroni, sprawia, że mechanizmy obronne Mitcha przestają działać…

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Hockey, Sports, Hockey Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2023

About the author

Leah Brunner is an Amazon top 25 best selling author who writes romance filled with explosive chemistry and relatable, flawed characters. She loves writing character driven stories that will tug at your heart strings and also make you smile.

When she's not writing, she can be found spoiling her Maine Coon cats, or watching The Office with her kids.

Although she's a Midwestern girl at heart, Leah is a proud Air Force spouse and has moved all over the United States with her husband and three children.

You can find Leah on Instagram @leah.brunner.writes

Or join her Facebook reader group: Leah's Lit Lovers

Reviews

[jessicakaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grumpy sunshine, hockey romance with NO third act breakup!!

Obsessed is an understatement. This book was SO SO good. It was swoony but also surprisingly very emotional. Leah’s writing brought all the emotions out of me.

Andie and Mitch’s story was filled with so much tension, chemistry, banter, and pure love filled tender moments. Also Mitch’s relationship with not only his teammates but Andie’s brother Noah was so so precious. I just loved everything about this!!!

*to all my spicy loving babes, this is a closed door romance (so no spice) but there’s plenty of steamy kisses, sexual tension and innuendos to make up for it🫶🏼

[bookgalbrock 🐝✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Desire Or Defense

Hockey
Enemies To Lovers
Dual POV

star rating: 3.25 ★ ★ ★

❥ This was definitely a slow burn, well I wouldn’t say slow burn because that would suggest there was fire at some point and there was not even any smoke! In the beginning of this book things seemed rushed while simultaneously being repetitive as well. Personally I felt like the book could’ve done without all the reiteration in the first few chapters. This was more dislike to lovers. They definitely weren’t enemies.

❥ Over all, this was a sweet story of found family, navigating past traumas and learning healthy ways to move on. Mitch’s healing in this book was beautiful. Andie’s and Noah’s as well but this was more of Mitch’s story in my option. Some books don’t need to be filled front to back with space, drama, and a whole bunch of misunderstandings. This book is the perfect example of that. This was a beautiful book, and even though it touches on trauma, loss and other issues, it never lost that feel good feeling for me. And I love that.

╰⊰✿ “I realize... she's hugging me. An affectionate, comfortable feeling envelops me. This is the hug I've waited for all my life. Right here, with this girl. A hug that makes up for a lifetime of not being held, not being loved, not being enough. This is the hug to end all hugs.
I decide right in this moment, that if by some miracle I ever have children, I will hug them, and hug them often.
What a simple, but life-changing gesture.
Kissing is great... epic... amazing. But hugs are severely underrated.” ✿⊱╮

❥ I loved how not only did Mitch create his own personal family with Andie and Noah but finally discovered he always had a family And the bonus scene was the cutest thing ever. Just to see how their family evolved and grew! Just because you’ve never had something doesn’t mean you’re any less deserving of it. So to see Mitch come into that realization… was a beautiful, beautiful thing!◃


╰⊰✿ “Because family looks different for everyone. Sometimes it’s not the family you’re born into, but the one you build. The one you work for. And this is mine.” ✿⊱╮

[buket · Rating 4 out of 5]

this Ken's job is hockey 🏒

“You, Mitch Anderson, are a good person. You are worthy of love, and worthy of happiness. And you should chase after it.”

i love Mitch. Mitch doesn't spend his days with girls. Mitch(28) goes therapy(mandatory at first) and just wants to be left alone and play his hockey🏒 Mitch is wrong, he's just afraid that nobody will love him but guess what? Andie loves him. and Noah(little bro) loves him🥺 cute.

Andie(26) is a legal guardian of her brother Noah(12) and i love Andie too🥺 Andie loves and understands Mitch and she's happy that she found new friends(his teammates) 😌 i love teammates too because every single person in this book was lovely(except that bitchy mom and slimy manager)

i don't know anything about hockey but i don't understand why would anyone care about who he's dating with🤨 they made an article about him dating a mom? so what? why would anyone care🤨 are the hockey players really that big of a deal?🤔

also divorced mom causing drama because Mitch didn't want her? it's so embarrassing 🙄🙄🙄

anyways at one point Mitch tries listening a spicy hockey romance and it was so funny 😭;;;;

Finally, I reach my phone and stop the book just as the hockey player tells the coach’s daughter she's a good girl.
“If she’s such a good girl, why’s she doing that two feet away from her dad? And in a lavatory? Gross.”

this was a closed door romance which i didn't know. there's no owd/omd and no third act break up(they spend 1 day without talking because of a conflict so i don't count that as breakup). since both of them lost their parent figures, dealing with grief/loss of parents mentioned a couple of times.


✨I realize… she's hugging me. An affectionate, comfortable feeling envelops me. This is the hug I’ve waited for all my life. Right here, with this girl. A hug that makes up for a lifetime of not being held, not being loved, not being enough. This is the hug to end all hugs.

✨I decide right in this moment, that if by some miracle I ever have children, I will hug them, and hug them often. What a simple, but life-changing gesture.
Kissing is great… epic… amazing. But hugs are severely underrated.

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[Grace Quan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I even start, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate HOW STINKIN' CUTE THE COVER IS 🤭

This book is the definition of low-stakes, high-fluff, tooth-rooting and mind-numbing hockey romance . Which works for me because I knew that's exactly what I was signing up for.

🫧First, the premise was not very original, but there were definitely some stand out scenes that made me laugh out loud. Like the scene where Mitch, the mmc, tried listening to a smutty hockey romance and was traumatized. Had me laughing on the floor. 🤣

“I keep scrolling and come across a book titled “Mighty Pucks.” I read the first sentence of the description and discover it is a romance, but it’s about a professional hockey player… so how bad could it be?”

🫧I rather liked that the fmc was absolutely clueless about hockey. It reminds me of myself if I ever accidentally ran into a NHL player. Clueless and not at all starstruck. I found it charming and it was a standout element of this book.

🫧Ok next, I'd like a round of applause for our man Mitch being in therapy. While Mitch was definitely emotionally stunted, he was actively working on being better which is something I greatly admire. I would much rather have you working on these things than thinking you're being tough by bottling everything up.

🫧My main problem with this book is that it lacked substance. Now I know that this is exactly what I signed up for, but it still disqualifies it from anything above 3 stars.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Desire or Defense was a quick and sweet hockey read. I never say no to a hockey romance and I love a grumpy hero. Mitch and Andie made a nice couple and I loved her little brother being in the book so much. It was cute but one I don't see being memorable.

Audio book source: Hoopla
Story Rating: 3 stars
Narrators: Dane Anderson & Alex Picard
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 7h 53m

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, obsessed doesn’t even come close to how I feel about this book! I laughed, I swooned, I felt everything!

Andie and Mitch is absolute perfection. Their meet-cute was straight-up fire, and their chemistry only got better from there. I loved how Andie’s sass brought out Mitch’s grumpy, yet lovable side. He’s basically a giant, broody teddy bear, and I ate it up. The soft, sweet moments between them had me MELTING.

The teammates were such a fun bonus. The banter between them was hilarious, and I loved every scene with those guys. I would 100% read a whole book of just them messing around.

Oh, and the angst?? Did not see that coming, but it made the story even better. Noah’s storyline was so well done, and Mitch stepping up? Heart. Bursting. Bonus points for the great representation of mental health and therapy.

Tropes:
❤️‍🔥 Grumpy x Sunshine
❤️‍🔥 Little Brother's Coach
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to Lovers
❤️‍🔥 Mental Health Rep

🚨🚨 TW: Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug abuse

[rae ✿]

my goodness dude fifteen games suspension what did u do

[Lauren (thebookscript) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just barely started getting into sports romances and I was excited to see that Leah was dipping into the hockey romance genre. I can tell you now, you don't need to know anything about hockey to really enjoy this book!

Mitch is your grumpy hot headed damaged soul with a secret soft yearning for love. The way he is gone for Andie from day one will melt your insides.

Andie is your responsible adult, fulfilling the role of caretaker for her brother after their parents tragic death. She's quirky, not afraid to speak her mind, and strong girl rep? #hereforit

I think this is one of my picker genres. There's a fine line for me when it comes to making it funny and but not going overboard and losing all believability. Theres a fine line between staying sweet but not losing the flame that I MUST have in a romance to be believable. Leah made this humor grounded in reality and the chemistry was fabulous while still appealing to sweeter/closed door readers. AND this was still sexy and honestly I was here for it.

This has a positive representation for therapy and communication and I loved the relationships between teammates, family members, and friends. This is the first book in her series and i'm excited to see where she takes it next!

4.5 stars

*sweet, has closed door moment at the end(appreciated) but still not descriptive, and some light language (which in all honesty made it more believable. I would have a hard time thinking a bad boy hockey player didn't have any kind of mouth on him haha #sorrynotsorry)

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I completely blame the utter lack of clean baseball rom-coms for the reason I keep attempting hockey ones.

I knew from the author’s note that there would be mild language throughout this book, but there was a lot more than I was expecting which was annoying, not gonna lie.

There were plenty of sexual innuendoes in this book (many that weren't even necessary), but it was the final chapter definitely went completely past my boundaries on romance content. I won’t be continuing with this series because there was definitely too much “sizzle” in this one for my tastes. Do not recommend.



(very rough) Main Content-
A lot of kissing that last more than a full page with grabbing and going under the other person’s shirt; Wanting to kiss & touch (lasting multiple paragraphs); Epilogue is a fade-to-black scene with clothes being taken off and many suggestive hints; Lots of touches, embraces, warmth, nearness, noticing, staring, smelling & wanting to do all of that (up to a few sentences in detail); Many sexual innuendoes including Mitch thinking about Andie in the bath & Andie co-worker talking about a man taking Andie to a bed and other “naughty” comments; Hockey moms (married and recently divorce) objectify hockey players and make lewd comments/suggestions about them; Some teenagers make comments about Andie’s body to rile her brother; Mitch accidentally listens to a smutty hockey player book and there’s enough comments and suggestions to what is happen in the book; Mentions of hockey players having women throw themselves at them, sneaking woman into their hotel rooms, & sleeping around with many different women (Book #2 seems to be a guy who is a major player and known for this); Mentions of dirty minds, showering with others, and lewd comments; Mentions of hook-ups & people assuming Andie is sleeping with Mitch to get her brother attention.

‘Sexy’ and ‘hot’ are used to described others; Two ‘hussy’s; A mention of a guy being “all alpha”.

A lot of “mild” language: 3 forms of ‘sh**’, 10 forms of ‘d****’, 5 ’a**’s, 1 ’bad***’, 2 ’as*****’, 10 forms of ’pissed’, 12 ‘crap’s, 14 forms of ‘hell’, 16 ‘freaking’s, 1 ‘bastard’, multiple ‘sucks’, an unfinished ‘what the…’, and a cut-off ‘for f-‘ that gets changed into ‘for fork’s sake’. Mentions of stronger cussing being said but not written out; A couple mentions of people flipping others off.

Mitch doesn’t drink due to his father getting high and drunk when he was a kid; Andie has a couple alcohol drinks (including wine); Mentions of alcohol & drinking.

Other possible triggers: deaths of parents (car accident), parental abandonment, a parent in jail for drug dealing, neglectful parents, on-page therapy sessions, and bullying.

[Sarah | Kerosene.Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely precious closed-door sports romance that still brought oodles of sizzle. NHL defensemen Mitch "The Machine" Anderson is known for his temper. Suspended for 15 games after a fight on the ice, he's forcefully sent to assist coach a youth team in hopes of repairing his tarnished image.

With his growly voice, tattoos, and delightful grumpiness, Mitch certainly meets his match in Andie Downsby, the sister and legal guardian of a boy on the youth-hockey team. Andie was so great. I loved her assertiveness, always quipping back with a lovable sass. Their meet-cute was the perfect combination of funny and heated tension.

But also their text messages! It was my favourite addition to the story.

Underneath that tough exterior Mitch is a broken man with a soft center. I loved seeing the inclusion of therapy throughout, Mitch actively working on his anger and mental health. It brought a really nice emotional arc to his character.

The glimpses of the other D.C. Eagles teammates was so fun, too! I'm excited to see where this series goes.

(heat level: kissing only + one very minor fade-to-black scene in the epilogue)

[Oceana Reads Co. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Leah Brunner!
I was impressed by the writing and the time she took to give each main character depth. I LOVED that the guy wasn’t overly rude or possessive to the main girl, but still clearly wanted her and made that clear.

Mitch is on an NHL team and gets suspended for fighting. He is sentenced to assistant coach a middle school league for 6 weeks. That’s where he meets a kid’s sister, Andi.

Their interactions were banter-y and I liked that Andi didn’t sputter around Mitch because he’s hot.

This is considered clean romance and I would agree. It has similar content levels to Sarah Adams minus The Rule Book. There is light language and some innuendos. The epilogue has a fade to black scene on their wedding night.

I’ll read more from Leah Brunner as soon as I can get my hands on another book!
Would recommend.

[max · Rating 1 out of 5]

i imagine this is what it would be like if a mormon attempted to write a hockey romance

[Miki’s⚠️ Safety Reviews & Rants⚠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars Cute, safe, enemies to lovers vibe but not really.
🎧Easy listening audio book
Low conflict
Grumpy H
No OPD - other than some unwanted advances that are shut down
No cheating
No Manwhores H
Clean closed door romance
Neither are V
Both have traumatic past they are dealing with
Slow burn

I wish the H and h had more time w each other I could have used more romance for sure.

Good character development esp for the H

This was enjoyable

[Cait | GoodeyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread August 2023: Picked the audio up on Netgalley because I love this book and these narrators WERE AMAZING.

Thank you to the author for an eARC!

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

BLOG || INSTAGRAM

This book has my whole heart and is Leah Brunner’s best book yet.

I LOVED Mitch. I loved his grumpy nature and his cinnamon roll center. The positive mental health conversations and therapy discussions were amazing and one of my favorite aspects. I also loved Andie. She was a wonderful FMC who did her best to look for things to be grateful for and was just someone I really wanted to be friends with.

All of the hockey dynamics were woven just right and I couldn’t get enough. Alongside the games was the best cast of side characters and teammates. I love them all and I loved every time they popped up. I’m already excited for the next book.

Noah was one of the sweetest kids I’ve read. I loved him too (see a theme?). He added so much to the story and I loved his placed between Andie and Mitch.

I need to address the third act too!!! It was PERFECT. Instead of a breakup that wouldn’t make sense it was more of a *take a breath* moment. I could rave all day just about this scene and the follow through. GAH THIS WHOLE BOOK WAS MAGNIFICENT.

Read and love it with me!!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Sports Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, scenes involving therapy, parental abandonment, an incarcerated parent, brief physical altercations, bullying

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rtc

[megan ◡̈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one was surprisingly cute as all fucking get out. nothing gets me going quite like the grumpiest asshole hockey player becoming the softest squish of a man 😭

major bonus points for found family and the relationship between noah (andies little brother) and mitch being the cutest shit ever

a fun easy listen 🎧🫶🏼

[Ania (literackie_serce) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miałam dać 3.5, ale przez większość książki uśmiechałam się jak głupek - to mega słodki rom-com z hokejem w tle <3 przyjemna historia

[Luna ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

»I think l've spent my entire life in the dark, until Andie stomped her way in and lit up my entire world.«

★ ★

❥ 𝑨𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆
At first I liked her but the more I read the less I could understand her. She‘s bland and there‘s no character development at all.

❥ 𝑴𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉
I couldn‘t relate to him and I think he was a boring character.

✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
The plot had potential but the character building was bad. I couldn‘t warm up to the book and everything. The important „something“ was missing. Definitely not worth the hype on TikTok.

plot: 2/5
spice: 0/5
humor: 3/5
couple/tension: 2/5
world building: 4/5
happy end?: yes

keywords: forced proximity, icehockey, sport, trainer, kids

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐ Rounded up.
This was pretty good.
I love me some hockey romance, despite not being a big fan of hockey *shrugs*
I like the organic way the two MC got to know each other and the relationship was allowed to developed slowly.
I will definitely be looking for more from Leah Brunner.
Much love to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for my ALC.

[Vicky Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️ de verdad
4.5/5⭐️ en mi corazón

es demasiaaaaado tierno, muy cute, definitivamente la serotonina necesaria para ser feliz en un día nublado y una semana estresante. ALERTA: no leer si no les gustan los romances melosos y tiernos porque este da diabetes!! (pero lowkey lo amé por eso🥺)

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow ... when Goodreads is working properly! 🙃

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming, dual POV, grumpy/sunshine, sports romance between Andy, a nurse and Mitch, her little brother’s temporary coach and a player on a forced leave because of anger management issues.

The way I loved this book!! It’s flirty and fun but also has such great emotional depth, found family and mental health and therapy rep (him).

Wonderful on audio narrated by Dane Anderson and Alex Picard. I truly didn’t want this book to end and can’t wait to read the next book in this DC Eagles series. Recommended for fans of authors like Sarah Adams and Chloe Liese.

💋Steam level: kissing only

[CassDamm · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

The story wasn’t good and the characters had no connection. Like you could tell they didn’t love each other even at the very end? This book had essentially nothing going for it except that it wasn’t written poorly.

[Buera · Rating 4 out of 5]

como me gusta cuando los libros me sorprenden

[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 3 out of 5]

DESIRE OR DEFENCE
● Mitch & Andie
● NFL defenseman / ICU nurse
● she’s the guardian of her younger brother, Noah
● suspended for 15 games (5 weeks)
● during his suspension he has to see a therapist
● to fix his image he has to coach a kids' hockey team
● meet cute: when he yells at her brother at hockey practice and she confronts him (“Who do you think you are and why are you yelling at kids like that?”)
● enemies to lovers
● grumpy hero
● sports romance


D.C. EAGLE’S HOCKEY
#.5 Weston & Melanie - Passion or Penalty
#1 Mitch & Andie - Desire or Defence
#2 Colby & Noel - Flirtation or Faceoff
#3 Ford & Amber - Betrothal or Breakaway

Audiobook source: Hoopla
Narrator: Dane Anderson & Alex Picard
Length: 7h 53m

[Savannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m actually so annoyed just thinking about this book. They literally don’t get together until like the last page of the book and then it just immediately just cuts to the wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a waste of time smh

[Koisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 White Tennis Shoe Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level 0/5 (Closed Door Romance)

OK. JUST HOLD UP A BLOODY MINUTE. I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO FEEL SO MANY FEELINGS!!!

This story turned out to be unexpectedly wholesome and sweet, completely surpassing my expectations with the complex emotional development and growth all the characters undergo. I was mindblown—my jaw was on the floor. I expected a cute little sweet hockey romance and got a cute little sweet hockey romance but it was also a story that made my heart happy with the adorableness of the characters.

Mitch is a professional hockey player with anger issues, one altercation on the ice too many and he is benched for 5 weeks. To deal with his anger (which is actually caused by his adolescent trauma and abandonment issues) he is ordered to go to therapy and to help with his grumpy image - to coach a local teen hockey team. During his first practice as assistant coach sees two teens break into a fight and he yells at the kids, to have Andie storm onto the ice and yell at him right back. Andie is a nurse and the sole guardian of her teen brother, Noah. They have both recently had their lives turned upside down due to a horrific accident that claimed both their parents. Noah has a raw talent for Hockey, so to hone his skills, Mitch offers him some one-on-one coaching - which also gets him close to the beautiful Andie.

Andie is so dedicated and self-sacrificing for her happiness to ensure Noah gets what he wants. To sum her up she is trying and she is trying her best. She longs for Noah to open up to her as he has shut down in his grief. I loved that as Noah honed his skills on the ice, he and Andie were able to find and strengthen their relationship gradually. While they are both grieving they start the steps towards healing and it was beautiful and sweet.

Mitch is also trying. He wants to get better - he knows it is going to be difficult. But what I love so much about him is that once he comes to terms with stepping over the stigma of therapy and opening up, as a result of his budding relationship with Andie, Noah and his teammates - he realises he is not alone. He finds family, comfort and growth with them and can overcome his struggles. It was also sweet how he could see so many similarities between himself and Noah and how the two of them were able to share this bro bond - with the teen even putting the grown man in his place.

Trope Summary:
▶ Dislike to Love
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Nurse X Hockey Player
▶ Cute Kids
▶ Trauma Bonding
▶ No Third Act Breakup
▶ Closed Door - but some cute kisses
▶ Found Family

In the end, this was wholesome and about finding healing and family in unexpected places and just made my heart feel warm and if you want to feel all warm and fuzzy too, I HIGHLY recommend picking this up! This will not be the last Leah Brunner book I pick up!

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of Desire or Defense. Miss Brunner fails to create characters and story line that hold attention or entertaining.

The banter feels so dry. The characters stuck with no tender or further development.

2 stars

[angiees_books♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

bardzo fajny rom-com z hokejem w tle 😏 lekko, łatwo i bardzo przyjemnie 😍

[hitynka · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Jest jak jasny punkt na trybunach rozświetla je niczym słońce w ponury dzień.
Okej, mocno pyskate słońce.”❤️


Ale, scena tori z mężem wygrała😂to pewnie będę ja za 15 lat
„Zerka na żonę i kręci głową, po czym rzuca w nią gru­bym sza­lem w krat­kę.
– Masz, skar­bie. Mu­sisz mieć coś, czym wy­trzesz tę całą ślinę – dro­czy się.
Tori wsta­je, trzy­ma­jąc w rę­kach końce sza­li­ka, za­rzu­ca go na szyję męża i przy­cią­ga go do sie­bie na szyb­kie­go ca­łu­sa.
– Nikt nie może rów­nać się z tobą, ko­cha­nie.
Od­su­wa się od niego, ale naj­pierw on chwy­ta za poły jej kurt­ki i skła­da na ustach Tori dłuż­szy po­ca­łu­nek.
– Prze­stań! – woła. – Mitch może pa­trzeć i dowie się, że je­stem za­ję­ta!
Śmie­ją się wszy­scy z wy­jąt­kiem jej męża, który prze­wra­ca ocza­mi.
– Je­steś nie­moż­li­wa.”