Gross Misconduct

Kodiaks Hockey #2

by Anna Albo

When you play with fire, expect to get burned.

Jeremy Vaughn knows all about that. He made a huge mistake. Now it’s time to pay the consequences. The guys on the team hate him, the press want to tar and feather him, and the fans want his head. With his career on tenterhooks, he needs a huge save.

Smart and sassy Jill Bowman needs a save of her own. After losing her dream job, she gets a fresh start with the Kodiaks as their head of PR. She’s always been in control of things, but then life hits her with a slapshot, and his name is Jeremy Vaughn.

Left to clean up his mess, the Kodiaks owner comes up with an idea to salvage his team’s reputation and protect his beleaguered captain from further humiliation. A “love match.” Except, there’s no love lost between Jill and Jeremy, but when you’re made an offer you can’t refuse…

Jill warms up to the charming Kodiaks captain, and Jeremy is determined to break through Jill’s rock-hard shell. Sparks fly, but when off-ice secrets come to light, both their hearts are about to be body-checked.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2024

About the author

Anna Albo was born and raised in Canada. She’s a prairie girl who loves the city. Anna is second generation Italian-Canadian, which means two things: she has a fiery temper and loves to cook. Both those qualities can be found in her books.

From new adult to chick lit and everything in between, Anna writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction that makes people laugh and love.

When Anna isn’t writing her latest book, she’s blogging about dogs, or healthy living, or enjoying a cup of tea while attempting to create a culinary masterpiece.

She lives with her partner, his cat and her dog.

Reviews

[Anastasia ｼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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│ ⊹ 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 ⊹
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Jill finds herself reluctantly entangled in a web of deceit when she's coerced into posing as Jeremy's girlfriend. Their association is born out of necessity: Jeremy, a hockey player embroiled in a scandalous affair with his teammate's wife, seeks redemption, while Jill, head of the team's PR department, aims to salvage the team's reputation. As they navigate the charade of a faux romance, both Jill and Jeremy harbor discontent beneath the surface.

While it wasn't terrible, the storyline felt somewhat lackluster to me, as I've read so many fake dating hockey romances, this one failed to ignite any significant excitement.


Thank you for the ARC Anna Albo!
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Dump and Chase | Review
Gross Misconduct | Review


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[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ARC received in exchange for my honest review]
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Everyone who knows me (and probably most people who don’t know me) knows I’m a huge ice hockey fan, yet I haven’t really dipped my toes in the hockey romance genre other than the works of the Queen of this genre, Elle Kennedy.
So when I was offered the chance to read an ARC of Gross Misconduct by Anna Albo, I absolutely jumped at the chance!
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Book One (Dump and Chase) wasn’t immediately my favourite of the series when I picked it up as I’m not a huge fan of the surprise pregnancy genre, “oh no, I’ve missed a period, I’m pregnant” moment of realisation, but I enjoyed the characters on and off the team and how Tangi prioritised herself and didn’t immediately jump back into Ethan’s arms at the news.
Following on from this, I enjoyed book two (Gross Misconduct) a lot more. I much prefer the fake dating trope and I loved how strong Jill was as a character and the ways she didn’t put with up Jeremy’s crap really made me laugh at times. I loved getting to know other minor characters such as Clay better and also loved seeing glimpses of Tangi and Ethan in their future. And, of course, I fell in love with Chloe the dog.

Overall, these books were fun and quick reads (I read both in two days) and a nice lighthearted palette cleanser.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Anna!
Dump and Chase is out now and available on Kindle Unlimited and Gross Misconduct publishes on April 18th!

Dump and Chase ⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5
Gross Misconduct ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jenifer Stretch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fake dating, workplace “romance”, he’s a hockey player who had an affair with his teammate’s wife and she is head of the team’s PR department working to rehab his reputation. Jill gets roped into being Jeremy’s fake girlfriend to help the affair scandal blow over but neither are happy about it. I loved how much they despised each other at the beginning. Not letting people in is just Jill’s style and Jeremy would rather do anything he can to stay away from the Icy PR lady. Luckily they have mutual best friends to buffer their lack of desire for each other in public outings. I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow and seeing their character development shine through. Also, Jill is a beast of PR boss in her job and I loved seeing her fierce woking side.

[Dee Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smart, sassy, tough and fierce, Jill, is one heck of a PR rep, she goes above and beyond to get the best for her clients.
When she’s pushed to act as girlfriend to the team bad boy, Jeremy, it’s a hard call. They can’t stand each other, and witnessing their ruffled feathers, as the reader, is so much fun.
As they work together, they get to know each other and feelings get into the mix.
This is full of banter, angst, spice and emotion.
Jill had me from the start and Jeremy grew on me as his character evolved, I enjoyed the glimpses of Tangi and Ethan from book 1 and some other teammates stood out as possible future books in the series.
I’m enjoying this series and look forward to the next instalment.

Thank you to the author.

[Eryn Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was super excited to read this one, and it didn’t disappoint! Being a Vancouver hockey girl myself, I really enjoyed all Vancouver-isms and I love supporting Canadian authors. The character development in this second book of the Kodiaks hockey series was pretty good (now I have to go read the first one like a responsible binge reader!) I just wished it was longer so we could get more of them! I love a confident FMC who rocks her job in this workplace romance and the MMC who reluctantly needs the help. If you’re looking for a pro hockey romance, take a chance on this one, you’ll enjoy it!

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Anna Albo's writing and her strong female characters. Jill is definitely a strong female character but what I love about her is her success despite her background, her character growth and her ability to learn from past mistakes.
She prioritizes her mental health and focuses on things that will keep her healthy and happy. We all need to follow Jill's lead there!

Great story about second chances, taking chances, personal growth and HEA.

[sassy.smutty.reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I was not able to finish this book. There was a lot of repetitive scenes and an over explanation of the reason why Jill hated her best friend’s fiancé but how he was ok now. I want to thank the author for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Hockey romance. Fake dating, workplace romance, reformed bad boy. HEA.

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

great

Jeremy Vaughn is the bad boy of his team and caught in an affair. Jill new to the teams is set to help him clean up his image

[Elizabeth Keysian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always get really excited at the thought of a new Anna Albo book. It’s brilliant to be able to get eyes on one before it even hits the shelves! Fans of Anna’s sharp, sassy heroines are going to love Jill and be rooting for her all the way. Jeremy isn‘t so bad, either 😜 Another fabulous read from this author.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Differently not what i was excepting, it was better.
I will differently read the book before and everthing by Anna Albo

Full review to come