Making the Play

Harrison University #2

by A.D. Lynn

Hockey is life. That’s Hunter Thompson’s motto. With a dad who played in the NHL, and a NCAA Championship fresh under his belt, a future in professional hockey is all he wants. But he defers it for his senior year to play with the Griffins one last season. He doesn’t expect to get distracted by the team’s gorgeous new Social Media Coordinator. Positive and upbeat, she’s everything he doesn’t need right now. When his season doesn’t go as planned, will he make the right play?

Family is number one. That’s Natalie Rios’s top priority. She's at Harrison to get her degree and secure their future. But when they must replace the roof, she needs a new job immediately. She knows nothing about hockey, but thanks to her fashion blog, she’s a shoo-in for the Social Media Coordinator role. It’s a great fit—except for the grumpy team captain who makes her job more difficult with every slash of his stick. When she sees him for who he truly is, will she let him in?

Between bus rides, interviews, and hockey games, their growing attraction threatens everything they’ve built. When the unthinkable happens, is their love strong enough to survive?

Genres: Hockey, Romance, College

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2024

Reviews

[Gigi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished my first book by AD Lynn, and wow, what a ride! The chemistry between Hunter and Natalie is off the charts, and the mix of sports and romance kept me totally hooked. Hunter is the classic jock with a heart of gold chasing his NHL dreams, while Natalie is a total boss juggling family responsibilities, social media duties and her crush on Hunter. The story's got just the right amount of drama and sweetness to keep you grinning from ear to ear. Overall, Making the Play is an absolute delight—I can't wait to dive into more of AD Lynn's books!

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stayed up until 2:30 AM because I couldn’t put it down!

[Maria Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! Hunter and Natalie’s interactions captured my attention from the very beginning. I couldn’t help but sympathize each of them. Main characters are really well established and I was rooting for them to find all the best solutions for struggles that life was giving them as if I was rooting for my closest friends. Drama elements were just the right amount - not too little and not too much. Thank god there was no
a third act break up, I was dreading it. But thankfully our fave duo kept showing up for each other. And love conquered it all.
A fun, captivating, summer read! I enjoyed it a lot! Recommend.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review: Super cute, light, fun summer read. Grumpy x sunshine. Found family, forced proximity. Loved little Jace with my whole heart ❤️
This would be a great option for a teen dipping their toes into the romance genre: closed door, no explicit spice scenes. If you haven’t already read Cooper and Jasmine’s story, you’ll want to after you finish this one!

[Read_by_Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is book #2 in A.D. Lynn's Harrison University series. The story is about Hunter, a hockey player for Harrison University, and Natalie, a HU student & the new social media manager for the hockey team.

My thoughts: A.D. Lynn has done it again. I absolutely LOVED this book. I sat down and read it all in one sitting! I loved Hunter and Natalie. They were both facing their own issues which gave this book so much depth that feels relatable to the reader. Hunter and Natalie learn to lean on each other to help make it through their personal struggles.

This is a great summer read. I've loved this series and can't wait to see what A.D. Lynn brings to the table for book 3! This book is available on Kindle Unlimited & paperback!

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[MaryAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natalie is one of my favorite characters ever!

[L R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read

Some many great things about this book! Sunshine/Grumpy ✅, Hurt/Comfort ✅ characters that really get you invested in their story and make you fall in love along with them ✅ I loved Hunter and Natalie’s tale, from beginning to end. AD Lynn really hit this one out of the park with her sophomore novel.

[HeadCanonHeadCase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natalie needs her on-campus job as Social Media Coordinator for the hockey team. She's determined to make a good impression, work hard, and not let the grumpy captain get under her skin. Hockey is life for Hunter. One last year with the Griffins and then it's on to the NHL. If only his father would stop sharing his unhelpful opinions. Over the course of the season, Natalie and Hunter grow closer, letting the other see them at their most vulnerable. Will an accident derail the relationship they've built?

Read if you like:
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Meet Hideous
-Opposites Attract
-Forbidden/Secret Relationship
-Banter
-Family Drama
-Pressure
-Hurt x Comfort
-Angst

I loved every second of Making the Play! Natalie and Hunter have a special place in my heart. There is just something about a grumpy sunshine, terrible first impression, slow burn that just hits. I really enjoyed how they slowly started to truly see each other. All the scenes with Hunter and Natalie's nephew made me melt. They were so adorable together. The opposites attract trope worked really well in this book and just made me love Hunter more. Natalie was so relatable and I'm glad she got her happy ending. And then of course there was the hurt x comfort and all the delicious angst that followed. *Chef's Kiss*

This is an author and series that hockey romance lovers are sleeping on, and I am so excited for more readers to find it!

[Sophie Toovey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first hockey romance and I have to say I'm glad there wasn't much requirement to understand the game! The focus in this story is very much on the characters, Hunter and Natalie, and their different struggles. I felt that Natalie's situation was well drawn with her father's illness, the way she has to work so hard at different jobs to try to keep the family afloat, and the way that she parents her nephew due to her sister's absence. I was very invested in her. I also liked the way that Hunter wasn't a rich kid who could solve all her problems. In fact, he had plenty of his own issues, and again, I liked the way that this was developed.
Hunter and Natalie have a strong attraction, and become a couple about halfway through the book. It's an interesting structure - the second half is more about how they're going to make it work with their different circumstances. It perhaps lost the romantic tension, but these are real world issues which I appreciated weren't brushed under the carpet or magically made to go away.
There is some language in this book and closed door, fade to black scenes.

[Esmee · Rating 3 out of 5]

80 procent. Was van plan het helemaal uit te lezen, maar had geen zin meer en zou het toch geen andere ster geven.

Zij dacht wel echt slecht over hem... Gelukkig was ze niet echt onaardig naar hem.
Hij koos de mensen met wie hij omging en wie hij sliep... Ga niet zielig lopen doen aub.. ik had het woord 'feisty' alsof ze alleen iemand willen die ze niet meteen kunnen krijgen.

Die zus van haar was amper in het verhaal. Maar ze ,pesten allemaal op haar zoontje passen... Had hem gewoon weggedaan dan.. sorry... Ze hebben bijna geen leven... Hun vader is ook doodziek en ze werken zich dood...

Echt erg dat zijn vader zo onaardig was.. waarom liet hij dat de wereld niet weten?

Er gebeurd van alles maar toch weinig.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love hockey romances and I absolutely loved this hockey romance.

The chemistry between the two main character is incredible.
This book is very fast to read the only thing is that I needed time to let the story go but it always have a little pice of my heart.

If you are looking for a sweet (but with tension) sports romance I would highly recommend this book.

Every one is so lovely (except two people that I really hated) and that makes everything go more smoothly.

I really enjoyed this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down! Hunter and Natalie are both great main characters - likeable, hardworking and family oriented (though in VERY different ways). I thought the challenges the couple faced together were natural and not contrived at all. The book wove some very melancholy subject matter into a sweet romance, and I thought it was an excellent balance. I cannot wait for the next couple that this book teased - Jonas and Hadley!

[Jenn H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will have you laughing out at the antics between the player and the social media gal hired to help promote the college team. Hunter comes across as so driven aka grumpy that Natalie can’t help but rile him up! And do the sparks ever fly between them. This is a first time read for this author for me but it won’t be a last!

[B.N. Torrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet duo! These two were a perfect pair. Our MMC was the perfect example of "if he wants to, he will." 😍
LOVED the found family dynamic that he created for himself and the team bonding movie nights!

If you're a fan of a closed door smitten fun summer read, this one's for you! 🏒🖤

[Tricia Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed one more pass through for typos, I think. Other than that, the story was super cute and the conflict was well done! I think I wanted a little more resolution between Natalie and Sarah but it was still so good. I really loved Hunter, too. He was just such a good dude.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

So cheesy but I liked it anyways.

[Marcia Arguelles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the whole of this book my heart was in my throat. Why? I’ve no idea.
This was seriously adorable and I might hate happy endings but this one was alright enough.

[Meg Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, HEA with low spice by a local author I interviewed for Pages & Voices. Audrey (A.D.) was a joy to host, and her book was a quick, easy read with fun dialogue. Pick it up! You won't regret it.

[jackyeols · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Megan Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me by the jersey and said “you will feel things about a hockey boy with trust issues” and I said “don’t mind if I do”.

We’ve got: slow burn tension, workplace banter, and one emotionally constipated captain who falls hard for a sunshine fashion queen.

Five stars because I laughed, I swooned, I screamed “KISS ALREADY” at least nine times.

Warning: may cause sudden interest in college hockey and emotionally damaged men.

[Kimberley · Rating 3 out of 5]

PREMISE: Money is already tight for Natalie’s family but when they need to replace a damaged roof, she decides to help out by getting a second job. Luckily she scores a job making social media content for her college’s hockey team and this is where she meets Hunter - the grumpy team captain. From the get go, he makes her job difficult but once he decides to let his walls down, they realise there’s a strong attraction between them.

REVIEW: So this was pretty cute. Gotta love a boy obsessed. The story focuses on Natalie and Hunter and their struggles regarding family expectations, pressure they put on themselves and pressure put on them by their families. You could really feel for the characters and the struggles that they were going through. One of my favourite things was that there was no third act break up. Nothing annoys me more than a third act break up due to miscommunication when everything could have been resolved with one conversation. Even though there was no break up there was conflict but it was dealt with in a mature and realistic way. This is a closed door romance so would be perfect for a younger audience or those who don’t want spice in their books.

VIBES:
- Hockey romance
- Found family
- Forced proximity
- He falls first
- Grumpy x sunshine
- No third act breakup
- Closed door romance

This is my honest opinion in exchange for an ARC.