Pucking Sweet

Jacksonville Rays #3

by Emily Rath

In the latest spicy novel in the internationally bestselling Jacksonville Rays hockey romance series, the lines between work and play get deliciously blurred—with very unplanned consequences . . .

My name is Poppy St. James and I’ve just landed my dream job as the Director of Public Relations for the NHL’s hottest new team, the Jacksonville Rays. But if I want to stay beyond my one-year contract, I'll have to prove myself. Easy. PR is in my blood.

What’s not so easy are the hockey players. First, there’s party boy defenseman Lukas Novikov. I don’t care how well he plays hockey. Off the ice, he’s a PR nightmare. Managing this man is quickly becoming my full-time job.

Did I mention my wildly inappropriate crush on his fellow defenseman, Colton Morrow? He’s sweet and kind and might just be perfect for me…but he’s totally off limits. I don’t date my players. It’s enough work managing their messy private lives without becoming part of the story myself.

Everything changes the day my sister makes a devastating announcement. One phone call sends me spiraling…right into the arms of both my rival defensemen. And just like that, I’ve officially become my own PR crisis. Now I’m staring down at a little blue plus sign and I have no strategy, no idea what comes next. All I know is that nothing will ever be the same…for any of us.

PUCKING SWEET is book three in the USA Today and international bestselling Jacksonville Rays hockey romance series. The series begins with the spicy prequel novella THAT ONE NIGHT.

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Hockey, Sports, Why Choose, Hockey Romance, Audiobook

686 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2024

About the author

Emily Rath is a USA Today and international bestselling author whose chart-topping, sex-positive, queer-inclusive fantasy and romance novels include the Second Sons Regency romances, the Tuonela Duet fantasy novels, and the ‘why choose’ Jacksonville Rays Hockey Romances. A former university professor, she holds PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Emily lives with her husband, son, and cats in the Pacific Northwest. She can be found online at EmilyRathBooks.com, on Instagram @emilyrathauthor and on TikTok @emilyrathbooks.

Reviews

[Ren Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I’m going to be in the minority here and this may well be a case of ‘it’s me, not the book’. I LOVE Pucking Around, it’s one of my all time favourite books and will live in me forever, I also really enjoyed Pucking Wild, but honestly this one fell flat for me.

It’s set over the same time period as the first two books so we get to see a lot of the scenes from the first two from different povs, which I actually really liked, even though there wasn’t actually many appearances by the Prices.

Pucking Sweet is an MMF, but the MM doesn’t start until around 60%. Colton and Lukas are tipped as best friends turned lovers, but I didn’t really get that best friend vibe from them and when the MM part started it was so out of blue with barely any hints to their feelings for one another before they went full on into it (neither had been attracted to another man before).

I also didn’t feel like I got enough of the building of the relationships between the three of them before they went into more. There was A LOT of spicy scenes (I actually skimmed the last couple), so for me it lacked the depth of really getting to know the characters and believing in their love for one another.

It’s still a good read, and the last 15% or so I liked.

[megan ◡̈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my god!!!!!!!! this is 1010% my favorite pucking book yet, i cant even begin to comprehend how much i loved these three beautiful characters 😭

i was absolutely enthralled by this one from start to finish, i truly couldve read a thousand more pages of them i never wanted it to end!! i thought the pacing was so well done and the plot to smut ratio was *chefs kiss*. i loved that we really got to know them and whats going on a little bit before we started getting spicy. i loved revisiting some of the things that happened in books 1 and 2, i thought that they were so well done in a manner that didnt feel repetitive. it brought a great new POV for those scenes 🤭

i have to say i am SO SO happy that while writing PS the dynamic shifted to mmf instead of the originally intended mfm becuase colton and novy together brought such a BEAUTIFUL dynamic to the story and made it ten times stronger, i do wish we got just a little bit more one on one time with the two of them but overall just absolutely obsessed with how much it felt like it added to their story.

i absolutely love the way that emily writes her FMCs, they are bad ass foul mouthed take no shit women that i aspire to be like one day. i could not have loved poppy more i swear, she is the IT girl of this series the way she handles herself and everyone else at the same time is truly something else.

this will easily be one of my top reads this year, i cannot believe how in love with this book i am and i am already dying to get started on planning a reread 😭

[Milo (if lost, return to hot fictional character) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks emily for the sort of arc (more explaination bellow)
thanks employee at pinguin for fucking up and sending the book 10 days before release to my bookstore so that i could still read it <3 you a real one


I honestly think this is my most liked book by emily. was it her best one? probably not. there's no plot, mostly smut, and a lot of depth to the 3 main characters. Pucking around and pucking wild both had a lot of "plot" so to speak, but because pucking sweet follows the same time line you wouldn't want to repeat a lot of scenes. the thing is that because of that the plot lacked A LOT

so if you want to read about characters and their problems and their development, you would love this. are you looking for a plot similar to PA and PW, you should try it still but it might not be your cup of tea.

anyway, LUKAS!!!! my baby boy, i related a bit too much to him. loved feeling personally attacked by his story arc.
best boi fr

and colton, i loved him so much. and him and lukas kgjdkfjgdk idk they just fit. even tho i personally would have loved a bit more focus on them.

and poppy. our strong female lead. i loved her! probably one of my favourite leads emily has written. she is strong, she knows what she wants and she goes for it.

the story arcs were so well done.
should it be the almost 600 pages this book is? probably not. did i enjoy it nontheless? for sure.

if you liked the two previous books in the series, i would for sure recommend reading this one.

4.75/5

/////////////
this next segment i would call "bro wtf this whole situation is fishy and idk what to do with it but just to inform you i will tell you about it" no hate towards the author, but just a headsup.

i was (?am?) on Emily's personal permanent ARC team. i got arcs for PW and the novellas. i've never recieved mails surrounding this release, so at the start of setpember i sent her an email informing what and how. her assistent and emily didn't really say anything of importance. so after 2 weeks (and about 12 emails back and forth) i finally got something i could work with. mind you, i was already almost sucking her imaginary dick. i know arcs are a privilage not a given, but she literally threw me off her arc team without communicating with me. never got an email. was never informed.
anyway, i sent her proof and the only thing i got was a very passive aggressive email back from her about the fact she put me on the list again (? so she still removed me lol) and i should've gotten an email from book funnel.
guess what. i never got that email.
at this point i already thought i was annoying her to pieces so i just never responded to the fact i never got an email from bookfunnel and just said thank lol.

once again. maybe just a mistake from her side. but it weird af, because they took 2 weeks to come to a point where they just gave up. idk wtf happened but anyway. it's weird and i asked around and apparently i was not the only one.

i'll let y'all know if something changes for the next book lol

-------------------


One of her best books to date

rtc when i’m either at work or after work because i now have 5 minutes left to make myself ready because i was finishing this😭✋🏼

(also be ready for some complaints about communication from a reader standpoint. has nothing to do with the book, everything to do with arcs and the author)
——————




i’m patiently waiting for this book while i’m also selling my soul and first born child to Emily for Pucking ever after vol 2

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pucking Sweet is book three in the Jacksonville Rays series by Emily Rath. I’ve loved this series from the beginning. I’m so invested in the characters of all of the lives of the different characters. This one is a why choose, surprise pregnancy romance with a stressed out public relations director and two very determined hockey players. The time line of this book runs alongside the two previous books which was kind of cool. And wow, what an ending!!!



Lets start with Poppy St. James. She is twenty seven years old. She’s newly hired as public relations director for a brand new hockey team, The Jacksonville Rays. It’s her job to keep the players out of social media for the wrong reasons. There is one particular player who is making her job very difficult and she is determined to keep him in line. I loved Poppy. She was constantly stressed out. She was on a one year contract so she felt the pressure to work extra hard to prove herself. Her family is a well to do family that constantly makes her feel less than. That she isn’t living up to their expectations. I felt so bad for her.



Colton (Cole) Morrow is a defenseman for the Rays. He has known Poppy for a couple of years and has been hiding a secret crush for just as long. Maybe even secretly in love with her. It’s because of her that he took the trade to the Rays because he wanted to be where Poppy was.



Now lets talk about Lukas (Novy) Novikov. He is twenty six years old and is also a defenseman. He’s playing the best game of his life. He’s been a pro hockey player for seven years already. This guy lived life to the fullest, both on and off the ice. He gave his new PR director a run for her money. But for some reason, he enjoyed getting her all riled up. And he thought about her way too much. Novy is the one that broke my heart the most. He had a terrible childhood and as a result, had serious abandonment issues. He was his own worst enemy. He never felt worthy, especially of Poppy.



When you put these three together, well, you can just imagine. Cole was the voice of reason of the three, also the bossiest. And later in the book, he does something that just melts my heart. He knows what he wants, what they all need, for the three of them to be together. And he will do whatever it takes to get them there.

We get little peeks into what we already know is going on in Rachel and her guy’s world as the book goes along. And also a little peek of Tess and Ryan. This book is filled with lots of steam, lots of dirty talk, lots of swoons, and just lots of amazingness! Now I can’t wait for the next book, Pucking Strong, which will be Teddy’s book. I just can’t get enough of these characters.

For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I even start.

From the very first chapter, this story wraps its hands around your heart and does not let go. It’s messy, magnetic, and unexpectedly tender. It’s a love story that breaks every rule and somehow still feels exactly right.

Poppy is everything you want in a heroine. She’s strong, sharp, and independently resilient. As the PR manager for the Jacksonville Rays, she’s used to keeping things under control and keeping her heart out of it. Her career is her safe place, built brick by brick after walking away from a mother who tried to dictate her every move. She made one rule for herself: never fall for a player.

But then came Lukas and Colton… and nothing was ever the same.

Lukas is chaos wrapped in charm. Sarcastic, carefree, and always the first to crack a joke, but underneath the swagger is a boy who’s been left too many times. He doesn’t believe he’s worthy of being chosen, let alone loved. His fear of abandonment runs deep, and love? That’s something he’s convinced himself he can’t hold onto.

Colton, on the other hand, is all steadiness and quiet strength. He’s the guy who wants it all. A partner, a family, a forever. He doesn’t just fall, he commits. He loves like a lighthouse: constant, unwavering, safe. And when feelings for Poppy surface, he doesn’t run, he leans in.

And Poppy? She didn’t expect to fall for either of them, let alone both. But life has a funny way of surprising you when you least expect it… like with two pink lines and the tiniest heartbeat that changes everything.

Suddenly, love isn’t just something they’re navigating, it’s something they’re building.

This isn’t just a romance. This story aches in all the best ways. It’s a story about choosing love in all its complicated forms. It’s about healing old wounds and creating a life that doesn’t have to fit anyone else’s mold to be beautiful.

It’s sexy, yes. But it’s also soft. It’s about laughter and longing, vulnerability and trust. It’s about finding forever in the most unexpected place—between two men who love Poppy in completely different ways, and a future she never dared dream for herself.

If you’re craving a love story that will make you laugh, ache, cry and swoon, pick this one up. It’s not just pucking sweet—it’s absolutely unforgettable.

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

”To be loved by Poppy is to be wrapped up body and soul in her goodness, her light. I love her too. I'd say it every hour of the day if she'd let me.”

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

things to know about the book ↓

🏒 Reverse harem
🏒 Friends to lovers
🏒 Surprise pregnancy
🏒 Found family
🏒 Workplace romance

──────────


・❥・⁀➷ pre-read

Been awhile since I read a hockey romance. (okay more like a month or so not THAT long) I’m so ready for this! 🏒🤪

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus}]

What? How did this get into my the-list? 👀 👀

[Anayah · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I’ve said, Ms. Emily knows how to write a captivating story.

Is it usually just heavy spice? Yes.

Is the story captivating without it? Also yes.

So it’s a win. A win is a win.

[Teresa González · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok, I don't think anything will ever amaze me in this series as the first book, I mean MMMF? how do you even top that?

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. I loved PA, PW, and all of the novellas, so I was so excited for Poppy’s book. However, because it follows the same timeline as Pucking Around, the plot felt recycled and there were just a few new scenes sprinkled in; but it felt like I was just doing a remixed re-read of the other books.

Novy has so much potential that was missed because he won’t go to therapy. Poppy is the same sassy spitfire we’ve come to know and love throughout the other books. Colton had more depth than I was anticipating and he deserves a happy ending, just maybe not this one…. The end felt extremely rushed and abrupt. This throuple is one of the ones that would definitely end up divorced or split up very quickly if nothing changed.

Thank you to the author and team for the eARC. All thoughts are my own and I appreciate the opportunity to read the advance copy.

[Kendall Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

i dont know what she puts in these books but they’re crack to me. i like this story better than pucking wild but no one compares to our OG group. still love them so so much

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book needs editing and a publishing company that will tell an author no when they want to cram 400 story lines into one novel.

[kaye taz · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️
spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
format: audiobook
narration: 🎤🎤🎤🎤/5

i'm mad at myself for not picking this up sooner, and also for forgetting how much emily rath makes me cry.

this was perfection. i've loved poppy since pucking around, but getting to see this new side of her made me adore her even more. colton is both sweet and domineeringly sexy and i really enjoyed seeing the difference between the colton everyone sees and the colton that emerges behind closed doors. and lukas. my sweet little broken boy who runs at the first sign of things getting too serious. he started out being a character i didn't enjoy getting the pov of, to being my absolute favorite of the three. he just won me over so wholly.

this love story was everything. i loved the natural progression of lukas and colton's relationship, and how their queer awakenings came about. and i loved how they all got the family they deserved in the end.

do i love this more than pucking around? ugh, i don't know. i don't think anyone will beat caleb and ilmari for me. pretty sure those two are what started my journey into mm romance.

ahh, so excited for henrik and teddy next!

[Emma Skapetis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this series. I don't like some parts of it but I love other parts. This book is in the middle because I didn't like some scenes but really enjoyed others. I couldn't it down despite how annoying the characters could be at times. I liked Poppy, Lukas and Colson but I didn't connect to them as much as I did with other characters in the series (well I kind of loved Poppy but not the guys). There is definitely a lot of spice in here and in my opinion it impacted the emotional connection between Poppy, Lukas and Colson. This book also has a suprise pregnancy (which I know is definitely a unpopular trope but I actually love it) but it doesn't occur until like 60 percent in. This is exactly what I expected it to be, which is a fun, addictive and really spicy hockey romance. It focuses more on hockey than most other hockey romances though as Poppy is the PR manager of the Rays hockey team and there's actually quite a few hockey games that happen, which I like. I love how diverse and unique this series. There is so many different types of representation for people that don't often get represented in books and other forms of media and I love to see it. Also Poppy's family drama is really bad and Poppy's ex is absolutely awful (the things he says to her are absolutely awful and should never be said to anyone) and I'm glad he gets what he deserves.

[Abby (booksinthefreetime) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book of the series so far!! 🤭😍

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am Lukas Novikov and Lukas Novikov is me

I think my main issues with all of these books is that they are ungodly long but the plot is subpar at best. And I want more. The plots are genuinely interesting but they are not developed. But I loved these three and this has been my favorite so far.

[marioncoin | coin.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

‭« 𝑎̀ 𝑙𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛. 𝑗'𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒́𝑗𝑎̀. 𝑐'𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑐𝑖, 𝑚𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛. 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑢̀ 𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑖𝑠. 𝑐'𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑗'𝑎𝑖𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑛. »

mes vies, mon oxygène,
sans grande surprise ce tome est un coup de cœur, à l'image de cette saga finalement,
c'est fou ce que j'aime le travail d'Emily Rath, la manière dont elle nous raconte ses histoires, celle dont elle construit cette found family exceptionnelle, le développement de chacun de ses prota, extrêmement bien ficelés, ils sont tous touchants et tellement humain- et enfin son smut tout simplement exceptionnel???

j'aime tellement ses histoires atypiques, la romance doit représenter 90% de mes lectures, et avec ça c'est le meilleur moyen de ne pas m'en lasser,

j'ai adooooré le fait que ce tome se déroule en parallèle des tomes 1 et 2 et de pouvoir revivre pleins de scènes marquantes (l'arrivée de Rachel dans l'équipe, la campagne pub pour l'adoption des animaux, l'événement avec les tortues, et j'en passe) c'était un plaisir de revivre ces moments avec la pov de poppy, novi ou morrow,

je les ai tellement adoré tous les 3, ils ont tous leurs singularités, leur propre personnalité, même si Lukas à eu mon cœur un peu plus vraiment >>> (il surpasse quand même pas Ryan attention)

bref, hâte de lire le prochain tome qui sera un MxM, j'adore la manière dont elle varie chacune des romances de cette saga, je sais déjà que ça va être trop bien, c'est certain !

mes notes :
#1 pucking around : 4/5
#1.5 pucking ever after vol. 1 : 5/5
#2 pucking wild : ♡/5
#2.5 pucking ever after vol. 2 : ♡/5
#3 pucking sweet : ♡/5

[Micayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steamy!

I don’t quite know how to summarize my thoughts on this one.

The pacing was pretty good, except I was ready for the story to be wrapped up around the 70/75% mark. I feel like there were a few plot points in that last 30% that could have been skipped or happened earlier with the same effect.

I wish we would have spent more time focused on Novy and Cole falling in love with one another. It was pretty subtle, which to some level I appreciated, but it did feel like their love story took a back seat to each of their relationships with Poppy.

I did like each of the main characters, and feel like they were well rounded and fleshed out people. The plot thread of Cole’s dad passing was completely forgotten about, and Novy’s abandonment issues were a little brushed over.

All in all though, a fun read, very steamy, and no prose or grammar things to complain about, which is always appreciated!

[Lena · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf-ing @65% i gotta put me first.

[tane'a · Rating 5 out of 5]

emily we must have words😩this book did me in! i never know what to exactly expect with miss rath’s books but i am never disappointed

i can’t even lie, at first i was shocked when i realized the timeline of this book starts allll the way before pucking around and wasn’t really feeling the idea, i was trying to get right to the good stuff but getting to see everything slowly develop, seeing other POVs to certain scenes and moments were everything

this book had endless ups and downs (i should not have been gasping for air the way i was at the 97% mark😭)
i laughed, cried, screamed, and hollered, yet it all just made for an amazing reading experience

this little family means EVERYTHING to me and i’m so happy with the story they got

side note: pucking ever after volume 3 is going to hit SO damn hard, i need it desperately

side side note: the set up for the next full length novel????? now THAT is tea

[Eva ✧ ࣪ ⋆ ⁺₊ ⋆ evathedreamer ₊˚.⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊ ✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was indeed pucking sweet!

A steamy, sports-romance, with a dynamic mix of humor, emotional depth, and sizzling chemistry.
The characters are well-developed, and the storyline offers both heartwarming and intense moments, centered around hockey player relationships.

I really enjoyed this one - so hot, sweet, and funny👌

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the book but all the stars for Novi 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wish this book was 300 pages shorter and never written

[Book Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book and I DEVOURED it in less than 24 hours!

This was everything I’d hoped for and more. These characters have my heart! Their love story is beautiful and I fell for each of them. The emotional pacing of this book is perfection. Nothing felt rushed or “too soon,” but flowed organically. Emily is a master at writing characters that are easy to relate and connect to, whether you identify with their struggles or not, you still root for them completely.

The way this story weaved into the first 2 books was beautifully done. Even if you haven’t read the first 2, or PEA vol 1-2 (but you should because they are amazing), you can totally enjoy this story on its own.

Poppy is life. I want to be Poppy when I grow up. Novy is the sarcastic, prankster grump with enough emotional baggage to rival Poppy’s literal “I packed way too much for this trip” baggage. Their dynamic and banter was sassy and wonderful. The sweet Colton is a gentleman in the streets and was a pleasant surprise alpha in the sheets. The way he connects with Poppy and pines for her made me swoon. And I loved the friendship between Colton and Novy. And when that spice hits… Y’ALL!!

I love the way each spicy scene flowed organically with the story. It’s never spice just for spice. Each encounter shows you more of their relationship, dynamic, and emotional development. It was beautifully done.

And there are definitely little tidbits/scenes mentioned that I am going to need written into the next PEA! 😁

I’ll admit, I didn’t think anything could top my love for the Price family, but this group is up there with them. I didn’t want to stop reading, I want more of this world and my Jacksonville Rays!

[Andrea ☾ [is inconsistently consistant] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ I think I'm going to sit with my thoughts for a while...

Maybe I overhyped it in my head, but this one has ended up being my least favourite in the series so far, and I had HIGH expectations, let me tell you. I knew that this was an unplanned pregnancy MMF romance, so I was kind of holding on to see where it would go... but I didn't love it.

Poppy seemed so put-together, an absolute badass barbie in the other books, but here, I just couldn't really see her that way. Colton is everything. He's THE absolute gem in this book and he CARRIED it till the end. Lukas was... idk, I'm sure he'll be someone's dreamboat, but to me he was just annoying about 75% of the time. I don't like pranks or the whole 'chirping' thing, so he was really just infuriating. And I mean, Poppy felt the same, she was just also really attracted to his a**. Somehow. And, much like with book 1 with Rachel and Ilmari, we don't see any MM (meaning romance between Colton and Lukas) until about the 70% mark. What is that? Also, I thought it was cannon that Lukas Novikov was bi, but apparently I was wrong.

I may do a more in-depth review after a little bit, but this book was... not what I was expecting. At all. It also made me realise just how much the Rachel/Jake/Caleb/Ilmari relationship timeline is just a full-on speed-thru lol.

🌶🌶🌶.5/5 - This is very much in line with the previous books. Super spicy, but mostly sweet too.

[Kourtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The female narrator in this book is driving me absolutely insane. I really really dislike the fake southern accent by Desiree Ketchum.
I'm 41% of the way through and again just like the first book the unprofessional is rampant with the teams PR person and 2 of the players.
Also all of these boys are all written nearly identical.
I want to push through it but mannnn

Also the fact that it takes place at the same timeline as the first book makes it seem like very recycled writing. I don’t understand why it had to happen at the same time.

Ok i finished it-my opinion didn’t really change. I had much higher hopes for this book.

[Zoë Nira · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 ⭐️

Oh my freaking god. I feel so sorry for myself that I read this book so soon after its release, BECAUSE NOW I HAVE WAIT WAY TO LONG FOR THE NEXT BOOK.

This book was A MA ZING, oh my god. I sent screaming voice memos to my bestie Chey almost every chapter with updates and the emotions I was going through.

I thought Pucking Around was great, but Pucking Sweet, oh dear heavens... I can't stop thinking about it.

I'M SO SAD I CAN'T RELIVE THIS AGAIN.

[Jordan Fischer | julietfoxreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, Pucking Sweet was EVERYTHING I wanted from a Jacksonville Rays book AND MORE. One of my most anticipated new releases this year, I was SO thrilled when I was able to get my hands on an ARC. Pucking Sweet is laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly spicy, and oh-so-heartwarming it made me giddy. And the END! I SOBBED, it’s PERFECT 😭. Y'all don't even know, and I cannot wait for you to find out!

I related to Poppy SO hard - definitely the most "me" character in the Rays universe. She's driven and a little dramatic, but when she decides she's going to let loose, she goes ALL IN 😏. I absolutely loved that she is SO committed to what she wants, whether its her job OR the two men she falls for. Though she can verbally spar with the best of them (Novy) and is VERY comfortable not taking no for an answer (her "lean in" moment with Mark Talbot had me yelling YOU GO GIRL👏🏻👏🏻), I appreciated that she could be vulnerable too. By FAR my favorite FMC I've read in a LONG time.

Y'all, I've been incredibly loyal to Team Jake since the first time I read Pucking Around, but I might have to switch my allegiance and buy a new jersey - I'm kind of in love with Colton🥹. He's so sweet, kind, and attentive, the perfect person for both Poppy AND Novy. Colton is really the glue that holds this throuple together. Novy, on the other hand, is a straight up wild card. He's incredibly entertaining to read, and his antics had me cracking up more than once. While he has a tough exterior, his insecurities broke my heart - Novy had the most work to do on himself, but he ends up being all-in by the end.

The coolest part of this book was the fact that most of the book runs parallel to events every Rays fan is familiar with from the other books. Seeing each one from a totally different perspective was SO MUCH FUN. Every time a scene I knew popped up, I'd get a little giddy, because while I knew SOME of what was about to happen, it was a blast seeing it from an entirely different lens.

Bravo @emilyrathauthor. Pucking Sweet is hockey romance perfection 🤌🏼🤌🏼. I literally couldn't ask for anything more... except for more Rays books (I'm VERY excited about Pucking Strong y'all).

[all.the.smut.things · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ +♾️
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Hello favorite book of the year! I have been wanting and begging for Poppy, Novy and Morrow's story from the first moment I fell in love with the Rays universe, and these three were perfection. They were messy and chaotic but still absolute perfection.

Plus someone needs to apologize to Caleb Price, because Colton Morrow might be my favorite thing ever. But then again, I love them all, and in this universe I don't have to choose.

TROPES
✨ Hockey Romance
✨ MMF and Polyamory/ Bi-Awakening
✨ Accidental Pregnancy
✨Friends to Lovers
✨Enemies (who want each other) to Lovers

I really don't have words to explain how these fictional characters have burrowed their way so far in my heart, but this book was an utter delight from start to finish. I laughed and I cried, sometimes at the same time, and I fell in love with the relationship that Poppy, Novy and Morrow formed.

Poppy St James is the Jacksonville Rays resident PR Barbie, and I love this woman's fierce Southern Charm, her feistiness and her resilience. I also loved how Cole and Lukas both brought out different sides of her personality. It was so evident how much she needed them both and how much they needed each other, even if they fought it for eons.

Lukas is the bad boy that you just have to love, he's got a tender underbelly, but in order to get him to show it, you have to go through 10 layers of f*ckery (and I mean this in the very best way). Thank goodness for Cole Morrow, because this man is as sweet and stubborn and they come. He is a Leo through and through and the absolute needed calm in the storm that is Poppy and Novy.

I can't find a single fault with this book, other than I immediately want more. The spice was fan freaking-tastic, the banter was absolute next level and the emotional parts... well I sobbed quite a few times.
I just loved it and had over 400 tabs and highlights, so it’s safe to say this one deserves all the stars in the sky.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pucking Sweet was the right name for this one! Poppy's story with Novy and Marrow was indeed sweet and so loving. It was fun to go back to the same timeline as Pucking Around and see how their story was evolving at the same time. I loved getting the details of the bits and pieces we were given in the other books. There was a good mix of plot and spice, plus a lot of character development with each of the main characters. I love getting to know more of the Rays players and organization. Marrow and Novy together were the absolute sweetest. I love their love for each other and their love for Poppy. This was such a good addition to the Pucking Around and Rays world.

[⊹༚⋆&#x1690d;⋆༚⊹ ℛ&#x1d4b6;&#x1d4b8;&#x1d4bd;ℯ&#x1d4c1; ⊹༚⋆&#x1690d;⋆༚⊹ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
4🌶️

This book was so fun and almost made my cry.a little cringy at times but still such a good book!!