What if I Told You

Anaheim Stars Hockey #1

by Susan Renee

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes—

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Look, I don’t know who made up that stupid saying but I am not in love with Ella Montgomery.

Sure, she’s my best friend and has been since we could walk. Sure, I offered to let her move in with me when she moved cross-country to apply for the open position as our hockey team’s new mascot. That doesn’t mean I’m in love with her!

Now, did I get a little antsy when she mentioned future relationships and bringing random men back to my home? Maybe. Did I completely panic when she met a man and went on a date with him? I mean, I might have. But when that date went sour, did I come to her rescue and kiss her the way she deserves to be kissed?

Oh. Uh..hmm…yeah, I guess I did do that.

Actually, I did much more than that.

I didn’t just cross the line with my best friend, I erased that line altogether. The line no longer exists.

She enjoyed it as much as I did and now I can’t stop thinking about the next time will feel like, and the time after that and the time aft—oooh no,

I think I’m falling my best friend.

First comes love, then comes…oh crap…I’m in so much trouble.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Friends To Lovers, Hockey Romance, Sports Romance, Romance, Contemporary

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2024

About the author

International Best Selling author, Susan Renee, wants to live in a world where paint doesn't smell, book boyfriends are real, and everything is covered in glitter. An indie romance author, Susan has written about everything from tacos to tow-trucks, loves writing romantic comedies but also enjoys creating an emotional angsty story from time to time. She lives in Ohio with her husband, kids, two dogs and a cat. Susan holds a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Music Education and a self-awarded Doctorate in Sass and Sarcasm. She enjoys laughing at memes, speaking in GIFs and spending an entire day jumping down the TikTok rabbit hole. When she's not writing or playing the role of Mom, her favorite activity is doing the Care Bear stare with her closest friends.

Reviews

[Lindsey Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tropes:
🏒sports romance (hockey)
🏒player + team mascot!!
🏒friends to lovers
🏒close proximity

This is the first full length dive into the Anaheim Stars hockey team series (after Oliver & Scarlett’s novella to introduce us to the team).
Ella and August have been best friends since childhood. They were each other’s first kiss only to see what the fuss was all about but they’ve never ventured into “more” territory. When a new opportunity arises for the Stars needing a new mascot, August recommends Ella and she gets the job and immediately moves out with him to California. Ella is a cinnamon roll addiction and eats them when she’s nervous. One of the opening scenes is her hilariously ordering the entire menu of Cinnabon right before her interview with the Stars. Auggie is a hot hockey player with a filthy mouth. The spice was SPICING in this one!
I absolutely love the fact that an entire game was written of Anaheim playing Chicago, truly pulling together her last hockey series that I loved so much and this new one. The banter between the guys on the ice during the game and off the ice afterwards is the BEST.
I am a massive fan of this author’s and I have absolutely loved every book of hers that I’ve read. This one just wasn’t my personal favorite. I actually loved most of it, probably the first 80% but wasn’t a fan of the third act breakup. They typically don’t bother me but this one wasn’t it for me personally. The way one of the characters story lines turned made me mad and I wasn’t a fan of the way it ended. Overall it is still a 3⭐️ which for me means I liked it but it wasn’t a favorite.

Possible Trigger…it’s mentioned that private/intimate photos are taken of the FMC without her consent and are shown to another character

[Sam Deason · Rating 2 out of 5]

the end was not it

Solid 4 stars for a fun little hockey read until the last 20%. The things he said to her are unforgivable. Absolutely not someone you want in a partner. Also…we’re just gonna breeze right past the fact that he cheated on her??? I was (for the first time in 300 books) rooting for the FMC to tell the MMC he can suck it.

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Renee has done it again.

I absolutely adore and devour anything written by her. August and Ella’s story is no different. Childhood best friends, to roommates, to lovers is how this story unfolds.

Ella is feeling like she isn’t doing much back in their hometown and she ants more but doesn’t know what else to do. August, or Auggie as Ella calls him, is a professional hockey player and tells Ella about how their team mascot is retiring and that she should apply for the position for new mascot. She packs up and moves to Cali before she even has the job.

August was a certified man whore until Ella moved in with him. But everything changes when she does. Especially after Ella experiences her first earthquake and she was wearing a sexy pajama set after they had a fight about her being just Ella.

Things get dicey after someone from both of their pasts show up and start causing issues in their newfound relationship. But with the help of his teammates and her friends they manage to figure it all out and get their long awaited happily ever after.

We also get to see the Redtails again much was a really nice bonus!

[WASSAMATTAYOU BOOKSLOOT · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh man this may be one of my new favorites

So I read all of the Chicago red tail series from front to back start to finish obsessed over them. Reread them fell in love with them then I stumbled upon what if we do, which is the first book in this new series and fell in love. And I gotta tell you this book made me fall in love just as hard and I literally pinched it in one day could not put it down. The story is very entertaining, the spice is super spicy, and I love the characters! Not just the main characters, but I also love all of the other characters. And don’t even get me started about how this has Tuft swallows ties to it! One of my other favorite series in the entire world!

[books.w.tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was LUCKY enough to receive an ARC of this book and I am so thankful 🫶🏻

Tropes include: Hockey romance, friends to lovers, spicy cinnamon roll MMC, found family trope !!!

Normally, I do NOT like the friends to lover trope. HOWEVER, this book does it WELL. I was eating it up and couldn’t put it down. I am obsessed with Auggie and Ella. These two are the perfect match. Another feel good book by Susan Renee 🤍

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Much Fun!

This book is about a male and female who have been best friends since childhood. They have each had feelings that had turned romantic but he didn’t fully recognize them until she moved to Cali to get a job as his hockey team’s Mascot.

It was so fun to watch their story unfold! And the third act incident was a DOOZY! Wowza!

She didn’t break them up exactly but you totally have to read it to understand the full magnitude of what happened.

August is one of those gentle giants and once they give into their feelings of romance it’s powerful and fun and sweet!

I really really enjoyed their story of friendship to more to forever partners! 🥰🥰

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of this book started out great, I gave it a five for the first 50%, but then too much of the book was just them hooking up and no real emotional depth, which brought it down to a four, but the last 15% of the book ruined this book for me, earning it a 3. August called Ella a wh*re and kissed someone when he was mad at Ella and almost SLEPT with this random girl, only stopping because his best friend punched him. I don’t care how mad he was, but he was willing to leave her and hook up with someone else the night of their fight, which would not happen if he truly was as “madly in love” with her as he claimed. I love me a friends to lovers but the fact that she hooked up with his rival while they were best friends and he cheated on her makes me hate this book, despite how much I liked it in the beginning.

[Danielle Crump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best friends to lovers is my favorite trope, and I loved her Chicago Red Tails series so I had high hopes BUT

one of my biggest annoyances with this trope is when the author feels the need to remind us EVERY SINGLE PAGE that they’re best friends. We get it. It makes it feel so cringey to me.

Also he was so upset with her for what she didn’t do, and then didn’t come clean about what he did at the bar that night. I did NOT like that.

And her “proposing” to him awkwardly at the end was so weird. Where’s the big grand gesture he knew she would love.

Idk, the story was cute but there was a lot that fell flat for me with this one.

I’m about to read her friends to lovers book in her Bardstown series and I hope it’s not written like this one 🥴

[Stephani Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to The Anaheim Stars! Auggie & Ella are bff's and have known each other practically all their lives. This book about friends to lovers was sweet and funny (and of course had the 🌶). As always with Susan's books - looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Jenn Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

August and Ella are adorable together! Truly childhood best friends to lovers. It was such a fun and quick read!

[Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was such a cliched cringe-fest.

Best friends since childhood, never saw each other as anything more but after h moves into his city as his roommate, she's extremely obsessed with who he's been fucking and H suddenly realised his bff has tits and wants to fucks her

He is a major manwhore who fucks everything that walks. This walking std is paired with a h who only wants a relationship, doesn't have casual sex or even good sex and can't orgasm. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. just another cliched whore x inexperienced trope i absolutely hate

he tells her he fucks around a lot but she shouldn't be bringing guys she dates back to their place cause he usually doesn't but this asshole also tells her he fucks pretty much everywhere from his car to a alleyway.

every page is either her worrying about who's riding his crusty dick or him talking about how much he fucks. Very descriptive details on pretty much how, where and when he fucks ow

that's it. std dick H sticks his thing in h, they fuck, they fuck even more and it's HEA

god, the cringe terms in this book. it's not funny but fucking gross

1) women or well, puck bunnies who also fucking deserve respect are called twats in this book
"You should worry about the twat apocalypse, because that shit’s already upon us, bro.”
Playing along, I gasp, grab my phone, and swipe open my weather app. “A twat storm you say? Are we about to have an overwhelming number of twats at our disposal? You call that an apocalypse, but I call that a normal Saturday night
Author's a woman, go figure

2) fucking around is called making deposit
. “You’re a pump and dump guy?”
He shrugs, popping the last of his pizza slice into his mouth. “I like to think of it as an adrenaline deposit. And you know this about me, Ella. When was the last time I had a relationship of any kind?”

there's a lot more in this book which if i start adding, i'll be writing pages of the review.

If this review sounds like a angry jumbled mess it's because i'm fucking pissed that this is what we're given as romance now

[Angela Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good friends to lovers romance, and this one delivered in spades! August and Ella have been best friends since they were little. The closeness and ease of the relationship was depicted perfectly. I liked how it was obvious they belonged together. Deep down, they both knew it, even if they didn’t immediately realize it. Their transition past the friend zone was handled in a believable way and felt natural.

I also loved the way Ella handled the, shall we say, incident later in the book. She reacted like a strong, intelligent adult instead of an emotional basket case and it was refreshing. Throughout the entire book, it was obvious how much they cared for and respected each other, and their actions were usually based on careful consideration rather than charging in full steam ahead. It was nice that their default was to think before they acted.

The found family of Auggie’s Anaheim Stars teammates just made me smile. I enjoyed their distinct personalities and quirks and can’t wait for each of their stories! I also loved the way they are supportive of and have each other’s backs.

This series is my first foray into Susan Renee’s books, and after only reading the first two books, I’m hooked. Her writing style is easy and deftly executed, and her sense of humor literally had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

I’m really enjoying this series, and once I’ve read all of the books, you’d better believe I’m going to read Renee’s backlist.

[Betsy Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚: What If I Told You by Susan Renee


Tropes:
👉 Hockey
👉 Friends to Lovers
👉 Forced Proximity


TWs 😟: Explicit pictures taken without knowledge or consent (not by Main Character)


Main Takeaway 🏹: Childhood Best Friends to Lovers


Synopsis 📜: When Ella gets a job as the mascot for her best friend, August’s, professional hockey team, she moves into his apartment with him and their friendship is tested by their growing feelings for each other and someone from their past coming back to haunt them


Personal Thoughts 🤔: This story was so fun to read up until the 3rd act drama. I love August and Ella together but I wanted Ella to stand up for herself more and make him grovel more for what he said to her in anger. Other than that small detail, these two were perfect! Their dynamic as lifelong best friends made the story feel more intimate and their banter was so much fun to read!

[readingromancehea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella misses her best friend August. She's not happy at home and she's lonely. August tells her that they have a job opportunity open with his hockey team that she can interview for. She just has to move across the country to do so. Will she change her whole life to be closer to her best friend?

It's cute that August calls Ella *Babe* even though they're not together and that Ella calls August *Auggie*. Their Tuesday night FaceTime calls are adorable. I'm glad Ella got out of her home town. No one deserves to feel stuck and lonely. The escalator scene was nice. That hug was everything. The lover girl list was hysterical. I didn't like how that night ended though. August says a lot of dumb things and doesn't watch his mouth very well. The ending was perfect.

[Booklovingcorgimom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good best friends to lovers book and this one was great. Auggie and Ellies friendship started at the age of 2 and blossomed into a strong relationship. They never crossed the line of talking about a physical relationship between them in fear to kill the strong bond they had if it didn't work out or if they weren't compatible as more. The communication between these two MCs is excellent aside from Aggies outburst at the end that did not help the conflict at hand.
Forced proxy, best friends to lovers, he falls first she is closely after, roommates, hockey romance, she's the new team mascot and he's a pro hockey player. Sweet and spicy

[Nikki Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Renee always takes us for a ride but this one had me gasping in utter disbelief multiple times, crying at times, and of course laughing throughout like usual. I absolutely love the teammates relationship, and am looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team in future books! Auggie and Ella’s love story was hard fought time and again. The cross-over with the Chicago Red Tails is a fantastic bonus to the story as well! Susan Renee is fantastic at bringing you into the characters lives. I’m always sad at the end of the book because I know I won’t get to know more about them until the next book. If you haven’t already, read all of Susan Renee’s books! Absolutely worth it!

[Samantha Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book!!!

I got hooked on Susan's writing when I read the Chicago Red Tails series and now I'm even more hooked with the Anaheim Stars series!

What if I Told You is the story of Ella and August. They have been best friends since they were kids. Ella moves to become the new mascot for August's team, the Stars, and she moves in with him. Lines begin to blur and things happen and holy Moses it is HOT!!!

I absolutely devoured this book and loved the crossover with the Red Tails so much. Ella and August are freaking adorable and I love them so much!

If you haven't read Susan yet, go do it right now!!!

[Brandi Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella and Auggie are best friends that have secretly had feelings for each other for a long time and never acted on them. When Auggie tells her about a position working with his hockey team and offers to let her move in with him OH BOY....or should I say OH MAN! They thought they knew everything about each other but living together they start to find out there are things they never shared with each other. As those things come out, there's hesitation because they don't want to take the chance of ruining the friendship, but will they finally take chance so they can be together?

[Carissa Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hockey romance with childhood best friends. SIGN. ME. UP! I fell in love with Susan’s writing when she wrote her Chicago Red Tails series so I loved the small crossovers hinted at in this book. August and Ella are just so cute! They’ve been friends forever but neither wanted to cross the line. But when they do…holy moly! Their chemistry is so palpable. I love the relationships with the team members as well. It’s obvious they all love each other and will look out for each other even when one of them is being stupid. The dynamics flowed well throughout the whole book. Recommend.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

August and Ella are best friends denying their feelings. Or really August is. Ella knows what she wants and for a change has decided to go for what she wanted. Everything was going great until the self sabotage fight happens as always. But in true fashion, it gets fix and the couple find their way back.

What is great is the way the team is ready to fight (literally) to keep Ella for August sake! This book is true Susan fashion and I’m here for it!

And if you love a good friends to lovers with all its glory pick this one up!!!

[Paula Fernandez Urrutia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ha empezado más o menos bien, después ha pasado todo rapidísimo y era solo sexo y más sexo, y después cuando ya pensaba que me quedaba otro 30% más de sexo, ocurre el drama y puf.

August lo hace mal, muy mal. Ella no me cae increíblemente bien, ¿pero August? La caga y se va de rositas.

Siento que si hubiera sido predecible y aburrido me hubiera gustado más, pero el último 20% para mi ha sido una 🚩.

Una pena porque me encantan los friends to lovers pero este es un NO.

A favor diré que el equipo de August es fantástico y se merecen mucho más crédito.

[Sherri-Lynn Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the Best in the Series

I so far have read all of this series and the cross over one and I half to say I found this book not all that believable.
I mean he is her best friend and they haven’t seen each other in 2 years. First that’s not believable, as he could have down there to see her in his off season if he really wanted to.
But the worst for me is how she just sat around waiting for him to come home after all he did and said and then forgave him with not even a question.

[Taylor Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always a sucker for a good best friends to lovers story. This book had me all up in my feels. August is so far in denial he makes comments straight out of his ass. Ella is determined he can't feel the same way about her as she feels for him. The meddling of his teammates warmed my heart in so many ways. When they finally come together it is perfect. I love the best friends aspect and it was extremely well written. But I also l love the found family aspect. Even grumpy Bear was there for both Ella and August when everything hit the fan.

[Megan Earnest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a cute fun read. From the very first line of the book I was smiling like a fool, laughing and completely engaged.

I enjoyed the storyline, best friends to lovers, forced proximity 😘 it was perfect.

August a hockey star 🏒 is the perfect best friend. He made me swoon just being Ella's best friend... when it changed oft, I was done for.

I loved the relationship between them, as well as the hockey team. the dynamic was so fun and engaging!

“You know I’m not done,” he says. “I’m so far from done.” 🥵

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total GOAL with this book! Ms. Susan Renee writes her characters so well that when you are not reading a book, you are picking up your phone to text one of your "friends" and your phone will literally be in your hand before you remember that they are a character from her book, not a real person.

Ella and August are just too cute. Best friends from childhood and weaved so beautifully into so much more. Great addition to the Anaheim Stars series. Can't wait to see who is next!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Susan Renee’s writing and story telling. I am also so excited she decided to write another hockey romance series. This one is about August and Ella. They have been best friends since they can remember and only friends much to the team’s shock. When she is ready for a change and the Star’s mascot retires, August tells her that she should move in with him and apply for the job. This book had me laughing, bitting my nails, and ready to hit August upside his head (Griffin might have taken care of that one for me though). I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for the next.

[Lee Annett Prysock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really, really glad that you got this series going. I like how when asked if the young lady could stay with him. I was really interested why she moved when the book started. But I was a little surprised that she would not get interested in the main characters but really loved how they found her a job with the team as a mascot. She also enjoyed being with the team. Continue the good work.

[Kelsea Ranieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved most of this book! I just didn’t like the miscommunication at the end. It seemed slightly out of character. I also didn’t like that August didn’t do a grand gesture/proposal for Ella knowing that’s what she likes and has always dreamed about It felt incomplete that she ended up proposing to him. It was sweet how she did it, but it didn’t feel true to who the characters were painted to be the entire rest of the story.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ella and August (Auggie) are two best friends who are finally reconnected in person when a job opportunity arises for Ella. They kept their BFF relationship going via phone and facetime for years! Following their friendship and watching it turn into a blossoming relationship was an adventure. Their story was an easy read, and I loved every minute. A few twists and turns that had you smiling and laughing and that little bit of drama that kept you on your toes was the right amount.
Pajamas and cinnamon rolls will always make me think of their story now.

[randi reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve lost count of how many books Susan Renee has written where I’m snort laughing or spitting out my coffee after reading the first sentence. Well, that number just got higher. The boy banter is alive and well with the Anaheim Stars. Ella and August’s journey from best friends to lovers is a must read.