What do you think?
Rate this book
Kings of Reina University #2
Heartless Game
The hottest hockey player at Reina U has dark plans for me.
Everyone on campus loves Isaac Jones. The gorgeous, dimple-cheeked charmer can do no wrong in the public’s eyes.
But they don’t know what I do.
I know the truth about his violent past. Exposing his real identity and his family’s crimes won’t just help me graduate with a journalism degree—it will save my mother’s life.
When Isaac discovers I’m writing an article that will ruin his hockey dreams and destroy his family, he’ll do anything to bury it—unleashing his deepest, darkest, most depraved desires on me.
Twisted battles in the locker room.
Wickedness on the ice.
Cruelty to keep my mouth shut.
The worst part? I’m starting to fall for him, even as I fight back.
And I’m not sure who will win our heartless game.
Heartless Game is a standalone romance in the Kings of Reina University series, and can be read independently of the others. It contains several dark themes that some readers may be sensitive to. For more information, please visit the author's website at jobrenner dot com.
Everyone on campus loves Isaac Jones. The gorgeous, dimple-cheeked charmer can do no wrong in the public’s eyes.
But they don’t know what I do.
I know the truth about his violent past. Exposing his real identity and his family’s crimes won’t just help me graduate with a journalism degree—it will save my mother’s life.
When Isaac discovers I’m writing an article that will ruin his hockey dreams and destroy his family, he’ll do anything to bury it—unleashing his deepest, darkest, most depraved desires on me.
Twisted battles in the locker room.
Wickedness on the ice.
Cruelty to keep my mouth shut.
The worst part? I’m starting to fall for him, even as I fight back.
And I’m not sure who will win our heartless game.
Heartless Game is a standalone romance in the Kings of Reina University series, and can be read independently of the others. It contains several dark themes that some readers may be sensitive to. For more information, please visit the author's website at jobrenner dot com.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 27, 2025
1691 people are currently reading
4456 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 671 reviews
July 18, 2025
I REALLY enjoyed this book! It was a solid 4.5 stars for me! Mafia meets college hockey romance? Sign me up! Isaac is truly an unhinged and obsessed hockey player and he really lets those colors show while Tovah didn’t take no crap and fought him the whole way even when her body didn’t want to. I loved everything about it.
May 26, 2025
Oooooff, this book was a spicy little doozy. I do love me a good ol’ hockey bully romance; something about emotionally constipated men slamming into each other on ice just does it for me. But then Jo Brenner said, “you know what this needs? The fkn mafia,” and I said, “Yes, chef.” The added layer of danger, secrets, and morally grey chaos really hit the spot.
Overall, it was a super easy read, well, emotionally not so much (hello, trigger warning buffet), but the pacing was solid and I flew through it like a gremlin with no self-control. Tovah and Isaac are both complex AF, and while I wouldn’t say either of them was easy to love, they made sense. Their choices, their trauma, their walls; they fit the story, even if they didn’t make me want to tattoo their names on my arse.
The chemistry? Delish. The tension? High. The minor characters? Intriguing little scene-stealers that were fun.
That said… I didn’t fully fall in love. Not with Isaac, not with Tovah, not really with any side characters. There was just a certain spark missing for me, something to make me fully feral. Like, I wanted to feel a bit more unhinged about them, y’know?
BUT … and this is a big, throaty but if you’ve got a primal kink? The scene in the woods? HOLY. DICKBALLS. I needed a cold shower, a therapist, and possibly a forest ranger. 10/10 would let that man ruin my life under a tree.
Overall I’m rating it 3.5: Somewhere between “this man needs therapy” and “take me to the woods, sir”
Fave Quotes
It was actually the nicest thing he’d ever said to me. But then the bar was in hell.
“The sun’s up,” I murmured into the ground. Isaac heard me. “The sun can go fuck itself. I’m not stopping.”
If PMS were a man, I’d pummel the shit out of him and then take my skate blade to his throat.
Overall, it was a super easy read, well, emotionally not so much (hello, trigger warning buffet), but the pacing was solid and I flew through it like a gremlin with no self-control. Tovah and Isaac are both complex AF, and while I wouldn’t say either of them was easy to love, they made sense. Their choices, their trauma, their walls; they fit the story, even if they didn’t make me want to tattoo their names on my arse.
The chemistry? Delish. The tension? High. The minor characters? Intriguing little scene-stealers that were fun.
That said… I didn’t fully fall in love. Not with Isaac, not with Tovah, not really with any side characters. There was just a certain spark missing for me, something to make me fully feral. Like, I wanted to feel a bit more unhinged about them, y’know?
BUT … and this is a big, throaty but if you’ve got a primal kink? The scene in the woods? HOLY. DICKBALLS. I needed a cold shower, a therapist, and possibly a forest ranger. 10/10 would let that man ruin my life under a tree.
Overall I’m rating it 3.5: Somewhere between “this man needs therapy” and “take me to the woods, sir”
Fave Quotes
It was actually the nicest thing he’d ever said to me. But then the bar was in hell.
“The sun’s up,” I murmured into the ground. Isaac heard me. “The sun can go fuck itself. I’m not stopping.”
If PMS were a man, I’d pummel the shit out of him and then take my skate blade to his throat.
April 29, 2025
How stupid can a girl be to not change her unique first name but change her boring last name instead to hide. Dumb girl should have chosen a boring first name like mary and a boring last name like cooper but no the idiot keeps her unique first name. After he ties her naked in the middle of a college campus lost all desire for him he sucked she sucked barely made myself finish the book.
Didn’t like the hero or heroine both enraged me
Didn’t like the hero or heroine both enraged me
April 22, 2025
If you love dark college romances with the tropes: enemies to lovers, touch her and 💀, mafia ties, blackmail and forced proximity..you’ll eat this up. It has some spice as well, 2.5/3 🌶️.
I was hooked for the first 70%, but the last third felt like it dragged a bit. Isaac kept breaking up with Tovah and pulling her back in over and over again… by the third time, I was over it. This book was pushed in my direction by a friend with similar tastes, so I had high hopes. Heartless game had its moments, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. All in all a 3.5⭐️ read for me. It's a fun read for the sports romance lovers.
I was hooked for the first 70%, but the last third felt like it dragged a bit. Isaac kept breaking up with Tovah and pulling her back in over and over again… by the third time, I was over it. This book was pushed in my direction by a friend with similar tastes, so I had high hopes. Heartless game had its moments, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. All in all a 3.5⭐️ read for me. It's a fun read for the sports romance lovers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2025
5 Defenestration Stars ⭐️
Spicy Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Tovah Lewis is hiding in plain sight. When she was a child, her mother, who worked as a maid for the Silver "mafia" family, ended up married to the boss’s best friend. He turned out to be abusive. One day, enough was enough... and he ended up dead. Now, Tovah is on the run. Trying to keep things on the down low as she and her mother need to stay off the Silver Family's radar for fear of retribution. Aside from this, Tovah is determined to take the family down, so she needs to get close to his son for dirt on his father. Isaac "Jones" Silver doesn’t know Tovah is the same little girl he used to love, the one who technically got away. All he knows is she has a secret tied to her name…and that she haunts his every waking thought. When she threatens to expose the criminal dealings of his hockey crew, he turns the tables and threatens to out her real identity, which would put her and her mother in deadly danger. So to protect herself, Tovah agrees to move into his house and pretend to be his girlfriend... Except Isaac? Yeah, he’s not pretending.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I wanted a dark, bully, hockey romance with a male lead who is completely obsessed with the girl, and this book delivered.
This book is trope soup IN THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY... Not the lazy kind of trope-dumping. But the kind that feels like Jo Brenner personally crawled into my brain and checked off every single thing that makes me go ga-ga! I had almost 100 highlights and 53 tropes and microtropes I identified and TRACKED BECAUSE I ADORE reading for tropes... I was... AM... FERAL and this book was pure serotonin!
Tovah Lewis is a firecracker! She is loud, brash, crazy and at times is borderline reckless in her actions, which can be frustrating at times when watching her. She uses this chaos as a mechanism to hide, and mask her past trauma. Because no one expects the spotlight-loving wild child to be a girl in hiding.
Isaac is a walking dichotomy of red and green flags. He is obsessed with Tovah, so much so that it's festeres like hatred... but as we all know, the line between love and hate is razor thin. He has no boundaries. He is your classic alpha male with a chameleon personality. The campus sees him as the golden retriever of the hockey team. He is sweet, responsible and level-headed with golden boy vibes. But underneath, he’s all sharp teeth and growls, and the only one who sees that darker side of him is Tovah.
Their dynamic is explosive and savage. He is intense, obsessed and possessive in the VERY BEST way, and the chemistry between them is wild and magnetic! It is spicy, filled with tension, and the back-and-forth banter and pushback between the two was absolute gold! AND HE GIVES HER SOUP WHEN SHE IS SICK!!!
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Dark Romance
▶ Hate to Love
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Bully Romance
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ College/University Romance
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Captive/Captor
▶ Secret Identities
▶ Childhood Best Friends
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨:
➢ Squirting
➢ Fun with Toys
➢ Bondage
➢ Primal Play
➢ Degradation and Praise
➢ Non Con/Dub Con
➢ Edging
and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Spicy Locker Room time
▷ Hockey Jersey "Heat"
▷ "Not God... Me"
▷ "Soup"
▷ Came in his pants
▷ "Good Girl"
▷ Nicknames
▷ Cages her with his arms
▷ Touch Her You Die
Basically this book is what I wanted when I wanted it! It was dark, dirty, spicy and totally toxic!
Spicy Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
“I don’t have to care about you to own you, Tovah Lewis. And I think it’s time to give you another demonstration. Now, open that smartass mouth so I can put it to use.”Okay, I'm obsessed. This is one of those books where you sit down to write a review and realise... You don’t even know what to say... because you're still sitting there in a stunned stupor, wondering what did I just read and why did I love it so much? It was twisted, wild, a little unhinged… and I devoured it like I was a kid in a candy store.
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Tovah Lewis is hiding in plain sight. When she was a child, her mother, who worked as a maid for the Silver "mafia" family, ended up married to the boss’s best friend. He turned out to be abusive. One day, enough was enough... and he ended up dead. Now, Tovah is on the run. Trying to keep things on the down low as she and her mother need to stay off the Silver Family's radar for fear of retribution. Aside from this, Tovah is determined to take the family down, so she needs to get close to his son for dirt on his father. Isaac "Jones" Silver doesn’t know Tovah is the same little girl he used to love, the one who technically got away. All he knows is she has a secret tied to her name…and that she haunts his every waking thought. When she threatens to expose the criminal dealings of his hockey crew, he turns the tables and threatens to out her real identity, which would put her and her mother in deadly danger. So to protect herself, Tovah agrees to move into his house and pretend to be his girlfriend... Except Isaac? Yeah, he’s not pretending.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I wanted a dark, bully, hockey romance with a male lead who is completely obsessed with the girl, and this book delivered.
This book is trope soup IN THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY... Not the lazy kind of trope-dumping. But the kind that feels like Jo Brenner personally crawled into my brain and checked off every single thing that makes me go ga-ga! I had almost 100 highlights and 53 tropes and microtropes I identified and TRACKED BECAUSE I ADORE reading for tropes... I was... AM... FERAL and this book was pure serotonin!
Tovah Lewis is a firecracker! She is loud, brash, crazy and at times is borderline reckless in her actions, which can be frustrating at times when watching her. She uses this chaos as a mechanism to hide, and mask her past trauma. Because no one expects the spotlight-loving wild child to be a girl in hiding.
Isaac is a walking dichotomy of red and green flags. He is obsessed with Tovah, so much so that it's festeres like hatred... but as we all know, the line between love and hate is razor thin. He has no boundaries. He is your classic alpha male with a chameleon personality. The campus sees him as the golden retriever of the hockey team. He is sweet, responsible and level-headed with golden boy vibes. But underneath, he’s all sharp teeth and growls, and the only one who sees that darker side of him is Tovah.
Their dynamic is explosive and savage. He is intense, obsessed and possessive in the VERY BEST way, and the chemistry between them is wild and magnetic! It is spicy, filled with tension, and the back-and-forth banter and pushback between the two was absolute gold! AND HE GIVES HER SOUP WHEN SHE IS SICK!!!
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Dark Romance
▶ Hate to Love
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Bully Romance
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ College/University Romance
▶ Virgin FMC
▶ Captive/Captor
▶ Secret Identities
▶ Childhood Best Friends
𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨:
➢ Squirting
➢ Fun with Toys
➢ Bondage
➢ Primal Play
➢ Degradation and Praise
➢ Non Con/Dub Con
➢ Edging
and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Spicy Locker Room time
▷ Hockey Jersey "Heat"
▷ "Not God... Me"
▷ "Soup"
▷ Came in his pants
▷ "Good Girl"
▷ Nicknames
▷ Cages her with his arms
▷ Touch Her You Die
Basically this book is what I wanted when I wanted it! It was dark, dirty, spicy and totally toxic!
April 15, 2025
A dark hockey romance that I absolutely devoured 👏🏼
This book follows Isaac and Tovah and these two are absolutely explosive together that’s for sure. Isaac is the golden boy of the hockey team, or is he? Something dark lurks beneath the surface and Tovah is the woman who brings that out. Be sure to check your TWs before diving into this book ‼️
Look Isaac is the definition of a walking red flag, but firstly this is fiction and secondly if I met this man in real life yes I would absolutely run, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love him any less😂 Tovah is an absolute ICON, She is the object of Isaac’s obsession even though he claims to hate her, but there’s most certainly a thin line between love/hate. She went toe to toe with Isaac many times in this book and showed she was no weakling that was going to leave this man walk all over her, and secretly Isaac loved her fight.
Now the thing you should know about these two is they have a deep history in which Tovah is the only one who remembers. Tovah and her mother have been avoiding his family for quite sometime but of course Isaac is completely unaware, until Tovah has a plan to gain leverage on him which completely backfires.
This book absolutely sucked me in from the first chapter, the back and forth between Tovah and Isaac which added so much tension was chefs kiss 👏🏼 The plot was intriguing and the spice, one word which is damnnnnn😮💨
Thank you so much to the author and the author agency for providing the e-arc for my honest thoughts 💭
This book follows Isaac and Tovah and these two are absolutely explosive together that’s for sure. Isaac is the golden boy of the hockey team, or is he? Something dark lurks beneath the surface and Tovah is the woman who brings that out. Be sure to check your TWs before diving into this book ‼️
Look Isaac is the definition of a walking red flag, but firstly this is fiction and secondly if I met this man in real life yes I would absolutely run, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love him any less😂 Tovah is an absolute ICON, She is the object of Isaac’s obsession even though he claims to hate her, but there’s most certainly a thin line between love/hate. She went toe to toe with Isaac many times in this book and showed she was no weakling that was going to leave this man walk all over her, and secretly Isaac loved her fight.
Now the thing you should know about these two is they have a deep history in which Tovah is the only one who remembers. Tovah and her mother have been avoiding his family for quite sometime but of course Isaac is completely unaware, until Tovah has a plan to gain leverage on him which completely backfires.
This book absolutely sucked me in from the first chapter, the back and forth between Tovah and Isaac which added so much tension was chefs kiss 👏🏼 The plot was intriguing and the spice, one word which is damnnnnn😮💨
Thank you so much to the author and the author agency for providing the e-arc for my honest thoughts 💭
April 29, 2025
2.5 stars
Isaac was completely fucked. He’s nothing like he was in Jack and Aviva’s book. When he ties her up naked to the statue, I thought oh good, this is so fucked up we might get some groveling. Nope. He doesn’t even give her one single night without him after fucking up so monumentally. There would have been NO coming back from that. Tovah was a doormat despite her trying to convince herself she’s not. I can appreciate the situation she was in with her mother, but she forgave Isaac too easily.
Isaac was completely fucked. He’s nothing like he was in Jack and Aviva’s book. When he ties her up naked to the statue, I thought oh good, this is so fucked up we might get some groveling. Nope. He doesn’t even give her one single night without him after fucking up so monumentally. There would have been NO coming back from that. Tovah was a doormat despite her trying to convince herself she’s not. I can appreciate the situation she was in with her mother, but she forgave Isaac too easily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2025
You know how people stare at cute puppies or kittens? That’s how I stared the entire time reading this book. It was so delightfully unhinged! Issac, what a man (fanning myself)!! AND OUR FMC, Tovah, her personality, the fire she possesses I ate all of it UP! After this I’ll forever wish to be a hand puppet 🤡 this will live in my head daily.
April 29, 2025
idk if it's bc i didn't read book 1 or what but i feel like this book just jumped in with both feet without any actual set up or depth to the mc's to get me invested. isaac claims he's a "Good Guy" bc he's never murdered someone but immediately has some violent fantasies about the fmc. if we're going morally black please just own it, i can get down with that but let's be real about it.
i unfortunately had to draw the line at the phrase "normal girl pussy juice" i cannot subject myself to this new and unprecedented level of "not like other girls" and for this reason this was a dnf @ 25% for me
i unfortunately had to draw the line at the phrase "normal girl pussy juice" i cannot subject myself to this new and unprecedented level of "not like other girls" and for this reason this was a dnf @ 25% for me
May 4, 2025
1.5⭐️ and that half-star is purely because I know this author can write, she just... didn’t here.
My god, what even WAS this?! I loved Brutal Game — I devoured it in six hours — and I kept pushing through Heartless Game hoping that magic would reappear... but no. It just kept getting worse. We started at rock bottom, and somehow dug deeper.
First of all, as a journalist myself, whatever attempt at portraying journalism here was a straight-up insult. Zero research went into it. None. Nada. Zilch. Journalism ethics is one of the first things you learn — like, second year tops — but here they're learning "protect your sources" at the end of their fourth year like it's groundbreaking news??? Excuse me?! And don't even get me started on Tovah constantly calling herself a "good journalist." She's not even the J in journalist — she’s just a story-hungry bitch who never cared about the truth, only the next big scoop.
And the stereotype that journalists are obsessed with reading other journalists’ memoirs? Please. Out of my entire class, maybe one or two people actually do that, and it’s not their whole damn personality.
Honestly, I don’t know how the same author who wrote Brutal Game wrote this. It feels like two completely different people.
The plot — if you can even call it that — was basically just smut strung together with the loosest threads of a revenge plan. Tovah’s "master plan" was blackmailing Isaac and Jack (?? why Jack? what did he ever do to her?) in some weird mafia revenge scheme that made no sense. Plus, the whole idea of the mafia being after Tovah’s mom for escaping as a maid? That tiny detail makes the entire "plot" crumble into dust.
And don’t even get me started on the names. Isaac changing his last name to hide his identity — from a mafia family, no less — when mafia ties are usually well-known? Makes no sense. Meanwhile, Tovah changes only her last name but keeps a super distinct first name? Smart, real smart. Oh, and let’s not forget that at one point she refers to herself as Tovah Kaufman in private because she’s "learned to respond to it" — only to refer to herself as Tovah Lewis the entire rest of the book. Consistency? Never heard of her.
Isaac’s emotional flip-flopping made him unbearable. This man had the emotional range of a brick and severe emotional constipation. He kept breaking up with Tovah and pulling her back in like it was some kind of toxic hobby. By the third time, I didn’t even want them together anymore. I didn’t even care. His "groveling" felt empty.
Also, Isaac thinking a SEVEN-YEAR-OLD girl was "planted" to test what kind of girls he liked?? He was seven!!! At that age he should be eating sand, not picking future girlfriends.
And the physical logistics in this book made no sense either. Like, Tovah was apparently captain of her high school track team and winning medals left and right — while being described as plus-sized, curvy, fat, whatever you want to call it. Look, captain? Fine, believable — leadership is about more than just speed. But winning medals? At sprinting? Sorry, it just wasn’t written in a way that made it believable based on how her physicality was described. Or the scene where Isaac’s holding her face while she’s secretly texting under the table? Make it make sense.
Oh, and speaking of logistics, let’s talk about Isaac’s dick for a second. At one point it’s described as girthier than his four fingers together. FOUR. FINGERS. TOGETHER. Sir, are you an XL thermos bottle?? A literal traffic cone?? HOW is that supposed to work in any realistic, non-fantasy world??? Like I get that this is dark romance but please, physics still exists.
And the mafia stuff? So, Isaac is supposed to be taking over the mafia family but has literally never killed anyone?? Yet somehow at the end he's offing everyone like John Wick on steroids? Without any buildup?! Okay.
The big dramatic ending made even less sense the more I thought about it. Isaac shoots his father at point-blank range, while literally holding him against himself, meaning the bullet also hits Isaac in the heart. HIS HEART. And somehow, somehow, Isaac is roaming the hospital halls completely fine a few days later, while Tovah (who got shot in the lung) is struggling to stay alive?? Make that make sense. Last I checked, a bullet through the actual heart is a tad more serious than a lung graze. But no, this man is strutting around like it’s a damn spa retreat. And don't even get me started on how the same mafia doctor operated on both of them, two critically injured people at once, apparently without breaking a sweat. Sure, Jan.
Even the "college hockey" setup made no sense — random grown women and obsessed fans at college games?? We’re not in the NHL, we’re at a college.
As a supposed hockey and mafia dark romance, this book completely lacked hockey, mafia, and honestly, romance. It was basically dark erotica sprinkled with half-baked mafia and hockey elements.
The connection between Isaac and Tovah was non-existent. One second they hated each other, next second they were obsessed. Isaac was either madly devoted or cruel beyond reason — no in-between. And Tovah was just... annoying. Constantly announcing "I’m Tovah Lewis" like anyone cared.
The plot didn’t even show up until about 80% through, and even then it flickered and died in a few pages. I wanted to DNF so many times but kept pushing out of sheer spite.
After Brutal Game, I trusted this author. After Heartless Game, I don’t know if I can anymore. If Judah’s getting a book, I’m skipping it unless he chops off that damn man bun, nothing is more off-putting. The only story I MIGHT still care about is Asher’s, but even then? Trust is broken.
My god, what even WAS this?! I loved Brutal Game — I devoured it in six hours — and I kept pushing through Heartless Game hoping that magic would reappear... but no. It just kept getting worse. We started at rock bottom, and somehow dug deeper.
First of all, as a journalist myself, whatever attempt at portraying journalism here was a straight-up insult. Zero research went into it. None. Nada. Zilch. Journalism ethics is one of the first things you learn — like, second year tops — but here they're learning "protect your sources" at the end of their fourth year like it's groundbreaking news??? Excuse me?! And don't even get me started on Tovah constantly calling herself a "good journalist." She's not even the J in journalist — she’s just a story-hungry bitch who never cared about the truth, only the next big scoop.
And the stereotype that journalists are obsessed with reading other journalists’ memoirs? Please. Out of my entire class, maybe one or two people actually do that, and it’s not their whole damn personality.
Honestly, I don’t know how the same author who wrote Brutal Game wrote this. It feels like two completely different people.
The plot — if you can even call it that — was basically just smut strung together with the loosest threads of a revenge plan. Tovah’s "master plan" was blackmailing Isaac and Jack (?? why Jack? what did he ever do to her?) in some weird mafia revenge scheme that made no sense. Plus, the whole idea of the mafia being after Tovah’s mom for escaping as a maid? That tiny detail makes the entire "plot" crumble into dust.
And don’t even get me started on the names. Isaac changing his last name to hide his identity — from a mafia family, no less — when mafia ties are usually well-known? Makes no sense. Meanwhile, Tovah changes only her last name but keeps a super distinct first name? Smart, real smart. Oh, and let’s not forget that at one point she refers to herself as Tovah Kaufman in private because she’s "learned to respond to it" — only to refer to herself as Tovah Lewis the entire rest of the book. Consistency? Never heard of her.
Isaac’s emotional flip-flopping made him unbearable. This man had the emotional range of a brick and severe emotional constipation. He kept breaking up with Tovah and pulling her back in like it was some kind of toxic hobby. By the third time, I didn’t even want them together anymore. I didn’t even care. His "groveling" felt empty.
Also, Isaac thinking a SEVEN-YEAR-OLD girl was "planted" to test what kind of girls he liked?? He was seven!!! At that age he should be eating sand, not picking future girlfriends.
And the physical logistics in this book made no sense either. Like, Tovah was apparently captain of her high school track team and winning medals left and right — while being described as plus-sized, curvy, fat, whatever you want to call it. Look, captain? Fine, believable — leadership is about more than just speed. But winning medals? At sprinting? Sorry, it just wasn’t written in a way that made it believable based on how her physicality was described. Or the scene where Isaac’s holding her face while she’s secretly texting under the table? Make it make sense.
Oh, and speaking of logistics, let’s talk about Isaac’s dick for a second. At one point it’s described as girthier than his four fingers together. FOUR. FINGERS. TOGETHER. Sir, are you an XL thermos bottle?? A literal traffic cone?? HOW is that supposed to work in any realistic, non-fantasy world??? Like I get that this is dark romance but please, physics still exists.
And the mafia stuff? So, Isaac is supposed to be taking over the mafia family but has literally never killed anyone?? Yet somehow at the end he's offing everyone like John Wick on steroids? Without any buildup?! Okay.
The big dramatic ending made even less sense the more I thought about it. Isaac shoots his father at point-blank range, while literally holding him against himself, meaning the bullet also hits Isaac in the heart. HIS HEART. And somehow, somehow, Isaac is roaming the hospital halls completely fine a few days later, while Tovah (who got shot in the lung) is struggling to stay alive?? Make that make sense. Last I checked, a bullet through the actual heart is a tad more serious than a lung graze. But no, this man is strutting around like it’s a damn spa retreat. And don't even get me started on how the same mafia doctor operated on both of them, two critically injured people at once, apparently without breaking a sweat. Sure, Jan.
Even the "college hockey" setup made no sense — random grown women and obsessed fans at college games?? We’re not in the NHL, we’re at a college.
As a supposed hockey and mafia dark romance, this book completely lacked hockey, mafia, and honestly, romance. It was basically dark erotica sprinkled with half-baked mafia and hockey elements.
The connection between Isaac and Tovah was non-existent. One second they hated each other, next second they were obsessed. Isaac was either madly devoted or cruel beyond reason — no in-between. And Tovah was just... annoying. Constantly announcing "I’m Tovah Lewis" like anyone cared.
The plot didn’t even show up until about 80% through, and even then it flickered and died in a few pages. I wanted to DNF so many times but kept pushing out of sheer spite.
After Brutal Game, I trusted this author. After Heartless Game, I don’t know if I can anymore. If Judah’s getting a book, I’m skipping it unless he chops off that damn man bun, nothing is more off-putting. The only story I MIGHT still care about is Asher’s, but even then? Trust is broken.
September 24, 2025
I thought I knew what a toxic relationship looked like until I read this book
April 21, 2025
Wow! My jaw has been on the floor in the best way possible this entire book!!! This book blew me away!!!
🏒Dark Hockey Romance
🖤Bully
🏒Childhood Friends to Enemies to Lovers
🖤Touch Her & 💀
🏒Forced Proximity
🖤Dubcon & Noncon
🏒Light Mafia
🖤Stalking & Kidnapping
I couldn’t wait to read this book! Every Jo Brenner book has blown me away. The characters chemistry explodes off the pages and this was so that and soooo much more. These two, Isaac and Tovah have known each other since childhood so they have all this history together with very complicated families who want them no where near each other!!
Isaac is Mr. Charming with his dimples! Hello swoon! And one heck of a hockey player! Tovah is around him a lot despite not wanting to be, because she is the spirts editor for their college’s newspaper and has to cover the hockey games.
Isaac & Tovah’s hate to love flew off the pages. I felt for her at times how she loved him but also wanted to be away from him. And Isaac’s obsession with Tovah was amazing, it had me on the edge of my seat!
I got all the way through and then bam 72% in my mouth was on the floor. I did not see that coming, I was freaking out!
What a book! Thank you for having me on the edge of my seat the entire read. At one point I had to stop reading despite not wanting to and all I could think about was this book! Fantastic!
🏒Dark Hockey Romance
🖤Bully
🏒Childhood Friends to Enemies to Lovers
🖤Touch Her & 💀
🏒Forced Proximity
🖤Dubcon & Noncon
🏒Light Mafia
🖤Stalking & Kidnapping
I couldn’t wait to read this book! Every Jo Brenner book has blown me away. The characters chemistry explodes off the pages and this was so that and soooo much more. These two, Isaac and Tovah have known each other since childhood so they have all this history together with very complicated families who want them no where near each other!!
Isaac is Mr. Charming with his dimples! Hello swoon! And one heck of a hockey player! Tovah is around him a lot despite not wanting to be, because she is the spirts editor for their college’s newspaper and has to cover the hockey games.
Isaac & Tovah’s hate to love flew off the pages. I felt for her at times how she loved him but also wanted to be away from him. And Isaac’s obsession with Tovah was amazing, it had me on the edge of my seat!
I got all the way through and then bam 72% in my mouth was on the floor. I did not see that coming, I was freaking out!
What a book! Thank you for having me on the edge of my seat the entire read. At one point I had to stop reading despite not wanting to and all I could think about was this book! Fantastic!
May 4, 2025
LOVED this book 😍
April 25, 2025
• ARC Review •
Rating: 4 ⭐️
I really loved this book and devoured it. I am never disappointed when reading a Jo Brenner book. I loved Isaac and Tovah. I also enjoyed seeing the other couples from the previous books (Brutal Game and Butterfly).
This book has some of my favorite tropes which are mafia, hockey 🏒 and dark romance 🖤. Also the spicy scenes are Spicy Spicy🌶️, which was great! I can’t wait to read more books from Jo Brenner. Thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader. 🩷
Rating: 4 ⭐️
I really loved this book and devoured it. I am never disappointed when reading a Jo Brenner book. I loved Isaac and Tovah. I also enjoyed seeing the other couples from the previous books (Brutal Game and Butterfly).
This book has some of my favorite tropes which are mafia, hockey 🏒 and dark romance 🖤. Also the spicy scenes are Spicy Spicy🌶️, which was great! I can’t wait to read more books from Jo Brenner. Thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader. 🩷
May 7, 2025
2.75⭐️|4🌶️
I want to start off saying I am all for a hot, bully romance. I eat those stories up every time. This one follows Tovah & Isaac. They both are enemies, but only Tovah has a reason for being wary of him. Isaac literally has no valid explanation as to why he despises her. And that just threw this off for me.
He’s said to be the “good guy” soley for the fact that this man has never murdered anyone. But he treats Tovah like shit. Honestly it’s like a competition to him how many times he can make her life hell… and for what reason? Because he’s mad that he’s attracted to her deep down? Yeah I’m not feeling it lol.
This book just fell very flat for me. But what I might not have enjoyed, someone else very well could.
This book does have some hot spice, it’s fairly quick paced. There’s secrets and some suspense.
Thank you Jo Brenner for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
I want to start off saying I am all for a hot, bully romance. I eat those stories up every time. This one follows Tovah & Isaac. They both are enemies, but only Tovah has a reason for being wary of him. Isaac literally has no valid explanation as to why he despises her. And that just threw this off for me.
He’s said to be the “good guy” soley for the fact that this man has never murdered anyone. But he treats Tovah like shit. Honestly it’s like a competition to him how many times he can make her life hell… and for what reason? Because he’s mad that he’s attracted to her deep down? Yeah I’m not feeling it lol.
This book just fell very flat for me. But what I might not have enjoyed, someone else very well could.
This book does have some hot spice, it’s fairly quick paced. There’s secrets and some suspense.
Thank you Jo Brenner for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
April 20, 2025
Can You say HockeyMafia Romance?
Can you say Hockey Mafia Romance and not want to read it? If you read Brutal Game then without a doubt no need to answer cause the answer is Gimme Now!!!!
Let me just say I read this one day!!! No way I was putting it down.... I had to know what happened like yesterday! Cooking dinner- reading. Dishes-reading. Brushing teeth- reading.
Isaac aka Dr. Dimples may show the world who he wants them to see (Mr goody hockey star) but not to Tovah. She brings out his locked up monster, and what a kinky mOnster he is!!! He may have thought hockey was his Obsession, but now he knows better. It's Tovah!!!
Tovah is a curvy, hot pink haired journalist with an attitude!!!! She has secrets and a past that could have grave consequences if they fell into the wrong hands. Isaac's hands are on the top of the wrong hands list....... Or is he really??? When her past and her present chase her down, she has no choice but to take it til she makes it..... She may need to keep her and her mom safe but she will not just bow to anyone without showing them their place as well... boy does she let her sass shine.... And put him in his place.
Now, what lengths will Isaac go to keep her? What is he willing to do to keep her safe and his father and the criminal world away? Any and Everything!!!!
There comes a point in this book where you are like oh sh*t, oh h3l| naw, and say "b*tch I will 🔪 you myself." Then it turns and you think - ok. ok. everyone is saf3 once again lol. Not even going to pretend I was not sitting straight up in bed and whisper cursing and then whisper giggling soon after. (It was late).
This book has everything I love to read I mean everything!!!! EVERYTHING!!!
So happy I was an ARC reader for this book. Thank you so much for this @The Smuthood and Jo Brenner - Author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🚩🚩🚩
#darkromance #darkromancereads #darkromancebootok #romancebooks #romancebooktok #spicybooktok #hockey #hockeyromance #romancebookrecs #sportsromance #sassyfmc #strongfmc #morallygrey #morallyblack #touchheranddietrope #obsessed #enemiestolovers #fakedating #forcedproximity #hiddenidentity #spicybook #collegeromance #books #arc #thesmuthood
Can you say Hockey Mafia Romance and not want to read it? If you read Brutal Game then without a doubt no need to answer cause the answer is Gimme Now!!!!
Let me just say I read this one day!!! No way I was putting it down.... I had to know what happened like yesterday! Cooking dinner- reading. Dishes-reading. Brushing teeth- reading.
Isaac aka Dr. Dimples may show the world who he wants them to see (Mr goody hockey star) but not to Tovah. She brings out his locked up monster, and what a kinky mOnster he is!!! He may have thought hockey was his Obsession, but now he knows better. It's Tovah!!!
Tovah is a curvy, hot pink haired journalist with an attitude!!!! She has secrets and a past that could have grave consequences if they fell into the wrong hands. Isaac's hands are on the top of the wrong hands list....... Or is he really??? When her past and her present chase her down, she has no choice but to take it til she makes it..... She may need to keep her and her mom safe but she will not just bow to anyone without showing them their place as well... boy does she let her sass shine.... And put him in his place.
Now, what lengths will Isaac go to keep her? What is he willing to do to keep her safe and his father and the criminal world away? Any and Everything!!!!
There comes a point in this book where you are like oh sh*t, oh h3l| naw, and say "b*tch I will 🔪 you myself." Then it turns and you think - ok. ok. everyone is saf3 once again lol. Not even going to pretend I was not sitting straight up in bed and whisper cursing and then whisper giggling soon after. (It was late).
This book has everything I love to read I mean everything!!!! EVERYTHING!!!
So happy I was an ARC reader for this book. Thank you so much for this @The Smuthood and Jo Brenner - Author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🚩🚩🚩
#darkromance #darkromancereads #darkromancebootok #romancebooks #romancebooktok #spicybooktok #hockey #hockeyromance #romancebookrecs #sportsromance #sassyfmc #strongfmc #morallygrey #morallyblack #touchheranddietrope #obsessed #enemiestolovers #fakedating #forcedproximity #hiddenidentity #spicybook #collegeromance #books #arc #thesmuthood
April 26, 2025
this book was dark and Isaac Jones really pushed my limits but I still loved this book. Ever since I read The Pucking Wrong number I've been obsessed with dark hockey romances. I’ve read many arcs these past few months, lots of debuts and indie authors and this may be one of the most in depth and thought out plots I’ve read from an arc so far. Just so many layers, plot twists and betrayals to keep you on your toes. I love their backstory, I have a thing for childhood sweethearts to enemies to lovers. And the mafia trope? I loved it, was the ending a little dramatic and overdone? Yes it definitely was, but it’s also very typical for a dark mafia romance to have that kind of final plot twist. But there were also many things that surprised me in this book. This book was a lot of my favourite things in one, just to name a few would be: stalker, primal play, kidnapping, mafia, grovelling. And I love the whole “golden boy is dark for her” trope. They are so cute together, they’ve both got secrets and are crazy obsessed with each other but won’t admit it. One problem though, Is that he kept doing dark stuff making her mad at him and then he would grovel. Like I love grovelling and a breakup or two is necessary for the plot, but it was too many times. I get it though, he did do a lot of depraved stuff that tested even my limits. Spoiler: He ties her naked to a statue in the middle of the night??? Absolutely insane. Also hate the surprise fiancée trope, so overdone and annoying. Regardless I love this and I give it a 4.5/5
April 23, 2025
Dark romance? Check. Hot Hockey players? Check. Obsessive, maybe slightly psychotic MMC who likes a casual bit of stalking? Err check. The way I am RUNNING to read book one now 😅
Issac Jones (or Silver depending on what mood you catch him in) is on a mission to destroy his obsession. The pink haired siren has always got under his skin, even from a distance, so when she decides to blackmail the mafia heir he sees his opportunity to chain her to him & use her as he pleases. But there’s a fine line between love & hate & when Issac finally gives into his darkest desires & takes what he wants, he knows he can never let his bashert go.
Tovah just wants to be free and she’ll stop at nothing to make that happen, even if that means bowing to her enemies every depraved & dirty demand whilst she searches for evidence in her prison he calls home. Her monster has his claws in her, desperate to unravel her secrets & she just might let him. But no matter what their heart and souls want, anything between them is destined to end in tragedy…
As much as I hated him for his self sabotaging & messed up actions, I was equally obsessed with Issac & how much he wanted to posses his girl & be the only thing she sees, breaths & craves. It’s so toxic but it’s so mf’ing good 🔥 the spice was SO hot; safe to say Mr Silver had us all on edge 😏🥵
It’s been a while since I’ve devoured a book like that, I’m so grateful to receive this ARC & I can’t wait for what’s to come from the rest of the Kings! 😍
Issac Jones (or Silver depending on what mood you catch him in) is on a mission to destroy his obsession. The pink haired siren has always got under his skin, even from a distance, so when she decides to blackmail the mafia heir he sees his opportunity to chain her to him & use her as he pleases. But there’s a fine line between love & hate & when Issac finally gives into his darkest desires & takes what he wants, he knows he can never let his bashert go.
Tovah just wants to be free and she’ll stop at nothing to make that happen, even if that means bowing to her enemies every depraved & dirty demand whilst she searches for evidence in her prison he calls home. Her monster has his claws in her, desperate to unravel her secrets & she just might let him. But no matter what their heart and souls want, anything between them is destined to end in tragedy…
As much as I hated him for his self sabotaging & messed up actions, I was equally obsessed with Issac & how much he wanted to posses his girl & be the only thing she sees, breaths & craves. It’s so toxic but it’s so mf’ing good 🔥 the spice was SO hot; safe to say Mr Silver had us all on edge 😏🥵
It’s been a while since I’ve devoured a book like that, I’m so grateful to receive this ARC & I can’t wait for what’s to come from the rest of the Kings! 😍
May 20, 2025
Is this 99.9% erotica? Yes. Did I stay up all night to finish this? Yes. Do I regret it? Only like a little bit.
I highly suggest reading the content warning on this before digging into it because the dubcon/ noncon is basically the whole plot besides the disgusting amount of whiplash Isaac and Tova gave me with the on again off again like/love/lust.
Most of the three stars I gave this guy is because of Isaac’s jealously and psycho protectiveness. I could have done with a little more obvious consent thrown in there but Brenner adds in an authors note at the end that’s worth the read and really clarifies a lot of the way things are written.
I highly suggest reading the content warning on this before digging into it because the dubcon/ noncon is basically the whole plot besides the disgusting amount of whiplash Isaac and Tova gave me with the on again off again like/love/lust.
Most of the three stars I gave this guy is because of Isaac’s jealously and psycho protectiveness. I could have done with a little more obvious consent thrown in there but Brenner adds in an authors note at the end that’s worth the read and really clarifies a lot of the way things are written.
April 17, 2025
Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this as an ARC.
Oh my, where do I begin?
I think dark hockey mafia romance is my new favorite genre. This story was so good! Chapter 53 almost destroyed me, how could you! But thankfully it ended good, the happily ever after and the spice scenes? They were SPICY SPICY MY GOD! . I absolutely devoured the book in hours. I had to know what happen, I could not put the book down. I highly recommend reading it, 1000000/10 rating. Can’t wait for the next book, the next story! Great job on the book!
Oh my, where do I begin?
I think dark hockey mafia romance is my new favorite genre. This story was so good! Chapter 53 almost destroyed me, how could you! But thankfully it ended good, the happily ever after and the spice scenes? They were SPICY SPICY MY GOD! . I absolutely devoured the book in hours. I had to know what happen, I could not put the book down. I highly recommend reading it, 1000000/10 rating. Can’t wait for the next book, the next story! Great job on the book!
April 24, 2025
This book was written so beautifully and incredible that I felt as if I was in Tovah and Isaac’s love story
I like how ruthless how Isaac was.i was afraid that Isaac’s father was going to kill the love of his son’s life that was a scary twist
Thank you, Jo for becoming my favorite dark Romance writer
I like how ruthless how Isaac was.i was afraid that Isaac’s father was going to kill the love of his son’s life that was a scary twist
Thank you, Jo for becoming my favorite dark Romance writer
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2025
Isaac + Tovah
-dark hockey romance
-bully romance
-second chance
-hidden identity
-forced proximity
-primal play
"𝙈𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨."
yall. isaac is a fucking linguistics major who’s fluent in at least SIX DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!! like stfuuuu!! i can’t evennnnn!!! & then the girl being the one to drug HIM to get answers? muuuahahahhaha these two were SOOOOO fucking hot HOT HAWTTTT!!!
-dark hockey romance
-bully romance
-second chance
-hidden identity
-forced proximity
-primal play
"𝙈𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨."
yall. isaac is a fucking linguistics major who’s fluent in at least SIX DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!! like stfuuuu!! i can’t evennnnn!!! & then the girl being the one to drug HIM to get answers? muuuahahahhaha these two were SOOOOO fucking hot HOT HAWTTTT!!!
April 15, 2025
ARC Team Review 💜
Absolutely obsessed! I couldn’t put the book down. I ended up pulling an all nighter just to finish it because it was just so good. Between the plot and the spice, it was the perfect combination.
Issac & Tovah’s story is perfect if you want a childhood lovers but also enemies to lovers (well kinda; both secretly want each other but won’t let themselves so the only option is acting like it’s hatred.) Highly recommend if you love a hockey dark romance with inclusions of mafia & billionaire. Heartless Game has all the book girlies favorite tropes 😍
Absolutely obsessed! I couldn’t put the book down. I ended up pulling an all nighter just to finish it because it was just so good. Between the plot and the spice, it was the perfect combination.
Issac & Tovah’s story is perfect if you want a childhood lovers but also enemies to lovers (well kinda; both secretly want each other but won’t let themselves so the only option is acting like it’s hatred.) Highly recommend if you love a hockey dark romance with inclusions of mafia & billionaire. Heartless Game has all the book girlies favorite tropes 😍
April 26, 2025
I read the beta of the book so there is a pretty high probability that things were edited to make more sense. I waited to post this until later as to not tank the early reviews.
Pro:
I liked Tovah as a character and felt like she had a good amount of depth, although I wish she was explored more as a person and was made less helpless.
The plot had a very interesting concept, although I did have some issues with a few things.
Con:
I hated Isaac. He flip flopped on emotions constantly and felt super stunted. This book would have been so much better if he was even a tiny bit less cruel and childish or if he was replaced with a character that was remotely likable.
The plot also was lost among the smut. I really enjoyed the first 25% and enjoyed the last 20%, the middle was so much spice that it completely overshadowed the plot and it felt like I was wading through 300 pages to get back on track. The smut also gets a bit repetitive as the majority of it was dub con and preformed in a very similar way to the rest of the smutty scenes. I wanted to skim through it a bit as the majority didn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way, although I did read through it all.
Tropes/tags. For being a hockey and mafia dark romance book there was a distinct lack of hockey, mafia, and romance. If anything it felt more like dark erotica with a few elements of hockey and mafia.
Inconsistencies, there were parts of the book that didn’t make sense as they didn’t follow the timeline or human abilities, although I would guess that the majority of these were probably fixed for the final version of the book.
The ending. The ending seriously had so much potential, and I felt like it did wrap things up, but I wanted more. Without spoiling anything, I wish that the timeline in the ending was based more in reality, especially with human healing times. I don’t like when books with human characters in a human world seem to have magic healing powers where it happens at warp speed. I wish we would have gotten a few more chapters to get from the start of the ending to the prologue.
Pro:
I liked Tovah as a character and felt like she had a good amount of depth, although I wish she was explored more as a person and was made less helpless.
The plot had a very interesting concept, although I did have some issues with a few things.
Con:
I hated Isaac. He flip flopped on emotions constantly and felt super stunted. This book would have been so much better if he was even a tiny bit less cruel and childish or if he was replaced with a character that was remotely likable.
The plot also was lost among the smut. I really enjoyed the first 25% and enjoyed the last 20%, the middle was so much spice that it completely overshadowed the plot and it felt like I was wading through 300 pages to get back on track. The smut also gets a bit repetitive as the majority of it was dub con and preformed in a very similar way to the rest of the smutty scenes. I wanted to skim through it a bit as the majority didn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way, although I did read through it all.
Tropes/tags. For being a hockey and mafia dark romance book there was a distinct lack of hockey, mafia, and romance. If anything it felt more like dark erotica with a few elements of hockey and mafia.
Inconsistencies, there were parts of the book that didn’t make sense as they didn’t follow the timeline or human abilities, although I would guess that the majority of these were probably fixed for the final version of the book.
The ending. The ending seriously had so much potential, and I felt like it did wrap things up, but I wanted more. Without spoiling anything, I wish that the timeline in the ending was based more in reality, especially with human healing times. I don’t like when books with human characters in a human world seem to have magic healing powers where it happens at warp speed. I wish we would have gotten a few more chapters to get from the start of the ending to the prologue.
April 22, 2025
⭐️ARC Review⭐️
Heartless Game by @jobrennerbooks
Book 2 in the Kings Of Reina U series.
Available 🏒04.27.2025🏒
5/5⭐️
4/5🌶️
⚠️Please check Content & Tringer Warnings ⚠️
Drum roll please….may I present your next unhinged, obsessed, and extremely possessive MMC for your reading pleasure Isaac Jones!! 🥵
Isaac is on Reina’s hockey team and is apart of the “core four”. He has issues outside of hockey that make him put up this front with everyone around him, the man is the poster child for red flags galore but honestly it all works. I mean who doesn’t enjoy a man who’s utterly obsessed with them? No one knows the real Issac but Tovah does! She is fierce and a determined reporter for the university’s newspaper who also her own beef with Issac. All she wants is to free her mother and herself from the hands of the mafia by any means possible but her feelings for Isaac bring unwanted chaos and attention to her life. The way this women pushes past all the obstacles to get to her end will have you cheering for her till the end!
Should I mention the spice? Oh it’s spicy alright, it’s completely messy and toxic but in the best absolute unhinged, give me some more way! It’s definitely something that shouldn’t work but it does, oh it does!
Jo Brenner is a queen when it comes to bully romance. Add hockey, an unhinged MMC and a fierce FMC and it’s a winning recipe. This book had me waiting on the edge of my seat for the outcome. Seriously once I started this book, I had the hardest time putting it down. It’s one to add to your TBR as soon as humanly possible!
Heartless Game by @jobrennerbooks
Book 2 in the Kings Of Reina U series.
Available 🏒04.27.2025🏒
5/5⭐️
4/5🌶️
⚠️Please check Content & Tringer Warnings ⚠️
Drum roll please….may I present your next unhinged, obsessed, and extremely possessive MMC for your reading pleasure Isaac Jones!! 🥵
Isaac is on Reina’s hockey team and is apart of the “core four”. He has issues outside of hockey that make him put up this front with everyone around him, the man is the poster child for red flags galore but honestly it all works. I mean who doesn’t enjoy a man who’s utterly obsessed with them? No one knows the real Issac but Tovah does! She is fierce and a determined reporter for the university’s newspaper who also her own beef with Issac. All she wants is to free her mother and herself from the hands of the mafia by any means possible but her feelings for Isaac bring unwanted chaos and attention to her life. The way this women pushes past all the obstacles to get to her end will have you cheering for her till the end!
Should I mention the spice? Oh it’s spicy alright, it’s completely messy and toxic but in the best absolute unhinged, give me some more way! It’s definitely something that shouldn’t work but it does, oh it does!
Jo Brenner is a queen when it comes to bully romance. Add hockey, an unhinged MMC and a fierce FMC and it’s a winning recipe. This book had me waiting on the edge of my seat for the outcome. Seriously once I started this book, I had the hardest time putting it down. It’s one to add to your TBR as soon as humanly possible!
April 28, 2025
Rating: 5⭐️
Spice: 2🌶️
Would Recommend!
My Review:
🏒 Mafia x Bully x Hockey = PERFECTION 💥
OMG, I loved loved this book!! I’ve been waiting for Isaac’s story ever since Brutal Games and let me tell you… the wait? SO WORTH IT. Jo delivered everything I adore—mafia, bully vibes, and dark hockey romance all wrapped up in one spicy package 🙌🏼 🔥.
Tovah is the perfect FMC for someone like Isaac. Feisty, fierce, and absolutely unforgettable. And Isaac?? Golden boy on the outside, but for Tovah? He shows his real self, and you know how much I love that microtrope where the MMC drops the mask only for his girl. Literal catnip.🖤
Their banter? Chef’s kiss. Their separate stories? Amazing. But together? Fireworks, chaos, and all the heart-eyes. And the spice? Ohhh, the spice was SPICING 🌶️🔥
Only downside? Now I have no idea how long I have to wait for the next book and I am not a patient person 😩😭
Tropes:
Bully Romance
Hockey
V-h
Mafia Ties
Spice: 2🌶️
Would Recommend!
My Review:
🏒 Mafia x Bully x Hockey = PERFECTION 💥
OMG, I loved loved this book!! I’ve been waiting for Isaac’s story ever since Brutal Games and let me tell you… the wait? SO WORTH IT. Jo delivered everything I adore—mafia, bully vibes, and dark hockey romance all wrapped up in one spicy package 🙌🏼 🔥.
Tovah is the perfect FMC for someone like Isaac. Feisty, fierce, and absolutely unforgettable. And Isaac?? Golden boy on the outside, but for Tovah? He shows his real self, and you know how much I love that microtrope where the MMC drops the mask only for his girl. Literal catnip.🖤
Their banter? Chef’s kiss. Their separate stories? Amazing. But together? Fireworks, chaos, and all the heart-eyes. And the spice? Ohhh, the spice was SPICING 🌶️🔥
Only downside? Now I have no idea how long I have to wait for the next book and I am not a patient person 😩😭
Tropes:
Bully Romance
Hockey
V-h
Mafia Ties
April 26, 2025
I kinda liked Isaac. I did not expect him to be so deranged from what glimpses I caught back in book 1. But I did not mind one bit. The only thing I probably didn’t like was his back and forth towards Tovah. I kept breaking up with her to change his mind in the span of a few minutes. But hey, the author advised the book to be a bit deranged so I’m good.
Check your TW because the push and pull between Isaac and Tovah gets you hooked, but they also discuss and have experiences events that might be triggering for some.
Thank you to The Smuthood and the author for an arc. All opinions are my own.
Check your TW because the push and pull between Isaac and Tovah gets you hooked, but they also discuss and have experiences events that might be triggering for some.
Thank you to The Smuthood and the author for an arc. All opinions are my own.
April 29, 2025
It's been a while since I've read a dark college romance, but this book was so much more than just that. This is a dark college hockey romance with a dash of mafia.
Isaac is a mafia heir who convinced his father to let him play hockey in college, but as soon as he graduates, he will take over the family business. He is the golden boy of hockey, charming those around him with his looks and gentlemanly persona. However, there's a dark aura within him that he struggles to contain when he's around Tovah. She quite literally brings out the monster in him.
Tovah has known Isaac since they were children. She never revealed her name to him back then due to the danger posed by his family.
I loved that Isaac can truly be himself around Tovah. He always wears a mask for others, making them believe he is Mr. Charming who can do no wrong. But when he’s with Tovah, he doesn't have to pretend. He is possessive and unhinged, openly stalking her without feeling guilty about it.
On the flip side, she also gets to see his sweet side, like when he buys her favorite drink—chai tea—or surprises her with hair dye so she can express herself. He even speaks to her in different languages. (This man speaks like 6 languages which I thought was cool.)
Tovah has spent most of her life on the run. She is strong and fierce, refusing to take any nonsense from Isaac and going toe-to-toe with him on everything. While she brings out the monster in him, she also has a way of taming his beast. I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold, especially since they have loved each other since childhood.
This book was good. I enjoyed the plot, the romance, and the game of cat and mouse.
What to Expect:
• Dark College Hockey Romance 🏒🥅⛸️🖤
• Mafia prince/Hockey player x Journalist
• Childhood friends to Strangers to Enemies to Lovers
• Close Proximity
• Primal Play
• Bullying
• Hidden Identity
• Stalking
• Boy obsessed
• Heroine on the run
⚠️: kidnapping, blackmail, slut shaming, discussions of child abuse, public humiliation, violence, etc.
Thank you to the author and The Author Agency for an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.
Isaac is a mafia heir who convinced his father to let him play hockey in college, but as soon as he graduates, he will take over the family business. He is the golden boy of hockey, charming those around him with his looks and gentlemanly persona. However, there's a dark aura within him that he struggles to contain when he's around Tovah. She quite literally brings out the monster in him.
Tovah has known Isaac since they were children. She never revealed her name to him back then due to the danger posed by his family.
I loved that Isaac can truly be himself around Tovah. He always wears a mask for others, making them believe he is Mr. Charming who can do no wrong. But when he’s with Tovah, he doesn't have to pretend. He is possessive and unhinged, openly stalking her without feeling guilty about it.
On the flip side, she also gets to see his sweet side, like when he buys her favorite drink—chai tea—or surprises her with hair dye so she can express herself. He even speaks to her in different languages. (This man speaks like 6 languages which I thought was cool.)
Tovah has spent most of her life on the run. She is strong and fierce, refusing to take any nonsense from Isaac and going toe-to-toe with him on everything. While she brings out the monster in him, she also has a way of taming his beast. I enjoyed watching their relationship unfold, especially since they have loved each other since childhood.
This book was good. I enjoyed the plot, the romance, and the game of cat and mouse.
What to Expect:
• Dark College Hockey Romance 🏒🥅⛸️🖤
• Mafia prince/Hockey player x Journalist
• Childhood friends to Strangers to Enemies to Lovers
• Close Proximity
• Primal Play
• Bullying
• Hidden Identity
• Stalking
• Boy obsessed
• Heroine on the run
⚠️: kidnapping, blackmail, slut shaming, discussions of child abuse, public humiliation, violence, etc.
Thank you to the author and The Author Agency for an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.
April 29, 2025
this was fun! I probably shouldn't say that about a book where the mmc kidnapps the fmc and does horrible things to her but I mean... as a third party, I did have fun reading. brutal game was my first jo brenner book and i was very unfamiliar with her brand of hockey boys but I love them. between Jo and S Massery, i look at hockey boys so differently and then i meet them and I go.. huh different.
Issac was insane the second he kidnapped Tovah and I went from just reading with a straight fa e to the biggest smile. he was absolutely gone from the very beginning and knowing the backstory to them? ugh i loved. Tovah was a little annoying to me just because I wanted her to tell Issac everything, like the man is ready to burn the world down for you from day one! tell him! but seeing how he reacted when he found everything out... there's a reason i was not put in this situation. this ending was so much crazier than brutal game in my opinion and I loved it. there was a moment when I was trying to figure out how everything would come out with a HEA and I should have just trusted Issac because he had everything under control. I know we shouldn't ask for spin offa and such but... I need to know about his sisters life. like I can only imagine what type of man, or men she would/could end up with if anyone and I love it for her.
for the spice, i loved the use of toys and even though they don't go all the way for a minuet you're not missing out on any spice. they're messing around heavy and when it does finally happen... that scene was INSANE. I don't agree with what happened but at the same time... what needed to be done was done and it ended very well 😏
thank you to jo and the author agency for allowing me to ARC read!
Issac was insane the second he kidnapped Tovah and I went from just reading with a straight fa e to the biggest smile. he was absolutely gone from the very beginning and knowing the backstory to them? ugh i loved. Tovah was a little annoying to me just because I wanted her to tell Issac everything, like the man is ready to burn the world down for you from day one! tell him! but seeing how he reacted when he found everything out... there's a reason i was not put in this situation. this ending was so much crazier than brutal game in my opinion and I loved it. there was a moment when I was trying to figure out how everything would come out with a HEA and I should have just trusted Issac because he had everything under control. I know we shouldn't ask for spin offa and such but... I need to know about his sisters life. like I can only imagine what type of man, or men she would/could end up with if anyone and I love it for her.
for the spice, i loved the use of toys and even though they don't go all the way for a minuet you're not missing out on any spice. they're messing around heavy and when it does finally happen... that scene was INSANE. I don't agree with what happened but at the same time... what needed to be done was done and it ended very well 😏
thank you to jo and the author agency for allowing me to ARC read!
May 23, 2025
First let me start off by saying, OMG!!!! This book was absolutely amazing and I loved every single part of it! Starting off with our amazing FMC Tovah, she is such a little firecracker and I’m so here for it. Then we have our MMC Isaac, everyone sees him as the good guy, but there is something darker that lurks beneath the surface. Tovah knows who Isaac really is and she’s ready to expose his family’s darkest secrets. But what will happen when Isaac finds out that Tovah has her own secrets and completely derails her whole plan? Tovah has no other choice but to move in with Isaac and that’s when the game begins.
Tovah and Isaac had wonderful character development and watching them go from hating each other, to be completely obsessed with each other was everything! I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next and I didn’t want to put the book down! The plot was perfectly executed. The spice was everything I was hoping for and I had a smile on my face the entire time. The chemistry between these two was truly beautiful and I was rooting for them the entire time. As the plot started to unravel, I literally started crying. Jo completely broke my heart, but she healed it in no time! The ending was everything and I miss Isaac and Tovah so much already! Jo, you absolutely killed it and I look forward to reading more of your books!
Tovah and Isaac had wonderful character development and watching them go from hating each other, to be completely obsessed with each other was everything! I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next and I didn’t want to put the book down! The plot was perfectly executed. The spice was everything I was hoping for and I had a smile on my face the entire time. The chemistry between these two was truly beautiful and I was rooting for them the entire time. As the plot started to unravel, I literally started crying. Jo completely broke my heart, but she healed it in no time! The ending was everything and I miss Isaac and Tovah so much already! Jo, you absolutely killed it and I look forward to reading more of your books!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 671 reviews