Stand and Defend

Lakes Hockey #4

by Sloane St. James, J.F. Harding (narrator), Chloe Ryan (narrator)

Jordana

I live my life head over heart and never rock the boat, which is how I wound up engaged to Bryan Davenport—the biggest mistake I ever made. We were a power couple, but no one knew how cruel he could be behind closed doors. When I decide to leave, my fiancé shows just how ruthless he can be and sends me running to the last person I his best man.

Camden Teller is a cocky, selfish, womanizing daredevil—and my new favorite person. Who knew a bad boy would be such a good influence? For the first time, I'm breaking the rules and living unapologetically. Our unexpected camaraderie quickly morphs into a no-strings arrangement. I don't mind because, even though he's become my closest friend, he'll never be my type.

Camden

I may be the new Minnesota Lakes hockey captain but I'll always be Banksy on the ice. Over my career, I've been in countless fights. Being protective is part of my nature, so when the beautiful Jordana Landry shows up with nowhere to go, I don't hesitate. Unfortunately, she's also sophisticated, polite, and educated, which would be fine except I've got a corruption kink.

The more we hang out, the closer we get and the harder it is to resist each other—until we stop resisting. I never sleep with the same woman twice, but once with her will never be enough. However, it's not long before I realize she's not as innocent as she lets on. Jordan says I'm not her type… but she's exactly mine.

Genres: Sports Romance, Hockey, Sports, Romance, Hockey Romance, Friends To Lovers, Forced Proximity

Audible Audio

First published February 12, 2024

About the author

Sloane St. James began writing in 2022, it combines two of her favorite things, books and getting plowed. She enjoys writing strong, witty females and the dirty-talking men that love them--with a little suspense tossed in wherever she can. As an avid hockey fan, her Lakes Hockey series was a natural place to start and debuted in March 2023.

When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and, of course, reading romance.

Reviews

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️/5⭐️
4/5🌶️

Listen… if you take my advice about literally any book… PLEASE let it be this one 👏🏼 This entire series is incredible, but this book is hands down my favorite. Sloane kills it every. single. time. Her plot to spice ratio is truly unmatched and this book is no different. What a perfect way to wrap up an amazing debut series!!

Stand and Defend follows Camden Teller (“Banksy”) and Jordan Landry. Banksy is the new captain for the NHL Lakes Hockey Team. Story starts out when he travels to Vegas for his childhood best friend’s bachelor party. This is where he meets Jordan, his best friend’s bride-to-be. But everything quickly gets turned upside down when Banksy finds his friend cheating on Jordan with her maid of honor. He ends up telling Jordan immediately & she leaves her (ex)fiancé in Vegas without a word. Fast forward a few weeks & Jordan needs a safe place to stay — who better to call than your cheating ex’s best friend?

Tropes:
- Sports Romance
- Ex’s Best Friend
- Runaway Bride
- Friends with Benefits
- Forced Proximity
- Pierced MMC
- “Who hurt you?”

Make sure to check TWs!

[⋆ ༻ Rue ༺⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

READY TO STAND AND DEFEND THEM

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If I say yes to this, I want people to see it.”
I vowed that the next man I get involved with will treat me like a queen, and Camden Teller is no exception.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to be some quiet girlfriend on the side that other women think they can step over to get to you. I don’t want to be yours behind closed doors. I’m not a delicate princess—I’m a fucking queen. If you want me, that’s how you’re going to treat me. Leave your ego at the door, I want everyone to know that you kneel at my feet.” I cross my arms, waiting for his response, and mentally pat myself on the back for demanding my worth.
“Yes, Your Highness.”

this is not even close to being the smuttiest book I've ever read and yet I forgot how many times it made me blush and giggle and do the florence pugh pout

[Aada · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like the author just wanted to write some kinky and cringe sex scenes and then added some characters with minimal depth or personality

[sashenka 🖤 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

What I liked

➺ FMC wanted true revenge on her ex bf. And got it.
➺ She wasn't too much a damsel in distress.
➺ Good banter between the MCs, I enjoyed their friendship.
➺ The writing is fine.

What I hated

➺ MMC.
➺ MMC is a manwhore, he was only thinking of pussies, pussies, fucking the FMC, pussies, sometimes pussies and... yeah. Oh I forgot pussies.
➺ MMC is a renowned playboy, sleep with anything that's alive and have a pussy and... They never talked about protection, safe sex, he went all in without condom, without talking about it, ever. I couldn't read the sex scenes after that, I was so grossed out.
➺ His need of unlimited pussies disgusted me so much rofl.
➺ FMC was going to marry a dude that did not respected her at all. I mean, I get DV victims, it's hard to get out of relations and all. But she was pretty rich, educated (so finding another job can't be that hard), their union wasn't that important for her family (they are wealthy after all), she wasn't madly in love... I mean. I'm not judging real DV victims in real life but in that book? She had no reasons to stay even before he cheated on her so the author write about this strong-ish woman but the thing with her ex? totally messed up.
➺ 400+ pages was excessive. I don't mind slow burn, but when half the book is sex stuff, I'm bored.
➺ Holy mother kink festival we had. I get it, she wanted to experiment a little but??? even Fifty Shades was not that kinky.
➺ Too much fucking. Still unprotected
➺ The fact that her dog was named Chicken Salad, I wanted to throw my kindle at my walls every time.
➺ Dumb OW drama because we needed... what did we need anyway??? Oh right, nothing since the FMC was already prepared to talk to the MMC about being together for real.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn’t an “it was bad” 3 stars. I mostly enjoyed this book. It was a middle of the road story that didn’t “wow” me enough to give more stars to. I won’t think about these characters again. But if you’re just in the mood for a “friends to lovers” steamy hockey read, it hits the spot.

This is about Jordan (she’s 26) and Camden (I think he’s 29). They’re both trust fund kids from an elite rich community, but he’s also a pro hockey player. Jordan was going to marry a terrible guy, and Cam was going to be the best man in her wedding. But, when her terrible fiancé cheated on her and then showed abusive tendencies, she leaves him. Camden is a playboy, but he also runs a domestic violence charity, and she also has no other friends. So she calls him, and ends up staying with him.

The spice was good, and the writing was decent. This might be a “me” problem, more than the book, but the “friends to lovers” trope got old after a while. Because, after Jordan and Camden spend a long time basically being in a full-blown relationship – just without admitting it, or defining it with labels – it got tedious that they were both angsting over it. Maybe I’m just not a good reader for the “friends to lovers” trope, since the angst just feels so drawn out and manufactured for no reason (unless there's a good / interesting reason for why they're not together sooner. But, this book didn't do that).

Jordan and Camden were both likeable enough, but Jordan also could have been a better heroine. I felt bad for her, that her ex was psycho. But I didn’t feel like this story did a good enough job of filling in the psychological reasons of why she stayed with her terrible ex, for so long. I’m not trying to victim blame somebody in a domestic violence situation! But at least in fiction, if I'm going to really like a heroine, I need to understand her reason for not leaving a bad relationship sooner. Especially since Jordan was wealthy, so she wasn’t stuck for financial reasons.

Aside from the somewhat dark plot line with Jordan’s terrible ex, this book isn’t dark, or heavy, or angsty. So, if you just want a steamy “friends to lovers” hockey read, it does hit the spot, and I’ll check out more from this author. I've read this series out of order, but this worked fine as a stand-alone - the next time I'm in the mood for a sports romance, I'll read the other books in this series.

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: fiancés best friend, heroine in peril
Angst: 😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Such a fantastic conclusion to the series! Sloane’s writing just keeps getting better and better - definitely going in my best of 2024 pile! So many great things about this story and the writing. Such a great story that is well written and fast paced. Jordan deals with verbal abuse and gas lighting from her fiancé and it's represented so well in the story, you can't help but feel it viscerally. The character development is fantastic. I love a strong, resilient heroine and Jordan totally fits the bill. She definitely shows personal growth during the story and I was totally here for it. Camden was perfect. The chemistry and smexy times between them is 🔥🔥🔥. Nearly set fire to my kindle, lol.

Stand and Defend is the last book in the Lakes Hockey series and I'm so sad to see it end. If you're a hockey romance fan, a fan of strong FMCs, and/or a fan of just really great writing with some first rate spice, you HAVE to check this series out - you won't be disappointed!

RTC

[Anna Whin]

dnf @ 15%

decided to give this one a try bc ive heard from many that it was good…

howeverrrrr i thought i was truly going to contract a disease just from reading the Hero’s POV.

biggest manwhore i’ve ever read about. i was only a few chapters in but every single woman the H glances at, he salivates over in his POV and wouldn’t mind hooking up with. even the heroine’s (horrible) best friend🤮

[Noi (in & out) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"... I have never shared my feelings like this with anyone. Know why? Because you’re a safe space for me. Let me be that safe space for you.” “You are my safe space,” I assure him. He’s the only safe space I’ve ever had."

[Em (semi-hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t stand this book, but I can defend my rating.

[Literary Child (Tania) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Заявляю офіційно: ЦЕ НАЙКРАЩА КНИГА У ЦЬОМУ ЖАНРІ, ПРОЧИТАНА МНОЮ ОСТАННІМ ЧАСОМ 😍🥹🔥

Назва відповідає силі, посилу історії. Я не очікувала, що вона мені сподобається настільки, але я заворожена чуттєвістю, дотепністю, харизмою, силою та гумором героїв. Неймовірні особистості, справжні partners in crime, які підтримують одне одного, підштовхують одне одного ставати кращими і справді проживати життя, а не просто існувати.

Віддаю їй всі зірочки рейтингу і небесного обрію 💫

[iremucka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dur & Koru 👊🏻

Loverboy Banksy (29?) ile zengin piremses Jordan (26)' nın tanıdıklıktan arkadaşa ordan aşığa dönüşen hikayesiyle seri biter. Yİne en güzel kitabı bence 2 numaraydı. Serilerin 2. kitabı ile ilgili ne derler bilirsiniz. İlk kitaptaki erkek karakter ne kadar hanzoysa ikinci kitaptaki erkek karakter o kadar hanımına çiçek gibi bakar.

Neyse konumuza dönelim. Jordan inanılmaz toksik bir ilişki içinde ve evlenmek üzere, evlilik arifesindeki eventlerde nişanlısının kankisiyle tanışıyor ve olaylar gelişiyor. Kendi annesi de babasından bu toksikliği çektiği için Banksy' nin koruyucu damarı atıyor, Jordan kendini Banksy' nin evinde saklanırken buluyor ve olaylar gelişiyor.

Seriyi güzel toparlamış en sonda WAG (Wives and Girlfriends aka Haremlik) kısmında bütün kızları birlikte görmek vs keyifliydi. Ama assssssla Jordan karakterinde birinin o toksik ilişkiye neden girdiği ve Banksy' nin her çiçekten bal alırım noolacah ya tavrından ölürüm sana havasına nası girdiği vs tam olmamıştı.

Olay bütünlüğü bir yana Sloane Hn sahne yazmasını biliyor, gerisi de ilerde gelir inşşş.

Kitabın Özeti: Erkek aldatınca çapkın, kadın aldatınca ... olur 🥵

[Kelsey S · Rating 4 out of 5]

▹TL;DR Review: This fourth and final book of the Lakes Hockey series was a great ending. This one had the same semi-dark vibes. All books in this series are very spicy, but all have a decent plot. While they could be read as standalones, I recommend reading them in order.

▹My ⭐ Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5
▹Format: 📱 eReader
─────────────────────────

○★○ What to Expect from This Book: ○★○

– About: Jordana Landry escapes a controlling, abusive engagement and finds refuge with her ex’s best man, NHL captain Camden Teller. As she rebuilds her life, a deep connection forms between them—but it’s complicated by past trauma, loyalty, and desire.
– FMC: Jordana Landry (aka “Jordan” or “Sunshine”). Comes from a wealthy family, but tries to be humble. Intelligent and refined, but wants grit and raw emotion in love. Learning to stand up for herself.
– MMC: Camden Teller (aka “Banksy”). Bad-boy reputation (for good reason), very protective of his family and friends (unless they are scum). Advocate for domestic abuse victims due to trauma in his past.
– Location: Minneapolis, MN
– POV: Dual first-person
– Spice: 8-10 open-door explicit spicy scenes
– Tropes: sports romance (hockey), ex’s best friend, who hurt you?, situationship/friends with benefits, protective MMC, runaway bride, forced proximity, FMC revenge, pierced MMC
– Content warning: gaslighting, fatphobic side characters, stalking, verbal abuse, physical abuse (on page), emotional abuse, cheating (not by a MC), recreational drug use (cannabis; by MCs), spitting during spice scenes, needles (piercing and tattoos on page), financial abuse, blackmail
– Representation: healing after domestic abuse, strong/badass FMC (with a somewhat morally gray streak)

─────────────────────────

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ 1:00 ──ㅇ────── 4:12

Now Playing: Man I Need by Olivia Dean

╰┈➤ ❝Tell me you’ve got something to give, I want it; I kinda like it when you call me wonderful; whatever the type of talk it is, come on then; I gotta know you’re meant to be the man I need.❞

─────────────────────────

★○ If You Like the Following, You Might Like This Book ○★

➼ Books where the MMC helps the FMC after a scary domestic situation, like The Dixon Rules by Elle Kennedy, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, and Under Currents by Nora Roberts (HM: Binding/Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh, but also vastly different)
➼ Sports romances that have a darker subplot, like the other books in this series or Until I Get You by Claire Contreras and Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O’Roark
➼ An FMC villain origin story (but she’s not actually evil)

─────────────────────────

⍟»This or That«⍟

Character Driven———✧————————Plot Driven
Fast Burn—————✧——————Slow Burn
Sweet——————————✧—Spicy
Light/Fluffy————————✧———Heavy/Emotional

─────────────────────────

🎯 My Thoughts:

The thing I like most about this series is that the majority of the books has a surprisingly deep plot line. Each story had dark elements that I really enjoyed, while also not fully committing to “dark romance”.

That said, there were a few repetitive tropes and I wish the author would have pushed harder to make each stand out a touch more (not in storyline—those were all unique—but more so in the supporting situations). For example, in book 1, the FMC is escaping a traumatic situation and ends up living with the MMC. In book 4, the FMC is escaping a traumatic situation and ends up living with the MMC. The reasons for each are widely different, but the concept was too similar for me. In fact, forced proximity was the main catalyst for 3 out of the 4 books. I love forced proximity, but I just wish there was a bit more variety within the series. Again, each book really was unique and good on their own.

This book was for sure my second favorite of the series though—and close at that. I don’t know why I love a book where there is healing after DV, but I do. And this has that.

But authors everywhere, please hear me: “Chicken Salad” is the weirdest name I’ve ever seen given to a dog. It actually made me want to quit reading when I first read it. Shhh, she’s petty. I’m not saying that people can’t name their pets whatever they want, it’s your dog, but that’s borderline abuse 😉

Would I Recommend?: Maybe—leaning yes. This series is SO spicy. Sometimes perhaps too spicy…and I am not shy of a spicy book. It also sometimes feels repetitive. But if you’re looking for a dark hockey romance with high heat, then I definitely recommend this series.
_________________________
How I’ve Rated the Series (so far):
• Before We Came: 3.75★
• Strong and Wild: 3.25★
• In the Game: 3.5★
• Stand and Defend: 3.5★

[Jenn (The Book Refuge)]

Patreon Read for July 2025

[Jess • bestiebookshelf_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIO REVIEW -JF Harding and Chloe Ryan did an amazing job as Cam and Jordan!!


10 bloody stars! Sloane, I love you. Full RTC!

//

The final book in the Lakes Hockey series has me all in my feels after being involved in the process of this one and book 3. It’s been such an incredible experience and I’m so thankful to Sloane!

The more I get to know Sloane, I realise that she is her characters. I don’t know what crack she is siphoning into these books, but I want some. Stand and Defend has the plot, top teir banter and exceptional spice that we have come to know and adore in Sloane’s books. She continues to do the damn thing, and I’m so excited to see what she produces next!

This book though. I struggle to find books that accomplish a gripping plot, epic (and actually funny banter), a dash of drama, and spice that isn’t cringy and icky. Sloane manages to do all of these in a way that is just elite. This book truly does have everything!

Jordan is such a queen; she has been treated so poorly in the past and truly doesn’t know her worth. She is so strong though, and her and Cam bring out the best in each other. They are end game! Cam is a king; he cannot be faulted. Everything about him was just perfect. No further words, Your Honour! They had the best banter and explosive chemistry 🥵🥵🥵🫠🫠🫠🫠. Just love them so much!

I’m so sad this series is over, but so excited for what is coming next. It’s gonna be so epic!

[Carly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have the chills and I mean that in the most derogatory way possible

[Shanna Ferris · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Runaway Bride
• Ex's best Friend
• Opposites attract
• Situationship
• He falls first
• Dirty talking MMC
• Worships her like a queen
• Forced proximity
• Revenge
• Hockey Romance

"You are my queen, and I will kneel for you every day."

I have had this book on my TBR for far too long! And with the right nudge... cough cough @readingromancewithlauren, who gave me the perfect amount of bullying I needed to jump into this series at book 4, I regret nothing!! I'm so glad I started here! And I don't feel like I missed a single thing. This book lived up to every single expectation, and I can’t wait to go back and listen to the other books in this series!

This story was as beautiful as it was hot. When people mention a supportive king, Camden Teller better be at the top of that list! Because I’m not sure I have ever read a man who worshipped his woman the way Camden worshipped Jordan. Not only did he love and support her, but he protected her through it all. Not that she needed protection. This woman was CUTTHROAT when provoked, but he gave her a safe place to be her truest self. And Jordan’s character truly shined under his praise.

And my gosh, I’m so glad her ex got the karma he deserved. I went from wishing he would’ve had ED to going, “Ohhh… okay, Jordan had much better plans.” I loved that this beautiful, sweet soul got the revenge she needed.

Hands down one of the best lines I’ve ever read:

“The best thing you ever did was fuck my best friend, the best thing I ever did was fuck yours. The only difference is I love Camden. You only love yourself, and that’s why you’ll end up alone. When are you going to realize that everyone in your life is simply putting up with you?”

Like I said CUTTHROAT. Such a queen!

Watching Camden go from total f boy to a complete simp for this woman was absolute PERFECTION. When I say he worshipped her, I mean it.

Sloane knows how to freaking write, and I can’t wait to read more of her books! This is only my second one, and clearly I’ve been missing out!


🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Dual narration
Performed by JF Harding and Chloe Ryan

These two were the perfect Jordan and Cam!! They sounded so good together.

Chloe is a narrator I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to enough, and I plan to change that! I actually went and bought two other books while I was listening to her narrate Jordan’s character. She brought every emotion Jordan went through to life perfectly, while also making her strong, queen-like personality shine, especially as the story unfolded.

JF has narrated some of my all-time favorite MMCs, and now I have another to add to the list! His performance as Camden was spot-on. The way he brought out Camden’s playful yet protective personality was so well done. And through the spice scenes? MY GOSH. Camden had one heck of a dirty mouth, and JF nailed it every single time.

I highly, highly recommend this audio!!!!!

[monica ✨ romantasyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

jordan & camden are here!! this is the last book in the lakes hockey series and I’m so sad it’s over. after jordan catches her slimy fiancé cheating on her, camden decides to help her out. she needed a place to stay, and he has the space. but they didn’t expect to have a roommates turned friends with benefits situationship. and camden didn’t expect to fall first and so hard.

jordan is such a bad ass fmc. she’s strong and sassy, which is my fav. camden is the former playboy turned boy obsessed. he’s also her fiercest protector and I loved that about him. not only is the spice top tier, but there’s mortal peril and a dash of suspense. I ate this up in one sitting and loved every second.

thank you so much for an arc Sloane! I can’t wait for what’s next 💖

read if you like
✨ sports romance
✨ forced proximity (roommates)
✨ bad boy x good girl
✨ fwb
✨ runaway bride
✨ former playboy
✨ villain era fmc
✨ ex’s best friend


TW:
Domestic abuse (not by mmc)
Cheating (not by mmc)

[babygyalreadit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Wow wow wow. I actually shed a tear when the finished because damn what do I do now..

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★¾

นางเอกกำลังจะแต่งงานกับเพื่อนสนิทของพระเอก พระเอกเปนเพื่อนเจ้าบ่าว

ทีนี้วันนึงพระเอกมาเห็นกับตาว่าคสพ.ทั้งคู่แม่งเปน abusive relationship เพื่อนสนิทตัวเอง turn out เปนทั้ง cheater/manipulator/physical abuser
ฮีที่มีมูลนิธิเกี่ยวกะ domestic violence เปนของตัวเองอยู่แล้วก็เลยยื่นมือเข้ามาช่วยเหลือ แต่ทำไมไม่ส่งเรื่องต่อให้มูลนิธิก็ไม่รู้นะ พามาอยุ่บ้านตัวเองเสย🥴

อะ เราว่าเขาเขียนช่วงแรกๆ ได้สนุกอะ ช่วงนางเอกโดน abused ช่วง enlightenment ช่วงที่นางเอกตัดสินใจที่จะหนีแม่งอย่างบีบหัวใจ แต่ๆๆ พอนางเอกมาอยู่บ้านพระเอกแล้วเรากลับรู้สึกว่ามันเอื่อยๆ แฮะ

เรารู้สึกไม่ค่อยคอนเน้คกะตัวละครหลัก ไม่เข้าใจนางเอกในหลายๆ ที เรื่องที่ชีเจอมันแรงมากแต่รีแอคชั่นและการตัดสินใจของชีมันแปกๆ

ส่วนอาการพระเอกที่ปากบอกไอด๊นแคร์แต่กระทำดูแลสาวประหนึ่งเจ้าหญิง อ่านแรกๆ ก็ตลกดี แต่อ่านๆ ไปเรื่อยๆ เริ่มอยากบอกว่าไปคุยกะตัวเองให้เคลียร์ก่อนเถอะจ้าพี่ แล้วชอบ brush off เวลานางเอกอยากคุยจริงจังเรื่องอนาคตคสพ. กั๊กไปเรื่อยจนอิฉันสมน้ำหน้านักตอนนังคิดจะจริงจังขึ้นมาแล้วนางเอกปฏิเสธ เออมาเอาไร5555 แต่พอเปนงี้เราก้เลยแอบคาดหวัง grand gesture อะนะ ซึ่งนข.ก็จัดให้ฉ่ำๆ จริงหวะ อะตรงนี้บวกคะแนนกลับให้เลย

แต่ก้มีอีกจุดที่ไม่เข้าใจคือทำไมพระเอกถึงมี commitment issue นะ ชีวิตก็ดูไม่มีอะไรให้มีปห.นี้ป้ะ555555

เราขยับดาวขึ้นมาเปนสี่เพราะช่วงหลังๆ นี่แหละ รู้สึกว่าตอนเขารักกันแล้วมันน่ารักมาก แบนเท่อทั้งคู่ค่ดดี พระเอกพอเปิดใจไม่ทำตัว frustrating แล้วแดเมจแรงwa ผช cocky ขี้เล่น ขี้ตามใจ อ่านติดมือขึ้นมาก ตัวละครรอบข้างค่ดสร้างสีสัน ช่วงเอาคืนอดีตคู่หมั้นก็เก๋ๆ เว่อๆ สนุกดี5555555

spice: 4/5 (เหน่ย)

[Oksana OM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
дуже класна історія, де гарно змальований абʼюз та як жінка може виходити з таких стосунків. Кемден мені сподобався, особливо за ставлення до героїні. Дуже крутий гумор та спілкування героїв. Сміялась не один раз. Було досить гаряче і гарні сцени сексу. Мені дуже тіпало від колишнього героїні, авторка гарно пропрацювала божевілля цього виродка. Дещо не зайшло як героїня стала супер шпіонкою, прям трохи важко було повірити. Десь на 80 % мені стало скучно і слід було не затягувати книгу, тому знищила оцінку, бо останні сторінки я просто читала по діагоналі.

[Kaity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio: 5 stars for JF Harding and Chloe Ryan

Book: 4 stars

Even though this is the 4th book you can definitely read this as a standalone.

Thought this would be way more angst filled, but it was actually pretty fluffy and cute.

There was a little miscommunication which was annoying but quickly resolved.

Overall a great read!!

[Siobhan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. No major surprises with the story but just a really well-written, well-executed mature romance, chock full of emotion, heat, humor, and heart. Strong characterization with a well-developed friends-to-lovers romance. The sensitive themes were handled with care, sugarcoating nothing, but if you have DV and/or emotional and psychological abuse triggers, please check the content warning list. Loved it. Best book I've read in a long time, and I don't usually even read hockey romance as I'm not really a sports romance reader.

[StartledRaccoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @60%
Ooh boy! I had high expectations but this ended up being the 1st DNF of 2024. There were a few things I wish were handled differently but in any case I was bored out of my mind.

I've come to realise that some books are more tropes than plot and it doesn't work for me. There's also way too much focus on how the person looks and how that affects the other one. I don't mind physical descriptions, but they can't be the pillars of a relationship. Keep them vague and let the 2 characters connect through shared experiences.

The other thing that bothered me was how the abusive relationship was handled. Now, it's for the author to decide how serious the tone of the writing would be and I have no issues with that. But you can't just devote a considerable amount of time to an abusive partner and not show the emotional and physical ramifications on the victim. What annoyed me more was that the scenes depicting the abuse(both physical and mental) were descriptive and yet, Jordana's reaction (not during, but later on) was massively disproportionate. Camden stresses on her need for safety and regaining her freedom but Jordana treats it almost like a bad breakup rather than what it was- an abusive relationship.

I couldn't connect with either of the main characters and hence, I didn't care what was happening with these people. The constant push and pull of -'Oh I don't like him' 'no wait I do' 'no but I can't, we're just friends who fuck'- grated on my nerves. Well, on to the next one.

[Gyan ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad this series is over!
It was Sloane’s debut series and it’s possibly one of the best series I’ve read. So impressive!

Every book had strong characters, and a great plot.
Finishing with Camden & Jordan’s story was amazing! 🥰

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute 'n filthy hockey romance with some hurt/comfort and that trope where the sex-god hero shows the kink-curious heroine what she's been missing with her boring-in-the-bedroom ex. I did have to speed through the first few chapters when she was still with her ex because the gaslighting and emotional abuse (and eventually physical abuse) were hard to read.

I did enjoy Cam's struggle to realize he had feelings for her and that's why her easy agreement to no-strings FWB didn't sit well with him. He's always thinking he's got to warn her not to catch feelings, when he should've been looking in the mirror. Love that 'what is this feeling in my chest' trope.

Didn't love how everyone in the story was crazy rich and the heroine did things like donate 16 mil to the fucking Minneapolis PD to avoid getting (falsely) arrested.

[Catheryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't completely enjoy this book, I think the problem lies with me.

I thought Cam and Jordan were really funny and sweet together. Their friendship grew pretty effortlessly and was so funny. The spice started also pretty quickly. Most of the spice was..wow..pretty spicy. I did get frustrated with the 'we can't be together' because of *reasons*. I found this push/pull pretty annoying. I also thought that most of the book was pretty boring. The beginning grabbed my attention immediately but once they started hooking up, the story started to drag.

Overall, the spice was very nice and the story seemed like it could have been interesting but I was just bored for most of it.

[nat. ❦ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, solo llevaba 31 páginas y ya me dio asco, estoy segura que él tiene herpes

[Rhi · Rating 1 out of 5]

God gave me eyes and I abuse them.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
4 🌶️

holyfuckingshit.
i’m going to be honest, i read the first book of the series and i wasn’t sure i was going to continue the series because something happened that kind of turned me off to the series.
this was a book club pick, and I AM SO GLAD IT WAS PICKED.
this book does have some triggers, please check them out before reading.
jordan and cam were so beautiful together.
i normally don’t like the playboy trope toooo much but it was done SOOOO well.
jordan is a survivor of DV, and sloan st james did THE DAMN THING and this was so beautiful and amazingly done. there was a point where i wanted to cry because i feel like she just hit the nail on the head.
i love how jordan, while it’s what she went through, didn’t let it define her.
she’s strong, sassy, smart, literally EVERYTHING i could ask for in a female main character.
banksy was more than what meets the eye as well, he has a persona he hides behind but once you see his character you see his depth.
i loved these two so much, also not to mention their chemistry 😭 this book was soooo spicy lol beware if in public 💀