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Puck Struck #1
Wake Up, Nat & Darcy
Ex-lovers. Ex-rivals. New cohosts. Oh, puck.
Cut from the U.S. women’s hockey team right before her third chance at gold, Natalie Carpenter is scrambling for a plan that’ll help her avoid moving back home. The a guest hosting gig on Wake Up, USA’s winter games coverage. Her Darcy LaCroix, Nat’s ex-girlfriend, one-time college teammate turned adversary.
Since leaving Team Canada, Darcy has worked hard to make a name in broadcasting. If her big break requires sharing screen time with the former cocky freshman who turned her world upside down, so be it. At this point, there’s nothing between them except history.
But audiences disagree. #PuckingHotties is trending hard, and Nat and Darcy agree to lean into it...for ratings, obviously. It’s not like Nat can forget the way Darcy broke her heart or their bitter team rivalry.
Between working, traveling together, and that irresistible spark, it’s getting hard to separate what’s real and what’s for the camera. Because somewhere underneath everything that went wrong is the sneaking suspicion that nothing will ever feel quite this right again.
Cut from the U.S. women’s hockey team right before her third chance at gold, Natalie Carpenter is scrambling for a plan that’ll help her avoid moving back home. The a guest hosting gig on Wake Up, USA’s winter games coverage. Her Darcy LaCroix, Nat’s ex-girlfriend, one-time college teammate turned adversary.
Since leaving Team Canada, Darcy has worked hard to make a name in broadcasting. If her big break requires sharing screen time with the former cocky freshman who turned her world upside down, so be it. At this point, there’s nothing between them except history.
But audiences disagree. #PuckingHotties is trending hard, and Nat and Darcy agree to lean into it...for ratings, obviously. It’s not like Nat can forget the way Darcy broke her heart or their bitter team rivalry.
Between working, traveling together, and that irresistible spark, it’s getting hard to separate what’s real and what’s for the camera. Because somewhere underneath everything that went wrong is the sneaking suspicion that nothing will ever feel quite this right again.
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First published November 12, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 363 reviews
January 11, 2025
Rep: lesbian mcs
thought i could rate this one 2 stars but nope. this is, would you believe, a story about people in their mid fucking thirties, but actually it's a story about two emotionally immature adults who can't get over a very very brief fling that happened nearly 20 years previously and ended badly (darcy denied she was hooking up with nat, oh the horror. just have your argument and get over it, it's so not worth getting this hung up on). beyond that, there's very little else so it's just scene after scene of them trying out new sports and supposedly creating funny content for tv, split up by nat whining about how darcy hurt her, or darcy whining about how she hurt nat. there's also a subplot where darcy whines about how her famous last name (nhl playing father) is the only thing people see about her, not her own hard work. shocking. how could they do that to the nepo baby!
on top of this, it's not at all clear why nat & darcy are even attracted to one another (beyond physically, which makes my next point weird), and you can hardly feel it. there's no zip! no excitement! whenever one started lusting over the other they told themself off for being a pervert! where's the unrepentant horniness! where's the parts of the book that make your own stomach swoop! not to be found.
when the angst comes, it's just a rehashing of their issues from college: darcy finally gets her chance on comms but it requires her to "abandon" the partnership with nat — even though their part of the segments are over, even though there's nothing to say that anything more would have come of it, EVEN THOUGH NAT HAD NEVER HAD ANY INTEREST IN DOING TV WORK. their subsequent plans could so easily have been delayed — so nat has a strop and runs off but then each realises the other is more important than [select as appropriate] job/sulk/career and they reconcile because of course. all i'm saying is that if they had just once decided to clear the air between them when they were first brought together to work (like adults), then none of this would have happened! and certainly not for three hundred and seventy fucking three pages.
thought i could rate this one 2 stars but nope. this is, would you believe, a story about people in their mid fucking thirties, but actually it's a story about two emotionally immature adults who can't get over a very very brief fling that happened nearly 20 years previously and ended badly (darcy denied she was hooking up with nat, oh the horror. just have your argument and get over it, it's so not worth getting this hung up on). beyond that, there's very little else so it's just scene after scene of them trying out new sports and supposedly creating funny content for tv, split up by nat whining about how darcy hurt her, or darcy whining about how she hurt nat. there's also a subplot where darcy whines about how her famous last name (nhl playing father) is the only thing people see about her, not her own hard work. shocking. how could they do that to the nepo baby!
on top of this, it's not at all clear why nat & darcy are even attracted to one another (beyond physically, which makes my next point weird), and you can hardly feel it. there's no zip! no excitement! whenever one started lusting over the other they told themself off for being a pervert! where's the unrepentant horniness! where's the parts of the book that make your own stomach swoop! not to be found.
when the angst comes, it's just a rehashing of their issues from college: darcy finally gets her chance on comms but it requires her to "abandon" the partnership with nat — even though their part of the segments are over, even though there's nothing to say that anything more would have come of it, EVEN THOUGH NAT HAD NEVER HAD ANY INTEREST IN DOING TV WORK. their subsequent plans could so easily have been delayed — so nat has a strop and runs off but then each realises the other is more important than [select as appropriate] job/sulk/career and they reconcile because of course. all i'm saying is that if they had just once decided to clear the air between them when they were first brought together to work (like adults), then none of this would have happened! and certainly not for three hundred and seventy fucking three pages.
April 24, 2025
I received an ARC from Harlequin-Romance via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ok, so. I wouldn’t call this book terrible but there were a lot of things that made me unhappy.
1. This is a “second chance” romance. Yet, their initial romance happens off page and we only see them lusting after one another. I honestly can’t tell you why they liked each other aside from being hot.
2. This flowed into their current relationship. They were teammates who kinda sorta dated in college and became rivals. Now they’re being made into coworkers. But it’s been 15 years and they’re still hung up on each other?? Their college thing was barely anything and they just fall back into it. When they start hooking up I still can’t tell you why they liked each other beyond their looks.
3. I like romance in my romance and it was missing here.
4. Natalie was so immature and selfish that by the end I was hoping Darcy would run away with literally anyone else.
5. Miscommunication was used and relied on far too much. There are other ways to have conflicts!
🤷🏼♀️
I did find the antics at the Winter Olympics interesting and fun to read.
Ok, so. I wouldn’t call this book terrible but there were a lot of things that made me unhappy.
1. This is a “second chance” romance. Yet, their initial romance happens off page and we only see them lusting after one another. I honestly can’t tell you why they liked each other aside from being hot.
2. This flowed into their current relationship. They were teammates who kinda sorta dated in college and became rivals. Now they’re being made into coworkers. But it’s been 15 years and they’re still hung up on each other?? Their college thing was barely anything and they just fall back into it. When they start hooking up I still can’t tell you why they liked each other beyond their looks.
3. I like romance in my romance and it was missing here.
4. Natalie was so immature and selfish that by the end I was hoping Darcy would run away with literally anyone else.
5. Miscommunication was used and relied on far too much. There are other ways to have conflicts!
🤷🏼♀️
I did find the antics at the Winter Olympics interesting and fun to read.
April 22, 2024
I don’t think anyone is more disappointed than I am that this,,, was not very good.. I’d been looking forward to it since it was announced, but unfortunately just 20 pages in, I knew it was probably not going to live up to my expectations.
There were a number of things I struggled with, starting with a fairly strong dislike for both characters. Specifically, I was really annoyed by the way Darcy had all this famous last name angst, but there was never any acknowledgement of the inherent advantages she had because her dad was a famous hockey man, even if she worked hard and tried not to just take work given to her because of her famous dad. (There's also the fact that the famous last name in question is LaCroix and there was a line about no one in the US batting an eye at her name to which I have to say... that's a very popular drink???)
Another unfortunate thing was that I had absolutely no idea why Nat and Darcy were into each other, and not only was I not rooting for them, I was mostly just rooting for the book to be over.
Finally, this book mentioned the R*b L*we hockey movie. Ew. WTF. Rounding down to 2 stars for this.
There were a number of things I struggled with, starting with a fairly strong dislike for both characters. Specifically, I was really annoyed by the way Darcy had all this famous last name angst, but there was never any acknowledgement of the inherent advantages she had because her dad was a famous hockey man, even if she worked hard and tried not to just take work given to her because of her famous dad. (There's also the fact that the famous last name in question is LaCroix and there was a line about no one in the US batting an eye at her name to which I have to say... that's a very popular drink???)
Another unfortunate thing was that I had absolutely no idea why Nat and Darcy were into each other, and not only was I not rooting for them, I was mostly just rooting for the book to be over.
Finally, this book mentioned the R*b L*we hockey movie. Ew. WTF. Rounding down to 2 stars for this.
December 2, 2024
Alternate blurb: Two lesbians in their 30s with deep seeded emotional issues have to work through the hardest challenge of all: being emotionally mature at work around your very brief college fling
To Natalie: seek therapy to work on your abandonment issues. You had a fling with a college senior while you were a freshman and then acted like she committed the ultimate act of betrayal by deciding she (a 22 year old woman who was already on an Olympic team) didn't want to stay with you (an 18 year old who she fooled around with for a few months but never even went all the way with). I've noticed you are the one who always seems to be chasing her and putting more stock into the "relationship" than her.
To Darcy: tbh queen you didn't do anything that wrong and I think you need to consider that Natalie is obsessed with you. Don't apologize for putting work over your two week situationship. No need to feel bad that someone flirted with you and you didn't explicitly say you had a GF bc YOU ONLY HOOKED UP TWICE.
I hope you all enjoyed my rant, it felt cathartic on my end. Here's to hoping I find a good queer sports romance one day
To Natalie: seek therapy to work on your abandonment issues. You had a fling with a college senior while you were a freshman and then acted like she committed the ultimate act of betrayal by deciding she (a 22 year old woman who was already on an Olympic team) didn't want to stay with you (an 18 year old who she fooled around with for a few months but never even went all the way with). I've noticed you are the one who always seems to be chasing her and putting more stock into the "relationship" than her.
To Darcy: tbh queen you didn't do anything that wrong and I think you need to consider that Natalie is obsessed with you. Don't apologize for putting work over your two week situationship. No need to feel bad that someone flirted with you and you didn't explicitly say you had a GF bc YOU ONLY HOOKED UP TWICE.
I hope you all enjoyed my rant, it felt cathartic on my end. Here's to hoping I find a good queer sports romance one day
June 21, 2025
kinda corny but i love lesbians so i had fun
July 15, 2024
first off, the title and people on the cover do not fit image I have of Nat & Darcy - more masculine leaning, queer, hot babes. MUSCLES. These gals look like pals. Also, they are both former Olympian hockey players from Team USA & Team Canada, and I don't get that here either.
OKAY but the inside story? tons of fun. a second-chance former college secret sweethearts (for team dynamic reasons, not secretly closeted reasons) to rival Olympians and now coworkers creating sizzle reels for the upcoming Winter Olympic broadcast.
Darcy, Canadian, has been in sports news for awhile, and is looking for her big break. She's aghast when her former secret girlfriend and teammate, then Olympic (USA) rival is selected to be her on-camera partner. They haven't seen each other since squaring off in the Olympics, and now Natalie has ~just~ not made the cut for the current USA Women's Hockey Team. She's upset, but hopeful to at least be a part of the games in this way.
being made to look goofy and perform sports they have never tried before brings out both their competitive spirits and past feelings.
i had a lot of fun with this, darcy and nat have great chemistry and Nat is obviously still hurt by the way the older Darcy (senior when she was a freshman in college) hid their relationship. A bit scene-y with all the various sports they have to try, and I did sometimes get confused about who's POV i was in but that's mostly on me the reader.
Great fun, especially if you love competitive women who get dressed up in sexy suits for a gala and good steam!
thank you to the publisher for the ARC; LJ review to come.
OKAY but the inside story? tons of fun. a second-chance former college secret sweethearts (for team dynamic reasons, not secretly closeted reasons) to rival Olympians and now coworkers creating sizzle reels for the upcoming Winter Olympic broadcast.
Darcy, Canadian, has been in sports news for awhile, and is looking for her big break. She's aghast when her former secret girlfriend and teammate, then Olympic (USA) rival is selected to be her on-camera partner. They haven't seen each other since squaring off in the Olympics, and now Natalie has ~just~ not made the cut for the current USA Women's Hockey Team. She's upset, but hopeful to at least be a part of the games in this way.
being made to look goofy and perform sports they have never tried before brings out both their competitive spirits and past feelings.
i had a lot of fun with this, darcy and nat have great chemistry and Nat is obviously still hurt by the way the older Darcy (senior when she was a freshman in college) hid their relationship. A bit scene-y with all the various sports they have to try, and I did sometimes get confused about who's POV i was in but that's mostly on me the reader.
Great fun, especially if you love competitive women who get dressed up in sexy suits for a gala and good steam!
thank you to the publisher for the ARC; LJ review to come.
June 5, 2025
I love this book!
Nat & Darcy have a fun banter filled rivalry with a spicy backstory.
I really enjoyed following these ladies around while they worked on their feelings and had some shenanigans.
Much love to Harper Collins Canada for my copy.
Nat & Darcy have a fun banter filled rivalry with a spicy backstory.
I really enjoyed following these ladies around while they worked on their feelings and had some shenanigans.
Much love to Harper Collins Canada for my copy.
Read
June 15, 2024Start and finish on the same day …
I requested Wake Up, Nat & Darcy because Anita Kelly blurbed it. Unfortunately, it turns out that I like Anita's books more than this one. I didn't feel any click and therefore I decided to DNF at 21% instead of struggling through and giving a low rating.
Thank you, Carina Adores and NetGalley, for this ARC. Sadly, this one wasn’t for me.
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I requested Wake Up, Nat & Darcy because Anita Kelly blurbed it. Unfortunately, it turns out that I like Anita's books more than this one. I didn't feel any click and therefore I decided to DNF at 21% instead of struggling through and giving a low rating.
Thank you, Carina Adores and NetGalley, for this ARC. Sadly, this one wasn’t for me.
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September 15, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ Three-time Olympian Natalie Carpenter has never done anything wrong in her entire life and I will die on this hill
November 18, 2024
I can’t say I’m hating all the sapphic women’s hockey romances and second-chance, USA-Canada rivals-to-lovers is an easy sell for me.
And I enjoyed this. I really did. But my enjoyment (ie my heart) is warring with my brain because, well, there’s a lot in this novel that really doesn’t make sense. And the logical part of my brain just won’t let it go. I want to reiterate that, for every point I make below, I did enjoy this novel. But it’s probably not going to seem like it. Lol
Okay, the reasons why this whole book is ridiculous…
1. I’m not going to say this is Instalove, but Darcy and Natalie’s relationship develops off the page, with Natalie admitting to an instant crush on Darcy. I hate when I can’t see a romance develop! Natalie is a superstar freshman joining the (unspecified) NCAA team that Darcy, a superstar senior, captains. I never felt like I got to really know why they fell for each other all those years ago, which makes their present-day relationship no less baffling. They do have good chemistry, so there’s that.
2. No way is Natalie just given this job with Darcy (to do some TV and internet segments on various Winter Olympics sports). No way is the network making last-minute plans in a different country with two untested-in-front-of-the-camera people. That just doesn’t happen.
3. Darcy gets the break she’s always wanted and Natalie throws a fit because it doesn’t include her? Despite the fact that it’s an opportunity Natalie has no interest in? Despite the fact that Natalie knows how much Darcy wants this chance and how hard she’s worked for years for this? I’m sorry. This was drama for the sake of drama. Kate Cochrane tries to justify this using Natalie’s trauma from Darcy and Nat: The College Years but Cochrane plays that card too much and in too many places, like this example, that make no sense. This plot point almost ruined the whole book for me.
4. I was disappointed Darcy and Natalie’s college teammates disappeared from the present-day narrative. I wanted to see their reactions to Darcy and Natalie’s viral TV segments. It felt inauthentic to me, given their history, that it wasn’t there.
What does work here is the chemistry between Darcy and Natalie, which is why I think I ended up still being positive about the whole experience, but getting through this novel is going to require a lot of suspension of disbelief.
There’s very little hockey in this novel, which is fine by me. It’s not a super sports heavy sports book.
2.5 stars that I’m generously rounding up. I do think Cochrane has a lot of potential, though.
And I enjoyed this. I really did. But my enjoyment (ie my heart) is warring with my brain because, well, there’s a lot in this novel that really doesn’t make sense. And the logical part of my brain just won’t let it go. I want to reiterate that, for every point I make below, I did enjoy this novel. But it’s probably not going to seem like it. Lol
Okay, the reasons why this whole book is ridiculous…
1. I’m not going to say this is Instalove, but Darcy and Natalie’s relationship develops off the page, with Natalie admitting to an instant crush on Darcy. I hate when I can’t see a romance develop! Natalie is a superstar freshman joining the (unspecified) NCAA team that Darcy, a superstar senior, captains. I never felt like I got to really know why they fell for each other all those years ago, which makes their present-day relationship no less baffling. They do have good chemistry, so there’s that.
2. No way is Natalie just given this job with Darcy (to do some TV and internet segments on various Winter Olympics sports). No way is the network making last-minute plans in a different country with two untested-in-front-of-the-camera people. That just doesn’t happen.
3. Darcy gets the break she’s always wanted and Natalie throws a fit because it doesn’t include her? Despite the fact that it’s an opportunity Natalie has no interest in? Despite the fact that Natalie knows how much Darcy wants this chance and how hard she’s worked for years for this? I’m sorry. This was drama for the sake of drama. Kate Cochrane tries to justify this using Natalie’s trauma from Darcy and Nat: The College Years but Cochrane plays that card too much and in too many places, like this example, that make no sense. This plot point almost ruined the whole book for me.
4. I was disappointed Darcy and Natalie’s college teammates disappeared from the present-day narrative. I wanted to see their reactions to Darcy and Natalie’s viral TV segments. It felt inauthentic to me, given their history, that it wasn’t there.
What does work here is the chemistry between Darcy and Natalie, which is why I think I ended up still being positive about the whole experience, but getting through this novel is going to require a lot of suspension of disbelief.
There’s very little hockey in this novel, which is fine by me. It’s not a super sports heavy sports book.
2.5 stars that I’m generously rounding up. I do think Cochrane has a lot of potential, though.
November 12, 2024
Wake Up, Nat and Darcy is a fantastic friends-to-lovers-to-rivals-to-lovers second chance romcom by Kate Cochrane. Interspersed flashbacks help us understand Natalie and Darcy's history as they build a new future. The story grabs your attention from the very beginning. I love their personalities. Their snarky banter and sexual tension are highly entertaining. Cochrane balanced the comedy with their realistic personal struggles. I laughed, and I felt their passion for one another. Great chemistry and backstory make for a believable organic relationship in the present. I rooted for them the whole time, even through the stubborn, misunderstanding-induced third-act separation. I love that the story revolved around their involvement in ice hockey and the Olympics.
This book had me smiling and giggling. It is now on my favorites list. That is not to say that it is perfect. I enjoyed the ending for the most part but found some bits to be a little cliché. Still, I came away with a happy feeling and will now buy the physical copy for my trophy shelf.
I recommend it for a fun, spicy, good time. I am giving it a 4.5 rounded up.
#rivalstolovers #secondchance #romcom #icehockey #olympics #TeamCanada #TeamUSA #TVanchor #mainsover30 #athletes #HEA
I received a free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.
This book had me smiling and giggling. It is now on my favorites list. That is not to say that it is perfect. I enjoyed the ending for the most part but found some bits to be a little cliché. Still, I came away with a happy feeling and will now buy the physical copy for my trophy shelf.
I recommend it for a fun, spicy, good time. I am giving it a 4.5 rounded up.
#rivalstolovers #secondchance #romcom #icehockey #olympics #TeamCanada #TeamUSA #TVanchor #mainsover30 #athletes #HEA
I received a free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.
June 8, 2024
Wake Up, Nat & Darcy is an enjoyable read with witty dialogue and a compelling premise. The American/Canadian rivalry between two ex-pro hockey players adds an intriguing layer to their romance. The TV segment framework provides a unique and entertaining backdrop, resulting in many funny situations that had me giggling.
However, the novel could have benefited from a tighter edit. There was some repetition, and the over-reliance on miscommunication as a plot device felt frustrating at times. The final conflict seemed forced and juvenile, detracting from my overall enjoyment of this novel.
Despite these flaws, the book's strengths in character dynamics and humour make it a worthwhile read. With a bit more focus and refinement, it could have been even better. Fans of light-hearted romance with a touch of drama will find it an entertaining addition to their reading list.
Many thanks to Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores and Netgalley for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
However, the novel could have benefited from a tighter edit. There was some repetition, and the over-reliance on miscommunication as a plot device felt frustrating at times. The final conflict seemed forced and juvenile, detracting from my overall enjoyment of this novel.
Despite these flaws, the book's strengths in character dynamics and humour make it a worthwhile read. With a bit more focus and refinement, it could have been even better. Fans of light-hearted romance with a touch of drama will find it an entertaining addition to their reading list.
Many thanks to Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores and Netgalley for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2025
72 chapters was too many chapters. I thought about putting this book down so many times but I powered through for the love of hockey and lesbians. The concept and the overarching plot were fun, but the writing left something to be desired. So much telling, and repetition. No stone left unturned, which eliminated any sort of suspense or momentum. I still might read the sequel when it comes out because I think this author has a lot of potential, she just needs some time to cook.
December 31, 2024
disappointed… they were RETIRED (that was in the blurb but i was still upset at the lack of hockey). miscommunication trope was overused.
side note: no canadian sings our national anthem that much!!!
side note: no canadian sings our national anthem that much!!!
April 6, 2025
nat and darcy need to wake up and get a grip
November 10, 2025
The premisse of this was so incredibly fun, but I don't think the book lived up to it. I'm not one to easily get annoyed about miscommunication, but the lack of communication between Nat and Darcy became so annoying so quickly, and it made the book feel so repetitive because they kept going in circles. I will say this was a quick read and I did have fun to some extent, so I don't want to give it 2 stars.
February 14, 2024
Natalie and Darcy forever
Want to read
February 18, 2024everyone, remain calm.... but we're getting a SAPPHIC HOCKEY ROMANCE! 😭
September 14, 2024
3.5 rounded up for now…full review coming
January 9, 2025
I really enjoyed this! Not read many sapphic sports romances but definitely enjoyed any more!
Second chances, old teammates, workplace romance, dual timelines. It’s written in third person with 2x POVs. 3x spicy scenes. Audiobook was really good! Narrated by the amazing Jeremy Carlisle Parker!
Second chances, old teammates, workplace romance, dual timelines. It’s written in third person with 2x POVs. 3x spicy scenes. Audiobook was really good! Narrated by the amazing Jeremy Carlisle Parker!
April 27, 2024
As a women’s hockey fan, I was curious about and terrified of this book. The setup is somewhat cookie-cutter: Darcy is a retired Canadian hockey player with multiple gold medals and Nat is a recently retired American hockey player with one gold medal. They were rivals who fought on the ice and hated each other but also had something going on when they were on the same team in university.
The problem is that so much of this book depends on buying into the chemistry and it didn’t land for me. The USA/Canadian rivalry used to be something special. It was intense, chaotic, and messy. I think sports have changed recently, not quite a softening nor necessarily a negative, but the intensity stays on the ice and doesn’t really carry over. This book wants to be based in a universe where players hate each other and it doesn’t waver, and that hatred burns so brightly that it transforms into something else entirely. I think my issue is that the hatred didn’t come first. The dual timelines didn’t work for me either. In one, they’re both retired and in their 30s, working on a morning TV show for an American broadcast during the Olympics and in the other, Nat is a freshman and Darcy is the senior Captain of a university team. The contrast didn’t add anything and their hatred for each other felt very put on. I could understand why they might hate each other or want to pretend to hate each other, but I never really bought into the emotion of it. They didn’t have chemistry in either section, but it relies on the past to ~prove they have chemistry and falls flat.
The writing lends itself to tell not show, making sure that every little hint is impossible to miss. It’s a common complaint I have with f/f romance novels, but it still reads really juvenile. Both characters are in their 30s in the second timeline sections, but it doesn’t feel like it. It really leans into “chirping” but most of them sound like insults a 13-year-old boy in house league would come up with. It’s a romance, so I know not to expect any sort of real complexity of being an adult, but everything was so simplified that it ended up being boring. Darcy worrying about her NHL famous father being the reason everyone else provides for her success felt overblown and didn’t tie well into Natalie teasing her for being a “princess” and “hockey royalty” but also being the one person to confirm that she knows Darcy did work hard and ~deserves~ her success.
The plot career-wise didn’t really make sense to me and I know part of it is required for the drama of their developing relationship, but it also was so illogical and unrealistic that I didn’t care about the outcome at all. Natalie’s reaction didn’t add up for me when she said her career goals were different than Darcy’s. There were smaller details that I found weird: so many references to Canadian stereotypes (“Did you just tell me I was good? I didn’t think Canadians were allowed to compliment us. I thought they’d come swooping in and take away your Timbits.”), Natalie forgetting the names of players who were her literal teammates weeks ago when she was their /captain/ at one point, and every single one of Natalie’s reactions in the last quarter of the book.
The first half of this book was readable, but the last section when Natalie throws a fit ruined the rest of it for me. It was inexplicable and a weird overreaction that I entirely lost interest in their relationship.
Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The problem is that so much of this book depends on buying into the chemistry and it didn’t land for me. The USA/Canadian rivalry used to be something special. It was intense, chaotic, and messy. I think sports have changed recently, not quite a softening nor necessarily a negative, but the intensity stays on the ice and doesn’t really carry over. This book wants to be based in a universe where players hate each other and it doesn’t waver, and that hatred burns so brightly that it transforms into something else entirely. I think my issue is that the hatred didn’t come first. The dual timelines didn’t work for me either. In one, they’re both retired and in their 30s, working on a morning TV show for an American broadcast during the Olympics and in the other, Nat is a freshman and Darcy is the senior Captain of a university team. The contrast didn’t add anything and their hatred for each other felt very put on. I could understand why they might hate each other or want to pretend to hate each other, but I never really bought into the emotion of it. They didn’t have chemistry in either section, but it relies on the past to ~prove they have chemistry and falls flat.
The writing lends itself to tell not show, making sure that every little hint is impossible to miss. It’s a common complaint I have with f/f romance novels, but it still reads really juvenile. Both characters are in their 30s in the second timeline sections, but it doesn’t feel like it. It really leans into “chirping” but most of them sound like insults a 13-year-old boy in house league would come up with. It’s a romance, so I know not to expect any sort of real complexity of being an adult, but everything was so simplified that it ended up being boring. Darcy worrying about her NHL famous father being the reason everyone else provides for her success felt overblown and didn’t tie well into Natalie teasing her for being a “princess” and “hockey royalty” but also being the one person to confirm that she knows Darcy did work hard and ~deserves~ her success.
The plot career-wise didn’t really make sense to me and I know part of it is required for the drama of their developing relationship, but it also was so illogical and unrealistic that I didn’t care about the outcome at all. Natalie’s reaction didn’t add up for me when she said her career goals were different than Darcy’s. There were smaller details that I found weird: so many references to Canadian stereotypes (“Did you just tell me I was good? I didn’t think Canadians were allowed to compliment us. I thought they’d come swooping in and take away your Timbits.”), Natalie forgetting the names of players who were her literal teammates weeks ago when she was their /captain/ at one point, and every single one of Natalie’s reactions in the last quarter of the book.
The first half of this book was readable, but the last section when Natalie throws a fit ruined the rest of it for me. It was inexplicable and a weird overreaction that I entirely lost interest in their relationship.
Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Adores for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 11, 2025
Nat and Darcy had a secret fling in college when they were hockey teammates. 15 years later, after they became rivals on Team USA and Team Canada, they’re both retired and have to work together on a morning show’s Olympic broadcasts. Will old flames reignite or are the past hurts too much to overcome?
*Sigh* This ended up being a bit of a letdown. First off, these women didn’t feel like they were in their mid to late 30s. The ways they were acting and how hung up they still were on each other felt more like the book should’ve been set 5 years after their college romance instead of 15 years after. And a lot of their conflicts just felt overblown instead of something more grounded and believable.
I did like the plot of them having to figure out what to do with their lives after their hockey careers are over. And the bit about them having to lean into their chemistry on air to add fuel to online shippers was fun. But for the most part I just found this to be pretty lackluster.
*Sigh* This ended up being a bit of a letdown. First off, these women didn’t feel like they were in their mid to late 30s. The ways they were acting and how hung up they still were on each other felt more like the book should’ve been set 5 years after their college romance instead of 15 years after. And a lot of their conflicts just felt overblown instead of something more grounded and believable.
I did like the plot of them having to figure out what to do with their lives after their hockey careers are over. And the bit about them having to lean into their chemistry on air to add fuel to online shippers was fun. But for the most part I just found this to be pretty lackluster.
November 3, 2024
This was such a fun little romp! If you are craving Olympics related content still this book will be right up your alley. The banter between the two main characters is great and the author does a wonderful job of executing enemies to lovers. As a connoisseur of hockey romance I’m honestly shocked that this is the second sapphic hockey romance I’ve read. I hope that lots of folks pick up this book so that the genre can grow. However, both of the MCs are retired players so there isn’t much on page playing of hockey but the hockey culture is definitely there. I’m excited to see whatever this author puts out next, hopefully it’ll be more sapphic hockey romance.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
June 10, 2025
omg this was aggravating. i basically skim read the last 20% cause they so shouldn’t have got together. if you can’t communicate AT ALL, and you’re that petty about things, maybe consider that a long term relationship so would not work. they were so immature, nat especially. like i can’t even describe how annoying these characters were. and apparently they were meant to be in their mid-late thirties and im being so fr, i’m more mature at 21. frustrating book.
some other review said something along the lines of “not rooting for them, but rooting for the book to be over” and yeah! accurate!
some other review said something along the lines of “not rooting for them, but rooting for the book to be over” and yeah! accurate!
November 21, 2024
my mother always said “if you don’t have anything nice to say, it’s better to not say anything at all”
February 3, 2025
say it with me folks: this needed more sports!
Read
October 27, 2024Wake Up, Nat & Darcy is an Adult Romance novel great for lovers of hockey romances!
{Former lovers and hockey rivals must work together on a morning show covering the Olympic Games}
Nat and Darcy have nailed the art of shit talking. I can only imagine their intensity on the ice, but they didn’t disappoint when it came to the banter as reluctant coworkers.
If you love second chance romances or rivals-to-lovers, then you should check this one out!
Pub Date: November 12th, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for a copy of this eARC.
{Former lovers and hockey rivals must work together on a morning show covering the Olympic Games}
Nat and Darcy have nailed the art of shit talking. I can only imagine their intensity on the ice, but they didn’t disappoint when it came to the banter as reluctant coworkers.
If you love second chance romances or rivals-to-lovers, then you should check this one out!
Pub Date: November 12th, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for a copy of this eARC.
November 16, 2024
(rounded up from 3.5)
This was a fun, light hockey romance with two former Olympians and national hockey team players coming back together to work on TV. I enjoyed it but the chemistry was a bit lacking and the problems were, frankly, not sufficient to merit never having had a proper conversation for a decade despite regularly playing against each other in high-stakes situations. The characters are enjoyable but I didn't really feel like they had distinct voices so they feel a bit interchangeable in their POV chapters.
Overall, fun and light but nothing special for me, unfortunately.
This was a fun, light hockey romance with two former Olympians and national hockey team players coming back together to work on TV. I enjoyed it but the chemistry was a bit lacking and the problems were, frankly, not sufficient to merit never having had a proper conversation for a decade despite regularly playing against each other in high-stakes situations. The characters are enjoyable but I didn't really feel like they had distinct voices so they feel a bit interchangeable in their POV chapters.
Overall, fun and light but nothing special for me, unfortunately.
July 6, 2025
I'M FREE FROM THIS BOOK!!! I'M FREE!
Where to begin? My thoughts are going to be in a list, in no particular order, because this book fried my brain cells.
1. The entire book was "telling" instead of "showing". Everything was presented to us as a fact, and I couldn't even try to infer anything.
2. The author really tried to shove every relationship dynamic in here from rookie/idol, friends, teammates in a secret relationship, enemies, enemies-to-lovers. We get it. Unfortunately, I didn't feel an ounce of chemistry at any time of their relationship.
3. The fucking lack of communication was driving me crazy. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I love miscommunication. I love a You've Got Mail-AU. I love a secret identity. Anything with a miscommunication. This? There wasn't even miscommunication, because there was no communication. Natalie had her head up her ass and Darcy was just stupid. Natalie overreacted to everything. And no one communicated with each other. They both just jumped on each other's throats all the time. Insufferable. And no communication ever.
4. The fact that each chapter was like 3 pages long was driving me crazy. Please. You wrote a book. Use your words.
5. The third act breakup (spoiler, there's a third act breakup with like 65 pages left) was so stupid. Darcy took a job that she's been talking about all book. The only thing I confidently could tell you about Darcy right now is that she wanted to be a TV commentator for hockey, and she got the job with like 10% of the book left. And Natalie flipped out because she wasn't offered the same job (she didn't want to be on TV!!!! she said this multiple times!!!! she wanted to be a coach!!!!) and also the one single hockey game Darcy was commenting on -- the OLYMPIC GAME -- was at the same time as a trip Natalie planned and never brought up again after planning it. So they stopped talking to each other for a whole day over this.
6. I really need to reiterate the fact that there was no chemistry between these people.
7. The entire college relationship was 15 years ago, why are you both so hung up on this? Also all of the college POV chapters annoyed me. Unclear why, but I was so thankful when they ended. Let's be clear, the entire breakup that occurred in college was Darcy not telling a teammate she was hooking up with Natalie. (To be clear, I think they just made out a lot, I don't think they even had sex at this point.) She said she would "never" fall for Natalie, or something equally stupid. Natalie overreacts (as is the norm), doesn't communicate (equally the norm), and they pined after each other for the better half of two decades over this.... Grow up.
8. Every fucking chapter we were reminded of Darcy's really famous dad (he played in the NHL, unclear if he won any MVPs, any titles, anything.... we just know he's famous). And every chapter she waxed poetic about how she didn't want to get things just because of who her dad is. Why can't nepo-babies just embrace their nepo-baby-ness? Own it, you're getting special treatment when you go into the same field as your famous parents. Could be doors opened for you, could be people following you because of your parent. But you're still getting special treatment, no matter how much you whined about not wanting it.
9. The sex scene was bad. Don't even get me started. One of them (unsure which because they're both the same bland shade of lackluster) asked the other to finger her and immediately came the second the other one was inside. It was over before it even started. Just bad.
10. Natalie was just so fucking annoying that I didn't even want them to end up together.
11. This isn't even about the content of the book but the cover is so terrible. Give me buff, muscular, hockey players on the cover. Who are these skinny minny women? Where are the muscles? You spend paragraphs telling me about how muscular one of their thighs are, how big their asses are, muscles muscles muscles muscles. Who are these girls on the cover? They've never even seen a gym before in their lives. GOD.
Natalie, seek therapy. Darcy, it's not too late to break up with her. But also, seek therapy.
Where to begin? My thoughts are going to be in a list, in no particular order, because this book fried my brain cells.
1. The entire book was "telling" instead of "showing". Everything was presented to us as a fact, and I couldn't even try to infer anything.
2. The author really tried to shove every relationship dynamic in here from rookie/idol, friends, teammates in a secret relationship, enemies, enemies-to-lovers. We get it. Unfortunately, I didn't feel an ounce of chemistry at any time of their relationship.
3. The fucking lack of communication was driving me crazy. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I love miscommunication. I love a You've Got Mail-AU. I love a secret identity. Anything with a miscommunication. This? There wasn't even miscommunication, because there was no communication. Natalie had her head up her ass and Darcy was just stupid. Natalie overreacted to everything. And no one communicated with each other. They both just jumped on each other's throats all the time. Insufferable. And no communication ever.
4. The fact that each chapter was like 3 pages long was driving me crazy. Please. You wrote a book. Use your words.
5. The third act breakup (spoiler, there's a third act breakup with like 65 pages left) was so stupid. Darcy took a job that she's been talking about all book. The only thing I confidently could tell you about Darcy right now is that she wanted to be a TV commentator for hockey, and she got the job with like 10% of the book left. And Natalie flipped out because she wasn't offered the same job (she didn't want to be on TV!!!! she said this multiple times!!!! she wanted to be a coach!!!!) and also the one single hockey game Darcy was commenting on -- the OLYMPIC GAME -- was at the same time as a trip Natalie planned and never brought up again after planning it. So they stopped talking to each other for a whole day over this.
6. I really need to reiterate the fact that there was no chemistry between these people.
7. The entire college relationship was 15 years ago, why are you both so hung up on this? Also all of the college POV chapters annoyed me. Unclear why, but I was so thankful when they ended. Let's be clear, the entire breakup that occurred in college was Darcy not telling a teammate she was hooking up with Natalie. (To be clear, I think they just made out a lot, I don't think they even had sex at this point.) She said she would "never" fall for Natalie, or something equally stupid. Natalie overreacts (as is the norm), doesn't communicate (equally the norm), and they pined after each other for the better half of two decades over this.... Grow up.
8. Every fucking chapter we were reminded of Darcy's really famous dad (he played in the NHL, unclear if he won any MVPs, any titles, anything.... we just know he's famous). And every chapter she waxed poetic about how she didn't want to get things just because of who her dad is. Why can't nepo-babies just embrace their nepo-baby-ness? Own it, you're getting special treatment when you go into the same field as your famous parents. Could be doors opened for you, could be people following you because of your parent. But you're still getting special treatment, no matter how much you whined about not wanting it.
9. The sex scene was bad. Don't even get me started. One of them (unsure which because they're both the same bland shade of lackluster) asked the other to finger her and immediately came the second the other one was inside. It was over before it even started. Just bad.
10. Natalie was just so fucking annoying that I didn't even want them to end up together.
11. This isn't even about the content of the book but the cover is so terrible. Give me buff, muscular, hockey players on the cover. Who are these skinny minny women? Where are the muscles? You spend paragraphs telling me about how muscular one of their thighs are, how big their asses are, muscles muscles muscles muscles. Who are these girls on the cover? They've never even seen a gym before in their lives. GOD.
Natalie, seek therapy. Darcy, it's not too late to break up with her. But also, seek therapy.
November 20, 2024
2,5
I enjoyed this overall.
But I feel like I would have loved more flashbacks to college. The few ones that we had, just wasn’t enough for me to feel like they were in love?? I was kind of missing something and it felt a bit instalove to me.. I had absolutely no idea why there were into each other. I also felt like the conflict in college as well as the one happening at the end of the book, was the exact same. Also hated the miscommunication, especially from Natalie. imo her behavior was very childish despite being a grown up woman. Darcy also had this famous last name thing going on. It pretty much was her entire personality. I also feel like the ending was a bit too convenient? Idk if that’s the right word. Lastly, there were some cringy bits in terms of dialogue that gave me the ick.
With this said, I still enjoyed this read! Just nothing special in my opinion, but I had a good time and I really liked the audio book!
I enjoyed this overall.
But I feel like I would have loved more flashbacks to college. The few ones that we had, just wasn’t enough for me to feel like they were in love?? I was kind of missing something and it felt a bit instalove to me.. I had absolutely no idea why there were into each other. I also felt like the conflict in college as well as the one happening at the end of the book, was the exact same. Also hated the miscommunication, especially from Natalie. imo her behavior was very childish despite being a grown up woman. Darcy also had this famous last name thing going on. It pretty much was her entire personality. I also feel like the ending was a bit too convenient? Idk if that’s the right word. Lastly, there were some cringy bits in terms of dialogue that gave me the ick.
With this said, I still enjoyed this read! Just nothing special in my opinion, but I had a good time and I really liked the audio book!
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