Crash The Net

The Breakaway Love Series #2

by L.C. Reagan

Sarah Chen has rules. Nico Slater was born to break them.

As the Titans’ fiercely organized operations manager, Sarah’s job is to keep the chaos contained—on and off the ice. When the team signs Nico Slater, a dangerously talented right wing with a trail of scandals in his wake, she’s tasked with keeping him in line.

Nico doesn’t care about rules. But the more Sarah pushes, the more he wants to unravel her. And the more she tries to resist, the closer they both come to losing control.

What starts as tension turns into something neither of them can ignore. But falling for the league’s most notorious bad boy could ruin Sarah’s career—and Nico’s shot at redemption.

A slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers hockey romance set in the Breakaway Love series. Standalone HEA. No cheating. No cliffhanger.

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2025

About the author

L.C. Reagan writes contemporary romances about powerful women, irresistible men, and the kind of forbidden tension that keeps you up all night.

A former book publisher turned storyteller, she’s obsessed with slow burns, scandalous chemistry, and happily ever afters that are worth the fight. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her binging true crime documentaries, wandering a bookstore, or planning her next fictional escape.

L.C. lives for broken rules, high stakes, and the delicious chaos of falling in love when you’re supposed to know better.

Be sure to follow L.C. on BookBub so you can be alerted of her newest releases! https://bit.ly/46WH0vz

Reviews

[VeroniCanReadIt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did almost *too* good of a job making Nico, the male love interest, too much of a jerk at first. I almost didn't want them to get together because of how annoying he was but as the layers fell away and the characters reveal more of themselves, you see their softer sides and vulnerabilities and just fall in love.

While the female main character, Sarah, is who she is and is always taking the blame for what the players (and Nico) do... I get it. It's literally her job and you love to see the emotional and professional growth!

For fans of:
- enemies to lovers
- workplace romance
- hockey romance
- professional woman
- bad boy
- forbidden romance
- slow burn

This is book 2 in a series but can also be read as a standalone.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. As always, all ratings, opinions, and reviews are honest and my own!

[Lynn_G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hockey team manager Sarah is unhappy to have a newly acquired troublemaker added to the roster of players she’s in charge of herding like wayward cats. Of course it doesn’t help that she’s incredibly attracted to him and that he defends her against the sexist creeps in their orbit. She’s supposed to maintain a professional distance from all the players, but Sarah’s unable to keep Nico at arm’s length.

While there’s quite a bit of tension between them, it’s not exactly an enemies to lovers story. Additionally, it’s a closed door romance rather than spicy, and I prefer open door.

I received an advance reader copy from booksirens, and I’m sharing my honest review.

[Cait's Reading Nook · Rating 4 out of 5]

L.C. Reagan’s Crash the Net continues The Breakaway Love Series with Sarah and Nico’s story.

Sarah is the operations manager of the Titans and Nico plays right wing. He has a reputation and Sarah is tasked with managing his reputation.

The chemistry and tension between them builds while Sarah tries to push away her feelings. Nico, however, is ready to put it all on the line.

I thought the novel presents well the maturity of Sarah and Nico’s conversations in discussing their relationship. They both understood the stakes, and Nico reminding her that it’s her choice to want to be with him. The pace of the novel is well-done as a slow burn that keeps the reader drawn in to the story.

I recommend this book for readers who enjoy opposites attract, slow burn, forbidden romance, and sport romances.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Teri Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no doubt the MMC has issues in this story. The FMC is supposed to handle him. Parts of this book were really intense. And, a few parts made me emotional. Once they got past a few things the two main characters had great communication and rapport. This book was really in depth. I loved what he was willing to do for her. But, as in the first book in this series, the woman’s behavior stands out and not the man’s behavior. It gets worked out and they handle it, but still remains true that there is a double standard. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved this book and would definitely recommend this novella.

[Black Widow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much L.C.Reagan for the ARC !

This is the second book in the Breakaway Love series.

This is about Sarah, who is the operations manager of the Titans hockey team. She is tasked with overseeing the new hockey player Nicco. He has a bad reputation, and she is trying to get him to straighten up. You get to watch her slowly open him up and figure out why he is the way he is.

This is a great slow burn, hockey romance, forbidden lovers, workplace romance.

[JoAnna VanDorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a boring clean romance. Closed door romance. And barely any drama at all. Lots of time gaps with the book. Could have been better. Third person POV.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cynthia Woodham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crash and Burn

This one is perfect for those who love good enemies to lovers storyline. This one was as good as the first one.