Puck Face: A Rivals to Lovers College Hockey Romance

by Nomi Cane

“What do you want, f**kface?”

I would rather die than be seen anywhere with Lively Summers. Sure, most girls at my college would kill to be noticed by the six-foot, solid-muscled, cocky bastard, but not me. I saw through that slimy charm of his from the start, and I know for a fact that he’s nothing but a goddamn bully—the blue-eyed jerk has had it in for me since freshman year.

When I find out his team will be sharing our rink for the next month, my patience just about runs out—I can’t stand the thought of seeing his annoying face every day. He’s been poking at me for years, and I don’t intend to hold back anymore; if he wants a fight, I’ll happily give him war.




There she is, my little Hailstorm.

I would die for Hailey Baleman. Sure, most guys would run the other way when they met those frost-touched brown eyes, but not me. Hell, my friends already think I’ve got some sort of humiliation kink, but I’ve seen that beautiful, cold face melt into the most adorable smile before, and I would do anything to see her swing that smile my way—I’ve had it bad for her since freshman year.

When I find out I’m finally going to be in close quarters with her for the next month, I know I can’t let this opportunity pass me by. I’ve been circling the fringes of her orbit for years, and I don’t intend to hold back anymore. There’s just one thing I want from her heart, and I intend to love her into giving it to me.

🏒 Forced Proximity.
🏒 Dual POV.
🏒 Banter so sharp, it's basically foreplay.
🏒 Rival Team Captains.
🏒 Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine.
🏒 He Falls First and Harder.
🏒 Rivals to Lovers.
🏒 Boy obsessed.
🏒 He yearns (rather pathetically, too).
🌶️ She hates his guts, he wants to rearrange her guts (respectfully, of course).
🔥 Slow burn to spicy payoff.

Get ready for rivals-to-lovers slow-burn tension with payoff, locker room shenanigans, and one sunshine boy determined to melt his ice queen. Perfect for fans of Becka Mack, Liz Tomforde, and Elle Kennedy. Can be read as a complete standalone.

___________________________________________________________________________

THIS IS A REVISED VERSION OF A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED BOOK.

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

562 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review. This is a slow burn enemies to lovers college hockey romance. This isn’t your typical hockey romance though. In this case you have a puppy dog MMC and a more dominant FMC, and both are captain of their hockey teams. Lively has been in love with Hailey since the first time he saw her, but she doesn’t realize that. Hailey thinks Lively bullies her the whole time so she hates him. While this isn’t the spiciest hockey romance I’ve read, when it does happen it definitely doesn’t let you down. I look forward to hopefully reading more from this author!

[Stephanie Keijzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this sports romance. This big boy (yes 546 pages) isn't a quick read but so worth it. And if you expect insta love than think again because it is a slow slow slow slow slow burn. It was not really a enemies to lovers, but more like a enemie to lover. Because dear Lively (MMC) was sooo pining and yearning for the FMC Hailey it was out of this world. He is truly a golden retriever MMC and I loved him. Also loved Hailey. Yeah she is a ice queen and maybe not the nicest person in the world, but it's just a defense mechanisme.

So about the story📚
Lively and Hailey both play ice hockey in college. The teams hate each other over an accident that happened a year ago. But because of renovations in the men hockey rink they have to share the girls rink to train. Hailey and Lively are both captains. Lively is secretly in love with Hailey for many years, but she hates his guts. Can he melt her heart?

📚 Slowburn
📚 Sports romance
📚 Yearning and pining
📚 Golden retriever MMC
📚 Past trauma
📚 Found family

Favorite quotes📖✍

"You done analyzing my love life, Vice Captain? Dylan snorted. Oh, love life. Right. Is that what we're calling it now?"

"I don't have a face for that. Oh, you do. You have a whole lot of different faces, and all of them are damn hot."

"I was beginning to seriously contemplate intentional bodily harm if I could get her to look at me like that."

"If you pick up girls with those cringe worthy lines, then I am ashamed to be called a girl."

"God, she was beautifull when she was angry, which was good for me, because she was always angry with me."

[Lucy B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puckpace is a college hockey enimies to lovers story but with a puppydog mmc and a dominant fmc.
The main characters are both lonely surrounded by people because they can't let them in for their own emotional survival. Watch them break down each others walls and find eachother, its heatbreaking, cringy, funny, and wholesome. You'll feel a ton of second-hand embarrassment.

Hailey is a headstrong independent young woman trying to support everyone else, not letting her self ask anything from others, with a sister with a chronic illness, its devastating that she tries to do it alone and very emotional when she lets others in.
(When she and karen are in the kitchen brought me to tears.)

Lively is a witty sunshine of a person, always trying to make others happy and brightens up the room like a labrador. Despite his shitty parents ge doesnt let it affect how he treats others. you can see he genuinely cares about everyone he meets unless given a reason to not play nice. He's also embarrassingly so in love with her that you definitely will cringe.

I found that the internal monologue was a lot for my personal preference, which was the only downside i found. i found it hard to get into, but by a quarter of a way, i was invested and was rooting for them.

[Kirstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a first-time reader of a hockey romance, I didn't know what to expect going in to this ARC read...but I absolutely fell in love with these characters. A FMC who had so much rich development, a MMC who was an absolute golden retriever energy...and the teammates that completed and added to the the depth and drama of it all...delish!

[Kristen Stier · Rating 4 out of 5]

If slow burn is your thing this is def your book! 82% in & finally they get together. I was dyingggggg! But other than the absolute insanely slow burn it was a good book 😹

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So incredibly honoured to have been chosen to ARC read this book .The story line and characters had me hooked from the opening and keep me wanting to read more!! With every page I wanted to dive more into the characters realm and be along the story with them. Puck Face is hands down one of my favourite reads for 2025
10/10

[Migla M · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH. MY. GOD. This book was so so good!!!!!! I loved it so much, if I could I'd give it more than 5 stars I would've given it. I'm so happy and thankful to have been given the chance to arc read this amazing book!!!!

First of all the - the man that you are Lively Summers. Oh my god. I melted from the first chapter of his. That yearning, that longing, that wanting, that admiring, that goofy golden retriever energy of his won me over so quickly. I loooved how he fell first and harder for Hailey, how he watched for years from the sidelines, just waiting to get a glimpse of her, making witty comments and bantering with her, so that she could finally spare him a glance, a minute of her time. Damn. This man is so adorable, has a heart of gold, funny and warm personality, great leadership skills and responsibility, filthy mouth and skilled tongue. And those spicy moments, where we could see what he AND she was into... Phew! That was insanely hot. I just loved how after everything he was such a perfect human being, that even when it was hard and embarrassing and painful he still was true to himself and his feelings, tried to express himself as best as he could, though there were a few misunderstandings along the way. And the fact that Lively was still thinking so lowly of himself, felt so unworthy of Hailey and her love, definitely broke my heart. But I loved how slowly they melded each others cracks and insecurities, helping to grow to a more beautiful people. Another thing that I loved about him was how he was sooo supportive of Hailey, her career path, passion, was rooting for her and taking care of her on and off ice, how he felt when he watched her be cool and so professional on ice, heh, iykyk ;)

Now Hailey was this perfect example of strong, talented, hard working female lead, who didn't take anyone's sh-t, was always trying her hardest in everything, while also showing that even h=she was still struggling with some issues and insecurities. I especially loved her grumpy character, like she would be this ice queen, but with right people and right times she would be the bestest, amazing friend, sister, daughter, lover, captain, you name it. I liked how she little by little grew out of her shell, with help from her annoying rival. Their banter, witty and sassy, but at the same time sexy comments and quips about each other were soooo hilarious, delicious and wholesome. I inhaled this book so fast, I just couldn't stop reading, and this was one of the reasons. Their chemistry was so good, and they fit for each other perfectly. Two afraid souls to be loved and accepted still strive to take that one step towards their happiness even through uncertainty.

I absolutely recommend "Puck face" for those who loooove hockey romance, where both MMCs are playing hockey and are captains of their teams, forced proximity, rivals to lovers, found family, he falls first and harder, yearning mmc, reverse grumpy sunshine tropes, banter so sexy and delicious, chemistry so good and perfect that you're going to fall in love with it on the first chapter.

[Talitha de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hailey has a hard time letting people in, especially her adoptive parents and team mates. They genuinely try, but she treats every bit of kindness like a debt she needs to repay. We know it’s because she doesn’t want to be a burden, but why? At around 80% she sort of explains but I am still wondering what happened in the past that made her think that way.

Both her and Lively are the hockey team captains. She of the Blizzard Bell’s and Lively of the Rink Runners. The Rink Runners messed up their chance with an important game in a previous season and the Bell’s really hate them for it. But then the boy’s rink is out of commission for a month and they have to share a rink. Meaning she now has to work together with the insufferable Lively. We soon learn he’s not bullying Hailey at all. He’s just hopelessly in love with her. I think he’s cute. There were really funny moments but somehow Hailey considers everything he does as bullying and I have difficulty seeing how she sees it that way.

Hailey’s obliviousness sometimes goes beyond believable. There’s a scene where Lively says he once saw an angel in the hospital, and she assumes he means her little sister. He then says the angel looked a lot like her and she still doesn’t get it. It was so obvious at that point.

When she finally opens up about her past it is wrapped up in two sentences. Considering that’s the reason she keeps everyone at a distance, it deserved a lot more attention.

And then there’s Lively’s dick… It’s mentioned so often it might as well be a side character. I half expected there to be a POV chapter of it. It had a life of its own. Don’t get me wrong, I actually thought it was funny. But don’t mistake this for a spice filled book. The spice happens at the near end of the book. Satisfying? Yes. I really liked that the roles seemed reversed, with her as the dominant one and speaking somewhat degradingly, which he loves by the way.

By 80% she embraces her adoptive parents and their home as her own, which was sweet, but also confusing. Where has she been living the past five years? We never really find out. Same for her age, Lively’s, or their teammates’. I’m guessing around twenty-four, based on when she got adopted and how long she kept them at a distance.

Oh, and one more thing that never gets addressed. The scene with the young nurse in the hospital. She comes in the room and sees Lively, Lively shakes his head at her, she stays silent like they share some secret, and then… she disappears from the story entirely. I kept waiting for an explanation that never came. I figured something must have happened between the two, but we’ll never know.

I really did enjoy it and would read something by Nomi again.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I need to say that I received an advanced electronic copy of this book for review from the author. That's important because when I saw a he-falls-first hockey romance, I jumped at the chance to read it. But, this isn't like any other hockey romance I've read, and I average over 300 books a year.

I know this will be labeled as he-falls-first and rivals-to-lovers, but that's a bit misleading. Lively Summers doesn't fall, he's already so far gone for Hailey that it's a team joke and a quite humorous one. Additionally, they aren't truly rivals in my book because he respects the heck out of her skill as a hockey player, and they aren't really competing against each other overall. (There's only one scene that is them versus each other.)

This novel is more black cat/golden retriever. Oddly enough for a book I'm rating 5 stars, Hailey actually became more unlikable to me as the story went on. But, that's in no way saying she isn't well written or written as an airheaded character making obviously dumb decisions. It may even be intentional because she is a fairly closed off character.

So, why 5 stars? Two scenes. One was so stripped bare, brutally honest that it's still living in my head and plucking at my heartstrings. Another was so emotionally honest that it made me cry. I'm not a fan of crying and don't do it often, so if a story has tears running down my face, it means that the writing is so well done that it hits hard. I'm my world, that deserves 5 stars.

This is the strangest review I've ever written because I'm not totally sure what to say to warn you that it's going to be different than what you've ever read in this genre/subgenre/trope. Maybe just to go in expecting the opposite of what you think you're getting and keep an open mind. And if you're looking for light and fluffy, this might not be a good place to start. This book has rich, deep, well developed characterization with real flaws and issues making them very much like people you might know. The secondary characters are incredible and loveable (hopefully enough for this to be a series).

In case it wasn't obvious, my opinions in this review are completely my own, voluntarily given and for no other consideration than the privilege of reading the book early.

[Caitlyn Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of college hockey romances with a slow burn and a splash of rivalry-turned-something-more, Puck Face brings together two team captains — one fiercely guarded, one hopelessly devoted — and throws them into shared ice time and off-the-rink tension.
The story follows two college hockey captains (Lively and Hailey) forced to share rink time during construction, despite their teams having a long-standing rivalry. What unfolds is a slow-burn connection filled with tension, miscommunication, and complicated feelings that simmer just under the surface.
One of the more unique aspects of this story is that Lively, he's completely and unapologetically into Hailey from the beginning. His obsession teeters between adorable and exasperating at times, but it’s clear that he’s in it for the long haul. Readers who love a devoted, “plays-the-long-game” kind of hero may really enjoy his character. Meanwhile, the Hailey is dealing with complex family dynamics, including adoption insecurities and caring for a sick younger sister along with adding emotional weight to her closed-off nature.
This book leans heavily on emotional build-up and lingers in the early stages of tension, takes slow burn to a new level peaking at 82%. Much of the story focuses on internal monologues, misunderstandings, and the push-pull dynamic between two people who just can’t get on the same page… until suddenly, they do. Again, at like 80%.
While I personally struggled with the pacing and felt some of the tropes (like the hospital connection or enemies-to-lovers angle) were a bit forced, I can see this appealing to readers who love:
    •    Long-simmering tension
    •    Hockey romance settings
    •    Emotionally vulnerable leads
    •    Devoted male protagonists
    •    And stories that take their time building toward payoff
There’s minimal spice (reserved mostly for the very end), so if you're looking for full-on hockey smut, just know you'll be waiting until the final chapters. That said, the emotional groundwork is there for readers who enjoy the slowest of slow burns.
In short, this book has heart and a lot of emotional potential. While the structure and pacing didn’t fully click for me, I think readers who enjoy college sports romance, emotionally repressed heroines, and lovesick heroes might find something to enjoy in Puck Face.

[Aimee Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really mixed emotions about this book. On the one hand the key plot (enemies to lovers, forced proximity, complicated parental relationships, sister with a complicated health issue who knows the MMC on her own accord before they all realize they know each other) and character traits (golden retriever boyfriend, he falls first and hard, yearning, black cat girlfriend) are everything I love in a romance book, plus i love hockey romance and even better that we see a female hockey player as well. But this book is LONG, like 550 pages long and the first 100 pages is literally just the first interaction between the mens and womens hockey teams. There was a LOT of POV from each of the main characters where he is yearning HARD for her and she hates his guts that I truly think could have cut like 40% of the book out and still had a great plot and we would get the point of their thoughts about each other. It also took about 450 pages before any smut happened. Based on the first 1/2 to 2/3 i would rate this book maybe a 2, it was long and repetitive and the characters thoughts seemed really immature. However the last 1/3-1/2 of the book was a solid 4.5 we got to really got down to some emotional family dynamics that had me sobbing, there was a fantastic spicy scene, and I actually completely turned my opinion on the FMC from mostly hating her to finding the MMC’s obsession with her a little more warranted.

[Lotte LNR · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a hockey-romance-addict who’s read 120+ of them (ARC and published) over the last year and a half:

You need to read this.

The MMC is such a “lovesick puppy”, he’s adorable. Seeing how his coping mechanism affects the FMC is understandable and then you read from his perspective and it also makes sense. So good.

This is not your average NHL prospect, random FMC/she works for the team/someone’s sister etc, that’s not how they “met” or where he fell in love with her. This is a story about a boy who’s crazy about a girl, who protects her from afar, who’s honest about his feelings even though it’s so open, she doesn’t believe him because she’s so stubborn, yet she lets him in little by little. He’s sunshine, she’s a literal Hailstorm.

If you find it difficult to read about a sick sibling or absent parenting (rich, detached), you need to check the trigger warnings. If you’re okay with a little, I’d definitely recommend this book.

I hope there’ll be a second book soon, this world building is incredible and the setting is perfect. These teammates are everything you could hope for and more, the writing is great and this book made me turn one more page EVERY time, I need to make up for lost hours of sleep now 😂

(THANK YOU for this ARC! Even with the small mistakes and some missing words, it was amazing and I can’t wait to get my shelf trophy❤️)

[Megan Willetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge hockey romance fan, and Puck Face was so different from any I've read before, with the fmc and mmc being captains for their respective teams at the same college. I loved the back-and-forth rivalry between their teams and the strong character development throughout.


Hailey has a real black cat energy and is fiercely independent, strong minded and passionate about what she does. Her backstory, especially her bond with her poorly younger sister and her struggles to find her place within her adoptive family, added depth and made her guarded nature feel real and relatable.

Lively is such a golden retriever, and head over heels for Hailey in the sweetest way. I don't think I've ever read an mmc that yearns so much for an fmc, the boy is obsessed. I really loved the lightness he bought to the story, despite a difficult relationship with his parents.

This is very much a slow burn, and in general, slower paced than what I usually read. I do think it helped with Hailey's character development as she really did not like Lively for a lot of the book, so it took time for her to get there so it would feel authentic. Overall probably a little bit long for me personally, but I would 100% read more by Nomi and hope there will be more in this series!

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up to 4

[Jamie Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puck Face by Nomi Cane:
I loved this book, it was so good. I loved the enemies vibe at first and how much Lively secretly wanted Hailey.
I felt so bad for him about his parents, they were awful especially his dad.
I loved the betting on the match between Hailey and Lively and I loved that she won it. It was funny that only one person on his team bet on him to win. I loved how he kept trying to win her over 😂 the "looks like a serial killer wrote this" note was hilarious
It was sad how she treated her adoptive parents, it was so obvious they loved her but she kept them at a distance and that wasn't fair to them.
I loved that Lively saved her teammate from getting hurt on the ice. I loved when they worked together and beat their rival team.
I loved when Hailey went off on his parents and stood up for him.
A few of my favorite quotes:
𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦—𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸; 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭.

𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰, 𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺? 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘜𝘨𝘩.

"𝙄'𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚."

“𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲.”

[Ashley Ecks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puck face is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, college hockey romance, though I’d be hesitant to call it enemies. Hailey and Lively are captains of their respective teams, and they naturally don’t get along.


My overall rating is 3.5 ⭐
Spice rating 2.5🌶️

There is a lot of build up, and explanation as to what’s been going on. The first couple of chapters I found myself rolling my eyes because there were a lot of double-triple explaining things.
This book didn’t have a lot of spice, nothing really happened between the characters until about 86% of the way through the book. Although this isn’t insta-love, it felt like they were saying I love yous way too easily.
Hailey isn’t my favourite FMC, she’s a bit of a bitch in my opinion. She jumps to conclusions about a lot of things and doesn’t look for answers and doesn’t let anyone explain themselves. She sort of puts her head in the sand.
Lively is such a sweetheart, but he’s a little immature and juvenile in my opinion. I almost DNF’d but I’m glad I hung through. Hailey does have a very quick flip of personality and starts making up for the errors of her ways and I can see her being more likeable in the future.

I received a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kasee · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review

While I’m a few days late of the release date I still feel this book needs a fair review.

I saw a few people compare it to Icebreaker by Hannah Grace and I have to disagree. There is only 1 thing that reminded me of that and it was the fact that one ring got trashed so they had to share a rink with another team.

Let’s get to the good stuff!!! This is a college hockey romance between the captains of the women’s and men’s hockey teams and how they two are going to get the teams to work together not against each other.

Hailey aka Hailstorm is the grumpiest bitch on the planet. And let me tell you I had a hard time liking her for most of the book, but it brought all the banter.

Lively aka Fuckface is the golden, rich boy and my heart hurt for him from the beginning whether it was because of Hailey or his parents.

Lively is beyond infatuated with Hailey and that girl absolutely detests him no matter what he does. His patients while trying to get her to fall for him is top tier. And it’s all the things he doesn’t try to hard to do that help me fall!!!

If you want banter, angst, desperation and eventually some spice you need to read this book!!!

While I wanted to slap Hailey to wake her the fuck up I had a really good time.

[Taylor Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a sports romance, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it!

We have our female MC who is captain of the female hockey team. She is headstrong, sassy and fierce, but she is closed off from the people closest to her and won’t lean on them when she needs too.

Our male MC is a puppy dog who is head of heels for our FMC, but as she thinks his playful banter is bullying, she hates him, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to break down her walls and get her to fall for him. Lively is also closed off to the people around him but this then leans to our MCs learning to open up, and lean on each other and I do love a he falls first trope.

I really enjoyed reading this story and learning about our MCs. The side characters around them both were also assets to the story. This was an easy read, easy to get into and kept you engaged from start to finish wanting to know when they’re were going to get together. Some spice was involved, but it wasn’t the plot to whole story which I like.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to receive this an e-arc for an honest review and I look forward to reading some of the authors other work.

[Yvette89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sports romance
Hockey rivals
Reversed grumpy sunshine
Close proximity
Boy obsessed
He fell first
Slow burn

Lively and Hailey

Lively for the win. He was so in love with Hailey. She had our confident hockey player enthralled from day one. The first interaction that we between them gives how twisted up she has him. While Hailey is clueless, his teammates are not. The inner dialogue is where we get to see how obsessed he is with her. He practically melts when she is close.

Hailey is not a ray of sunshine. Lively Brings out the worst in her. She is a strong independent young lady who carries a lot of responsibility. She is outspoken and doesn’t cut Lively any slack. She doesn’t back down.

The banter is fun and always sharp which keeps the story rolling because it’s a long book. It moves along well and you become a part of their little circle and root for them because they both have a lot to deal with.

We also get the added pleasure of meeting the secondary characters. They don’t take over but I enjoyed most of them adding to and supporting the main characters.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this ARC for my free review.
I liked how this Hockey Romance both the MMC and the FMC were both hockey players. That is no where near typical.

Hailey is the captain of the Blizzard Belles and Lively is the captain of the Rink Runners. There is a tenuous past between these two teams with sharing rinks and bad pranks. However, Lively has been keeping a secret, but his team is very well aware of it. Now they are forced to share the same rink once again, the coaches pair the teams up and they are forced to work together.

Hailey keeps everyone at arms length due to her past and Lively does the same but that's because of his parents. Hailey can't stand Lively what so ever and hates his nicknames. Watch how the teams come together and support each other and more importantly Hailey and Lively.

If you like a slow burn where nothing happens until like the last 15% of the book this is for you. The book had a good plot, but the extra slow burn is what killed it for me.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6 stars I would! This book had me kicking and screaming!
“My pretty hailstorm” AHHH, I swear I highlighted everytime lively called hailey hailstorm.

If you want a MMC who YEARNS, you need to meet lively summers, cause this man years, 400 pages worth of yearning, while hailey hates his guts.

If you want slow burn this will give you slow burn.

If you want brotherly banter this book is for you.

If you want golden retriever x grumpy girl this book is for you!

In other words read this book!, put everything else down and read this book!. I will be getting a physical copy as a trophy to sit nicely on my shelf. And I fear lively and haileys story will forever live rent free in my head.

Lively summers is a literal walking green flag, I swear this man has no faults, and he loves hailey for who she is!, waits a whole two years for her! That’s dedication.

This book had me hooked from the dedication alone
“For the girls who’ve carried the fear of being unlovable- this is proof that you are worthy of the deepest devotion”

[Crystal CC · Rating 4 out of 5]

“‘God, she's so f-cking beautiful when she glares at me like that.”

Characters:
Hailey Baleman
Lively Summers

Lively is down bad. It’s almost pathetic how obsessed and in love he is with Hailey. Some of the lines around his obsession were a little too embellished for my taste, but others may enjoy it. His character is pretty cute though in how much Hailey effects him.

Hailey needs therapy, like yesterday. At one point I absolutely hated her for how self-centered she was and her inability to accept help. She’s very broken and needs to address past trauma.

This book is a little too long in my opinion. It’s slow burn, and at one point I was considering DNF. It was enjoyable but just a bit of a slog. As a couple, Lively and Hailey had a great dynamic. I’d have loved to have seen more of the time of them in a relationship.

What to expect:
New adult romance
College romance
Hockey romance
Slow burn
Forced proximity
Found family
Golden retriever x black cat
Asian FMC
HFN ending

Spice:
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Thank you Nomi Cane for providing me with an advanced copy of this book!

[Emily Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! Thank you Nomi for the chance to read an early copy.

I love grumpy and sunshine characters and this was one of the first sunshine MMCs I’ve read. Lively is such a golden retriever and he compliments our black cat FMC perfectly. His yearning throughout the whole book is truly wonderful, and I loved the dual POV because we get to see Hailey through his eyes. I enjoyed that we didn’t have to suffer through him deciding if he liked her or not. From the first page he was down bad for her! The different POV chapters are written so well; we really hear their unique voices and thoughts come through. The writing is so clever in general- when each team is together separately or all in one place there’s unclaimed speech which really makes the reader feel involved rather than just a spectator seeing the friendships on page.
I hope there’s a sequel where they both wreak havoc on their respective teams together and they both win some big games!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tropes in this college hockey romance were totally up my alley. Hockey, enemies/rivals to lovers, banter, MMC OBSESSED with the Black Cat FMC that can't stand him. Like they are so fun.

These characters definitely had more depth and actually quite a bit of angst to them under the facade of these fantastic tropes. Be prepared to hunker down for this one though, I didn't even look at the page count before I started, but dang she's a big one! If you enjoyed Icebreaker, this one is for you!!

As an escapist reader, I'm here for a good time - not a long time so I can get a bit impatient when I'm reading. The overall pace was a bit slow for me and I would have cut down on the outside subplots.

Some of the highlights in this book for me was the retreat, the scrimmages where Hailey got to show her skills, and the text banter between the MC's.

[Katrine Ladefoged · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been so lucky to receive an ARC of this book and let me tell you that it’s worth it ❤️
In this book you follow Hailey, hockey captain for the blizzard belles, and Lively, hockey captain for the rink runners. Due to circumstances the two teams have to share a rink, which Lively sees as an incredible opportunity to be with his crush and Hailey thinks it’s the worst thing to ever happen to her because she hates Lively with great passion (due to circumstances that will be explained in the book)
The hate and humiliation and pranks and everything that happens between the two is amazing, the evolution that these two go through is 🤌🏼
The only reason that it “only” gets 4,5 is because I personally want a little more of the end of the book but it’s an absolute phenomenal read if you like a bully hockey romance with great banter between all the characters ❤️

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d first like to thank Nomi Cane for allowing me to ARC read Puckface.

This isn’t your typical hockey romance, however it is still very enjoyable.

Hailey and Lively are both captains of the Women’s and Men’s Hockey teams at their University, after an incident that we don’t like to discuss, both teams don’t get along. Though with one of their practice rinks being out of commission, they now need to share their practice space, practice together and learn to play nice!

The rivalry between both teams is fun to read, the banter and pranks between the teams is very entertaining.

We soon realise that Lively has had a mega crush on Hailey since the first day he set eyes on her and is willing to try anything to get her attentions on him!

Hailey is wickedly independent and doesn’t like to lean on anyone or let them in, could that change for Lively?

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting one. The pranks their teams play on each other are very amusing, but I struggle to say if it meets the "rivals-to-lovers" trope.

Lively is down bad for our girl. Emphasis on the down bad. He's got a journal written about her, has photos taken of her, and implemented an unofficial campus ban on her Freshman year. Everyone knows about it except for Hailey. He takes the approach of acting unaffected by her and pushing her buttons in the hope that she'll see him in the same light.

For how long this book is, I was hoping for more depth. Their only spicy scene doesn't happen till 88% in (69 pages left). On top of that, the epilogue is just a game with nothing said about their future.

“Because you're my Roman Empire, Hailey Baleman. The singular, most devastatingly wonderful thing to ever happen to me"

**Thank you for the ARC!**

[Dani💓 · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC READ

I absolutely loved this book! I read so many hockey romances and this one is high up there in the ratings!
Lively is a lovestruck puppy who tries anything and everything to get hailey to fall in love with him. They are both captains of their own hockey teams who get forced to share a rink when the men’s gets damaged.

He is crazy in love with her from the moment he met her, he’s so open with his feelings but she’s too stubborn to realise that what he’s saying is true

He spends time with her sick sister in the hospital weekly before he even knew they were related.

If you love
- Rivals to lovers
- Hockey romance
- Golden retriever x black cat
- Forced proximity
- Mmc is a lovesick puppy
You will absolutely enjoy this book!
Thankyou for the advance copy

[Bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly given an ARC copy for an honest review and I’m so glad I was!

I am a big hockey romance fan but after a while they all tend to basically be the same story line. This one was a refreshing change!

I will admit the first 10-15% I was wondering if this book was for me as it was a little hard to get into but then I hit the 20% mark and it had me going “just one more chapter” 🙈

Initially I didn’t enjoy the FMC but her development to who she is by the end of the book was so good and I was absolutely here for it!!

The MMC Lively had all the lovesick puppy pining vibes and was a lovely contrast to the grumpy FMC Hailey.

Overall a very enjoyable hockey romance which is different to the usual storyline!

Highly recommend!

[Kiare_books3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you, this is definitely not insta-vole! It's a romance that takes time to blossom, but along the way, you enjoy its barbs, its clashes, the jokes, and even its fights. Because the tension is so, so high, and when it all explodes, it's absolutely fiery! (We almost lose Lively in the process because she's in shock 🫨 🤣, but he manages to recover and keep her sighing over every cute thing he does 🥹)

At the time, I felt like a power struggle, not so pronounced, but you can feel the vibe as you read the story, even though he'll always, always, always agree with her on everything (well, almost everything 😉).
Funny, passionate, and eloquent, so much so that it will make you add Lively Summers as your new literary crush instantly 💯

And the banter between everyone was memorable 👌💗

[Nicole Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review - 3.5⭐️
I loved the story and the banter
I don’t think it was edited well as there were parts that had timeline inconsistencies or descriptions; parts were hard to read through through and dragged a bit - at over 550 pages I left it was kinda long for a sports romance
I hope this turns into a series bc I’d love to see something between other players come to fruition since the camp pairings and how they felt about everything.
Hailey and Lively’s relationship was cute - the guy being the bully bc he likes her but then can be totally an alpha but also a golden so helplessly in love with her!
I did like how Hailey overcame her own demons and was able to open her heart to her family and Lively ❤️