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Claimed by the Captain
The mixer breaks the same morning my abusive ex finds me.
I thought I was safe in Pinebrook, Colorado. Six months of hiding, six months of building something that's finally mine—a bakery, a life, a chance to breathe again. Then Derek's text arrives like a punch to the I know where you are.
That's when Jake Morrison walks into my kitchen.
Hockey captain. Single dad. The kind of man who fixes broken mixers and doesn't ask questions when he finds you crying on the floor at 4 AM. His six-year-old daughter Emma needs a mom. His protective instincts need someone to save.
I'm not looking for love. I'm looking for survival.
But Jake doesn't see damaged goods when he looks at me. He sees a partner. Emma doesn't see her dad's charity case—she sees the mom she's been waiting for. And this small mountain town doesn't see a woman running from her past.
They see someone worth fighting for.
Derek's not done with me. He's coming to Pinebrook, and he'll destroy anyone who gets between us. The safety I've built, the family I'm falling for, the man who's teaching me what love should feel like—Derek will burn it all down to get me back.
Jake Morrison has spent his life protecting what matters most.
But can the hockey captain protect his heart from a woman whose past might destroy their future? And when Derek arrives with threats that could tear apart everything we've built, will love be enough to save us all?
I thought I was safe in Pinebrook, Colorado. Six months of hiding, six months of building something that's finally mine—a bakery, a life, a chance to breathe again. Then Derek's text arrives like a punch to the I know where you are.
That's when Jake Morrison walks into my kitchen.
Hockey captain. Single dad. The kind of man who fixes broken mixers and doesn't ask questions when he finds you crying on the floor at 4 AM. His six-year-old daughter Emma needs a mom. His protective instincts need someone to save.
I'm not looking for love. I'm looking for survival.
But Jake doesn't see damaged goods when he looks at me. He sees a partner. Emma doesn't see her dad's charity case—she sees the mom she's been waiting for. And this small mountain town doesn't see a woman running from her past.
They see someone worth fighting for.
Derek's not done with me. He's coming to Pinebrook, and he'll destroy anyone who gets between us. The safety I've built, the family I'm falling for, the man who's teaching me what love should feel like—Derek will burn it all down to get me back.
Jake Morrison has spent his life protecting what matters most.
But can the hockey captain protect his heart from a woman whose past might destroy their future? And when Derek arrives with threats that could tear apart everything we've built, will love be enough to save us all?
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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September 29, 2025last night, i went to my first ever hockey game and was craving some hockey romance. i found this novella on kindle unlimited and decided to give it a try.
i liked the writing for the most part, i found it easy to root for the characters and i looove me a single dad romance. the book also deal with domestic abuse which is a topic that is sensitive and needs to be carefully researched to achieve the message that the book is trying to deliver. i think that it was important to include the scenes in which there was emotional and financial abuse shown on-page, and they did demonstrate accurate portrayals of real life conversations for the most part.
however i felt like this could’ve been a great story if it was fleshed out more and was about two hundred pages longer. the pacing was way off. from what i could tell, the story happened within a few days. i was really rooting for the characters but this book just felt rushed. there is actually a scene at the end when the main characters are talking about getting married and they KNOW ITS TOO QUICK but they decide to ‘stop being scared’ instead. if someone thought that the book’s message was that a woman who’s been through domestic abuse needs a nice man to save her, i wouldn’t blame them to be honest.
also, the book would’ve benefitted from further editing due to the amount of errors and repetition throughout. if i had to read one more time that they were ‘creating a family’ or that savannah ‘ran away with her grandmother’s recipes and $200,’ i would’ve thrown my kindle at the wall.
this book truly had a lot of potential but sadly fell flat for me. however, i’m interested in picking up the rest of the books at some point, whenever i need a quick need or am feeling more small town hockey romance.
i liked the writing for the most part, i found it easy to root for the characters and i looove me a single dad romance. the book also deal with domestic abuse which is a topic that is sensitive and needs to be carefully researched to achieve the message that the book is trying to deliver. i think that it was important to include the scenes in which there was emotional and financial abuse shown on-page, and they did demonstrate accurate portrayals of real life conversations for the most part.
however i felt like this could’ve been a great story if it was fleshed out more and was about two hundred pages longer. the pacing was way off. from what i could tell, the story happened within a few days. i was really rooting for the characters but this book just felt rushed. there is actually a scene at the end when the main characters are talking about getting married and they KNOW ITS TOO QUICK but they decide to ‘stop being scared’ instead. if someone thought that the book’s message was that a woman who’s been through domestic abuse needs a nice man to save her, i wouldn’t blame them to be honest.
also, the book would’ve benefitted from further editing due to the amount of errors and repetition throughout. if i had to read one more time that they were ‘creating a family’ or that savannah ‘ran away with her grandmother’s recipes and $200,’ i would’ve thrown my kindle at the wall.
this book truly had a lot of potential but sadly fell flat for me. however, i’m interested in picking up the rest of the books at some point, whenever i need a quick need or am feeling more small town hockey romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2026
A cute hockey read. Savannah Is a baker who has a ex boyfriend who won’t go away. He is not a nice guy and he definitely won’t leave her alone. When an unexpected knight comes into her bakery she doesn’t know how much she can trust him…trust is hard for her. Jake is a hockey player and a single father. He also is smitten with the new baker in town. This is a quick read with a complicated story with many layers. I look Forward to seeing what the next book brings us.
January 29, 2026
It’s cute, don’t get me wrong. A feel good read that’s easy to get through. But the writing is all over the place. Things get repeated like they weren’t previously said. The characters stories change, the background goes from one thing to another that doesn’t fit. Not completely sure if he’s a hockey coach or a hockey player. Then him having military service show up without explanation either. Other than confusion, the story was cute.
Would I read it again? No probably not.
Would I read it again? No probably not.
August 24, 2025
A wonderful little hockey romance- without too much hockey!
Small town, tight relationships, slow burn, strong Villain- it ticks all the boxes. A little rushed and some writing errors in it but these can be overlooked to still warrant a good review. I enjoyed it despite it being a little unrealistic with the time frame its set in. Suitable for YA.
Small town, tight relationships, slow burn, strong Villain- it ticks all the boxes. A little rushed and some writing errors in it but these can be overlooked to still warrant a good review. I enjoyed it despite it being a little unrealistic with the time frame its set in. Suitable for YA.
October 15, 2025
Confusing he went from a retired nhl player to a former soldier .
October 21, 2025
DNF 30%
November 25, 2025
This was so bad
December 7, 2025
I dnf this book
February 21, 2026
Went into this thinking I wouldn’t really enjoy it but was actually surprised. Short & cute read.
September 18, 2025
2.25⭐️
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews