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High Stick
Casey Miller is an average girl trying to navigate her 20s in Midwestern Indiana. Between figuring out what she wants to do with her life and living with pelvic floor dysfunction, the future has always been hard for her to think about.
Enter Nathan Pierce— first line right wing for the Indy Storm. Drawn to Casey for her fierce authenticity and unapologetic ability to be herself, Nate never expected to fall head over heels for the only girl trying to push him away.
With Nate’s patience and unconditional support, Casey learns to open up about her struggles instead of hiding them, and that love doesn’t mean fixing everything… It means facing it together.
Enter Nathan Pierce— first line right wing for the Indy Storm. Drawn to Casey for her fierce authenticity and unapologetic ability to be herself, Nate never expected to fall head over heels for the only girl trying to push him away.
With Nate’s patience and unconditional support, Casey learns to open up about her struggles instead of hiding them, and that love doesn’t mean fixing everything… It means facing it together.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2025
20 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 10, 2026
Super excited to read a book involving the Indy Fuel/ Indy Storm! However, this book has a ton of trauma dumping, not a lot of hockey! Loved the premise of this book and how Case found love in the end. We love a good hockey boyfriend, after all. 😉
February 12, 2026
As much as I wanted to love this book, I just couldn’t, and came close to DNFing several times. The book had the potential to have a good plot/storyline but was filled with continuity errors, false information, contradicting information, cringey interactions, and just confusing decisions.
The story was extremely fast paced, to a fault. There was essentially no build up of the relationship, they met, and immediately both mmc and his friends (which were cringey at times, constantly discussing how hot, kind, most amazing person in the world fmc was) were all infatuated with the fmc.
As a licensed mental health therapist some of the issues were just too much for me to ignore, for example the representation of anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and especially BPD were not handled well or accurately. And while these are all extremely valid stressors and diagnoses in real life, and very possible for one person to have all at once, it was too much to fit into a ~200 page book. The false information was also too much to ignore (such as PCOS being described as cysts *in* the vagina, which is completely false).
The contradictions were frustrating to ignore and keep track of (fmc explicitly stating she is feminine, just to later state she experiences dysphoria and is not feminine. Fmc stating she is a virgin and will not have penetrative s*x due to vaginismus but in the next paragraph stating she is attracted to “twinks” because “the skinny ones can f*ck like rabbits”). Even after all these issues, there was so much that was just confusing or did not make sense such as fmc following the team to Toledo (far northern Ohio) and a side character stating he wanted to stop at Jungle Jim’s on the way, which is in the opposite direction from Indy, located in Cincinnati. The shifting between 1st and 3rd POV was clearly a creative decision but not one I felt the book benefited one because it caused confusion within the story.
And for as little hockey as there was in the story, a lot of it made me feel the actual knowledge on hockey/ECHL was not well known. I don’t expect all hockey romances to have perfect knowledge on hockey but given that this book is established within the author’s hometown and hometown hockey team as well as the author bio states they enjoy watching hockey, I had higher expectations. Most of this was relatively small things like the mascot attending an away game, mmc legit fighting the opposing team’s goalie, and the mmc being in the ECHL and getting offered a new NHL contract mid-season, all of which essentially never happen. FMC having access to the players locker room, both at home and away, also is not a thing that happens.
Next, I love a book with a curvy or plus size FMC. However this book repeatedly emphasizes that she has lost 40-50lbs and is working hard on herself, but constantly makes everything about her being fat, literally everything. She then goes on to even make somewhat fat-phobic remarks by stating “I’ve also worked so hard on losing weight that I think dating someone out of shape would make me feel bad about myself” just to then say “I’m not opposed to dating fat guys. Just muscular guys.” Just to then proceed to date a muscular professional hockey player?
And lastly, the politics of it. I’m aware there is a disclaimer in the beginning stating the author has “no intention of being politically correct in the way I phrase things,” my issue isn’t just the way things were phrased. Fmc stating she didn’t just decide to go to school for dental assisting because she’s a Jew. Then going on to state that although women in the state of Indiana don’t have many rights (I would agree but also if fmc never intends on getting pregnant and cannot have penetrative s*x, I’m unclear why that is an issue) but then states that fact has to be ignored because “I am also Jewish and the far left have abandoned us to support terrorism. So, my best option for safety is to stay in Indiana.” What???? That was truthfully wild political ideal to include in a debut novel, especially in the first chapter.
As a woman who lives in Indiana, loves romance books, and loves hockey (literally a season ticket holder) I really wanted to love this book, but with how many issues continued to stack up, I just couldn’t, and I didn’t feel right not leaving a review to express that in hopes the author can improve these careless or simple errors as well as educate themself more on some of the medical/mental health things for the rest of the series.
The story was extremely fast paced, to a fault. There was essentially no build up of the relationship, they met, and immediately both mmc and his friends (which were cringey at times, constantly discussing how hot, kind, most amazing person in the world fmc was) were all infatuated with the fmc.
As a licensed mental health therapist some of the issues were just too much for me to ignore, for example the representation of anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and especially BPD were not handled well or accurately. And while these are all extremely valid stressors and diagnoses in real life, and very possible for one person to have all at once, it was too much to fit into a ~200 page book. The false information was also too much to ignore (such as PCOS being described as cysts *in* the vagina, which is completely false).
The contradictions were frustrating to ignore and keep track of (fmc explicitly stating she is feminine, just to later state she experiences dysphoria and is not feminine. Fmc stating she is a virgin and will not have penetrative s*x due to vaginismus but in the next paragraph stating she is attracted to “twinks” because “the skinny ones can f*ck like rabbits”). Even after all these issues, there was so much that was just confusing or did not make sense such as fmc following the team to Toledo (far northern Ohio) and a side character stating he wanted to stop at Jungle Jim’s on the way, which is in the opposite direction from Indy, located in Cincinnati. The shifting between 1st and 3rd POV was clearly a creative decision but not one I felt the book benefited one because it caused confusion within the story.
And for as little hockey as there was in the story, a lot of it made me feel the actual knowledge on hockey/ECHL was not well known. I don’t expect all hockey romances to have perfect knowledge on hockey but given that this book is established within the author’s hometown and hometown hockey team as well as the author bio states they enjoy watching hockey, I had higher expectations. Most of this was relatively small things like the mascot attending an away game, mmc legit fighting the opposing team’s goalie, and the mmc being in the ECHL and getting offered a new NHL contract mid-season, all of which essentially never happen. FMC having access to the players locker room, both at home and away, also is not a thing that happens.
Next, I love a book with a curvy or plus size FMC. However this book repeatedly emphasizes that she has lost 40-50lbs and is working hard on herself, but constantly makes everything about her being fat, literally everything. She then goes on to even make somewhat fat-phobic remarks by stating “I’ve also worked so hard on losing weight that I think dating someone out of shape would make me feel bad about myself” just to then say “I’m not opposed to dating fat guys. Just muscular guys.” Just to then proceed to date a muscular professional hockey player?
And lastly, the politics of it. I’m aware there is a disclaimer in the beginning stating the author has “no intention of being politically correct in the way I phrase things,” my issue isn’t just the way things were phrased. Fmc stating she didn’t just decide to go to school for dental assisting because she’s a Jew. Then going on to state that although women in the state of Indiana don’t have many rights (I would agree but also if fmc never intends on getting pregnant and cannot have penetrative s*x, I’m unclear why that is an issue) but then states that fact has to be ignored because “I am also Jewish and the far left have abandoned us to support terrorism. So, my best option for safety is to stay in Indiana.” What???? That was truthfully wild political ideal to include in a debut novel, especially in the first chapter.
As a woman who lives in Indiana, loves romance books, and loves hockey (literally a season ticket holder) I really wanted to love this book, but with how many issues continued to stack up, I just couldn’t, and I didn’t feel right not leaving a review to express that in hopes the author can improve these careless or simple errors as well as educate themself more on some of the medical/mental health things for the rest of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2025
Such a sweet love story! Our main female character brings to light real life medical problems and how people struggle with them physically, emotionally and how it impacts their love life. You will fall head over heels for our main man Nate because he is the definition of Prince Charming and swoon worthy! I also love how all the side characters approve and support their relationship as well. Don’t miss out on this amazing story filled with realistic situations and Disney princess worthy love! I can’t wait for the next book!
January 31, 2026
Honestly it is a great chill kind of book in my opinion. Including a lot of real life scenarios that some people can really connect with. It was emotional but not draining really. I enjoyed this first one and I can’t wait for the second!!
October 7, 2025
Can't wait to read Claire's debut novel!! 📚
September 17, 2025
fabulous debut novel by claire mackenzie! main character is incredibly realistic and likable, and it’s easy to root for her as she faces love for the first time. it was so fun to watch her and the main love interest grow together and develop trust and true care for one another. i also found the side characters really added to the plot, and i loved watching the main character interact with them as part of the story. even though i am not a romance reader, i found that this story really pulled me in because of the characters, plot, and realistic challenges and moments of growth and love.
March 28, 2026
DNF at 5%. The errors in the writing itself aside - This FMC immediately reads as "pick me" and it is extremely off-putting. Not to mention the author outs herself as anti palestine, blaming the "far left". Quite the choice. One of my biggest pet peeves is authors who write a mid/plus size FMC/MMC and the entire plot and characters personality revolves around being mid/plus size. Round of applause here, because even in the first 5%, we managed to accomplish just that.
April 28, 2026
I sincerely hope you all enjoy this book!! I have put my heart and soul into it and could not be more proud!!
April 19, 2026
This was the first in the Indy Hockey romance series and it followed a woman with various medical and personal struggles as she navigates her journey.
There were some great themes and overcoming adversity within this book (pelvic floor dysfunction, PCOS, weight struggles).
I will say the writing seemed a bit chaotic at times moving from almost a author note to the actual story. The portions of the book that were written as the actual novel were really great. Watching such a strong and resilient FMC be accepted so open and willingly was refreshing. Having the flip flop between perspectives was a bit confusing. Is this a semi auto-biography? Were we just connecting with the FMC's inner monologue? I would have liked a bit more clarity or development there.
That being said, the characters were all interesting and supportive. This wasn't a very spicy read, but there are portions that discuss her pelvic floor therapy in detail. I will be interested to see what happens with the other characters, and to see if the writing style is similar or if the author just connected with the first couple and wanted to include more personal notes.
There were some great themes and overcoming adversity within this book (pelvic floor dysfunction, PCOS, weight struggles).
I will say the writing seemed a bit chaotic at times moving from almost a author note to the actual story. The portions of the book that were written as the actual novel were really great. Watching such a strong and resilient FMC be accepted so open and willingly was refreshing. Having the flip flop between perspectives was a bit confusing. Is this a semi auto-biography? Were we just connecting with the FMC's inner monologue? I would have liked a bit more clarity or development there.
That being said, the characters were all interesting and supportive. This wasn't a very spicy read, but there are portions that discuss her pelvic floor therapy in detail. I will be interested to see what happens with the other characters, and to see if the writing style is similar or if the author just connected with the first couple and wanted to include more personal notes.
January 20, 2026
I think this story has potential. I was interested in the challenges of dating and intimacy while having a pelvic floor dysfunction. I was glad that Casey was trying to overcome her challenges and found support in Nate.
I’m not sure this book was for me though and that’s ok.
At one point the author is talking directly to a guy from college about him reading the book and what went wrong between them and that her messages are open if her ever wants to hash it out. It took me out of the story and it felt uncomfortable to read.
Overall though it was a quick easy read and I enjoyed the hockey aspect of the story.
I’m not sure this book was for me though and that’s ok.
At one point the author is talking directly to a guy from college about him reading the book and what went wrong between them and that her messages are open if her ever wants to hash it out. It took me out of the story and it felt uncomfortable to read.
Overall though it was a quick easy read and I enjoyed the hockey aspect of the story.
January 29, 2026
I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t. It was all over the place. And as someone that has Borderline Personality Disorder, I’m not sure why it was even mentioned in the book as it didn’t really present itself. When I saw the mention of it at the beginning of the book I was excited to be able to read with a character who has similar issues. Also, going back and forth from first to third person was extremely hard to keep up with. I did love the close knit family vibe the characters had though.
April 1, 2026
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I can’t believe I finished it in a day! It was obviously not the best book I’ve ever read but it had an interesting story and I was invested in the characters a lot! I liked that nothing really that dramatic happened. It was just about characters falling in love and going through life together. I hate books that have a million things happening all at once to just have a “normal ending” on the last page. This book was not that. It got me interested in the genre and I am looking forward to reading similar books!
March 25, 2026
I loved reading this story. It is so cute and I would recommend it to others.
March 27, 2026
I liked that the author brought attention to the challenges many of us face in our own lives. Dating Indiana girls.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews