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The Captain's Heart: A Small Town Hockey Romance
Olivia Parker has one never again fall for an athlete. After her NHL star ex-husband humiliated her in front of the world, she poured her heart into building Paws & Claws, a small-town animal shelter where loyalty means everything. But when the Summit Ridge Outlaws arrive in town, her quiet refuge collides head-on with the last kind of man she swore she’d avoid.
Daniel Scott is the team’s broody new captain, weary of bright lights and empty hotel rooms, desperate for a place to belong. Forced to volunteer at Olivia’s shelter, he expected barking dogs and begrudging chores; not the fierce, sunshine-bright woman who sees right through him. Every look, every shared rescue with the shelter’s most broken animals chips away at her defenses, sparking a heat neither of them can ignore.
But Olivia knows what happens when a small-town girl trusts a hockey hero, the roar of the arena always wins. Daniel is determined to prove her wrong, to show her that his ambition isn’t measured in goals or glory but in the fragile hope they’re building together.
Can Olivia risk her guarded heart one more time, or will the ghosts of their pasts shatter the fragile love growing in the quiet of Summit Ridge?
Daniel Scott is the team’s broody new captain, weary of bright lights and empty hotel rooms, desperate for a place to belong. Forced to volunteer at Olivia’s shelter, he expected barking dogs and begrudging chores; not the fierce, sunshine-bright woman who sees right through him. Every look, every shared rescue with the shelter’s most broken animals chips away at her defenses, sparking a heat neither of them can ignore.
But Olivia knows what happens when a small-town girl trusts a hockey hero, the roar of the arena always wins. Daniel is determined to prove her wrong, to show her that his ambition isn’t measured in goals or glory but in the fragile hope they’re building together.
Can Olivia risk her guarded heart one more time, or will the ghosts of their pasts shatter the fragile love growing in the quiet of Summit Ridge?
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 21, 2026
So much didn’t ring true but I liked the premise of the story.
Olivia was the ex wife of a sports star, he humiliated her by cheating and telling the world her small time life wasn’t enough.
So when the new captain of her local hockey team sees her for the scared lonely woman she’s become not the angry bitter persona she gives off, she dares to dream and take a chance with him, but she only dips a toe, she’s ready to run constantly ready to borate him for no reason other than she’s scared.
She hurt that man over and over from her insecurity and he took it each time.
The captain was a man that though he was a hockey star he only wanted a peace that he’d never known, he thought this small town could give it him, and when he met Olivia he found that peace.
The dog shelter she ran had an unadoptable dog as she called Ghost but Captain Dan saw his fear and gave him time to warm and trust him which happened at warp speed, too fast infact.
What got frustrating was reading Olivia with a constant poor me, he’s faking it he must be he can’t really be that nice.
The constant comparisons against her ex was too much, every time he took her anger, took her wrath and went back for more.
This all happened in a week, so it was unrealistic, the timeline didn’t fit.
The dog Ghost would have taken weeks or months to come around not 2 visits from Captain Dan within a week ( he was supposed to be unwanted due to his fear )
For a sport based read there was only one game that happened I was very disappointed.
Everything was drawn out and the timelines didn’t fit a good edit needed.
The dog was called Ghost Olivia and Captain must have used the phrase they felt like a ghost for several reasons about 8 times each. It was over used for sure.
Olivia was the ex wife of a sports star, he humiliated her by cheating and telling the world her small time life wasn’t enough.
So when the new captain of her local hockey team sees her for the scared lonely woman she’s become not the angry bitter persona she gives off, she dares to dream and take a chance with him, but she only dips a toe, she’s ready to run constantly ready to borate him for no reason other than she’s scared.
She hurt that man over and over from her insecurity and he took it each time.
The captain was a man that though he was a hockey star he only wanted a peace that he’d never known, he thought this small town could give it him, and when he met Olivia he found that peace.
The dog shelter she ran had an unadoptable dog as she called Ghost but Captain Dan saw his fear and gave him time to warm and trust him which happened at warp speed, too fast infact.
What got frustrating was reading Olivia with a constant poor me, he’s faking it he must be he can’t really be that nice.
The constant comparisons against her ex was too much, every time he took her anger, took her wrath and went back for more.
This all happened in a week, so it was unrealistic, the timeline didn’t fit.
The dog Ghost would have taken weeks or months to come around not 2 visits from Captain Dan within a week ( he was supposed to be unwanted due to his fear )
For a sport based read there was only one game that happened I was very disappointed.
Everything was drawn out and the timelines didn’t fit a good edit needed.
The dog was called Ghost Olivia and Captain must have used the phrase they felt like a ghost for several reasons about 8 times each. It was over used for sure.
Currently Reading
July 24, 2026I'm at about 20% and this is... frustrating. Olivia is just ANGRY. Not that her ex didn't treat her horribly, but still. She and her friends are just bitter, to an unpleasant level. And he just keeps taking it? I'm really not impressed with the leads so far, so it's kinda a slog getting through. We'll see if things improve, or if I'll have an angry review in like, 6 months, when I actually drag myself over the finish line with this one.
And from a techinical aspect, it's really helpful in books with alternating POV to label the chapters as to whose POV we're seeing. There is little difference in the writing ("speaking") style of the two characters, and even phrases are repeated between the two regarding the same scenes, and it can easily take a page or two to figure out who is actually talking. Very distracting.
And from a techinical aspect, it's really helpful in books with alternating POV to label the chapters as to whose POV we're seeing. There is little difference in the writing ("speaking") style of the two characters, and even phrases are repeated between the two regarding the same scenes, and it can easily take a page or two to figure out who is actually talking. Very distracting.
April 24, 2026
Opinion
Good story line. Not enough dialogue between the characters. Too much added details that could have been filled in with more conversations between the characters.
Good story line. Not enough dialogue between the characters. Too much added details that could have been filled in with more conversations between the characters.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews