Hockey Sticks and Lightning Bolts

by TK Bennett

Taylor Sinclair has spent the last nine years isolated on her family’s remote farm, finishing school online and living a life of quiet routine. But now, she’s stepping into the world she’s always dreamed of, leaving her aunt behind and moving to college with three roommates who quickly become her closest friends.

Quirky, nerdy, and full of life, Taylor is experiencing freedom, friendship, and first-time adventures. Then she meets Liam Fitzpatrick, the irresistible captain of the GHU Sharks hockey team. Focused on his NHL dreams, Liam isn’t looking for distractions, but Taylor has a way of turning his world upside down.

As sparks fly and friendships deepen, Taylor’s dangerous family secrets threaten to shatter everything she’s building. With heartbreak, laughter, and life-changing moments around every corner, Taylor must decide how far she’s willing to go for love and for the life she’s finally daring to live.

456 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2025

Reviews

[Lisa Gravina]

I received this ARC from T.K Bennett, Thanks for opportunity to read Hockey Sticks and Lighting Bolts for free.

This is the first book in a connecting series, A Greystone Harbor University (GHU) Hockey Romance Novel.
Which we have Liam, Captain of the GHU hockey team , all round nice guy Alpha (touch her and die) who will leave you swooning and Taylor who hasn’t been in contact with people other than her Aunt in years, who is super smart and protective of those she loves.

What starts as a cute accidental encounter then turns into a love of the ages. They have their share of challenges from misunderstandings, crazy ex’s, heartbreak and a whole mystery of a family that can’t be spoken about.
Both have OTT awesome BFF’s who will go above and beyond, absolutely loved how fiercely protective Sam is and how hilarious Nate is. Can’t wait to read what’s next in the series

If you love Hockey romances, BFF roommates, Found Family, Girl Power, laugh out loud banter this is for you.

Trigger warnings
- sexual assault and suicide (not the main characters)
- some violence and mentions of murder.
- Sexual content 🌶️🌶️🌶️

[The Writing Wormhole]

Hockey Sticks and Lightning Bolts was a very fun light read for me. For the first book in an interconnected series and did a really good job of setting up the world and getting me interested in all the characters. However I found Taylor's story, especially the mystery of her life far more interesting than the romance of it all. I am a sucker for hockey romances particularly ones with guys who are obsessed with their girls in the way that Liam was. but for some reason as much as I wanted to feel their chemistry, I didn't. I was far more interested in Taylor and her friendship with the girls and the other guys on the team than Liam himself.Every time he tried to pull off “touch her and die” energy I burst out laughing. He just doesn't have a commanding energy for me no matter how dauntingly he's described. I'm looking forward to reading the others in the series because I really like the setup and the stories so far, and I'm giving Liam the benefit of the doubt because he's the first in the series and I know as more is written, there will be more development with the characters. I'm holding out hope that the other boys, as much as they've shown through in this first book, can hold their own in their respective storylines.

As I mentioned I loved the sisterhood displayed in the first book and am excited to know more about each girl's backstory and respective views on the world. I really love Taylor and I hope we get to know more about her backstory even if it's not in her book because I feel like it was a little glossed over, even when she was trying to explain everything to Liam, so I'm hoping as it goes on we'll get little snippets of what is happening with that storyline.

[Eleonore]

I will start out by saying that I was given an ARC copy to read and am giving my own opinion.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! It had me feeling so many feels and wanting to try and step into the story so that I could give some jerks a piece of my mind! I felt like I was part of the story, even though I wasn’t and I was rooting for the characters the whole time!
Hockey Sticks and Lightning Bolts follows Taylor (the FMC) as she goes from being homeschooled and taking classes online for college, to moving to live on campus and being a full time student for the first time with other people. While she’s there, she meets Liam (the MMC), the captain of the school’s hockey team, and starts falling for him. Their relationship is so sweet to watch that I might have gotten diabetes from it. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of spice to go along with their super sweet relationship!
Taylor is like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, except smarter and ten times more chaotic. It was so much fun to watch her experience going to school with other people for the first time, let alone go through all the stuff that she does. I think my favorite part of the story is when Taylor and her roommates/best friends literally set up a war base/head quarters so that they can get vengeance for one of their friends who was hurt by someone with more power. I wish I had a sisterhood like that to call on!
I had so much fun reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!
Thank you so much to TK Bennett and her team for letting me read the book! I really enjoyed it and appreciate the opportunity!

[Nori Moha]

Saw this cute cover on KU and decided to try this book because I love a Hockey Romance.
I am so glad that I decided to pick this up.
It was a breath of fresh air in my reading slump.

The MMC Liam Fitzpatrick is the Captain of The GHU Hockey team and he is so focused on getting his degree and then getting into the NHL but when he meets Taylor he cannot resist her and he goes out of his way to get the girl. He has great friends that he lives with and their banter is hilarious. His best friend Nate made me laugh out loud.

Taylor is the FMC and YES, finally a main character of the female variety that is a boss in her own right. She's a programming genius and she has secrets she can't reveal about her family. She hasn't been around people her age in over 10 years and has been living with her aunt but decided to go to college in her junior year.
The friendship she builds with her Roomates makes me want to go back to college and make new friends.

This book was so much fun, heart breaking funny and yes Spicy. Liam had me swooning.

I think this will be a series or I really hope so...

Amazing Read ❤️❤️❤️

[Miss S]

This was such an enjoyable college hockey romance with the perfect mix of heart, mystery, friendship, and spice. Taylor immediately stood out to me as a heroine because of her mysterious background and everything she’s had to overcome. After spending years isolated from the world, watching her slowly step into independence, friendship, and freedom was incredibly rewarding. She’s strong, determined, and so much more resilient than people expect.
Liam was everything you could want in a book boyfriend — protective, patient, supportive, and completely gone for Taylor from the start. Their chemistry felt natural, and the romance developed in a way that balanced sweet emotional moments with some very good spice. I loved how Liam challenged Taylor to trust herself while still respecting her boundaries and fears.
One of my favourite parts of this book was the new-found sisterhood between Taylor and her roommates. Their dynamic felt authentic, fun, and supportive, and it added so much warmth to the story. The friendships honestly became just as important to me as the romance itself.
The side characters were fantastic and brought so much personality to the story that I’m already desperate to learn more about them in future books. Between the hockey team banter, emotional moments, romance, and Taylor’s hidden family secrets, this book kept me invested the entire time.
A really strong start to what feels like it’s going to be an addictive series, and I can’t wait for more.

[Stacie Eaglesham]

Thanks to author TK Bennett for the opportunity to rad this free book. I loved Taylor and Liam. Taylor is the little rambling voice in all of us. Her story and the characters within have me eager to read the next book. Definitely worth reading if you’re into hockey romance, girls taking over the world and making their own family.

[Melinda Csiszár]

I received this ARC from T.K Bennett, Thanks for the opportunity to read Hockey Sticks and Lighting Bolts for free. I loved how it showed the real struggles a college student can have, how hard at first it can be to socialize, to start trusting people. Loved Liam and Taylor, their dynamic was amazing to read.

[Laura Moncrief]

Great hockey book that also tackles important issues kids deal with in college!!! Absolutely loved Taylor and Liam’s relationship!!! I can’t wait to read more of this series!!! Also love the friendships that Liam and Taylor have with the guys on the hockey team!!!

[Taryn Griffiths]

Super sweet book with plenty of spice!

I really enjoyed getting to know the side characters and can't wait to see what happens next.

I loved watching the FMC evolve throughout the book, and boy is she lucky to have her real life book boyfriend!

[T Rawlings]

Brains and spice

Brains, hockey players, spice and found family. Loved the chapters with the fitzpatrick fam. Some of it not quite believable but not enough to ruin the story. Would still recommend and definitely worth the read.

[Lisa]

First book in the series.
A college hockey romance.
Taylor is starting over her Junior year and looks forward to the college experience.
I loved the girl bonding and character development.

[Rachel Haney]

This book got me hooked. I just love Taylor and Liam and all of their friends. I love a good hockey romance and cant wait to read the rest of the series!