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Playing Hurt: An Omegaverse Reverse Harem Ice Hockey Romance

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Emery Tate did not move to Iron Lake to join a pack.
She moved there because she needed a job, a roof over her head, and a fresh start that didn’t involve her ex, his secret spouse, or the emotional wreckage they left behind.
So when a physical therapy position opens up with a semi-pro hockey team in a frozen speck of a town, complete with on-site housing, she takes it.
Problem solved.

Except… the house already has an occupant.

Beau Wolfe.
Team captain.
Broody alpha.
Built like a brick wall with trust issues.
And very much not thrilled about sharing his space.

One alpha roommate is manageable.
Two is a complication.
Three is a situation.
And when Connor Madsen—cocky winger, chaos incarnate—and Theo Phillips—quiet, watchful, devastatingly steady—start orbiting a little too close, Emery’s omega instincts start asking questions she was not prepared to answer.

She’s professional. Grounded. Suppressed.
She absolutely does
• sleep with her coworkers
• get knotted during a PT session
• catch feelings in a locker room
• or accidentally form the softest, filthiest, most emotionally supportive pack of her life

But between late-night rehab sessions, brutal rivalry games, protective alphas with too much heart, and a town that somehow sneaks under her skin…

Iron Lake starts to feel like home.
The Icebox starts to feel like family.
And the men she never planned to love?
They feel like choice.

Playing Hurt is a cozy, emotionally rich, spicy reverse harem omegaverse hockey romance that is perfect for readers who
- small-town sports chaos
- protective but respectful alphas
- found family & pack dynamics
- slow-build bonds with big feelings
- and just enough ice hockey to justify the thighs

Welcome to Iron Lake.
Bring a sweater.
(And maybe a nest.)

366 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2025

73 people are currently reading
31 people want to read

About the author

Rayne Waters

8 books19 followers

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5 stars
42 (28%)
4 stars
45 (31%)
3 stars
36 (24%)
2 stars
19 (13%)
1 star
3 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for Jessica Fowler.
405 reviews2 followers
December 21, 2025
Not the author's usual quality

This book started off really strong but quickly went off the rails.

We get Emery, the FMC, who is strong and capable despite her last relationship. She's witty and sharp and on point. She crumbles very quickly though when she's played by disreputable realtors and an uncaring building owner.
Beau had a chip on his shoulder from jump and was not exactly innocent in the rental shenanigans. He never even attempted to redeem his dickish behavior and his grasp on consent is questionable at best.
Conner is not bad but we get a surface review of his character.
Theo is even more vague and, while he seems to be the most conscientious of the guys, he just sort of gloms on without any real relationship.

At the beginning of the book the pacing and humor are top tier. Around 1/3 into the book that slowed down dramatically. The relationship building never happened. The world building is non-existent. Consent is apparently something they get after, which bugs me excessively. There is a moment with Dylan that hinted at dark themes but was just a throwaway in the overall story. The author also messes up details randomly, like Riverton are racoons early in the book but wolves later.

I really am surprised how disappointing I found this book. Her last 2 were really great but this one just doesn't meet the standard.
Profile Image for Anya.
90 reviews2 followers
December 21, 2025
I’m really torn with this one. I wanted to love it so bad because I’ve really enjoyed this author’s other two books but this one was a bit wonky.

First off, the book started really good. I loved the first 150-170 pages but somewhere around 60-64% it felt like the writing went from actual person to AI and it pretty much stayed like that the rest of the way.

Second, there were a few instances where things really didn’t make sense or completely contradicted something in a previous chapter or paragraph. The story also started getting a bit choppy around that 60ish% mark. There were also characters that were introduced in the first half that we literally never saw again, plus the entire book was centered either at the house or the rink. The story took place over multiple months and we never actually saw the characters do anything outside of being at the arena or being at home. Although they did have an away game so we saw them on the bus for a little bit.

Thirdly, this did NOT read like an omegaverse. There were a few mentions of scents, only one pack member bit the fmc, there was no heat scene (although fmc acted like she was in heat a few times), and knotting was mentioned. All of these tropes were so far and few in between that the book just read like a regular monogamous couple trying out polyamory. It genuinely was like someone tried to write an omegaverse book having never read one and doing a quick google search what the most popular omegaverse tropes were and then just throwing them in the book.

All this to say, the first half of the book was great. It was funny and engaging, the writing flowed well and there was decent story development.

⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️.5

Tropes:
Why choose
Hockey players x physical therapist
Build a pack
Slow burn
Small town
Forced proximity (sort of)
Knotting
Mating bite

Content warning:
Mentions of death in the family
Mentions of parent with Alzheimers
Mentions of toxic parent
Mentions of cheating (in the past)
Mentions of injury related to hockey
Profile Image for Elisabeth.
16 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2025
Bland but sweet

Having read some of the author's other stories, this one was ... Okay. Safe. Set up to be a little more chaotic and challenging than the story plot really ended up being.

Spice was there, but not as much as in the first book with Frankie and her guys.

This book still carries some humorous lines and snarky behavior, but it lacks the same oomph that "Scrum Heat" has that made it so endearing. (I find either you loved that level of chaos or hate it, no in-between, bur personally, I found it delightful.)

Emery has potential as an interesting character, but you really don't get a lot of the drama to her history. Just passing references to shitty previous employment and a cheating boyfriend/boss, but it barely seems to hit as phasing her other than being a plot to move her to an isolated small town. The MMCs are pretty bland and boring compared to other MMCs the author has written. you have your strong and silent martyr, the (sort of) golden retriever, and then the steady and logical one that is just there. You get a bit more personality and backstory for Beau, but it's almost like the other two exist simply because the author felt this needed to be a pack story, and doesn't really fill in much behind the scenes for them.


*A potentially spoiler -ish part*


I also kept waiting for the big plot twist... Career ending injuries? Major family drama ? Old flames or jealous observers causing drama? Lack of approval for the potential pack growing? Nope. Not really. Things kind of just happen and then the story ends. Like, cool, okay, I guess that's it?

"Playing Hurt" was overall pretty decent with a few editing issues, and if you want a story where nothing really truly vile or bad happens and your MMCs mostly act like the adults they are with a hint of hormones and biology tossing in some random alpha dominance drama, it's a perfectly acceptable story. Especially if you are in the mood for something not quite as heavy (other than one character's mom struggling with dementia while the father is less than supportive, but even that features fairly lightly compared to what I expected from the trigger warnings).

Also, my two biggest complaints are: the obsession with the name "Theo" starring as a MMC in three of her books that I've read as of now, as if there is a shocking lack of male names acceptable to use in literature. I get reusing from time to time, but it's feels a little weird that it's in 3 of the 4 books available on KU under this author's works.

The second issue for me is that the world building between the author's books definitely isn't consistent or explained. I wish there was a little more background on how packs/claiming worked in her worlds, because this feels like a totally different world than "Scrum Heat" (and definitely different than the unfinished "Unmarked" story). It's not a deal breaker, and it's probably a little nitpicky, but most Omegaverse authors have their worlds built up so you know what to expect book-to-book, even if they are completely different stories, but I don't really see that here. It personally changes the way I approach reading these books compared to some other Omegaverse authors, and I feel like it might strengthen her work if she had something more consistent, and least within a series.
Profile Image for Sophie Lee.
3 reviews
December 22, 2025
I loved Scrum Heat, the first book in this series and my first introduction to this author, and I was so excited when I got the kindle notification that this surprise release had dropped. I was curious if it would follow a similar plot to Scrum Heat and actually it didn't which I really enjoyed .

There are some content warnings which were handled sensitively , keep those in mind.

The first half of the book is quite slow setting up the small town background and building the tension between Emery and all of the alphas, there are plenty of sports details if you are a sports fan, plus all the usual omegaverse dynamics (knotting, scenting, bonding, claiming, those kinds of things). There were plenty of sweet scenes as well, like her visiting Beau's mother, being on the ice with him, also references to dates. The omega is suppressed so no heat in this book but I would say from around chapter 25-ish there are plenty of spicy chapters so the lack of heat spiral doesn't prevent that and actually takes away the usual consent concerns etc as she's fully lucid throughout. I do wonder whether we will see more of Iron Lake as it feels like the town was really established and there are other players ont he team that were hinted at so I will be very keen to see if we do ever come back.

All in all a good read from me
Profile Image for Jess.
29 reviews
January 7, 2026
confusing version of omegaverse

I’ll start off by saying that I’ve read hundreds of omegaverse books, so I am very well-versed in the differences within omegaverse versions. However, this book threw me for a loop. It was very different than other omegaverses and it took me a while to focus on this writer’s version of omegaverse rather than comparing it to others. It was not very easily understood (bonds, claims, packs, knotting, etc.). I struggled with the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of insight into individual personalities because it focuses more on how the atmosphere, or the environment, or things in general are “feeling” at the time, rather than wha the character is feeling. It was rather odd. Even at the end, I was still unsure of the individuals and pack dynamics. It was weird to me that Beau was the only one that had bitten and claimed Emery and he seemed to be the one mentioned the most out of all three alphas. There was also no declaration of love between the characters. They mentioned many times about being meant for one another and belonging to one another, but no “I love you” being said. Overall, it was an ok story, but I really struggled to get through to the end because of the frequent use of euphemisms and colloquialisms, the constant need to be witty, and the overall writing style.
131 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2025
I absolutely loved the first book and laughed out loud in almost every chapter. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the same energy in the second one. While there were a few humorous moments, the overall tone felt colder and much harsher. It did not read like a rom-com to me.

One of my main issues was the lack of character development. We did not really get the chance to know the characters properly. Among the male leads, only Beau’s backstory was explored in any depth. We learn almost nothing about Theo or Connor, which made the story feel as if it started as an M/F romance and later shifted into a why choose dynamic. The other characters’ POVs only began halfway through the book, making this transition feel sudden and unbalanced.

Because of this, the group dynamic never fully worked for me. It did not feel like an omegaverse or a true pack story, but rather like separate elements that never completely came together. Sadly, this kept me from fully enjoying the book.
3 reviews
December 22, 2025
I loved this book so much! It was a slow burn at first, most of the first 50% is setting the scene, the background, the small town vibes and the relatiosnhips/characters, there's lots of funny banter and small-town cozy feels. There are quite a few scenes of games which wasn't too technical and also felt like it focused more on the guys and their relationships building/the pack, so those were actually enjoyable too. We don't really get any spicy scenes until about 50% in which surprised me at first, but it more than makes up for the wait as the last few chapters especially have the high spice levels I expect from this author now.

This was a nice quick easy read, I will definitely be re-reading.

Quite a few quotes that I highlighted, but I'd like to give a particular shoutout to the corrupt ferret insult: this made me LOL.
6 reviews
December 22, 2025
This is the second book in the Sportsverse following Scrum Heat, and I loved this just as much! playing hurt is set in an ice hockey town, we have three alpha hockey players who all take on your differing personalities (one broody and dom, one much softer, and one funny/the class clown) which work really well
Together. This book is shorter than Scrum Heat but I still really enjoyed it, the spicy scenes as always were top tier and I really liked the sweet moments too which balanced it nicely. The build up at the beginning was really good, I would say no spice for a good almost 50% of the book but it makes up for it as the second half is predominant spiciness. All round another hit for me and can’t wait for the next in the series!
Profile Image for Madison.
514 reviews14 followers
December 24, 2025
This book started off really well but it went down hill pretty quickly.

The FMC tries too hard to be funny, everything she said had to be ‘witty’ or a sarcastic comeback and it drove me insane.

There are multiple characters mentioned in the beginning of the book, only to then never be mentioned again.

I have no idea on the timeline of this story because all we see is the house or the rink, the characters don’t go anywhere else.

Only one MMC bites her, despite being with two others and calling themselves ‘pack’.
16 reviews
February 21, 2026
I almost didn’t finish this one - the idea seemed great, but the actual execution was not great. The storyline mixed a lot of the usuals with an Omegaverse story with some alternate actions, which I found off putting (spoilers) - the pack settled and started to evolve with no heat, only a single bite with the Omega saying she didn’t know if she wanted more bites, and the alphas all living separately but hanging out at one house.

It was an okay read at the beginning, but it just didn’t carry that sort of excitement or relationship development that you look for with this style of book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Merbabe Kara.
305 reviews43 followers
December 22, 2025

This was my first book by Rayne Waters and I’ll definitely be looking into more because she wrote a great story! Playing Hurt has everything a girl could want, hot hockey players, forced proximity, a possessive alpha-hole, a golden retriever boyfriend, and an FMC that doesn’t let anyone walk all over her!
6 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2025
another hit

This story is hockey instead of rugby in this series. But I still loved it. I loved the FMC and all three of the MMCs. It’s great when the author creates the characters so well that you don’t get them mixed up. Each had their own personality and I loved it. This story is a cute standalone with a HEA hockey romance and 100% a must read
Profile Image for Lou.
159 reviews
January 4, 2026
2.5 🌟

The book started strong with a witty fmc but somehow lost its way. At various parts I wasn't even sure they liked each other and some scenes where consent was a little dubious.

A pet peeve is also the paragraph spacing, I understand it's to increase page numbers and therefore revenue, but it does feel a little like cheating and breaks the flow of the book.
Profile Image for Ashleigh.
163 reviews2 followers
January 29, 2026
Playing Hurt

Intrigued on poor reviews had me picking up this book! I’m a sucker for hockey and omegaverse books and this one didn’t disappoint. Couldn’t put the book down! Had everything you need for good storyline!
- angst
- hurt fmc
- hot moody alphas
- spicey 🔥🥵

Will defo be reading more from the author 🫶🏻
Profile Image for Rachy.
4 reviews
December 21, 2025
Another hit for me from one of my favorite authors. This was a surprise release for Christmas and was a nice easy read which I am coming to expect from Rayne Waters. Absolutely loved the alphas in this one and as per usual some very hot scenes. All round a 10/10 for me.
Profile Image for Cchellec .
19 reviews
December 21, 2025
Saw this on my kindle and as I love Rayne Waters books I downloaded immediately! Another set of hot alphas to add to my ever growing list! Won’t add spoilers because I’m aware my review is early and I don’t want to blow it for anyone - but another 5 ⭐ from me!
10 reviews
December 21, 2025
Surprisingly Good Read

At first I thought it would take similar path to another book I have read like this. Soooo glad it didn't. Ending is a little on the softer side, but overall an excellent book.
Profile Image for Maddieanne.
6 reviews
December 24, 2025
A fantastic surprise drop for Christmas! First half of the book builds the story and then we hit the spice! It was an easy read and really good fun! I love the wit and banter of Rayne Waters characters and this one hit the spot!
Profile Image for Angela Sanchez.
329 reviews10 followers
December 29, 2025
Playing Hurt

This was a really great book. Out of the two, this one was my favorite. There is definitely some heartbreak within these pages, but you will get pieced back together. Definitely read this book. Happy Reading Everyone!
8 reviews
December 21, 2025
Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice 🌶️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Fun read!
Profile Image for Ames.
116 reviews1 follower
Read
December 21, 2025
DNF at 4% there is something that sounds like an AI prompt in the book on page 19. This doesn’t make sense in the conversation.

“Little from column A, little from column B.”
6 reviews
December 21, 2025
not as good as the first book.

The first book of the series had a much better story, with conflict. This book had mostly sex with little story. Disappointed to be honest.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,082 reviews
December 23, 2025
good story

This is a sweet and spicy treat. I glad she got her happily ever after she more then deserved it especially after her loser ex.
Profile Image for Glynne Wheeler.
Author 11 books2 followers
December 30, 2025
nice

I enjoyed the pace of this book, it was low angst but a decent hockey storyline set in an Omegaverse setting that worked well.
Profile Image for Lolo.
331 reviews
January 19, 2026
2.8⭐️

This was a chore to get through and a huge deviation from the quality of this author's previous books
Profile Image for Nina.
154 reviews4 followers
February 10, 2026
Idk what happened at the 60% mark but… no.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews

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