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Valenridge University #1
My Knotty Pucking Valentine
In six weeks, Mabeline Mae Rose will either find her pack… or be claimed by one she never chose.
Once, she believed she’d prove her childhood bullies wrong by becoming a world-class figure skater—graceful, unstoppable, unforgettable. Instead, she’s twenty-four, freshly graduated, stuck in a soul-crushing 9–5, and wondering where her passion went.
Worse? Her Omega clock is ticking.
In six weeks, she turns twenty-five.
And if she isn’t bonded by then, her parents will choose a pack for her.
Desperate to delay the inevitable, Mabeline accepts a six-week placement at an elite new arts-and-sports university for Alphas and Omegas. It’s supposed to buy her time. Maybe even help her rediscover the girl who once lived for the ice.
There’s just one problem.
Her roommates.
Three powerhouse Alphas.
All devastatingly attractive.
All wildly talented.
All… her bullies from sixth grade.
Only now?
They don’t remember Nerdy MaeBell at all.
Rafe Calder — the magnetic team captain with NHL dreams, a born leader who commands the rink and every room he enters.
Callahan “Cal” Graham Knox — the warm, steady tutor and instructor whose strength is matched only by his kindness.
Étienne Laurent — the soft-spoken French goalie with a shy smile, a gentle heart, and a secret dream of becoming a cozy romance author.
They’re everything she never wanted.
And everything her heart is starting to crave.
Six weeks. That’s all she has.
But in a house full of knotty tension, second chances, and three Alphas who look at her like she’s already theirs, every day feels like a dare. And with Valentine’s Day looming—the same week she turns twenty-five—roses, chocolates, and heart-shaped promises are everywhere… along with the reminder that her time is running out.
Can she survive six weeks of chaos without falling?
Or will one knotty, puck-fueled Valentine change her fate forever?
💘🏒 Tropes You’ll Fall For in My Knotty Pucking Valentine ❄️ Second-Chance with a Twist🏒 Hockey Heartthrobs🌸 Nerdy Glow-Up Omega💔 Former Bullies → Fated Mates🏠 Forced Proximity (Roommates Edition)🧊 Ice Princess × Golden Boy Captain📚 Shy Goalie with a Secret Soft Side✏️ Sweet Tutor Who Worships Her🔥 “Who Did This to You?” Energy💐 Cozy Campus Romance🐺 Found Pack, Found Family🎀 Soft Girl Healing Arc💌 Love Letters, Chocolates & Knots
Once, she believed she’d prove her childhood bullies wrong by becoming a world-class figure skater—graceful, unstoppable, unforgettable. Instead, she’s twenty-four, freshly graduated, stuck in a soul-crushing 9–5, and wondering where her passion went.
Worse? Her Omega clock is ticking.
In six weeks, she turns twenty-five.
And if she isn’t bonded by then, her parents will choose a pack for her.
Desperate to delay the inevitable, Mabeline accepts a six-week placement at an elite new arts-and-sports university for Alphas and Omegas. It’s supposed to buy her time. Maybe even help her rediscover the girl who once lived for the ice.
There’s just one problem.
Her roommates.
Three powerhouse Alphas.
All devastatingly attractive.
All wildly talented.
All… her bullies from sixth grade.
Only now?
They don’t remember Nerdy MaeBell at all.
Rafe Calder — the magnetic team captain with NHL dreams, a born leader who commands the rink and every room he enters.
Callahan “Cal” Graham Knox — the warm, steady tutor and instructor whose strength is matched only by his kindness.
Étienne Laurent — the soft-spoken French goalie with a shy smile, a gentle heart, and a secret dream of becoming a cozy romance author.
They’re everything she never wanted.
And everything her heart is starting to crave.
Six weeks. That’s all she has.
But in a house full of knotty tension, second chances, and three Alphas who look at her like she’s already theirs, every day feels like a dare. And with Valentine’s Day looming—the same week she turns twenty-five—roses, chocolates, and heart-shaped promises are everywhere… along with the reminder that her time is running out.
Can she survive six weeks of chaos without falling?
Or will one knotty, puck-fueled Valentine change her fate forever?
💘🏒 Tropes You’ll Fall For in My Knotty Pucking Valentine ❄️ Second-Chance with a Twist🏒 Hockey Heartthrobs🌸 Nerdy Glow-Up Omega💔 Former Bullies → Fated Mates🏠 Forced Proximity (Roommates Edition)🧊 Ice Princess × Golden Boy Captain📚 Shy Goalie with a Secret Soft Side✏️ Sweet Tutor Who Worships Her🔥 “Who Did This to You?” Energy💐 Cozy Campus Romance🐺 Found Pack, Found Family🎀 Soft Girl Healing Arc💌 Love Letters, Chocolates & Knots
778 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2026
147 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 14, 2026
I had to stop reading since it didn’t make sense
I came into this book with a lot of hope thinking it was going to be a really fun cute romance. I got about 100 pages into the book and just couldn’t continue reading.
It just.. none of it makes sense and it’s so inconsistent and feels so naive that I couldn’t continue.
The main character Maebelle Mae Rose is an almost 25 year old omega who was apparently a late bloomer revealing as an omega at 21 opposed to most.. who I’m guessing reveal at 18 though it’s never said. She is 6 weeks away from turning 25, and her parents have decided to give her an ultimatum that she needs to find a pack before her birthday or she will be put into an arranged marriage. To try and avoid this (which I have no idea how this avoids it) she arranged to attend a university (at 25 after having worked in a professional setting for the last couple years) to follow her teenage aspirations of being a figure skater.
The love interests are two former 6th grade bully’s for the FMC and one pack member who is the younger brother of one of her former bullies. They all just joined the school in presumably January and one is suddenly the captain of the hockey team at this prestigious sports school. He’s apparently only attending 6 weeks as well for playoffs in hopes of being scouted to the NHL. If he’s 25.. he’s essentially already missed his NHL shot.
I think the linchpin for me was that it feels like this entire book was written with younger characters in mind but were aged up due to mature content or something. The book has a lot of ideas and needs an editor and someone to pull the ideas together in a way that makes sense. No school has 6 week semesters, no college hockey playoffs are even that short. Nobody goes from not skating for years to suddenly wanting to be an incredible skater again. No 25 year old still holds all these grudges from the 6th grade.. they grow up and move on.
There’s also just weird quirks that are in the writing where it feels like the writer forgot what they had previously written. One guy isn’t allowed in an omega area since he’s an alpha but is allowed in omega areas cuz he might not be an alpha? They are sitting outside at a pathway and suddenly a character is walking down a hallway? A suitcase is in such bad condition that she replaced the broken wheels with bottle caps.. because she’s stubborn and doesn’t want to spend money? The guys needed a scholarship to the school but one of them mentions having a black Amex?
Again I think it has a lot of potential and I think if the author had the time and editors this could be really good.. but it needs a lot of work.
I came into this book with a lot of hope thinking it was going to be a really fun cute romance. I got about 100 pages into the book and just couldn’t continue reading.
It just.. none of it makes sense and it’s so inconsistent and feels so naive that I couldn’t continue.
The main character Maebelle Mae Rose is an almost 25 year old omega who was apparently a late bloomer revealing as an omega at 21 opposed to most.. who I’m guessing reveal at 18 though it’s never said. She is 6 weeks away from turning 25, and her parents have decided to give her an ultimatum that she needs to find a pack before her birthday or she will be put into an arranged marriage. To try and avoid this (which I have no idea how this avoids it) she arranged to attend a university (at 25 after having worked in a professional setting for the last couple years) to follow her teenage aspirations of being a figure skater.
The love interests are two former 6th grade bully’s for the FMC and one pack member who is the younger brother of one of her former bullies. They all just joined the school in presumably January and one is suddenly the captain of the hockey team at this prestigious sports school. He’s apparently only attending 6 weeks as well for playoffs in hopes of being scouted to the NHL. If he’s 25.. he’s essentially already missed his NHL shot.
I think the linchpin for me was that it feels like this entire book was written with younger characters in mind but were aged up due to mature content or something. The book has a lot of ideas and needs an editor and someone to pull the ideas together in a way that makes sense. No school has 6 week semesters, no college hockey playoffs are even that short. Nobody goes from not skating for years to suddenly wanting to be an incredible skater again. No 25 year old still holds all these grudges from the 6th grade.. they grow up and move on.
There’s also just weird quirks that are in the writing where it feels like the writer forgot what they had previously written. One guy isn’t allowed in an omega area since he’s an alpha but is allowed in omega areas cuz he might not be an alpha? They are sitting outside at a pathway and suddenly a character is walking down a hallway? A suitcase is in such bad condition that she replaced the broken wheels with bottle caps.. because she’s stubborn and doesn’t want to spend money? The guys needed a scholarship to the school but one of them mentions having a black Amex?
Again I think it has a lot of potential and I think if the author had the time and editors this could be really good.. but it needs a lot of work.
February 15, 2026
Mixed feelings about this book. I liked the plot and much of the writing was done in a beautiful way. Descriptions of feelings were often written in a very poetic way. I also like the character development of the 4 main people that end up as a pack. It was beautiful to watch them grow as people and overcome past traumas and all get a happy ending. I was sad there was no joint fun activity, though 🤣.
I am so fucking glad that Rafe was not endgame. I was worried he would "change for good" and apologize and she would just accept him. She deserved better than him and I am glad he was kicked to the curb.
I am sad that there was no resolution on what happened to Vanessa, Rafe, or Bastien. Were there repercussions for how they acted? I hope so. they were nasty, toxic individuals.
As for the writing itself, there were many inconsistencies throughout the entire book that I kept getting hung up on. I also found the CONSTANT reminder of what each person smells like to be very annoying. It seems to be a constant with the author from the other books I've read. By the end, I usually start skipping whole paragraphs if I see it describing scents for the 100th time.
I will likely read the second book of the installment bc I'd like to see how sages story turns out. Hopefully we get more of Jace's mysterious circumstances.
I am so fucking glad that Rafe was not endgame. I was worried he would "change for good" and apologize and she would just accept him. She deserved better than him and I am glad he was kicked to the curb.
I am sad that there was no resolution on what happened to Vanessa, Rafe, or Bastien. Were there repercussions for how they acted? I hope so. they were nasty, toxic individuals.
As for the writing itself, there were many inconsistencies throughout the entire book that I kept getting hung up on. I also found the CONSTANT reminder of what each person smells like to be very annoying. It seems to be a constant with the author from the other books I've read. By the end, I usually start skipping whole paragraphs if I see it describing scents for the 100th time.
I will likely read the second book of the installment bc I'd like to see how sages story turns out. Hopefully we get more of Jace's mysterious circumstances.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2026
There were some bad reviews, so I wasn't super excited to read this, but I just had to. The cover is cute and it was on my TBR. So - it starts off a bit different than many alpha/omega books - Mae is the omega, but she's 25 and just starting to come into herself. Her parents are kicking her out (gave me the teenage - get a job and get out kind of vibe). The hockey part of this book was also a bit of a miss - most players come right out of college or partial college and don't start at 25 either - so I'm not sure why the ages are what they are - I mean, it would have been more believable if both of them were 20. There were a lot of 'misses' in this book, but it wasn't bad - it was a good story.
February 22, 2026
Hire an editor and use beta readers
I truly think that this book has promise. However, the author clearly didn’t use an editor, and if she did, it was not a good one. She doesn’t use contractions at all, which is not a natural form of speaking for people. There are also multiple holes in the story. For instance, the main characters apparently have known each other since middle school, and known other friends since then, but then suddenly when they meet, they don’t know each other at all? There’s just a lot of plot lines that don’t actually make sense.
All in all, I just believe that this author would’ve greatly benefited from the use of a better editor and beta readers. Many of these problems could’ve been easily fixed.
I truly think that this book has promise. However, the author clearly didn’t use an editor, and if she did, it was not a good one. She doesn’t use contractions at all, which is not a natural form of speaking for people. There are also multiple holes in the story. For instance, the main characters apparently have known each other since middle school, and known other friends since then, but then suddenly when they meet, they don’t know each other at all? There’s just a lot of plot lines that don’t actually make sense.
All in all, I just believe that this author would’ve greatly benefited from the use of a better editor and beta readers. Many of these problems could’ve been easily fixed.
February 16, 2026
I did not expect to be so emotionally invested in this book as much as I was. The type of response of tears free falling from watching a military homecoming video or rescue animals. And I’m genuinely shocked with how fast I devoured this book considering how long it was but I honestly couldn’t put it down, I was utterly invested and loved it.
February 18, 2026
good
I enjoyed this book, it had a decent storyline, good characters etc, I wish I could have given it a 5 star but there were a few time discrepancies that didn’t make sense and it stayed with me, I wish they had a 4.5 rating because it was still good. I also wanted an ending to what happened to Rafe? Was he expelled because he should have been.
I enjoyed this book, it had a decent storyline, good characters etc, I wish I could have given it a 5 star but there were a few time discrepancies that didn’t make sense and it stayed with me, I wish they had a 4.5 rating because it was still good. I also wanted an ending to what happened to Rafe? Was he expelled because he should have been.
February 11, 2026
4.75 stars
February 11, 2026
Really good book, it is a feel cozy book, so if you are looking for a well developed main character and a good storyline, go for it.
If you are looking for spicy scenes🌶️, go look somewhere else.
If you are looking for spicy scenes🌶️, go look somewhere else.
February 15, 2026
YESSSSSS
I enjoyed this so so much! I love all the characters. Well worth the read ♥️♥️♥️ 10/10
Can't wait to read the next!
I enjoyed this so so much! I love all the characters. Well worth the read ♥️♥️♥️ 10/10
Can't wait to read the next!
February 23, 2026
I loved this book!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews