Power Play

by Ruby Wolff

She exposed his team.
He refused to stay silent.

Lennox Hayes built her name on tearing apart broken systems. When she publishes an investigation exposing the toxic underbelly of Thornhill hockey, she expects backlash. She does not expect Carter Lynch.

Hockey captain. Campus royalty. The face of everything she stands against.

Forced into a follow-up series, Lennox finds herself shadowing the one man determined to control the narrative. Practices before sunrise. Interviews turned into battlegrounds. Every question becomes a challenge. Every look sparks something neither wants to acknowledge.

Carter fights for his team, his future, and the legacy threatening to swallow him whole. Lennox hunts for the truth, even when it costs her sleep, her job, and her distance.

Lines blur. Power shifts. Attraction ignites where resentment once lived.

This is not a love story built on ease.
This is pressure. Conflict. Heat.

And one question neither of them escapes.

Who breaks first?

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, College Romance, Hockey

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2026

Reviews

[Laura Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kinldy provided for the author in exchange for an honest review

I'm enjoying reading the Thornhill University novellas SO MUCH, loving the secondary characters, crossing my fingers to read them all, and falling madly in love with every couple. I really enjoyed Carter & Lennox's storyline, both as enemies and as a couple, and the twists Ruby Wolff gave these characters towards the end of the book.

I didn't like Lennox much in the first book, BUT with this one, she won me over from the very first chapter! she's a former athlete who had to give up her spot on the soccer team due to an injury, she lost her scholarship because of it and now has to work shifts in the cafeteria to make ends meet and is a journalism student at Thornhill. I loved her courage in calling out the hockey team in her article, the way she accepts and faces the Dean's conditions, and how she carries on with her work while always remaining professional. I also loved reading her again with Isla, having that immediate and beautiful connection with Maya that led her to want to protect her as much as Carter did, and I loved the ending Ruby gave her character.

Carter was a very interesting character: captain of the Thornhill hockey team, a boy who struggles to not be like his father and who protects his younger sister, Maya, at all costs, he's one of the most popular athletes at the university, and I loved that Ruby gave his character a completely unexpected twist. I really enjoyed reading how committed he is to the changes he wants to implement as captain, to forging his own future and making decisions about his life. And while I loved reading about him trying to eradicate toxic masculinity from hockey, I didn't like that he constantly tried to victimize himself and the team because of the article Lennox wrote, It's true that she doesn't know what he's trying to do, BUT I think holding her responsible for the added stress on his players is still sexist of him, especially since I think it's pretty obvious that his teammates don't value Carter's work as much because: 1. They all go to intimidate Lennox at work when the article comes out, and 2. Tyler keeps using the same misogynistic and sexist language to refer to her because of his annoyance with the article. And while we do see Carter reflect on the work he still has to do, I wish he had realized that the guys on the team are still falling into that bad culture, and that he wouldn't blame the article or Lennox for it.

Lennox & Carter have a great enemies to lovers dynamic: she writes an article about the negative culture on the hockey team he's captain, things explode at Thornhill as a result, and Lennox is forced to conduct follow-up interviews with Carter, giving her full access to the hockey team and its captain. One of the things I loved most about this couple was the tension between them, how they both have misconceptions about each other that begin to change when they both decide to trust one another, and how they share much more than they realize. It also melted my heart how much they are both willing to fight for their love and protect Maya.

And Maya is precisely one of the characters who stole my heart; her personal story intrigues me, I loved reading about her with Carter, and I would also love for Ruby Wolff to give me her story in this series of novellas.

🏒Carter: 3/5
📰Lennox: 4/5
🏒Plot: 4/5
📰Love story: 4/5
🏒Secondary characters: 5/5
📰Universe: 5/5
🏒Cover: 5/5
🥵: 2/5

ARC amablemente proporcionada por la autora a cambio de una reseña honesta

Estoy disfrutando MUCHO leer las novellas en Thornhill University, amando a los personajes secundarios, cruzando los dedos por leerlos a todos y enamorándome con locura de cada pareja. Me gustó mucho la trama de Carter & Lennox como enemigos y como pareja y los giros que Ruby Wolff le dio a estos personajes hacia el final del libro.

Lennox no me gustó mucho en el primer libro, PERO con este se ganó mi corazón desde el primer capitulo! Una ex deportista que tuvo que dejar su lugar en el equipo de soccer debido a una lesión, perdió su beca por eso y ahora tiene que tomar turnos en la cafetería para sobrevivir y es estudiante de periodismo en Thornhill Me encantó su valentía para señalar al equipo de hockey en su articulo, la manera en la que acepta, afronta la intimidación del Decano y sigue adelante con su trabajo siendo profesional siempre. También me encantó leerla de nuevo con Isla, teniendo esa conexión inmediata y hermosa con Maya que la llevó a querer protegerla tanto como Carter y amé el final que Ruby le dio a su personaje.

Carter fue un personaje muy interesante: capitán del equipo de hockey de Thornhill, un chico que lucha por no ser igual que su padre y que protege a su hermana menor, Maya, a toda costa, es uno de los atletas más populares de la universidad y me encantó que Ruby le diera a su personaje un giro completamente inesperado. Me gustó mucho leer lo realmente comprometido que está con los cambios que quiere implementar como capitán, con forjar su propio futuro y decidir sobre su vida y aunque me encantó leerlo tratando de erradicar la masculinidad toxica del hockey no me gustó que constantemente tratara de victimizarse a si mismo y al equipo por el artículo que Lennox escribe: es cierto que ella no sabe lo que él trata de hacer, PERO creo que hacerla responsable del estrés añadido de sus jugadores sigue siendo algo machista de su parte, especialmente porque creo que es bastante obvio que sus compañeros de equipo no le dan la misma importancia al trabajo de Carter porque 1. Todos juntos van a intimidar a Lennox en su trabajo cuando el articulo sale, y 2. Tyler sigue usando las mismas expresiones misóginas y machistas para referirse a ella debido a su molestia por el articulo, y aunque sí vemos a Carter reflexionar por el trabajo que aún le queda por hacer, me hubiera gustado que se diera cuenta de que los chicos del equipo siguen cayendo en esa mala cultura y que no responsabilizara al artículo o Lennox de ello..

Lennox & Carter tienen un enemies to lovers muy bueno: ella escribe un articulo sobre la cultura negativa que hay en el equipo de hockey, en el que él es capitán, las cosas explotan en Thornhill a partir de eso y Lennox se ve obligada a hacer entrevistas de seguimiento a Carter, lo que le da acceso total al equipo de hockey y su capitán. Una de las cosas que más me gustó de esta pareja fue la tensión entre ambos, como los dos tienen una idea equivocada del otro que empieza a cambiar cuando ambos deciden confiar en el otro y como comparten mucho más de lo que creen, además también me derritió el corazón lo mucho que ambos están dispuestos a luchar por su amor y proteger a Maya.

Y Maya es precisamente uno de los personajes que me robó el corazón, su historia personal me intriga, me encantó leerla con Carter y también me encantaría que Ruby Wolff me diera su historia en esta serie de novellas.

🏒Carter: 3/5
📰Lennox: 4/5
🏒Trama: 4/5
📰Historia de amor: 4/5
🏒Personajes secundarios: 5/5
📰Universo: 5/5
🏒Portada: 5/5
🥵: 2/5

[Lorena Garcia -- Brittany's Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty cute and to the point.

A sports journalist and a jock. She is out to get a story and the captain of the hockey team is the one who ends up with the wrath so now she has to shadow the team to see if what the captain is saying is true or not.

Lennox and Carter started off on the wrong foot but it seems like little by little Lennox is realizing that Carter is trying to change his ways, how the team plays and how they are as people. Carter comes from a home where his father is hard on him and constantly demands things from him and he does what he's told to appease his father, but is that what he really wants, is to do as he's told!!

Lennox seems to be the one to open up his eyes and little by little their animosity towards each other starts turning into something else. It doesn't help that Carter's sister is always there to try and make things right and is always on Carter about doing the right things, so his sister is the main factor on how Carter really see's Lennox, for who she is and not for what she wrote.

I loved that the chemistry between them was already there when they first clashed. The article could have been the nail in the coffin, but it seems like the article is the one thing that changes the dynamics of everything Lennox and Carter is concerned.

[Christy Davisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Frenemies to Lovers Romance.

If you love a fast paced romance between two unlikely individuals then you will love Carter & Lennox. These two both have some issues from their pasts that have shaped their views on sports & relationships.

We start off with an eye opening article by Lennox showing the hockey team involved in image damaging situations and even points towards the captain of the team Carter as an enabler of said issues. Now faced with blow back from her article Lennox is forced to follow the hockey team and report on first hand experiences she has and to give an unbiased report/article as well. So you can expect some frustrations between these two in the beginning then those pesky feelings start to evolve leading to more complications along the way. These two were fun to read because they not only have a huge misunderstanding of one another but they have emotional growth as the story unfolds.

What can you expect: hockey captain/journalism reporter, frenemy vibes to lovers, misunderstandings, outside complications, a little spice, emotional issues, and a HEA.

If you are a reader looking for a quick read with emotional moments and fun characters then this novella is a definite must read!!

Overall: 5/☆☆☆☆☆
Spice: 🌶

[Marni Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Power Play ; Thornhill University) perfection!! Just absolute perfection!!! I have to say , I was not prepared for Carter and Lennox’s story , not prepared for how utterly invested I was going to become in these two . Not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster I was just taken on . I mean these two could not be more opposite. Sure the chemistry between them is insane but in the beginning- they could not stand one another , they butted heads at every turn . The progression of their relationship though was so much fun to watch . All the verbal sparring , the way they learn something new about the other each time their together, the way they start to see each other in a different light and the way feelings , feelings neither saw coming come outta of no where and they find themselves falling hook line and sinker . Well reading Power Play really was like being on the craziest ride at the amusement park . I mean !!! I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole way through, wondering what was going to happen next , devouring every single word and just reeling from every emotion imaginable.

[Alyssa GSell · Rating 4 out of 5]

💙Review💙

4/5⭐️

Sometimes a good quick novella is what we need!

These two go from enemies to lovers real quick😝

Lennox writes an article about the hockey team that ruffled some feathers…. Including the caption the team Carter.

He makes it his goal to show her that she is wrong..

While they are spending so much time together they both end up falling insanely hard for each other in the process..

Carters father does NOT approve at all and it gets a little messy…

I love that Lennox gets to see the real Carter and falls for him🫶🏻

—————————

"I know it's early to be planning like this, but I don't want to lose you because of timing." "That's a huge decision." "You're a huge reason." He kisses my palm. "But it's not just you. I've been thinking about coaching. About working with athletes on mental health. The extra year would let me get more experience, build connections." "You've really thought about this." "I think about everything when it comes to you." My heart does that complicated thing again. "I think about you too. Constantly. It's annoying." "Good annoying or bad annoying?" he asking with a joke. "The best annoying."

[KayBeReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lennox is journalist for her college paper and she wrote and exposing piece on the hockey team and Carter the captain is not happy. These two butt heads immediately. Carter wants to show Lennox she only told one side of the story. Now she must write another piece about the team. These two are thrown together to get it done. Carter is not making it easy for her and Lennox says she can take it. I like Carter’s sister Maya. Everyone Carter and Lennox are together it’s a verbal sparring match and each time they learn something new about the other. And they are starting to realize they may have had their initial opinions wrong. Once they stopped fighting it, it was beautiful. But we all know once things are going right something has to go wrong. These two did what they need to do and came through on the other side, happy and together. This was such a beautiful story.

[Alison turton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is all about Lennox who is a hard hitting, investigative journalist wannabe. And Carter, captain of the hockey team and one of the golden boys of Thornhill University. After writing a scathing article all about the toxic masculinity problem within the hockey team, the people in authority who enable the teams bad behaviour and of course Carter Lynch. Who, according to the article, is the ringleader of it all. Lennox is forced to spend time with her nemesis in the hopes that she will see the team for who they really are and in turn write an unbiased article instead. Carter, angry at what he sees as an attack against the team that he loves is willing to do anything to show everyone that that is not who they are. Even spend time with the same reporter who destroyed his reputation. Battle lines are drawn, but who will come out on top?

And what happens when those battle lines blur and feelings ignite? Will Carter prove Lennox right and be as toxic as she imagines him to be? Or will Lennox be forced to confront the fact that she could have been wrong about him all along?

[Sharon Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ii was lucky enough to get an Arc copy of this book .i'm so loving this series , I enjoyed book two more than book one and I devoured that completely in a matter of hours these characters that Ruby is developing are great to read, complex personalities with multi layers and they definitely don't fit in to normal stereotypes that you assume they are, read it for yourself you'll see what I mean !!
Eagerly waiting for book 3 !!

[Jess Boschock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was so good I read it in one sitting. Lennox writes an article that exposes the hockey team. What she does not expect is Carter. Now they are having to work together. Lennox wants to expose the truth. Carter wants to fight for his team and their futures. They defiantly butt heads and the tension is thick. I enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

[Elesha's book fun gossip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. Opposite attract. These two couldn't have been more different. But as there storyline unfolds, you see a different side to the characters and the dynamic between then changes. It was fast paced and a rollercoaster, thoroughly enjoyed this novella.

[ashley riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this little short story. It was a nice break away from the "heavier" ones.

[Karen Ruedisueli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. very good story.