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Boston Grizzlies Hockey Club #2.5
Defenseless: Edizione Italiana (Boston Grizzlies Hockey Club (Edizione Italiana) Vol. 4)
Ryan Logan has been in love with Hailey MacGregor for a decade. She has no idea.
As the Boston Grizzlies’ star defenseman, Ryan plays it cool on and off the ice. But when his ten-year high school reunion rolls around, he sees a chance to finally spend time with the one woman he’s never been able to get over—his best friend’s little sister.
The last thing Hailey wants is to go back to her hometown, but when Ryan asks, she finds herself agreeing to go home with him. Living with multiple chronic illnesses has taught her to be careful with her energy—and even more careful with her heart. She’ll never act on her inconvenient crush on the cute hockey player who lives next door.
He’s been saving his first time for her. She’s always been too sick to date. Both are hiding pieces of themselves. And both about to discover what happens when years of unspoken feelings finally break the surface.
Her brother will never approve of them. But the longer they sneak around, the more difficult it is to come clean.
The rules say she’s off-limits. His heart says she’s the only one who matters.
Defenseless is a best friend’s little sister, they’re both virgins, friends to lovers hockey romance with strong themes of found family and acceptance.
As the Boston Grizzlies’ star defenseman, Ryan plays it cool on and off the ice. But when his ten-year high school reunion rolls around, he sees a chance to finally spend time with the one woman he’s never been able to get over—his best friend’s little sister.
The last thing Hailey wants is to go back to her hometown, but when Ryan asks, she finds herself agreeing to go home with him. Living with multiple chronic illnesses has taught her to be careful with her energy—and even more careful with her heart. She’ll never act on her inconvenient crush on the cute hockey player who lives next door.
He’s been saving his first time for her. She’s always been too sick to date. Both are hiding pieces of themselves. And both about to discover what happens when years of unspoken feelings finally break the surface.
Her brother will never approve of them. But the longer they sneak around, the more difficult it is to come clean.
The rules say she’s off-limits. His heart says she’s the only one who matters.
Defenseless is a best friend’s little sister, they’re both virgins, friends to lovers hockey romance with strong themes of found family and acceptance.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 18, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 11, 2026
You’ve been in love with your best friend’s sister most of your life but are you willing to risk losing him to have her?
Defenseless is another great edition to the Boston Grizzlies Hockey Club. It has everything you expect from an Allie Lasky story - fun, endearing characters, and lots of chemistry.
Ryan has loved Hailey since high school but has never tried to be more than her friend. Hailey believes that Ryan wouldn’t want anything but friendship with her. When these two finally get out of their own way, their connection is one that is deep, loving, and hot.
I love that all of Lasky’s books encompass different sexualities, chronic illnesses, and neuropsychological and mental health elements. She always highlights the different lives people lead and gives us a solid message - everyone deserves to be loved and have the life and love they are looking for. The way both Hailey and Ryan are open with each other and support each other through their respective difficulties is truly a thing to strive for.
Come back to the Boston Grizzlies and enjoy seeing how defenseless Ryan and Hailey are against love.
Defenseless is another great edition to the Boston Grizzlies Hockey Club. It has everything you expect from an Allie Lasky story - fun, endearing characters, and lots of chemistry.
Ryan has loved Hailey since high school but has never tried to be more than her friend. Hailey believes that Ryan wouldn’t want anything but friendship with her. When these two finally get out of their own way, their connection is one that is deep, loving, and hot.
I love that all of Lasky’s books encompass different sexualities, chronic illnesses, and neuropsychological and mental health elements. She always highlights the different lives people lead and gives us a solid message - everyone deserves to be loved and have the life and love they are looking for. The way both Hailey and Ryan are open with each other and support each other through their respective difficulties is truly a thing to strive for.
Come back to the Boston Grizzlies and enjoy seeing how defenseless Ryan and Hailey are against love.
November 19, 2025
Ryan has been in love with Hailey since high school, but he's never acted on his feelings. Not only is she his best friend, but her brother is his teammate. But when Hailey decides she wants to start dating, Ryan knows it's time to make his move.
Read if you like:
-Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
-Brother's Teammate
-It's Always Been You
-Mutual Pining
-Virgin FMC & MMC
-Demisexual MMC
-Chronic Illness Rep
Defenseless felt like a gift just for me. It had all my favorite tropes. I had to pinch myself a few times because it felt like it was just too good to be true. I adore the way Allie Lasky writes. Both Ryan and Hailey were so relatable. I was rooting for them since before I even picked up their book and I'm so happy that Defenseless did them justice. I can't recommend this one enough!
Read if you like:
-Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
-Brother's Teammate
-It's Always Been You
-Mutual Pining
-Virgin FMC & MMC
-Demisexual MMC
-Chronic Illness Rep
Defenseless felt like a gift just for me. It had all my favorite tropes. I had to pinch myself a few times because it felt like it was just too good to be true. I adore the way Allie Lasky writes. Both Ryan and Hailey were so relatable. I was rooting for them since before I even picked up their book and I'm so happy that Defenseless did them justice. I can't recommend this one enough!
February 17, 2026
Hailey (28)
Ryan (28)
Hailey is Ryan’s best friends sister, him and her brother play professional hockey together.
Dual Virgins- He is Demi sexual and only has been into her
They kissed when they were 15 once and then never spoke about it, she has kissed one other person after and no idea how many he has but he said he has tried but felt nothing
Unfortunately Hailey can’t have kids due to all her health conditions so they have to use condoms as she can’t have any sort of birth control with her health either.
Ryan (28)
Hailey is Ryan’s best friends sister, him and her brother play professional hockey together.
Dual Virgins- He is Demi sexual and only has been into her
They kissed when they were 15 once and then never spoke about it, she has kissed one other person after and no idea how many he has but he said he has tried but felt nothing
Unfortunately Hailey can’t have kids due to all her health conditions so they have to use condoms as she can’t have any sort of birth control with her health either.
January 4, 2026
A Charming Romance.
Due to health problems Hailey has never had a boyfriend and she supposes that her best friend has no romantic interest in her as he has never addressed their kiss ten years earlier. However that is definitely not the case and a New Year’s kiss gives him hope of a relationship between them. The only stumbling block is Hailey’s protective older brother…
I received a complimentary copy from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Due to health problems Hailey has never had a boyfriend and she supposes that her best friend has no romantic interest in her as he has never addressed their kiss ten years earlier. However that is definitely not the case and a New Year’s kiss gives him hope of a relationship between them. The only stumbling block is Hailey’s protective older brother…
I received a complimentary copy from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
December 11, 2025
3.5 star rounded up for the great disability rep for chronic illness.
3 stars for the story which is a nice low drama brother's best friend hockey romance plus .5 for the grown up communication and lack of misunderstandings & and Ryan's lifelong devotion
3 stars for the story which is a nice low drama brother's best friend hockey romance plus .5 for the grown up communication and lack of misunderstandings & and Ryan's lifelong devotion
Review of advance copy received from Author
Ryan Logan is the perfect book boyfriend. Would highly recommend reading this book to fall in love with both him and Hailey. They are a perfect mixture of cute and strength coming together.
Can't wait to read Aidan's story in the future.
Can't wait to read Aidan's story in the future.
Read
January 26, 2026My friend grabbed this for me for the POTS/EDS representation! It has a couple of spicy scenes and mentions, but I think the scenes were fairly easy to skip over. Overall, a quick and easy read, but it’s nice to see some disability rep without infantilization
January 3, 2026
4,5/5 ⭐️🩷
September 10, 2026
Such a great second chance romance with best friend's sister thrown in!
Review of advance copy received from Author
5/5 This book was perfection.
TROPES:
-childhood friends to lovers
-MMC is demisexual
-FMC has several chronic illnesses
-dual virgins
-brother’s best friend
-hockey
Omgggg. This book was amazing! I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, especially with unrequited love being on both sides. 🥹 And the fact the MMC was demisexual & a virgin by choice- because he wanted to wait for the FMC? Perfection.
I also loved the chronic illness rep. The FMC has endometriosis, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and Ehler’s-Danlos Syndrome. The MMC accepted for her who she was and did not want to change her ONE. BIT. 👏🏻
Mutual yearning? Lots of tension? Spice? Comedy and romance? This book has it all.
SAFETY:
dual virgins
no OM/OW (she goes on a date but nothing happens!)
no cheating/sharing
happy ending with a cute epilogue! 🖤
I got this book from The Fictional Heroes Library as a (legit) free download from the author. Can’t wait to read more by this author!
TROPES:
-childhood friends to lovers
-MMC is demisexual
-FMC has several chronic illnesses
-dual virgins
-brother’s best friend
-hockey
Omgggg. This book was amazing! I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, especially with unrequited love being on both sides. 🥹 And the fact the MMC was demisexual & a virgin by choice- because he wanted to wait for the FMC? Perfection.
I also loved the chronic illness rep. The FMC has endometriosis, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and Ehler’s-Danlos Syndrome. The MMC accepted for her who she was and did not want to change her ONE. BIT. 👏🏻
Mutual yearning? Lots of tension? Spice? Comedy and romance? This book has it all.
SAFETY:
dual virgins
no OM/OW (she goes on a date but nothing happens!)
no cheating/sharing
happy ending with a cute epilogue! 🖤
I got this book from The Fictional Heroes Library as a (legit) free download from the author. Can’t wait to read more by this author!
April 19, 2026
I really enjoyed this sweet and heartfelt story. Ryan is a charming hockey player who’s secretly been in love with Hailey for years. Hailey is a kind, strong woman dealing with health issues, which makes her cautious about love. I liked how their friendship slowly turns into something more, and you can tell they genuinely care about each other. The story has a cozy vibe, mixed with some fun hockey scenes and a bit of sneaking around. It’s about finding acceptance and learning to trust your feelings. Overall, a nice read if you like stories about friends turning into lovers with a bit of emotional depth.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews