No Place Like Home: A Second Chance Romance

by MJ Allen

Hockey made him a star.
It made his wife a target.

Emerald Sawyer has always been my home.

She saw something in me when everyone else saw a hockey goon who could barely read. When the world called me stupid, she called me capable. Her faith built me in ways my father’s cruelty never could.

Now I’m Hayden “Haymaker” Sawyer—the league’s most feared enforcer. My violence goes viral. My fists pay the bills. Every hit, every fight, every autograph, every deal—I told myself I was doing it all for her.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing what it was costing our marriage.

I let my agent handle the business so I could focus on the game. I ignored the threats and harassment. The fans who hated her simply for being mine. When Emerald tried to show me how cruel it had gotten, I told her it didn’t matter. That I would always keep her safe.

I was wrong.

The losses piled up. The fans turned vicious. My temper snapped, and with one ugly moment, I pushed away the only person who has ever truly loved me.

Then, while I was smiling for the cameras, my wife was brutally attacked by a fan wearing my jersey.

Now I see everything too late.

I want blood from every single person who touched her.

And the deeper I dig, the clearer it becomes that none of this was random.

My agent, Rick Fox, has been pulling the strings for far too long.

I’ll do whatever it takes to bring down the people who came for my wife, earn back the woman I love, and prove that this time, I won’t fail her again.

Because Emerald Sawyer is my home, my heart, my everything.

Please check trigger warnings before reading.

Genres: Second Chance, Sports, Sports Romance, Hockey, Contemporary, Romance, Contemporary Romance

446 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2026

About the author

Hi, I’m MJ Allen!

I’m a romance author from the Garden State (go birds).

I love writing contemporary romance that hurts before it heals. My stories will always feature a strong heroine, a man that’s completely devoted to her, and a dreamy romance to root for.

I like to write about delicate topics in my books such as women’s unpaid labor, gender dynamics, misogyny, enmeshment, and mental health.

My favorite tropes to write are friends to lovers, second chance, and marriage-in-trouble.

When I’m not writing, I can be found with my husband and our two cats.

Thank you so much for being here!

Reviews

[Snafuzled · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit - bumping this up to five because I bought it for my perma-shelf and will definitely reread! 😎

I really enjoyed this one. I’m a big fan of this author. They’re quickly becoming one of my favorites to watch.

Spoilery thoughts..

Well this certainly was NOT a love letter to Boston! Yikes! This is about a normal girl and her professional hockey star husband. A husband who is not, nor ever has been, a man-whore. It’s so rare to read a sports romance where the MMC isn’t a man-whore. It was refreshing.

Anyway, MMC is on a losing streak. FMC is getting completely dog piled by the ‘fans’ and it’s awful. MMC tells her it’s no big deal and ignores it. After a bad loss he loses his temper and says some awful things to the FMC in front of cameras, she leaves and gets viciously attacked by a fan. It was difficult to read. This all happens in the first few chapters.

The rest of the book is her healing and MMC making things right. He truly adores her and is eaten alive with guilt. It was delicious.

Her family was amazing. Villains get their comeuppance. I’ll certainly never think of the game Marco-Polo the same. 😬A great feel good HEA and epilogues.

Very good read. Definitely recommend. 🏒

[Sofia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reader Note 💕
I’m romance-focused and particular about relationship dynamics. I always flag cheating, OWD/OMD, and romantic scenes involving other people so readers can decide if the book fits their comfort zone.


⭐ Rating: 3
📚 Genre: Romance, thriller.

📃Brief summary : Story follows Hayden and Emerald as he joins a new team in a big city. this makes his wife a target for bullies, he ignores her worries until she gets attacked and nearly died after he also lashed out on her verbally.
and that was a wake up call for him.
✍️ Overall Thoughts : it tackled the suspense thriller aspect really well. I really enjoyed the variety of characters such as the detectives that were helping them. And my favorite character in the book might be Emerald's sister Ruby, who is a badass lawyer who didn't take shit from anybody. She was the only person that fully called out hayden on his behavior and was probably the person who cared the most about her sister.

👥 Main Characters
💃 FMC
• Name: Emerald
• Personality: sweet. supportive, caring, understanding, forgiving
• Character Growth: she didn't need any character growth tbh
• Did I like her? Yes
• Notes: despite her immediately forgiven hayden for what he did and everything he put her through, I understand why she did it. And I understand what she saw in him that made her forgive him instantly. she's absolutely strong for going through what she's been through. and she's incredible overall
🕺 MMC
• Name: Hayden
• Personality: i'm having a hard time finding the right words lol so i'll stick to '" guilty" , in the sense that he was feeling guilt throughout the book for what he put emerald through for not believing when she told him about the bullies, and for ultimately being the main reason that she got assaulted and going outside after the verbal lashing he gave her.
• Character Growth: 5/5
• Did I like him? Yes
• Notes: i like Hayden. I really do. I feel like the first chapter and what he said to Emerald was absolutely fucked up, but he owned up to it, and worked tirelessly to fix everything and to keep emeralds safe.
the only thing I was not a fan of was how much the author was trying to make us feel bad for him by portraying him as a victim of his father. which he was when he was under his father's control. but i'm sorry I simply cannot sympathize with a grown man who knows he had a shitty life and a shitty childhood, yet refused to get therapy, and ultimately turned that trauma into anger towards his wife.
after he acknowledged all of this and decided to go to therapy, I was like FINALLY.
🧠 Relationship Dynamics
• Chemistry: 5/5 especially when they first met they were the cutest
• Communication: Messy
• Relationship Development: fast

🖋️
🚨 Content & Safety
• Cheating: No
• Other Women Drama (OWD): Yes, he had an obsessed fan and his agent tried to stage her presence in all his games as him having an affair with her. But it didn't cause drama between the mcs, because it was very clear that it was all a plan.
• Other Men Drama (OMD): No
• Romantic/ Sex Scenes with Other People: No
• Other people after meeting/ being together : No
• Virgins or Experienced: Both Virgins when they met
❤️ Tropes & Vibes
• Tropes: i know it's promoted as marriage in crisis but it's not.
• Vibes: Sweet, Angsty
✅ Final Verdict
Would I recommend? Yes
Final thoughts: If I had started reading this book without the idea that it's going to be a marriage in crisis, I would have loved it alot more, but I feel like I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the marriage in crisis aspect. It was just told to us. plus there was more focus on who caused the assault and his evil agent rather than the actual romance and the MC together
📅 Read Date: 01-05-2026

⚠️Note:
My content is not criticism of the book or author. It exists solely to help readers make informed choices based on personal boundaries.

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew person who had a major spat with her husband and they both walked away seriously pissed off at each other. The husband immediately got into a car wreck and died, and for the rest of this woman's life she knew the shitty things she said to her husband that day were the last words he'd ever hear from her again. That always stuck with me, so my hubby and I always resolved our disagreements before leaving the house after a spat. Life is too short. This story underscored the importance of cherishing our spouse even during hothead moments.

This poor heroine went through so much. My heart seriously hurt for her. This Hero being a gigantic dickwad, spewed awful and cruel words at his sweet wife for no good reason other than his frustration at the loss of his game. She walked away and he regretted every word that had left his mouth.

It's been a long time since I read such brutality in a story. I tend to avoid them, but this story was worth the read. I LOVED this couple so much. Emerald was a doll, and she was Hayden's world completely. I loved how hard he worked to make up for his asshole behavior and leaving his wife so vulnerable and unprotected.

The story took a turn into the psychotic behavior of other people, and I could believe all of it. People are so ugly these days when they are incognito behind a keyboard. Other people are truly narcissists and psychos in real life as experienced in this story, too.

This story was a long one for me after reading so many short stories these days. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just in so many spots of this story, I'd think, "Oh, it's over now...." But it wasn't. Something else big would happen.

I loved everything about this story. Hayden and Emerald were true soulmates. They were adorable together, and their love for each other shined through. My heart broke for all that Emerald went through at the hands of that lunatic. I adored everything about Emerald's family, and their friends from long ago too. I was so happy experience Hayden's dick of a dad redeem himself, and I enjoyed every second of the lunatics getting what they deserved in the end.

[Amee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@ 27%

Unfortunately I had to DNF. The potential for angst was totally there with the plot, there was just something about this I couldn’t get into. May try again at another time.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out so good

But then about 42% in, it stored to drrraaaaag. ! was so bored. First off the history would have been better left in the past. I seriously hated the flash backs. I just wanted to know what was going on NOW. First off the wanna be OW, the slutty fake, was almost a caricature of an OW. She was way over the top. I was laughing at her showing up in the apartment and so comfortable with it. just,a total collapse of real romance! No way would that ever happen in real life, ever, so off putting. And sad. Then it happens , A meet up with someone going down in a blaze of glory. Not caring and ready to sacrifice everyone for s bit of orEace,,aise. I just gated it.

[Feriel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
this one unfortunately did not give.

[LaBlue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m currently at 34% and it’s holding my attention but there are so many errors that I’m mildly disappointed in this book. The plot line is heartfelt and angsty and the betrayal and the revelation of the assault is well written. Maybe a little dragged out but only just. However, the continuity issues are minor but a lot of them. It wouldn’t bug me if it wasn’t for the fact that I paid for this story. When it was on wattpad I could deal with these kinds of errors because those are usually amateur authors with little to no editing or editing services happening. But it seems like this author went straight to paid publication without revising her story. That is honestly sad that no further effort was made at editing before printing and that my eagerness to wait for print was unwarranted.

Also, it’s annoying that every chapter so far has the town and month listed at the beginning. It’s an annoying unnecessary detail that should only be noted when an actual change in character, location or date is actually relevant.

And one of my pet peeves is also happening in this book. The injuries are downplayed considering the extent of the assault described. A 6’2” heavyset man beats a 5’5” little woman like she was another man and all she has is facial swelling and bruising, a punctured lung and rib fractures, a broken jaw and teeth, two broken fingers, concussion, and with hypothermia that almost froze her to death. But she’s awake and communicating a day and a half later? These injuries are extensive as is, but are missing the broken nose that’s only mentioned before the EMT’s arrived. It’s missing the absolute obvious ones, internal injuries and or internal bleeding. It’s definitely missing the spine/neck injuries and or fractures she should absolutely have. It does mention ptsd towards men in general, but even that should only be revealed after week of being unconscious before they even begin to realize the extent of that emotional and mental trauma.

So as usual, the medical aspects are played as “so life threatening” that she could have died but downplayed as practically having miraculously fast healing and cognitive awareness after a day or two, to recover so quickly and be so alert so soon. Give me a break please!

61% UPDATE

Ugh so many errors!

79% UPDATE

These flashback chapters are cute but pointless to the story. They almost always show a situation that was already inner monologued in the present time. They don’t progress the story. The do make you like the characters but I’m pretty sure if you’ve made it this far into the book then you already liked them. So again what is the point of these flashbacks, especially so late in the book. In the beginning I get as it sets up the characters profiles and if done right can give context to the events of the story. But once you pass the halfway point of a story the flashbacks need to stop or be vastly shorter than a full chapter. Maybe glimpse of a moment only a few paragraphs long. Smdh.

FINAL UPDATE

I may have been annoyed with a lot of things in this book but I really did like the story and the characters overall. I was able to enjoy it despite the grammar and continuity issues, the unrealistic medical representation, the slow pacing and the unnecessary chapter long flashbacks. I loved the love between the characters. The entire story centered on them together. No separation and or solo self improvement and therapies. They were together from page one to the last word. There isn’t really anything to spoil as this was a very simple story of overcoming trauma and outside interference.

Having said that, nothing spectacular happened here or any writing that resonated with me. But it was still an interesting read. I don’t know if this will make my reread list but I absolutely did end up loving the HEA. It’s worth reading at least once. Enjoy.

[Kiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Graphic on-page assault, stalking, online harassment, threats of s*xual and physical violence, PTSD, gun violence, grief, and parental abuse.

No Place Like Home was about 26-year-old Emerald "Em" Osgood Sawyer (career never stated), and 27-year-old Hayden “Haymaker” Sawyer—the hockey league’s most feared enforcer.

Emerald and Hayden met eight years earlier, during their freshman year of college, when she was asked to tutor him. (The book doesn't state for certain how many years they had been married before the opening pages, but it had been a while.) Hayden started out working with a hockey team in Michigan, but later accepted a place on a team in Boston. The move did not go over well at all.

Once they had moved to Boston, life for Emerald went downhill extremely fast. She had been telling Hayden for a long time that she was being harassed, threatened, and stalked, but he brushed it all aside, not really believing it was as bad as she said. He chose to listen to his agent that "These things happened. It will blow over, and she'll be fine", so Emerald's safety was never properly addressed.

When the team lost their sixth game in a row, Hayden exploded on Em, saying the most cruel, foul things a man could say to his wife, and he did it in front of the cameras, his team, and his fans. Rather than stay and let him continue verbally abusing her, she left him standing outside the locker room. But once she was away from him and the crowds, she was brutally assaulted. It took him a long time to find her, mainly because his manager/agent distracted him with interviews, autographing things for the puck bunnies who were always around him, and then Hayden needed to shower. But his manager had told him that he'd made certain Emerald made it safely to her car...except he didn't. When Hayden remembered to check the shared app he and his wife had on their phones to find each other, he realized she was still at the rink... and in the wrong parking lot. What he and a teammate soon discovered was an unconscious Emerald, covered in snow and blood.

It only got worse when Emerald woke up, because she was so traumatised by the attack, she was terrified of all men...including Hayden, who was still wearing his team jersey (the man who beat her had been wearing his numbered jersey, too).

(I'm not going into any more detail regarding the story. Suffice to say, it was brutal, dark, and compelling.) The story was told from a dual pov, but mainly from the MMC's pov.

The book was full of angst, drama, and an emotional rollercoaster that had the most satisfying twists and turns that I've read in any book in recent months. The push/pull between the two main characters was not only really well done, but it was absolutely warranted. The contention and conflict kept me glued to the pages, and the flow of the story was uninterrupted.

Both main characters were well-developed and mature, with more than enough room for the growth they needed. The support from the secondary characters was good as well. The suspense could have been less drawn-out, but then it wouldn't have been worth the read if it had been because...suspense is supposed to be drawn out in a thriller...right? And yes, this had the makings of a thriller over a romance novel.

I gave this a four-star rating because it needed some tweaking before it got a full five stars. It was almost there. I wouldn't mind reading repeatedly, and hopefully, there will be a second book about two of the other characters in the story (not gonna say because I don't want to spoil it). This is definitely worth reading. You won't be disappointed.

[Jetscarbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very emotional, and it caused my eyes to water a few times (possible spoilers ahead)

I can totally see this happening in real life. The parasocial relationship people have with celebrities is creepy. Just using Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey, as an example- go to any of Hailey’s social media accounts, and you see endless comments where they call her marriage fake, or they call her awful names. Fans act like they know Justin better than her.
I know it probably happens to every celebrity couple, but some couples get it worse.

So yeah…what happened to h in the beginning was very believable. I could see some obsessed fan blaming the wife for the team losing. I could even believe there are shady PR firms that fake “events” to drum up publicity.

I really wouldn’t say this was a marriage in crisis, but it was definitely almost there. H knew immediately he fk’d up by taking his anger out on h. He almost lost the chance to apologize because she almost died. Thankfully, he wasn’t a total dummy. I LOVED h’s sister, Ruby. We all need a Ruby in our lives.

The author did an amazing job at H’s POV. I could feel every single bit of desperation he had during that ambulance ride and during the hospital scenes. I felt his love for h.

There’s no big mystery in this book. I think everybody knew the PR guy was shady from the moment he was introduced. The timeline accurately showed that the couple’s issues started the moment the PR guy entered their life.
I did chuckle a little when it was mentioned that h never liked him. IVE BEEN THERE BEFORE. 😜 Every single time I’ve told my husband I didn’t like somebody, and he’s ignored me or gone “ohh he’s a nice guy” -he has always been burned by that person.

I liked both MCs. I didn’t think h was weak or pathetic even though she forgave H pretty quickly. I understood why. H was not a bad guy. He made a significant mistake and trusted the wrong people.

That Marco Polo game was INTENSE!

I especially liked the peek at the darker side of hockey/sports.

I will be following this author ❤️ and I’m interested to see what else they write.

[Mona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m going to dnf not that this isn’t good writing at all but I feel like I know what’s going to happen. There was a build up to marriage in crisis but then the assault happened and gah I cried with that whole situation and him finding her and the aftermath. I’m glad she forgave him but I think this is when I started to lose interest. Loved the wizard of oz theme of names. I need a good rejected mate book!!

*** ok ended up going back and finishing this puppy. I felt it was a bit long and the Rick thing dragged a bit. I wished the author had built up the relationship like instead of the flashbacks to how they met and dating life like the book should’ve started out with this bc I wanted to be invested in the couple rather than just be thrown in the drama from the get go. The epilogues were sweet.

[I’m a Paula too… Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hockey and Oz — amazing…

Emerald is the FMC, and she has a sister named Ruby. Maiden name of Osgood. Pets named Dorothy and Toto. A house that has a yellow brick road patterned stair runner. I totally fell in love…

Hayden is the MMC and he’s a big league hockey player. They met in college and have been married for a while. They move to Boston because he’s been signed to a new team for $4M.

And that’s where all the trouble starts…

This story has some truly brutal events. Hayden has an anger problem that it looks like he learned from his father. If you can stomach the violence, this is a truly good story.

KU and this is a tremendous story. Highly recommended.

[Gel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved! RTC

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Characters are too perfect for SCAB to be believable

Some authors fail at second chance romance after betrayal because they don’t know how to balance the good and bad to make the story believable. The characters have to be flawed and the betrayal has to agree with the MCs flaws for the redemption to be worth a second chance. This story suffers from that. The MCs seem like they are too perfect so the conflict wasn’t believable and it seemed like they were in two different relationships so the groveling is not satisfying cause from the fmc’s perspective it’s not enough but from the MMC’s perspective it’s over the top.

I only made it to 58% before I DNF’d but about 90% of the first half of book is the MMCs POV and he constantly talks about how he loves his wife, she is the best thing that ever happened to him, all of the things he did for her out of love, etc. she is basically perfect from his POV. So how did they get to the point of him treating her like crap? What about her made her less important over time if she was his heartbeat and only reason for living? It just didn’t make sense.

The FMC had no flaws at all which made the betrayal not make sense which made the MMCs seem like a bigger a*hole which also contradicted with his POV chapters where he is super in love, supportive, protective, and present. It made for a boring story because it was more about the FMCs trauma and recovery than the MMCs betrayal and the couples recovery of their relationship. That wasn’t what I was looking for.

Then another pet peeve for me was that this author doesn’t know how to write a MMC. He was so unrealistic for a 6’5, 200+lbs, hockey player with an on-ice anger issue. He was puppy and not in a good way. He was overly sensitive, loving, and protective. And every time his wife looked at him, he would preen and Lordy if she touched him, he about collapse out of awe or lust. It was too over the top.

I got tired of reading “Emerald is so good, or so nice, or so thoughtful, or so supportive, or so beautiful…… I ended up quitting.

[dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

there was so much potential for this book, i was expecting more the whole time
the plot was very predictable and while the characters were fine, it honestly felt unrealistic (i would've divorced long ago if i was emerald)
there were a lot of cliches in this book and while i do enjoy cliches, this book did not stand out to me
it had no business being over 430 pages, it was dragged on a lot
the book felt like it was trying to subvert patriarchal expectations, but it kind of did not...anyway this book was not for me

[celestial sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL!!😭🤍

This book put me through every possible emotion. It made me cry, laugh, get angry, swoon and smile like an idiot.

I'm usually skeptical about second chance romances but this one had no cheating which made me want to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did.

Hayden and Emerald were high school sweethearts who fell in love young and got married. Hayden is a famous ice hockey player, and with fame came relentless media attention and toxic fans. Emerald constantly received hateful comments, sexual remarks, and even death threats. Although she showed some of them to Hayden, he asked her to ignore them because ignoring hate was how he had always coped with people calling him stupid due to his dyslexia. He did ask his agent to do something about that and when Emerald didn't show him the comments again, he thought it was handled. (It was not🥲)

Rick, Hayden's manager, agent, publicist or whatever was absolutely infuriating. Every time Hayden wanted to set boundaries with fans or the media, Rick convinced him not to because it would hurt his image and and that he would lose his fans and that would cost him money. I genuinely hated that man.

After losing an important game, when Emerald was trying to comfort Hayden , he took his frustration out on Emerald and publicly humiliated her in front of the media nd also telling her to stop talking. It was the first time he had ever yelled at her. Heartbroken, Emerald left only to be brutally attacked by one of Hayden's fan in the parking lot for losing the game.

This part made me so angry. Emerald was already carrying the weight of endless public hate and Hayden's outburst only made things worse. Yes, he regretted it immediately and wanted to go after her but Rick stopped him, telling to giver her space nd insisting to giev interviews first

I liked how realistically the story portrayed society's tendency to blame the wife whenever things go wrong, making Emerald the target for every one of Hayden's losses.

When Hayden finally found Emerald, she was fighting for her life. Her injuries were devastating broken ribs, lung damage, broken fingers, a broken jaw, and the loss of two crooked teeth that Hayden adored so freakingmuch. She couldn't even speak for weeks and the fact that the last thing he had told her was to "stop talking" absolutely shattered him because he loved hearing her voice.

the story became a beautiful journey of healing, both individually and as a couple. Hayden realized that although Rick manipulated many aspects of his life, blaming everything on Rick would only be an excuse. Emerald was his wife and he had failed to prioritize her for a period. I really appreciated that he took responsibility instead of hiding behind excuses.

Then there was Britney... I have never wanted to jump into a book and throw someone out a window more. She was an obsessed stalker fan who worked with Rick to ruin Hayden and Emerald's marriage . She ran a Insta acc named @mrs.haymaker (haymaker is a nickname for the mmc given by fans), spread hatred about Emerald and postingpictures of herself with Hayden that he unwillingly had to click, she used to secretly enter Hayden's and Emerald's apartment using a code Rick gave her, wore Emerald's clothes, staged fake photos, and to try convince everyone that hayden was cheating. Rick even controlled Hayden's Instagram posting thirst traps without his consent and messaging fans while pretending to be him. It was disgusting.

Thankfully when Hayden discovered everything, he took the right steps to fix the damage. I also loved that Emerald didn't forgive him overnight. Their reconciliation felt earned. Watching them slowly rebuild their trust was emotional and incredibly satisfying.

And I can confidently say this, Hayden loved Emerald with his whole heart. The way he thought about her, cared for her, and spoke about her never left any doubt. Yes, he lost himself for a while, but he found his way back home and home was always Emerald for him

Emerald loved Hayden just as deeply. She was the first person who acknowledged his dyslexia without making him feel stupid. She was patient, understanding and always saw him for who he truly was.

Their happy ending genuinely made me cry. After everything they endured, they deserved every bit of peace they found together.

Ughhh there's still so much I could say about this book because this review barely scratches the surface and idk how to express them

Safety:

- Dual virgins.
- Hayden kissed two girls before meeting Emerald (only briefly mentioned, no details) and never had feelings for anyone until Emerald.
- Emerald had two boyfriends before Hayden. One relationship progressed to the "2nd base" (idk what that means) before ending, but nothing further.
- OW drama: the thing about Britney🤢 i mentioned above nd toxic fans constantly claimed Hayden deserved someone else and sent Emerald fake messages saying they had slept with him. Hayden had no idea Rick was running his social media or pretending to interact with fans and Emerald never believed the lies because she trusted Hayden completely. (Britney was put into her place by Hayden, Ruby(Emerald's sister) and the law)

For Hayden, there was never anyone but Emerald. She was always his person, and despite losing his way for a while, his heart never stopped belonging to her.

There is only one spicy scene (which was great btw) but the lack of spice didn't bother me at all since there were other things to focus upon.

[Kazzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
A refreshing read. An MMC that loves his wife with his whole heart… got lost a little a long the way but he was a beautiful character to read, he has only ever loved one woman, had all his firsts with her and they are truly soulmates!
Emerald- what a fierce woman! She goes through some utter shit, the online bullies from his hockey fans, the brutal attack, humiliation… she stuck up for herself and had a backbone.
I loved her family, I really could picture that happy American family drinking hot cocoa and watching family movies.
Ultimately for me this book was about grief, healing and forgiveness.
Yes there is hockey, but for me this is not a hockey romance… it’s more than that, there is trauma and healing, found family, lots of forgiveness and suspense- it makes you think about words you can’t take back and what really matters in life… our loved ones! They are our home 🤗

[Lucina]

DNF after 40%

I really tried with this story but I think it's just not my kind of romance. I wanted the FMC to separate from the MMC and was a bit confused by the MMC. Apparently she is his world but he still treated her like shit? I mean I still liked him whereas she was too perfect and I couldn't connect with her. Overall I just thought that the story was boring because it was ver internal monologue heavy and for the first half we don't get a lot of interaction between both MCs, because the FMC was hurt. And I'm more of a banter lover than a "internal broody" lover.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on wattpad and it was so exciting to read as it came out, the suspense was well done with the romance and I need more authors to do relationships in trouble without cheating!! Thank you MJ Allen!

[Micha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. Loved that Hayden was all about Emerald from the start and even with his fuck up he never wavered on his love for her.

[Jill S · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars.

At 41% it is stated that there is only one place in Boston to make a bet that large. I was surprised that the detective would even consider in person betting. With online sports betting, anyone can bet from anywhere. But I guess it's fiction so it works.

At 70% there is this gem of a mistaken word, "There's someone cooking on the stove, a stew, I think." I guffawed. 😂 Yes, I'm easily entertained.

[JillyB · Rating 5 out of 5]

No place like home

No Place Like Home hits hard. Chapter 1 pulls you in and you are left wondering what just hit you.

This is the story of Hayden and Emerald. They have a beautiful love story, even though you will be questioning that with the first chapter. She tells their love story through flashbacks and current time. No worries, the flashbacks are not distracting they are beautiful moments from time that enhance the story not detracts from it.

Hayden, who has a learning disability, met Emerald while going to school at the University of Michigan . She was his tutor. They became friends, lovers, and married. Emerald has very supportive loving parents and a sister Ruby who is a fire cracker. Their mom loves everything Wizard of Oz hence her daughter’s names. They open their arms to Hayden and give him the love never shown by his wealthy, mostly absent parents. His father was mentally abusive and disowned Hayden when Hayden wouldn’t fall in line. He was ok with that as he had Em. Em worked multiple jobs to support them as Hayden rose through the ranks of the hockey world. He was signed to the NHL and he and Em moved to Minnesota . Life in Minnesota was good and the team was supportive and family oriented.

Hayden was intent on giving Emerald anything she wanted so he hired Rick(the dick) to manage his career. Rick is both manager and agent for Hayden. He is intent on making Hayden a star as it lines his pockets at the same time. Rick is about image, and he controls many aspects of Hayden’s life including his social media account. He see’s Hayden’s love for Emerald as a road block, a road block doesn’t stop Rick. He gets Hayden signed to the Boston Bullies which means more exposure and more money. Boston is not Minnesota. Family values are not the focus and puck bunnies are hopping around all over the place. Rick tells Hayden he needs to go with the flow. Although Hayden puts some boundaries up, they are still more than Rick wants. Being available and friendly to your female fans sells merchandise, magazines, free social media posts etc… Hayden follows many of Rick’s directives worse the intent of providing the best life possible for Em. However, Em is unhappy with the feel of Boston and she is getting harassed online by rabid fans, which Hayden dismisses as jealousy on the fan’s parts. Meanwhile, Hayden is getting more irritable, because Rick keeps pulling him to do sponsorships etc…His home is Emerald, so he starts to feel undone when he doesn’t see her for long stretches….which brings us to chapter 1

Angry words are said. Tragedy strikes in the form of angry fan. Emerald left fighting for her life. And just like that their life will never be the same again. Hayden full of regrets and remorse. Emerald who has to physically and emotionally heal. Yet through it all, you feel the love. Even the parents who arrive at the hospital to see their little girl struggling manage to show their disappointment in Hayden but they do not retract their love. Ruby doesn’t spare Hayden anything but even she works to help him get to the bottom of the rot that has infiltrated their lives.

There are many evil forces at work here in the story, some connected, some not. Let’s meet some of the people who have caused issues in our main characters lives over the years.
*Harold Sawyer who belittled his son for his learning differences and later disowned him…His emotional abuse of his son plays a role in how his son reacted to stress.
*Rick is a slime ball…he is a man with no values(except money and fame) And Hayden is not his first client. In fact, his last client, Jace, who Hayden replaced on the hockey team, ended up in a huge scandal and disappeared
Brittney-Social influencer darling, and self proclaimed #1 fan of Hayden(and bully of Emerald)…This puck bunny didn’t know how to stay in her lane and the question is who was helping her out of her lane?
*Attacker-don’t worry we will meet him…he did what he did, but did he do it alone?

Where there are villains there are also heroes/heroines:
*the police investigators on the case are excellent(although they have forces working against them)
*friends from Minnesota are supportive
*Emerald’s parents are there to help not only their daughter but to help Hayden as he grapples with guilt and the need for vengeance
*Sister Ruby, a lawyer, gets in the face of some very big men and walks out with their balls in her purse
*As the story progresses, Hayden isn’t the only one to get a redemption

I know I am leaving out the details. You will have more fun discovering them on your own I promise. Please read the trigger warnings on this one, and yes there is absolutely no cheating! Not even a hint!

If you are looking for a true love story, a love that gets tested but comes out even stronger in the end you will love this story.

If you like a little intrigue with your romance or even if you don’t(I am usually anti intrigue) you will love that story. As each layer gets pulled back like an onion we find more and more corruption along the way, but here is the thing…it is ingrained into the story. It is not some plot device to keep a story interesting. It is a natural part of the story and through it all the love and romance is still center to it being there.

This is the second story I have read by this author. I am currently reading another of her stories on wattpad which is just as good! I love that I have discovered a new author who knows how to tug at my heartstrings!

[Nour 🇵🇸🍉 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the heroine’s name here. Emerald. Its so unique

Emerald and Hayden are married and he is a professional hockey player. They knew each other from university where she tutored him and found out he has dyslexia. They are both virgins and so stupidly in love with each other its cute.


Hayden gets relocated to a different team and he has a nee agent called Rick. Hayden’s new team is on a losing streak and the emotions are high. Also, Emerald is facing a lot of backlash from fans saying that she is bad luck on Hayden and the team. A lot of comments are bashing her telling her to die and leave Hayden alone. Emerald tells Hayden about them and he tells his agent Rick which then says to ignore it cuz it’s jealousy talking.

After another loss, Emerald goes to meet him in the locker room. Hayden looses it on her and is an asshole to her saying shit that Daddy fixed all her problems and she doesn’t have to worry about money cuz his job is paying for everything. He even tells her to “stop talking” when she tries to argue with him.

She leaves while crying. Hayden finally snaps out of it and tries to go after him but Rick stops him and says its best to let her cool off. He asks Rick to make sure that she reaches her car safely and Rick whispers to a Security Guard which later comes back and gives them a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, while walking and crying, Emerald finds herself at the normal parking lot and not the WAG parking lot. There she is assaulted by a man who blames her for the loss and he lost $5000 because of her. He hits her so hard and stomps on her face. He then frags her, leaves her in the snow and runs away.


Hayden after finishing his interview sees her location is still at the stadium so he starts searching for her with one of his teammates. He finds her almost buried in the snow. He is horrified at what he sees. They call the ambulance. Emerald almost died from the hypothermia.


What ensues is Hayden groveling and Emerald healing. The guy who assaulted her wore Hayden’s jersey. The hospital had to wire her jaw cuz the ass stomped on her face so now she can’t talk for weeks. Hayden is horrified cuz the last word he told her was to stop talking. Her teeth are also broken and Hayden loves her teeth cuz they’re crooked and perfect on her.


Hayden now tries to figure out who did it. He finds out that Rick isn’t a great agent especially after he says that Emerald’s assault would stop bringing attention to their loss tonight. Hayden fires Rick finally.

But its so much deeper than that. Rick is an asshole that used to message his female fans from Hayden’s account and flirt with them on Instagram. Hayden didn’t have instagram on his phone so didn’t know about that. Rick was building the narrative that Hayden is cheating on Emerald so that she could divorce him.

There is also his super-fan Britney, who is called Mrs.Sawyer on Instagram (ew) who always turned up where Hayden was. Apparently there is contact between her and Rick but not on Hayden’s instagram. Britney used to for 6 months enter Hayden’s apartment when no one is home, she pays the security, and knows the passcode to his house from Rick and wears Emerald’s nightgowns and perfumes and takes selfies to sell the narrative that Hayden is cheating.


Rick also ruined Jace Ward’s life, his previous client who is also a hockey player who was the captain.


I loved the redemption and how Hayden was trying his best to make everything better for Emerald. I love that when she fixed her teeth, she made them crooked like they were.


The Marco Polo game was chilling.
I loved that Hayden’s dad Hal also redeemed himself


I’m interested with Emeralds sister Ruby. She seems to have a crush on detective Ignacio Ramirez. She calls him Iggy apparently. But I thought Ramirez was married? Maybe im remembering it wrong, but i think he was wearing a wedding ring. Lets see if they have a book.

[apola3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marriage in trouble + she gets hurt + hockey + OW

Eles são casados tem un 8 anos. No primeiro capítulo, ele tá muito estressado com tudo que tá acontecendo no time e no jogo e acaba sendo super grosso com ela na frente de muita gente. Ao mesmo tempo, eles estão passando por um momento conturbado, porque tem muitas puck bunnies querendo um pedacinho dele e também tem gente ameaçando ela na internet.

Ela fica envergonhada com o jeito que ele fala com ela, e vai embora. Ele pede para o agente dele mandar um segurança para ter certeza de que ela chegou bem no carro.

Mas, aparentemente o agente não mandou, porque quando ela estava entrando no carro ela é brutalmente atacada por um torcedor do marido dela. Ele estava, inclusive, usando uma jersey com o número do MMC. Ele bate tanto nela que ela quebra várias costelas, o nariz, a mandíbula, tudo. E tava nevando.

Ele percebe que tem alguma coisa errada quando, olhando no aplicativo de localização que eles tem, ele percebe que o pontinho dela não muda de lugar tem um tempo. Ainda aparece como se ela estivesse no parking lot. Ele fica desesperado e vai correndo. Acha ela enterrada debaixo de um monte de neve, porque já tinha nevado em cima dela.

Vão para o hospital, etc. Ele tenta ficar perto dela, mas ela tem pavor, porque ele ainda estava com a jersey.

Ela passa o livro inteiro com medo de homens depois disso. Ela perdoa ele fácil até (mas, não foi ruim de ler, muita coisa realmente não foi culpa dele).

Eles descobrem que o cara que bateu nela tinha perdido uma aposta grande porque o time dele perdeu.

Tem um dia que ele ta no bar com o sogro dele depois de passar o dia inteiro no hospital, e ele escuta uma pessoa falando no telefone que perdeu 5.000 por causa de uma aposta. Ele descobre que é o cara e bate muito nele e manda ele se entregar.

A relação dele com o sogro é muito bonita. O pai dele batia muito nele, e o sogro foi o pai que ele nunca teve.

A polícia depois descobre que tinha uma puck bunnie que ficava entrando no apartamento deles quando ele não estava para se filmar deitada na cama deles- tudo parte de um plano para posteriormente acusar ele de estar traindo a esposa. Mas, eles descobrem antes.

Eles descobrem também que o agente era um filho da puta que já tinha destruído a vida de um outro jogador de propósito também.

No final do livro ele se reencontra com o pai porque pede a ajuda dele para achar o agente - o pai era muito rico.

no fim, o agente encontra eles e entra na casa quando só a fmc está. o pai descobre e vai para lá para tentar ajudar. Ele mata o pai, e ela se esconde no closet. Joga spray de pimenta e acaba com a cara dele usando um hockey stick enquanto gritava “polo”. Porque, quando ele estava subindo, ele falava que eles iam brincar de marco polo.

AH, bem no início do livro ele desiste do hockey, porque fala que ela é prioridade na vida dele.

No final ele é chamado para jogar de novo no time que ele cresceu, um time menor. Ela aceita muito bem, inclusive queria que ele voltasse a jogar.

No epílogo eles tem 3 filhos e ela ta grávida do último. Muito bom, gostei.

[Jiminy Cricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Plot: This about Hayden (H) and Emerald (h). He's a pro hockey player with the Boston Bullies. They call him 'haymaker' because he's a goon. She's a regular woman, can't remember her career, all loving and twinkly, has a great family. A very generic h. One day after losing a big game, the H has a very mean public meltdown, yelling at the h in front of the media. Turns out they've been struggling with all kinds of things: a pushy overscheduling agent, an obsessed puck bunny, a losing streak, and intense/harassing fan hatred for the wife. Hayden has been ignoring the last one. The h leaves in tears after the H's nasty outburst, and a 'fan' blindsides her with a brutal attack in the arena parking lot and leaves her for dead. Hayden (feeling remorseful about his blow up) asks his agent to send a guard out to make sure the h made it to her car. He gets a thumbs up, all good. By the time the H checks on his wife (GPS app) she's been lying near death in the snow for an hour. He finds her and the world stops. It's his come to Jesus moment. He changes everything in his life to be there for Emerald. They slowly come back to each other AND a dark conspiracy (between all the people he trusted with his career) starts to emerge.

This book was a 4 star concept, with a 3 star execution. I'm pretty sure the writing was AI assisted: repeated concepts, sanitized reactions, short choppy sentences. The style messed with my enjoyment. All the right emotions are there, but the author didn't excavate, she stayed on the surface. I did appreciate that the MCs loved each other, and knew the assignment was to reconnect. So there weren't any OTT sabotaging behaviours after that opening fight.

I didn’t like how the author handled the legal aspects of the book; cops, arrests, trials. Or how this couple didn't seem to understand the social contract??? We prosecute criminals for the safety of the collective, not just Emerald. The H seemed prepared to let both the puck bunny B&E stalker, and the parking lot attacker walk away with a beating. 

Boston was also quite the villain in this book, which was odd. The anthropomorphizing of a city (without using any setting details, or proof the author has ever been there) felt suuuuper AI. Like she put a placeholder marked "major city" inside her prompt.

The end was kind of violent, but the epilogue HEA was solid. 

[Raffaella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.
Lot of angst.
Hero is a hockey player and heroine is his wife.
He has a nasty agent that is also his pr and makes him look like he’s a player and flirts with his female fans.
He’s not.
He’s devoted to his wife but since he’s not good at social media he leaves all the public relation parts to his agent.
So his fans start insulting his wife and calling her names, and he does nothing because he’s not really reviewing his social platforms and doesn’t know how bad it is.
The heroine is a happy girl but she’s also kind of tired of all that stuff.
After a play his team have lost, he gets angry and verbally abuses the heroine.
She leaves and gets attacked badly by a fan who thinks it’s somehow her fault if the team lost.
She needs a long recovery after that, and the hero lives in regret understanding the depth of bullying she had to endure, and the depth of betrayal his agent did.
Basically the agent gave one of his more unhinged fans the key of his apartment, where she took pictures of her in his wife’s clothes. Eeeek!
The heroine suffers from ptsd because the attacker was one of his fans, a man. So now she can’t even look at her husband without thinking about the aggression.
The hero decides to leave the team and go back to his hometown, even if he won’t be paid as much.
But he needs his wife to be ok and nothing matters as much as her.
So, good hero a bit dumb, I think he also had dyslexia or something like that and this caused him a lot of inferiority complex. This is also the reason why he didn’t manage his social profiles. He trusted the wrong person, so imo I can’t really blame him for it.
The only thing he did wrong was verbally and very publicly abusing his wife because he lost the game.
Safe. He was never into any of those fans. He hated to be touched by other women but his wife.
This author is safe, all the oils I’ve read have heroes that stay celibate after meeting the heroine even if they are separated. This hero was only with the heroine, she was his first and only love and I liked this very much. A lot of angst because of the attack that was really bad, and because of how the hero finds out.

[Meggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heartbreaking love story

I have had this book recommended to me over and over again and for some unknown reason it took me until now to finally read this book. This will be going into my reread rotation. I absolutely loved this book and it is one of my favorite books of all time now. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I know it surpassed all expectations. I laughed, I cried, I raged, I melted, and by the end I was smiling like an idiot.

This was a rough read to start. My heart absolutely broke for Emerald to begin and I was so scared for her. Sometimes books have flashbacks that are distracting and don’t seem to fit. That was not the case here. The flashbacks fit seamlessly and really helped build Emerald and Hayden’s love story. It was in start contrast to where the book starts and shows how real and precious their love is.

This was so much more than a simple romance, although it is definitely a love story at its heart. It is not just fluff and I could not put it down, because I was dying to unravel the mystery of what was really happening and how deep the rot truly ran.

I just had to erase a long tirade about Boston sports. The NY and Boston sports rivalry is real, but I am saving everyone from that. Suffice it to say I may have snickered a few times at their feelings on the Boston team. The team name absolutely amused me. This was probably not the intent, so I won’t bore anyone with my crazy sports thoughts.

Emerald and Hayden’s love was beautiful to see and I never for a second doubted it. I could not fathom anyway they could not end up with a HEA. There was no way Hayden would ever cheat on Emerald. He was a flawed man who made many mistakes, but cheating was never even on his radar. You could see that he only had eyes for Emerald from the moment he met her.

I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone, because I truly loved the ride and unraveling everything going on beneath the surface. I could not put the book down. It pretty much occupied every free moment I had. I could not recommend this book enough and I will absolutely be reading more of MJ Allen’s books!💜

[Prisca Kalustian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me more emotionally confused than a Roomba that accidentally wandered outside.

I picked it up expecting a hockey romance. The hockey player showed up, clocked into work for five minutes, and then immediately said, “Anyway… let’s unpack years of trauma.”

Hayden spent so much time groveling I started expecting him to apologize to people in other books. At one point I think he would’ve apologized to my Kindle if it died.

Emerald, meanwhile, was handing out consequences like Oprah handing out cars.

“You get accountability! You get accountability! EVERYBODY gets accountability!”

As she should.

The man looked at his wife like she hung the moon, invented oxygen, and personally kept Chick-fil-A open on Sundays. Unfortunately for him, “sad puppy eyes” isn’t recognized by the court as a legally binding apology.

The emotional trauma in this book just kept showing up like an MLM hun in your Facebook messages.

“Hey girl! 💕 I know we haven’t talked since high school, but I have another devastating plot twist for you!”

Every time I thought the characters had suffered enough, MJ Allen kicked the door off its hinges holding another family-sized bag of emotional damage.

The suspense had me accusing random side characters with absolutely zero evidence. If I’d been the detective, everyone would’ve been arrested by chapter three.

It was a little longer than it needed to be. Around the 70% mark I checked my Kindle like you’re checking the GPS on a road trip that feels six hours longer than Google promised. We’re STILL not there?

Overall, reading this book was like trying to fold a fitted sheet. I was confused, frustrated, emotionally unstable, and by the end I just accepted that nothing was going to come out neatly.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely.

Would I trust MJ Allen with my emotional well-being? Absolutely not. She’d somehow turn ordering coffee into a traumatic character-development arc.

[Carole Copeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good potential

Finally a book I can say... I'm pretty sure...was written by an actual author and not AI. At least, it isn't obvious that it is AI as a LOT if books are. I didn't have high hopes with this book but ended up liking it a lot. I am not a fan of the present, past, present, past, thing. I, honestly, skinned those. I didn't need the past to feel the connection between all the characters and their relationships with each other. I loved the devotion between couples. We need more of that. I loved that this author knows how to get a story moving quickly. Some stories are hard to get into when, as a reader, you know from the description that something is going to happen, only for the author to drag it out. My other criticism is the over use of repetitive thought life. I loved the way she has Hayden describe his emotions but it was a bit extensive. Also, you get to a point where the story is in the middle of a tense moment aaaaand...the repetitive thought life kicks in and we get to read again about his emotions, his love for his wife, etc. At spots where you want the tense moment to flow, the dialogue to go back and forth between characters. I like how the story brings everyone...mostly...to a spot of happiness. I didn't like the outcome of one character but I'll let you decide and won't give anything away. Looking forward to trying another book from this author.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes for me

Hayden

Emerald

Met in school. He’s now a professional hockey player. Moved to a new team and season isn’t going well. His new PR guy keeps scheduling him for events that keep him from home. Rick also won’t let him set boundaries with puck bunnies.

After a loss he sees Emerald outside the locker room. He says humiliating things to her. Telling her to shut up, he is the only one keeping the family supported.

She’s tried to tell him about online abuse she receives from “fans”.

She leaves and is brutally attacked in the parking lot. It’s a man in her husband’s jersey who bet on the game and lost. Brutal isn’t even enough to describe the attack. If you’re sensitive you should skip it.

Hayden regrets his words as soon as they fall out. He has to do interviews and autographs for an hour. He finally realizes his wife is still in the parking lot. It’s freezing and snowing. Her body is broken.

Unfortunately as she lost consciousness she hallucinated Hayden was there. When she comes out of anesthesia and sees him she panics.

The attack is so much more than what it seems. Hard to know who they can trust.

I want to caution the attack is one of the more brutal I’ve read. It’s talked about as it happens then again when Hayden watches the security footage.

Safety

They are each other’s one and only. He has no interest in anyone else.

[Luli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one therapy session, one criminal investigation, and one giant guilt trip disguised as a romance and somehow it worked.

Hayden spent the first part of the book making me want to throw a hockey puck at his head and the second part making me reluctantly forgive him. The man was absolutely drowning in guilt, and for once the grovel felt earned.

Emerald was an angel with the patience of a saint, Ruby was the real MVP, and every time she put Hayden in his place I wanted to stand up and clap.

The suspense element kept me hooked, the villains got exactly what they deserved, and I loved that Hayden wasn’t your typical sports-romance manwhore. A refreshing change.

The reason this isn’t a 5-star read for me is that it was marketed as a marriage-in-crisis romance, and that’s not really what this book is. The crisis happened before the story began. What the book actually focuses on is Hayden dealing with the consequences of his actions, Emerald’s recovery, the suspense surrounding the attack, and his journey toward becoming the husband she deserved.

Still, it was emotional, entertaining, and had me fully invested from start to finish.

A solid 4 stars and several honorary stars for Ruby. ⭐️🏒😂