Send Me Love

by Kat Dawson

A transfer student with social anxiety
An NHL prospect with hidden insecurities
One spicy pre-game ritual

Transferring to Northern U and losing a year of credits is the last thing I expected. Then again, developing social anxiety halfway through high school wasn't exactly on my bingo card either.
Since then, I've become more shadow than person, slipping through life unnoticed.
My therapist tells me to use this as a fresh start. Make friends. Join a social circle. Maybe try flirting. Yeah. Okay, I’ll get right on that.
Hey, maybe I’ll start with the hot hockey captain! Tell him all the things I want him to do to me after the game. Give me a break.
But when I hear about a campus-wide app where fans send love to the team, I’m instantly intrigued. And it’s anonymous? Say less.
Zero risk and I cross “socializing” off my list.
Until the team captain heart’s my message. And every single one I send after.
When I don’t “send love” at a game they happen to have lost, Kane shows up at my tutoring table at the library with a proposition of his own.
Keep sending him love—since it’s clearly his good luck charm—and he’ll teach me to flirt *and other things* instead of hiding behind my phone.

And so begins…our pre-game ritual.

TROPES
Hockey romance
Dual stalking
Boy obsessed
Slow burn
Spice lessons
No breakup

Send Me Love is a steamy college hockey romance. While not a dark romance, it contains themes like abandonment, anxiety, and fear of loss.

It’s a complete standalone with an HEA. The first book in the Campus Heat series following the athletes of Northwind University, Montana and the girls who fall for them.

Genres: Hockey, College, Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Found Family, Friends To Lovers

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2026

Reviews

[Kursed Reads]

Debilitating social anxiety has plagued Isla since the death of her mother six years earlier. When unexpected circumstances force her to Northwind University in Montana, she attempts to start fresh and overcome her crippling anxiety.

Kane Andrews may wear the C on his Knights jersey, but an internal struggle with self-worth leads him to create Send Me Love. The app allows fans to share good luck messages, congratulations, and the like. Designed to feed his waning confidence, he never expected to be struck by a single user. Something about Shadow’s messages fills him in a way nothing else has.

I really enjoyed the natural evolution of their relationship and the way their broken pieces fit together so perfectly. Kane was incredible with Isla - always mindful of her struggles and finding ways to make her feel safe while still giving her the freedom to step outside her comfort zone. He never pushed; he simply gave her the space and encouragement to take those chances herself.

For a debut, this was such a lovely introduction to a new author. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she does next in Hunter and Tisch's story!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Format: 📱

🗄️ Genre: Contemporary Romance
🗂️ Subgenre(s): New Adult, Sports

Ending: 💗 {HEA}
Length: 📚📚📚📚📚
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual | Present}
Emotions: 😩😊🥺🫠😍
Darkness: 🤍
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

✨ Tropes: Billionaire, Friends w/ Benefits, Hidden Identity, Meet Cute, Pen Pal (Online), Rich Boy x Poor Girl, Secret Relationship, Stalker-ish
 
💫 Microtropes: “Eyes on Me”, “Good Girl”, Jersey Moment, Mental Health Rep, Pet Name (Sunshine), Pierced 🐓, Reformed Player, “Ruin You for Anyone Else”, Spicy Lessons, “Yes, Sir”

🔆 Character: Athlete, Student

💋 Kinks: Finger Licking Good, Spanking, Toys as Teammates

🤰🏻 Pregnancy: n/a

🚩 Red Flags: n/a

⛔️ Safety Squad: n/a

📍 Setting: College Campus, Montana 🇺🇸

📣 Type: Send Me Love is a standalone.

⚠️ Warning: This sweet and steamy read will leave your panties damp and your cheeks flushed.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[haylz]

I absolutely loved this! Send Me Love was such an addictive start to the Campus Heat series. The anonymous messaging element had me hooked immediately, and I loved watching Isla and Kane's connection grow both on and off the app. Their chemistry was gorgeous, but I especially loved the more vulnerable moments exploring anxiety, insecurity and the fear of letting someone truly see you.


It had the perfect mixture of college hockey, tension, spice and sweetness-and Kane has already secured himself a firm place on my book-boyfriend list because I am OBSESSED. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

[Génesis Idaris]

First of all, thank you to the author for trusting me with this ARC. 🥹 At first I got nervous because a romance book with more than 400 pages is A LOT for me 😂 but I ended up enjoying it so much. I'm a sucker for healing romances and this story had me smiling so hard. It was a flirty, sexy, spicy hockey romance with hidden identity and a reformed playboy, which obviously I loved. 😮‍💨 I did finish the book with a few questions, but I'm hoping the bonus epilogue gives me the answers because I need to know.

[Wendy Livingstone]

Isla suffers from social anxiety, and she is a new transfer student, who is looking for a fresh start, and is hoping just to blend into the background, while Kane is the captain of the NHL team. Isla finds a “Send Me Love” app, where fans can send messages of encouragement to the hockey team, and this is a way for her to say things she cannot say aloud, and Kane hearts her posts, until one day she doesn’t, and the team loses a game, forcing him to find out who the mysterious girl is. Kane is suffering from his own insecurities due to family expectation, and Isla’s pre-ritual messages give him the confidence he needs, and he proposes a mutually beneficial solution.
This is a well written slow burn, easy to read story, with found family, friendships, emotions, insecurities, social anxiety, dual stalking, obsession, friends / lovers, humour, witty banter, undeniable chemistry, and love, which leads to an entertaining, and heartfelt, college hockey romance.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

[Becca Snow]

Did someone say anonymous dirty… I mean flirty messages? Sign me up please!

Absolutely loved Shadow and her Dark Knight!

Watching Isla come out of her shell was beautiful! Kane was an amazing MMC! The way Kat wrote both of these characters to bring the best out of each other was absolutely incredible!

I loved reading about two characters battling different mental battles and leaning on each other to help beat them.

This book was funny. There was hockey, there was spice, there was romance. There was found family! And let me just say, if I don’t get a book with Cole and Mads I might riot a little bit because those two quickly became some of my favorite side characters!

Thanks again Kat for selecting me to be an ARC reader! It was definitely worth it in my book!

[Megan Gunning]

This was a fun and spicy hockey romance! I really enjoyed reading it and stayed up late to finish it. I really liked how the FMC had social anxiety. I found it very relatable. I also found myself rooting for her and being protective of her.

This book has open door romance/smut. There are several smutty scenes. I would say 3 chili peppers worth. 🌶🌶🌶 Definitely a fun read if you like spice like me.

This book is a perfect representation of stepping out of your comfort zone and forcing yourself to do things that scare you. I loved the friendships in this book and the new found support system. I definitely recommend reading it and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it gets released!

[Heather Edwards]

This book was soo good! I loved it a lot! My first time reading this author. I loved the writing, the characters, and pretty much everything! I felt like I was in the story with the characters! Isla and Kane were great together! Their chemistry and banter were amazing. I really liked how Kane helped Isla not feel so closed off. This was a wonderful book! I can't wait for the next book!

[Stephanie]

ARC Review

"Come for hockey, stay for the love story."

This was a really enjoyable book!
I greatly appreciated that Isla and Kane each had their own anxieties/mental health struggles and are such relatable characters. They are a tiny bit messed and a lot obsessed.
I absolutely love a good hockey romance and this is definitely one you should add to your TBR!

[Jessica Tittermary Culp]

Send Me Love was my first book by Kat Dawson, and this was such an enjoyable hockey romance! At its core, we have two people who are struggling with a lot of the same feelings - anxiety, self-doubt, never feeling like they’re quite enough - but who handle those struggles in completely different ways.

Isla is basically a lost girl trying to figure out how to stop merely existing and actually live. After losing her mother and dealing with her father’s incarceration for fraud, she’s spent years trapped in a toxic family situation. Moving to Montana for college is supposed to be her fresh start…but she’s holding herself together by the skin of her teeth.

She wants nothing more than to disappear into the background, while her therapist is basically like, yeahhh, no. 😂 Her assignments are to start taking charge of her life - make friends, join something, eventually find a boyfriend - and slowly push herself outside the tiny little bubble that feels safe.

Then we have Kane.

He’s the hockey captain, a star player, and a legacy athlete following in the footsteps of his Hall of Fame father. Except Kane desperately wants to be known for Kane, not constantly compared to his deceased legendary father. Add in an absolutely awful mother who takes every opportunity to tear him down and reinforce all those little voices telling him he’ll never be enough, and Kane has plenty of his own baggage hiding underneath the confident hockey-star exterior.

One of the ways Kane deals with that pressure is through an app he created where fans can send messages of encouragement to the hockey team before games. Every player has his own page, and Kane uses those messages as motivation and reassurance to get his head in the game.

So how do our anxious wallflower and hockey captain collide?

Isla accepts one of her therapist’s challenges and goes to a hockey game. While she’s on the verge of a panic attack, she sees Kane skating and catches something in his expression that she immediately recognizes.

Pain sees pain.

Something about him settles her, even though they haven’t actually met.

Later, she discovers the app and creates an anonymous alter ego - Shadow. Behind the safety of anonymity, Isla suddenly has no problem being bold and saying exactly what she thinks. She posts a message for Kane without expecting anything from it…until Kane does something he’s apparently never done before.

He likes her post.

And basically sets the hockey world on fire. 😂

Even more importantly? Kane plays one of his best games after reading Shadow’s message.

Kane is ALL about his pregame rituals and superstitions, so obviously there is only one logical conclusion:

He needs Shadow.

And thus begins his mission to figure out who she is.

I will say, he manages to track down our little wallflower pretty damn quickly, and that was representative of one of my biggest issues with the book - the pacing is fast. Things happen rapidly, their relationship accelerates quickly, and the author packs A LOT into a relatively short period of time.

Once Kane discovers Isla, though, I really enjoyed their dynamic.

He sees her anxiety and insecurities. He recognizes when she’s struggling, moves at her pace, but also challenges her instead of letting her completely retreat into herself. Of course, this eventually turns into a friends-with-benefits arrangement with rules.

Including no catching feelings.

Which was honestly a completely moot rule considering those feelings were already lurking around before they even made the agreement. 😂

I really loved watching Kane take care of Isla. Yes, he absolutely has that white-knight MMC tendency where he wants to swoop in, fix everything, protect her from everyone, and occasionally oversteps because he thinks he knows what’s best. But Isla has spent YEARS without anyone taking care of her or fixing anything for her. There was something really satisfying about watching someone finally look at her struggles and say, you don’t have to handle all of this alone.

At the same time, I wish we had gotten more of that same depth with Kane.

Isla’s anxiety and trauma understandably take center stage because her struggles are more outwardly debilitating, while Kane has learned how to mask his. But underneath it, these two are dealing with very similar feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.

Kane becomes the person helping Isla face her fears, grow, and believe in herself.

And Isla becomes the reassurance Kane desperately needs.

But I wanted Kane to get more of his own growth outside of that reassurance.

His issues with his father’s legacy, his mother constantly tearing him down, and his fear that he isn’t enough were all there - I just felt like they stayed closer to the surface than Isla’s story did. I wanted the author to dig into Kane a little more and let him unravel some of that baggage instead of primarily being Isla’s protector.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Send Me Love. Kane gave me that protective white-knight hockey MMC energy, Isla’s journey was easy to root for, and I loved the whole Shadow concept and how their anonymous connection brought them together.

The story definitely felt accelerated at times, and I think slowing things down could have given some of those emotional storylines more room to breathe, especially Kane’s. But knowing this series is continuing has me excited because it looks like Isla and Kane will continue filtering into the stories of their teammates and friends.

And you know me…once you give me an interconnected hockey friend group, apparently I live here now. 😂

[Anna Jason]

Send Me Love by Kat Dawson completely swept me away. This is the kind of romance that doesn’t simply give you butterflies—it grabs hold of your heart, squeezes it a little, breaks it in all the right places, and then reminds you why falling in love is worth the risk.

Kat Dawson had me completely wrapped up in Isla and Kane. Their relationship is the heart of this book, and I loved watching the emotions between them grow into something neither of them could simply ignore.

There is something incredibly addictive about the way Isla and Kane are drawn to one another. Their connection has that wonderful mixture of chemistry, tension, tenderness, and yearning that makes you want to keep turning pages just to get to their next moment together.

Isla was a character I became genuinely invested in. I loved her heart, her vulnerability, and the emotions she carries beneath the surface. She isn’t simply waiting for romance to happen to her—her feelings, fears, and choices matter. Watching her navigate everything happening between her and Kane made me want to protect her heart while simultaneously screaming, “GIRL, GET THAT MAN!”

And then there’s Kane.

Kane absolutely brought the romantic intensity for me. There is something about a man whose feelings start becoming impossible to hide that gets me every single time. The moments when his actions reveal what Isla means to him were some of my favorites because they made their relationship feel deeper than simple attraction.

Together, Isla and Kane have that pull. The looks. The tension.

The moments when you know there is so much more happening underneath their words.

The vulnerability when those carefully constructed walls begin cracking.

And, of course, that delicious feeling of waiting for them to finally stop fighting what is happening between them and give in to it.

What made their romance hit me hardest was the emotional side of their relationship. Attraction might pull Isla and Kane together, but it’s the growing trust and vulnerability between them that made me fall for them. There is something beautiful about watching two people slowly realize that another person has become important enough to hurt them—and deciding that loving them is worth taking that chance anyway.

Kane and Isla aren’t just a couple I wanted to see together. They’re the kind of couple I wanted to fight for their happy ending.

Every bit of longing made the romantic moments sweeter. Every obstacle made me want them together more. And every time Kane showed another glimpse of how deeply he cared about Isla, my heart melted a little more.

By the end, I wasn’t casually reading their romance anymore.

I WAS INVESTED.

I needed Kane to choose Isla.

I needed Isla to believe in what was growing between them.

I needed the feelings, the confessions, the kisses, the vulnerability—ALL OF IT.

Kat Dawson created a romance that reminded me why I love stories about two people finding something unexpected in each other. Isla and Kane’s journey has passion, emotion, longing, and those wonderfully intimate moments that make a fictional relationship feel real while you’re reading it.

Isla and Kane absolutely owned my romantic little heart!!!

Send Me Love isn’t simply about finding romance. For me, it’s about finding your person—the one who gets beneath your defenses, makes you feel things you weren’t prepared to feel, and becomes someone you can’t imagine walking away from.

Isla and Kane gave me the butterflies, the frustration, the swooning, and the “JUST KISS ALREADY!” moments I live for.

P.S. Kat thank you for not listening to your publishers and still went through with the story. It’s perfection don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Because clearly they don’t know what the audience really wanted and we needed this!

XO,
Your love/hate friend who adores you

[Ashley]

ARC Review

I’m officially obsessed with this book and these characters! 😍 From the very beginning, I was completely hooked. A college hockey romance with a boy-obsessed MMC, amazing banter, heartfelt moments, and plenty of swoon? This is the book for you!

Isla has been through a lot, and her social anxiety has made it difficult for her to let people in. As a new transfer at Northwind University, she’s hoping for a fresh start while keeping herself safely in the background. Then she discovers the anonymous “Send Me Love” app, where fans can send messages of encouragement to the hockey team. For Isla, it becomes a way to finally say the things she’s too nervous to say out loud. One of those messages catches Kane’s attention—and suddenly, his mysterious “Shadow” becomes impossible to ignore.

Kane is dealing with his own insecurities. With the pressure of following in his late father’s NHL legacy and a mother who constantly makes him question whether he’s good enough on his own, he struggles to recognize how talented he really is. Isla’s messages become a source of confidence for him, and what starts as curiosity about his anonymous supporter quickly turns into something so much more.

I absolutely loved watching these two navigate their fears together. Kane was such a supportive MMC, especially when it came to Isla’s boundaries and anxiety. He never tried to force her out of her comfort zone—he encouraged her to take those steps at her own pace. And Isla may be shy and anxious around everyone else, but watching her become a total black cat with Kane was EVERYTHING. 🥹🖤

The mental health representation was one of my favorite parts of this story. Both characters are carrying their own struggles, and I loved seeing how they helped each other grow without losing who they were. Add in the chemistry, swoony moments, a little spice, and the hilarious hockey team banter, and I was completely sold.

And speaking of the team… I NEED MORE OF THEM. 😂 The friendships and locker-room banter added so much fun to the story, and I’m already looking forward to seeing where this series goes. 👀

I was genuinely sad when I reached the end because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these characters. Kane has officially set the bar HIGH for this series, and I would absolutely love to experience this book for the first time all over again.

Thank you so much, Kat, for letting me be part of your ARC team! I had so much fun interacting with everyone throughout the process. I cannot wait to see what comes next! 🥰🏒❤️

[BookReviews_by_MissaPoo]

Book 1 in the Campus Heat Series

This was a fun, flirty, emotionally charged, heart achingly sweet journey. One full of heat, heart & healing. Raw. Emotional. Real. Kane & Isla will absolutely break you, in the most delicious of ways. You'll laugh. You may cry a little too. But mostly, you'll be screaming for more as these two fumble their way to forever.

Kane Andrews is the team captain and center for the Northwind University Hockey Team. Living in the shadows of his father's legacy, trying hard to find his own place in life, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders as he tries to outrun his inner demons. Endearingly sweet, all shades of charming, charismatic and fiercely protective, he's dominant and demanding, yet gentle. Passionate, playful and tender, this man screams pleasure dom! A caretaker by nature, he can't help but be himself, no matter the cost. He will absolutely melt your heart and heat up your insides.

Isla Hayes is a transfer student from Brooklyn just trying to survive. A shy yet sassy, socially awkward, anxiety ridden wallflower, just waiting/hoping to bloom, she uses sarcasm as a weapon and a shield. Encouraged to step outside of her comfort zone, she finds herself standing in a crowded hockey rink and repeatedly questioning why... Until she locks eyes with HIM...

From the moment they 'meet', like moths to a flame, they are drawn to one other. A connection like they've never felt before or fully understand, they find themselves in a flirty game of cat and mouse that all started with an anonymous text message ... Send Me Love, an anonymous app designed to send the team love and encouragement before a game is the perfect way for Isla to "socialize" from within the shadows. A flirty way to tell the hockey captain exactly what she wants from him without him knowing her true identity. Until he hearts her message and becomes determined to find her, convinced she's his good luck charm. A game day ritual that quickly turns into so much more. Spicy lessons. Confidence building. Healing of emotional scars. Living life outside of the shadows. Friendships... and that slippery slope into love. The one neither saw coming!

Fate has a funny way of stepping in just as you need it. For Kane & Isla, it came at the right moment. A family formed. A family found. So much heart and heat, against the odds, these two will fight hard for their forever and it's oh, so sweet. Take the journey. You won't regret it.

(ARC)

[Akku]

• 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 5✨

• 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 - August 27, 2026

• 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 -
college hockey romance
anonymous messages
golden boy × shy girl
social anxiety rep
protective & possessive hero
forced proximity
secret identity
he falls first
found family

• 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 -
Send Me Love follows Isla, a sweet and incredibly anxious college girl who is trying to start over at Northwind University while dealing with her complicated family situation. There she meets Kane Andrews, the hockey captain and one of the university’s biggest stars. What starts with a simple college project slowly turns into something much deeper when Isla begins sending anonymous messages to Kane through the Send Me Love app as Shadow. Their anonymous connection becomes addictive, flirty and surprisingly emotional, while their real-life relationship slowly grows into something neither of them can ignore.
I absolutely adored this book 🥹💗 The whole Shadow and Dark Knight dynamic was SO addictive and easily one of my favourite parts. The anonymous messages gave their romance such a fun and spicy little twist, while their real-life connection had so much softness underneath it.
Kane was everything I wanted from a hockey romance hero. Protective, caring, a little possessive and completely gone for Isla. I loved how he never tried to change her, but instead encouraged her to become comfortable with who she already was. His support for her felt so genuine, especially when he reminded her that she had nothing to be ashamed of.
Isla was such a lovable heroine. Watching her slowly come out of her shell, make friends and finally stop hiding parts of herself was honestly beautiful. Her growth felt natural and made the ending even more satisfying.
And that final hockey game moment was EVERYTHING. The “Unravel me, Dark Knight” message, Kane’s reaction and the way Isla finally stepped into the light had me smiling like crazy.
This was such a sweet, emotional and spicy college hockey romance with characters I genuinely cared about.
Definitely a 5-star read for me and a romance I’ll happily recommend to anyone who loves hockey romances with a little secret-identity spice.
Thanku midnight readers for the ARC!

[Jaycee Chournos]

✨ARC REVIEW✨

Kane & Isla

🤍College Hockey
🤍Dual Stalking
🤍Boy Obsessed
🤍Spice Lessons
🤍Anxiety Rep

I’m obsessed with this book and these two characters. Right from the beginning I was hooked. I love a good hockey romance but add in a boy obsessed, sign me up! This book had banter, heartache, and absolute swoony moments. Kane has set the bar high for this new series! 😮‍💨 😍

Isla has had a rough couple years and has developed a bad case of social anxiety because of it. Being new to Northwind University she still feels like an outcast but is desperate for a fresh start. When she hears there is an anonymous app for fans to send the school hockey team some love before the game, she sees this as her opportunity to get out of her comfort zone. One message captures the attention of the team Captain and ends up being just the beginning.

Kane has a lot riding on his shoulders. Following in his father’s foot steps and a lot of people counting on him can be a lot for a guy. It’s the self doubt that makes it hard to appreciate everything he has accomplished, especially when his own mom places that doubt. The “Send Me Love” app reminds Kane that he is loved and is good at what he does. But seeing one message from the mysterious “Shadow” makes it all the more intriguing. Determined to find out who this girl is that has become so much more than words on an app, Kane quickly discovers that hockey isn’t all he needs in life after all.

When I say I was sad when this book ended, I am not lying. I loved EVERYTHING about this book! The mental health representation was absolutely amazing. The banter between Kane and his team mates was so funny that it got me beyond excited for more of this series. The way Kane treats Isla will most definitely make you swoon. I wish I could experience this book for the first time again it was so good! 😍🥹

Thank you Kat for letting me be apart of the ARC TEAM! It was so fun to engage with you and everyone else during the process. 🥰 I cannot wait for more from you!!

[Nicole Traficenti]

Send Me Love by @katdawsonauthor
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy Release Day! Thank you @katdawsonauthor @midnightreadersbookpr for the eARC to review! Hands down, this is one of the best college hockey romances I have ever read, I was completely addicted from page one!

Shy Brooklyn girl Isla relocates to Montana for a fresh start at Northwind U (Go Knights!), while pierced hockey captain Kane is carrying his own hidden pain. When she anonymously messages him on the team’s Send Me Love app, she expects it to get buried…instead, it sparks a deep intrigue, sending Kane on a mission to find his mysterious lucky charm.

From their instant connection, when the lock eyes, to a wildly spicy friends with benefits deal, what starts as temporary turns into so much more as their deep bond grows. I loved watching how they both help each other grow and work through their personal issues together. Kane brings Isla right out of her shell!

I loved the social anxiety rep in this book, it felt so real and relatable! At the same time, she gives him the support he desperately needs.

And let’s talk about Kane… the mouth on this man, in more ways than one 😏🔥 between his dirty talk and how he handles business, he’s unforgettable!

Watching Isla find her footing, make genuine friends, and build a beautiful found family at school made my heart so full, especially with Kane’s teammates backing them up 🫶🏻

There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I really don’t want to give too much away! What this man does for her at the end had me completely lost for words. Kane is the ultimate walking green flag (we can’t forget Ellie the rescued wolf dog!) This is easily one I won’t be able to shut up about and will forever be recommending‼️

If you love an obsessed hero, shy FMC, top tier spice, and incredible character growth, add this to your TBR immediately!

Tropes:
🏒 College Hockey
🖤 Boy Obsessed / He Falls First
📱 Spicy Texts & Anonymous Messaging
🧠 Social Anxiety Rep (SO relatable!)
👀 Dual Stalking
🔥 Friends with Benefits / Spice Lessons
🌱 Mutual Growth & Healing
🫶 Found Family & Teammate Dynamic
🚫 No Breakup

📖 AVAILABLE NOW!!
So ready for the rest of this series! 💕

[Heather]

ARC

🩵🥰

Absolutely adored, loved and ate up this college hockey romance!!! Kane & Isla are all the feels (and more).

Instant connection.
No third act break-up, just all the love.
Tutor turns friends turns touch her and die.
Family dynamics.
Living with anxiety and apprehension.
Praise for mental health pro-therapy.
Slow-burn turns spicy.
Found family.
Found confidence.
Dual POV (always my fav).
HEA.

Hiding behind the shadows. Kat’s ability to depict how anxiety can present on a page was thoughtful & thorough. The struggle written behind making friends as a younger adult was beautiful.

Lovely brotherhood between the teammates (rather, real friends). They all serve a protective vibe in some form or another for their people. The supporting female characters were well written. All of the dynamics from family to friendships were relatable and believable.

I loved the presence of the actual hockey sport!!! I could envision the games as if I was watching.

This story made me laugh, sit on the edge of my seat, feel the darkness, anger and the love. I could not put it down.

A big thank you to author, Kat Dawson, for this ARC opportunity. I am an absolute sucker for any hockey romance. I devoured this the way I immersed myself in the Windy City series.

Cannot wait for more unraveling of this series…

*******

I made so many annotations throughout this book.
Just a few of my favs. Omitting many to keep this review spoiler free & PG 🤭😍🥰😁

“Like a dance with a stranger you’ve never practiced with but know all the moves.”

“…if you find me in peace, leave me in peace.”

“Come for hockey, stay for the love story.”

“I nod. Cooked.”

“She is a young woman who asks for what she wants.”

☀️🖤

[Britt Rygiel]

Late Arc Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

I devoured this book in 2 days! I was pulled in immediately.

We meet our FMC Isla who has severe anxiety. She does not like being seen or talked to. We learn that she lives with her aunt and uncle. Her Aunt has been stealing the money her mother left for her. Her father has been falsely accused of a crime and is currently in jail. When her tuition check bounces she goes to question her aunt. Turns out Isla had applied to another school a few years prior, and she was being transferred. Even after being transferred she still has to worry about money and doesn’t want to be seen/known as the bee girl. She goes to a hockey game because she’s told to get out of her comfort zone. So she does, and finds out about the app Send Love for the hockey players. One she feels connected to, so she sends him a provocative message. Little did she know that this was just the beginning to a whole new world.

Enter our MMC Kane. His dad is a hockey legend, who has passed. He tends to forget how good he is. His mother reminds him that he’s nothing without his father’s name and he needs to stay focused. This makes him feel like maybe he isn’t good enough. Him and a friend come up with the idea of the Send Love App. When he gets a message from Shadow (Isla) telling him to unravel her, it’s a big boost to his confidence. It’s also the only message he’s heart reacted too. Now he determined to figure out who this Shadow is and he’ll stop at nothing to find her.

I love how fast pace this book is, and how relatable Isla is. The dynamic of the couple and the story pulled me in. It reminds me of the movie A Cinderella story! I highly recommend this book.

[Chelsey Black]

❤️ Shy fmc
🏒 Hockey mmc
❤️ She leaves him anonymous messages
🏒 Dual stalking
❤️ Lessons for her 👀
🏒 Mental health rep
❤️ He stands up for her

I was so excited at the idea of this story. The app for sending love to the team was such a unique plot point. The characters both had reasons they struggled with themselves.

Isla has years of moments that didn't give her time to grieve or heal. She suffered the loss of her mother, incarnation of her father, and treated wrong by the aunt who she lived with. So she closed herself off but her journey to start standing strong was enjoyable when it came. She meets several people such as the roommates that were just awful. She gains a best friend who was amazing from the beginning named Tisch. The hockey team without a doubt welcomed her and there wasn't even drama that came from them either.

Kane is the son of a famous father who has passed away. He suffers when it comes to his mother's behavior and it hinders his growth. He has a good coach, team, and with the new addition of Isla he has a support system that is healthy. He had a way about making her feel seen. Kane had all the green flags and a side note he is bedazzled. 👀

What was really appreciated about this story was there wasn't any miscommunication, 3rd act break up, or OW/OM drama. This story had character growth, sincerity , and there was most importantly trust between them. The ending was happy and even gave hope that soon her father would be free. If you want a sweet fun romance this is a good one to read.

Thank you for the chance to receive the ARC and this is my honest review! ❤️

[Alex | alexs.magical.library]

📚 ARC REVIEW 📚
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Send Me Love is a sweet & spicy, dual stalker x hockey romance that will make you laugh and swoon all-together. It delivers emotional moments surrounding social anxiety, heart-felt understanding, all the banter, an obsessed and superstitious MMC, “teach me” sessions and an amazing found family that you’ll want their own books for!!

I was obsessed with this story, these characters and right from the beginning, HOOKED!! I loved the concept behind the secretive messages in the group hockey app - used to boost up the players before a game and helped the FMC express herself in a way she struggled with. You instantly knew this would result in banter, humor and some much-wanted intrigue.

The FMC, Isla was an easy character to love because the insecurities she had and the emotions she expressed, made her character feel more real and gave me something to connect with. She is a caring & beautiful person that just needed someone who understands her anxiety, doesn’t judge and is by her side no matter what!! ENTER KANE - the possessive, overly obsessed, dirty hockey MMC that struggles with his own confidence but finds familiarity with Isla. He is an absolute golden retriever - INSTANTLY connecting with Isla’s secret “Shadow” persona while also providing comfort and security as he guides her through overcoming her insecurities.

These two created the perfect green flag relationship by learning to read each other's body language, providing open communication & comfort instead of judgement. I loved all their heart-felt moments and of course, the spicy “teach me” sessions because there is nothing HOTTER!!

✨️Perfect if you love: ✨️
🏒 College Hockey Romance
💕 Friends with Benefits to Lovers
🏒 Anonymous Sexy Messages
💕 Golden Boy x Shy Girl
🏒 Social Anxiety Rep
💕 Forced Proximity
🏒 Secret Identity
💕 He Falls First

[Courtney]

Send me Love is Kat's debut release and she smashes it!

The story is told from dual POVs - Kane and Isla. I love that you can easily distinguish their personalities and who the POV is from, without even truly needing for that to be known (but it is at the beginning of each switch). And that alone really helps a story feel so much authentic when you can truly feel these characters and what they're going through.

The blurb is all you need going into this one. The entire idea behind this plot is so fun and very much a part of today's society. It also shows how introverted and anxiety-ridden individuals can let loose, and be who they wish they could be in a social setting. But it also lets those who feel they need to put on a certain persona in public, be their true selves behind a screen.

I loved the banter between Isla and Kane - both through the app and when they're together outside of it. I love that he sees her and understands her even before he really gets to know her. He knows when to push her boundaries and when to pull back. In doing so, she finds herself being more open and honest with him and wanting to tear down the walls around her.

Let me tell you, as much as I loved the humor and sweet moments in this book, Kat absolutely delivers on the spice lessons. It's not just the scenes themselves, but it's how Kane is with Isla. Kane knew how to treat Isla perfectly in the bedroom, but also gave it to her dirty. PERFECTION!!

I absolutely loved this story. It was funny, sweet, charming, and loving. It was an all-around a great college sports romance. I cannot wait for another book from Kat, especially if she turns this into series, which she absolutely can because the hockey team was the best found family for Kane and Isla.

Go read this one!!

[Erin Kathleen]

DEVOURED! I’m a ✨vibes reader✨ and honestly, hockey romance is meant to be a vibes experience. This had everything I was hoping for: the chemistry, the banter, the swoony moments, the hockey players. I started this at 9 PM and read until 1 AM, when my eyes physically refused to stay open. And the second I woke up? Immediately back to reading until I finished. The anonymous app for sending love?! I LOVED this concept. It felt so unique and genuinely had me wondering, how does this not already exist?! Someone patent this idea immediately. I really appreciated that there was no third-act breakup. Give me a MMC who communicates? I love the mental health representation, especially the social anxiety. It felt authentic and thoughtfully portrayed, and I really appreciated how grounded and relatable it felt.

And now I’m already looking ahead because I NEED THE REST OF THE TEAM’S STORIES. 👀🏒 I cannot wait to see what’s in store for his teammates!

🌶️1/5
🏒College Hockey Romance
🏒 introvert/social anxiety FMC x Hockey Captain MMC
🏒 Social Anxiety Rep/Mental Health
🏒Protective & Possessive of Her
🏒she stalks him first. He Falls First

✨green flag microtropes✨
💕his teammates are her found family
💕 he monopolizes all her tutoring hours
💕 he *handles* her toxic roommate situation
💕he reads the room because of her anxiety

𝐀 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲
𝐀𝐧 𝐍𝐇𝐋 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥

When the introvert with social anxiety is encouraged by her therapist to join a "social circle" and make friends, she instead, find an app for the Northwind U hockey team where "fans" send love to the players before the game. Zero risk and she gets to cross "socializing" off her list.
Until the team captain, hearts ❤️ her message.

And now everyone wants to know... 𝑾𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘??

Thank you to author Kat Dawson and Books & Blooms PR for having me on the release blast and for the gifted eARC. All thoughts my own

[Camryn Williams]

۶ৎ ꜱᴇɴᴅ ᴍᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʙʏ ᴋᴀᴛ ᴅᴀᴡꜱᴏɴ ۶ৎ

#arcreview

ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★★★


𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 - college hockey romance, spice lessons, found family, social anxiety rep, spicy texts

—

This was such a good debut book. I loved it so much and I was so hooked from the very beginning like I can already tell this series is going to be amazing cause the found family aspect was also done so right. I laughed and cried in this book but I still couldn’t stop reading. And don’t even get me started on the “Send me Love App” it was such a good idea and I loved how it went with the flow of the book.

Isla is a quiet girl who has such a big heart. I love her so much like I wanted to fight whoever was mean to my girl. Isla deals with social anxiety and is trying to try new things so she decided to go to an hockey game . Isla is literally everything especially when she comes out her shell more and I’m so glad she ended up finding her people cause she definitely deserves it

Isla sent a spicy message in the app for hockey players and she thought nobody would see since it’s a a lot of other messages but Kane definitely saw it and it helped him in so many ways. So he tries to find her and she tries to also find him. They are literally so adorable together ugh I just love them.

Kane my freaking mannn, ugh I just want to climb him (sorry Isla girl). Kane is just everything I love him so much. And my heart definitely goes out to him when it comes to his mom cause she’s such a meanie and made him feel so bad about himself especially before a game that’s why he and his friend wanted to create the app for positivity for his team.

These two are just amazing and the way they love and look out for each other is everything. I definitely can’t wait for more of this series especially that next book. I just know it’s going to be good.


Thank You So Much for giving me this incredible arc!

[Erica Keller]

Send Me Love by Kat Dawson
417 pages - available on KU
No official name for series, but there will be more, or I may protest!

Isla is social anxiety and is thrust into a new town for university away from her horrible aunt and uncle. Her roommates are awful, she goes to class and the library, until she's encouraged to branch out and attend a hockey game. There she sets eyes on Kane Andrews, captain of the team, and also co-creator of the app called Send Me Love. The app allows fans to give well wishes to pump up the players anonymously. Isla takes a chance and sends a message and to her surprise, and a little horror, Kane hearted it, which he had NEVER done, and that message turned his game around. Kane then becomes obsessed with figuring out who Shadow is and also discovers Isla at the library and starts to get a feeling they are 1 in the same. They find a way to each get something out of their deal.

I really enjoyed this book. Isla has gotten the wrong end of the deal in life and she is finally getting something she truly wants that could be a game changer. Kane is so good. He keeps saying he can't be in a relationship, but he is totally a relationship guy! The side characters are amazing and Kat says Tisch and (redacted) gets their book next. Kane's roommates are adorable.

I think the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there were some bits that weren't full resolved, or seemed like they weren't necessary. It was good though and I am ready for the next ones.

[Tammy Zadai]

Kane is a college hockey player who has what it takes to make it to the NHL, everyone knows it… except Kane. His mother constantly tells him the only reason anyone would want him to play for them is because of his father, a late NHL legend. So he creates an app where fans can fill his head with words of affirmation instead. Isla, a new transfer to the college, prefers to stay hidden from everyone due to her severe social anxiety. She goes to a hockey game and meets Kanes’s eyes and for a moment everything in her quiets. So she uses the app to be loud for once, since it’s anonymous. A sudden win after Isla’s anonymous post makes Kane view her as his lucky charm. Thus begins a game where Isla and Kane use the app (an each other) to overcome the voices in their heads. I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. Isla was a great FMC- where she was self conscious and scared to stand up for herself in some situations, she was a black cat with Kane and I loved that! Kane was such a good supportive MMC. He learned Isla’s boundaries and tried not to cross them but also helped her edge over those boundaries. The spice was good (one of my favorite micro tropes where he 🏁 in his pants unexpectedly) Also, lots of great team banter. I loved all of the guys and can’t wait to read their stories (I’m looking at you Cole… and Maddy I think ? 🤔 ) Fantastic book by the author and I can’t wait to read more!

[Lesa Stewart]

I need me a Kane

I absolutely devoured this.

Kane and Isla are two peas in a pod essentially. They are alike just as much as they are different. Isla suffers from social anxiety and it plagues her to the point she has a therapist who gives her the task of finding or join a social activity or group. Kane is the captain of the hockey team whose mothers has gotten so in his head about living in his dad’s shadow (former hockey player) he created an app so fans can remind him of who he is before every game. It’s an anonymous app. That’s where Kane and Isla’s story begins.


I absolutely loved this story so much. The banter between these too is phenomenal. The representation of social anxiety is spot on. The way Kane doesn’t pressure Isla and goes at her pace, I loved. This was not your typical hockey romance and I think that’s why I ate it up. The flirty spicy banter Isla does as her alter anonymous ego on the app is top tier. The moment Kane basically says he’s collecting everything she’s said oh I about died. The spice be spicy. Kane setting goals. The rules they set and how you watch them get broken and be just counting going “oo you all broke another rule”. When they are at an away game and the other team essentially bullies Isla you can’t help but feel heartbroken for her but then love how the whole team rallies together to make the other team pay for it.

Kat Dawson did a phenomenal job and I can’t wait for the next book.

[Karla Andreina]

Isla was resigned to go through life as invisible as she could, she shielded completely of any unnecessary human interaction. Isla became extremely anxious and insecure, she got easily intimidated in big crowds, she feared being the center of attention.

The life that she knew was shattered becoming numb along the way, she avoided confrontation and she accepted everything without any fight, she was utterly hopeless.

Kane, the captain of his hockey team, felt like he wasn’t worth of the tittle and the success that came with it, he believed that he wasn’t good enough, that he didn’t deserve, he constantly lived submerged in his own head and negative thoughts, he was drowning in despair and sorrow. He was always compared to his dad and his career.

Kane and Isla in one way or another loss someone exceptionally valued for them, that grief changed them forever.

Isla despite feeling anxious, with the help of her therapist Bree, found a way to find her voice, hiding in anonymity and an username through an app started expressing things that she would love to happen but she thought weren’t possible, she believed that she was inconsequential. She didn’t imagine the positive effect that her messages carried towards Kane and to the hockey team.

One of the things that I loved the most was the Isla recognize a little of herself in Kane, she started feeling seen, Kane did absolutely everything in his power to protect Isla, to show her how important she was, how valuable, to prove to her that her voice was meaningful and significant, that she was worth it.

Kane was kind and brave but he carried his fears close to his heart, he didn’t allowed himself to dream because he was scared of his value, he was scared to live in his dad shadows but Isla showed him that he was quite the opposite, they became a beacon of light in each other lives.

I came for hockey and I stayed for the love story. Thank you Kay Dawson for the invitation to read this as an ARC!

[Cait]

DNF 54% 1.5⭐
Honestly, I was a little skeptical about the premise, with apps and sexual messaging, etc... But I've had a strong run of hockey romances, and it has a lot of promising reviews, so I thought I'd give it a try. But I can't go on, I'm sorry. My bear minimum for a romance, or a book where I'm supposed to root for the main girl, is to LIKE the main girl... I can't stand Isla. She is so unbearable, and such a cow. Maybe it's hard for me to identify with someone struggling with 'severe' anxiety, since I struggled with debilitating anxiety, since I could never put myself out there on an app, but also I could never be such a cow to those around me. She's so stand-offish and rude, but simultaneously being so hot to multiple guys, and meets one new girl and feels comfortable enough to spill her life to her. The whole thing was just not pulling together. Honestly Isla, maybe you wouldn't feel like people were talking about you behind your back if you had a modicum of friendliness, instead of being a cow.
I had wondered if I was getting too old for college romances, but then I finished The Risk and I loved that, didn't have any issues there, so I'm blaming this book. It also wasn't doing it for in terms of the romance or sexiness. Zero sexiness for me, zero butterflies, zero, fluster, zero rooting for them.

[Taylor]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ARC REVIEW — SEND ME LOVE by Kat Dawson 🏒💌

Okay, I absolutely adored this one. 🥹💕 Logan and Ilsa are officially one of my favorite book couples, and I already want MORE of them!

I loved watching their relationship slowly form. Logan’s patience with Ilsa, the way he respected her boundaries, and the care he showed her had me completely swooning. 🥹 Their connection felt so genuine, and I especially loved how her social anxiety was handled. There was something so sweet about watching Ilsa come out of her shell at her own pace while Logan was right there beside her.

And the messages?! 👀💌 The spicy texts definitely added some fun tension, and I was absolutely here for it. 😂🔥 I laughed, I swooned, and I got completely invested in these characters.

Also, I cannot NOT mention Tisch because that girl is a BADASS. 😍 And Hunter?! I loved him too! Honestly, I loved pretty much everyone. 😂

My one tiny wish? I really wanted a little more buildup before Logan figured out who Shadow was. I was having so much fun with the mystery that I would’ve happily watched that tension stretch out even longer!

Overall, 5/5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A sweet, swoony college hockey romance with amazing chemistry, lovable characters, spicy texts, and a couple I desperately need more of. 🏒💕💌

Thank you to Kat Dawson and the publisher for the opportunity to read this as an ARC! 💕

[De Smith]

I absolutely and utterly demolished this book whole. Couldn’t out it down and at no point did I want to. I was so locked in to the story. Kane and Isla were the definition of perfection in this book. They were two halves of the same whole. The ideal complement to one another. Their connection and chemistry were undeniable and off the charts insane. Isla was so relatable it was scary. She’s such an honest and real character. And her struggles felt so raw and genuine. You couldn’t help but want to take her hand and tell her everything would be okay. Kane was also such a realistic person. I truly felt for him and his struggles either way living in shadow, feeling like he’s losing himself. Seeing these two connect in such an honest way and the way they support each other was beyond endearing and melted my heart. And the banter they had was some of the best I’ve read. So phenomenal. I truly adored how Kane never pressured Isla or pushed beyond where she was at. It was so far beyond heartwarming. Ooohhhh and the spice was spicing, but not in a way that overpowered the rest of the story. It still felt honest and wholesome and real. This book pulls you in, plays your heartstrings like a fiddle, and leaves you emotionally wrung out but satisfied. The ending makes all the emotional turmoil worth it. I’d read this book all over again happily.

[WickedWolfLore]

I received an eARC; All opinions are my own.

We have Isla, the FMC, who has had a difficult past few years and has dealt with more than anyone her age should have to. She struggles with anxiety and has a tough time sticking up for herself. She gets an opportunity to transfer colleges and this may just be the fresh start she needs. With some encouragement from her therapist to break out of her shell, she attends the college hockey game. She discovers the campus-wide app where you can anonymously send messages to the team... including the hot team captain, Kane, our MMC... and here is where the story truely begins.

I absolutely loved this story. This was one of those contemporary hockey romances that is more than just sweet. It felt very realistic. I love how we get to see both Isla's POV and Kane's POV and we get to see how they both are helping eachother with both their anxiety and insecurities. I absolutely loved Kane's character, I definitely felt like I needed a Kane in my early adulthood life...

The spice was amazing... more than what I expected but exactly what was needed.... and the way I screamed "What" out loud at the exact moment Isla did in the book actually had me cracking up because it made that moment so real to me because that would have been my exact reaction!! IYKYK moment...

1000% recommend!! Its a great cozy read as the weather starts gets colder.