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Cherry Picking: a hockey player x gravedigger romance
Some people you bury.
Some people you keep.
Briggs Maxwell is the hockey player teams like to put in front of a camera. He's fast, he's easy to like, and he makes a struggling franchise look better than it is. But it's a contract year, the Charlotte Kings are on the wrong side of the playoff line, and he's starting to suspect he'll spend a whole career being useful without ever being necessary.
Then his little brother dies, and Briggs flies home to Vegas to bury a man he hadn't spoken to in two years.
Evie Sutton has buried half her town and most of her feelings. She's a fine arts graduate who digs graves for her father's funeral home, and she knows how to handle grief like she handles a supply order—practically, and without flinching.
What she doesn’t know how to handle is a famous hockey player who’s just turned up at her funeral home.
When Briggs has to leave his stroke-recovering father behind for the rest of the season, it's Evie who agrees to help them out. It's supposed to be a simple arrangement. Five months, a paycheck, and two thousand miles of distance to keep it from becoming anything else.
But Briggs has spent his whole life leaving before anyone can ask him to stay, and Evie has never once asked anybody for anything. Which is fine, right up until it isn't.
A romance about the people we lose, the people we hold onto, and the terrifying business of being worth the trouble.
Some people you keep.
Briggs Maxwell is the hockey player teams like to put in front of a camera. He's fast, he's easy to like, and he makes a struggling franchise look better than it is. But it's a contract year, the Charlotte Kings are on the wrong side of the playoff line, and he's starting to suspect he'll spend a whole career being useful without ever being necessary.
Then his little brother dies, and Briggs flies home to Vegas to bury a man he hadn't spoken to in two years.
Evie Sutton has buried half her town and most of her feelings. She's a fine arts graduate who digs graves for her father's funeral home, and she knows how to handle grief like she handles a supply order—practically, and without flinching.
What she doesn’t know how to handle is a famous hockey player who’s just turned up at her funeral home.
When Briggs has to leave his stroke-recovering father behind for the rest of the season, it's Evie who agrees to help them out. It's supposed to be a simple arrangement. Five months, a paycheck, and two thousand miles of distance to keep it from becoming anything else.
But Briggs has spent his whole life leaving before anyone can ask him to stay, and Evie has never once asked anybody for anything. Which is fine, right up until it isn't.
A romance about the people we lose, the people we hold onto, and the terrifying business of being worth the trouble.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2026
About the author
Ki Stephens
15 books1,565 followersKi Stephens is a romance enthusiast who finds comfort in the happily-ever-after . . . with just a little bit of angst along the way. She has a special interest in works that include neurodivergent characters like herself. When she’s not daydreaming about books, Ki enjoys working with kids, creating art in her backyard studio, and spending loads of time with her baby girl, her husband, and their three pets.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 24, 2026
new book just (surprise) dropped in the villa. please take care when you read as this book deals heavily with grief, loss, and themes of addiction/recovery.
September 24, 2026
Like genuinely this is a work of art. I love me a hockey romance it’s no secret, and I love Ki, so you may think my opinion is biased but NO. This book is SO good. I absolutely love the dynamic between a pro hockey player and a grave digger. Just that concept is so cool to me. Like when have we ever seen that before???? Plus Evie and Briggs are ridiculously cool characters. Evie is so secure in herself and Briggs is just… hot… There’s so much I can say about this book but I could be here all day. So just TRUST ME and read this book, and maybe have some tissues on standby! HAPPY READING 🏒🍒🪦
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September 24, 2026the second i saw the cover, i pressed buy on my cart
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews