Cherry Picking

by Ki Stephens

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.

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Hockey, Contemporary Romance, Hockey Romance, Mental Health

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2026

About the author

Ki 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.

Reviews

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

pre-read:

i’m a very simple person, i see ki stephens’ name on the book, i read it. so here we are 🍒🍷 i’m vv excited because i’ve read so many good things about this! 🤭

[Fiza · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

yeah ik he'll be eating her out till his mustache gets bleached

[karouzaa ۶ৎ (school-ia)]

୨୧ • 🏒🎀 pre-read

i keep hearing about Briggs Maxwell, let’s see if this man deserves the hype 🙈 THE COVER IS GORGEOUS😇

[purlpur · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
о як гарно залетіло. більше маленьких різноманітностей у буденні хокейні романи. історія про втрату й зцілення, драми якраз у міру, аби я пустила пару сльозинок, дотепний гумор, налагодження стосунків батька й сина та повііільне зародження почуттів між головними героями. ну смакота 🙂‍↔️

🏒 бріггс - відомий хокеїст, який вертається до ненависного рідного міста, щоб поховати брата, з яким не спілкувався останні два роки. пізніше ми дізнаємося причину їхньої сварки.. і це було боляче, з різних причин. особливо знаючи, що вони вже ніколи не зможуть прояснити все між собою 🥲

⚰️ еві - трішки зухвала й дотепна могильниця, яка щиро пишається сімейною справою. вона особисто копала могилу для брата бріггса і поспішила йому це повідомити в першу ж хвилину знайомства 😅
дівчина береться доглядати батька бріггса, який оговтується після інсульту, щоб підзаробити грошенят і виплатити студентські борги.

так і зав'язується спілкування еві та бріггса. і оскільки більшість часу між ними дві тисячі миль та постійні роз'їзди бріггса, головний спосіб зв'язку - смс, дзвінки й фейстайм. і їхні переписки це просто кайф, обожнюю, коли в книжках цього багато. а рідкісні зустрічі героїв від того стають ще більш цінними й трепетними ☺️

з них вийшли чудові друзі, а далі це плавно переросло у щось значно більше. ну й вуса бріггса, мабуть, зіграли свою роль, бо хлопець точно знає, як переконливо благати на колінах 😏😛

сподобалася взаємодія еві з власним батьком і те, як чуйно вони ставляться до своєї справи. та й із батьком бріггса вона вправно знайшла спільну мову, а цей буркотун абикого до себе не підпустить.
плюс, сподобалася атмосфера в команді бріггса. той випадок, коли вони дійсно відчуваються як велика родина. його найкращий друг огі - просто неймовірний золотистий ретривер. якщо це не серія, то дуже шкода, бо я б із задоволенням почитала історію і про нього 🥹

[nihaarika]

the second i saw the cover, i pressed buy on my cart

[Ki Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Gabi ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’VE FINISHED THIS BOOK ALREADY 😭

I loved it so much. 😭 The banter between Evie & Briggs!!! That was insanely fun to read! And Murph! His sass, humour, and gentle heart! He might be my fave character ever! 🥺 His relationship with Evie was everything. 🥺

And the whole concept of a gravedigger (her) x pro hockey player?!?! So insanely cool, and so was Evie! She’s an icon. ✨

The way Ki wrote about grief and how complicated it can be? Both beautiful and heartbreaking!

And Briggs. 😮‍💨 Sad, hot Briggs. 😮‍💨 Tattooed and moustached Briggs. 😮‍💨 Do I have to say more?

A beautiful surprise of a book. I reached for it because of the gorgeous cover, unsure what to expect, and it very quickly made its way onto my list of the best books I’ve read! 🥹🥰

[megan ◡̈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

NEED THEM SO BAD THIS WAS EVERYTHIINGGGGGG

[JuLiterally · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Неочікувано щира й зворушлива історія про смерть, втрату та зцілення.

За цією грайливою обкладинкою ховається дещо значно глибше - історія про горе, внутрішні сумніви й пошук сил для прощення.
Але найбільше моє серце підкорила ця дружньо-сімейна атмосфера. Відчуття близькості, підтримки й того, що навіть у найтемніші періоди життя поруч можуть бути люди, які допоможуть тобі знову зібрати себе докупи.

А ще ці чорні жартики від Еві - ну це просто вишенька на торті. Люблю, коли жартують про смерть 😅

[Sandy (Sandy.Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my first book by KI Stephens, and I absolutely loved it. She did such a beautiful job of making these characters feel raw, real, and incredibly human. I felt like I was walking alongside them as they worked through grief, mental health struggles, and that constant feeling of wondering if they were enough.

The premise makes this sound like it’s going to be a fun, lighthearted read, but just know this one will pull at your heartstrings. There was so much emotion woven throughout the story, and I honestly adored every character I was introduced to.

Definitely an author I’ll be reading again!

[Rose Colored Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sports romance and grief representation PERFECTION. Heard you were looking for a book to cry to while listening to Willing and Able by Noah Kahan... found one for you... and it hurt REALLY bad but in the best way. God, Ki Stephens just has one of the most beautiful writing voices out there right now. The way she spun this story stuck to my bones the way a homecooked meal would. It's warm and familiar and nostalgic and heartbreaking all at once. A pro hockey player and a gravedigger is something I never would have thought of and it couldn't have been done more perfectly for me. Evie and Briggs are two of my new favorite main characters! The way their grief was tackled in such different ways while maintaining that line of connection they felt to each other right from the start worked so well for me as a reader. Evie's quiet wish for more from her life and her relationship with death on a broader scale from being a death care professional, and Briggs' complex relationship with a brother he can no longer fight with made this feel so intimate and vulnerable. How can I not mention the groveling? Or the spice? Or the way these two yearned for each other in person and apart? I just loved this so much and could read one million pro sports romances by Ki, especially since I know that she always delivers so beautifully on prose and angst and slowly built relationships— I have nothing but praise for this surprise release and can't help but hope that there may be more in store for '13' and 'pretty girl"! Highly recommending this to fans of Isaiah Rhodes, people who love a good cry while they're reading their romance, or anyone looking for something completely out of the sports romance box that will quietly break your heart before solidly stitching it back up. A resounding 5 stars ⭐️

[˚★. Sohaatje ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ia]

I saw rei (I can’t tag people here) add this and honestly I’m inlove with the cover sooooo I kinda want to read it 🤭


https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... How do yall “tag” someone omd

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 🏒🍒🪦

[ami.thereader · Rating 2 out of 5]

🪡2*It's over.thank you God!*stars.
All they do is fck their way through everything and pretend everything is fine.
a ⌜coward × a doormat⌟ 𝜗𝜚Cherry picked indeed.

Briggs and Evie meet at his brother's funeral. Then he hires her to be his dads caretaker. So now the concept of her being a grave digger just vanishes. They text a bit - then fck - he ghosts her - then sorry and fck again and it repeats till the bitter end ✨️
𝜗𝜚Same bs different day. They were so fcking annoying by the end of it i didn't like either MC.

Concepts are underdeveloped. The cover is GORGEOUS

tropes : grave digger × hockey player, abhorrent levels of communication

[JemeryInPrint · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Cherry Picking by Ki Stephens was such an emotionally grounded read. One of the things I appreciated most was the way grief and maladaptive coping mechanisms were handled. The characters don’t always make the best choices, but their reactions feel human and believable rather than exaggerated for the sake of drama. I loved that this story allowed those realities to exist without making them feel overblown or unrealistic.

There’s something especially impactful about a book that lets its characters be flawed without making their flaws feel like a performance. The emotional struggles felt natural, and that made it easier to connect with the characters and understand where they were coming from, even when their choices weren’t perfect.

[౨ৎ e L L i e · Rating 5 out of 5]

[5⭐️]

ki stephen’s, give me your shopping list at this point, because i think even that might be 5 stars 😭 this was so good, and i ate up every second of it!! i was intrigued right from the very first chapter. this book had me smiling, laughing and kicking my feet at the romance, but it also had me deeply emotional as it deals and touches on heavy loss/grief whilst slowly trying to come to terms with it. and i have to say that ki handled the subject with such thought and care which you could fundamentally see through her writing. i also really appreciate how real and raw these characters came across. they weren’t perfect in every single possible moment, because who is!? it made me feel as if i was almost there with them in every moment wanting to see the absolute best for them. for a surprise book we had no idea about (which i lowkey absolutely loved, and want more authors to do), i have to say - i could’ve read another 250 pages on evie and briggs. i miss them already and i only finished the book about 25 minutes ago….safe to say this will be one of those comfort books for me that i will come to reread when i need it <33

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

was deeply into this, lovely little story

[Kori Millman · Rating 4 out of 5]

2026 was year of the hater and I’m hoping to leave that behind starting now. Cute little romcom if you think jokes about lost loved ones are funny

[ninii · Rating 1 out of 5]

wasted my time on this awful book

[Sofia · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

Unbelievably fast paced. Personally don’t like insta lust and the back and forth but it was written well to where I wasn’t struggling to read it. I’m definitely going to be reading her other pieces of work

[jordan εїз · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🌟 such a cute cover and an interesting collection of tropes to put together!! i’ve never read anything about grave digging, let alone having it paired with hockey so this was pretty cool and kept me interested 🏒🪦🌼 i honestly felt more connected to briggs than evie..idk if it’s because she was more closed off or what but the third act was just sort of meh for me 🥸 they got together kind of quick but i liked the build up through texts & calls! this was my first ki stephen’s book and it was pretty good 😊

[May ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆˚࿔🪏✨🏒 “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘥.”
“𝘕𝘰,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵?”


OH, I AM OBSESSED!!!
How have I not read a Ki Stephens book until now!?!
I started this immediately after seeing the cover and the very intriguing concept of hockey player x gravedigger!
And let me tell you my instincts were spot on because I ate this up like nobody’s business.
This had everything I wanted!!! Banter, sad boy x snarky girl, family dynamics. It was so funny and emotional as well! the spice was perfection and I just loved the way Ki Stephens captured such a difficult topic as grief and especially grief of someone you haven’t been in contact with in a while.

I absolutely adored all the characters. Both Evie and Briggs were so complicated and realistically messy I was head over heels for them. I do feel like some would think, and I do a little agree that Briggs was a bit assholeish and avoidant, but! He had such an amazing character arc by the end and even started going to therapy which we LOVE MEN IN THERAPY!!!
His friendship with Augie had me cracking up at times and I loved them so so much.

And Evie, oh Evie my girl!!! I love me an independent and strong FMC. Who does not let the MMC smush her under his thumb or chase him. And whenever he was acting assholeish she wasn’t afraid to call him out on it! I admire her so much.
Her relationship with Murphy and in general the presence of both Murphy and Ray as fathers and characters was so so amazing I loved every second they were on the page.

I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it to be so deep but I found myself crying. Somewhere along the way, in under 300 pages these characters weaseled their way into my heart and I’ll forever keep them there💞

Such an amazing book, highly, highly recommend!

Some Quotes I loved:

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃’𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇. 𝒩𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔, 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝑒. 𝐸𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝑒. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓇𝓊𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓉’𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓇𝓎.


𝒜 𝒸𝒶𝒷𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝓊𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓃𝒹. 𝒯𝑒𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈, 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓁𝓎; 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓌.
[HE KNOWS HER SOUNDS NOW?? EXCUSE ME😭😭]


𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓃. 𝒮𝒽𝑒’𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝑒. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒’𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓋𝒾𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹, 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒸𝓊𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓎 𝐹𝑒𝒷𝓇𝓊𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝓃𝑒𝑜𝓃 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝓃.

[LeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I'm in love. Read this one on a whim and I am so grateful that I did. Briggs and Evie are what I needed right now. But I have to say it was Murphy who stole my heart.

The banter was top notch. Had me laughing and tearing up. This book was full of so much heart and love. I loved that Evie was a grave digger. What a unique concept. I've never read it before and I want more 😂. And ofc who doesn't love a hockey player. Briggs and his mullet and 'stache 🤭. Getting to learn about what really happened between Briggs and his brother Ziggy was sad. I did love seeing Briggs and his dad Murphy mend their relationship. It was sweet and warmed my heart.

I loved all of Murphy's interactions with Evie. Him teaching her about hockey was adorable and one of my favorite parts. I recently started watching and now I get the hype! I related to Evie during her first hockey game so hard 😂.

I loved seeing Briggs and Evie's relationship grow. Yes, Briggs was avoiding his feelings but I loved that Murph and even Augie knocked some sense into him. And Evie herself didn't let him get away with it. She was blunt which I appreciated. The spice was great, and I love a man who loves to please 😌.

I only have love for this book and being as it's my first from Ki, I guess I gotta go back and read her other ones. And if she wanted to give Augie a book, I wouldn't complain 🤭!

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

LISTEN - did i pick this up for the cover art? 10000% I mean LOOK. AT. IT. Stunning! But ya know what? Judging a book by its cover (and the plot) really worked out here because wdym that Evie is easily one of the best contemporary fmc’s of all time?!

She was a hilarious and brash enigma and honestly ... her first convo with Briggs’ dad had me in tears it was so freaking PERFECT. She can read the room and sense the mood shift - adding levity or heart when needed. And every time Briggs looked to the ceiling going “Christ” at the situation had me in stitches.

Their connection? A grave site, a statistic, and one job to pull her out of debt while helping in ways he never expected. The way Evie and Briggs jumped off the page and just held my fascination was insaneeee — I didn't want their story to end. Chapter by chapter, text by text, I fell more and more in love with their story (and with Murphy).

And the BANTER?! Don't even get me started it was everythingggg!

CHERRY PICKING was layered in grief, but held up with reverence of space....sitting with it, supporting it, but not pushing it. It was just there, laced into the relationships and the levity. I cannot get over how good this was just 10/10 read it and thank me later! 😮‍💨

[Mathilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’était trop bien ??!!!! Déjà le concept 🤌🏒🪦

La tension était dingue !!!! A Noël quand ils se revoient physiquement pour la 1ere fois omg???? Les montagnes russes dans mon ventre vrmt

J’ai adorée Briggs et Evie, aussi bien individuellement qu’ensemble.

Evie vraiment j’ai adoré sa personnalité, le fait qu’elle connaisse sa valeur, iconique✨

Et Briggs… first of all : HOT AF!!! J’ai adoré son développement et sa gestion du deuil, la question de la culpabilité autour de la (non) relation qu’ils avaient au moment de la mort de son frère, son évolution ensuite une fois qu’il commence à avancer, mais qui pour autant n’est pas magique.

En fait ce qui était génial c’était que les perso étaient hyper réalistes ce qui les rend super attachants.

J’ai trop aimé aussi Murphy et sa relation avec Evie.

Et finalement, j’ai bcp aimé aussi que la fin ce soit pas juste qu’un des 2 fasse un sacrifice pour l’autre mais qu’ils gardent leur cap en étant ensemble 🫶

[Emily · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

oh i ADORED this!! 🍒🪦💕

picked this one up for the gorgeous cover, but stayed for the truly unique premise. briggs is a professional hockey player who returns home after his brother passes away, and evie is the gravedigger that buries him… need i say more?

i seriously enjoyed this one immensely and could not put it down! these two had SO much chemistry. i especially loved evie’s relationship with murphy and how this book touched on more sensitive topics such as grief and healing. my heart hurt so much for briggs and everything he had to navigate throughout this book. however, depressed hockey boys are in fact my type.

(both these characters are hot and the bisexual in me doesn’t know which one i want more) (obviously evie)

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars rounded up

I love it when hot people fall in love. Especially when those hot people are specially able to help one another work through their trauma. 10/10 trauma bonding. The romance was pretty all-or-nothing, which annoyed me at times, but overall I really enjoyed both characters and their chemistry. The hockey really confused me because a lot of terms were thrown out without explanation, but understanding the hockey wasn’t imperative to the plot, so it was fine. This was my first KI Stephens, but it won’t be my last!

[Tara · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

First of all this cover is gorgeous.

I read this whole thing in one sitting it was so good. This book honestly talks about hockey differently than any other hockey romance I’ve ever read. Also Briggs calling his friend “bud” really sold it to me.

This book was just full of care. Everyone going through something but they’re getting there.

Minus 0.25 stars because there were a couple of editing errors so I couldn’t let myself give it 5 stars but they’re really easy to look past

[kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely love the names briggs and zigmund

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

every time i think i have found a new favourite ki stephens book, she drops another absolute banger 😭