The Captain

Chesterboro University #1

by Josie Blake

Cord Spellman might be everyone’s Prince Charming, but I’m only his fake Cinderella.

Since my dad died and my mom bailed, I’ve been living in a trailer park, barely making ends meet. I can take care of myself, as demonstrated by my acceptances to a handful of elite music graduate programs. So what if funding my success has meant sacrificing my college social life?

That’s why Cord’s offer is perfect. The hot hockey star has playoffs coming up. He doesn’t have time for girls, especially his cheating ex who’s determined to get back together with him. He needs to focus on his game, so he asks me to divert the attention—as his fake girlfriend.

I pretend to be in love with him and get a taste of the party life before graduation. Cord is free to concentrate on hockey. But when the line blurs between what’s real and what’s fake, can we create our own fairy tale ending?

Genres: Sports Romance, Sports, Hockey, Romance, College, Fake Dating, Hockey Romance

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2021

About the author

Josie Blake writes feel-good contemporary romance with heat and emotion. Originally from a small town in western Pennsylvania, she now battles traffic in southern New Jersey where she lives with her hero husband and their happily-ever-after: two very energetic sons. When she isn't writing, she can be found next to a hockey rink or swimming pool, cooking up something sweet, or hiding from encroaching dust bunnies with a book.

Reviews

[Julia (bookish.jka) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I don't know what his motives are, but I do know one thing for sure: Cord Spellman is a distraction I don't need."

Josie Blake is a new-to-me author - in fact I believe The Captain is is her debut novel, certainly under this pen name - and what a fabulous introduction to her work it was. I loved it! 💚

This is a new adult, MF, sports romance and if you like this genre you'll LOVE The Captain. Not quite enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, but in that style and also opposites attract and of course one of my absolute favourites - fake relationship 😍.

Our MCs are Cord Spellman, college hockey captain, rich, gorgeous and just out of a relationship with his parents' perfect girl, and Hannah Marshall, scholarship student, musical protegy and from the wrong side of the trailer park tracks.

They meet one night in a dive bar where Hannah is moonlighting as a singer for extra cash, she ends up giving Cord and a few teammates a lift back to campus and a tenuous friendship develops into a fake relationship, to help Cord avoid his ex. But of course fake relationships are never quite that simple.....

"I look her over. I haven't seen her in over a week, and the sight of her is a breath of fresh air. I can't quite figure out what it is about her."

This was a delightfully entertaining read which I inhaled in one sitting; it's low angst, slow burn and medium steam 🔥🔥, and I can't wait to catch up with Linc in the second book in the series, The Blueliner.

Recommended.

4.5 ✨✨✨✨

[demi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not what it says in the tin. I was expecting a swoon worthy, cute college sports romance with a loveable hockey player who initiates a fake relationship with an opposites attract girl that would involve several adorably awkward and cute scenes as they navigate fake dating. But we barely saw the MMC in his college role of a captain of the hockey team and the dynamic between him and his guy friends. No playfulness banter. We also barely saw any fake dating scenes. It felt very brushed over. It didn’t last long before they both liked each other. Hannah was a musician and I felt like the story mainly focused on that. And on Cord making it to the NHL, no real focus on college. I didn’t really like Hannah or Cord either. Didn’t feel any connection between them, wasn’t rooting for them. Not a fan of things book I’m afraid and won’t be reading the rest in the series.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[Carmen Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book popped up as a recommendation on the back of another book I read and it sounded awesome. So I added it to my tbr and read a heap of other books. Then I was wondering what to read and this was exactly what I was in the mood for.

So I grabbed it on Ku and couldn't put it down. Around 1am I convinced myself to get some sleep and when the girls woke us up at 6 it was the first thing I thought of. Well after wondering why we were stupid enough to have more kids 😉

The story was great and I loved both characters for vastly different reasons. They just complimented each other to perfection. This being the first time I've read this author I was a little nervous, but her writing style was perfect and I can't wait to grab the next book in the series and stalk her.

[Krista · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@ 53% - I just couldn’t get into it. Wasn’t enough college in there for this to be a college romance. Everything was just blah and they hadn’t even really done anything in their relationship except a little hand holding. They kept talking about how fake it was when both already liked the other. You don’t really get to know any of the other characters personalities either. Just not what I expected.

[Taylor Jefferson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just didn’t do it for me. I love fake dating but I feel like that never really came to fruition. They agreed to fake date but instantly started liking each other and their relationship felt real from the beginning. No tension. We didn’t even really get any scenes when they were pretending in front of other people.

This was also just too similar to The Deal for me. My holy grail of sport romances. Female main character into music and named Hannah. Rich hockey captain with a famous hockey player for a dad who doesn’t want the heroine to distract his son so he tries to get between them. I never like to think these similarities are intentional. When you have read as many sport romances as me you are going to see a lot of crossover.

Also I felt like the college aspect took a backseat. She turns into a literal rockstar with sold out arenas halfway through the book and he was already drafted by an NHL team but still plays for his school?!?? I was confused.

If you want fake dating with a strong female main character and a charismatic campus hockey god. Just read The Deal.

Spice: 🌶🌶 (just ok)
Stars: ⭐️⭐️

[ariely · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

it was very mehhh idk not very appealing i just wanted to get the book over with

[⊰ Elin ⊱ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘… 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜. 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜.”

[Beena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice and light-hearted read.

[Kaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
STEAM: 🔥🔥🔥



If you like slow-burn, wholesome sport romance, you definitely need to pick this book up.

Cord is the hockey team captain trying to get through the school year before joining the big leagues. He is also trying to get out from under his dad's shadow and thumb.

During a night out with his teammates, he crosses paths with Hannah, a music student who plays bar gigs to get by. Intrigued by her unaffected demeanor to his "big man on campus" status, he convinces her to be his fake girlfriend to keep his ex at bay.

I know that fake relationships in sport romances are a dime a dozen, but what I really liked about this book was how refreshing Cord and Hannah's characters were.

Cord may have been an alpha male on campus, but damn, he is so nice, genuine, and caring. He always has his teammates' backs but isn't afraid to call them out when they do stupid stuff. He is protective of Hannah but respects her boundaries.

Hannah is tough, smart, and talented, but she is also humble, kind, and vulnerable. She knows when and how to draw the line but she also picks her battles. She is willing to do above and beyond even with people she just met.

It is so much fun to see them become hesitant friends first. Despite their different upbringing and interests, you believe their connection because they build on it as they get to know each other. Josie Blake does an amazing job in establishing that these two are genuinely intrigued by each other and are willing to put themselves out there for one another.

I really enjoyed this read, and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.

** I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book. **

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard one to rate. I enjoyed the writing style and connected to it immediately. I'm sort of moving on from new adult but every once in a while I get the urge to read one. Most of the time I'm disappointed so I stay away. I was pleasantly surprised with The Captain. I liked the characters even if I didn't agree with their decisions. I'm also not a big fan of the third act break-up, misunderstandings/refusal to communicate or time jumps. All of which are used at some point in the novel yet I still liked this despite all of that. I don't think I will read all of the books in this particular series as the storylines don't all appeal to me. I will keep an eye on this writer though.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
This seemed to be a very cliche but good Fake relationship romance. Hannah and Cord have a definite attraction they’re fighting and I did enjoy the slow burn. They also learned not to judge a book by its cover, learning that the other wasn’t at all what they expected. I did enjoy reading this, I just wish there had been a few more surprises along the way. I did enjoy the ending and resolve, it’s rare how it played out so I thoroughly enjoyed the way things came together.

College, hockey, sports, Fake relationship, music major, opposites attract, slow burn, singer, ARC for honest review

[Swaggy Baggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

“You’re a coward, Marshall. I thought you were a fighter, but you aren’t.”

Excuse you, sir?!!! Your father literally hired a private investigator look into her family background and threatened her n shit. Instead of asking and comforting her either she's okay or not since all of this matter invade her privacy, you turn the problem around as if she's the one that didn't make an effort in this relationship and blame her when she's didn't want to take a risk continue seeing you. Hell nah

Definitely one of the couple that break up after epilogue

[Meredith MacKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Hannah and Cord. And I loved the hockey and college theme. Just a lot of fun and a super-sweet romance!! Josie is a great writer and she really knows a lot about the sport of hockey - and ice rinks in general. As a former figure skater, I appreciate this. With the right imagery, I can still smell the ice in the morning (yes, it has a scent ) 😊

[Tekayah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn’t necessarily spark anything for me. If I’m being honest it felt a bit like a publish fanfic about Garrett and Hannah from The Deal. No shade, but because of how much I love the off campus series I just couldn’t shake the similarities as I read this. Despite that, it was an average read. I like won’t be continuing the series though.

[Sloth Incarnate 🍉 · Rating 1 out of 5]

When he fucks up colossally but somehow it’s her fault

[Flora fcrp · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book wasn't great and I was really disappointed with the ending....

[Sandrine Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.25 Stars

“A struggling musician headed to music school and a hockey player destined for the NHL…ridiculous.”

I liked it, however, for it being a college sports romance it didn’t really feel like one. There was barely any college related content, and the ambience that I've come to expect from a university setting was missing. Despite the fact that the MMC is the captain of his college hockey team we don’t get to experience all that that entails—the main sport/hockey storyline is if Cord will get signed to play offense or defense as a pro.

The fake relationship storyline fell flat as well. The MMC wanted a fake girlfriend so that 1) his ex would leave him alone, and 2) other girls would stop asking him out. Given that the FMC only had to actively declare herself as his girlfriend twice in order to chase someone away—both of those times were with Cord’s ex, which means the fake relationship didn’t even serve its intended purpose—the arrangement felt unnecessary. Also, the FMC only agreed to be his fake girlfriend because, “You said that we’d go places together. I’m assuming that means parties and bars. I graduate in a few months. I thought it might be fun, you know, to see what that was like.” Yet, except for one afterparty, she doesn’t get to experience any of that stuff. If neither of them got what they wanted out of the fake relationship, what did it bring to the story? In reality, the only purpose the fake relationship served was adding unnecessary angst—I.e., both MCs developing real feelings for each other, but both keeping them a secret because they think the other person is only pretending to have feelings for them.

Hannah’s musical storyline was one of the most prominent—much more so than Cord’s sports storyline. The development actually happened on-page, and wasn’t just glossed/skipped over.

Title: The Captain
(Chesterboro University #1)
by Josie Blake
POV(s): Dual—First Person
Interconnected Series: Yes
Standalone: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
HEA: Yes
Relationship: M/F
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, New Adult/College
Triggers:
•FMC’s father committed suicide when she was a preteen (mentioned on page)
Tags/Tropes:
❖ Athlete-MMC (hockey)
❖ College-Romance
❖ Fake-Relationship
❖ Independent-FMC
❖ Parental-Conflict (FMC’s mom, MMC’s dad)
❖ Popular-MMC-Nobody-FMC
❖ Rich-MMC-Poor-FMC
❖ Scared-to-Admit-Feelings
❖ Singer-FMC
❖ Struggling-FMC

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am voluntarily reviewing an advanced reader copy of this book.

Hannah’s life could never be described as easy, losing her father when he took his own life and her mother spiralled in to a life of addiction she learned to look after herself. She’s putting herself through college and working two jobs, singing in bars and working as waitress just about let’s her pay the bills. The last person she thought she’d see at a dive bar is Cord Hillman the hockey super star from her college, he’s gorgeous but she knows he wouldn’t ever look twice at a girl like her. Saving him and his teammates from a long walk hold after a little too much alcohol leads to him asking for a favour. Pretending to be his girlfriend in the hope that he can concentrate on the playoffs, soon their relationship starts to feel real even though she’s heading for a broken heart, could they have a future together or is it all a dream?

Cord Hillman has a picture perfect life, rich, gorgeous and the god of the college ice hockey team. He had worked hard for his chance at a pro hockey career and he wanted nothing to stand in his way, but his ex is making that harder and harder. The night he meets Hannah he’s out on a night with his team celebrating a twenty first, from the moment he hears her sing he knows this girl is something else and so dies everyone around them. He is nothing but grateful when she stops and gives them a ride home and he finds himself wanting to know her better. It’s then when he comes up with the perfect plan, he needs a fake girlfriend who will keep the jockey groupies and his ex away leaving him to concentrate on the upcoming playoffs. It’s genius that is until he realises the feelings he has for Hannah are anything but not interested, so will he make a move on the one woman he wants or will a misunderstanding ruin what they could of had?

As a debut book I cannot recommend this book more than to me it’s a must read. Cord was a guy with a heart of gold and believed in one love, and Hannah is the type of woman you want to grow up to be, sassy, independent and lovable. Honestly if you like sports romance then this is a book not to miss. This was a five star read for me and I cannot wait to read Linc’s book.

[Helena Almeida · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't feel anything while reading this story... it was just meh...

First of all, it's got too many similarities to Elle Kennedy's The Deal... and it's not just the college hockey thing, and the fact that the female character is a music major named Hannah. I'll refrain from further comments so I don't spoil either book.

The writing felt repetitive throughout the whole book. I lost track of how many times they mention their fake relationship, for example.

Also, they go from not knowing each other, to fake dating, to in love in like 2 weeks! Everything just happens too fast, and it's not even substantiated by actual events in the book.

Overall, it was a below average story.

I came upon this book after adding the second one in the series to my tbr list (I don't care that they are standalones, I hv to read them in order!). Unfortunately I'm rethinking my urge to read #2.

[Pebbles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Falls Short

While the story was okay I got sick of the inner monologue of Hannah “this isn’t going to last long” and more negative thoughts, the same with Cord and it was still going on while the story was OVER 91% in. Another painful trait the author does a LOT of reiterating the same information over and over it’s so annoying and distracting, this story could have been so much better but sadly falls short, I won’t be continuing on with this series or any other books from this author.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

great writing but internal guy dialogue sucks

This author is a fantastic writing but I keep rolling my eyes at the guy’s internal dialogue. I get she is perfect. Can write music that’s amazIng without struggling and sing like Adele. She doesn’t look like a typical girl he dated but man he likes what he sees. I just can’t eat a Mary Jane character. The only flaw she has is that she’s poor and has a effed up mom.

[Marija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

Singer plot

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/24/2022)! 🎁

[❀ Tracy ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5/5) ˚୨୧⋆｡˚
hockey players who are green flags>>>

[Amiascah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off pretty strong then kinda became like every other sports book but if that's what you're here for then that's perfect.


'The Captain' is the first book in Josie Blake's Chereboro University series. Hannah Marshall doesnt have much going for her, her mom has split, she barely makes ends meet and paying for school is getting harder and harder. The one highlight in her life is when she puts on a wig and secretly sings at dive bars. The lights, the atmosphere its where she feels at home. That's all taken away one night when a birthday bash for hockey players causes her secret life to spill over into her real life. With it comes Cord Spellman, hockey legacy, captain of their university teams. He's put off and intrigued that Hannah wants nothing to do with him, but that makes her perfect for his plan, have her pose as his girlfriend so other girls leave him alone and let him focus on what really matters, hockey. Hannah's not really feeling the fake relationship bit until she decides that she needs to loosen up and Cord is the perfect gateway into the social life shes always wanted to try.




spoilers


I've got to start out by saying that I love 'The Deal' by Elle Kennedy. If anyone knows that book and reads this and doesnt feel like there are lot of similarities then I don't think you read either of them. hockey captain with NHL player dad who tries to blackmail/bribe the girl to leave? music major girl who doesnt get out much, both named Hannah. There was enough that's different that its not the same story but its enough the same that it was always on the back of my mind and made me wonder if this was partly a if I had these people this is how I'd do it.


Hannah was annoying in the beginning very uptight, but it was easy to brush aside with how green flag golden retriever Cord was. It did get annoying that she would point out that their two worlds don't mix but then immediately assumed it he was hitting on her but then also was constantly telling us that she knew she wasnt the type of girl he'd go for, so why'd she assume him being nice meant hitting on? Things like that bug because Hannah was supposed to need help be a damsel in distress, but also be able to take care of her self all by her self and she doesnt need anyone. Shes supposed to be this amazing singer to the point that she secretly got herself an agent and books gigs, but is so lacking in confidence that she has zero close friends and thinks no one will like her. Shes so disconnected but shes connected enough to be a TA. It was frustrating.

Im not sure when things in the book switched but it felt like there was no banter or cute scenes, nothing to give you flutter feelings or kick your feet or get mad at characters for burying their heads in the sand. It all became part of this predictable formula for contemporary romances, even down to the 3rd act break up. The miscommunication issues because enough actual talking has happened and despite being so in love that in two chapters they are willing to change everything about themselves for each other they still haven't told each other she basic info. I didnt feel like there was trust or empathy between the two, the connection never took after that initial spark. Their get back together just fell flat and unbelievable.


If I came across around one of Josie Blake's sport romances I would probably read it.

[Natward1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish after page 40. The writing was just a little too obvious. Like during cords pov, when he describing himself, he makes sure to tell us that he’s tall and muscular and that “he’s good looking, or so he’s been told”. Ohhhh brother! Like the author wanted us to make sure we know he’s hot, but also wanted to try and make cord seem humble or like, he didn’t notice that about himself or something. But if he truly didn’t think that about himself, he wouldn’t have said anything about his looks. Which I wish he hadn’t. I like when authors dig a little deeper and not be so obvious about what they want us to think of the characters. I’d like to come to my own conclusions. It’s also mentioned a few times already that a ton of girls are after cord all the time and that just makes me roll my eyes.

Hannah seemed okay at first but she walked a fine line on being that stereotypical uptight, stick up her butt princess. She wasn’t fully in that category, but too close for me. Like when the guy is being all nice and charming and trying to help the girl and instead of being grateful the girl responds like she is completely put out and so inconvenienced and annoyed by it. I truly truly hate that. I have no idea why so many romance authors do this. Why do they make the girl uptight and bitchy while the guys get to be the fun, carefree nice ones? I like an opposites attract trope and I also like an enemies to lovers trope, but they have to be done so carefully. I also didn’t like that Hannah immediately assumed cord was hitting on her when he offered her help. She talks about how nobody from the sports world would mix with her, a musical major. But then after she goes out of her way to help cord, without him even asking for it in the first place, and he wants to thank her and return the favor obviously, why would Hannah immediately think he was hitting on her? Is she that full of herself that she thinks every guy wants her? I mean, his friend just vomited in her car so he offers to clean it and she assumes that means he wants her? It just made her seem like she expects guys to hit on her all the time because to me, if I just did something for someone and he offers to help me back, I assume just that. It just felt inconsistent to everything we had learned about her up to that point because she had told us her type and his type don’t mix. So the last thing on her mind should have been the possibility that he was hitting on her.

I just really have to like the characters to get into a story and these characters weren’t as well done in my opinion. Just a few tweaks and they could have been more polished.

[Char (1RadReader59) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannah, if you were to look at her she is the polar opposite of, most students at the college. She is truly a contradiction to most of the students that are there. Some may even call her a nerd or boho babe but not the chic kind. She is beautiful not in a conventional way but her personality throws her over the edge.

One thing, Hanah is without a doubt, a classical musician. However, what people don't know is, that Hannah enjoys singing and writing songs. The first time, Cord ever really took notice of her, she was being her alter ego of herself. She was on stage singing at a dive bar. While he was there with hockey buddies from the college celebrating a friend's birthday.

Cord was taken with her and her ability to command a room. He had a feeling he knew her, but couldn't place her. What he didn't know is that she was wearing old contacts, a wig, and makeup. The guys all left early due to the birthday boy being too drunk and having to take an Uber. But, three were tossed because of, him for getting sick in his car.

Hannah being the nice person she is and knowing for the last years that she had been completely invisible to them, picks them up, to drive them to campus. Saved them from being in the cold, walking two miles, and carrying for the most part the huge birthday boy. Except, the birthday boy threw up in the car, in the bag that held her stage wig. Not a good night.

Cord decides to make, it up to her especially, when he figures out, the wig means, she's the girl on stage. Cord talks her into letting, the birthday boy, detail her car meanwhile, he would be her, personal driver. She's unsure until he comes up with a proposal to fix her car up if she will be his fake girlfriend to keep girls including his current ex-Rachel away from him.

Take about opposites attracting. These two become, magnetic energy around each other. It's a flook that they come together, even though they have been at the same small college, for four years. These two know without a doubt, they are attracted, to one another, but fear this being the right time, to try. The story is compelling, to watch with no real family support for what is, their true passion. Their careers are taking off and influences are moving in that are stepping on toes. A very good read.