Cross Check My Heart

Bobcats Hockey #1

by Mikayla Christy

Sometimes good things happen when you least expect them. Or in this case when you move halfway across the country to get a fresh start.

Lilly: I just needed to get away. Away from my ex. Away from my family who believes he could do no wrong. Away from everything I thought I knew.

Dominik: I just needed to get away. Away from the grief. Away from the life I’ve always known. Away from the person who took everything from me.

Neither knows how to move forward or if they are making the right choices. But after a fun and steamy filled weekend, the connection between them can’t be ignored.
Even if it goes against the rules

Genres: Hockey, Sports Romance, Sports, Romance, Hockey Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 10, 2023

Reviews

[i_hype_romance]

Where was the editor in this writing process?

I was so excited when I heard the premise for this hockey romance and I love supporting debut indie authors.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me.

See my notes if you’d like to know why. In summary, I’m done wasting my time on books with awkward sentence structure and poor grasp of writing in the first person present. I identified poor execution in nearly every paragraph in the first chapter and just don’t feel like slogging through it.

These are things that easily could have been addressed while still preserving the unique voice of the writer that we caught glimmers of in the first chapter.

[Olga 🌺 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by Mikayla Christy and I loved it!

Why? Well...
☝️ Hockey player x Rising romance author (need I say more)
✌️ He's not a manwhore. He does not objectify women. And his friends and teammates are no vulgar and/or skirt chasers.
3️⃣ She's not a SIW who doesn't need men but tolerates having one because oh-well it is a romance book after all.
4️⃣ Characters, especially men, DO NOT trash talk vulgarities and have decent conversations.

Now... It is true that it's a girlie book, meaning men sometimes call themselves "besties" LOL and their dialogues don't scream reality BUT I still loved it.

Have to admit though that this is not a trope that i usually like. They met one night, hit it off and decided to have a ONS which turned into a weekend-Night-stand.

If it weren't for the fact that she only had one previous boyfriend and that she doesn't usually do this, and that he is not a manwhore or ONS chaser, then I would have dnfd.

There is no third act breakup which I appreciated because since chaper one the book was about building their characters, facing their past traumas, and growing their relationship into something solid and beautiful.

Lovely Book.

📝 ticking another Bingo square
79) "Title starts with a C"
Squares Count: 55


🔴┃🔴┃87┃13┃68┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃76┃44
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100┃🔴┃17┃🔴┃🔴┃49┃64┃🔴┃15┃38
🔴┃🔴┃62┃🔴┃21┃73┃28┃🔴┃90┃77
03┃🔴┃🔴┃69┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃23┃🔴
18┃🔴┃22┃🔴┃93┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃58
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🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃🔴┃55┃27┃20┃🔴┃11┃83

[Briana Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve got a pocketful of sunshine, and this one can be all yours too! ☀️

Romancers have been sleeping on sunshine x sunshine, and I am excited to watch the obsession Mikayla Christy’s going to help fuel with this knockout debut. With its pure take on a deep, all encompassing love, and a pinch of forbidden secrecy involving the coach’s daughter, this novel checks all the boxes, and it does it with flare!

For the most part, Lilly and Dominik’s narrative radiated joy and sunshine, while still highlighting the past trauma of both and their journey to heal beyond the confines of grief, abuse, and toxic relationships. Their battles were handled maturely, and I adored seeing the open lines of communication running between them at all times - something you don’t see too often in a romance. They were supportive and protective of one another, and there was a beauty to their vulnerability as they found a safe space to heal with one another.

Christy’s characterisations were on point, and I loved the supportive, at times chaotic, but oh so caring family that was established with Dominik’s team and their favoured coach, and the author has done an excellent job at developing an array of different character lines potentially to come in other books.

For a heavy dose of sunshine, and a delicious serving of spice, look no further than this engaging hockey romance that’ll cross check your heart in the best way!

☀️ secret relationship
☀️ One night stand turned full blown romance
☀️ Coach’s Daughter
☀️ Insta love

TW: Domestic Violence

I received an advanced copy thanks to the author, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

[Bethie_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED MORE!!!🤩🤩🤩

🌟 5/5

ℙ𝕆𝕍: first person, dual perspective

𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪:
Sometimes, good things happen when you least expect them. Or, in this case, when you move halfway across the country to get a fresh start.

Lilly: I just needed to get away. Away from my ex. Away from my family who believes he could do no wrong. Away from everything I thought I knew.

Dominik: I just needed to get away. Away from the grief. Away from the life I’ve always known. Away from the person who took everything from me.

Neither knows how to move forward or if they are making the right choices. But after a fun and steamy filled weekend, the connection between them can’t be ignored. Even if it goes against the rules

𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
I'm not even sure how I came by this book, but I'm glad I did! I DEVOURED this book in less than 8 hours if that tells you anything...🤭🤣
Dominik and Lilly's relationship is one truly set for the stars! I was astounded by the maturity of both characters and how well they communicated and talked. There was never an issue with communication between the two, and y'all know how important that is to me!👀🤌
The steam was also top-notch. Drool worthy. *chef's kiss. Anything else that can be interpreted as EXCELLENT! Those two blew up circuit after circuit, and I definitely did not complain!🤣🥵🌶
I'm so excited to follow along and see what other characters could get their own stories! You definitely saw several opportunities...👀❤️🤩

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute (and 🥵) hockey romance 🥰

~Lilly needed a fresh start. What better way to do that than move halfway across the country where your absent father is? Dominik is more than ready to start with his new team after losing everything that mattered to him. They’re both unsure how to move forward but their connection is undeniable.~

I adored the chemistry between these two! I just adore their entire journey to each other.

I love how much of their relationship we get! A lot of books have a crazy slow burn which I love but I also adore seeing couples work through real life problems instead of just the good stuff.

[Samz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5✨ rounded up to 5! THIS WAS SO FREAKING CUTE. I loved Lilly so much and Dominik?!?! DAMN DADDY. I was absolutely drawn into the story from the first chapter and I found myself cheering Lilly on and flying through the book faster than I (a self confessed slow reader) usually would. It has that unputdownable vibe to it and I'm so here for it. That darts scene in the epi-loogee has me ON MY KNEES. This book! This damn BOOOOOOK! I also loved how it sets up nicely for future books in the series and I can't wait to see which couple up next. Mikayla I am so proud of you!

[MarissaIsBooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m slowly working my way through my physical TBR and randomly selecting books I have wrapped has been a fun way to pick my next read.

I thought this was really cute! Definitely a quick, easy read. Lilly just moved down to Florida after getting out of a really toxic relationship. Dominik went through some losses in his life and demanded a trade from his NHL team. They met out one night and discovered the next day that they’re neighbors….and that Dominik was just traded to the team Lilly’s dad coaches 😳

I loved how well Lilly and Dominik communicated throughout this book and the effort put into building trust was really great to read. And as someone who has been in a toxic, emotionally abusive relationship before (and has even experienced similar things to Lilly in this book), I really loved how Dominik handled getting to know Lilly and building their relationship.

I don’t normally like golden retriever MMCs, but the mouth on Dominik was worth it 😏

Highlights:
- Romance: MF
- Hockey romance
- Secret dating
- Starts as a one night stand
- Sunshine/sunshine characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This is the debut novel from author Mikayla Christy. I was lucky to receive an advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review. This is the story of Dominik and Lilly. Dominik is an NHL player, who just traded to the team coached by Lilly's father. Lilly is escaping a toxic relationship and ends up moving to the city where this team/her father is located. They meet one night at a viewing party outside the arena before he is officially announced to the team. She has no idea who he is. They spend a weekend together and from then on they find it hard to be apart, even after she finds out that he is the newest acquisition to her father's hockey team. This is marketed as a forbidden, coach's daughter is off-limits kind of romance & while that aspect is there, I don't really feel like this is the main conflict in this book. It doesn't even really come into play until some stuff goes down toward the end of the book & it's not even really a big deal when it comes out. I definitely think the main theme here (besides hockey, obviously) is healing and overcoming past trauma and toxic relationships. I think it was obvious that Dom & Lilly needed each other and were placed in each other's lives at just the right time.

I think this was a good first novel from this new author and I do look forward to reading more from her to see how her craft grows.

My only issues with this book were the use of the word "cumming" instead of "coming". I understand this is a personal preference, but to me, it is just a little bit cringe to read that. I also found that it was very slow and "wordy" until about the 25% mark. There was a lot of inner dialog and descriptions and very few character interactions.

[nikkyireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know I'm sucker for a hockey romance. This did not disappoint.

There are some pretty heavy familial and relationship topics. I think the author handled them well. I'm impressed that this is the author's debut novel. The characters were very likable, and the drama was realistic. The heavy topics had me feeling for both Dom and Lily, and I loved how they used each other to heal. I look forward to seeing what else the author releases. I hope we get Greysons story as well as Paige and Garret! 🤞

🏒Hockey Romance
🏒Coach's Daughter
🏒Secret Relationship
🏒No 3rd Act Break-Up
🏒 Dual POV
🏒Past Trauma
🏒Toxic Ex
🏒Spicy

[Libby U · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insta-lust. Coaches daughter. Forbidden love. This book was such a fun, sweet, quick read. Also, the sunshine X sunshine trope is HIGHLY underrated! Dominik and Lilly are just 😘🤌🏻
And, friends, the 🔥s p i c e🔥was SO good.

[Raluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I do have a thing for hockey romance. No, it never gets boring. Yes, I plan to read them all.

[christyheartsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one that I enjoyed well enough but I just didn't get all the warm and fuzzies from the characters.

[Natasha books.are.myescape · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ 3🌶️
I absolutely loved this book. The instant connection Dominik and Lilly had was amazing and so dang hot. The love and support they showed one another was everything. This story was so cute. And I swooned so hard over Dom’s character. Some parts broke my heart for what Dom had to go through. There was some funny scenes in here. And some spicy ones as well 🥵 And that ending was perfection. I couldn’t get enough of this story!!

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 35% :( I wanted to like this but I just did not like the writing at all. Idk how to explain it but I couldn’t get into it and the characters had almost this Insta love thing going on but I just didn’t feel the connection 🤷🏼‍♀️ Not to be mean at all but the writing just felt very immature idk how to explain it however I do see potential in this writers future for sure!

[Heather Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mikayla if this is your debut novel than I know you are going places! Right from the start you got me hooked. As being a hockey fan myself I loved the amount of detail you put into this. This sunshine romance definitely brought out all the feels and I can't wait to see what else you have planned.

Lilly just got out of a toxic relationship and moves down to Florida to be with her best friend, Paige. She needs to get away from everyone so what better way to do that than move thousands of miles away. One night, Paige and Lilly go to a watch party for the local NHL team the Tampa Bay Bobcats, which her dad is the coach of. While there she's finally feeling free and relaxed and meets this guy Dominik. One thing leads to another, and he's headed back to her place. A one-night stand quickly turns into a weekend long stay and they decided they want to get to know each other more. Oddly enough he lives right next door. Dominik is a professional hockey player but doesn't tell Lilly that because it slips his mind finally having a weekend where hockey wasn't involved. But when Dominik appear on the TV right next to her dad announcing that he just signed Dominik over to the Bobcats does all her hopes of getting to know him come crashing down. You can't date the coach's daughter, right? Well, you would be wrong. They agree to have a secret relationship and man am I glad they do. They are truly perfect for each other, like puzzle pieces coming together. They both have traumas and baggage they are dealing with. But little by little they are helping each other through all the grief and hurt.

Cross Check My Heart is the perfect blend of sweet & spicy. Mikayla does an amazing job with bringing out all those mushy feelings that we love. Lilly and Dominik's story is filled with joy and sunshine with a little hurt along the way. But they have each other's back no matter what. Like I said before, if this is your debut novel then I can't wait to see what else you have coming. Definitely sign me up as one of your supporters. I'm proud of you Mikayala! Thank you for and ARC copy of Cross Check My Heart. It was magnificent and joyful and just like Lilly is to Dom a ray of sunshine!

[Nicole Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Words Sunshine...Yes or No."
Yes, yes, a thousand stars YES.

MIKAYLA CHRISTY YOU HAVE LITERALLY CROSS CHECKED MY HEART IN THE BEST WAY. Yes, it warranted shouty caps.

You know that feeling you get when you read a book where the characters just love the hell out of eachother? And I mean in a deep, pure, healthy and absolutely all encompassing way that makes you truly believe in love again? Like crowd-cheering, glitter falling from the sky, the "can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff?" (IYKYK this reference)

Yeah. That's the feeling I had the entire time I read CCYH.

They way they face their individual traumas, and keep holding on to eachother, felt like the most healing experience in the world.

And the S-P-I-C-E!!!!! Miss Ma'am...WOWZA.

My only complaint is that it ended...and maybe also that I don't get to watch Dom making love to Lilly on an endless livefeed.

Mikayla Christy, I'm going to need the next installment STAT. This was absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing and has instantly become a comfort read for me.
We all need to believe in love like this again.

[Delaine (NovelReadingNanny) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first sports romance in quite some time but it was a perfection introduction back into the sub-genre. I love hockey in real life and fantasize about it regularly. Lord have mercy, Mikayla Christy is an amazing writer! AND THIS IS HER DEBUT NOVEL!

I instantly fell in love with Lilly and Dominik's insta-connection. We the readers knew it was love, even if the characters wouldn't admit it. Their weekend "fling" turned secret relationship was so fun. Christy also did an amazing job setting up the MCs backstories. Usually, I'm not a fan of the slow release of information between characters, but this was written perfectly. I was hanging on to every word. PLUS THE SPICE! Oh man, how does she do it!?!? Just read it. Do it. Do the dang thing!

I will now be adding Mikayla Christy to my auto buy list. She is amazing!

Make sure you check content warnings! CWs: physical assault (on page), reference to emotional and verbal abuse

Thank you to Mikayla Christy for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Esther | esthersreadingnook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh I loooved this book so much!

-SunshineXSunshine
-hockey romance
-Coachs daughter
-secret dating
-spice within the first 20% 👀

This book was adorable. It was just a giant ball of JOY. I loved the main characters so much. Dominik is a sweetheart and I loved how well they communicated and understood each other. I love insta love when done right and this book got it right. 👏🏼👏🏼

Such a great debut novel from Mikayla Christy!


⚠️Minor spoiler?⚠️

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I’m a sucker for a book with no third act breakup. 👏🏼👏🏼 I loved that this ended with the conflict being not about them or their relationship.

[Hannah Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐️
omg stop.. first off i want to say that i’m so proud of you Mikayla. You did an absolute amazing job on this book. This book was everything and Dominik is definitely a new book boyfriend of mine. I loved loved loved the relationship between Lilly and Dom. The insta love was everything and written perfectly. I loved the relationship that not only Paige and Lilly had, but the hockey players and Dominik. I honestly teared up when i finished this book, because i just can’t get over how good of a book this was. I hope you write more Mikayla, because this was a beautiful love story.

[Trista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh! If you love Hockey and a swoon worthy couple, this one is for you!

Debut novel and so well written.

Lilly is a strong FMC and works through a lot of personal baggage from a past relationship. Dom is immediately infatuated with her but there’s a bit of a forbidden aspect to their relationship that has them hiding it for some time.

No 3rd act breakup.
Lots of great spice and witty banter.
Great supportive side characters.
Just enough sports to go with your romance.

Well done, Mikayla! 💋

[Lymari Yenderrozos · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! If I hadn’t known this was a debut novel going in, I never would have guessed it. I found this to be so well written and so, so much fun! It was super steamy and perfectly emotional all at the same time. I loved the instant and insane chemistry between Lilly and Dom. Their banter is great, as was the easiness between them even from the start. It was great to see Dom have Lilly to confide in and how open and honest they were with each other. I can’t wait for more books from this author, and I need Greyson’s story immediately!

[Becca Cherpak · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this is Mikayla’s debut novel, I cannot wait to see what she does in the future!

I really liked both of the MCs. They were both dealing with their own personal issues, but I loved that they had “trauma dump date night”. They were vulnerable with each other in ways they weren’t with others- even their best friends.

Yay for no third quarter break up! The two of them were hit with a huge obstacle (in the form of Lilly’s cheating ex) but they over came it with proper communication and understanding.

The supporting characters were all fabulous too. I loved how Paige didn’t take shit from anyone and she told it like it was to Lilly. The teammates were all amazing. I love love love Grey and I need to know more about this man!

[Sarah Lassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The storyline was really cute and I enjoyed the characters quite a bit! The found family in the hockey team, the forbidden secret romance, and watching Lilly discover herself were some of my favorite parts. The spice was really well written as well.

The ending however seems like it was just abruptly put together and didn’t flow well with the rest of the book. Overall, a solid and enjoyable read.

TW: domestic violence

[Kyle Brookins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great story

I'm a sucker for hockey romances and this one did not disappoint. It did cover some heavy topics bit it was handled beautifully. Mikayla you did such an amazing job writing this story. The character development was on point. The story flowed without interruption. Technically 4.5 stars. Go read this beautiful story.

[abire]

dnf at 43%.

honestly, this was honestly just too insta-love for me. I mean I tried, i really really did. but it's been 5 fucking days of me trying to make progress on this book and reading max 3 chapters and then getting bored or losing interest.. so for the sake of my sanity and reading enjoyment, I'm parting ways with this.

[Leandra Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I’ve had this on my tbr FOREVER. I feel bad for taking so long to read this because I actually really enjoyed it! If was cute, funny, and Lilly(FMC) was relatable for me. Dom(MMC) is so sweet and thoughtful. I really liked his character from being to end and the side characters were interesting as well. I don’t know if this author is still writing or plan to make this an interconnected standalone series but if she did I would definitely continue reading them!

[Ana Filipa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was actually a super cute story!

Dom has my heart, he was just the sweetest. They (Dom and Lilly)both were.

This is a insta love but I love how they approach their relationship and how they are open with each other about their past.

4.50⭐️

[Sam Gollach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it. A sweeter romance that my usual dark ones.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me from the first chapter, I couldn’t put it down. Dominik and Lily are great characters and I love what they built from the very beginning.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love it, but i’m a slow burn person and they got together too quickly. I did love watching them get closer afterwards though. and glad there wasn’t a third act breakup!!!