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Lucky Bounce
A single dad pro hockey player falls for his biggest fan—who just happens to be his five-year-old daughter’s teacher—in this fun, flirty romantic comedy from Cait Nary
Ezekiel Boehm is no stranger to teaching kids with famous parents. But when the pro hockey player he’s been thirsting after walks into the Rittenhouse Friends School gym hand in hand with a tiny kindergartener, he figures he must be hallucinating. Spencer McLeod is a lot of things—Zeke’s favorite winger on the Philadelphia Liberty; a menace on the ice; a mumbling, reluctant but somehow captivating-as-hell postgame interview—but he’s not a dad. Except he is. Apparently.
Zeke can be chill about this. He can.
Surprisingly, the more time he spends with Spencer, the easier this becomes. School volunteer events turn into reserved seats at games, turn into…more. And even though Zeke is 100 percent committed to ignoring Spencer’s blush, to ignoring the way he looks in that one pair of gray sweatpants, he can’t take his eyes off him.
This can never work. Can it?
Ezekiel Boehm is no stranger to teaching kids with famous parents. But when the pro hockey player he’s been thirsting after walks into the Rittenhouse Friends School gym hand in hand with a tiny kindergartener, he figures he must be hallucinating. Spencer McLeod is a lot of things—Zeke’s favorite winger on the Philadelphia Liberty; a menace on the ice; a mumbling, reluctant but somehow captivating-as-hell postgame interview—but he’s not a dad. Except he is. Apparently.
Zeke can be chill about this. He can.
Surprisingly, the more time he spends with Spencer, the easier this becomes. School volunteer events turn into reserved seats at games, turn into…more. And even though Zeke is 100 percent committed to ignoring Spencer’s blush, to ignoring the way he looks in that one pair of gray sweatpants, he can’t take his eyes off him.
This can never work. Can it?
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2024
131 people are currently reading
1936 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 427 reviews
March 26, 2024
3,5 stars.
There were parts I enjoyed a lot, and parts that felt very meh.
The first 20% of his book where hard to get through. Zeke acting/feeling so OTT around his idol Spencer was cringey. Thankfully there were multiple occasions for them to talk and interact, so around 30% I could get behind the idea that there was ground for their mutual attraction beyond the physical attraction.
The writing was a bit all over the place, different from Changing Season. The parts with Addie (the child) were better in the second half of the book.
I enjoyed being in Zeke's head, he was a lot, but endearingly so. Many things he said (yelled) or how he often acted were OTT though, and felt artificial.
I didn't mind that we got just Zeke's pov, because Spencer wasn't able to hide his feelings at all.
What I really enjoyed was the intimacy between Zeke and Spencer, and their sex scenes in the second half of the book. There was so much chemistry and feelings and fun, I loved it.
Overall I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more than the first half.
There were parts I enjoyed a lot, and parts that felt very meh.
The first 20% of his book where hard to get through. Zeke acting/feeling so OTT around his idol Spencer was cringey. Thankfully there were multiple occasions for them to talk and interact, so around 30% I could get behind the idea that there was ground for their mutual attraction beyond the physical attraction.
The writing was a bit all over the place, different from Changing Season. The parts with Addie (the child) were better in the second half of the book.
I enjoyed being in Zeke's head, he was a lot, but endearingly so. Many things he said (yelled) or how he often acted were OTT though, and felt artificial.
I didn't mind that we got just Zeke's pov, because Spencer wasn't able to hide his feelings at all.
What I really enjoyed was the intimacy between Zeke and Spencer, and their sex scenes in the second half of the book. There was so much chemistry and feelings and fun, I loved it.
Overall I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more than the first half.
September 1, 2024
I would like to thank Cait Nary and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
I absolutely adored this book and i think it's because Cait Nary narrative simply works for me. I enjoy the way it pulls you along the story, warm and comforting, like a friend I'm catching up with. It feels like autumn to winter, wet creaking branches bare or crunchy overhead and underfoot, chatting while walking the Lakeshore with a coffee, my bestie (in town for the holidays) and a chilled grin because she's entertaining as fk.
i'm pretty simple. i'm a hockey fan and i love hot (hockey) men, so zeke and i were already gonna vibe hard with that baseline in common lmao! his POV, revealing his insecurities and his emotional and financial challenges, i felt enriched this story with a more personal lens, and because i found this story immersive and deeply resonating, the HEA was beautiful and buoyant to read. throw in a cute kid and a furbaby, bff banter that made me laugh out loud, supportive families of both the found and the born-into variety, an inclusive hockey room and most importantly, NO THIRD ACT nonsense, well it was a winner for me!
wonderful work as always from one of my most cherished authors and as always, looking forward to devouring everything else Cait has in store for the world of MM hockey romances in the future!
***something fked up my updates soooo😮💨😑😒***
25% done: OMFG these kids are making me howl 😂😂😂 also I'm really enjoying this! It's like slice of life for soft hockey fans lmao
— 23 hours, 26 min ago
10% done: Jake and Zeke make me snort laugh lmao I love best friend banter 😂
— Dec 08, 2023 08:59AM
3% done : Reading Cait Nary is like snuggling into the most warm and comfy hug 🥰
— Dec 08, 2023 08:33AM
I absolutely adored this book and i think it's because Cait Nary narrative simply works for me. I enjoy the way it pulls you along the story, warm and comforting, like a friend I'm catching up with. It feels like autumn to winter, wet creaking branches bare or crunchy overhead and underfoot, chatting while walking the Lakeshore with a coffee, my bestie (in town for the holidays) and a chilled grin because she's entertaining as fk.
i'm pretty simple. i'm a hockey fan and i love hot (hockey) men, so zeke and i were already gonna vibe hard with that baseline in common lmao! his POV, revealing his insecurities and his emotional and financial challenges, i felt enriched this story with a more personal lens, and because i found this story immersive and deeply resonating, the HEA was beautiful and buoyant to read. throw in a cute kid and a furbaby, bff banter that made me laugh out loud, supportive families of both the found and the born-into variety, an inclusive hockey room and most importantly, NO THIRD ACT nonsense, well it was a winner for me!
wonderful work as always from one of my most cherished authors and as always, looking forward to devouring everything else Cait has in store for the world of MM hockey romances in the future!
***something fked up my updates soooo😮💨😑😒***
25% done: OMFG these kids are making me howl 😂😂😂 also I'm really enjoying this! It's like slice of life for soft hockey fans lmao
— 23 hours, 26 min ago
10% done: Jake and Zeke make me snort laugh lmao I love best friend banter 😂
— Dec 08, 2023 08:59AM
3% done : Reading Cait Nary is like snuggling into the most warm and comfy hug 🥰
— Dec 08, 2023 08:33AM
November 9, 2023
If only this book had a dual narrative …
Lucky Bounce is okay. Nice. Fine. I’ll admit, I really, really liked the first pages. I smiled, and I chuckled, and sometimes I had second-hand embarrassment because of Zeke’s crush. But after a few chapters, my enthusiasm faded away. I think this story could have been so much more! Such a shame.
I terribly missed Spencer’s narrative. And now that I’m spouting criticism, I also missed character depth. There was wit, and my lips turned up in a smile, but Zeke and Spencer were also very one-dimensional. I kind of hated their dialogues because there was hardly any, especially in the beginning. It would have been okay, but I didn’t feel any yearning or longing, or at least some buildup to something more. Yeah, Zeke felt sexual attraction, but that’s it. I think the book is much too short. Add at least 100 pages, dive into the characters, upgrade the dialogues, tell Addie’s background story in more than three sentences, and lose the bro/dude/bud thing, and this romance could suddenly be really good. But right now it isn’t, at least not in my opinion, and therefore, Lucky Bounce became an in-between. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself, but this book is rather unforgettable. And that’s a pity.
If you love an easy read and at times funny story to dream away for a while, readable in one sitting, this one might be for you. Oh, and there’s no third act breakup and that’s great!
Thank you, Harlequin-Romance and NetGalley, for the ARC.
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Lucky Bounce is okay. Nice. Fine. I’ll admit, I really, really liked the first pages. I smiled, and I chuckled, and sometimes I had second-hand embarrassment because of Zeke’s crush. But after a few chapters, my enthusiasm faded away. I think this story could have been so much more! Such a shame.
I terribly missed Spencer’s narrative. And now that I’m spouting criticism, I also missed character depth. There was wit, and my lips turned up in a smile, but Zeke and Spencer were also very one-dimensional. I kind of hated their dialogues because there was hardly any, especially in the beginning. It would have been okay, but I didn’t feel any yearning or longing, or at least some buildup to something more. Yeah, Zeke felt sexual attraction, but that’s it. I think the book is much too short. Add at least 100 pages, dive into the characters, upgrade the dialogues, tell Addie’s background story in more than three sentences, and lose the bro/dude/bud thing, and this romance could suddenly be really good. But right now it isn’t, at least not in my opinion, and therefore, Lucky Bounce became an in-between. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself, but this book is rather unforgettable. And that’s a pity.
If you love an easy read and at times funny story to dream away for a while, readable in one sitting, this one might be for you. Oh, and there’s no third act breakup and that’s great!
Thank you, Harlequin-Romance and NetGalley, for the ARC.
Follow me on Instagram
January 21, 2025
rep: gay mc, gay li, Vietnamese American bi side character, sapphic side character
January 10, 2024
Only got to 16% I may yet read on. Pushed to 50% it doesn't improve.
It's not a hockey book.
It's all Zeke's pov. Zeke is made of fail and flail.
Zeke the teacher with a big crush he can't think beyond, who squeals at emails and reads VERY young. Apparently a gym teacher at a rich kid kindergarten; I didn't know a kindergarten would have a gym teacher. Don't see a rich kids school hiring someone who'd overreact so much to a celebrity parent, there'd definitely be confidentiality clauses to stop him rush home gushing about his crushes secret daughter to everyone.
Oh and somewhere in there is a big blushing hockey player, with a tiny daughter. They're kinda lost to the Zeke show. It's past 90% we find out why Addie is with her father. I just had to check, his name is Spencer or sometimes Mickey.
Perhaps it's pov fail but quickly had enough and didn't care. Read more convincing fanfics. If anything got a Sterek vibe.
Read further and definitely pov fail. Nothing from Zeke's pov convinced me he could be trusted with a stuffed toy let alone a room of children.
There's no depth to these characters, any family/backstory story seems forgotten until the last minute. No build up, for me the major celebrity crush, scarce meetings then boom together, felt off.
Honestly they go from a few meets to sexting with absolutely no lead up, no indication such job endangering texts would be welcome, I was taken aback but then they were dating.
It's not a hockey book.
It's all Zeke's pov. Zeke is made of fail and flail.
Zeke the teacher with a big crush he can't think beyond, who squeals at emails and reads VERY young. Apparently a gym teacher at a rich kid kindergarten; I didn't know a kindergarten would have a gym teacher. Don't see a rich kids school hiring someone who'd overreact so much to a celebrity parent, there'd definitely be confidentiality clauses to stop him rush home gushing about his crushes secret daughter to everyone.
Oh and somewhere in there is a big blushing hockey player, with a tiny daughter. They're kinda lost to the Zeke show. It's past 90% we find out why Addie is with her father. I just had to check, his name is Spencer or sometimes Mickey.
Perhaps it's pov fail but quickly had enough and didn't care. Read more convincing fanfics. If anything got a Sterek vibe.
Read further and definitely pov fail. Nothing from Zeke's pov convinced me he could be trusted with a stuffed toy let alone a room of children.
There's no depth to these characters, any family/backstory story seems forgotten until the last minute. No build up, for me the major celebrity crush, scarce meetings then boom together, felt off.
Honestly they go from a few meets to sexting with absolutely no lead up, no indication such job endangering texts would be welcome, I was taken aback but then they were dating.
December 21, 2023
Cait Nary is just advancing up the rungs of hockey romance difficulty with ease, huh? This one has basically no external conflict and yet I couldn’t put it down. I’m giving it four stars mainly as an incentive to myself to reread sooner rather than later.
(Also - Jan Brett’s The Mitten?? JAN BRETT’S THE MITTEN?!? Sure just come for my childhood why don’t you?!?)
ETA: yep I’ve already reread this and I’m back to add that fifth star! This book is pretty much my exact definition of escapist perfection.
(And I am dying to know what exactly Cait Nary’s connection is to a certain region of North America - first Duluth, now Thunder Bay? Where’s the MC from the next book gonna be from, Lutsen? Ely?? 😂😂😂)
(Also - Jan Brett’s The Mitten?? JAN BRETT’S THE MITTEN?!? Sure just come for my childhood why don’t you?!?)
ETA: yep I’ve already reread this and I’m back to add that fifth star! This book is pretty much my exact definition of escapist perfection.
(And I am dying to know what exactly Cait Nary’s connection is to a certain region of North America - first Duluth, now Thunder Bay? Where’s the MC from the next book gonna be from, Lutsen? Ely?? 😂😂😂)
February 4, 2024
This feels like one where you are either ALL IN or it’s just not for you. I loved this and as an added bonus it was set in Philly. 5 stars.
January 31, 2024
Zeke Boehm X Spencer McLeod
Yeah, I don’t know, this was cute AF.
I highlighted more than I usually do while reading.
The narration is going to be a dealbreaker for some, keeps you a little separated from the action (third person with lots of rambling -that’s just Zeke’s personality- repetitious phrases, and backtracking).
Note: I’m in my own feelz right now and I don’t feel like internalizing fictional characters emotions at the moment so this style worked for me.
The email messages, their text messages that had me saying “omg” out loud, the obliviousness, the moody hockey player and the super-fan daughter’s teacher, dogs. These characters are all SO REAL.
My only gripe is that it all ended too soon!
This scene is in the beginning during warmups at a game and was the moment I knew I was going to love this book. The way I can visualize it.
(…) because there’s Spencer McLeod, swinging up behind D’Amico and leaning on his shoulder. He smiles, halfway, and lifts his stick in a salute.
“Oh, dreamy,” Samar sighs at Zeke as he nervously waves back.
“Hey, McLeod!” she yells. “Zeke wants a puck!”
this was my first Cait Nary book but I’ll be checking out the backlog now
October 24, 2023
Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for providing me a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
===
2.5 rounded up
I was super excited about this one--I loved the first book I read by this author and the summary seemed really promising. I enjoyed it overall, but I can't say it quite lived up to my hopes for it.
I've read variations on the dad/teacher thing before, but I thought the twist of the dad being famous and the teacher having already been a fan was interesting, and I generally thought it played well--pretty easy for it to veer into creepy, but I didn't feel like that line was crossed. I'm not always a big fan of kids in books, and I actually didn't find the five-year-old to feel all that present in the book. On the one hand, I personally appreciated it, but on the other, it did feel a little weird for there not to be more of her considering she's pretty young, Spencer is a single dad, and Zeke is her teacher. There aren't even conversations at the end, when it's clear they're serious, about what it means for them to be in a relationship when one of them is raising a young kid and the other is (at least at the moment) her P.E. teacher... Felt like a very odd omission. There's also hardly any hockey for a hockey romance. I wasn't personally bothered--the POV character is the teacher, and we don't get Spencer's POV at all so it makes sense there isn't a ton of hockey, but I know that's a draw for some people.
The writing itself... there was something about the writing here that felt a little off for me, and I'm having a difficult time articulating it. I think that part of it was the fact that Zeke's character in particular felt a little all over the place. Despite being the POV character, I never really felt like I had a solid read on him, because his characterization never felt entirely consistent. It almost read as if the author's conception of him evolved as they wrote, but then there was no going back through to edit him into a coherent and consistent character. It was subtle and hard to place, but I had a difficult time connecting to him, in part because I never felt like I knew him. (As a smaller aside, I don't know that we ever really even got a good description of him, so I had no idea what to even picture, which I found a bit frustrating.)
The pacing here also wasn't quite right for me. The lead up to the relationship was excellent, but the sudden sexting pivot point felt like a really sudden and aggressive flip, and then the jump into a full relationship with absolutely no discussions about what they were doing was really confusing. The whole last 1/3 of the book I kept waiting for something to happen (3rd act breakup, some kind of DTR) but it just read like an extended epilogue in which not much happens and I was sort of scratching my head. I appreciated the maturity of the relationship (though it was jarring for me to realize these guys are in their mid-20s and not their mid-30s, as they mostly read as older to me) but I was a bit bored at the end, waiting for some kind of tension or climax or something, instead of just a slow descent into the ending, which felt fairly abrupt considering the lack of a climactic event to mark the coming end/resolution of the book, and no official epilogue.
There were some good bones here, but it felt like it could have used a stronger editor to work on the pacing and characterization/writing issues.
===
2.5 rounded up
I was super excited about this one--I loved the first book I read by this author and the summary seemed really promising. I enjoyed it overall, but I can't say it quite lived up to my hopes for it.
I've read variations on the dad/teacher thing before, but I thought the twist of the dad being famous and the teacher having already been a fan was interesting, and I generally thought it played well--pretty easy for it to veer into creepy, but I didn't feel like that line was crossed. I'm not always a big fan of kids in books, and I actually didn't find the five-year-old to feel all that present in the book. On the one hand, I personally appreciated it, but on the other, it did feel a little weird for there not to be more of her considering she's pretty young, Spencer is a single dad, and Zeke is her teacher. There aren't even conversations at the end, when it's clear they're serious, about what it means for them to be in a relationship when one of them is raising a young kid and the other is (at least at the moment) her P.E. teacher... Felt like a very odd omission. There's also hardly any hockey for a hockey romance. I wasn't personally bothered--the POV character is the teacher, and we don't get Spencer's POV at all so it makes sense there isn't a ton of hockey, but I know that's a draw for some people.
The writing itself... there was something about the writing here that felt a little off for me, and I'm having a difficult time articulating it. I think that part of it was the fact that Zeke's character in particular felt a little all over the place. Despite being the POV character, I never really felt like I had a solid read on him, because his characterization never felt entirely consistent. It almost read as if the author's conception of him evolved as they wrote, but then there was no going back through to edit him into a coherent and consistent character. It was subtle and hard to place, but I had a difficult time connecting to him, in part because I never felt like I knew him. (As a smaller aside, I don't know that we ever really even got a good description of him, so I had no idea what to even picture, which I found a bit frustrating.)
The pacing here also wasn't quite right for me. The lead up to the relationship was excellent, but the sudden sexting pivot point felt like a really sudden and aggressive flip, and then the jump into a full relationship with absolutely no discussions about what they were doing was really confusing. The whole last 1/3 of the book I kept waiting for something to happen (3rd act breakup, some kind of DTR) but it just read like an extended epilogue in which not much happens and I was sort of scratching my head. I appreciated the maturity of the relationship (though it was jarring for me to realize these guys are in their mid-20s and not their mid-30s, as they mostly read as older to me) but I was a bit bored at the end, waiting for some kind of tension or climax or something, instead of just a slow descent into the ending, which felt fairly abrupt considering the lack of a climactic event to mark the coming end/resolution of the book, and no official epilogue.
There were some good bones here, but it felt like it could have used a stronger editor to work on the pacing and characterization/writing issues.
February 23, 2024
This book was cozy comforting perfection. Low plot, high vibes. Low angst, lots of humour, banter, and feelings. Exactly what I needed.
October 31, 2023
As soon as I read "A single dad pro hockey player falls for his biggest fan who just happens to be his five-year-old daughter’s teacher?" I immediately clicked to grab this story. Absolutely, sign me up! I like Cait Nary's humor and I was so excited.
It starts off great. Zeke's a great character: funny and bright, and he needs to be, because it's his sole POV for the entire story. We get the barest information about Spencer (or Addie. For example, the reader isn't let in on why Spencer has Addie until 91% of the book is done). Zeke's a whole character with backstory, motivation, character development...everything is there. Spencer...not so much.
In contrast, Spencer is like a ghost in the story. He shows up for moments, but nothing much of depth, and it left me feeling consistently like I was missing part of the story. Honestly, at a certain point I started to convince myself this was supposed to be a collaboration with another author who didn't turn in their pages. I feel like if we'd gotten Spencer's POV even just once in the beginning it would've really helped to get to know and start to like Spencer. Instead, we barely get to know him and most of the time (to me) he comes off like a taciturn grump.
What I liked most about the story is the humor and Zeke. What I liked least is I would've liked more actual romance, and to have gotten to know Spencer better and been able to read his POV. I also would've loved to get an epilogue or something giving more than the abrupt ending we do get (it just left me feeling like the "other author" didn't turn in the epilogue pages either).
2.5 stars rounding up.
LGBTQIAP+ Romance | Contemporary Sports Hockey Romance | M/M Romance #LuckyBounce #NetGalley
Advanced Review Galley copy of Lucky Bounce provided by Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
It starts off great. Zeke's a great character: funny and bright, and he needs to be, because it's his sole POV for the entire story. We get the barest information about Spencer (or Addie. For example, the reader isn't let in on why Spencer has Addie until 91% of the book is done). Zeke's a whole character with backstory, motivation, character development...everything is there. Spencer...not so much.
In contrast, Spencer is like a ghost in the story. He shows up for moments, but nothing much of depth, and it left me feeling consistently like I was missing part of the story. Honestly, at a certain point I started to convince myself this was supposed to be a collaboration with another author who didn't turn in their pages. I feel like if we'd gotten Spencer's POV even just once in the beginning it would've really helped to get to know and start to like Spencer. Instead, we barely get to know him and most of the time (to me) he comes off like a taciturn grump.
What I liked most about the story is the humor and Zeke. What I liked least is I would've liked more actual romance, and to have gotten to know Spencer better and been able to read his POV. I also would've loved to get an epilogue or something giving more than the abrupt ending we do get (it just left me feeling like the "other author" didn't turn in the epilogue pages either).
2.5 stars rounding up.
LGBTQIAP+ Romance | Contemporary Sports Hockey Romance | M/M Romance #LuckyBounce #NetGalley
Advanced Review Galley copy of Lucky Bounce provided by Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
November 12, 2023
Wow. I honestly don’t know what to say in my review. One is disappointment. I had high hopes, but that was quickly dashed. It needed an editor to go through the extra words that were not needed. The romance was a bit off. Spencer mostly grunted throughout the book. I had front row seats to every thought Zeke had. Which was very annoying. And took away any enjoyment I might have had in reading this boring book. If you want a really good and spicy hockey m/m love story I have recommendations. This was an romance fail. I didn’t understand how they could be together. Oh, and the ending! What was that?! It was so sudden with no idea if the relationship ends in a hea. Though, at that point I didn’t care. Overall, it was a messy and boring book, I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.
May 7, 2024
For the first 25%, I thought I was going to give this five stars, but the tension sort of petered out as it went along. I still had a good time, but it didn't end as well as it began. Still, will definitely read more from Cait Nary.
May 6, 2024
3.5⭐️
Thank you so much to Carina Press and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I like everyone else, has been riding the hockey romance train. And I was really excited to see a queer hockey romance from a new to me author.
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me personally.
On one hand I actually really enjoyed the romance itself. There was so much mutual pining between the characters. And I loved how much their friends meddled in their budding romance. Their interactions and scenes together were absolutely adorable.
The daughter element was also done well. I felt like it was a realistic depiction and didn't take over the plot or story. She was adorable, sometimes frustrating, and acted her age.
Where this lost me a little was in the style choices. First of all, this only had Zeke’s POV and I thought it could have benefited from dual POV. But the real hold up was the fact that it was written in 3rd person.
I'm normally not one to care about, or often even notice, 1st or 3rd person narration. But in this case it was... jarring. Everything is written in 3rd person from Zeke's POV but it's written in a stream of conscious way... so you got these weird tangents and moments of internal dialogue. But from a 3rd person narrator...
And it was honestly bizarre. I had to actively ignore it while reading because it just kept distracting me. It was just an odd choice in my opinion. And I've never felt to distracted or aware of the narration/tense of a romance.
Overall, this was a cute fun story. But I don't think it's one I'll think about or rec often. If you're in search of a quirky hockey romance with buckets of pining though, it's definitely worth giving a shot.
Thank you so much to Carina Press and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I like everyone else, has been riding the hockey romance train. And I was really excited to see a queer hockey romance from a new to me author.
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me personally.
On one hand I actually really enjoyed the romance itself. There was so much mutual pining between the characters. And I loved how much their friends meddled in their budding romance. Their interactions and scenes together were absolutely adorable.
The daughter element was also done well. I felt like it was a realistic depiction and didn't take over the plot or story. She was adorable, sometimes frustrating, and acted her age.
Where this lost me a little was in the style choices. First of all, this only had Zeke’s POV and I thought it could have benefited from dual POV. But the real hold up was the fact that it was written in 3rd person.
I'm normally not one to care about, or often even notice, 1st or 3rd person narration. But in this case it was... jarring. Everything is written in 3rd person from Zeke's POV but it's written in a stream of conscious way... so you got these weird tangents and moments of internal dialogue. But from a 3rd person narrator...
And it was honestly bizarre. I had to actively ignore it while reading because it just kept distracting me. It was just an odd choice in my opinion. And I've never felt to distracted or aware of the narration/tense of a romance.
Overall, this was a cute fun story. But I don't think it's one I'll think about or rec often. If you're in search of a quirky hockey romance with buckets of pining though, it's definitely worth giving a shot.
January 6, 2024
5 stars
Lucky Bounce is my favorite of Cait Nary's books so far. It's fun, fast-paced, has good hockey content, and I didn't even mind the kid (and i am not a big fan of kids in romance novels (or any novels)). The romance is great too - I was invested in the two main characters getting to know each other and eventually figuring it all out.
There was some Personal Family Stuff with both dudes that wasn't really explored in depth or resolved at all but I don't enjoy family drama so I didn't mind that it kinda went nowhere.
The ending is probably my biggest complaint because it is A B R U P T. It seriously just ends with the world's most vague sentence and i kept trying to turn the page for more but nope. Nothing. If this was beefed up a bit it would be 5++++ stars lol. Still worth the read and a great addition to the annals of gay hockey romance.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Lucky Bounce is my favorite of Cait Nary's books so far. It's fun, fast-paced, has good hockey content, and I didn't even mind the kid (and i am not a big fan of kids in romance novels (or any novels)). The romance is great too - I was invested in the two main characters getting to know each other and eventually figuring it all out.
There was some Personal Family Stuff with both dudes that wasn't really explored in depth or resolved at all but I don't enjoy family drama so I didn't mind that it kinda went nowhere.
The ending is probably my biggest complaint because it is A B R U P T. It seriously just ends with the world's most vague sentence and i kept trying to turn the page for more but nope. Nothing. If this was beefed up a bit it would be 5++++ stars lol. Still worth the read and a great addition to the annals of gay hockey romance.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
December 20, 2023
4.5
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary was such a delightful little surprise and I read it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down!
The story is told from Zeke's POV and although, I am often more drawn to dual POV stories, seeing it through Zeke's eyes just really worked for me. Zeke is a little anxious and often unsure of himself and it was honestly impossible not to root for him. The story opens on an extremely surprised Zeke, a PE teacher at a Philly Quaker school, who finds out that not only is he meeting the hockey player who he is a major fan of (a might have a little bit [read:lot] of a crush on), but that hockey player has a daughter that nobody had previously known about. Throughout the course of the story we get to watch this quiet, stoic, beautiful hockey player open up through his relationship with Zeke.
So what is there to love?
- The pining! Absolutely grade A pining!
- Watching Zeke get something that he only dreamed of and never thought he could ever actually have.
- Single dad of the year. Although this is all so new to Spencer, he is such an amazing dad. You can feel his love for his daughter without ever hearing his inner monologue
- The way the accidental pregnancy/surprise child was done worked well as a catalyst in this book. I really appreciate that we were dropped into the mix after this all happened, so that while it was important to the story, it wasn't the primary focus.
- The emails & text conversations had me giggling! Epistolary elements in books are always such a hit for me, and this was no different.
- The spice! I love when a romance manages to be very spicy and still extremely romantic
- The hockey was great and I would expect nothing less from Cait. I appreciate hockey romances that feature the sport correctly and don't just use it as background.
- The amount of emotion I was able to feel for Spencer when I never actually got to hear his inner monologue. Zeke was an excellent narrator!
Overall, I just couldn't get enough. It didn't need to be any longer, but I wouldn't have minded at all because I really loved these two. I think that some people will be bothered but the lack of an epilogue in favor of the more abrupt HFN ending, but I think it really works in this book. Both Spencer and Zeke recognize that it isn't going to be easy for them, but they want to make it work. It's real and honest and sometimes I appreciate that more than the over fluffy endings. This really seals the deal of making Cait Nary and auto buy author for me.
A big thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press for sending me an arc, All thoughts are my own.
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary was such a delightful little surprise and I read it in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down!
The story is told from Zeke's POV and although, I am often more drawn to dual POV stories, seeing it through Zeke's eyes just really worked for me. Zeke is a little anxious and often unsure of himself and it was honestly impossible not to root for him. The story opens on an extremely surprised Zeke, a PE teacher at a Philly Quaker school, who finds out that not only is he meeting the hockey player who he is a major fan of (a might have a little bit [read:lot] of a crush on), but that hockey player has a daughter that nobody had previously known about. Throughout the course of the story we get to watch this quiet, stoic, beautiful hockey player open up through his relationship with Zeke.
So what is there to love?
- The pining! Absolutely grade A pining!
- Watching Zeke get something that he only dreamed of and never thought he could ever actually have.
- Single dad of the year. Although this is all so new to Spencer, he is such an amazing dad. You can feel his love for his daughter without ever hearing his inner monologue
- The way the accidental pregnancy/surprise child was done worked well as a catalyst in this book. I really appreciate that we were dropped into the mix after this all happened, so that while it was important to the story, it wasn't the primary focus.
- The emails & text conversations had me giggling! Epistolary elements in books are always such a hit for me, and this was no different.
- The spice! I love when a romance manages to be very spicy and still extremely romantic
- The hockey was great and I would expect nothing less from Cait. I appreciate hockey romances that feature the sport correctly and don't just use it as background.
- The amount of emotion I was able to feel for Spencer when I never actually got to hear his inner monologue. Zeke was an excellent narrator!
Overall, I just couldn't get enough. It didn't need to be any longer, but I wouldn't have minded at all because I really loved these two. I think that some people will be bothered but the lack of an epilogue in favor of the more abrupt HFN ending, but I think it really works in this book. Both Spencer and Zeke recognize that it isn't going to be easy for them, but they want to make it work. It's real and honest and sometimes I appreciate that more than the over fluffy endings. This really seals the deal of making Cait Nary and auto buy author for me.
A big thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press for sending me an arc, All thoughts are my own.
February 24, 2024
This one was pretty cute. We had a single dad who happens to be a hockey player, and the daughter of said father starts her new private school in the other hero's class. The hardest part with this novel for me was the fact that I had a hard time telling which hero was which. Their voices were hard to distinguish for me. If they made this into a film, I would be all over it.
March 4, 2024
This book was exactly what I needed this weekend. Basically nothing happens in Lucky Bounce, and that’s, frankly, great. Oh, and Cait Nary builds romantic and sexual tension like a freaking champ. Tbh I’ll probably bump this up to five stars if I reread it… we shall see.
October 17, 2025
Single POV, low-conflict m/m romance between a gym teacher and a pro hockey player. Much lower on the sports content than most of the hockey roms I've read.
The "low conflict" aspect wasn't particularly effective, because I stayed anxious waiting for something to go horribly wrong the whole time. I suspect the pov character, who's one of those can't shut up, can't let a silence go unfilled, and is definitely someone I'd find a bit (way too) much in real life, is (part of?) the reason I felt that way. The writing very effectively put across the whole talking (and inner monologuing) at 90mph thing.
I did very much relate to and appreciate the whole is he? no, impossible, i must be misreading, just ignore it phase of things. The issue of income disparity on the other hand felt like it was too easily brushed aside at the end after being acknowledged throughout the book.
Anyway, enjoyable and I'm interested in trying the author's other books.
The "low conflict" aspect wasn't particularly effective, because I stayed anxious waiting for something to go horribly wrong the whole time. I suspect the pov character, who's one of those can't shut up, can't let a silence go unfilled, and is definitely someone I'd find a bit (way too) much in real life, is (part of?) the reason I felt that way. The writing very effectively put across the whole talking (and inner monologuing) at 90mph thing.
I did very much relate to and appreciate the whole is he? no, impossible, i must be misreading, just ignore it phase of things. The issue of income disparity on the other hand felt like it was too easily brushed aside at the end after being acknowledged throughout the book.
Anyway, enjoyable and I'm interested in trying the author's other books.
January 14, 2024
Zeke finds out his new student is the daughter of Spencer McLeod, a famous hockey player, and to make things more awkward, this player is Zeke's most favorite ever. Now he can't even watch the games in his jerseys because every piece he owns has Spencer's name. But Spencer is new to parenthood and he needs all the advice he can get to fit in with the school, and that brings the two together.
2 stars.
This book has the weirdest writing style I've ever seen... I still wonder if it's me, because I couldn't find any review talking specifically about it, but I can't not mention it when it was the one big obstacle to my liking it. It's not an easy read. It's supposed to be. The deal we have with these writer is very explicit: give me a story I can devour when I need some comfort reading. But each time I tried to read this one, I'd feel mentally tired trying to keep up with Zeke's narration.
I usually avoid reading reviews before writing mine, but since I ended up doing it, the one point in common was that people liked Zeke in the beginning but then they got tired that the book was only from his point of view. Indeed, I would have liked to know more about Spencer. I didn't feel especially bothered by Zeke (despite the mess that his narration was), he's just your usual main character in romance books, sometimes he's relatable, sometimes he's too dumb. Nevertheless, I'm sure hearing more of Spencer's voice would have contributed to deepening the plot instead of just being another fantasy of common guy meets idols of his dreams and idol seems to be into him. There were things there for Spencer to tell us. There were some conflicts that would have been more interesting with information only Spencer had. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of double povs and romances are already saturated with them, so it's not that big a loss. Better planning of when to present us with the conflicts could have had a similar contribution.
Above all, I just wish the narration didn't feel like I'm hearing a sports commentator. I think I would have enjoyed this story if the narration had left me time to sit in and breathe.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
2 stars.
This book has the weirdest writing style I've ever seen... I still wonder if it's me, because I couldn't find any review talking specifically about it, but I can't not mention it when it was the one big obstacle to my liking it. It's not an easy read. It's supposed to be. The deal we have with these writer is very explicit: give me a story I can devour when I need some comfort reading. But each time I tried to read this one, I'd feel mentally tired trying to keep up with Zeke's narration.
I usually avoid reading reviews before writing mine, but since I ended up doing it, the one point in common was that people liked Zeke in the beginning but then they got tired that the book was only from his point of view. Indeed, I would have liked to know more about Spencer. I didn't feel especially bothered by Zeke (despite the mess that his narration was), he's just your usual main character in romance books, sometimes he's relatable, sometimes he's too dumb. Nevertheless, I'm sure hearing more of Spencer's voice would have contributed to deepening the plot instead of just being another fantasy of common guy meets idols of his dreams and idol seems to be into him. There were things there for Spencer to tell us. There were some conflicts that would have been more interesting with information only Spencer had. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of double povs and romances are already saturated with them, so it's not that big a loss. Better planning of when to present us with the conflicts could have had a similar contribution.
Above all, I just wish the narration didn't feel like I'm hearing a sports commentator. I think I would have enjoyed this story if the narration had left me time to sit in and breathe.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
October 26, 2023
Single dad hockey player falling for his daughters teacher who’s secretly a huge fan?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME! 🤭
This book had me feeling feral— I was kicking my feet and giggling!! I loved watching Zeke and Spencer drift towards one another, their banter quickly won me over. The writing felt very fresh and I was able to fly through this book in no time. There’s some heavier topics in here, Spencer’s new relationship with his daughter and Zeke’s unsupportive family affect their mental health and cause of a slight barrier in their developing relationship. I loved seeing them mesh their lives and create their own little family. Zeke worries about being too needy and overbearing and I appreciate that Spencer made it clear that he wanted Zeke as he is. This is Spencer’s first real relationship, so I understand that he’s shy and clams up. I found it endearing for awhile, but I wanted to shake him when they were in St. Louis! Use your words, dude!! Overall, I had a *great* time reading this and now I’m going to binge a bunch of hockey romance to keep this good feeling going. 😅🫶🏻
4.75 stars, LUCKY BOUNCE by Cait Nary is available January 9! Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for the chance to review an eARC.
This book had me feeling feral— I was kicking my feet and giggling!! I loved watching Zeke and Spencer drift towards one another, their banter quickly won me over. The writing felt very fresh and I was able to fly through this book in no time. There’s some heavier topics in here, Spencer’s new relationship with his daughter and Zeke’s unsupportive family affect their mental health and cause of a slight barrier in their developing relationship. I loved seeing them mesh their lives and create their own little family. Zeke worries about being too needy and overbearing and I appreciate that Spencer made it clear that he wanted Zeke as he is. This is Spencer’s first real relationship, so I understand that he’s shy and clams up. I found it endearing for awhile, but I wanted to shake him when they were in St. Louis! Use your words, dude!! Overall, I had a *great* time reading this and now I’m going to binge a bunch of hockey romance to keep this good feeling going. 😅🫶🏻
4.75 stars, LUCKY BOUNCE by Cait Nary is available January 9! Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for the chance to review an eARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2024
It was cute and fun but I think it would be better with 100 pages more, it was way too short and a lot for me was missing also I didn't like the writing style too much 🫠
February 2, 2024
Easy energy.
Two guys try to make things work
and mostly succeed.
Two guys try to make things work
and mostly succeed.
December 26, 2024
Cute, fluffy and light, driven by PE teacher Zeke's scatterbrained narration. He's determined to be cool around his favorite hockey player whose little daughter has been enrolled at his school, but cool is not in Zeke's wheelhouse. I debated putting this as neuroatypical rep. Note there may be some secondhand embarrassment for some readers, watching Zeke fanboy, but I found it more endearing than annoying.
Spencer is a talented hockey player, but in this book we only see him through Zeke's eyes. That means we get more of the single dad and the introverted shy man whose whole focus outside the team has become his little daughter, and less of the hockey player despite Zeke being a superfan.
I found Zeke amusing, and enjoyed their developing rapport, with all the little obstacles life threw at them. A few things felt a bit overdone, but in general the book left me with a smile on my face. There's very little angst, but a fun, sweet relationship build, although the ending was a little abrupt.
Spencer is a talented hockey player, but in this book we only see him through Zeke's eyes. That means we get more of the single dad and the introverted shy man whose whole focus outside the team has become his little daughter, and less of the hockey player despite Zeke being a superfan.
I found Zeke amusing, and enjoyed their developing rapport, with all the little obstacles life threw at them. A few things felt a bit overdone, but in general the book left me with a smile on my face. There's very little angst, but a fun, sweet relationship build, although the ending was a little abrupt.
January 14, 2024
Very nice romance-really enjoyed this
June 28, 2024
I've given this a C at AAR.
Lucky Bounce, a standalone novel from Cait Nary, features a grumpy/sunshine romance between a gruff pro hockey player and his daughter’s PE teacher. It’s billed as a “flirty romantic comedy” – which is the case with just about every contemporary romance being published right now – and I’ve learned to lower my expectations about the comedy part because I could count the number of truly funny rom-coms I’ve read in the last year on the fingers of one hand. There are a few funny moments in this one, I will admit, but the romance is sorely lacking and quite honestly, the whole thing is a bit of a mess.
The story starts well, though. Zeke Boehm, a PE teacher at a private elementary school in Philadelphia, is no stranger to teaching the kids of the rich and famous, but he’s completely stunned when professional hockey legend (and his major crush) Spencer McLeod walks in to back-to-school night accompanied by the daughter nobody knew he had. Zeke does his best to maintain his professionalism in the face of his new pupil and the man who has provided all his fantasy fodder for the past few years.
Shortly after this, Zeke’s roommate, Jake, drags Zeke along to a corporate meet-and-greet event with the players from the Philadelphia Liberty – Spencer’s team. Zeke isn’t keen on going – he’s not exactly shy and can shoot the shit with the best of ‘em, but the situation – Spencer’s daughter is his pupil – makes him a bit nervous, and he doesn’t want Spencer to view him as some kind of ‘hanger-on’ who wants to exploit a famous connection. He ends up going, of course, and even has an actual conversation with Spencer – mostly about Addie – which ends with Spencer offering to get him tickets for games. The whole thing short-circuts Zeke’s brain, and when one of Spencer’s teammates starts giving Zeke assessing looks, he’s had enough and high-tails it out of there.
About a week later, an email from Spencer lands in his inbox offering him a pair of tickets to the next Liberty game. He takes along his colleague, Samur, and when they’re invited to join the team after the game, she ends up making arrangements for a school outreach visit by Spencer and a couple of teammates the following week. Zeke is surprised when Spencer seeks him out after the visit is over and helps with one of his classes; and when Spencer tells Zeke he’d supposed to lead the reading circle soon but has no idea what a reading circle even is, the two of them end up arranging to meet at a local book shop so Zeke can help Spencer pick something out.
From here, Zeke and Spencer start texting each other regularly, and begin awkwardly hanging out. Zeke is bright and fun, a bundle of energy who uses physical exercise as a way of burning off his excess energy and keeping himself from getting too caught up in his head, where Spencer is big and grumpy and taciturn, although he does seem to come out of his shell a bit around Zeke. They’re kinda cute together to start with, but then they jump from this getting-to-know-you stage to sexting to sleeping together and dating without any real build-up or sense of a developing connection. We know Zeke is strongly attracted to Spencer, but that’s about it, and their chemistry is lukewarm at most.
We’re in Zeke’s PoV the whole time, which can get a bit exhausting – even he admits he can be ‘a lot’ – but this means Spencer (whose vocabulary seems mainly to consist of grunts, “fuck off”, “whatever” and “shut up”) is little more than a secondary character who shows up now and then because this is supposed to be a romance and Zeke needs someone to have a romance with. Spencer could have been anyone, frankly, and even by the time we reach the end, we hardly know him. It’s not until around the 90% mark that we find out why Addie has come to live with him, and the little we see of his familial relationships isn’t enough to properly flesh him out as a character.
By the time I reached the final third of the book, I was waiting for something to happen, some kind of tension or conflict that would raise the stakes and get me really rooting for these two to be together, but there’s nothing. They just carry on having sex and not talking about their relationship – and there are some big issues they really needed to discuss, such as what it means for them to be together when one partner is a single dad and the other is his kid’s teacher; how they’re going to deal with the vast disparity in their incomes (and their personalities); how Spencer’s schedule will impact them, but again, nothing. When the story ends – which it does very abruptly – it’s barely an HFN; Spencer and Zeke have made no real commitments to each other (they haven’t even exchanged “I love you”s!), and they’re in a relationship that Spencer hasn’t even considered making public (his teammates know he’s gay, but he’s not out publicly). There’s also no resolution to Zeke’s family situation – he’s estranged from them because they believe being gay is a life choice and it clearly hurts him a lot, but again, it’s just left up in the air. If you’re looking for a romance where the characters grow and work out their issues like adults, this is not it.
The story doesn’t have a great deal of plot and I can’t describe it as character-driven because there’s very little character-work going on here, so I’m not sure how to define it. The third person present tense narrative doesn’t do it any favours either; I felt as though I was reading at one remove because the device just didn’t allow me to get into Zeke’s head or understand his motivations, and it made the lack of Spencer’s PoV even more of an issue.
Obviously, I can’t recommend Lucky Bounce. As has been the case with the other books I’ve read by this author, it has good bones, but falls down in the execution, and the single PoV is a serious drawback to creating a believable romance. The the third book I’ve read by Cait Nary, and as she has yet to attain anything higher than a middling grade from me, perhaps it’s time to move on.
This review originally appeared at All About Romance .
Lucky Bounce, a standalone novel from Cait Nary, features a grumpy/sunshine romance between a gruff pro hockey player and his daughter’s PE teacher. It’s billed as a “flirty romantic comedy” – which is the case with just about every contemporary romance being published right now – and I’ve learned to lower my expectations about the comedy part because I could count the number of truly funny rom-coms I’ve read in the last year on the fingers of one hand. There are a few funny moments in this one, I will admit, but the romance is sorely lacking and quite honestly, the whole thing is a bit of a mess.
The story starts well, though. Zeke Boehm, a PE teacher at a private elementary school in Philadelphia, is no stranger to teaching the kids of the rich and famous, but he’s completely stunned when professional hockey legend (and his major crush) Spencer McLeod walks in to back-to-school night accompanied by the daughter nobody knew he had. Zeke does his best to maintain his professionalism in the face of his new pupil and the man who has provided all his fantasy fodder for the past few years.
Shortly after this, Zeke’s roommate, Jake, drags Zeke along to a corporate meet-and-greet event with the players from the Philadelphia Liberty – Spencer’s team. Zeke isn’t keen on going – he’s not exactly shy and can shoot the shit with the best of ‘em, but the situation – Spencer’s daughter is his pupil – makes him a bit nervous, and he doesn’t want Spencer to view him as some kind of ‘hanger-on’ who wants to exploit a famous connection. He ends up going, of course, and even has an actual conversation with Spencer – mostly about Addie – which ends with Spencer offering to get him tickets for games. The whole thing short-circuts Zeke’s brain, and when one of Spencer’s teammates starts giving Zeke assessing looks, he’s had enough and high-tails it out of there.
About a week later, an email from Spencer lands in his inbox offering him a pair of tickets to the next Liberty game. He takes along his colleague, Samur, and when they’re invited to join the team after the game, she ends up making arrangements for a school outreach visit by Spencer and a couple of teammates the following week. Zeke is surprised when Spencer seeks him out after the visit is over and helps with one of his classes; and when Spencer tells Zeke he’d supposed to lead the reading circle soon but has no idea what a reading circle even is, the two of them end up arranging to meet at a local book shop so Zeke can help Spencer pick something out.
From here, Zeke and Spencer start texting each other regularly, and begin awkwardly hanging out. Zeke is bright and fun, a bundle of energy who uses physical exercise as a way of burning off his excess energy and keeping himself from getting too caught up in his head, where Spencer is big and grumpy and taciturn, although he does seem to come out of his shell a bit around Zeke. They’re kinda cute together to start with, but then they jump from this getting-to-know-you stage to sexting to sleeping together and dating without any real build-up or sense of a developing connection. We know Zeke is strongly attracted to Spencer, but that’s about it, and their chemistry is lukewarm at most.
We’re in Zeke’s PoV the whole time, which can get a bit exhausting – even he admits he can be ‘a lot’ – but this means Spencer (whose vocabulary seems mainly to consist of grunts, “fuck off”, “whatever” and “shut up”) is little more than a secondary character who shows up now and then because this is supposed to be a romance and Zeke needs someone to have a romance with. Spencer could have been anyone, frankly, and even by the time we reach the end, we hardly know him. It’s not until around the 90% mark that we find out why Addie has come to live with him, and the little we see of his familial relationships isn’t enough to properly flesh him out as a character.
By the time I reached the final third of the book, I was waiting for something to happen, some kind of tension or conflict that would raise the stakes and get me really rooting for these two to be together, but there’s nothing. They just carry on having sex and not talking about their relationship – and there are some big issues they really needed to discuss, such as what it means for them to be together when one partner is a single dad and the other is his kid’s teacher; how they’re going to deal with the vast disparity in their incomes (and their personalities); how Spencer’s schedule will impact them, but again, nothing. When the story ends – which it does very abruptly – it’s barely an HFN; Spencer and Zeke have made no real commitments to each other (they haven’t even exchanged “I love you”s!), and they’re in a relationship that Spencer hasn’t even considered making public (his teammates know he’s gay, but he’s not out publicly). There’s also no resolution to Zeke’s family situation – he’s estranged from them because they believe being gay is a life choice and it clearly hurts him a lot, but again, it’s just left up in the air. If you’re looking for a romance where the characters grow and work out their issues like adults, this is not it.
The story doesn’t have a great deal of plot and I can’t describe it as character-driven because there’s very little character-work going on here, so I’m not sure how to define it. The third person present tense narrative doesn’t do it any favours either; I felt as though I was reading at one remove because the device just didn’t allow me to get into Zeke’s head or understand his motivations, and it made the lack of Spencer’s PoV even more of an issue.
Obviously, I can’t recommend Lucky Bounce. As has been the case with the other books I’ve read by this author, it has good bones, but falls down in the execution, and the single PoV is a serious drawback to creating a believable romance. The the third book I’ve read by Cait Nary, and as she has yet to attain anything higher than a middling grade from me, perhaps it’s time to move on.
This review originally appeared at All About Romance .
December 13, 2023
Oh gosh, I absolutely LOVED Lucky Bounce! I have a huge soft spot for single dad romance, and when you add in pro hockey and grumpy/sunshine, I'm pretty much guaranteed to have a fun time. This is my first book by Cait Nary, and I think I've found a new go-to hockey romance author. Definitely worth a read!
Elementary PE teacher Zeke is completely starstruck when he realizes that his hockey idol (and secret crush) Spencer McCleod is the father of the new kindergarten student in his class. He's even more overwhelmed when Spencer seems to seek him out, emailing him for help, chatting with him at school events, and getting him tickets to his games. Though Zeke notices Spencer giving him looks (and constant blushes), he's afraid that the attraction he's feeling from him is only wishful thinking. He knows he's a lot, and Spencer's moodiness makes him hard to read, but could he actually have a chance with the (literal) man of his dreams?
Lucky Bounce is written entirely from Zeke's POV and in third person, so that was a little different from a lot of my recent reads. I didn't mind though because Zeke is a really fun character. He cannot believe his luck - he's been obsessed with Spencer as a player for years (he has more than one of his sweaters - it's a funny plot point) and cannot see why he's pursuing him. And though Spencer seems closed off, I love that he makes it SO obvious that he wants Zeke. I LOVED the spice in this one - a little imperfect, SO hot, and I'm totally with Zeke about being obsessed with Spencer blushing about EVERYTHING. Both of the guys have some pretty painful backstories that had me tearing up more than once - Zeke feels rejected by his family, and Spencer went through a lot on his journey to become a single dad. However, most of the story is really heartwarming, and I love the support the guys receive from Spencer's teammates and Zeke's friends.
Y'all, I think this is going to be another MUST READ MM hockey romance, If you enjoy Rachel Reid's Gamechangers series or M.A. Wardell's Teacher of the Year, you are GOING to like this book. I'm so grateful to Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Cait Nary for this lovely ARC. Lucky Bounce is out in January, don't miss out!
Elementary PE teacher Zeke is completely starstruck when he realizes that his hockey idol (and secret crush) Spencer McCleod is the father of the new kindergarten student in his class. He's even more overwhelmed when Spencer seems to seek him out, emailing him for help, chatting with him at school events, and getting him tickets to his games. Though Zeke notices Spencer giving him looks (and constant blushes), he's afraid that the attraction he's feeling from him is only wishful thinking. He knows he's a lot, and Spencer's moodiness makes him hard to read, but could he actually have a chance with the (literal) man of his dreams?
Lucky Bounce is written entirely from Zeke's POV and in third person, so that was a little different from a lot of my recent reads. I didn't mind though because Zeke is a really fun character. He cannot believe his luck - he's been obsessed with Spencer as a player for years (he has more than one of his sweaters - it's a funny plot point) and cannot see why he's pursuing him. And though Spencer seems closed off, I love that he makes it SO obvious that he wants Zeke. I LOVED the spice in this one - a little imperfect, SO hot, and I'm totally with Zeke about being obsessed with Spencer blushing about EVERYTHING. Both of the guys have some pretty painful backstories that had me tearing up more than once - Zeke feels rejected by his family, and Spencer went through a lot on his journey to become a single dad. However, most of the story is really heartwarming, and I love the support the guys receive from Spencer's teammates and Zeke's friends.
Y'all, I think this is going to be another MUST READ MM hockey romance, If you enjoy Rachel Reid's Gamechangers series or M.A. Wardell's Teacher of the Year, you are GOING to like this book. I'm so grateful to Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Cait Nary for this lovely ARC. Lucky Bounce is out in January, don't miss out!
September 8, 2025
Re-read September 2025: I loved it the first time, and somehow I loved it even more this time.
I neglected to mention last time, but this is, if you care, a single point-of-view romance.
early 2024:
One of the reviewers here one-starred this because it's not a sports romance, which to me meant check it out.
I am not a sports person, I just want good m/m romances. For me, this, specifically because it involved two athletic men, was perfect.
Our point of view guy is a teacher, a coach, and some variety of hyper and chatty that he's gotten under some control through exercise including running and yoga, and attempts to not word-vomit at people. I thought it was great representation, particularly when his love interest, the hockey player, is decidedly an introvert and not great with words. Or feelings, really.
I, an introvert, also felt that Spencer was really well written. Talking's not my best thing, either. That he's also a manly jerk in the way of the sports bros he's spent years among, and that also pings all of Zeke's adoration boxes, was really fun to read.
IMHO, a lot of women who write m/m sports stories go all soft on that kind of male culture, and this author did not do that. It's not as gross as reality can be (depending on the group dynamics), but it was pleasingly masculine without being toxic.
Anyway. I loved this story a lot.
I neglected to mention last time, but this is, if you care, a single point-of-view romance.
early 2024:
One of the reviewers here one-starred this because it's not a sports romance, which to me meant check it out.
I am not a sports person, I just want good m/m romances. For me, this, specifically because it involved two athletic men, was perfect.
Our point of view guy is a teacher, a coach, and some variety of hyper and chatty that he's gotten under some control through exercise including running and yoga, and attempts to not word-vomit at people. I thought it was great representation, particularly when his love interest, the hockey player, is decidedly an introvert and not great with words. Or feelings, really.
I, an introvert, also felt that Spencer was really well written. Talking's not my best thing, either. That he's also a manly jerk in the way of the sports bros he's spent years among, and that also pings all of Zeke's adoration boxes, was really fun to read.
IMHO, a lot of women who write m/m sports stories go all soft on that kind of male culture, and this author did not do that. It's not as gross as reality can be (depending on the group dynamics), but it was pleasingly masculine without being toxic.
Anyway. I loved this story a lot.
March 7, 2024
4.5 ⭐️because the ending was a bit abrupt and it could have used a tiny bit of editing. However - this book made me very happy - all the feels! The first third/half was funny/awkward & I laughed a ton. I especially love Spencer's hockey-related flirtation/wooing (Chad Paisley haha). It was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the 3rd person POV & I’ll
Say it again - the ending came way too soon!
But the scene at the dog shelter - I read that at least 10 times before moving forward! I stayed up way too late finishing this book and I’m going to reread it right now.
March 6, 2024 - I really love this book. I've been dragging out my rereading because I just don't want it to end. It is sweet and tender, especially in the subtle/non-verbal ways that Spencer shows his feelings (both for his daughter and for Zeke). It makes me melt & tear up.
Dear Cait Nary - please, please, please - write something more about them!
Say it again - the ending came way too soon!
But the scene at the dog shelter - I read that at least 10 times before moving forward! I stayed up way too late finishing this book and I’m going to reread it right now.
March 6, 2024 - I really love this book. I've been dragging out my rereading because I just don't want it to end. It is sweet and tender, especially in the subtle/non-verbal ways that Spencer shows his feelings (both for his daughter and for Zeke). It makes me melt & tear up.
Dear Cait Nary - please, please, please - write something more about them!
December 21, 2025
2.5
this review is my reminder to myself to never pick up books with tropes perfected in fanfiction ever again.
as another review confirms my suspicions, this was a fic with the serial numbers filed off as there was nothing going on here in terms of characterization. this obviously came from a place where the author didn't bother with any depth because they knew the readers would have pre-established investment in the fic pairing. and like i said, this is a trope perfected in fanfiction so my suggestion is to go onto ao3 pull up the tag for your favorite ship you already know and love and look for a single dad fic. you'll enjoy it immensely more than i did reading this. 2.5 is for a few chuckles here and because there is nothing wrong with the prose, though it ends so abruptly.
this review is my reminder to myself to never pick up books with tropes perfected in fanfiction ever again.
as another review confirms my suspicions, this was a fic with the serial numbers filed off as there was nothing going on here in terms of characterization. this obviously came from a place where the author didn't bother with any depth because they knew the readers would have pre-established investment in the fic pairing. and like i said, this is a trope perfected in fanfiction so my suggestion is to go onto ao3 pull up the tag for your favorite ship you already know and love and look for a single dad fic. you'll enjoy it immensely more than i did reading this. 2.5 is for a few chuckles here and because there is nothing wrong with the prose, though it ends so abruptly.
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