The Hockey Player's Heart

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a proper romantic fantasy – a famous hockey player falls for a small-town teacher.

As with all Dreamspun Desires stories, both Caleb and Aaron are perfect leading men – if a little bit too good to be true. The famous professional hockey player is humble enough to donate his time and money to an elementary school charity event. He cares for his sister and still holds a torch for his high school tutor. Aaron is a selfless, dedicated teacher who devotes himself to his students. They are both sweet and heroes in their own way.

These two are almost too perfect together. Between romantic dinners, coaching hockey together, and stolen kisses by a frozen pond, these two are fairytale sweet. Theirs is a pure sugar rush romance full of all sorts of good feels.

Because they fit so well as friends and lovers, the very minimal conflict in this story seems slightly contrived. Aaron doesn’t think the distance between Caleb’s New York team and his own job in rural New York is workable. He doesn’t think he fits in Caleb’s world and he is worried about Caleb’s travel schedule.

This is very much a Dreamspun Desires story. It’s a simple, very sweet, low heat romance. It’s supposed to be predictable and very low angst. I really enjoyed the characters in this story and it is beautifully written.

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Hockey Player's Heart (Hockey Hearts #1) by Jeff Adams & Will Knauss to read and review.

I really enjoyed that Caleb, the well known hockey player was the one crushing on Aaron and having to work so hard to get Aaron see he was worthy of love.

I love the fact that the "star" is the one who has held the long time crush. Caleb is also determined to convince Aaron it can be okay. Aaron's past is making moving forward hard. But when they both leap it turns out to land right.

Reviewed by Morningstar for Diverse Reader

Sometimes when I read, there are parts of the story that I fall in love with. Sometimes it’s the world and the universe that the author has created for us to take this journey. Sometimes it’s the characters or even just one character that I connect with. In this story, although I loved the small town feel of the story, it was Caleb and Aaron that I truly fell in love with.

Caleb was this character who was full of life and happy and had this very fun quality about him, it was easy to be drawn to him as a person. Aaron was more reserved and quiet although it easily came out that he had this fun quirky personality underneath all of that. And the connection between the two of them was slow and it was cute and it was wonderful. I just kept wanting to read more and see more of their journey together.

Aaron had reservations about their relationship, real valid reservations. He was hurt before by someone in a similar position is Caleb and he didn’t want to hurt Caleb and Caleb‘s career. And what I loved was Caleb‘s determination and showing Aaron he was there and he wanted to be there with him. Even with how vastly different their lives were.

The story was more sweet than hot but it was perfect for me! It was a story about trusting your heart and knowing that relationships can sometimes be a struggle and need compromise. I love the combination of these two authors together and I can’t wait to see what else we come up with!

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ FOUR-STAR ✩ REVIEW ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

> > Judging a Book by it's Cover < <
Single male in the forefront of a "small town mainstreet" -looking background. Strong enough title, author font not as clear. The cover was not enough to grab my attention but the synopsis was.

> > Looking Deeper < <
POV ~> Third person

This was a "sibling's best friend" romance; a Jock/Nerd (Hockey Player and Elementary School Teacher) combination that was endearing.
Caleb and Aaron were mature and smart lead characters. The secondary cast was strong and supportive. The chemistry developed nicely, although there was a childhood crush element. Dialogue and Interactions felt natural and were believable. The story was well-written, flowed smoothly, and the plot was enjoyable without all of the unneeded drama or angst. Conflicts were met head-on and dealt with maturely and efficiently. Predictability was low. The conclusion was sweet and satisfying.
This was the first book I've ever read by Adams and Knauss but I can safely say it will NOT be the last.
.
Rating: [R] ~ Score: 4.35 ~ Stars: 4

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⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I received a copy of this book from the Author/Publisher with the hope that I would voluntarily leave unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐