Countdown to a Kiss

Hockey Hotties #0.5

by Piper Rayne

Three professional hockey players from the Florida Fury attend a New Year’s Eve party at the team owner’s mansion and spend time with three very different women. As the countdown to midnight begins, each of them is hoping to start the new year off right with a kiss. But if that happens, does it mean they’re destined to see these women again? A sneak peek into Piper Rayne's series, Hockey Hotties!

Reader Note: Story has been expanded since its inclusion in the Jingle Balls Anthology in 2020.

Genres: Sports Romance, Romance, Audiobook, Hockey, Novella, Sports, Contemporary

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2021

About the author

Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling author duo. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.

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Reviews

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐
Genre ~ sports romance
Series ~ Hockey Hotties #0.5
Publication date ~ April 15, 2021
Page Count ~ 81
Audio length ~ 1 hours 47 minutes
Narrators ~ Joe Arden & Maxine Mitchell
POV ~ multiple 1st
Featuring ~ NHL players

Nothing super exciting, just a quick prequel to get us introduced to the couples in the first three books: Aiden & Sage in My Lucky #13, Maksim & Paisley in The Trouble with #9 and Ford & Lena in Faking It with #41.

I love the cover.

Narration notes:
Both are well seasoned and do a nice job with accents and opposite sex voices.

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[Mairi Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a very interesting glimpse for the 3 future couples. It got me really intrigued to read them all

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't be objective since I read My Lucky #13 first but I think it's a nice introduction of the main characters for the next books. I liked that we get to see more of the history between the couples but overall it was just okay. If you don't like this prequel please don't let it discourage you from reading My Lucky #13, it was a really enjoyable read imo. 3 ⭐

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed this prequel

I am excited to read some of the books starring the many people that were in here. Luckily, I already own a couple 😉.

Book 1 is Aiden and Saige’s book… Aiden whose had bad luck on the ice 😬 until Saige throws champagne on him and he ends up improving 😅. Now he’ll need her to keep doing that 🤣.

Book 2 is Maksim’s book… and he has a big d 🤣 lol but he’s paired up with Paisley, his therapist 👀.

I might skip the manhooooar one though (Ford/Lena-book 3) because he’s painted as someone that is a player on the ice and on land 🙄. I hope Lena isn’t pining away for him 😐

Books 4-6 are other characters I’ll think about reading lol

Hopefully, Libby had all of these available 😅.

[Nadine Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to the series

Countdown to a kiss is the perfect intro to the Hockey Hotties Series. We find out a little about three of the Florida Fury Hockey players the three women they are hoping to kiss at midnight in New Years Eve. Only time will tell it things work it for each out the couples.

[Elle ♡ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

This a prequel so I can't judge it too much for nothing happening besides the meet-cutes, but I just really didn't like any of the characters or their behavior so 🤷🏼‍♀️ and I only read this because I was looking for NYE novellas and this was recommended to me. Although if it had wowed me I'm sure I would've checked out the series.

[koko kingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real quick novella! Multiple POVs which is always fun.
Loved getting little sneak peeks into the couples of the series!!! Can’t wait to start the series :)

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this during a bout of insomnia while looking for New Year romances. It was OK, more a collection of meet cutes rather than any true story but I guess it's a good introduction to each player's romance. Probably won't continue though as I'm not too keen on the writing style.

[Elisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ok prequel.

[Catwithbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfekter Einstieg in die neue Reihe.
Nachdem man hier schon die verschiedenen Charaktere kennenlernen durfte, um die es dann später in der Reihe geht, bin ich jetzt schon sehr neugierig geworden.
Das wird interessant und knistern heiß, denn es sind ja jetzt schon teilweise die Funken geflogen.
Der Start verspricht schon mal sehr viel und ich freue mich drauf die Protagonisten besser kennenzulernen. Ich könnte noch nicht mal sagen wer mir jetzt schon gut gefallen hat. Weil sie alles was haben. Ich denke da wird auch einiges an Emotionen kommen auf Grund der verschiedenen Einblicke, die man bekommen hat.
Locker. leicht und wirklich angenehm ist wie immer der Schreibstil.

[Vanessa (bookfairy.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this short prequel! You get a nice feel of all the characters and what I assume are the protagonists of the first three books in the series. But there is also clearly a focus on Aidan and Saige. Really enjoyed this one and I am immediately picking up the first full novel in that series!! <3

[Jessica McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOCKEY HOTTIES SAY WHA?

Ok so when I saw that my FAVOURITE romance author was doing a hockey series I may have danced and screamed for 5 minutes straight (don’t worry I know I’m dramatic). But seriously how could you not be excited ? These gals are the A team of romance. I can always click to pre order a novel without reading the synopsis because I can guarantee I will enjoy it. But ok enough about me .

AIDEN,MAKSIM & FORD... and of course their lovely counterparts SAIGE, PAISLEY & LENA... come on even their names sound hot!

This novella gave us a nice sneaky preview into what’s to come with these gals & gents. Aiden is running out of luck, Maksim is trying to kiss the girl at midnight & Ford will do anything in his power to piss off his family’s PR rep. Even though this novella is short but sweet it leaves you craving what’s to come.

As always 5 starts for this lovely duo... I won’t say too much , your just going to have to read it for yourself and trust me. You won’t want to miss this series!

[☕️Hélène⚜️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a new category for me and it’s just what I need.
To escape and not have my brain work/thinking.
I recommend this series if the prequel is this good can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
Hope I’m not disappointed!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As part of my prepping for the new year, I decided to take stock of my digital bookshelves and do some housekeeping. In doing so I clocked Countdown to a Kiss by Piper Rayne on my Chirp shelf. It must have been a Friday Freebie I downloaded at some point. It's a quick hockey romance novella centered on a New Year's Eve party, so it felt like something I should listen to around the actual holiday or delete from my to read shelf in the app, so I loaded it up while I spent Friday alone at work.

Having now listened to it, I probably could have just skipped it. It’s not bad, but it's not very good either.

This is apparently a prequel to Rayne’s Hockey Hotties series and focuses on three professional hockey players from the fictional Florida Fury as they encounter three women at their team owner’s New Year’s Eve party at his beachfront mansion. The reader spends time with each of the three pairs, basically getting expanded meet cutes across one night. For what is less than 2 hours of audio, we have six different POVs (and multiple narrators) and track events in progress as various action points hand the narration from one character to another across the party. It is... too much. I get it but balancing the various downturns of the players professional lives (and their conversations with the owner) and the reasons for the women to be present at the party is all a bit much for the book to manage. This probably works a lot better as a bonus read after the three books featuring the main pairs, but as it is this was a perfectly fine way to spend 90+ minutes that I probably won’t think about again.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors has a new series out and whenever she releases something, I know I will love it. I also love the fact that she writes these prequels to the series as it gives the readers a bit more background to the series and by the time, the actual book comes around - you already feel like you know the characters and can't wait to read their love stories. In Countdown to a Kiss it's New Year's Eve and for three Hockey players - Aiden, Ford, and Maskim - they are hanging out at a party that their owner of the squad is hosting. This book sets the setting for the three books to come in this series. We have Aiden who will be first, he is currently on a bit of an unlucky streak but an unattainable woman might be the one to change that, Ford who is a party boy and is on his last straw as his father wants him to clean up his act and return home - he has sent his family's lawyer to collect him but those two have a frenemies relationship and then we have Maskim- our Russian who has found a beautiful woman however she has made it pretty clear, that she does not date Hockey players. After finishing this prequel, I am now looking forward to reading more of the Hockey Hotties series and getting to know these characters a whole lot better. A great start to another awesome series by the wonderful duo known as Piper Rayne.

[lexi ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love the multiple pov's. ford & boyd's dynamic is so intriguing, i love the banter it's actually funny & i'm rooting for them lol

don't get me started on aiden & saige i love them a lot already.

"if i was your date i wouldn't leave you alone so much"

"it's not a line, it's a fact. just look at what's happening right now. your date is letting a guy like me slide right in & get all your attention."

"hell, i know she's with someone, but it's been so long since i enjoyed my time with someone like i am right now."

i have to say this is a really good start to the series, we were able to get to know a lot of the characters, it was fun & festive since it took place on new years. it was really good. i wish it was a bit longer & there were a couple of typos & mistakes, but other than that it was pretty good.

[Kari Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a teaser to a new series that is centered around the Florida Fury hockey team. Three members of the team Aiden, Ford and Maksim are summoned to attend a social event for the team’s investors at the owner’s home.

They each have an unforgettable interaction with a woman, and we learn a little about their backstory that leaves us wanting more. With all the characters that the narrators needed to portray they did a great job of giving them their own personality so it was easy to discern between the characters. Lucky #13, Aiden’s story, can’t come soon enough.

[Jenn Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as Piper Rayne announced they’d be writing a hockey series I’ve been counting down until the first book’s release and to get this novella introducing the series was the perfect teaser! I’m intrigued by all the players, their friendships with their teammates and the women that will be their undoing! Can’t wait for Saige and Aiden’s full story in Lucky #13 coming in June!

[Megan Bal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this novella because I wanted some New Years vibes and I got it free during stuff your kindle day. Going into it, I didn’t know it was a prequel. It didn’t really get me hooked and there were too many POVs - especially in the beginning - that I was getting confused as to who was who. I think I would have liked this better if I had read the series beforehand so I had a better understanding of the characters

[Radka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

[majkaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is a good preqel and im excited to meet Saige and Aiden's history but they arent my fav characters

[Sebnem · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah,..... I’m gonna need the full book after that teaser of a novella. And I can’t wait!

[Jennifer Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Countdown to a Kiss by Piper Rayne is a prequel novella introducing the Hockey Hotties series. Three professional hockey players from the Florida Fury attend a New Year’s Eve party given by the team’s owner. Each man comes across a woman who sparks their interest. As the countdown to midnight begins, each man is hoping to start the new year right with a kiss. What’s the harm? They aren’t going to see these women again, right?
Countdown to a Kiss is twelve short chapters and yet, it is such an engaging read that I immediately put the first book of the series higher on my TBR list. I can’t wait to read what happens with the first couple of the series. They are talented men with chips on their shoulders and the women they meet aren’t swayed by their status as professional hockey players. The banter between each man and woman is fun, flirty and so electric. If you love quick, engaging stories, I highly recommend Countdown to a Kiss.

Countdown to a Kiss is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

[Lynn Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook is just a teaser for what is about to come. We get a sneak peek into the cast of characters that we’ll see in the Hockey Hotties series. If you’re a fan of sports romance then you will be pleased with this one.

Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Arden do a great job in bringing all the characters to life. They also leave me hoping that they will continue with the rest of the series. If they are already in your audiobook library then this will be a good addition.

You can be guaranteed that if you are reading, or listening, to a book by these authors then you already know that you will never be disappointed. Although there’s a small one here because it was over way before I wanted it to. And once the first audiobook comes out, I will go back and listen to this one first.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Meegz Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2 Stars*

I read this in between moments at work, when it wasn't that busy, so it was quite a disjointed reading. I'm not sure if that affected my opinion or not, but I wasn't totally hooked. I liked the Saige and Aiden parts of this but the others I could take or leave. I'm not sure if I'd continue the series or not, I'd likely give Aidens book a try because I did like him and felt for his situation with hockey.

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[Eva ✧ ࣪ ⋆ ⁺₊ ⋆ evathedreamer ₊˚.⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊ ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Countdown to a Kiss is like a rom-com shot of champagne—bubbly, and flirty 🥂💋🎉

Three hockey hotties + one New Year’s Eve party = enough swoon, spice, and mistletoe mischief to melt the Florida ice rink ❄️🔥🏒 Whether it’s secret sparks, unexpected connections, or a little “oops, we kissed at midnight” action, this short and sweet intro to the Hockey Hotties series brings the charm.

Was it deep? No. Was it fun? Absolutely. Think of it as the book equivalent of a glittery party hat: festive, a little silly, and guaranteed to make you smile. 🎊💘📚

3.75 ⭐️’s

[Sundy Tr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute novella that introduces the reader to 3 couples where the Hockey players try to convince the ladies to kiss them at New Year’s Eve. I’m not spoiling anything, you have to read it to see if they succeed in it. 😉

It’s a well written novella, and despite not being lengthy and featuring 3 couples, it definitely left me wanting to learn what the future holds for them and I’ve just decided that My Lucky #13 will be my first book for 2024. ☺️

-Multiple 1st person POV
-0/5 🌶️

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Great sneak peek into what's going to come in the new hockey series from one of my favorite author duos. I liked meeting the characters ahead of time and getting a feel for them early. This is looking to be another hit series for this duo, and one much different than I've read from them before.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just wish I read this before My Lucky #13. It's good to read the background story and find out a bit more about Saige's relationship with the sports agent Joran. He comes across as uncaring. You know the type, take you to a work related party and leave you nearly all night. Thankfully Saige can read him well.

Good prequel!