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Mendell Hawks #2
Team Players
Aderyn
Resident playboy, Samson Morgan, thinks he can beat me at my own game.
The hockey captain truly believes he can stop playing the field for longer than I can start having one-night stands.
Okay, sure, historically I'm known for being an all-in, ask-to-be-your-girlfriend-on-the-first-date romantic. But being a player isn't that hard. And I came to Mendell University to win. Whether that's on the ice or off.
Morgan doesn't realize it yet but he's finally met an opponent who can take him down.
Sam
My bet with the women's hockey team captain feels like an easy win.
Three months pretending to be a one-woman kind of man? Easy...scary easy, actually.
Somewhere along the line, I start taking my role too seriously.
This semester isn't the time for me to get distracted from my main goal - ensuring my team gets a fair shot this season.
But Aderyn Jacobs consistently makes me rethink everything I've ever wanted. I'm in danger of losing something far bigger than our bet.
__
Team Players is a college hockey romance starring two cocky and competitive hockey captains. This is book two of the Mendell Hawks series. It's recommended to read the series in order.
Resident playboy, Samson Morgan, thinks he can beat me at my own game.
The hockey captain truly believes he can stop playing the field for longer than I can start having one-night stands.
Okay, sure, historically I'm known for being an all-in, ask-to-be-your-girlfriend-on-the-first-date romantic. But being a player isn't that hard. And I came to Mendell University to win. Whether that's on the ice or off.
Morgan doesn't realize it yet but he's finally met an opponent who can take him down.
Sam
My bet with the women's hockey team captain feels like an easy win.
Three months pretending to be a one-woman kind of man? Easy...scary easy, actually.
Somewhere along the line, I start taking my role too seriously.
This semester isn't the time for me to get distracted from my main goal - ensuring my team gets a fair shot this season.
But Aderyn Jacobs consistently makes me rethink everything I've ever wanted. I'm in danger of losing something far bigger than our bet.
__
Team Players is a college hockey romance starring two cocky and competitive hockey captains. This is book two of the Mendell Hawks series. It's recommended to read the series in order.
323 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 488 reviews
April 23, 2023
read this book out of curiosity but i think i really should have just stayed curious.
August 24, 2025
4/5
- I looooove when a romance has a side plot.. they make a bet with each other which is a large part of the plot but there’s also another side plot which is keeping me hooked!! I like something outside of the romance that keeps you reading. It’s one of my favorite things.
- There’s a part of this book where picks her up and carries her to the doctor!! Anytime someone gets sick in a book and needs to be taken care of it’s so cute. Literally giggling and kicking my feet with this one.
- This book is such a cute read! If you’re looking for something that’s just a fluffy fun time, pick this one up!
- I looooove when a romance has a side plot.. they make a bet with each other which is a large part of the plot but there’s also another side plot which is keeping me hooked!! I like something outside of the romance that keeps you reading. It’s one of my favorite things.
- There’s a part of this book where picks her up and carries her to the doctor!! Anytime someone gets sick in a book and needs to be taken care of it’s so cute. Literally giggling and kicking my feet with this one.
- This book is such a cute read! If you’re looking for something that’s just a fluffy fun time, pick this one up!
February 26, 2023
this? this is a college romance
This book serves friends with benefits to lovers, but in the best way. I had so much fun reading it, and I honestly wish it was longer just so we could get a bit more fluff, but I absolutely adored this book.
This book serves friends with benefits to lovers, but in the best way. I had so much fun reading it, and I honestly wish it was longer just so we could get a bit more fluff, but I absolutely adored this book.
August 21, 2025
2.5⭐️
This was disappointing 😔
I really really enjoyed the first book but this one was a let down :/
My thoughts:
- I really like the characters and the found family! I said this about the first one; everyone is so realistic and relatable!!
- They mention lots of important topics such as mistreatment in male and female sports, bullying and insecurity. There is also lots of representation which we love to see!
- So the plot….. was definitely a plot. The fwb bet thing was odd to say the least. Compared to other college sports romance books, the characters don’t objectify everything and are very mature and are good at communicating their emotions. Because of this, the whole bet plot line felt out of place/out of character/random - it didn’t make sense. I thought it was dumb (and frustrating).
- The side plot line was interesting though but it’s a ROMANCE book and that should’ve been the more captivating aspect.
- Although the characters were very realistic and I could relate to them, I didn’t care that deeply about them. The romance was cute of course but I wasn’t giggling or screaming whenever they made eye contact. I just didn’t care. 😐
- Also the pacing was weird but I can’t pinpoint how (I know that makes no sense but it’s the best I’ve got)
I still love all the other characters and the writing so I won’t give up on future books 🙏
This was disappointing 😔
I really really enjoyed the first book but this one was a let down :/
My thoughts:
- I really like the characters and the found family! I said this about the first one; everyone is so realistic and relatable!!
- They mention lots of important topics such as mistreatment in male and female sports, bullying and insecurity. There is also lots of representation which we love to see!
- So the plot….. was definitely a plot. The fwb bet thing was odd to say the least. Compared to other college sports romance books, the characters don’t objectify everything and are very mature and are good at communicating their emotions. Because of this, the whole bet plot line felt out of place/out of character/random - it didn’t make sense. I thought it was dumb (and frustrating).
- The side plot line was interesting though but it’s a ROMANCE book and that should’ve been the more captivating aspect.
- Although the characters were very realistic and I could relate to them, I didn’t care that deeply about them. The romance was cute of course but I wasn’t giggling or screaming whenever they made eye contact. I just didn’t care. 😐
- Also the pacing was weird but I can’t pinpoint how (I know that makes no sense but it’s the best I’ve got)
I still love all the other characters and the writing so I won’t give up on future books 🙏
January 12, 2023
“We knew each other’s strengths and now, weaknesses”
Team Players is a college hockey romance that starts with two hockey captains coming up with a seggs bet, a friends with benefits relationship, and then dealing with the complexities of it all. Leading their respective teams. Dealing with the outside things hampering both of their teams. Oh and trying hard not to fall for each other since they are keeping it casual.
Once again Deanna Grey provides a sweet, fun, and steamy love story. Not only that though she also writes the absolute best friendships. Aderyn and Sam have some of the best banter and respect for each other. Sure they are getting busy, but they also build their friendship and bond through their story. They deal with some anxieties about being vulnerable with one another, but they are both very strong, stubborn and guarded characters, so it just takes them some time and trust to open up.
Anyway. I just want to end this by saying I adore this series. If you enjoy hockey romance, love when the main couple says they absolutely won’t fall in love and do anyway, then you’ll probably adore Team Players. I can’t recommend this series enough.
*I suggest reading Sunny Disposition first. 1. It’s amazing and 2. there is an ongoing subplot that I think you will be more invested in if you check out book one first. 3. It would be a shame not to meet Naomi and Finn in their own story!
**Can I root for K & J to happen. It’s giving angsty.
IG - https://www.instagram.com/p/CnTMPyxLB...
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRguAsje/
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRguUADm/
Team Players is a college hockey romance that starts with two hockey captains coming up with a seggs bet, a friends with benefits relationship, and then dealing with the complexities of it all. Leading their respective teams. Dealing with the outside things hampering both of their teams. Oh and trying hard not to fall for each other since they are keeping it casual.
Once again Deanna Grey provides a sweet, fun, and steamy love story. Not only that though she also writes the absolute best friendships. Aderyn and Sam have some of the best banter and respect for each other. Sure they are getting busy, but they also build their friendship and bond through their story. They deal with some anxieties about being vulnerable with one another, but they are both very strong, stubborn and guarded characters, so it just takes them some time and trust to open up.
Anyway. I just want to end this by saying I adore this series. If you enjoy hockey romance, love when the main couple says they absolutely won’t fall in love and do anyway, then you’ll probably adore Team Players. I can’t recommend this series enough.
*I suggest reading Sunny Disposition first. 1. It’s amazing and 2. there is an ongoing subplot that I think you will be more invested in if you check out book one first. 3. It would be a shame not to meet Naomi and Finn in their own story!
**Can I root for K & J to happen. It’s giving angsty.
IG - https://www.instagram.com/p/CnTMPyxLB...
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRguAsje/
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRguUADm/
December 10, 2023
3.5 stars
Aderyn was definitely reaching when she said Samson did not respect her. That guy is the sweetest sports romance hero ever.
.
Aderyn was definitely reaching when she said Samson did not respect her. That guy is the sweetest sports romance hero ever.
.
September 3, 2023
3.75 stars - i was LOVING this one but the ending fell so flat for me 😭
aderyn is the women’s hockey captain and when she runs into sam, the men’s hockey captain, after a failed date, that make a little bet. she bets the playboy can’t commit to one person and he bets she can’t do casual without getting attached. sooo, they decide to have a little friends with bennies situation and see who folds first.
i loved so much about this. sam was a perfect book boyfriend. he was hotttt, so caring, so attentive, and basically immediately was like what are other girls???? their banter and chemistry was so cute and going so well until the end. my pet peeve in books is when the guy has been amazing but she causes a problem/doesn’t trust him for literally no reason and that’s exactly what happened here. i like the hockey drama plot line but didn’t like how that spilled over onto their relationship.
i loved aderyn’s body representation though, when we talk about it in books, we’re usually talking about plus size heroines but she’s athletic and was made fun of for looking “masculine” and i loved the different representation.
aderyn is the women’s hockey captain and when she runs into sam, the men’s hockey captain, after a failed date, that make a little bet. she bets the playboy can’t commit to one person and he bets she can’t do casual without getting attached. sooo, they decide to have a little friends with bennies situation and see who folds first.
i loved so much about this. sam was a perfect book boyfriend. he was hotttt, so caring, so attentive, and basically immediately was like what are other girls???? their banter and chemistry was so cute and going so well until the end. my pet peeve in books is when the guy has been amazing but she causes a problem/doesn’t trust him for literally no reason and that’s exactly what happened here. i like the hockey drama plot line but didn’t like how that spilled over onto their relationship.
i loved aderyn’s body representation though, when we talk about it in books, we’re usually talking about plus size heroines but she’s athletic and was made fun of for looking “masculine” and i loved the different representation.
April 28, 2024
this book was good but i have some very mixed feelings about the ending...
for a while now i've heard good things about the books in this series and i am happy that i enjoyed this!! sports romances where both the characters are athletes are so good, it's twice the competitive edge and there is two teams to meld into one found family, we love to see it! i feel like i need to go read finn and naomi's book now.
sam and aderyn were adorable. the first chapter, even though it wasn't a meet cute, had such meet cute qualities and i loved it. having the ending scene be there too was such a good choice. i really liked the bet aspect of this story even if it wasn't really fulfilled and it was just a big ruse for the two of them to get together. they were both such strong characters/captains which made me like them even more. the romance was really good, it was the side plots i wasn't as in love with. the thing with her step dad was taken care of so quickly in the end that it just felt unresolved. it also caused so many issues for them as a couple and i wished we spent more time with them in the aftermath. the transfer thing in the end also just ticked me off because i feel like there was defiantly another option but i'll ignore it. pretty solid book overall though and i can't wait to see whose stories we get next because there was some good set ups in this book. i'm most excited to see if jack gets a story and who it will be with!!
for a while now i've heard good things about the books in this series and i am happy that i enjoyed this!! sports romances where both the characters are athletes are so good, it's twice the competitive edge and there is two teams to meld into one found family, we love to see it! i feel like i need to go read finn and naomi's book now.
sam and aderyn were adorable. the first chapter, even though it wasn't a meet cute, had such meet cute qualities and i loved it. having the ending scene be there too was such a good choice. i really liked the bet aspect of this story even if it wasn't really fulfilled and it was just a big ruse for the two of them to get together. they were both such strong characters/captains which made me like them even more. the romance was really good, it was the side plots i wasn't as in love with. the thing with her step dad was taken care of so quickly in the end that it just felt unresolved. it also caused so many issues for them as a couple and i wished we spent more time with them in the aftermath. the transfer thing in the end also just ticked me off because i feel like there was defiantly another option but i'll ignore it. pretty solid book overall though and i can't wait to see whose stories we get next because there was some good set ups in this book. i'm most excited to see if jack gets a story and who it will be with!!
November 13, 2024
2.5⭐️ while i really enjoyed the first book and especially the two main characters, this book really fell flat for me. it started way too fast, i wanted more of a chance to see their characters like fully “present” themselves first before it jumped right into the friends with benefits but its literally like one of the first chapters or at least felt like it. then when they do become fwb its just like meh, there’s no real chemistry to me, it just happens randomly, the plot is pretty much nonexistent and that really is so disappointing bc like i said i loveddd the plot for the first book and one of my most anticipated reads rn is another book by this author as well based on the plot (and also partly bc its sapphic in general)
with that all being said i do really love eden’s vibe so i’m excited for her book regardless of how this one went. but hopefully it’s much better than this one or i might contemplate dnf’ing the series (which again is so sad bc i truly love this author😭) anyway, im still giving the series more of a chance and we’ll see how it goes!
with that all being said i do really love eden’s vibe so i’m excited for her book regardless of how this one went. but hopefully it’s much better than this one or i might contemplate dnf’ing the series (which again is so sad bc i truly love this author😭) anyway, im still giving the series more of a chance and we’ll see how it goes!
February 13, 2025
2.5 but they would seriously do so well in therapy
July 20, 2023
I love top tier hockey boys 💕
December 14, 2022
thanks booksprout and Deanna Grey for the Arc.
listen, I hope everyone is going to jump into Deanna Grey’s hype train, she’s just THAT author. After reading Sunny Disposition I couldn’t wait to read the next one to just know what was the mystery, but after knowing the tropes ?? I had so much expectations and they absolutely met (even better). tropes : college romance, 2 cocky hockey captain with a bet, black love, anyways just read it. The representation for us black woman respectively black darkskin women with MUSCLES, that representation ? Just yes. It was so good and amazing (don’t know any adjectives anymore lol), especially on the mental health level as well. As an black woman athlete myself I absolutely love Aderyn and understood her so well. This book just broke me but in a good way. The mystery trope about what is going on in the hockey mendell hawks sport section, just “chief kiss” 🤌🏾 I was hooked on !! anyway y’all need to read it,Sam and Aderyn are my babies forever (still can’t wait to read about the rest of the team)
(I’m probably exaggerating a lot lol but no y’all need to read it, it was really good, I definitely can see it being a tv-series in the future)
listen, I hope everyone is going to jump into Deanna Grey’s hype train, she’s just THAT author. After reading Sunny Disposition I couldn’t wait to read the next one to just know what was the mystery, but after knowing the tropes ?? I had so much expectations and they absolutely met (even better). tropes : college romance, 2 cocky hockey captain with a bet, black love, anyways just read it. The representation for us black woman respectively black darkskin women with MUSCLES, that representation ? Just yes. It was so good and amazing (don’t know any adjectives anymore lol), especially on the mental health level as well. As an black woman athlete myself I absolutely love Aderyn and understood her so well. This book just broke me but in a good way. The mystery trope about what is going on in the hockey mendell hawks sport section, just “chief kiss” 🤌🏾 I was hooked on !! anyway y’all need to read it,Sam and Aderyn are my babies forever (still can’t wait to read about the rest of the team)
(I’m probably exaggerating a lot lol but no y’all need to read it, it was really good, I definitely can see it being a tv-series in the future)
March 4, 2023
3.5 stars
this was okayyy I just didn’t rlly vibe w it
I did like how sam and aderyn grew throughout the book but I just didn’t connect w their characters tbh and wanted to dnf 😵💫
but it had its cute moments I won’t lie
this was okayyy I just didn’t rlly vibe w it
I did like how sam and aderyn grew throughout the book but I just didn’t connect w their characters tbh and wanted to dnf 😵💫
but it had its cute moments I won’t lie
April 3, 2024
4.5/5 stars
I need this book to be 100 pages longer!!! I don’t want to part with this amazing found family, friends with benefits to lovers and sports romance!! It was just too good! I am genuinely frustrated by that ending, Deanna, I need to talk!!
I need this book to be 100 pages longer!!! I don’t want to part with this amazing found family, friends with benefits to lovers and sports romance!! It was just too good! I am genuinely frustrated by that ending, Deanna, I need to talk!!
June 16, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼
I jumped straight into Team Players after finishing book two, and I’m so glad I did. This series has completely hooked me, and if this really is the final book, I’ll be begging Deanna Grey for more.
Sam and Aderlyn are both captains of their college hockey teams, and I loved seeing two strong-willed, confident characters go head to head. They’re used to getting their way, and that tension kept me flipping pages. Sam has a bit of a playboy reputation, while Aderlyn is more of a long-term relationship girl, so their dynamic was full of sparks. The bet they make felt like the perfect setup to draw them closer, and watching them slowly fall for each other felt natural and well-paced.
On top of the romance, the unresolved scandal from book one adds a suspenseful layer. The twists surrounding the athletic director were unexpected, and I genuinely didn’t see some of them coming. The way it all wrapped up was both satisfying and believable.
Their relationship felt earned, the mystery kept things interesting, and the ending gave me everything I wanted. If this is where the series ends, it’s a strong note to go out on. But I’ll still be hoping Deanna Grey gives us more.
I jumped straight into Team Players after finishing book two, and I’m so glad I did. This series has completely hooked me, and if this really is the final book, I’ll be begging Deanna Grey for more.
Sam and Aderlyn are both captains of their college hockey teams, and I loved seeing two strong-willed, confident characters go head to head. They’re used to getting their way, and that tension kept me flipping pages. Sam has a bit of a playboy reputation, while Aderlyn is more of a long-term relationship girl, so their dynamic was full of sparks. The bet they make felt like the perfect setup to draw them closer, and watching them slowly fall for each other felt natural and well-paced.
On top of the romance, the unresolved scandal from book one adds a suspenseful layer. The twists surrounding the athletic director were unexpected, and I genuinely didn’t see some of them coming. The way it all wrapped up was both satisfying and believable.
Their relationship felt earned, the mystery kept things interesting, and the ending gave me everything I wanted. If this is where the series ends, it’s a strong note to go out on. But I’ll still be hoping Deanna Grey gives us more.
March 19, 2024
funfunfunfunfunfun
February 28, 2023
this is my petition for more black hockey romances.
sam and aderyn are EVERYTHING to me!
sam and aderyn are EVERYTHING to me!
December 24, 2023
A Sweet Wrap Up for the series
A good read. It started dragging towards the end a bit, then picked back up. (That phone call vs in person moment was super adorable and pleasant sigh inducing). I liked both characters well enough and thought they were fleshed out well. Loved that we got to see the characters from the prior story (A Sunny Disposition- Naomi and Finn). Would love to get a story about Lincoln and the shy girl (I forgot her name), but enjoyed the read.
A good read. It started dragging towards the end a bit, then picked back up. (That phone call vs in person moment was super adorable and pleasant sigh inducing). I liked both characters well enough and thought they were fleshed out well. Loved that we got to see the characters from the prior story (A Sunny Disposition- Naomi and Finn). Would love to get a story about Lincoln and the shy girl (I forgot her name), but enjoyed the read.
August 26, 2023
“You make me want to be brave.”
Shut the front door the books in this series are the perfect mix of smutty and CUTE 🥰😍
• Friends with benefits
• Their both the captain of their hockey team
• Bi fmc
• Hockey romance
The extended epilogue took me OUT. There’s just something about fast-forwarding 10 yrs in the future and getting a glimpse of a couple’s HEA that will always get me 🥹
I love this series, what can I say. It’s definitely an insta-love sort of romance but its funny, so sweet, HOT… what more could you ask for? It even had me tearing up once.
It’s a super short read so there’s really no excuse not to pick up these books! I can’t wait for the next one ♥️
Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
Shut the front door the books in this series are the perfect mix of smutty and CUTE 🥰😍
• Friends with benefits
• Their both the captain of their hockey team
• Bi fmc
• Hockey romance
The extended epilogue took me OUT. There’s just something about fast-forwarding 10 yrs in the future and getting a glimpse of a couple’s HEA that will always get me 🥹
I love this series, what can I say. It’s definitely an insta-love sort of romance but its funny, so sweet, HOT… what more could you ask for? It even had me tearing up once.
It’s a super short read so there’s really no excuse not to pick up these books! I can’t wait for the next one ♥️
Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
September 17, 2023
Everything about this book is a yes. The chemistry!!! The tension!! THE SPICE!!! Two hot asf mc’s id like to f- it’s a must read hockey romance! truly I need everyone to go read this immediately.
March 14, 2024
When he falls first and harder>>
October 24, 2024
I genuinely loved everything about this! First of all, they are both hockey captains (more women hockey players in romance books please!!), and they make an arrangement to help each other. He is a player that wants to practice committing to a relationship, and she is the opposite and wants to practice casual flings since she often commits too fast. Needless to say, this is spicy, with some delicious longing and two main characters who are athletic. I especially loved the representation of our FMC being strong and muscular, the romance genre desperately needs more of that.
July 10, 2023
Sam and Aderyn were pretty nice together. Sam a big harlot on campus and Aderyn who needed to be less of an all-or-nothing gal had a good thing going. The chemistry was there or “spicy” as the tik tokers say.
Overall it didn’t do it for me. The ending? No
Aderyn had some insecurities and they were mentioned a lot. I’d imagine she’s a built athletic young woman (she even has abs!) but she was described as having “wide hips” “a crooked tooth” and “traditionally masculine”. Her and a friend bonded over their perceived “undesirability”. I need a break!
So of course this super hot ripped and perfect hockey playing man didn’t really feel anything for her. Her friends even said that her and Sam together were like mountains cause they are solid… but also it’s ok cause she has grown and doesn’t mind the comparison to something unmovable.
The family drama was a nice touch, wish we knew more about their prior relationship
Solid 2.5
Overall it didn’t do it for me. The ending? No
Aderyn had some insecurities and they were mentioned a lot. I’d imagine she’s a built athletic young woman (she even has abs!) but she was described as having “wide hips” “a crooked tooth” and “traditionally masculine”. Her and a friend bonded over their perceived “undesirability”. I need a break!
So of course this super hot ripped and perfect hockey playing man didn’t really feel anything for her. Her friends even said that her and Sam together were like mountains cause they are solid… but also it’s ok cause she has grown and doesn’t mind the comparison to something unmovable.
The family drama was a nice touch, wish we knew more about their prior relationship
Solid 2.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2024
friends with benefits to lovers done WELL. i genuinely couldn’t tell which character i was crushing on more aderyn or samson; intense bi panic was caused 😣. i loved their tug of war for dominance and it made for an amazing relationship dynamic. black bisexual rep matters!!
i think that the plot was very quick into the character connection but i think it worked well. i wish that we got to see more of sam outside of his and ryn’s relationship as we didn’t get the same amount of detail about him as we did aderyn. i adore aderyns mother and her relationship with her children it was so healthy and loving. i also i think the coach subplot was also very well executed.
i literally gasped to an imaginary audience during the spicy scenes, deanna gray will be making a return to my tbr list very soon. THE MIRROR SCENE???? HELLO?????
(reread update: rating changed to 4 instead of 4.5 cus of the ending, i don’t think he would have done that)
i think that the plot was very quick into the character connection but i think it worked well. i wish that we got to see more of sam outside of his and ryn’s relationship as we didn’t get the same amount of detail about him as we did aderyn. i adore aderyns mother and her relationship with her children it was so healthy and loving. i also i think the coach subplot was also very well executed.
i literally gasped to an imaginary audience during the spicy scenes, deanna gray will be making a return to my tbr list very soon. THE MIRROR SCENE???? HELLO?????
(reread update: rating changed to 4 instead of 4.5 cus of the ending, i don’t think he would have done that)
July 24, 2023
I read an arc for the first time.
Sam and Aderyn 😭😭😭😭 they are one of my favorite couples. I’m so glad I got read about them and their relationship. I don’t even know how to express how much I love their relationship and just the characters individually. Someone expressed that this book really highlights the respect that these characters have for each other and I completely agree. This conflict had been going on from the previous book, Sunny Deposition. I think you can still read this book without reading Sunny Deposition. I think this author is becoming a new favorite and I hope I can continue reading from her and support her ❤️
Sam and Aderyn 😭😭😭😭 they are one of my favorite couples. I’m so glad I got read about them and their relationship. I don’t even know how to express how much I love their relationship and just the characters individually. Someone expressed that this book really highlights the respect that these characters have for each other and I completely agree. This conflict had been going on from the previous book, Sunny Deposition. I think you can still read this book without reading Sunny Deposition. I think this author is becoming a new favorite and I hope I can continue reading from her and support her ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2024
I loved this and I am demanding another one!! ENCORE!!
This was like Love and Basketball vibes, but hockey players instead. I LOVED that both characters are captains of the women and men’s teams so we got both perspectives at one college. We also got double the found families. This book was more fine tuned than the first and the premise was just as juicy! I love that the MMC fell first and hard! The plot was just as good as the romance.
This was like Love and Basketball vibes, but hockey players instead. I LOVED that both characters are captains of the women and men’s teams so we got both perspectives at one college. We also got double the found families. This book was more fine tuned than the first and the premise was just as juicy! I love that the MMC fell first and hard! The plot was just as good as the romance.
December 17, 2022
(3.5/5) i liked it and it was rly cute. the poc rep and lgbtq+ rep was really well done but i felt like the ending was a little unrealistic considering it didnt make sense. to me anyway. but naomifinn will always be my favs
May 15, 2023
me siento confundida
September 8, 2023
great rep, cute fun & possibly a fast read
i liked the first one better but i’m definitely looking forward to reading more by deanna grey
i liked the first one better but i’m definitely looking forward to reading more by deanna grey
August 20, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
nah i’m stealing this man’s girl full stop. i couldn’t give a single fuck about him. she is the stanley cup, memorial cup, walter cup. she is the PRIZE. whereas he is the red solo cup: cheap and passed around at parties
ahhhHHH I LOVE FEMALE HOCKEY PLAYERS SO MUCH
the amount of diversity on this team made me want to cry because UGHH why can’t hockey be this diverse in real life?? 😭😭 the korean goaltender, the three dark skin forwards, one of them being nonbinary and dating the korean goaltender!! 😁 eeehehehe i just had so much fun!!
oh right, sam was here too 😐 sorry, totally forgot about him amongst all the bad bitch POC players on the women’s team. like fr, anytime the book cut away from the women’s team to focus on the men, i immediately got annoyed. i just wanted to hangout with my girls 😫
while i had a lot of fun with my girlies, the rest of this book was kind of a chop. i have some passionate critiques:
okay first off is actually a not so passionate one, but still something i wanted to say. there were a lot of repetitive words and phrases, more so than book one. just a lot of times where i noticed either the same wording being used or certain sentiments being repeated. for instance, they used the word ‘climax’ to describe every single orgasm and ‘folks’ to describe any and all family members. it got a bit tedious
the way sam not telling aderyn about his true feelings was prolonged is so dumb - he had the genuine intention of dating aderyn when he asked her out in his room. he was being dead serious. therefore, there is no reason for him to not clarify that his date invitation had nothing to do with their bet and that he wanted to call the bet off so they could be together for real. he assumed she didn’t want him but she didn’t say anything that would give him that impression. like dude, she even straight up says ‘i think you’re only asking me out because of the bet’ and he just DOESN’T EXPLAIN, CLARIFY, OR CORRECT HER. also, later on he tells aderyn he wants to be with her but then also says he wants her to still try and win the bet and continue to sleep around?? if i were aderyn i would be SO confused about his true intentions. sam is a very jealous person, so it’d be hard to believe he wanted them to be together when he’s encouraging her to sleep with other people. it makes it seem like he had no reason to call off the bet. fr, every time jack even looked at aderyn sam’s jaw would become rock solid tense, but he’s also cool with her hooking up with people that aren’t him? i guess he was saying that because he said the bet was still on and he’d get a real date with her as his new prize if he won? but if he wanted to date her so bad - which he did - he’s not gonna hook up with anyone else and aderyn’s gonna eventually date him anyway, so he kinda already had won? there was no chance of sam getting with anyone else at that point, you couldn’t have paid him to, so what was the point in continuing the bet? aderyn was destined to lose either way once he made his prize a real date with her
speaking of jack, him agreeing to help sam take warren down kinda didn’t make sense at all. his motivations for helping sam were nonexistent, but he agreed to sam’s plan regardless and with very little convincing. he and the other guys on the team agreed to be in on the gambling scheme because they were all in some seriously shitty situations and were absolutely desperate for money. i don’t blame them at all for getting in on it. jack defended these guys to sam by making this exact point, but then just agreed to help him two seconds later for no fucking reason. sam never made any promise to help the guys or plan to find an alternative source of income for them after the stability from the gambling money fell through (he sucks for that btw), but apparently he helped jack see that there was ‘another way’ 😐😃 what was the other way??! sam and the others had no established way to fix the guys’ financial problems without warren, but apparently that doesn’t matter and their reasons for agreeing to the gambling in the first place don’t apply anymore 😵💫 am i really expected to believe jack just did it out of the goodness of his heart and because he had morals?? aw that’s nice, him and those other guys are still broke though! at least jack was the only one who acknowledged that he was fucking the other guys over by helping sam, cause he totally was. they had no backup plan in place to help those guys whatsoever. sam was totally acting in his own best interest but acting like he was doing what was best for everyone, and i was not on his side at all
but actually no. sam *believed* he was acting in his own best interest, but he actually wasn’t, because in reality, warren getting exposed did not benefit ANYONE. the fact that they went through with exposing warren how they did is completely idiotic. now listen, i’m not saying warren sabotaging the team by essentially throwing games to bet against them isn’t a bad thing to do. of course it is. but it wasn’t worth exposing, at least in the way they did. let us count the ways in which no one is better off for this. firstly, the guys who needed the money from it got screwedddd and sam and the others didn’t care to find some other way to help them. they just did it while knowing they would be putting the other guys in a really bad spot. those guys were an excuse for sam to feel conflicted about whether to go through with it for longer; he never actually cared about their situations. second, aderyn was warren’s stepdaughter, meaning her entire family was rocked from this revelation and went through serious stress and relationship strain from it all after being under investigation. sam is the one who realized this would happen to her but still went through with it anyway. third, and this is the stupidest one, the whole reason sam had for exposing warren in the first place was that he needed the team to not be sabotaged anymore so he could get more playing time in order to potentially look better to NHL scouts. okay, makes sense. can’t look good when you’re barely playing. but in that case, tell me why sam went through with the exposé plan when he and the other guys knew full well that the investigation they knew would consequently take place would result in their guaranteed DISQUALIFICATION 😃 that potentially fucks the scholarship guys and the other guys trying to get to the NHL as well. sam said they NEEDED to get the investigation started before playoffs to ensure warren didn’t fuck with their chances of winning, but how does that make sense or matter when they weren’t even IN THE PLAYOFFS AT ALL?? 😃😃 how does that help your cause?? you can’t look good to scouts if your team is NOT EVEN AN OPTION FOR THEM TO COME WATCH. EVERYONE was screwed over by this. so why was it so important and the ‘right thing’ to do?? right then??
what they should’ve done is blackmailed the fuck out of warren. they had all the damning evidence they needed to get him fired (evidence that was pretty vague to the reader, might i add). they should’ve informed him of having this evidence (with it being in a secure secondary location, of course) and told him that if he didn’t stop fucking their team over, they’d get him fired. they could’ve had copies of whatever documents they had against him to show him they weren’t fucking around. warren was on edge enough about getting caught anyway, plus he knew there’d be a whole investigation that would fuck up his family if he did get caught, so he almost definitely would’ve complied. and even if he didn’t, what would’ve happened? he tells the coach on them? the dean? who cares? they had the evidence! if he tried to tell on them they would’ve just turned in the evidence at that point. but the fact that they never even tried to blackmail warren or even considered it is completely STUPID. like, henrik clearly has some kind of criminal record, and you’re telling me this never even crossed his mind once??
moving on, i don’t really understand why aderyn was acting like she absolutely had to stay away from sam at all costs and like it was some kind of angsty forbidden lovers breakup when in actuality she was just taking some time to make an informed and thorough decision about their relationship. this was something she hadn’t done before, so good for her i love that for her i’m proud of her for that, but remember one of the options was YES. sam basically expressed he’d rather die than not be with her and she realized pretty quickly that she wanted to be with him too and a relationship with him felt the most right, so once that was all clear to her, what was the problem?? when it came to her moving to a different school, i was glad she put her family and career first, but the rest of the time, it felt so forced and contrived
it’s interesting how this went the opposite way of sunny disposition. i started out hating finn but ended up loving him by the end. in this, i started out liking sam but then was very against him by the end. even these reviews are opposite; i started that one calling that book the antichrist but liked it a lot in general, whereas i started this review by gushing about this book but then didn’t like it all that much. ha, funny how that works out
overall, by the end of this i just did not give a fuck anymore and was so done. i wanted to fucking love this cause of the dynamic of them both being captains and cause of how much i LOVE black love, but the rest of the book just did not work for me
however, i definitely need so many more books, just in general, about female hockey players and women’s hockey teams. they extend my lifespan 🫶🏻
nah i’m stealing this man’s girl full stop. i couldn’t give a single fuck about him. she is the stanley cup, memorial cup, walter cup. she is the PRIZE. whereas he is the red solo cup: cheap and passed around at parties
ahhhHHH I LOVE FEMALE HOCKEY PLAYERS SO MUCH
the amount of diversity on this team made me want to cry because UGHH why can’t hockey be this diverse in real life?? 😭😭 the korean goaltender, the three dark skin forwards, one of them being nonbinary and dating the korean goaltender!! 😁 eeehehehe i just had so much fun!!
oh right, sam was here too 😐 sorry, totally forgot about him amongst all the bad bitch POC players on the women’s team. like fr, anytime the book cut away from the women’s team to focus on the men, i immediately got annoyed. i just wanted to hangout with my girls 😫
while i had a lot of fun with my girlies, the rest of this book was kind of a chop. i have some passionate critiques:
okay first off is actually a not so passionate one, but still something i wanted to say. there were a lot of repetitive words and phrases, more so than book one. just a lot of times where i noticed either the same wording being used or certain sentiments being repeated. for instance, they used the word ‘climax’ to describe every single orgasm and ‘folks’ to describe any and all family members. it got a bit tedious
the way sam not telling aderyn about his true feelings was prolonged is so dumb - he had the genuine intention of dating aderyn when he asked her out in his room. he was being dead serious. therefore, there is no reason for him to not clarify that his date invitation had nothing to do with their bet and that he wanted to call the bet off so they could be together for real. he assumed she didn’t want him but she didn’t say anything that would give him that impression. like dude, she even straight up says ‘i think you’re only asking me out because of the bet’ and he just DOESN’T EXPLAIN, CLARIFY, OR CORRECT HER. also, later on he tells aderyn he wants to be with her but then also says he wants her to still try and win the bet and continue to sleep around?? if i were aderyn i would be SO confused about his true intentions. sam is a very jealous person, so it’d be hard to believe he wanted them to be together when he’s encouraging her to sleep with other people. it makes it seem like he had no reason to call off the bet. fr, every time jack even looked at aderyn sam’s jaw would become rock solid tense, but he’s also cool with her hooking up with people that aren’t him? i guess he was saying that because he said the bet was still on and he’d get a real date with her as his new prize if he won? but if he wanted to date her so bad - which he did - he’s not gonna hook up with anyone else and aderyn’s gonna eventually date him anyway, so he kinda already had won? there was no chance of sam getting with anyone else at that point, you couldn’t have paid him to, so what was the point in continuing the bet? aderyn was destined to lose either way once he made his prize a real date with her
speaking of jack, him agreeing to help sam take warren down kinda didn’t make sense at all. his motivations for helping sam were nonexistent, but he agreed to sam’s plan regardless and with very little convincing. he and the other guys on the team agreed to be in on the gambling scheme because they were all in some seriously shitty situations and were absolutely desperate for money. i don’t blame them at all for getting in on it. jack defended these guys to sam by making this exact point, but then just agreed to help him two seconds later for no fucking reason. sam never made any promise to help the guys or plan to find an alternative source of income for them after the stability from the gambling money fell through (he sucks for that btw), but apparently he helped jack see that there was ‘another way’ 😐😃 what was the other way??! sam and the others had no established way to fix the guys’ financial problems without warren, but apparently that doesn’t matter and their reasons for agreeing to the gambling in the first place don’t apply anymore 😵💫 am i really expected to believe jack just did it out of the goodness of his heart and because he had morals?? aw that’s nice, him and those other guys are still broke though! at least jack was the only one who acknowledged that he was fucking the other guys over by helping sam, cause he totally was. they had no backup plan in place to help those guys whatsoever. sam was totally acting in his own best interest but acting like he was doing what was best for everyone, and i was not on his side at all
but actually no. sam *believed* he was acting in his own best interest, but he actually wasn’t, because in reality, warren getting exposed did not benefit ANYONE. the fact that they went through with exposing warren how they did is completely idiotic. now listen, i’m not saying warren sabotaging the team by essentially throwing games to bet against them isn’t a bad thing to do. of course it is. but it wasn’t worth exposing, at least in the way they did. let us count the ways in which no one is better off for this. firstly, the guys who needed the money from it got screwedddd and sam and the others didn’t care to find some other way to help them. they just did it while knowing they would be putting the other guys in a really bad spot. those guys were an excuse for sam to feel conflicted about whether to go through with it for longer; he never actually cared about their situations. second, aderyn was warren’s stepdaughter, meaning her entire family was rocked from this revelation and went through serious stress and relationship strain from it all after being under investigation. sam is the one who realized this would happen to her but still went through with it anyway. third, and this is the stupidest one, the whole reason sam had for exposing warren in the first place was that he needed the team to not be sabotaged anymore so he could get more playing time in order to potentially look better to NHL scouts. okay, makes sense. can’t look good when you’re barely playing. but in that case, tell me why sam went through with the exposé plan when he and the other guys knew full well that the investigation they knew would consequently take place would result in their guaranteed DISQUALIFICATION 😃 that potentially fucks the scholarship guys and the other guys trying to get to the NHL as well. sam said they NEEDED to get the investigation started before playoffs to ensure warren didn’t fuck with their chances of winning, but how does that make sense or matter when they weren’t even IN THE PLAYOFFS AT ALL?? 😃😃 how does that help your cause?? you can’t look good to scouts if your team is NOT EVEN AN OPTION FOR THEM TO COME WATCH. EVERYONE was screwed over by this. so why was it so important and the ‘right thing’ to do?? right then??
what they should’ve done is blackmailed the fuck out of warren. they had all the damning evidence they needed to get him fired (evidence that was pretty vague to the reader, might i add). they should’ve informed him of having this evidence (with it being in a secure secondary location, of course) and told him that if he didn’t stop fucking their team over, they’d get him fired. they could’ve had copies of whatever documents they had against him to show him they weren’t fucking around. warren was on edge enough about getting caught anyway, plus he knew there’d be a whole investigation that would fuck up his family if he did get caught, so he almost definitely would’ve complied. and even if he didn’t, what would’ve happened? he tells the coach on them? the dean? who cares? they had the evidence! if he tried to tell on them they would’ve just turned in the evidence at that point. but the fact that they never even tried to blackmail warren or even considered it is completely STUPID. like, henrik clearly has some kind of criminal record, and you’re telling me this never even crossed his mind once??
moving on, i don’t really understand why aderyn was acting like she absolutely had to stay away from sam at all costs and like it was some kind of angsty forbidden lovers breakup when in actuality she was just taking some time to make an informed and thorough decision about their relationship. this was something she hadn’t done before, so good for her i love that for her i’m proud of her for that, but remember one of the options was YES. sam basically expressed he’d rather die than not be with her and she realized pretty quickly that she wanted to be with him too and a relationship with him felt the most right, so once that was all clear to her, what was the problem?? when it came to her moving to a different school, i was glad she put her family and career first, but the rest of the time, it felt so forced and contrived
it’s interesting how this went the opposite way of sunny disposition. i started out hating finn but ended up loving him by the end. in this, i started out liking sam but then was very against him by the end. even these reviews are opposite; i started that one calling that book the antichrist but liked it a lot in general, whereas i started this review by gushing about this book but then didn’t like it all that much. ha, funny how that works out
overall, by the end of this i just did not give a fuck anymore and was so done. i wanted to fucking love this cause of the dynamic of them both being captains and cause of how much i LOVE black love, but the rest of the book just did not work for me
however, i definitely need so many more books, just in general, about female hockey players and women’s hockey teams. they extend my lifespan 🫶🏻
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