I really enjoyed this. The flashbacks worked really well in moving the story forward and I especially loved how both Aiden and Cassidy were working through their traumatic pasts- together but also separately. I thought the OCD was represented was pretty great- as someone who struggles with letting others see their compulsions, it was great to see this shown in a popular genre story.

I enjoyed this book for the most part besides the 3rd act breakup/miscommunication aspect. If you don't enjoy those then this one isn't for you. I don't mind them most the time but something about this one made me just ugh because just talk people 😑 the story about overcoming the way that both of them did from their pasts was sweet overall. You'll love this if you enjoy: ✌🏼Second Chance Romance 🫣 Hidden Identity 🏒 Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth 🩷 Childhood friends to Lovers 🫶🏼 ”It’s Always Been You” vibes 🏡 Found Family 💸 Rags to Riches 💊 Mental Health Representation 😭 Emotional ❤️‍🔥 Fake dating 🌶️ "Crawl to me"

“𝘈𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.” Aiden & Pippa found each other when they need each other the most, the type of bond that is unbreakable. The two come from rocky childhoods and trauma bond, while having big dreams to escape the lives they are living. Aiden’s talents on the ice lead him to be the star NHL player , while it seems he has it all. He’s still dealing with his own issues and trauma from the past. When Pippa “Cassidy” shows up at his hotel room one night, hiding her identity and hoping to find closure. What was suppose to be one night, turns into fake dating and the two uncovering secrets, and healing on their journey while also getting a second chance at love. ✨R E V I E W ✨ The way I was milking this book, I didn’t want to finish it because I love these characters so much. First, this isn’t your average Hockey book. It’s packed with so much depth and emotional trauma between the Aiden and “Pip”/Cassidy that you literally feel so invested in their individual stories from start to finish. When the first secret was revealed, it made me so relieved and I love how it didn’t change the way Aiden felt for her. When the second secret was revealed, my heart was shook. I am so happy with how it ended , and literally feel these two are the definition of “soulmates”. I couldn’t get enough of sexy Aiden. Oh my gosh, the “crawl to me’s”, “good girl”, and “mine” made me blush! Whew! Especially coming from him, I love an MMC who is quiet, mysterious and a little damaged. Ava did an incredible job at dealing with such emotional topics and was so sensitive in telling this story. I loved how Aiden handled the response to his reveal of his rituals. And especially how “Pip”/Cassidy was the one to help him with normalizing and accepting him for who he is. I listened to the audiobook for the last half of this book and thought the performance was done really well! You’ll love this if you enjoy: ❤️‍🔥Second Chance Romance 🥅Hidden Identity ❤️‍🔥Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth 🥅Childhood friends to Lovers ❤️‍🔥”It’s Always Been You” vibes 🥅Found Family ❤️‍🔥Rags to Riches 🥅Mental Health Representation ❤️‍🔥EMOTIONAL 🥅Fake Dating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 stars and I can’t wait to continue this series, hoping for Dane’s book!

I went into this book blind. I saw a quote & loved it. This was a beautiful story. I love the representation in this book when it comes to mental health, ocd & coming to terms with your past. Aiden was easy to love. Cassidy was so easy to relate to. There were some times in this book where I got kind of bored. I think I'm used to reading books that have alot more drama lol. I also didn't expect the secret to be what it was, I felt like it has been built up & then just fell a little flat for me. All in all beautiful story. The characters were relatable. I would have given it more stars if it weren't for the filler material.

I have read a ton of hockey romances, but this one was just different. The cover makes it seem like all the usual kitschy stuff and that is not at all the case. Definitely a lot heavier than most but it was more enjoyable than I expected. I definitely had an issue with Aiden for a while (obviously) it worked itself out though.

That was seriously amazing! It hit me right in the feels, way more than I thought it would. It had this perfect mix of emotions, humor, and sweetness that just sucked me in. And the suspense waiting for Cassidy's secrets to come out? Totally had me on the edge of my seat. I usually don't go for that kind of plot, but this story was just so darn good. I think part of what made it work was knowing Cassidy had legit reasons for keeping quiet, even though she tried to spill the beans to Aiden so many times... I was totally crushing on both characters! Aiden and his OCD were oddly endearing, and the way he cared for Cassidy was swoon-worthy. But at the same time, my heart broke for him and all his struggles. And Cassidy? Man, she was something else. Always putting Aiden first, taking care of him like nobody else could. And when we finally got to see her brokenness revealed, it was like, whoa, didn't see that coming. And that ending? Pure perfection. Watching these two finally get their happily ever after was everything I hoped for and more. And seeing them come to terms with their pasts? It added this whole other layer of depth to the story that just tied everything together perfectly. So underrated