Kate Meader

"This control thing is all well and good, Harper, but one day you're going to have to recognize that you can't make every call yourself. People want to help you. People want to love you."

This was so so so good.

I went into this expecting a cute little hockey romance with a little bit of plot, but mostly spice, and we'd all live happily ever after. The End.

BUT WHAT I GOT was a really well written story with complicated characters and relationships and - okay there was some spice in there show more too.

I laughed. I cried. I clutched my pearls. I need to keep reading this series.

P.S. I'd let Remy DuPre make me a sandwich any day. show less

Surprisingly charming (given the cover which might lead one to assume this is just a sexfest.)

Our FMC, Jordan, is a rising sports reporter looking to build her career after getting off track when she married young to a Green Beret with whom she fell in love at first sight. When her husband is killed in action she focuses all of her energy on moving forward her career. She gets her chance to make a big splash when her husband's best friend from the military, Levi, returns from service to show more become hockey's newest hero. a strong and silent type who refuses to reveal any of his private life. One media outlet thinks maybe this link between Jordan and Levi will allow her to get the goods. They manage to get Jordan embedded with the team for a while so she can do a profile of a difficult subject. It tuns out that that Jordan's husband is not the only one who fell in love with her that night and that leads to some complications. Additionally, as a young female reporter trying to build a career, falling for an interview subject would be a disaster. Things ensue....

This is a love letter to integrity of all sorts, to decency and respect. That warmed my coal-black heart. And though it is not the entire point it is downright sexy. show less

Not my normal fare. I'm a huge hockey fan, but I primarily read historical romances. The entire genre of sports romance was completely beyond my ken before I gave this book a shot (ha!). I'm glad I did. The characters were fun, multi-dimensional, interesting, tons of baggage to work out, and (mostly) communicative. The hero is amazing -- hot, sexy, and a total gentleman. The heroine is broken in so many familiar ways. Getting to the HEA was a wonderful ride, and I admit my chest ached as show more many times as I laughed. Well played, indeed. Picking up the next one ASAP. show less

Loved this one! (Even though there's no firefighters, hockey players, Texans, or chefs... ;))

Wedding planner Charlie (aka "Charles") and divorce attorney Max (aka "The Cynic (TM)") are just so much fun together. I loved their back and forth when they couldn't stand each other almost as much as when they did--okay, sometimes I might have loved it even more when they were making each other kinda crazy. What can I say? I'm a banter kind of girl.

And boy, can Ms. Meader do banter. :D Oh, and the show more little details, too--Max's love of old movies like Rear Window and An Affair to Remember (I cannot be the only person who had to see that one after seeing Sleepless in Seattle, right?) and seemingly throwaway comments like "Sure the Cubbies won the World Series a few years back, but no Chicagoan is comfortable being a fan of a winning team. We worked hard to earn out underdog status and it suits us" that show that she not only understands her adopted city, she also understands people.

(Though, seriously...you want to talk underdog status, Chicago? Try living in Buffalo , for pity's sake. But I digress...)

Max has two partners at his firm, former Brit Lucas (his Illegally Yours is next; woot!) and Grant, whose story we don't have hints about yet but I'm voting for a second chance romance from (fingers crossed!) which means at least two more series books to look forward to. They'll have quite the high bar to reach, though, trying beat Max and Charlie's story which had sigh-worthy lines like this one:
"His hand in mine is the hot fudge sauce on my sundae, the relish on my dog, the topper on my Christmas tree. His hand in mine is all I need."
but I'm sure Ms. Meader is up to the challenge. :)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less