Mister Hockey (Hellions Angels #1) by Lia Riley

Title: Mister Hockey (Hellions Angels #1)

Author: Lia Riley

Publication Date: July 11, 2017

Publisher: HarperCollins

Blurb: Her biggest fantasy is about to become a reality. . .

Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The captain of the NHL’s latest winning team, the Denver Hellions–and the hottest player on the ice—at least according to every magazine…and Breezy Angel. Breezy has been drooling over Jed at games for years, and he plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right?

Then Jed saunters through the doors of her library, a last minute special guest for a summer reading event, and not only is he drop dead gorgeous up close, his personality is straight up swoon-worthy. He even comes to the rescue when she has an R-rated “Super Book Worm” costume malfunction. But when he mistakenly assumes she’s more into books than pucks, she’s too flustered to correct his mistake. And then comes a big kiss, followed by a teensy-tiny problem. Jed’s dating policy is simple: Never date a fan.

So what’s a fangirl going to have to do to convince her ultimate crush that he’s become less of a perfect fantasy, and more like the perfect man…for her?

Review:  I’ve always thought that humor plays an important role in the perfect romance novel.  If a romance novel can get me to crack a smile then I can consider my time well-spent.  Mister Hockey by Lia Riley didn’t just have me cracking a smile, it had me laughing out loud throughout my elliptical workout (and trust me, it’s really hard to find any sort of humor in working out).

The main character in Mister Hockey is Breezy, a children’s librarian with a hockey addiction and when she meets Jed West, star player for the Hellions, she thinks she’s died and gone to heaven.  I liked Breezy, a lot.  She was quirky and relatable and her inner dialogues had my sides busting with laughter.  She was a nice change of pace from your some of your more stereotypical romance heroines.  And I positively love any romance novel with a book advocate starring at the main lady… I’m definitely biased.

Jed West is a handsome devil who’s self-conscious about being wanted for his stardom instead of his winning personality and charm.  He’s a sexy guy who has mad skills in the bedroom, but he’s not so good at relationships.  I really enjoyed watching him try and work through his feelings for Breezy while trying to handle his own personal issues.  I love when the main guy seems genuine and Jed definitely met that criteria for me.  (Also, look at that cover picture.  Perfect model for Jed.  Hubba hubba).

As the book went on it suffered from a little thing I, and millions of people everywhere, like to call cliché.  I saw the climax coming from a mile away, for instance, and the ending was a tad unsatisfactory for those who like drama or enjoy when the offending partner has to work for forgiveness, but some people prefer more realistic endings and I totally get that.

Long story short: I’d recommend this book wholeheartedly because I just really enjoyed it the entire time.  Read it in just a couple hours.  A couple hours of easy fun.

You can pre-order it at any independent bookstore (yes, I'm always going to plug this).