Behind the Net: A Grumpy Sunshine Hockey Romance

I absolutely LOVED this book!! It has been on my TBR for a while and knowing that the last book is coming out in February- I decided to go ahead and dive into this series. So far I have NOT been disappointed. It's a grump/sunshine romance yall!! You know I just love those. Jamie was the ULTIMATE grump. Not a lot of friends in his life anymore. The team respected him but he had so many walls up. And then walked in Pippa. The woman who made him feel things again. Who made him want things again. The woman who blew up everything and the one he couldn't stay away from. Throw in that these two *knew* each other back in the day but neither of them acknowledged it for forever- chef's kiss. These two were perfect together. Jamie was a little arrogant for his grumpiness. He was bossy and used to people doing what he told them to. Pippa was a dreamer. The literal definition of sunshine, and she was nursing a broken heart. Watching these two navigate living in the same space and avoiding their growing connection was hilarious and perfect. Both of them were too stubborn and scared to make a move. Jamie had his past that haunted him and taught him that if his walls are up he won't get hurt. And Pippa was going for don't focus on your dreams but be realistic. Jamie with his walls down was EVERYTHING. Him pushing Pippa to go for her dreams was perfect. Him putting himself out there for Pippa was so cute. These two were just great!! Pippa has hit rock bottom. She is now single and has moved in with her sister without a job. And then she finds a job with Jamie Streicher. The man she had a crush on in high school. The one who never really acknowledged her. And now who apparently doesn't remember her...ouch. And yet she NEEDS this. So she puts up with his arrogant attitude. She puts with his handsomeness and the attraction she feels towards him. She even decides to move in with him at his insistence. Which makes this growing attraction worse. She likes to push his buttons though. She likes walking in and seeing him without a shirt on. She likes him. And she can't deny this anymore. Because she is starting to realize that there is a lot to Jamie that the outside world doesn't see. Like he is scared to let people in because of his past. Like he lost his best friend back in the day and can't even really remember why. Like he asks Pippa to sing to him and genuinely wants to hear her. Like he tells her how goos she is and tricks her into performing on a small stage. And now she can't deny it anymore. She is full blown crushing on Jamie. But there is kind of a time limit here right? She can't live with him forever. But she has to go for it. She has never felt this way about anyone before. And she realizes that they can make this work- she just has to get Jamie on board. Jamie is set in his ways. He has walls up but who cares. He is happy with his job and his life. And then he sees Pippa again. Pippa who he had a crush on high school. Pippa who got swept up by someone else before he could make his move. And now she is here asking to work for him. How has this happened? Of course he acts like he doesn't remember her. She didn't remember him either- which stings more than he is willing to admit. Anywho she is here now as his assistant and things feel like they are changing. Jamie doesn't like change but he likes Pippa. She makes him laugh. She makes him challenge her. She makes him WANT. He hasn't wanted in a while. She helps him reconnect with his team. She helps him realize that walls don't necessairly keep you safe. If they are too high you could miss out on a lot. And so he slowly lowers them and lets her in. And she is magical. She is his sun officially. He would do anything for her. He wants her to succeed in all things. He wants to build up her confidence. He wants HER. And what they share together is beyond special. He knows this but he also doesn't want to trap her. He wants her to be able to make her own decisions. So he hopes that she is on board with what he wants because he realizes she has his whole heart and he is ok with that. I loved this world and getting to meet all of the people that we will get to see pair up. I loved this as a story of healing in so many ways. I empathize with Pippa as the people pleaser. She didn't want to rock the boat and go for her pipe dream. But having Jamie in her corner helped her see she had nothing to lose. And Jamie having his grief from the past. Watching him realize that it was better to feel too much than not enough made me smile. Watching him reconnect with Rory (his best friend) was great. Just overall a wonderful story if you want grumpy to sunshine with GREAT spice and found family.

This was a solid 4 stars for me; I enjoy Stephanie Archer’s style and I’m definitely pre-ordering the next book. What I liked: -Stephanie Archer’s books are generally easy, breezy, fun books to read. If you, like me, enjoy turning your brain off for a while and read a book to decompress, this is the author for you. I love the Queen’s Cove series and I was looking forward to this, too. -Pippa and Jamie both likable characters. Actually, all the characters are pretty easy to like and are well developed. -DAISY!! -Jamie’s nickname for Pippa is adorable. All the flashbacks to their high school days are so freaking cute! -The steam was good. I feel like steamy scenes, especially featuring dirty talk, are hard to get right and Stephanie Archer consistently nails it. It doesn’t feel unrealistic or have so-bad-it’s-hilarious dirty talk. What I didn’t like: -Low/no stakes: while I enjoy her style overall, I felt like this book had a problem in that so many things that would have made me more invested in the characters happened off-page. We are told what happens instead of shown. Like, Jamie defends Pippa’s ambitions in front of her parents, but we don’t actually see this happen. Maybe it’s just me, but I get attached to characters by going through their experiences with them; mentioning something central to the characters/their relationship in passing makes the experience….more bland than breezy. -Hotness: yes. We get it. You are both stunningly attractive people. It almost felt like that’s all they were because it was mentioned so many times. He kept referring to her as his “pretty assistant” well after their relationship was established; which I thought was strange. See above about mentioning important event but not being “shown”. We were shown that they are hot ad nauseam. Maybe it’s just me. I didn’t feel like any of her other books had this issue. -I actually agree with Pippa’s parents (but I’m also the type of person who desperately wanted Ferris Bueller to be caught, that jerk): it’s easy to pursue your dreams when you have a hot, rich partner to ensure you don’t starve. The fact that Pippa didn’t even really address it when she should know exactly how the music industry can be makes her seem a little vapid, like she’s a privileged girl who has never really had to struggle for anything in her life. Not my favorite Stephanie Archer book, but it’s still a Stephanie Archer book and I happily devoured it whole. I will also happily pre-order the next one. I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute. I liked it though it took me longer to read than it normally would have. I struggled to really get into it. The writing style was good. The theme was cutesy and Hallmarky. Once things started heating up, it was fairly smooth sailing. The obvious chemistry and connection between the MMC and the FMC was well written. There's a decent amount of pining and angst. Once both characters got over their fears and hesitations, everything worked well. I appreciate the lack of other woman drama (even though there was the opportunity). I liked how both characters ex-partner issues/hangups were handled like adults. The clear communication between the main characters was such a breath of fresh air. No third act breakup, thankfully. Great, fluffy hockey romance if that's what you need.

A cute hockey romance was exactly what I needed right now. It’s well written, sweet, spicy and fun. I am excited for other books in this world.

Ultima lettura del mese questo libro, e non poteva finire meglio di così❤️‍🩹 Ho letto “Behind the net” di Stephanie Archer quasi senza nessuna aspettativa, pensando di trovare il classico hockey romance carino e spumeggiante, e invece ho trovato una storia che mi è rimasta nel cuore come poche, perché Jamie e Pippa fanno questo effetto: sono travolgenti, unici e completamente pazzi❤️‍🩹 Jamie è il nuovo portiere dei Vancouver Storm, dopo anni in giro per il paese con varie squadre torna a casa per prendersi cura della madre, ma ha bisogno di un assistente così la squadra gliene affida una. Pippa è una musicista senza obiettivi e senza la minima idea di cosa fare della propria vita. Finisce così a fare da assistente a un giocatore di hockey estremamente scontroso, con un cane al seguito e senza spazio per altro nella vita se non l’hockey o sua madre. Il libro viene dichiarato come slow burn, ma io mi trovo in disaccordo con questa descrizione: sono estremamente convinta che la loro storia si muova a un ritmo REALE, tutto quello che succede succede nei tempi che mi aspetterei nella vita reale, e questo credo che sia il grandissimo punto di forza del libro. Come si può non innamorarsi di un giocatore di hockey che per tutti gli altri è grumpy al 100% ma quando si tratta di te diventa un cinnamon roll estremamente attento e dolce? Questo è Jamie, e molto di più❤️‍🩹 Ho adorato davvero tutto di questo libro, posso affermare con certezza che finora è stata la lettura migliore dell’anno, e rientra di sicuro tra i preferiti del 2023🥰 La Archer riesce a bilanciare l’humor, lo spicy, l’angst e il romance in maniera magistrale, uno stile di scrittura fenomenale davvero. Ho amato entrambi i personaggi principali e ANCHE quelli secondari, non vedo l’ora di avere il seguito tra le mani (o sul Kindle😅) Consiglio VIVAMENTE la lettura a tutti, perché quello che mi ha lasciato questo libro è inspiegabile a parole, può solo essere provato❤️‍🩹

Such a cute story! Loved this book, easy to read, story is fun, romantic and well written. Fast paced. Loved the couple.

This book is light, fun, spicy, sweet, and absolutely love all the golden retriever caracteres in this book. Love it! Read it!

Pippa I love you for being courageous and following your heart. The way you make Jamie's every problem your own is heartwarming. Jamie you are the sweetest and the best because no one supports and loves her like you do. Theirs was a perfect mix of love and spice as they gave a shot to love despite insecurities, heartbreak and fears. This one is a good read.