3 stars ??

I am a huge Toni Aleo fan and I’ve read most of her books. I was looking forward to this one, as we’d met the heroine in a previous book. I mean, a hockey player who reads romance and a romance-only bookstore owner… who wouldn’t want to read about that?

For me personally this was way too much spice with not enough plot and the plot it did have was rushed. It took away from the story and romance for me and made it much less enjoyable than her other works. If you’re looking for a shorter steamy novel, this may be for you, it was just okay for me.

23 s Edna Williams73

I'm a big fan of this author's work but not this one. For me, it was too much sex too soon and not much story. I thought maybe Ciaran's ex was responsible for the accident but it was just random and didn't add anything to the story for me. I found the plot to be lacking, just sex scenes strung together with little elseThis entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review4 s Darcy13.2k 512

I feel I should have d this one better. I really d Lou, d Ciaran , thought they were both good together, yet something was off for me.

I found it hard to believe that Lou didn't see Ciaran at the store for as long as he had been coming in. The store was her baby, she seemed so in tune anytime time someone came in. And it seemed rude that Ciaran would come into the store and never guy anything, only read there. Their relationship definitely went at fast forward, with only 1 little bump that they quickly got over. Even as both shared hard things from their past and Lou's connection to the team, things were speeding ahead for them.

It was nice to see them get the HEA they deserved.2024 e-book romance3 s Cindy (BKind2Books)1,686 37

You are the heroine in my story.

This is the start to a new series that was hinted at in Toni Aleo's last book (Heavy Shot). Here we find Louisa Mc David - the eldest of the McDavid sisters - who has opened a 'romance-only' bookstore on the outskirts of Knoxville. She helped her sisters escape from the brutal and abusive cult that her mother subjected them to. Now she's a badass business owner in the town where her grandfather owns the new minor league hockey club, an affiliate of the Nashville Assassins. So, a hunky guy's been stopping in her store for weeks, reading the romances... Ciaran Carter has been drafted for the Knoxville team and he's reading in the store to get away from his roommate and decompress. Naturally, the sparks between Louisa and Ciaran eventually set off a fire that is almost unstoppable.

This was a great book about learning to trust in each other and overcome the ghosts from their pasts. Louisa has tried to move on from the cult, but it still haunts here. Ciaran has his own issues with trust. Their chemistry is explosive and undeniable. There is a lot of steam - and it is deliciously fun. I am looking forward to more from this spin-off series.

Quotes I d:

I have my TBR. I'm never alone.

...Louisa is a risk that is worth the reward.

Louisa in my jersey is the goal I never knew I wanted to score.2024-genre-challenge 2024-urr-romance-book-bingo depeche-mode-2024-challenge ...more2 s2 comments Bex264

On paper, this book should have been right up my alley.

-Hockey Player MMC
-Romance Bookstore Owner FMC

This book is for the type A millennial girlies. Full of bookish trends, and obviously written out of affection for the subject matter. But I feel it could have used more developmental editing.

The logic doesn’t always flow. Instalove (and the FMC calls it this multiple times) is hard enough to rationally justify in fantasy where magic can be involved, and I don’t see a way to make it work in contemporary romance.

I have zero issues with a book being smutty, but here it was so heavy handed that it felt it came at the expense of plot and characterization. The MCs have their stories, but we didn’t get much on anyone else, or even really on them beyond the traumas that shaped them and the passions they pursued.

For how much certain events impacted the FMC and her family, for the third act fracas to be entirely unrelated, and not only unrelated, but completely random, felt strange and shoehorned in.

And on an end note, there are real logistical and long term questions the MCs need to figure out and actually asked early on, but they’re entirely forgotten in the epilogue and no hints to how they were or would be resolved.

There were things I d about this book, and some one liners I thought were great, but I’m kind of bummed because this book has the bones to be really good, and I wish it was more.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2 s Julie Booklover1,411 70

Learning to Trust

A series starter that was introduced or teased in the author’s last book, Heavy Shot. Louisa McDavid is the oldest McDavid sister, she helped her sisters escape a terrible cult situation.

Louisa has become a successful business owner of her Romance Only bookstore. She is not looking for a relationship, but a man who can perform as well as her “book boyfriends”. Ciaran is a hockey player and has been just drafted to the local team. He also loves to read romance. Can he change the way Louisa feels about men? They hit it off, but both must work through issues and learn to trust.

Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.
2024 arc march1 Tpagirl Loves Romance1,671 172

Pucks and Books was the first book in the Knoxville Bears series by Toni Aleo. It was a spin off from her Nashville Assasins series but can be read as a standalone series.

I enjoyed both characters, Louisa and Ciaran. Louisa escaped from a cult with her sisters and moved to her grandfather’s town to start over. She owned a local romance bookstore. Ciaran was playing hockey for the new AHL team with dreams of making it to the big league. He loved books and reading was his relaxation and hobby outside of hockey. Sparks clicked from the beginning and the story was off and running. All in all, it was a quick and lighthearted read.200-299-pages genre-erotic-ie-descriptive-sex genre-sports1 Mary McFarlane645 6

This was very cute. Very different from her other series and I’m excited to see what type of story the second book will be. I wish we could have gotten a later chapter with his mom in person but it is what it is. 1 Missey L.1,403 3

I really enjoyed the first book in this new series! Looking forward to the next book!!1 Kelly1,486 43

This was my first book by this author
I only picked it up because I saw the dedication on the Internet and was , yes, please.

It is a hard review because I loved the characters and setting. I d the back stories and how they were explored in the present and impacted the relationship.

However, I wasn't feeling the instalove. The insta luat was perfect. I felt that in my reader's soul, but the immediate ohmigod you are the love of my life meant that there wasn't really a plot. The remainder of the book was just Louisa and Ciaran being perfect and saying highlightable quotes to one another.

I would definitely pick up another by the author, though, because I did enjoy the writing. It was Steamy, easy to read and funny at times. The emotional elements were there, and the character's histories were well-thought out.

I think this one just lacked the angst I usually , or at least was too perfect too early on.audience-adult author-female fiction ...more1 Chrissy Small20

Let me preface to by saying I have loved EVERYTHING that Ms. Aleo has released and read them all..sometimes more than once, but for me this one just missed the mark. I loved Louisa’s backstory and her relationship with her sisters. I loved her take no guff attitude towards her shop and what she s. Now, Ciaran, not a fan. I just couldn’t connect with him and his story. The intensity between the two characters just felt contrived and forced. Again, this is the first book I wasn’t a huge fan of. I’m sure it’s just a one off and very much look forward to the rest of the series. I would still highly recommend you read if you slightly nerdy characters and a whole lot of dirty.1 Lynn Lim479 3

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Toni Aleo!!!
When I first read Heavy Shot, book 7 in Ms. Aleo’s Nashville Assassins: Next Generation series, I absolutely wanted Austen’s sisters to have their own HEA especially after what they had all gone through. Sorry Ladies, you will need to read Heavy Shot, or now Pucks and Books, book 1 in Ms. Aleo’s new Knoxville Bears series to find out what happened. I was ecstatic when I found out weeks ago that my wish was coming true and could not wait for it/them to hit my Kindle (happy dance).
When it did arrive, I could not read it fast enough! Unfortunately, I read too fast to explain the magnitude of my love of this book, so, I read it again!! Yep, I read it twice. So, my review…
OH MY GOSH, the strength of Louisa McDavid…AMAZING!!! The absolute love for her sisters… I cannot explain without giving anything away. Let me explain this, Louisa and her sisters were born into a cult, (I sooooo want to get my hands on Louisa’s so-called mother…). I will put this as nicely as I can, it was a cult of he11 for any child born into it. Louisa did anything and everything she could to get her sisters and herself out to safety with their Peepaw (grandfather). Louisa has since opened a “romance only” bookstore, Dirty Pages, proving the cult did not destroy her need for true romance.
Ciaran Carter is an avid reader, his earlies memories are of his grandma reading to him. Then he found his mom’s Harlequin books, and let me put it this way, when he reached his teenage years, there was no need for “those” magazines … When Ciaran moved to Knoxville, he found a place he could feed his addiction for those “5mutty” books, a store called Dirty Pages, and visits often. Sitting in his favorite chair in the store, reading of course, he overhears the owner and her sister talking about Persephone, Hades, her love of pomegranates and how men are selfish when is comes to satisfying a woman… Eliza, Louisa’s sister, tells her that not all men are that way and reminds her of her sister Austen’s fiancé Dimitri, a hockey player for the Nashville Assassins and not a d… Eliza also reminds her hockey players are coming to Knoxville… Did I mention that Ciaran is one of those players for the new Knoxville Bears hockey team Dan Davenport brought to town. Oops, I also forgot to mention, Dan Davenport is Louisa’s Peepaw… And he also loves pomegranates…
I loved their first encounter with the pomegranate muffins, each thinking of the others’ love of pomegranates. The beginning of their love story. There are so many things I really enjoyed about this book, but I do not want to give anything away.
This book brought on so many emotions for me: laughter, anger, worry. There was one part where I was almost crying with Ciaran’s reactions when the accident happened. Again, sorry Ladies, I will not give anything away.
I was gifted, via Franci with a copy of this MOST WONDERFUL book because of my love of romance aka “smut” books and for my thoughts and opinions of the book. Thank you, Franci O for all you do.
Thank you, Ms. Aleo. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your phenomenal writing talents with your readers. I cannot tell you the hours and hours of reading and listening pleasure your writing has blessed me with.
Okay, reader, you have read my review due to your interest in this book. For what are you waiting? Go hit that purchase button and get reading. I know, if you love a great romance book as much as I do, you will love this book as well. Happy reading!!! Danielle Cordsen639 11

Pucks and Books (Knoxville Bears Book 1)
By: Toni Aleo


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