Hockey 101 is an absolutely delightful college hockey romance. With earnest, likable characters, steamy moments, and a found family of teammates, Melanie Ting’s latest romance checks all the boxes for a charming, low angst read.
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Talk about an awkward first encounter: Andy and Jack meet when Jack is running down the dorm hallway to escape a hookup’s irate boyfriend. Oh, and did I mention that he’s naked? As the RA on the floor, Andy helps out the hot hockey player, but she truly doesn’t know what to make of him. Jack is immediately smitten though. When journalism student Andy’s ex boyfriend moves her from opinions editor to sport editor at the school newspaper simply because she won’t get back together with him, she’s irate. She takes a chance when Jack offers to teach her all about hockey and the two start spending more time together. Will Jack be able to convince her he’s worth the risk too?
Andy and Jack are delightful characters. Jack is the ideal golden retriever “he falls first” MMC. He takes Andy and her journalistic goals seriously, and works hard to correct her assumptions about hockey players. And, in a switch from most of the college-set romances I’ve read, both Jack and Andy feel age-appropriate, and not like 30 year olds masquerading as students.
This romance isn’t high drama, but it satisfied my need for a lovely low angst story. Jack’s relationship with his teammates, along with Andy’s supportive friends, are wonderful secondary characters too. Selfishly I’m hoping some of them get to find their own HEAs in future books!
If you are a college hockey romance fan, don’t miss Hockey 101. Not only does it feature delightful characters and a golden retriever MMC, but it has the perfect amount of hockey knowledge without information overload. I’m so excited for Melanie Ting’s new Kobo original series, and I can’t wait to read the next installment.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.