5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5/5
Format: ebook

Let me start off by saying I DNF’d this book three separate times before I finally got all the way through it. Preston was just way too. much. in the beginning for me and it was really hard to push through. The constant verbal and physical assault against Jeremy kept putting me off. I understood the reasons, but yeah. This book was really, truly enemies-to-lovers. They really hated each other.

Preston was a very complex character. He was definitely a product of his environment, and you come to see that the evil he was spewing was not only word for word what his father taught him but also trauma responses from brutal and long-term abuse. My heart broke for him. I don’t really get triggered by books really but the on-page maltreatment he endured was rough. And his only goal was protecting his underage sister, and eventually Jeremy too, from his father.

I loved Jeremy from his very first page. Even when Preston treated him like trash, he was constantly taking care of him. Like Preston, he reflected his background. His family was kind and loving and accommodating, so naturally Jeremy was the same. Seeing his family “adopt” Preston and make him one of them was so sweet. The quilt scene is probably one of my favorite book scenes of all time, I actually teared up.

Also Brendon and Paul were phenomenal side characters. Usually when you read a romance you kind of want the mains to be alone as much as possible but I literally lit up inside every time they came on scene. They were just great comic relief and I love the eventual friendship they formed with Preston. I also loved how the team banded together for Preston towards the end, even though he never really got along with any of them. One of my favorite things about hockey romances is the team dynamics and found families, and this book was a beautiful example of that.

So, yeah, push through the beginning and you will unravel a really beautiful story. I can’t wait to get to Brendon and Paul’s book.