High Sticking the Heart is my first Marie Maravilla/ Marie M. book, but I am on the hook for this new hockey series. Her original voice and writing style sucked me right in. I loved how the chapter titles get increasingly unhinged as the book goes on, especially when they start breaking the fourth wall and addressing the reader directly. It feels like your chismosa bestie is personally telling you a really juicy story.

Ariella is a baddie Mexicana who is ready to step out from under the thumb of her loving, but oppressive (at times) male family members and into her own with her new job as a strength and conditioning coach for a pro hockey team. 

Dalton is a 6'4" Texan who’s just as hot in a cowboy hat and boots as he is on hockey skates. He meets Ari the night before she starts her new job, and the chemistry and tension are instant. He’s so down bad for Ari, and his picture might as well be in the dictionary next to “if he wanted to, he would”.(RAW...next question. 😏) 

I absolutely adored this book. It’s funny, sexy, and full of some of my favorite tropes. There’s fake dating, he fall first and HARDER, tons of top tier spicy banter that made me kick my feet in delight. I have already put the audio in my TBR because I need to hear Dalton say all the things. 

Thank you so much to Marie M. and her team for the ARC opportunity!