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 The Overtime Kiss

Love and Hockey #5
Lauren Blakely
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible
June 18, 2025

Just what every bride dreams of—running straight from her cheating fiancé into the arms of a hot hockey star… and then getting hired as his kids’ nanny.

Tyler Falcon is protective, flirtatious…and frustratingly responsible. We almost did something reckless when he found me alone in my wedding dress, and I blurted out all the things I’d never truly experienced.

Now, the sexy single dad is saving me again with a job I desperately need—and a promise to never mention The Night of 1001 Confessions.

I live in his house. Take care of his kids. Pretend I don’t notice his heated gaze lingering on me after they fall asleep.

Until one night, the tension snaps.

Now we have a deal. Five lessons in seduction. No strings attached.

But he’s not just good in bed. He spoils me with thoughtful gifts and supports my dreams. For the first time, I feel like I belong.
 
Except…this was never meant to last. I’m his employee. He has kids to protect. And neither of us can afford to make a mistake.

The more nights we spend tangled up together though, the harder it is to pretend it’s just physical. Because I’m not only falling for my boss—I’m falling for the man whose kids have stolen my heart.

Tropes: single dad/nanny, runaway bride, forced proximity, spicy lessons, she's his daughter's skating coach, confession of all secrets, love notes, found family


Additional character Art created for author by Qbamer Designs


Hot hockey dad and a figure skater! 

Sabrina Snow just blew up her wedding and took off. And she finds herself in a cozy bar with Tyler Falcon. He's a hockey player and the single dad of one of her skating students. Tyler has had a big crush on her for a while, but she had always been taken. But now, some alcohol, a failed wedding, and some secrets shared change things.  

Sabrina is taking back her life and wants to know what it's like to be really wanted and satisfied. She has been controlled for too long, and her experience has been limited. She is ready to be bold and ask for what she needs. And she thinks Tyler is the man to get the job done. He is easygoing, supportive, understanding, and knows how to take care of things. 

But the night ends differently, and romance and fantasies are squelched. They decide that forgetting is best and go on with their daily lives and jobs. She is just his daughter's skating coach and nothing more. 

And then a new opportunity arises and puts them in even closer proximity. Living in his guest house, watching his kids, and trying to avoid temptation. 

There’s just something about the devoted and caring, single dad who also happens to be a big, tall, burly, hot, and sexy hockey player who just makes the perfect hero. He’s so thoughtful, empathetic, and devoted, and he’s just trying to do the right thing for everyone, even if that means he doesn’t get what he really wants.

But unfortunately, for him, the more time he spends with her, the more it becomes more than just attraction and lust, but becomes more about feelings too. But he doesn’t want to hurt her or their working relationship, his kids, or his hockey career by having distractions. He’s always putting everybody else’s needs first.

And she’s in the same boat where she wants him and could see how wonderful he is, but at the same time doesn’t want to hurt her new job or the relationship with his daughter since she’s her skating coach. She’s also really trying hard to make a new life for herself, stand on her own two feet, and build her business. So no matter how much they like each other, they’re trying to resist, but they can only do that for so long before something is going to give.

The flirting game and sexual tension are strong in this one. Their chemistry is undeniable, and they just  really like being in each other‘s company. When they’re not worrying about will we or won’t we?, their rapport is easy and they banter fabulously. But he’s also very attuned to her and tries to give her things that he knows she didn’t get from her own upbringing. He’s wonderful with sweet words and thoughtful gifts, and just trying to include her in a family environment. But having someone care about her and do nice things for her, and also finding such a supportive group of girlfriends is all new to Sabrina. She grew up as an only child under immense pressure and expectations. 

I enjoyed the figure skater/hockey player combo, and then you’ve got the nanny/boss and the found family. The sneaking around and forbidden element was just enough, and all those confusing feelings while trying to either resist or put a physical relationship into a set of rules that are hard not to break. There’s enough conflict and anxiety with the characters in the situation, and sometimes their intrusive thoughts and doubts affect their communication.

It’s sweet, hot, witty, flirty, and heartwarming, but it also has some underlying deeper trauma and fears that had to be dealt with.  It totally sucked me in. I loved seeing the trust, care, and support growing between the characters. Tyler is the ultimate book boyfriend. He takes care of everyone around him, and he’s thoughtful, caring, generous, and kind, but is also flirty, dirty, and charismatic. Sabrina has never felt unconditional support until she finds him, his kids, and her new group of friends. But I liked that despite that, she was still friendly, caring, and capable, even when she didn’t always feel like she was good enough. 

This story made my heart happy and sad at alternate times with just enough tension and angst. And it also brought the spice. There’s a big sense of camaraderie between all of the girlfriends, the guy gang, and the team. 
I loved the cameos from other couples, and I am looking forward to more in this series and with these characters.

Sabrina left her groom at the altar after learning he was cheating on her. At a nearby bar later that night, she propositions a hot hockey player who turns her down gently. Who would have imagined that a short time later, he would be her boss and she would be nannying for his 2 kids.

Tyler is shocked to be propositioned by Sabrina on the night of her wedding. He is attracted to her, and watches her when she’s teaching his daughter to skate, but he can’t take advantage of her emotional state. He is a single dad, balancing his hockey career with primary custody of his two kids. When he needs a new nanny, he leaves it to his mom to find the perfect person for the job, never imagining she would hire Sabrina.

These two had chemistry, even before that night at the bar, but the timing was wrong. They are both harboring secret crushes and the tension this creates is *chef’s kiss*. Tyler has always kept his attraction a secret because Sabrina was in a relationship. The night of 1000 confessions, as they dubbed that first night, has Tyler considering all the things Sabrina wants and all the ways he wants to be the one to give them to her. But when she becomes his nanny, the timing is wrong once again.

The supporting cast in this one is full of hilarity. Tyler’s kids are fantastic. Navigating a co-parenting situation and having been attached to their previous nanny, the kids go through a natural adjustment phase, testing Sabrina’s patience and creativity in order to connect with her new charges. I also loved the driver who picks Sabrina up from her wedding (and several other quick getaways throughout). And as usual, Blakely includes animals and animal fostering to give some extra emotional moments.

This was a seriously fun forced proximity, single dad/nanny story. From the very beginning I was hooked on this couple, these kids, and the journey they were on together. I always love Lauren’s hockey romances and this one added a figure skating aspect that had me feeling Cutting Edge vibes (if they had done much skating together) and feeling all the feels! 


Tyler
“Are you a troublemaker, Tyler?”
“Maybe I was. Back in the day,” I say.
Her lips shift in amusement. “Think you’ve still got it in you?”
“Those are fighting words.” I drum my fingers on the counter. “How about trouble in the form of a spicy margarita? Can you handle the heat?”
Her smile falters for just a second, as if I’d asked about more than a drink. “I don’t even know.”
Her blue eyes flicker with something deeper—with uncertainty, maybe, or a vulnerability she’s trying to hide. Or possibly…interest. Since for a moment her gaze lingers on me, roams over me, like she’s trying to figure something out.
Like what she wants me to do to her tonight?
What the f*&k?
That is not a thought I should be entertaining. Too bad my lust-struck mind is already running away with the image, imagining what could have been if she wasn’t wearing that damn ring. Not today, brain. Stand down.
“Let’s find out,” I say, as I resume the role of runaway-bride wingman. I change her order, and when the bartender returns with the margarita, we toast again, her with her cocktail, me with my lager, which—as Ike promised—is incredibly good.
“To the opposite of today.”
“The opposite,” she echoes, her gaze…curious. But I don’t want to read into it even though I want to read everything into it.


The Boyfriend Goal

(Love and Hockey book 1)
Goodreads
Amazon
Our 5 star reviews


A forbidden romance with my brother’s hockey teammate wasn’t on my to-do list when I moved across the country…

Neither is spending my first evening in a new city with the sexy stranger who rescues me when I’m locked out of a friend’s place wearing next to nothing.

But I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone so getting out of the rest of my clothes with him seems like a good way to start.

In the morning, I learn the filthy-mouthed man with the talented hands is not only the hotshot new hockey player on my brother’s team.

He’s also – wait for it – my brand new roommate.

Thanks, fate.

But the last thing I need is a complicated fling so we agree to a friends-only rule.

It’s not easy though. Wes is bossy, flirty and generous.

He gives me rides to work.

Pitches in at my library’s fundraiser.

Takes care of me when I get hurt.

I don’t know how long I can stick to our rules, especially the night Wes comes to my door and tells me exactly how he’d like to break them.

Every single one.

The Romance Line
(Love and Hockey #2)
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible
Our 5 to 5.5 star reviews

The first rule of handling PR for a hockey team? Never hook up with a player.

That shouldn’t be a problem since the last man on earth I want to give an image makeover to is our goalie. He’s infuriatingly hot, famously grumpy and lives to spar with me after every game. 

But shining up his rough edges is my path to landing the promotion I desperately need, so I grit my teeth and do my job. No matter how hard he makes it (especially with that sexy smirk and cool blue eyes.) As we travel from pose-with-a-pet photo opps to cuddle-a-kitten fundraisers, we bicker like it’s foreplay. 

Turns out it is. 

Because as I get to know the man behind the broody iceman exterior, it’s me that melts – right into his arms as he devastates me with a kiss that turns into the hottest, most forbidden night of my life.

Only once turns into every night as Max shows me how much he wants to take care of me. His possessive touch makes me feel adored for the first time in my life.

But the man is entirely off limits and I can’t risk my job for more of those soul-deep kisses.

Because the only thing worse than hooking up with a player is falling head over heels for him.


The Proposal Play
(Love and Hockey book 3)
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible 
Our reviews

My plan when I win a date in Vegas with my brother’s hockey star best friend? Poker and go to sleep early. Instead, I wake up with a ring on my finger and the sexy athlete naked in my bed.

But Asher’s my best friend too so we’ll get this annulled and laugh about this secret for years to come.
Trouble is our wedding pics went viral overnight.

Now everyone thinks we’re a real couple. We race back home, where I’ve just landed the big art commission of my dreams and he’s launching a sports charity so we need to look like we meant to tie the knot.

Easy enough. We’ll claim we’ve been secretly in love, while staying in separate rooms for the rest of the hockey season.

The last thing either one of us wants is to ruin a decade-long friendship by falling into bed again.
Trouble is, I experience a new side of my husband at home. He cooks for me, encourages me…and buys me so many toys.

And, it’s more fun to share your toys with a friend.

We’re just enjoying temporary marital benefits.

Except, the more times he calls me his wife, the more I start to wonder if Asher was ever pretending?

And if my heart is ready to take the biggest risk of all.



 The Girlfriend Zone
(Love and Hockey #4)
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible
Our 5 star reviews 

In my defense, I had no idea the tattooed, glasses-wearing, soulful hottie I spent one perfect day—and one unforgettable night—with was a hockey star on my father’s team.

And Miles didn’t know I was the coach’s daughter.

That’s the point of a “no-work-talk” date.

But now? He's as forbidden to me as I am to him.

When I land a new gig as the team photographer, we vow to keep it professional. We mostly succeed…except for that time after a game when he couldn’t keep his talented hands off me. And, okay, maybe that other time before a road trip. But I swear, it won’t happen again.

Too much is at stake—I can’t risk my heart or my father’s team.

But when I’m asked to dog-sit Miles’s pack of rescue pups for a few weeks, I discover there’s more to him than I ever imagined—a man who’s genuine, thoughtful, and irresistibly real.

He looks at me like he can’t believe his luck. Touches me like he never wants to let go. And listens to my hopes and fears.

My heart’s getting dangerously attached. But if I follow it… am I putting everyone’s dreams on the line?
The Flirting Game
Love and Hockey #6
Goodreads
Amazon 
April 30, 2026

A neighbors-to-lovers, fake dating, hockey romance!

 
Lauren Blakely
Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | Goodreads | Bookbub | Amazon | Newsletter | TikTok

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party. 



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Breaking The Ice
Portland Evergreens #4
Amazon
Release Date June 18, 2025


Tropes: age gap, bi-awakening, pining, widower finding love, slow burn to burning, coach x assistant coach

Coach Gavin Blackburn has been through hell.

Three years ago, he was on top of the world, courted by the best teams in the NHL to coach their players.

His wife’s unexpected death destroyed him, and sent him running from hockey. He thought he’d left the sport behind forever, but when his ex-player shows up at his remote cabin, begging him to return to Portland University to coach the Evergreens again, he agrees.

The last thing Gavin expected was their mentor-student relationship to turn into something entirely different now that Zach is grown up. He certainly never expected to feel attraction again, or to feel it for a man. For Zach.

Or for Zach to want him back, with a passion Gavin couldn’t deny even if he wanted to.

He’s old, washed up, destroyed by old grief, and doesn’t believe he could be good for anyone, but maybe it’s own assumptions that need to be broken and re-made.

Maybe it’s Zach who needs to be the one who break him down and make him into something new. Give him something a wild, unexpected and unprecedented love affair.



These two in my favorite of the series so far. Zach is the assistant coach for the Portland U Evergreens hockey team, and he was determined to bring his old coach out of retirement, self-isolation, and back to being a head coach. And he managed what people thought was impossible.

The fact that he had a pesky little crush on Gavin when he was 18 and used to be on his team shouldn’t really matter. Except it does. Because now that Zach and Gavin are spending so much time together and the age difference is not a big deal, and they’re both single. It’s a lot of temptation. Gavin is a widower still dealing with issues related to his wife’s death, and he feels like he’s never going to be in a relationship. And even though Gavin is really tempted, he’s scared to go after it, so there are a lot of hot and cold moments between him and Zach. 

Gavin is very damaged, confused, guilt-ridden, and scared of the whole situation. Zach is mature as well, and he really tries to be patient, but he’s also not going to be toyed with, and he has to take care of his own mental health. But I really liked these guys and thought they made a great team both with coaching and in their personal lives. 

This is a beautiful, inspiring, slow-burn-gets-hot, age-gap, second-chance, forced-proximity love story about learning to live again and an unrequited crush finally coming to fruition. And about healing, hope, and finding joy and your place in the world, and finding that person who will be by your side in hard times and in good times.  It also focuses on hockey and building a team, and rebuilding a career. 

Zach was just such a patient and good guy who had such true feelings and admiration for Gavin. His pining and pain are real. And Zach was the only person I think that Gavin would’ve ever felt safe enough with to begin to push himself, allow himself to feel again, or to even come back out of his isolation into the real world. 
But when it looks like it’s all or nothing, he has to make a decision whether he’s in or out for good. They are trying to find the place that they’re meant to be, and they’re trying together to bring the team where they all want to be.

This also has the story of Morgan and Hayes floating around in the background, and I can’t wait for their book next. Talk about pining. Hayes has been pining longer than Zach was, but I did like Hayes and Zach's true friendship and how they could commiserate over their love, lives, or lack of. 




  
Portland Evergreens Series on Amazon
Melting the Ice
Portland Evergreens #1
Amazon and KU Goodreads
Tropes: double bi-awakening, friends/roommates-to-lovers, hockey player & football player

Brody’s got enough on his plate.

Recovering from a knee injury he hopes won’t keep him off the ice. His team, the Portland University Evergreens, have a brand new coach, and he’s hoping to impress the legendary leader. Plus, he's got to make a decision once and for all about playing professional hockey or using his love of science to go a totally different direction.

The last thing he needs is a sexual awakening at the large, calloused hands of his football player roommate.

Dean is big and brawny and taciturn, but he doesn’t need words to woo Brody. He wants Dean, and his brilliant "experiment" to test his attraction gives Brody all the scientific results he needs to know he's not straight.

Now, they're proving his theory with new pleasures every night, while pretending during the day that they’re just roommates.

Except the heat burns so hot between them, it doesn’t just melt all the ice on Brody’s rink, it melts all his beliefs about who he is and what he wants.

But even more, it destroys the lie that he can’t fall hard for a guy. Because Brody is falling hard. The only question is will Dean catch him?
Cold as Ice
Portland Evergreens #2
Read it on Amazon & Kindle Unlimited


Tropes: frenemies to lovers, opposites attract, player x player, virgin MC, tutoring, and sexy tutoring.

Malcolm’s all about checking off items in his Life Plan.

He’s made it to the first line on his hockey team, the Portland Evergreens. He’s made the Dean’s List the last four semesters. He’s right in line to graduate on time, and head to the pros. All steps on the ultimate goal of becoming the best front office guy in the NHL.

Elliott is the only fly in his ointment.

The younger, wilder forward parties every night, sleeping with everything with a pulse, and barely attending classes or practices.

It’s annoying, but Mal’s dealing with it, until their new coach insists Mal tutor Elliott to help him pass a class.

And until Elliott discovers Mal’s biggest secret: he’s been too busy checking off points on his life plan to get laid.

They’re fire and ice. Bad boy and virgin. They shouldn’t work at all. But the more time they spend together, on and off the ice, the more irresistible their chemistry becomes.

The more desperate Mal becomes for some of Elliott’s one-on-one tutoring—this time in bed.

But Elliott wants more than just sex. He wants to melt Mal’s icy cold shoulder and convince him there’s more to life—and love—than a plan.
On Thin Ice
Portland Evergreens #3
Amazon
Kim's 4 star  review

Tropes: father’s rival, age gap, forbidden romance, pining, goalie x ex-goalie


Finn has lived with the pressure of hockey’s expectations since he was old enough to understand his father was one of the greatest the sport had ever known.

He’s changed positions. Changed plans. Changed colleges. But he’s never managed to outrun the pressure.

When it starts ruining his performance on the ice, he knows he needs to find a way to conquer it once and for all.

Desperation sends him running to the one man he thinks can help him. Jacob Braun, a goalie who played against his father.

It doesn’t matter that they hated each other, Finn will use him—use everything—to figure out how to beat this mental block. Even seduce his father’s greatest enemy.

What Finn wasn’t expecting was that they don’t just burn hot in bed, but on the ice, too. And that, ultimately, it isn’t Jacob’s brain he wants to pick apart, it’s his heart he wants to own.
Beth Bolden Website | Facebook | Instagram |
A lifelong Oregonian, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband and their sweet kitten, Earl Grey. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty novels and six short stories.





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THE MARRIAGE POLICY
Riley Hart
Releasing June 11, 2025 
Amazon

🔥marriage of convenience 

🔥husbands with benefits 

🔥best friends to lovers 

🔥bi-awakening 

🔥clueless mc 

🔥mm romance

🔥low angst 


Donovan


What’s a little marriage of convenience between best friends?


I’ve always worked hard to keep the friendship line firmly in place when it comes to Eric. I’m gay, and he’s straight. We’re best friends and nothing more. But he’s my person, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. Which is why when I find out he’s struggling financially and doesn’t have medical insurance, I blurt out six friendship-altering words: I want you to marry me.


Eric

Donovan’s my best friend, the most important person in my life… And he wants to marry me.


Okay, so maybe I haven’t made the best decisions lately. I took a job with no health insurance and no guaranteed money, which was working out fine, if not for the whole getting-injured-and-fired thing. But Donovan has come up with a solution. Marriage. Living together. There’s a small chance we’re a tad codependent, but I always want to be with him, so signing a marriage license shouldn’t really change much. Until the kissing starts…and the touching…and the exploring… And all I know is, I want more. So much more from my husband.


Playing pretend with Donovan is the realest thing I’ve ever felt, and though divorce was the ultimate plan, I’m not sure I want this to end.


Content Warning: MC without medical insurance, discussion on the risks of not having medical insurance, discussion about losing a parent to cancer (in the past).


Donovan Carter is part of the Jilted Exes Club, which consists of three men who were cheated on by the same man, but have now become friends. Donovan is an overthinker with self-worth issues, and is not planning on getting into another relationship again. 

Eric Markham has been Donovan's best friend since they were kids. He is the sweetest golden retriever, full of sunshine and energy. He is easygoing and a bit impulsive. When he finds himself in a medical situation without insurance, Donovan steps in to convince him to marry him for benefits and move in. 

Now they are in close quarters, living a sweet and hot couple life while also living in oblivion to what is really happening. They are affectionate, loving, caring, protective, and pretty clueless, but also pretty adorable. Donovan has always tried to make sure he never made his straight best friend uncomfortable so he never allowed having more with him in the realm of possibilities. But Eric still has the ability to surprise him.

This is a super sweet, passionate, childhood-best-friends-to-lovers, marriage-of-convenience, bi-awakening story about true friendship, trust,  and unconditional love. They were already such affectionate and obsessed friends that the slide into more surprises them, and they are not quite sure what it all means. 

I enjoyed more with Hayes and Rylen, Anthony, and Mads from the first book, and I am looking forward to Anthony's story next. 



Riley Hart
Website | Facebook | Facebook Reader Group | Twitter | News | TikTok | Pinterest

Riley Hart's love of all things romance shines brightly in everything she writes. Her primary focus is Male/Male romance but under various pen names, her prose has touched practically every part of the spectrum of love and relationships. The common theme that ties them all together is stories told from the heart.

A hopeless romantic herself, Riley is a lover of character-driven plots, many with flawed and relatable characters. She strives to create stories that readers can not only fall in love with, but also see themselves in. Real characters and real love blended together equal the ultimate Riley Hart experience.
When Riley isn't creating her next story, you can find her reading, traveling, or dreaming about reading or traveling, spending time with her two snarky kids, and swoony husband.

Riley Hart is represented by Jane Dystel at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Literary Management. She's a 2019 Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Of Sunlight and Stardust.


 





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