He'll give her what she needs . . .

Addison Williams isn't looking for romance, but when she encounters an eavesdropping stranger on an adjoining hotel balcony, she figures she's due a little fun. She just hadn't reckoned on the "fun" escalating so quickly to "out of control." One minute she's flirting with a whiskey-graveled voice in the dark, the next that same voice is telling her to do things. Hot, wicked things.

Cup-winning hockey player Ford "Killer" Callaghan can't believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He'll track her down because once could never be enough--even if discovering her identity places her strictly out of bounds.

Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?

I don't read much romance, but I go into these periods where I want romance.  I admire romance writers because they seem to work the hardest.  I picked up the prequel to this series when a friend said it was free.  I read it and enjoyed it, so brought the first book.  Nine months or so later is when I get around to reading it.

 

The premise of the books is that three half sisters (including one long lost, just discovered sister) have inherited a hockey team from their dearly departed dad, who was really a smuck to at least two of them.  This, the first volume, is about the eldest sister, Harper, who while not a  hockey player dreams and desires to be a hockey manager of some type.  Part of the conditions on the will is that the three sisters who inherit the team must get the team to the playoffs in the first year or it will be sold.

 

Honesty, I picked this up because I liked Harper in the prequel.  She is somewhat more insecure here, which is okay because we tend to be more insecure in our hands than we let show.  Her true love is Remy, an older hockey player who really wants to win the Cup before he retires and plows seeds into a woman because he really wants that family.  Sadly, he finds himself traded to the last place Chicago Rebels, and that is not in his plans.  He doesn't care that the owner and acting GM is a woman, he just wants to be on a winning team.

 

The sex scenes are hot, even if the initial romance feels more like lust than anything else.  There is not real example of instant chemistry (though we are told that both feel it), but when they actually talk, the relationship works better.

 

For me the problem is the ending.  I know this is the first in a series, so the whole bit about the championship would be unresolved.  It's just the ending feels very, very rushed.  I get that's romance, but some of the decisions seem a bit slightly out of character - i.e. Harper giving up the amount of control that she does, there is no discussion of children, while his mother likes Harper she doesn't respond to Harper as a would be wife to her son and this is totally dropped.

 

It's not a bad book, but the ending was off.

― Kate Meader, So Over You

(The Chicago Rebels series, volume 2)

Hmmm, let me be crisp on this review. There was really nothing to do about this book. It was well-written, the characters were all just enough, the book was just enough, I didn't get Remy for about 30% but once I did he was sweet, and the book could've easily wrapped at 63%. Seriously, at 63% we know that Remy wants to retire after the season, settle down and be a stay at home dad. Harper has ambitions and wants to continue to build the Chicago rebel hockey team. Maybe to prove she can, maybe cause she's in love with it. She needs a man to support that or no man at all. I feel like I needed to smack both their foreheads at this point and say "time to discuss the future you idiots." It's a case of a slightly over mediocre book, which I read at a slightly bad time. (See: whole post on book grouchy)

I have to be honest, I had some stuff going on today, was quite busy and when I sat down to read I had no earthly clue what CR I was reading initially. I actually thought I might be between books. It was about a second before the book opened I remembered. I just think that's probably not the best sign...

Oh, but maybe I'll review it. It was a boss-employee relationship but the woman is the boss, and the man is the pursuer, generally. Nothing about this tickled my fancy including the sweaty locker room scene with, in all likelihood, pads still on. Light references to puck bunnies.

I have a crush on the actual interesting character, Bren, in this book. I also find her sisters interesting.

 

 

About the book:

 

SO OVER YOU

Chicago Rebels series, Book 2

Kate Meader

 

Pocket Star EBooks

December 4, 2017

$5.99

ISBN 9781501168567

 

“Meader serves up a delicious mix of sports, sexy romance, and complicated, captivating characters with her second Chicago Rebels hockey contemporary (after Irresistible You)…Meader’s erotic scenes could melt ice, and her complex protagonists will keep readers eagerly turning pages.”

—Publishers Weekly (So Over You)

 

“Things heat up on the ice in Meaer’s latest installment of the Chicago Revels series (Irresistible You, 2017)…Isobel and Vadim’s chemistry is off the charts, and Meader’s engaging details of hockey and Chicago pull you further into their world. Even nonhockey fans will be rooting for the Rebels by the last page.”

—Booklist (So Over You)

 

“Hockey is a sport that moves a mile a minute, and it’s even more thrilling when the action off the ice has even more speed. In the second Chicago Rebels book, external conflicts make the path to a happy ending difficult for the couple, but that makes it even more satisfying in the end. Meader’s thought-provoking tale has well-rounded characters who touch each other’s lives — sometimes not too gently.”

—RT Book Reviews (So Over You)

 

“Meader’s strength is creating characters who live, breathe, and jump off the page; Remy and Harper shine, and the supporting cast of characters, including Harper’s half-sisters, is very strong. The mix of sexual tension and emotional decisions will lead Meader’s series launch to many a keeper shelf.” 

—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW (Irresistible You, Book 1)

 

“Meader takes her readers on a breathtaking, non-stop, glorious ride. The sex scenes are lyrically written with fresh, descriptive prose. Enough is included about hockey to add its fast rhythm to the book. Remy’s family is multi-faceted and fills the pages with joy. Readers will love the relationship between Remy and Harper, and will be excited for the next story — Isobel’s.”

—RT Book Reviews Four and  a Half Star TOP PICK (Irresistible You, Book 1)

 

About the book:

 

Three estranged sisters struggle to sustain their late father’s failing hockey franchise in Kate Meader’s SO OVER YOU, Book 2 in the new sizzling Chicago Rebels series. Middle sister Isobel is at a crossroads in her personal and professional lives. But both are about to get a significant boost with the addition of a domineering Russian powerhouse to the Rebels...

 

Isobel Chase knows hockey. She played NCAA, won silver at the Games, and made it thirty-seven minutes into the new National Women’s Hockey League before an injury sidelined her dreams. Those who can’t, coach, and a position as a skating consultant to her late father’s hockey franchise, the Chicago Rebels, seems like a perfect fit. Until she’s assigned her first job: the man who skated into her heart as a teen and relieved her of her pesky virginity. These days, left-winger Vadim Petrov is known as the Czar of Pleasure, a magnet for puck bunnies and the tabloids alike. But back then...let’s just say his inability to sink the puck left Isobel frustratingly scoreless.

Vadim has a first name that means “ruler,” and it doesn’t stop at his birth certificate. He dominates on the ice, the practice rink, and in the backseat of a limo. But a knee injury has produced a bad year, and bad years in the NHL don’t go unrewarded. His penance? To be traded to a troubled team where his personal coach is Isobel Chase, the woman who drove him wild years ago when they were hormonal teens. But apparently the feeling was not entirely mutual.

That Vadim might have failed to give Isobel the pleasure that was her right is intolerable, and he plans to make it up to her—one bone-melting orgasm at a time. After all, no player can perfect his game without a helluva lot of practice...

 

 

 

 

“This little job is the difference between you playing and not. Dancing with the Stars, Vaddy baby. It’s where all the washed-up pros end up.”

 

Annoyed at his reaction to her, he skated away, throwing out over his shoulder, “I will be playing, Isobel. You will have no say in that. I spoke with Moretti—it is clear why you have this job.”

 

Her brow crimped. Naturally, it was adorable. “Please. Enlighten me.”

 

“He is new and no doubt under pressure to bow to the owners. You can write your own ticket.”

 

“If that’s the case, I’d just appoint myself as head coach and be done with it.”

 

“You are also conscious of what the fans and media think, so you are starting small. Really, you could have called or texted, Isobel. Buying my contract seems like a lot of work to bring me back into your world.”

 

“You weren’t my first choice. But luckily your poor play this season meant Quebec was happy to offload you.”

 

He ignored the brief stab. The last six months had been difficult. Isobel understood this, yet they could not resist these little cuts.

 

“I think you wanted to be closer to me. Just like before, right, Bella?”

 

A blush crept up her cheeks on hearing his endearment for her.

 

He would test her. Make her angry and emotional. Make her cry. Because angry, emotional criers were not the stuff of coaches. If she was serious about a career in the NHL, she would hear worse.

 

She would get him game fit. He would get her battle ready.

 

He continued to needle. “Yes, I think that must be it. It seems that the female owners of the Rebels would like to abuse their position and use the players for their personal pleasure. Your sister and Remy DuPre—that is interesting.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“Harper may have duped a Rebel player into her bed, but please don’t imagine you and I will be renewing our acquaintance in a similar manner.”

 

That got her attention, at last. Her creamy skin blazed, her crimson mouth twitched, and even from a distance he could see those melted-shamrock eyes darken. She looked like she wanted scream at him. Burst into tears. Slap his face.

 

Yes, Bella. Let us see if you can handle the barbs of every player, coach, and fan who will dismiss you. Let us see if you can handle me.

 

Fury powering her stride, she skated over, skidding to a halt mere inches from his face. As before, she was magnificent.

 

“You’ve found me out, Petrov.”

 

“I have?”

 

“It’s all an elaborate ruse. We bought your contract even though you really haven’t been performing well this season. Let’s face it, you’ve sucked donkey balls, Vadikins. But I convinced my sisters that I alone could bring you back to top condition. Make you a valuable asset to the team. I also made sure I’d be the only one working with you . . .” She leaned up on the tips of her blades, a balancing act that required great skill and remarkable ankle strength. Close enough that he could have slipped his tongue between his lips and tasted hers.

 

Her breath was a hot puff of temptation. “So we would have all this alone time.”

 

With that fiery gaze, she held his own.

 

Unerring.

 

Unflinching.

 

Until her mouth creased, and she broke into a laugh. He remembered that laugh. Just as before, it hit him right in the balls.

 

She used the edge of the iPad to poke him in the chest. “You thought I’d go to all this trouble to try to get into your hockey shorts, Petrov? I’m a team owner—I can have any of these Rebel boys with the click of my fingers!” She chuckled, clearly enjoying herself. “Despite what that supersized ego of yours thinks, the only performance I want from you is on the ice. Maybe if you spent less time carousing—”

 

“Carousing?”

 

“Yes, it’s nicer than calling you a club-hopping, vodka-sodden manwhore. Less of that and more effort on your day job, please. And don’t worry yourself that I’m interested in ‘renewing our acquaintance.’ I’ve had better lays with the Ukrainian delegation at the last Games.”

 

He had to say he enjoyed this sharp-tongued, quick-witted version of Isobel. But not enough to admit it to her.

 

“There is nothing you can teach me.”

 

“So sure, Russian.”

 

“I am positive.”

 

“We’ll see.” She skated back to the edge of the rink. “Again.”

 

 

 

 

 

So Over You by Kate Meader
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in the Chicago Rebels series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader enjoyment, and to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading this series in order.

Isobel has a history with Vadim. An incredibly complex history, that makes it hard for Isobel to even confide in her sisters about it. Suddenly she has to work with him again, since he is on their team. Will the past and future secrets that they share ruin all the progress?

Vadim has not realized that he was missing Isobel until he saw her again. Now he realizes just what he needs. He just has to come up with a plan. If the secrets of their pasts come to light - can they still have a future?

Such an incredible series! I love that each and every character is so different. These are really complex and interesting MC's that take us through it all. I could not put this book down. Engaging in many forms and filled with surprises, this was a great read.


***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publishers in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

 

 

 

 

About the author:

 

Kate Meader was raised on romance. An Irish girl, she started with Catherine Cookson and Jilly Cooper novels, and spiced it up with some Mills & Boon. Now based in Chicago, she writes romances of her own, where sexy contemporary alpha heroes and strong heroines match each other quip for quip. When not immersed in tales of brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, Kate lives on the web at katemeader.com.

 

 

 

Giveaway:

 

Kate Meader will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card during release week. To enter, please go here!