In honour of International Women’s Day and the fast approaching end of the Hockey season, today I’m looking at Kelly’s Aces Hockey series published by Loveswept. This is an adult romance series set in the fast paced world of the NHL and featuring the Chicago Aces.
Major Misconduct (Aces Hockey #1) ****
UK Publishing Date: 13 Oct 2015. 278 pages
Lovey Armstrong turns up in Chicago on a whim. Having finished with her long term boyfriend and ditched a fairly established job she wants to try her luck in the big city. Luckily brother Duncan is a Hockey player in the NHL and has a big three bedroom condo. Now she just has to convince him to let her stay.
Marc Dupuis is captain of the Aces and serious about his Hockey. Ever since he split up with his long term girlfriend he has been living in Duncan’s spare room and enjoying the peace away from their hectic lifestyle. A softly spoken French Canadian, he steers clear of most of the puck bunnies and doesn’t allow himself to become distracted by anything. At least until Lovey interrupts his morning coffee routine in a cami top and shorts and is the sexiest woman he’s ever seen. The only problem is that Duncan has already warned the whole team to stay away from Lovey and he really doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardise his friendship with Army.
It is hard to like Lovey at the beginning. She just comes across as a bit of a spoiled brat. Her parents and brother rushing to cosset and protect her at all times. As you get to know her it becomes a bit more obvious why she is like that and becomes a much more rounded character and more like the kick-ass heroines from Kelly’s other books.
There’s enough Hockey in here to keep sports fans interested and certainly enough rock hard abs to keep the romance readers turning the pages right to the end.
Major Misconduct: An Aces Hockey Novel
Off Limits (Aces Hockey #1.5) ***
UK Publishing Date: 17 Nov 2015. 165 Pages.
Off Limits is more of a novella coming in at a scant 165 pages but it’s a good addition to the series nonetheless. It is Christmas and Jenna McFadden is about her take her boyfriend Jon home for Christmas. She’s excited to see her parents and two brothers but inside she is desperate to see Andrew Ross. Her parents took him in when he was orphaned at 16 but as her brother’s best friend he practically lived in their house anyway. Now he’s a big shot hockey player in the NHL and nothing has changed.
Andrew loves going home for Christmas. The McFadden family is the only real home he has ever known. And of course then there is Jenna. The only woman that he’s ever loved but he had promised her father ten years earlier that he would keep his hands off her. Christmas with her and her boyfriend is going to be torture.
Set away from the city so there really isn’t much reference to the NHL team or hockey but it’s a fun read and like most of the Aces that we’ve met to date Andrew is a good guy just trying to do the right thing. Not always successfully.
Off Limits: An Aces Hockey Novella
Icing (Aces Hockey #2) *****
UK Publishing Date: 19 Apr 2016. 223 pages.
A return to the Armstrong family with Icing as we now get Duncan’s story. He is fed up of dating models and puck bunnies that are just out for what they can get. Melissa finally pushed him too far and when he wouldn’t buy her a necklace in Tiffany and she had a tantrum he decided it was time to cut her loose.Back at the Sin Bin bar he is drowning his sorrows and chatting to the new waitress. He’s instantly attracted to her but as soon as he hears that she’s a part time model it is enough to make him think twice.
Amber works hard. She’s still studying for her degree, waitressing at the Sin Bin and modelling part time for her friend and flatmate. She needs the money. It’s not cheap to keep a place in Chicago and she is also financially supporting her mother whose only goal is to score herself a rich husband. Despite Duncan’s drunken state Amber finds herself laughing at his jokes and enjoying being with him. Right up until the rest of the Aces join him in the bar and she realises that he is a professional athlete. That’s a deal breaker right there.
Like many of Kelly’s heroines Amber is a strong woman and she knows what she wants. She’s had a struggle with things that have happened in her past but these things have made her tougher – and more cynical.I’ve enjoyed this book the most out of the three Aces stories so far. Duncan is a great character and there is a lot more Hockey in this book with good action sequences both on the ice and off! You’ve got a few weeks till Icing comes out so you’ve got plenty of time to catch up on the others in the series first.
Icing: An Aces Hockey Novel
Supplied by Net Galley and Loveswept in exchange for an honest review.
Categories: 4 Stars Book Review
angelnet69
Prolific reader, enthusiastic theatre and movie-goer and ex-Olivier Awards judge who spent twenty years working in the music industry in London. Sharing my house with a gorgeous cockapoo called Harry who has taken over completely.
I love sharing my favourite books with friends - nearly always spoiler-free as I hate reading a synopsis of the whole book in other reviews.
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