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Review

4 stars!

The fourth book in the Pittsburgh Titans series, this is an opposites attract, enemies-to-lovers, sports romance that is fun, sexy, and emotional, with a gorgeous love story, and I loved it!

Coen Highsmith is one of the best players in the NHL, but his life derailed when his whole team died in a devastating plane crash. He missed the flight as he had the flu, and he’s been drowning in survivor’s guilt ever since, and struggling to deal with the fact that he betrayed a teammate and never go the opportunity to make right. In earlier books of the series, we have watched Coen’s downfall from NHL superstar to angry, violent loner. Now he’s been suspended, he swears he’s done with hockey, and he’s leaving town to go and stay in a remote mountain cabin. But just as he’s settling into the peaceful silence, his new neighbour comes barrelling into his life, threatening to disrupt the isolation he craves.

Tillie is a local girl who is quiet, artsy, and a little bit quirky. She’s just bought her dream property but her grand plans to renovate it to create an art sanctuary are being threatened by her grumpy new neighbour. She tries to be nice, but that clearly doesn’t work, and the two of them very quickly find themselves at war.

There is true animosity between these two. They both have a reason to be angry, and every interaction is full of fire. It’s snarky and funny, and I was enjoying the theatrics of it all. But the longer it goes on, Coen and Tillie start to reveal glimpses of who they truly are. Moments where kindness and care start to sneak through… along with a hint of attraction. But the bickering continues, and the chemistry builds until their constant arguments turn into unexpected but sizzling hot hate sex. When Coen can’t stay away, he needs to prove to Millie that he’s actually a good guy, so they become tentative friends, and the hate sex becomes friends with benefits. And the more time they spend together, it turns into so much more.

I loved the evolution of this relationship. After all of that fire, it’s so easy between them, and it was so sweet to watch them shift from snarky adversaries to mad-with-lust-lovers, to tentative friends, and then true friends who fall so hard for each other. Along the way, Coen is coming to terms with his loss, his guilt and his grief, and figuring out what his future is going to look like, and it’s an emotional journey for him, but Millie is ride there by his side through it all. The boys from earlier books in the series are also there to offer their support (whether he wants it or not), and I loved watching him work it all out.

This is a great read. It’s funny and sexy, emotional and romantic, and I loved seeing Coen and Millie get their HEA.

4 stars.