Waiting to Play by Evey Lyon is live!
A secret baby, brother’s enemy, forced proximity, steamy hockey romance
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Blurb
Vaughn Madden is hockey’s hotshot who moves to a small town, only to learn that Isla Chase has kept a nine-month secret from him.
It was one night trapped with a hockey god due to a hurricane. We shared one bed too. I also ignored the little fact that Vaughn has always been my brother’s rival on the ice. And when the storm cleared, so did Vaughn. Months later, he shows up in my hospital room in Lake Spark where it only takes one look at me and the man is counting back in his head, or maybe it’s my face that explains it all.
He’s going to be a dad. And I didn’t tell him.
His eyes inform me that he won’t let me off easy. He wants answers to why I kept this a secret—and he quite possibly needs a scotch for his nerves too. Vaughn is soon adamant that he isn’t going anywhere, especially as he is the new General Manager of our hockey team that trains in town. He also has a list of demands that I owe him due to my secret keeping. Hence, why I move into his house. I’m not sure if developing feelings for a man with a wicked smirk is good for me or our child, but he’s becoming more than my baby daddy. And it turns out that Vaughn’s head has been working overtime, because the family image that I’ve dreamed about is the game that Vaughn seems to have been waiting to play…
Vaughn and Isla bring you a heartwarming and steamy secret- and accidental-baby romance in forced proximity setting. Waiting to Play can be read as a complete standalone and is the third book in the interconnected Lake Spark Off-Season series which is part of the Lake Spark world. For lovers of small-town romance with a touch of hockey.
Review
3.5 stars
The third book in the Lake Spark Off-Season series, I was nervous going into this one. It’s a steamy sports romance with a secret pregnancy, which is usually a red flag for me, but I enjoyed this story, I loved the smitten hero, and the chemistry-filled romance stole my heart. It’s a really sweet read.
Isla and Vaughn meet at the wedding of Connor and Harlow (from the last book of the series, Waiting to Win). Isla is Harlow’s best friend, Vaughn is a close friend of Connor and a fellow NHL player. Though sparks fly between them, Vaughn is the sworn enemy of Isla’s hockey-playing brother, and they live on opposite sides of the country. But when they both wind up trapped indoors in Florida during a hurricane, all of the chemistry lets loose, and holy freaking damn, they are so, so hot together!
Their steamy night together leads to an unexpected pregnancy, and though she tries, due to her own insecurities, Isla doesn’t share the news with Vaughn. It’s not until he takes a job with the Spinners and moves to Lake Spark that he finds a nine-month pregnant Isla and learns the truth. Oops.
I love this world that Evey Lyon has created, and it was my love for her characters and the previous books that gave me the strength to read this one. Secret pregnancies are book death to me. When a woman intentionally hides a pregnancy from the expectant father for no good reason, I cannot deal. It’s something I try to avoid, and if it happens mid-read, I’ll usually DNF because I can’t get over my anger. However, in this case we know it’s coming, it’s in the blurb and, as it turns out, the story is more about the couple overcoming that horrible betrayal and coming together despite it. And honestly, the part of the story I was most looking forward to was watching Vaughn rage. My heart ached for him when he found out the truth, and I thought his reactions were honest and realistic, and gave me some vindication for all of my own rage, which was very gratifying.
“You kept the single most important news of my life from me, and I have every intention of rectifying that little judgement error, and you may or may not like what I have in store for you.”
And as angry as I was at Isla, I had to hand it to her. She knows she did wrong, and she’s willing to do anything she can to make it up to Vaughn, and she rightly does whatever he needs to make amends.
If I ever had a shot at something extraordinary, then maybe, just maybe, it’s with her.
There’s a nice build-up for Vaughn and Isla. I enjoyed their flirting and banter, and the sexy time absolutely sizzles! The secret-keeping part I’m just going to skip over, but watching them work through their issues and find their HEA was really beautiful. I generally love stories with pregnancy and babies, and it was gorgeous to watch them settle into their new life, allow themselves to fall for each other and find their way forward together.
They’ve both had difficult childhoods and very little family, and the emotional trauma from that does bring a little more drama. It’s frustrating, but thankfully it’s short-lived and resolved well, and paves the way for a passionate, beautifully sweet happy ending for these two.
“We can be something real, you and me.”
I enjoyed this book, there are just a few too many of my own personal red flags to really love it.
3.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Lake Spark Off-Season
This is a spin-off of the Lake Spark series
Waiting to Score (#1) (Declan & Violet)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Waiting to Win (#2) (Connor & Hadley)
Review
Buy: Amazon
Waiting to Play (#3) (Vaughn & Isla)
Review
Buy: Amazon
See the spin-off series Lake Spark Inn
About Evey Lyon
Evey loves to write heartwarming feel-good romance that may just make you blush. The pages of her books are filled with swoon, wit, and steamy moments. An American from the Midwest, she now lives in Europe where she drinks way too much coffee, types away on a laptop with music on repeat, and stares at her yoga mat that she should probably use again…
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