There are rules in life, just like there are rules in the rink.
The “don’t date your business partner” rule.
The “don’t fall for your best friend’s sister” rule.
The “stop kissing each other over the cookie batter” rule.
And we’re breaking every single one.
Just Breaking the Rules
(Hockey Ever After, #1)
by Lauren Blakely
Released – 21 January 2026
Available today!
Amazon | Paperback | Audiobook
*Samantha Brentmoor & Teddy Hamilton narrate in Duet!*
Blurb
Breaking the rules has never tasted so good…
How did I end up opening a bakery with my brother’s hockey star best friend?
Start with one cake disaster, add a dangerously hot pro athlete, and mix in a steamy encounter that definitely wasn’t supposed to happen.
But when the sexy, single dad hockey player saves me from a cake contest catastrophe, I do something reckless: ask him to go into business with me.
I’m out of options—no loan, no backup plan—and this bakery is my last chance to prove I’m more than my past mistakes.
Now we’re partners, and we agree that one moment up against the door stays in the past.
Not that Corbin makes it easy.
He sends flowers when I’m down.
Braids my hair before we bake.
Gives me his jersey to wear to games.
Shows up late to test recipes… then stays way too long.
When we find a box of old love letters tucked inside a bakery cupboard, suddenly, our story feels just as risky—and just as impossible to resist.
Maybe some rules are meant to be broken. No matter the cost to our dreams.
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Review
4.5 stars!
Everyone knows the golden rule of business – don’t bang your business partner.
Just Breaking the Rules combines so many of my favorite tropes – single dad, sports romance, workplace romance, forbidden romance, brother’s best friend – and gives the reader a wonderful, heartwarming, sexy, hilarious rom com that is so fun you don’t want to put the book down. Mabel and Corbin are fantastic, well thought out, complex characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. Add in a sweet daughter, wonderful friends, and a great storyline, and you have a hit!
Mabel and Corbin met years ago and though there was definitely an attraction, nothing happened between them. Corbin is after all Mabel’s brother’s best friend and they just don’t see each other often. When Mabel runs into some trouble on a baking show she’s a participant on, Corbin just happens to be there and saves the day. One quick hot moment in a trailer is the one thing they need to break the ice and light the spark that wasn’t allowed to grow years earlier.
Mabel has wanted to own a bakery since she was little and Corbin has always wants to fulfill his late mother’s dream about opening a bakery. When Mabel needs financial support, Corbin is just the guy for the job. The forced proximity though makes it difficult to keep things professional between these two when the sexual tension is off the charts.
Mabel is such a beautiful character inside and out. She is known for being a hot mess and has created some embarrassing moments in Cozy Valley that makes opening a bakery there intimidating. When so many people in town seem to be expecting her to fail, it’s only Corbin and her close friends and family who see her fulfilling her dream. I love her determination and how she goes about trying to win peoples hearts and stomachs. She is so kind and has a huge heart, I don’t know why anyone would have bet against her in the first place.
Then there is Corbin. A fantastic hockey player and even better father. My heart grew every moment he was with his daughter and all the moments she showed us he was amazing by how she was raised. His support of Mabel is unending and he could see what the townspeople could not. He went all in even though he was busy and truly wanted Mabel and the bakery to succeed.
Mabel and Corbin have sizzlingly chemistry and I knew it wouldn’t be long before they gave in to the attraction no mater how hard they fought it. From the moment these two were in the trailer to every moment after, i could see these two together. Their relationship is sweet, full of heart, and so fun. I adored reading the letters they found especially because they did it together. I loved that they are honest and mature in the relationship even when they hits a few round blocks but it’s great to see them there for each other without question. They are so perfect for each other.
I love the secondary characters. Corbin’s daughter, Charlotte, is a delight, and I loved loved loved seeing more of the characters we’ve met in other Blakely stories.
Overall, Just Breaking the Rules is an entertaining, heartwarming romcom and an awesome first book in the Hockey Ever After series that leaves me longing for more.
*ARC generously provided by the author*
Excerpt
Corbin
Those last two words echo like a warning—working together.
We are definitely working very closely together, and this—kissing, touching, f*&king—is a recipe for failure.
But when she looks at me like that, lips wet, eyes dark, I can’t bring myself to care about consequences. Not when she’s right here in my arms and I need her so damn badly.
I make quick work of the apron strings, undoing them at her neck as I crush her lips with mine.
Her mouth feels so good, soft and pliant. She moves with me, our tongues skating together. Our moans mingling.
“It feels like forever since I kissed you,” I mutter as I briefly break the kiss, frantically tugging down the apron, exposing the collar of the dress that I bought her.
“A day is a long time,” she teases.
“I didn’t kiss you yesterday.”
She seems to think about that for a few seconds. “You should keep making up for that.”
Hockey Ever After
About the Author
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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