First, I have to say how much I’m loving this series. Hot hockey gods with hearts of gold. What’s not to love? And feisty, strong, independent women who know how to deal with over-inflated egos. Not much is better than the pairing of the two.

Hawke likes the ladies, but doesn’t seem to be as much of a player as some other heroes I’ve come across. He’s more of a party guy. Loves to drink and get rowdy and, if a woman happens to cross his path that is game for a one-night stand, he gets laid. Through the whole book there was only one time I didn’t like Hawke. No spoilers from me, but there is a bathroom scene that is…to use Hawke’s own words…unacceptable. I’m all for the dominant male characters but I felt as though he was crossing a line for sure.

Vale, on the other hand, bothered me quite a bit. You know the saying about assuming. She does a lot of assuming when it comes to Hawke and their past and proves that saying to be true. I did not feel sympathetic toward her, instead siding with Hawke, because I knew he didn’t have all the information. Don’t get me wrong, I still liked Vale. But this particular thing about her drove me nuts.

Hawke and Vale were great together. They really understood each other, a lot of that having to do with sort of growing up together during their first relationship. I liked that Vale’s dad was so warm and open with Hawke and didn’t hold a grudge. Although Vale is the one that ended the relationship the first time, she’s still his little girl and he could have had a totally different attitude toward Hawke.

Although I loved this book, it was missing something that the previous books in the series had. I don’t know exactly what that is, but I noticed the void. Again, still loved it though. Oh, and I can’t give a bad rating to a book with a hero that eats like my husband. Not only does he not like his food touching, but he only eats one thing at a time. I haven’t met many people with the same issues so it brought a smile to my face.

Update 5/7/24 after re-reading audiobook version:
I'm kind of mad that I still had a hard time with Vale with the re-read. I guess it comes down to me having issues with big secrets and, although Vale's secret didn't physically hurt anyone, her secret was important information Hawke needed. I still enjoyed the story and appreciated Vale's dad even more this time around.