Archives for July 5, 2026

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

She’s the distraction the team can’t afford.
He’s the solution no one saw coming.

Winnie Garrett is done with men. After a toxic relationship, she’s focused on one thing: her dream job as the New York Knights’ new yoga instructor.

Banks Callahan doesn’t do relationships. Or feelings. Or anything that requires letting people get close. Growing up in the foster system taught him not to need anyone—and definitely not to want something he could lose.

So when the team’s new yoga instructor becomes an unexpected locker-room distraction threatening their playoff focus, Banks comes up with a solution so ridiculous it just might work.

Fake dating.

If the guys think Winnie is his, they'll back off. It's simple locker room code: you don't touch what's claimed—like calling dibs on the last slice of pizza.

The problem?

Nothing about Winnie is simple.

She’s warmth and laughter and everything Banks has spent years convincing himself he doesn’t need. She makes him want things he can't have. Makes him feel things he doesn't understand.

He was never supposed to fall for her.

But somewhere between fake hand-holding, pretend nicknames, and very real late-night moments, the line between “just for show” and “dangerously real” starts to blur.

An emotional journey of love when they least expect it! The second book in Ryan’s Off the Ice hockey series was super cute and really intensely emotional. I was hooked on Winnie and Banks right from the very start and they were both easy to connect with and root for along the way. Each has an agenda that brings them together, and the connection between them is very unexpected and endearing. The characters are well developed, the angst is real and heartfelt and the happily ever after is such a sweet reward. There were only two things I would have improved on to have made it absolutely perfect … one, tipsy driving is absolutely horrid and I hated reading that part of her night out – do better!!!! … and two, I would have loved to have seen him reach out to that last foster fam that made him feel love for the first time to reconnect. I adore Winnie and Banks together and can’t wait for the series to continue.

Highly recommend this book as well as the first in the series to anyone who loves a close knit hockey franchise with great group camaraderie and one guy falling for their one true love after another.