Hockey’s resident bad boy is hell on skates. But when he falls in love, he falls hard. “Tracy Goodwin is an author to watch.”—Kelly Jamieson, USA Today bestselling author of the Aces Hockey series Nick: As one of the New York Nighthawks, I’ve got it all: fame, success, wealth, plus I’m handsome as hell. As for my relationships? They could be better. I know how to do one-night stands, but I’m … They could be better.
I know how to do one-night stands, but I’m starting to crave something more.
Then I meet Camille Benetti.
She’s sexy, smart, sarcastic—totally my kind of girl.
The only problem? Cami doesn’t date hockey players.
But she’s never met me. . . .
Cami: Nick George is impossible to resist. Not only is he scorching hot, he’s kind, he’s funny, and he wants me bad.
But I learned my lesson the hard way: no jocks.
So why do I agree to be Nick’s date to the wedding of the year?
One night . . . that’s our deal.
He is the best man, after all.
But Nick is crystal clear about his intentions. He wants a relationship.
And he’s tempting me to break all my rules. . . .
Tracy Goodwin’s seductive New York Nighthawks novels can be read together or separately:
ICE HOT • ICE HARD
This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
more
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Tracy Goodwin was a new to me author when I picked up this book, but seeing that it was a hockey romance, I was definitely willing to take a chance and I’m so glad I did! I’m a sucker for hockey heroes and Goodwin gave us a great one!
Like many hockey players, Nick George has enjoyed his playboy ways for years, however he’s finally reached the point where he’s ready to find the one and settle down. He sees what his best friend has found and that’s what he wants. He’s going to be the best man in his buddy’s wedding and instead of taking just anyone as his date, he wants to take someone who means something to him. When he sees Camille Benatti at the bar, he decides she is what he wants, but that may be more difficult than he initially thought.
Camille Benatti works at the restaurant that her family owns and she has big dreams for her future. She’s feisty, driven and she goes after what she wants in an unapologetic way. She know that Nick finds her attractive and it isn’t that she doesn’t return the feelings, but she has a hard no dating hockey player rules and she’s not about to break it. She’s been hurt in the past and once was enough for her.
When Nick begins to try to woo Cami, it’s so much fun to witness. Cami is trying as hard as she can to deny the sparks that are flying between them, while Nick is working overtime to convince her that he isn’t the kind of guy she’s used to. Will he succeed and make it past the walls she’s built?
I absolutely loved both of these characters. Nick was genuine, and he was the kind of guy who wanted an equal, not someone he would dominate. Cami was strong and she knew what she wanted and what she didn’t. The fact she was finally willing to take a chance on Nick once he woo’d her was great to see.
I enjoyed this book a lot and while it was my first Tracy Goodwin books, it will not be my last!
Love this series by Tracy! If you love hockey stories this is the one for you! 5 hockey pucks for this one!
Meet Nick, Chris’ best friend and teammate on the Nighthawks. They are out at Chris’ bachelor party, with Nick as his best man, the speech he makes damn near brings the room to tears! Nick realizes he wants what Chris has, true love, but where can he get that, the dating app he joined didn’t have the greatest selection of sane women. Just then the bartender, Cami, a beautiful woman, and he wanted to get to know her better. Only problem is Cami has sworn off jocks, but Nick is a tough one to ignore. Can he help her get over her distaste of jocks and choose to be with him?
This story held my attention the entire time, I could not put this down, make sure you grab your copy asap!
4 1/2 stars. I just love me a handsome, genuine, sexy and oh so sweet hero! Even better when he also happens to be an alpha professional hockey player. Nick George is both men in one swoony package. He is ready to find the one and wants to fall in love and settle down like his best friend and teammate Chris recently did. Camille (Cami) never ever wants to be with a hockey player again thanks to the way her ex-husband treated her. This does not bode well for Nick who is completely smitten with her at first sight. Can Nick win Cami over and get her to take a chance on him? It sure is a pleasure to watch him try. I live both of these characters so much as they feel very relatable. It is easy to see how their pasts have shaped who they are now. This was a wonderful story from beginning to end. I really enjoyed it! Second book I’ve read by this author and I am really liking her style. So far I love this series and look forward to the next book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Nick and Cami made a wonderful couple. Every moment they were together made me smile. Nick was such a gentleman. Most times when you read about Hockey players in romance novels, they usually are just looking for a good time, a quick one and done. But Nick wasn’t like that. He may have been in the past but for a while he’d been seriously thinking about a “forever” girl. Someone who could be his other half. The half that completes him. His best friend found the girl of his dreams and Nick wasn’t only happy for him, but he was envious. Nick wanted love. He wanted his own dream girl.
Cami is cautious. She is a strong, independent, sassy heroine. And she doesn’t date hockey players. Cami has a good reason for that as you will learn. But she is on Nick’s radar and he is persistent. But Cami is just as willful. I enjoyed the banter between Nick and Cami. I enjoyed watching them navigate an eventual relationship. I believed their love. They realistically worked for their happily-ever-after.
Another aspect I enjoyed about this book were all the “feels.” The emotional elements were poignant and believable. I admit, I was sad about a few things but the author did a wonderful job, all around, with writing an enjoyable book. This is the second book in this series and I look forward to reading more.
This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
With a swoonworthy pro hockey player who shows the world his alpha side on a daily basis but keeps his inner teddy bear a secret and the sassy woman who melts his heart, this book has a lot going for it. I really liked our hero, Nick. He is steadfast in his feelings for Cami and determined to show her that they can become something lasting. Unfortunately, Nick has more patience than me because Camille’s constant indecision and insecurities grated on me more and more as the book continued on. I definitely liked the first half better than the second, but as a whole it’s a solid book.
The story follows Nick, a hockey player who has watched his best friend and teammate fall in love, get engaged and start a family in the last year. He realizes that he wants someone meaningful in his life and sets out to find a woman who loves him for his true self, not the role he plays on the ice. At his friend’s bachelor party, he meets Camille and is immediately taken by her. It’s not quite insta-love, but his feelings form at warp speed. Camille is equally attracted, but her history with hockey players has left her unwilling to open herself up to another one. Nick relentlessly pursues Cami until she accepts her feelings for him, but insecurities continue to linger in the back of her mind.
The writing here is great and Nick is such a good guy. I loved the chemistry between the two at the beginning of the book, and would’ve liked to have explored that a little more. There’s a lot of internalization and not enough interaction between the couple during the middle of the book, and that’s where it started to lose my interest a little bit. I was really liking it initially and then things started to feel both rushed (their feelings) and repetitive (Cami’s hesitancy, so many sex scenes that it felt like the foundation of their relationship). Overall, it’s not a perfect book but it’s definitely worth a read and I’m sure fans of the series won’t be disappointed. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. I would definitely check out the next book in the series – I think I know who our hero will be and it should be interesting.
Hockey Romances are my jam!
I was excited to read the second book In The New York Nighthawk series between Nick and his unlikely love connection Cami!
Their story is a bit of a conundrum when one pushes the other pulls. Still, their intense connection keeps them coming back for more, with of course a smack-talking, ready to fight speedbump, along with some insecurities and stubbornness to overcome.
If Nick is about to find Cami heart is more of a challenge to obtain than any Hockey Goal- is he willing to put in the work to win her over?
Sweet, sexy, absolutely frustrating, an enduring sports romance with humor, light drama, and grit!
Great characters, with authentic connections and relatability, a fun, fast, straightforward flow story that kept me entertained throughout the pages. I cannot wait for more from Tracy Goodwin and The NewYork Nighthawks!
Loved it!
This couple was great together, and it was easy to get behind this romance. Until it wasn’t. The story was maybe a little drawn out in the middle, but that wasn’t a dealbreaker for me, especially since I liked the couple. Then things started going downhill. The family drama in the last third or so of the book just didn’t feel necessary. Cami had enough issues to work through, and the whole scene with her family felt like drama for the sake of drama. That’s the point when the relationship started going downhill. Cami lost something, at least for me. The relationship angst comes from Cami’s decisions, and since I’m trying not to give spoilers, I’ll just say that her explanation to Nick was probably one of my least favorites in romance. The result was that I spent the rest of the book, which should’ve been all about the making up and happy ever after, just wishing Nick would walk away. In the end, what started as an engaging romance wound up being just an okay read for me.
I get tunnel vision when I see “Hockey Romance” in a book blurb and sometimes I’m left underwhelmed. Ice Hard hooked me with the opening chapters, but let me down quickly.
Nick and Cami’s story had a lot of promise but there was just too much descriptive dialogue of nonessential elements and characters that left so little room for dialogue between Nick and Cami that would have helped build their story: connection, emotions, feelings . . . There was a relationship that I had no emotional connection to because it was never formed with words on the pages – I felt like significant parts of the story were left out.
*** potential spoiler***
“Why don I feel like we’ve known each other far longer than our dating calendar would infer?”
Tugging me even closer, she confides in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve wondered the same thing. It comes down to our texts, and late-night calls. We took time to get to know each other instead of immediately giving in to our primal desires.”
Nick and Cami are out on their “first official date” when they have this conversation, but these texts and late-night phone calls are never written. If I don’t have crucial relationship building moments/dialogue, then as a reader I don’t get Nick and Cami’s connection – I don’t see it, so I don’t feel it. And if I don’t feel it then I don’t connect with the story.
***end of spoiler***
I don’t know if I’ll continue with the New York Nighthawks series, which is disappointing because I really like the characters (the potential for a Thor story is one I’d like the read) and the essence of the stories but they just don’t contain the dialogue, sense of time, and essential engaging elements that emotionally connect me to the characters.
1.5 stars
Part of the dynamic duo, the other brother…
Chris got his happy in book one, now its Nick’s turn. Ice Hard is Nighthawk hockey’s second story but first play for the cup!
It’s better to read them in order to appreciate timelines and characters more. Nick never thought he wanted a happily ever after until he sees his best friend enjoying his. Seems like something is in the air when he meets his future. Self doubt and insecurities are all that’s keeping him from his forever, he just needs to convince her of that!