From the bestselling author of the Heller Brothers Hockey series comes a moving and thought-provoking novel about a college team facing hard knocks on the ice and off. The Bayard College hockey team isn’t where Jacob Flass thought he’d be a season ago. He was a rising star in the Canadian major junior league, cruising toward a spot on an NHL roster—until a single disastrous night on the town … night on the town brought it all crashing down. Now he’s out of options, except for playing well, studying hard, and staying away from the opposite sex. He’s not supposed to be flirting with the most intriguing woman he’s ever met. But how could he possibly stay away?
Skylar Lynwood’s freshman year of college was a disaster. This semester she’s working hard to get back to the grades her parents want to see, and she’s dealing with her painful memories by doing volunteer work. There’s no place in Skylar’s life for parties, fun, and arrogant jocks—until Jacob melts her resistance with his easy charm and rugged smile. The deal he’s offering could be a win-win: a fake relationship that will keep him out of trouble and her secrets safe . . . if they can keep their hands off each other.
Kelly Jamieson’s USA Today bestselling Aces Hockey series can be read together or separately:
MAJOR MISCONDUCT
OFF LIMITS
ICING
TOP SHELF
BACK CHECK
SLAP SHOT
PLAYING HURT
BIG STICK
Don’t miss any of Kelly’s alluring reads:
The Bayard Hockey series: SHUT OUT | CROSS CHECK
The Last Shot series: BODY SHOT | HOT SHOT | LONG SHOT
The standalone novel: DANCING IN THE RAIN
Praise for Shut Out
“Sexual tension doesn’t get better than this! Shut Out is wickedly sexy, but with enough sweet moments to make it the perfect love story.”—USA Today bestselling author Lauren Layne
“Sexy and sweet, yet layered with emotion, Shut Out perfectly captures the feeling of a first love!”—Award-winning author Katie Rose
“An absolute winner . . . I’m hoping to see more of Skylar and Jacob in the future.”—Dear Author
“Very powerful and thought-provoking in many ways . . . Shut Out is the type of book that may stay with you a long time after you read.”—Babbling About Books, and More!
“The chemistry between these two is explosive and you fall in love with both of them and their struggles to find their way. . . . I have no doubt you will enjoy it as much as I did.”—Books & Boys Book Blog
“I applaud Jamieson. . . . This story just felt so important right now.”—Book Jems
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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I thought Shut Out was a really well written college sports story and had a sweet, sexy hero and a smart, strong heroine. Although the subject of rape was the driving force of this story, it was in a way that wasn’t too uncomfortable for me to read, and I loved how realistically both Jacob and Skylar dealt with it.
The only thing I would change would be to perhaps add an epilogue so I could see how Jacob and Skylar’s relationship had progressed in the future.
I would be really interested in reading stories about other characters in this story, such as Buck and Ben.
I rarely give out 5 stars these days as I’ve worked hard to develop a realistic rating system for the books I read and review. A book has to really hit a lot of marks for me to decide it’s worth 5 stars: solid, believable romance, strong story and emotional arc, engaging dialogue, secondary characters that add to the story instead of just taking up space, and the ability to draw me in and make me feel strongly about what happens to the characters. Shut Out by Kelly Jamieson does all of this and more.
Jacob has just been kicked off his Canadian junior hockey team after being accused of something he did not do, leaving his dreams of playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) hanging in the balance. He’s lost his eligibility for this year’s draft and only has one more year to prove himself. When he’s offered the chance to move to New York and play for Bayard College, he jumps at the opportunity. Knowing he’ll have to work hard to maintain the required grades and standout enough for the NHL scouts to notice him, he pledges to stay out of trouble which includes him not getting involved with women. Not an easy thing to do for any athlete on a college campus, especially a handsome and charming one like Jacob. He finds himself fending off girls left and right. Then he meets Skylar.
Skylar is recovering from a tragic freshman year at Bayard. One of her best friends, Brendan, committed suicide, leading to an emotional semester for Skylar that ended with her failing more than one class. Determined to prove to herself and her parents that she can successfully complete a pre-med course load, she vows to concentrate on just her studies and volunteer work with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Program (SAPAP), a college program that in addition its obvious role, provided the counseling Skylar needed after Brendan’s suicide.
When Jacob and Skylar meet their chemistry is off the charts and for the first time in 8 months Skylar actually feels something. When Jacob rejects her proposition to move their make out session to somewhere more private she’s embarrassed and angry, but fate keeps throwing them together.
I’ll be honest. I’ve rewritten this review at least 5 times. There’s so much I want to say, but I’m pretty sure the review shouldn’t be longer than the actual book. I’ve read 6 Kelly Jamieson books before reading Shut Out and enjoyed them all, but in this one she blows me away. I don’t know if it’s the depth of the characters, their journey which actually led to a few tears on more than one occasion, or the very serious subject of sexual assault, but this book not only moved me but made me think. Though sexual assault isn’t anything new it’s certainly more in the limelight than ever before. Colleges and universities are doing more now than ever to educate and curtail it. Quite frequently (and unfortunately) we see college athletes at the center of these accusations and Jamieson uses the story of Jacob and Skylar to bring this issue to the forefront of the readers’ minds and teach us awareness and how our actions can make a difference. Their story, both the romance and the individual path they take, are powerful. I wish I’d had this information when I was a college student (and an example of a good, but flawed, guy like Jacob).
Jacob Flass’s dreams of playing in the NFL were on the verge of coming true thanks to his abilities on the ice playing for the Canadian major junior league and he knew it was just a matter of time the NHL would come calling…that is until trouble came knocking instead. Being accused of rape, and watching his NHL dream slip away was devastating for him. Now he must face the fact that his only chance at making the NHL draft is to head states side to go to college and play hockey for the Bayard College hockey team, and in addition to that he’s order to take a rape awareness class too… which is beyond humiliating! He decides he’s going to try and make the most of a bad situation and buckle down, and focus on his studies, and swear off all interactions with women, since that is what landed him in this unfortunate situation in the first place… but he didn’t plan on Skylar Lynwood walking into his life!!
Skylar Lynwood is armed with a plan, one that involves lots of studying and very little of anything else, she knows in order to accomplish the plan her parents have in mind for her she needs to put everything she has into school work and stay dedicated to her plan…and not let distractions seep in!! She is planning to keep her head down, mind focused and move full steam ahead to get herself one step closer to medical school, and has decided to stick with her mantra of no time for dating or parties… but her friends have other plans for her. Plans that involve a party, and a sexy six foot- four inch hockey player who is determined to gain her attention!!
The minute I read the synopsis for this one, and found out it involved hockey, and Ms. Jamieson was at the helm I was totally in, because the woman knows her hockey players, and how to create enticing stories that keep you coming back for more!! The moment I dived into this one I was hooked, and knew that there was no way I was putting it down until the last page was swiped, so treated myself to a much needed late night literary escape and devoured it in one sitting. The story had it’s tender moments, spicy moments, and heartwarming moments… and I loved every minute of it!!
Highly recommend you give this read a try, Ms. Jamieson’s well crafted characters are sure to win you over with their sparkling personalities and inspire you to come back for more!!