From New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting comes a new romance about trading secrets, breaking the rules, and playing for keeps.My name is Ryan Kingston, and I’m a rule follower. I’ve never been in a fistfight. I always obey the speed limit. I don’t get drunk, and I definitely don’t pick up random women at bars.Except the night I found out that my whole existence has been a lie.I got … existence has been a lie.
I got drunk. And picked up a stranger.
Her name was Queenie, and she was everything I’m not: reckless, impulsive, and chaotic. We did shots and traded secrets. And ended up naked at my place.
She left me a thank-you note in the morning and her panties as a parting gift. But no way to contact her.
Six weeks later I’m sitting in the first official team meeting of the season, and there she is. I neglected to mention that I’m the goalie for Seattle’s NHL team.
And Queenie? Turns out she’s the general manager’s daughter.
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Helena Hunting gets a hat trick with book three in the All In Series, A Secret for a Secret. In this story, Seattle NHL goalie Ryan Kingston is shocked to discover that his one-nightstand, Queenie Masterson, is his general manager’s new assistant. Not only is she his assistant, she is his daughter. This contemporary sports romance is suitable for adult readers.
A Secret for a Secret was a fun story. I enjoyed the characters. King and Queenie are opposites that complete each other. Both are endearing. King is the starting goalie for the Seattle. He is a former boy scout. He always dresses conservatively. He is neat. He embarrasses easily. Queenie is artistic, messy, and spontaneous. There are things about both that I could easily relate to.
They faced some interesting challenges. I enjoyed how their past play an integral part of the story. I think it is clever how Helena Hunting uses chess names in this series. I also enjoyed how people reacted to King’s and Queenie’s names. Fans of Helena Hunting will love this story. I recommend A Secret for a Secret to people who enjoy hockey romances. It could be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the series. It also has cross over with the Pucked series, which I as well commend. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
I’ve enjoyed every book in this series and I had high expectations for the polo and khaki wearing Boy Scout, King. I wasn’t disappointed!
King and Queenie meet at a bar when they are having a terrible day. They confide in each other and end up going home together. They agree on one night only. Until they run into each other a few weeks later. They fight their attraction and try to remain platonic. Quickly, they realize that it is pointless to fight their feelings.
Queenie is the perfect amount of disorder to King’s orderly life. The two face many ups and downs — some humorous and others serious. Throughout it all, King wins Queenie over with all of the little things he does for her and his constant support. King will have you swooning!
I can’t say enough good things about this funny, sweet, sexy romance.
A Secret for a Secret is Helena Hunting’s newest addition to her endearing hockey series, All In. I immediately connected with the two main characters, Kingston and Queenie and the story kept me quickly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.
Kingston is a goalie and a professional hockey player with a heart of gold. He is a rule follower and always tries to do the right thing. He is delightfully charming and a little awkward with Queenie and he stole my heart, right along with hers.
I enjoyed Kingston and Queenie’s story. Even though they are total opposites, they are perfect for each other. Queenie is messy and goes from one problem to the next. She doesn’t follow rules, she does her own thing. Queenie’s impulsive behavior causes her to make some bad decisions. She just crashes through life without thinking of the consequences. Kingston is wholesome and thinks everything over carefully before he makes a move. Queenie is fun and easygoing and she helps Kingston enjoy life, while Kingston helps Queenie organize hers. This is an enchanting story with endearing characters. I loved all the banter and fun entertaining characters in this story.
5
I absolutely adore Helena’s books, every single one brings a smile to my face and has me laughing out loud throughout. And Kingston and Queenie’s book is no different, I am without a doubt head over heels in love with this story. Everything about it draws you in and holds you captive until the very last page. I could not put it down for anything, reading it cover to cover in one sitting.
“, ’ ’ .” – . “’ , ,” .
Ryan Kingston is the Ultimate book boyfriend I am Obsessed with him! This man is everything you could want, a Boy Scout in public and a dirty talking nympho in the bedroom. I wasn’t sure what we were going to get with him, because in the other books he seemed so reserved and for the most part he is. He just needed his perfect balance to come in and shake up his world and that happens in the form of Queenie. Kingston is the most levelheaded man in the world he even drives under the speed limit for criminy sakes, but that just makes him that much more delectable. You just know that he will always be there no matter what, and that he’ll be the calm to any storm and that is the most attractive thing I have ever read.
“ ,” ..
Queenie is a mess but an adorable mess. She can’t quite get her life together but it’s not all her fault. This woman has had to deal with some less than stellar people in her world that have done all the could to dull her shine, and it’s worked. She doesn’t know what she wants to do, and her self-esteem is lacking in the worst way. Kingston is exactly what she needs. He is that calm that she needs to her cyclone of a personality. And she absolutely needs his stability. She may be a hot mess, but I loved her because she was so real. She is what so many of us are a mess just trying to figure things out. Helena wrote her with such a pragmatic quality that you can’t help but connect to her on some level. I think at one point everyone has felt as out of control of their lives as she does and it’s that realness that you can relate to. And, watching as she slowly grows and learns her worth not from what others say, but from within is the most satisfying thing to read.
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Helena has this way of writing characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. Every time I read one, I think this one is my favorite and then she writes a new book and that one becomes my favorite, it’s quite the cycle. But the one thing I know for certain is every time I read one of her stories I’m going to get completely lost to her words and fall in love. Helena is Queen of sports romance, with her uncanny ability to make her characters so real and relatable you feel like you could easily be friends with them in real life. So, if you love sweet, sports romances with laugh out loud moments, that will leave you with a perpetual smile on your face, then this story is for you!!
Ryan and Queenie may be my favorite of the series. Everything about them just fits. He’s calm and responsible, she’s chaotic and a bit reckless. They balance each other out in the best way. Even though there’s some drama to propel the story along, it’s not over the top or unbelievable. This is a sweet story with Helena’s trademark humor throughout. A perfect summer read.
Queenie and King are royalty in my heart! A Secret for a Secret is my favorite in the All In series so far. A great sport romance that introduces you to your new favorite pairing. This story has minimal drama (ex’s and family), plenty of romance, and the best banter! A delightful romantic comedy that you won’t be able to put down.
A Secret for a Secret is Kingston’s story. I was interested in him after I read the previous book, and he didn’t disappoint. Kingston is a traditional guy in many ways, and he shows to have a wild side while he’s in the bedroom, as I expected.
The book opens with a shocking revelation for Kingston, and he’s trying to face the truth by drinking in a bar. That’s were he meets the fascinating Queenie, and the two end up having a one night stand. Too bad she doesn’t leave her number after the sex, so Kingston doesn’t know who she is until he meets her again.
Kingston is very loyal and honest with people, especially the ones he likes or loves. You would expect he would have married his girlfriend by now (since in the previous two books he was with her), but he’s single. This surprised me, because he seemed like the kind of guy who would settle down with a person just because he was comfortable and had a plan in mind, but in the end he wasn’t like this. We learn that he isn’t too disciplined sometimes, and that he knows how to let himself go. I guess that we can credit Queenie for that, because he lets him show parts of himself that he never knew he had.
Queenie is a smart woman who has had issues with her path in life. Since her father is the president of the team where Kingston plays, she accepts to be his assistant temporarily, and this complicates things. Not only because she can’t be far from Kingston, with whom she spent a hot night, but also because she doesn’t think she is enough and that people will think she got the job just because she’s the boss’ daughter. She is lively, cheerful and tries to enjoy life, and she’s Kingston’s opposite in some ways. She’s also insecure, but thanks to Kingston she’ll try to embrace her passions and decide what she wants to do in her life.
The reason why I gave it 4 stars is because I expected it to be a slow burn like the previous books, but it wasn’t. The story proceeded quite quickly and it didn’t stand out from the books I usually read. There were a lot of funny moments, though, but after the first half it was a bit predictable and I didn’t enjoy it like I wanted to.
This doesn’t mean it’s bad! It was less cool to me, but it was worth reading.
Finally Kings book. Loved this series. Ryan “King” Kingston life just took a wild turn. Usually a boy scout he goes to the bar and has a one night stand. She leaves before he wakes leaving just a post it and her ripped underwear. Several weeks later he’s at a team meeting and quess who the GM’s new assistant is. King is so sweet and organized and definitely works well with Queenies chaos.
Finally King’s story!
I have loved every Helena Hunting Book that I’ve ever read & A Secret For A Secret was everything I had hoped for & more!
I fell in love with King in book two & am so glad to see him finally get his HEA! I absolutely adore King & Queenie! This book was the funny, hot, sexy story I’ve come to expect from Helena. My feelings while reading were all over the board. Smiles, lots of laughs, frustration, love & yes, even just a couple of tears. (Plus, we get a good introduction to Alex & Violet’s daughter Lavender I just love that kid!)
A Secret For a Secret is book three in Helena’s All In series. It stands alone so you don’t have to start with the previous books, but they’re great too so I don’t know why you’d want to skip them! If you like hot hockey players, definitely give this series a read!
Now we just need to get “Hot Dad” Jake’s story…Pleeeeease Helena!?!
Et nous voilà donc au 3ème tome de la saga All in où Helena Hunting nous emmène de nouveau dans le milieu du hockey sur glace. J’ai adoré retrouver d’anciens personnages dont Violet et Alex et ce fut génial d’en savoir plus sur leur vie. Nos héros sauront nous offrir une comédie romantique comme je les aime.
Queenie Masterson est une jeune femme de 24 ans qui par certains côtés m’a un peu fait penser à Violet Walters que nous connaissons de la saga Pucked. Cette jeune femme a ce côté complètement fou que j’ai adoré et qui va débouler dans la vie de notre héros telle une tornade. Elle a un côté très fusionnel avec son père Jake qui saura toujours l’épauler en cas de coup dur. Ce sera le cas et c’est pour cela qu’elle va lui apporter son aide administrative dans la gestion de son équipe de joueurs professionnels . Elle ne veut pas le décevoir et on va comprendre au fur et à mesure de l’intrigue qu’elle cache des blessures secrètes. Elle n’a pas eu un modèle de famille unie en grandissant pourtant son père est son dieu vivant. A l’âge de 18 ans, elle a laissé tomber ses études pour enchaîner les désillusions mais on sent tout son potentiel. Si elle a aussi tendance à se dénigrer, nous verrons qu’elle est tout à fait capable d’avoir de très bonnes idées dans des milieux différents. J’ai aimé la relation qu’elle va tisser avec Violet ou Stevie car Queenie a réellement besoin de présences et de conseils féminins quand elle devra affronter les fantômes du passé.
Avec King, leur relation sonne comme une évidence mais pourtant , elle s’est jurée de ne plus succomber et de respecter les règles qu’elle a érigées. Si elle veut prouver sa valeur, elle ne peut pas fricoter avec un des joueurs de l’équipe de son père. Même si l’alchimie sensuelle est bien présente, on ne peut pas nier que nos deux héros sont complémentaires. King va apaiser son côté un peu sauvage et elle va le booster un peu pour qu’il cesse d’être ce boy scout bien sous tout rapport . J’ai aussi été sensible à ce qu’elle a vécu car elle a vraiment une très mauvaise opinion des autres et on va comprendre l’origine de ce mal en lisant ce roman. Avec Queenie , on va donc rire mais aussi être émue et j’espère qu’elle aura droit à sa part de bonheur. Elle semble bien engagée sur ce chemin mais elle va devoir face face à des ennemis cachés dans l’ombre et elle pourrait être très dure envers elle. Elle aura besoin de soutien, de confiance et d’amitiés et cela pourrait lui offrir cet happy end qui lui tend les bras.
Ryan “King” Kingston est un héros que j’ai adoré découvrir car il semble parfait sous toutes les coutures. Il est galant, gentil , attentionné, charmant, déroutant, engageant, chevaleresque, à votre écoute.. Bref, je pourrai continuer indéfiniment cette liste d’adjectifs qualificatifs mais il est évident qu’on va adorer ce héros qui saura nous faire rêver. Il y aura chez lui , comme chez Queenie , deux facettes et cela sera lié à son secret qui n’en est plus un pour nous lecteur. En toutes circonstances, il va garder son calme et on sera donc assez admiratif de cela. Il nous fera rire aussi à ses dépends ( juste un clin d’oeil à la scène des fraises) mais il sera avant tout attachant. Il sera très compréhensif et ouvert à l’écoute. Il accepte Queenie telle qu’elle est et c’est en total contraste avec Corey Slater, un personnage qu’on va adorer détester. Ce dernier est le parfait exemple qu’il n’y a nul besoin d’être présomptueux ou imbuvable pour faire preuve de talent. Certes , ces deux hommes n’ont pas la même position sur la glace mais King sait contrôler ses émotions et penser collectivement à son équipe. Sur le papier , nos deux héros n’ont rien à faire ensemble et pourtant , on se met à rêver qu’ils puissent régler leur soucis pour construire quelque chose de durable à deux.
Bref, si vous lisez en VO, je ne peux que vous recommandez de lire cette saga qui vous offrira trois comédies romantiques qui vous feront passer un excellent moment de détente et de lecture. Helena Hunting ne pouvait pas mieux clôturer cette saga qu’avec ce duo à la fois opposé et si complémentaire. De plus, j’ai hâte de découvrir le roman sur la fille de Violet et Alex avec qui nous faisons connaissance dans ce roman.
Helena Hunting writes about sexy hockey players and she did not disappoint with Ryan Kingston.
Even when being teased about his always doing the right thing he marches on. It’s who he is.
But one night out in a bar after he has been notified of a secret from his family and he does something that he never does. He gets drunk and takes a woman home.
Queenie is known for being impulsive and flighty. Now without a job she has moved home with her father. Now she’s going to work as his assistant. She steps into a bar one night after her own secret has her needing to drown out some of what’s going on with her life.
One night and six weeks later, both are still thinking of the other and never expecting to see each other again, are shocked when the first team meeting of the hockey season. And The men of the hockey team are warned away from Queenie.
However, King and Queenie are drawn to each other, they start seeing each other. But King refuses to do things wrong so he asks permission from her father.
Can they work things through to have a relationship?
Ryan Kingston aka Kin finds himself in a bar trying forget that his life was flipped upside down, something this boy scout never does, when Queenie walks in with the intent to forget as well. They start up a conversation and decide that since they are perfect strangers they can spill their secrets to each other – the reason they are trying to forget. Only forget a little too much and King wakes up the next morning with a wicked hangover but some really pleasant memories, too bad he is alone. Six weeks later he goes into the first team meeting of the season and finds out that his first one-night stand is the GM’s daughter. Que the awkward wanting and pining.
This is one of the best opposites attract books I have ever read. Queenie and King are the perfect balance for each other – she is impulsive and a bit of a hot mess who can’t decide what she wants to do with her life, he is a straight-laced, follows all the rules boy scout and together they are perfection. I love how much of a rock King is for Queenie, that he wants to support her and make sure she does what makes her happy so she can thrive. I adored how much he would always build her up when she just wanted to crumble. Queenie with all of her crazy she knew exactly who and what she wanted to be but she just had a couple rotten apples who knocked her down. So when everything blew up her strength and growth was amazing because she didn’t crumble and fall. I kind of love her for that. This All In series has been nothing short of amazing. I am so glad I picked them up. Highly recommend. You get all the feels and tons of laughs. Can’t go wrong with that IMO.
Helena Hunting knows hockey, knows how to write romance and great stories, this is yet another example! While Ryan Kingston goalie for Seattle finds out a huge family secret, he has a one night stand with a woman, Queenie. This woman has more secrets that will be revealed throughout this royal tale!
I was so excited to read King’s book and it did not disappoint. This story was so fantastic, it had such a sweet and sensitive guy in King and his complete opposite in Queenie. The share a moment in the beginning of the book and then go their separate ways thinking they will not likely see each other again but fate has other plans for them. They meet again but the circumstances are not ideal and makes a relationship between them off-limits.
This book is romantic and has Helena’s signature humor that literally makes me laugh out loud. I loved every moment of this story and was so glad to see another appearance from my favorite Pucked character, Violet. The whole series was amazing!
He’s a strait-laced, rule follower with a naughty side.
She’s chaos personified.
A forbidden attraction with unexpected twists and turns, and lots of humor from the queen of hockey romance, Helena Hunting. Five swoony stars.
Amazing sports romance with all the feels!
I adored Helena Hunting’s “A Secret for a Secret,” book #3 of the All In series. I didn’t find it to be quite as laugh out loud funny as the second book of the series (“A Favor for a Favor”), but it was still very amusing, and definitely heartwarming.
The male leads of the first two books in this series, Rook and Bishop, were wonderful, but I think book #3’s Ryan “King” Kingston may be my new favorite. He has absolutely earned a place on my top book boyfriends of all time list! King reminded me a bit of the guys on those insurance commercials that warn against turning into your parents after buying a house because he seemed prematurely middle-aged or old in some of his habits, but I had to laugh every time one of those aspects of his personality was revealed. In general, King was very sweet, thoughtful, responsible, and cautious in the ways you’d want in a romantic partner (aside from his driving; that would have driven me crazy!), but when he was alone with Queenie and finally lost control, it was electrifying.
Queenie was also a wonderful lead character: very funny and sweet, as well as much smarter, more talented, and more competent than she believed herself to be. Thank goodness she had her dad, Jake, when she was growing up because her mom was awful, and Queenie needed someone to encourage her instead of putting her down. I loved watching her finally overcome her self-confidence issues (with Jake and King’s help) so that she could pursue her dream career. I also enjoyed the sweet friendship she developed with Alex and Violet’s daughter, Lavender, which showed not only what a great therapist Queenie would be, but also what a great mom.
In addition, I thought King and Queenie’s relationship grew at just the right pace, and they made a perfect match because he really did seem like the calm to her storm. I loved how King always encouraged, supported, and stood up for Queenie, and she teased him into not letting his life become too routine or boring. I also appreciated that she didn’t try to change him just for the sake of change. So what if he wanted to wear khakis and a white polo shirt every day? It wasn’t hurting anyone!
Finally, Queenie’s dad, Jake, was pretty awesome, and I would love for him to get a story of his own at some point in the future. I have a pretty good suspicion as to whom he might be matched with based on the events of this book, but don’t want to speculate here so as not to spoil things for those who have not yet read it.
In any event, “A Secret for a Secret” was yet another excellent addition to Helena Hunting’s body of work, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
*ARC provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
NEW HOCKEY FORBIDDEN ROMANCE!!
He’s a strait-laced, rule follower with a naughty side.
She’s chaos personified.
BLURB
My name is Ryan Kingston, and I’m a rule follower. I’ve never been in a fistfight. I always obey the speed limit. I don’t get drunk, and I definitely don’t pick up random women at bars.
Except the night I found out that my whole existence has been a lie.
I got drunk. And picked up a stranger.
Her name was Queenie, and she was everything I’m not: reckless, impulsive, and chaotic. We did shots and traded secrets. And ended up naked at my place.
She left me a thank-you note in the morning and her panties as a parting gift. But no way to contact her.
Six weeks later I’m sitting in the first official team meeting of the season, and there she is. I neglected to mention that I’m the goalie for Seattle’s NHL team.
And Queenie? Turns out she’s the general manager’s daughter.
He’s a strait-laced, rule follower with a naughty side.
She’s chaos personified.
Hockey/sports romance
Forbidden romance
unexpected twists and turns
You know what I do when I read Helena’s books? I smile and I fall into a world I love with characters I’m routing for.
I love them. Plain and simple.
Get to reading, you’re going to love this one too!