Professional hockey player Sergei Petrov has had a rough time after the tragic loss of his beloved wife. Playing hockey and taking care of his son are all he has time for; getting traded was not on the agenda. Neither was a sexy, hockey-playing nanny to further complicate things. Star college athlete Danielle Cloutier may dominate the rink, but off the ice, she’s an amateur. She’s been trying to … trying to get rid of her virginity for years, but guys are always intimidated by her strength. That changes when she meets her new boss. Chemistry between them sizzles, hot enough to melt the most frozen of hearts, but Danielle can’t afford to get attached.
Sergei doesn’t know what to do with the beautiful, stubborn woman, but watching her turn his new house into a home gives him a few ideas. Can he come to terms with his feelings before she skates out of his life for good?
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An absolutely adorable, hot, hot, hot read that flies by! An amazing author that pulls you into the hockey world and lives of the characters! A story that has you wishing for the happily ever after of an adorable toddler full of light and love along with the couple!
Alaska Blizzard, book 1
Sergei Petrov is an NHL hockey player who was unexpectedly traded to the Alaska Blizzard’s expansion team in Anchorage, Alaska and not too happy about it. He’s also a widower trying to raise his 3 yr old son Nikolai. He had to leave Nikolai with his brother Toli’s family to care for him in Las Vegas when he got traded and is now back to pick him up.
Danielle, “Dani” Cloutier, came to Vegas to live with her brother Zakk and his wife while she is working on her master’s degree in kinesiology and works part time for the Sidewinders where her brother Zakk is one of the players on the team. Dani plays hockey too and is looking at trying out for the Women’s Olympic team.
Dani has been helping to care for Nikolai and moves to Anchorage to continue until she graduates and goes to the Olympics and then on to a job with the sidewinders.
Things have a way of changing when the chemistry between Sergei and Dani grows but he has a lot of personal issues to deal with and she has some decisions to make.
Will they be able to work things out or will she move back to Las Vegas?
4 1/2 stars
Awesome awesome awesome book 6 stars. Read in 1 day. Couldn’t put down.
Sergei is a single dad who is still trying to come to terms with the death of his wife. Being traded and having to leave his son with his brother temporarily wasn’t helping. To make matters worse he comes to his brother’s house in time to hear his son address Dani as momma D which sets him off. As these two get to know each other he finds her to ne a conundrum. After hiring her to be his son’s nanny, Sergei is beginning to see Dani in a whole new light but will he get his feelings together before she skates away to another city? This story will have you ever been in Sergei and Dani’s corner to make it to a happily ever after.
Sweet love story
Great hockey romance. The chemistry between all the characters is great ( love, anger, lust, camaraderie, friendships, family) and the storyline is smooth and easy to follow. Plenty of sports play, sex scenes, romantic moments, emotional moments, etc)
The story follows Sergei as he gets traded to Alaska and him picking up his son from his brother who happily stepped in to watch him while Sergei finished up the end of the season. He meets Dani and sparks fly, not good at first, but soon the good kind come out. Dani is a female hockey player- not professionally since there isn’t any money in it for females- but is in line to play the Olympics. She ends up nannying for Sergei and they decide a dating casually relationship would work, no feelings involved, just companionship. Not hard to guess it’s not as easy as it seems and the roller coaster of emotions throughout it all is well represented through the writing.
Would recommend.
This book is a winner. I started reading didn’t want to stop. Then when finished got another by this author.
I enjoyed this book so much! As soon as it I was finished with it, I bought the next 2 books in the series. Can’t wait to read them all!
I got lost in this book. The pages flew by.
I cannot wait to continue the series.
A start to a great series; keep them coming!
Sergei Petrov is a single dad who has been traded to Alaska and is in desperate need of a nanny to help during the hockey season. Dani agrees to leave Vegas to help him out while she is waiting to go train for the women’s US hockey olympic team.
Sergei and Dani end up starting a relationship that has an expiration date. The heart wants the other and can they get past all the issues that life is throwing at their relationship.
My first book by Mizera and I enjoyed that she had a strong female who had a life outside of the hero. It is the hero who has to adjust to her life.
Reviewed by: Alex L.
I need another Kat BookL!!! I still can’t get over Defending Dani!!!! I loved the story and it is my new favorite book! If you need something to read it is a truly wonderful read! Ashley @White Hot Reads.
My new favorite book! This is an awesome read and great start to a new Series!!! Ashley @ White Hot Reads
I love Kat’s Sidewinders Series and have read them all and could not wait to get my hands on her new book Defending Dani and it did not disappoint. You do not have to have read any of her other books to truly fall in love with Dani and Sergei but there are cross over characters throughout this entire book. This book has so many emotions and I could not put it down read it in one day. Sergei is the widowed single dad hockey player who has been traded to a new city and who has closed his heart to falling in love again. Dani who is a virgin Olympic Hockey player who’s helping her brother and his teammates as a nanny while she finishes her Master’s and go to the Olympic Games! When Sergei needs someone to help him take his son to Alaska and get his home set up Dani takes on the task. There is an expiration to Dani being in Sergei’s house but what these two do not count on is the attraction and feelings that bloom in this environment. Niko, Sergei’s son adds so much to the relationship and the story. There are so many real life issues that draw you in and keep you wanting more. Be prepared to laugh out loud and ugly cry because of these two. A truly great love story about to hurt souls. A great start to a new series and I cannot wait for the next book.
I was dragging my feet on reading this book–no real good reason. I shouldn’t have done that.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing and it was real. There weren’t situations in here that while reading I said that could never happen.
It was a very sweet love story. Dani and Sergei were perfect for each other from the get go, but they each needed the right push to get them to the end.
I am not a huge hockey fan, but this book wasn’t over the top with hockey everywhere. It wouldn’t have been bad had there been more hockey, but while hockey was essential to the story it wasn’t the main feature.
This is the second book I have read by Kat and I will read more–I like her writing style and I like her characters. I can’t wait for book 2 in this series and see what happens with Hailey and Kane.
DEFENDING DANI is the first book that I have read by Kat Mizera and I can say that I really liked it. The characters were likeable (most of the time) and the story was well written and easy to follow. I know that the characters were introduced previously in another series, but I didn’t feel that I needed to read the other series to know more about them as their past was explained very nicely, but I am definitely going to getting the other series!
Sergei is a broken man. He has loved and lost much in his life and he carries guilt for the death of his wife. But he has a son that needs him and he doesn’t have time for another woman in his life. But the attraction that he feels for Dani is to strong and too consuming to hold off from, even if it would be better for both of them.
But Dani is not a character that can be ignored or put in a box. She is very strong, but even the strong can have some insecurities. But she and Sergei are two characters that are perfect for each other. The only problem is that Dani has a path set for herself and choices that she needs to make. She is headed for the Olympics with a guaranteed job after that. But what would you give up for love?
DEFENDING DANI was an awesome read for the first in a new series that I believe is going to be epic. During the story I could see where others were going to appear and was introduced to other characters that I hope are going to get their own stories. Totally awesome and definitely something that I would recommend!
Very enjoyable read. Kat Mizera has great love and insight for the game of hockey.
Living the life of a hockey player with the travel and commitment is not an easy life. I wanted to simply shake some sense into Sergei and tell him to ‘Don’t throw away this amazing woman’, but at the same time I wanted to hug him as he worked through all the pain of feeling broken. He needed to embrace Dani, the woman to change his life and the life of his son!
Dani is an amazing hockey player! She has so much talent. Too bad she is a women and can’t make a living at a sport that she loves, but more importantly, she has a giving, nurturing heart for Niko and Sergei.
Sergei has talent as a hockey player but after his wife is killed and he is traded to a team far away from his family he is struggling on how to take care of his son.
Sergei is a single dad trying to make a life for himself and his son, Niko, but being a hockey player requires a lot of travel. He needs help and Dani is the perfect choice.
She has a bond with Niko, but she also has an opportunity to play hockey for the women’s team and a job far away from the man and his son who she has fallen in love with. Sergei doesn’t want to hold her back or hurt her. He doesn’t hold her back but he does break her heart and his own in the process. Until, he finally faces the truth of what his heart is telling him.
Good Hockey
Dani is a great hockey player, but there are no women’s teams that would pay her enough, she made the U.S. Team. She has been living with her brother & his wife in Law Vegas and helping with all the kids & working in the Sidewinders sales off. Sergei was traded to the Blizzard from Boston and left his son with his brother in Vegas. That is were they met & it all started.
Not horrible, just too boring to finish.
I love when the heroine also plays hockey! That’s my catnip.
I love a good sports romance and this one came with all the feels! It was not an easy journey for Aaron and Sara, but it was one that was beautifully written and captivating. It will have you rooting for the main characters and falling in love with their story. Saving Sara is a sweet, emotional, filled steamy moments story and a definite must read.