Gage Nelson doesn’t do one-night stands. In fact, he doesn’t date. He’s too focused on leading his team to the playoffs. Besides, he doesn’t need more women complicating his life—he’s got enough of that already.
But when a blue-eyed beauty bowls him over, he breaks his own rules and lets himself go with the flow for a night. A night he intends to be the first of many. When he wakes up, though, … though, his dream girl’s gone, and he has no idea how to find her. He’s haunted by the woman he can’t get out of his mind.
Lily Everett is caught in a past she can’t let go. One night of steamy sex with a hot hockey hunk helps her forget—until she wakes up, and guilt grabs her by the throat. She runs and doesn’t look back. And that’s okay because hockey players are, well, players, right? Guys like him aren’t looking for long-term—and neither is she.
When a chance meeting brings them back together, Lily realizes she’s not only misjudged Gage Nelson, but she’s misjudged her own heart’s yearnings. What began as a one-night stand threatens to undo her carefully laced-up world.
Gage, aka Mr. Perfect, is trying to live up to his family’s and his team’s sky-high expectations. A lot’s riding on his big shoulders, but as long as he goes in the direction his moral compass points, he can’t go wrong. Right? As for Lily, he wants her. Period. He sets out to win her the same way he wins at hockey: with patience and persistence. But he finds himself facing off against a rival he can’t beat.
Can Gage convince Lily to give up the ghosts of her past and make room for him in her heart, or will she freeze him out forever?
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This is the 3rd book in this amazing series and is Gauge and Lily’s story. Gauge is a pro hockey player, who is an all-round great guy who will do whatever he must to help others, while Lily is haunted by her past. These two spend a hot night together and Gauge knows that he needs more, but when he wakes up in the morning Lily is gone. These two are destined to cross paths again and Gauge is determined to win Lily over, and I loved how great he was with her daughter, and how patient he is in his pursuit of Lily. This is a well written flawless story which is emotionally charged, with realistic and engaging characters, humor, witty banter, family, and love, which leads to an entertaining and all-consuming tale. I look forward to reading more from this talented author whose work I highly recommend.
I have to say I enjoyed this story from beginning to end. I liked that Gage wasn’t a Puck bunny mad player who suddenly meets a woman and changes his ways. He’s an all round good guy that has always been about family and hockey. Lily is still grieving and trying to get through life as she has for the last four years.
They might have met by hooking up, but I enjoyed reading about how they grew and blinkers came off.
A big shout out to Daisy who stole the show
The book blurb sums up the story pretty well. It’s refreshing to have a sports celebrity main character who doesn’t sleep with every woman that hits on him, although that’s what single Mom Lily thinks when she immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion. I really liked Gage, who pretty much falls for Lily the moment he sees her. He’s down to earth and sweet, and so earnest in his attempts to win Lily over. I liked Lily too even though she frustrated me with her reluctance to let go of her past. This well-written romance had me from the first page. It has that real-life feel to it. The characters are full of life and emotion and their lives are just as complicated as real peoples lives are. Gauging the Player is a great addition to the series and I enjoyed it very much. 4.5 stars.
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance reader copy of this book.
A sweet story of learning to put the past away, letting love in, and putting your heart out there even when you know it’s going to get stomped on time and time again by the same person. I guess it’s stupid persistence? All for the sake of real love.
Another great addition to the Playmakers series.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.)
I am not a hockey fan, but thanks to authors like Avery Flynn and Helena Hunting, I have become a fan of the hockey romance over the past year or so. With that in mind, I picked up “Gauging the Player” by G.K. Brady, which turned out to be an enjoyable addition to the genre. The main characters were quite likeable and well-developed, and I couldn’t help but empathize with what both of them were going through. The male lead, Gage, seemed pretty straitlaced for a pro athlete, possibly because he was trying to live up to the “perfect” image his family had of him. He didn’t really date, choosing instead to focus on his family, hockey, and charity work. Overall, he seemed like a genuinely caring man, but even so, I can understand why the female lead, Lily, was hesitant to get involved with him at first. In addition to her grief following the death of her husband, Jack, the prospect of a partner whose career involved traveling for so much of the year would be daunting for any number of reasons.
Lily seemed like a sweet, genuine person as well, but I have to admit that I was a bit annoyed with her at times because of the way she seemed to treat Gage as nothing more than a booty call or friend with benefits. Gage was very good to both her and her daughter, Daisy, and deserved a lot more consideration than she sometimes gave him. Gage was very patient with her, however, and at least the reasons for her behavior were understandable.
While Gage and Lily’s story was mostly a standalone, characters from the first two books in this series made a number of appearances throughout the book. I haven’t read the earlier books yet, and unfortunately felt a bit lost regarding how some of the characters were connected to each other. At least one of them was Gage’s teammate, but it wasn’t entirely clear how he knew the others at first. Perhaps the author could have provided that background when these characters were first introduced to Lily, who was new to the group, so that readers (like me) who are new to the series wouldn’t feel quite so lost or confused.
At any rate, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it for all fans of sports romances. I will plan to check out the next book in the series featuring Gage’s sister Sarah.
*ARC provided by the author/publisher via Hidden Gems Books. All opinions expressed are my own.
** spoiler alert ** Gage is tired of being the boy scout. Lilly is stuck on the memory of her late husband. One night changes everything. Will Lilly let go of the past? Will Gage get the family he didn’t know he wanted or needed?
Loved these two! I didn’t blame Lilly for being stuck and being scared, but loved seeing her slowly blossom and break free of the past. I loved how Gage was pretty steady when it came to how he felt about her, I didn’t blame him for finally putting it on the line, but loved how he accepted her daughter as his own. Great addition to this series!
This was a good read. I would have liked it more but for most of the book Lily was a pill. She was just so wishy washy that it was hard to sympathize with her.
I fell for Gauge from the start … and couldn’t put this book down!
Gauging the Player, the third book in G.K. Brady’s Playmakers Series Hockey Romance ticks all the boxes for me! Why? Ms. Brady has crafted an engaging story with characters you’ll want in your own life
The storyline pulled me in from the start. Out of characters one night stand for both of our characters that can’t seem to forget the night. A chance second chance with roadblocks and challenges to get past.
I’ve read other books by the author, but this one is my favorite. As soon as I finished, I immediately started a re-read of my favorite parts … which is what put it in the 5 star territory for me. Why the re-read? The dialogue between the characters is full of soul-baring honesty, Gauge is in L.O.V.E with Lily and has to convince her that he’s in it for the long haul, and Lily’s reluctance is completely understandable …. But something she needs to put in her past if she’s going to have the future she wants. A quick read of the chapter titles will make you realize that this author is sassy, creative, and has “game” from the start. …and the contents of the chapters is even better.
Sisterhood Doesn’t Require Pants
Because Everyone Needs Social Media
Stuck in the Discovery Channel
Is it Hot in Here, or Is It You?
Dreamy Gauge is a hockey star that doesn’t know what he’s missing in life until he runs into single mom Lily who has a voice like an angel. Lily is complex, living half a life, solely focused on her daughter Daisy, but not really living since the death of her husband. The heat between them is swoon worthy and utterly romantic and I was cheering on Gauge and Daisy as they conspired to get Lily out of the friend zone. If you’ve read previous books, you’ll be happy to see familiar characters playing a role in this book.
Gauging the player is the 3rd book in the series, but it stands alone. Download this book now, clear the next days, and settle in to read. Oh! You’ll want to download the rest of the series too!
I received an ARC and was happy to leave my honest review with the hopes that others will find this book to be as enjoyable as I did.
G.K. Brady