“A fantastically fun, HOT love story.” – Kendall Ryan, New York Times bestselling author All I want is to play hockey on the Ice Knights, instead, I’m in a viral video for all the wrong reasons and my mom–yes, my mom–has taken over my dating apps. Then, when I think it can’t get any worse, the fates deliver Zara Ambrose, a five-feet-nothing redhead with more freckles than inches and who’d … freckles than inches and who’d rather be anywhere other than on a date with me.
Now a bet with her friends and my PR nightmare have us both stuck in this go-on-five-dates-with-the-same-person hell situation. But if we band together, we can get the whole thing over with and go on with our lives. It’s perfect! No feelings. No future. No fuc– *ahem* fun. No naked fun.
What could go wrong? Nothing–as long as I remember the rules. Don’t notice the way she looks in a dress. Don’t react when she does that little shivery sigh thing whenever we touch. Don’t think about the fact that she’s never had a toe-curling orgasm that wasn’t self-delivered and just how badly I want to change that.
Five dates–that’s it–and then we go our separate ways. At least, that was the plan…
Each book in the Ice Knights series is STANDALONE:
* Parental Guidance
* Awk-Weird
* Loud Mouth
more
This is a cute, fun RomCom from Avery Flynn. Caleb Stuckey is in trouble with his Hockey team the Ice Knights over a viral video. His publicist, coach and mother decide that he needs to improve his image. They are going to have him team up with a new dating app, Bramble , and go on five dates with a woman his mother chooses. Zara Ambrose is a miniaturist artist, whose bff insists that she sign up with Bramble to improve her nonexistent love life. Caleb and Zara agree to go out on the five dates, laying down some strict rules (like not a relationship). Of course, they slowly break their rules and grow closer with each date. Both Caleb and Zara were likable, and the relationship was sweet. This book is a nice setup for future books featuring other players from the Ice Knights. I cannot wait for the next book!
This book was one of the most surprising 5 stars I have ever read. Parental Guidance is laugh out loud funny, witty, charming and beautifully written. Y’all I had my doubts. A book about two people who met through a dating app isn’t necessarily screaming for me to read it. However, I’m a fan of AF and adore her writing style. So I dove in and could not put this beauty down until I had read the very last word.
Story Line: Caleb is a hockey star. Zara is a workaholic. His mom gets involved in his dating life. Her friends intervene. Sounds like a recipe for a disaster if I’ve ever heard one. Yet it’s not. Like not even a little bit. Caleb’s character in particular begins as mucho macho man so I was super worried he would walk all over sweet Zara. But man, that feisty red head sure can hold her own. Oh and let’s not forget that the app they meet through isn’t just a standard run of the mill one. Oh no, this app is like a do it for you sort of one. Lost? Allow me to give you the general overview. Zara and Caleb are matched of course. But this app does so much more. They have 5 planned dates. They do interviews after the dates and so on. See what I mean? It’s sort of reality tv meets your iphone. Kinda. Sort of. Anywho, Can you guess how many dates it takes for these two to realize they’re falling for each other? No this isn’t instalove, but they way these two gravitate towards one another and start bending the rules, is absolutely brilliant.
Interaction: I swear to you guys, Caleb’s mr big shot ego has met his match with Zara. She may be tiny, sweet and gorgeous. But her witty comebacks and sense of humor are larger than life. I love her so much. I may even have a bit of a girl crush on her. Her character is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. Her job isn’t something we hear of often and is oftentimes perceived as nerdy. I LOVED IT. It was the perfect added detail to her character. And for Caleb to not only embrace her for this dimension but to go above and beyond for it? MAGIC. Pure, sweet magic.
Laundry: AF’s slow burns may just be my favorites of all time. She creates this dynamic and gorgeously described world that her characters live in. Then their lives intertwine and intersect. Then that tingling lusty spark starts to appear over and over again. Before we know it, the good stuff is happening and we are in 7th heaven. Seriously. I have never loved to wait for laundry more than I do when AF writes it. SO DANG GOOD.
Depth: Oh lordy, how do I tell y’all how incredible this book is without giving away too much? Parental Guidance is not just a love story. It’s a story about people who come from opposite backgrounds, yet blend their lives so perfectly you would never know how different they really are. Because at the end of the day, we may have stardom status, or a simple little job that makes us insanely happy. And it doesn’t matter where we come from or how we got there. What matters is the beauty of our souls and the love we have to give. And this story full embraced that fact and made my happily ever after loving heart immensely happy.
Let me start by saying I think I love every Avery Flynn book that I’ve read so far. Her writing is great & I loved her other series The Hartigan’s. I jumped at the chance to read this next series & so far she’s not let me down. Caleb & Zara were so cute together making up their rules about dating bc neither wants a relationship. Too bad it doesn’t help them.
Truly predictable plot and ending. Ridiculous writing
This one is about Caleb and Zara. What do you do when your a PR nightmare or when your father needs a screen actor guild certificate. You join a dating site that your parent picks your date. It’s only 5 dates right? Likeable characters and I loved Anchovy.
Caleb Stuckey has gotten himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. All because a few rookies were running their mouths and another idiot recorded it. Once that video went viral, Caleb knew he was in trouble. His punishment? Let his mother choose a date from a dating site. Somehow, this would make him and the team look better. Caleb wasn’t thrilled, but he knew he had no choice.
Zara was a workaholic. So her father and best friend said, anyway. To please her friend, she agreed to join a dating site, with her father choosing her date. That should be interesting!
As it turns out, this whole thing may not be a bad idea. Caleb didn’t expect to actually like the other person drawn into this fiasco. But he definitely likes Zara. Zara makes Caleb agree to a deal. A deal that will make his team look good and get her friends off of her back. But as any good deal goes, terms begin to change. Caleb and Zara definitely start to feel this could be the real deal.
I love the premise of this book and can’t wait for more in this series!!
Author Avery Flynn is one of my 3 go to RomCom authors and this book has me laughing so hard I can not lie I was ready to change my…. What would you do if you were a die hard hockey player with a PR issues and your mommy was picking your dates? What if the dates where being picked by a half crazy dad, well one who is always coming up with some kind of gimmick or get rich quick thing for his family? But thing time it’s all for his SAGA card. Yep he wants to be an actor. So his daughter Zara is going along for the ride. Well, and a chance to meet one of the upmost collectors of miniatures. Caleb & Zara are a wonderful mix of hard and soft, funny and zing. I love that she seems to fit his roughness with her soft and while she is small she is mighty. This book is so full of laughter, puns and yes romance abounds because it is an Avery Flynn book after all. And we have our ICE Knights front and center as they are straightening out their little PR mess. I am so looking forward to the next book in this series.
What a cute romantic comedy. Lighthearted with a touch of bluntness from the adorable redhead. She knows what she wants. Too bad her father and best friend don’t agree with her. But Zara wants to help her father get his SAG Card. Bonus if she can get Gemma off her back for not dating and being a workaholic. Five dates…no biggie. But what happens if she catches feelings for the studly hockey player with a helicopter mom?
Zara is content with her life as a miniature artist. She works out of her apartment for as many or as little hours as she wants. Her best friend thinks she works too many hours and doesn’t know how to relax. Gemma signs Zara up for Bramble, an online dating app where your parent picks your dates. Zara posts the snarkiest profile possible. That profile caught the attention of Britney “ballbuster” Stuckey one of the few female high school boys hockey coaches in the nation.
Caleb is living a nightmare. A PR nightmare that is slowly turning into a real life nightmare. After a night out with a few newbies on the team where the Uber driver taped the guys badmouthing their own team and Caleb said nothing. He should’ve shut them down. He didn’t. He didn’t add anything either. But now, he has to let his mother pick out his dates and make an appearance on a morning show to talk about it. What a crock! Why didn’t he just say something? To make things worse, the adorable pixie with a salty attitude is his date for the next five dates. Nothing about this is going to be easy.
Since neither of them want to “date” they create an alliance with rules. After all they just need to get through this. But what happens when one or both of them develop feelings. They have five dates until it’s over. But what happens if they do get to the fifth date?
Zara likes to be in charge of every aspect of her life. The only crazy part about it is her great dane Anchovy who in my opinion stole the book. Caleb is trying to clean up his image and agrees to date Zara with no strings between them. What starts out as no strings, quickly becomes knots to each other.
Flynn sense of humor was all over the book, with lots of giggling moments. I can’t wait for more books about the Ice Knights.
Reviewed by: Alex L.
A hockey player who needs to change and a miniature s artist with workaholic tendencies agree to let their parents set them up on dates….what could possibly go wrong??? Everything possible, of course.
I enjoyed this hilarious and perfect-for-the-beach, summertime read.
I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or remuneration.
So stinkin’ adorable!
Parental Guidance *might* be my favorite Avery Flynn book yet–though it’s pretty darn close to Tomboy (probably not a coincidence, since PG’s Caleb and T’s Zach are teammates, so…), which has me practically salivating waiting for the next Ice Knights book…write quickly, Ms. Flynn! 😉
On the surface, the premise of two I-don’t-want-to-date-ers being forced/conned/convinced to use a dating app for a set amount of time seems like a been-there, read-that kind of story. Ms. Flynn throws enough “new” in there to keep it interesting, though–and enough humor to keep me (snort) laughing–from the first page to the last. The parental guidance aspect was different (if kind of creepy) and the dates orchestrated by the app were really kind of neat. I loved Zara’s dog Anchovy, and did I mention that Caleb’s teammates cannot possibly have their own books fast enough to suit me? 😉 That teaser for Cole’s book made me want it right now…
So yes, I enjoyed the heck out of this book. It was a lot of fun to read, and more than made up for some less-than books that have crossed my path lately.
Plus, a hockey hero. You really can’t go wrong with a hockey hero. Or a heroine with crazy red hair and freckles who creates tiny authors reading tiny books for a living. I mean really, what more can you want?
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
A funny, honest, awkward story about dating in the digital age but with your parents at the helm.
3.5/5 stars. This read was quirky, honest and sexy. The main characters each had a goal to accomplish and set out to make that happen in 5 dates. But as you know, when you set parameters on your heart, it tends to go rogue.
Caleb, the pro Hockey player and Zara the miniatures artist were perfectly incompatible. Neither wanted to find true love or a relationship. But opposites certainly attracted in this rom-com and left both characters wondering how they could stick to their agreed upon restrictions.
I loved the unique personality that Zara had and her apprehension about everything that stemmed from her upbringing. Caleb had his own reasons for guarding his heart and his personal life. The two of them together was undeniably electric and made for a sweet, slow burn of emotions. I was so happy with how the story ended, and even more satisfied with the incredible epilogue!
The only reason I rated this book a 3.5 vs a 4 or 5 was due to the predictability of the story line and overall simplicity of the writing and dialogue. I just wished there was a little more substance and hearty dialogue between the two main characters. The book had me laughing, cringing, smiling and saddened. All possible emotions were laid out in this read which made it an enjoyable novel.
I swear even though my name is patricia I am not a horrid little nit when I tell you to READ THIS BOOK! Caleb and Zara are hilarious! Both are so jaded by life but go through with this horrid idea because both have a lot on the line!
I loved how the story was written! Dialogue and setting seemed to flow perfectly and I loved how we had an inside to both characters during crucial moments! I wasn’t left wondering anything and I felt a part of the action! This book was refreshing because it was a twist to the “fake boyfriend” tropes we see a lot! I also enjoyed seeing some of my fave Avery Flynn characters and can’t wait for more!
Parental Guidance, the first book in the Ice Knights series, is a light hearted Sports Romance-RomCom, featuring two main characters NOT looking for love or a relationship. And lucky for us they find it anyway, when they commit on going on five dates, after their parents set them up with someone they choose, on a dating app they’re forced to join. There’s also an adorable Great Dane that almost stole the story and if you’ve ever been around this breed, you’ll know what I mean! A little steamy, filled with a lot of funny and flirty banter, it’s the perfect poolside or lazy summer afternoon read. I can’t wait for more Ice Knights to come!
“Life is a banquet. Don’t starve.”
Zara Ambrose, at twenty-eight, is single by choice. Zara doesn’t do relationships, she was raised by her dad, and he wasn’t the most reliable person, so she has no desire to depend on a man. She lives with her enormous dog, Anchovy, and keeps busy working as a creative miniatures artisan; she sells her art in her Etsy shop. Zara hopes she’ll meet Helena Carlyle, a wealthy and well-known miniatures collector, someday soon and she’s convinced Mrs. Carlyle would love and buy a few of her pieces. That would put Zara on the map, a feather in her cap, so to say.
When her dad figures out he needs to appear on television, in order to obtain a SAG card (just ANOTHER one of his get-rich schemes) he tries to convince Zara to go on the Bramble dating app. He would choose her date and be interviewed, on the online dating reality TV, and it would be a win-win. Except Zara doesn’t want to date anyone, much less participate in the five-date Bramble commitment. When her best friend, Gemma, convinces her to join Bramble, with a promise to take Zara as her plus-one to a charity gala that Mrs. Carlyle will attend, she agrees.
Caleb Stuckey is a professional hockey player, with the Ice Knights. He’s the son of the famed female state champion high school hockey coach, Britany, AKA Brit the Ballbuster, and she taught him all he knows about the sport. When he’s summoned to a meeting by his coach, over an incident involving his teammates on a social media video gone viral, his mom, and team’s PR guru are called in, too. Caleb was being held accountable, for not speaking up, when the players were caught trash talking the team, the coaches, and the lack of quality puck bunnies available to them. As the senior player, he should have spoken up and reprimanded them, and now everyone agrees he needs to fix his image, by looking for a serious relationship. What could be better than dating someone his mother picks out, on Bramble? A lot of things, but if Caleb doesn’t agree, there will be consequences he’ll have to pay. So, five dates it is.
“What a pair they were. Totally blind to themselves and yet able to see the other so clearly. That was a disturbing thought.”
After Zara and Caleb are set-up by their parents they come to an agreement, a “temporary alliance” to the five-date commitment, with some rules in place. They just want to get this over with, so that their parents can let them go on with their lives, five dates and they’re done. Period. Seems simple enough!
“Life is like hockey—you put in the preparation, you put in the work, and you pray like hell that the calls will go your way.”
“And when they don’t?”
“You play harder.”
Parental Guidance is a fabulous start to this new series ! I am such a fan of Avery’s way with words and characters that I can’t help but fall in love with and their story.
Zara and Caleb are funny, cute, and laugh out loud funny. Neither one wants a relationship. Zara is a home buddy, workaholic miniture characture artist and Caleb is a star hockey player who is always in the spotlight . Zara is a feisty, honest red head packed into a petite package . Caleb is a burly athlete that finds the sassy Zara a bit refreshing . They are now both on a dating app that neither one wanted a part of. It is just five dates …..they can do it but they soon realize that no matter how much you think you don’t have in common the more the pull towards one another !!
~~Michele McMullen ~~
Avery Flynn has created the perfect Rom-Com. The narrative was original, entertaining, and a little bit steamy. You will be cheering for Caleb and Zara in all their charm. The story is light-hearted and funny and sure to be a crowd pleaser. Flynn skipped the angst and overly emotional tone that a lot of novels in this genre tend to lean towards and provided a highly amusing story of opposites attracting. 4 stars.
I thought this was a good read! The writing flowed well for me, and I liked Caleb and Zara together. I thought they had great chemistry, but it was frustrating watching them get in their own way about their relationship. Caleb came around a lot sooner than Zara, and I thought the argument that blew everything up was painful. Zara turned into a b**ch, and said some pretty horrible things to Caleb. Caleb only told her the truth. Caleb was still the one that made the grand gesture, even though I felt like that should have been on Zara. I loved Anchovy, he was a great dog, and added some funny moments to the story. I can’t wait to find out what happens with the rest of these hockey players!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE by Avery Flynn tells the story of the initially fake relationship between professional hockey player Caleb Stuckey and miniaturist artist Zara Ambrose.
I really enjoyed the main characters and I would have happily read more about them. I was particularly interested in Zara’s occupation, as well as her Great Dane, Anchovy – such a great name! Together, I found Caleb and Zara to be an authentic couple and I enjoyed the romance between them.
There were a couple of things that did fall short for me; I was not convinced of the circumstances that brought them together. It felt implausible. I also felt Zara’s relationship issues with her father were wrapped up too quickly and conveniently to be believable.
There are several serious moments throughout but Flynn does a good job in injecting humour at the right time. If you’re looking for a book that falls between light-hearted and something a bit meatier, PARENTAL GUIDANCE will tick the box.
I love this world that Avery Flynn has created! The Ice Knights game and Harbor City is on my wish list of places I wish I could travel too!
Imagine your parents picked your next date. I know I’d probably hate it. Giving up complete power. Caleb, however, has no choice. The concept of this book is so unique and I loved every minute of it!
This was such a fun, light read. Caleb and Zara’s banter is great. They have great chemistry and they become actual friends. Each is forced to be on the dates, but they have fun anyway. Which was not what either were expecting. It truly was a laugh out loud book. Let’s not forget the ultimate scene stealer, Anchovy! He’s hilarious and smart.
I’m so glad there are going to be more books in the series!. I love all the characters!
Such a fun read. Great characters and a unique storyline. Loved Anchovy. Cannot wait to read the next book, thanks to the glimpse at the end.