Easton: Hockey isn’t forever. The money, excitement, and glory of being a professional hockey player meant more to me than a family, a home, and a forever. Another man has my forever, and I have hockey. I thought making the big bucks and playing against the best in the world would feel better than this. Instead I’m empty and hollow, like a big piece of my heart was hacked off. There’s something … There’s something missing. Something big. Something I can never get back.
Caroline:
I loved him, but he wasn’t the love of my life.
My husband died too young, too suddenly, too tragically. I was unprepared with no education, no job skills, and no future plans. When a DNA test reveals my twins’ true parentage, I have no choice but to do the right thing. I turn to the one man who’d turned his back on me all those years ago.
I’d been shutout from his life, and I’d shut him out from mine. Can two strangers make a family? Do we have what it takes to forgive and move on?
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I am not sure how to write this review. I have mixed emotions with this one… I am going to give this one 4 stars because I loved the writing of Jami Davenport. This was my first book of hers. I really loved how smooth and engaging this book was.
That said, I almost gave it 3 stars because I the storyline did not impress me. Caroline (Caro) Mills husband passes away. When her in-laws what “rights” to see their grandchildren (twins, Heath & Hailey), they find out that her twins are not her husband’s twins but that of her boyfriend at one time, Easton Black, a star of the hockey team, the Sockeys. Long story short, Easton still loves Caro when she comes to tell him about the twins that they share.
The problem with this storyline is that there is no real romance. it seems to be all about the kids, which is fine, but you don’t really see that they are both on the same page romantically until about 90% in. I would have liked to see more heat between the characters while still having Easton learn how to be a father to the twins.
Just because I wasn’t a huge fan of this storyline does not mean that I am not going to stop reading Jami Davenport’s work. On the contrary, I am going to continue to read this series as well as the rest of her work. I hope to see more heat between the main characters. It would make it more of a story that would draw me in and make an impression that will last with me. That said, I am glad that I tried this one for sure. She was an author that I wanted to explore in 2020 and I am glad that I did.
~ Review by Heidi Pharo
This is by far the best book Miss Davenport has written, I loved this story and its characters, I can’t wait to see what comes next from these hockey players.
Shutout by Jami Davenport was a fabulous second chance romance.
Teenage lovers, Caroline and Easton have one magic summer together. But Caro is left broken hearted when Easton unexpectedly ends their relationship to focus on school and hockey. Left floundering, Caro goes back to her old boyfriend, discovers she is pregnant and marries. In what seems like the end of their tale, two years later, realizing his life feels empty, Easton tries to find Caroline only to see her happily married with two young children.
When Caroline’s husband dies, she is left to raise her two young children alone. At the urging of his parent’s Caroline does a round of genetics on the children when she finds out her husband was adopted only to discover that he wasn’t their father after all.
What follows is a super sweet and very emotional story of a father getting to know the children he didn’t know he had and a second chance at love for Caroline and Easton if they can both move past the hurt they caused one another in their pasts.
This really is an emotional roller coaster of a book. Feelings of anger, mistrust, hurt, confusion and guilt all lead towards what could be the love of a lifetime and the birth of a new family and happy ever after. Caroline’s story is heartbreaking with a very hard past and now fears of losing her children to the one man with the power to take them away from her struggles to do the right thing. Easton steps up in a huge way when he learns he is a father and when he also realized he wants everything with Caroline as well. And the twins are just plain adorable.
It was great to catch up with some of our favorite Sockeyes as well as meet some of the other rookies we’ll see in future books. All in all, Shutout was a lovely romance and a great start to this new spin off series with the Sockeyes. 4 stars.
3.5 Stars
I wanted to love this book. It was hard for me at the beginning of the story. I had to set it down for a bit but it got better as it went. I would have liked more depth with the characters.
Caro has a lot on her plate but knows she needs to tell Easton about the shocking new she has.
Easton is one of the Puck Brothers. He isn’t into settling down.
When he is confronted with a blast from the past. What she says rocks his world. Easton doesn’t back down and knows he wants to be in their life. But can he get a place in Caro’s life too.
There were parts that were rush and could have had more depth but this was overall a good read. I’ll look forward to the next book in the series.
Repeat after me: I am a father!
I enjoyed meeting these boys of Seattle Hockey again, and the way that Jami Davenport pulls all of her past and present characters together is one that guarantees I’ll always be reading her books.
As much as I love, and I mean really love Ms Davenport’s books and characters, I have to admit that this one missed it’s mark for me on so many levels. Easton’s name has been bandied around before, and I wanted to read his story. The premise is perfect, but there are many areas that I had small issues with.
I’m not giving away plot spoilers, but needless to say, the ease in which our young characters accepted the situation, hell’s teeth, even talking to a stranger at their door in the excited and convivial manner that they did (stranger danger!) and the speed in which Caro moved on, had me losing respect for her. Her best friend saw Caro’s initial heartbreak from all those years ago, and didn’t want to deck the guy, instead greeting him like a long lost best bud!
Who DID I love?? Caro’s in-laws. Their understanding, unconditional love for Caro and the kids, and them pushing her to remedy the situation, had them cemented firmly in my heart. I also really enjoyed catching up with our past older characters who are making way for this young set of rookies.
This was still an enjoyable read, and one that I stayed up late to finish, as I always do when I hit one of Jami Davenport’s books, even when I re-read them. So I absolutely do recommend you read it if you love secret kid and sports romances. If this is your first book from Jami, just know that it’s not one of her best and get more. I certainly will! 4 Stars for this one
Easton knows he is missing something. He can feel his life is off. He should be elated to be part of a great NHL team, and instead he is wondering what if. Then he gets the bombshell of his life.
Caroline is scared out of her mind to see Easton again. She has to give up a part of herself and it already hurts. The memories still haunt her when she thinks of them. Can they learn to put the past behind them for the greater good?
This book is one of the reasons why I keep reading all that this author has to offer. Such deep and emotion filled characters that are a joy to read. With a rich and interesting storyline this is a good read.
***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.
5 star Review Shutout: A Seattle Sockeyes Novel (The Scoring Series Book 1) by Jami Davenport
Jami Davenport is off to a flying start with the first book in her latest series. This is a second chance at love story that ticked all the boxes for me.
Every time I read a book I by this author, I think “oh this is my favourite” and then along comes another book to prove me wrong.
Caro had a hard life as a teenager and one of the brightest moments in her life was the relationship she had with Easton. When he broke her heart and left to pursue his hockey dreams she was devastated and turned to her old boyfriend Mark to ease the pain. .
Fast forward a number of years and Easton knows that he is missing something in his life but exactly what that is, he is unsure. Caro on the other hand has found happiness and has a family with her husband Mark, until tragedy strikes.
When Caro learns some shocking news, she knows she has no alternative but to re connect with Easton. The sparks that fly between Easton and Caro are just as intense as when they were younger, however these two have a shared past that may not be so easy to put behind them. Will the chemistry and obvious attraction that still remain be enough for them to overcome the hurts of the past and find a future together?
From the start of Shutout, I wanted these two to get back together, not only for themselves but for the children. It was obvious to those around them that these four people deserved to make a happy life together.
The pain that the twins have gone through with the loss of their father was palpable and tears welled in my eyes as they struggled to come to terms with all the changes that were happening around them.
The secondary characters were entertaining and I appreciate that Ms.Davenport’s characters are not perfect, human if you will and the situations they find themselves in are easy to relate too.
Ms. Davenport had me hooked from the first to the last chapter of this well written story. Shutout is an entertaining story that captivated me and I cannot wait to read more in this exciting new series.
What a great start to the new The Scoring Series from Jami Davenport and I have to say this book will certainly be appearing on my best reads of 2020……. I also have to say I finished this book a few days ago but I have really struggled to find the words to do this story and it’s characters justice.
A shock discovery for the newly widowed Caroline leads her back to her childhood sweetheart but how do you tell the man who walked away from you that your 6 year old twins carry his DNA and how do you tell your children that the daddy they are grieving for was only their daddy in name, their birth father is actually Easton Black a NHL player……
More than one life gets turned upside down in this emotional roller coaster and I found myself at times thinking come on guys sort this out for the sake of your children but then I wondered how I would feel if I had been left in this situation. Easton after the initial shock is ready to step up and be a father but will Caro let him and what will those adorable twins feel when their world comes crashing down once again….
This book has all the feels you want in a great read, it’s emotional, it’s a tear jerker and it’s got plenty of witty banter to cheer you up. This book captivated me it drew me in from the first page and that for me is a sign of a very special story, one I won’t forget and one I will read again and again. What’s next in this series who knows but I for one can’t wait, I highly recommend this book to all sports romance lovers as well as all romance lovers. One click this must read now !!!!
I thought that this book had an interesting story to tell. Easton and Caroline had a relationship that was complicated to say the very least. While overall I enjoyed the book, I was not a fan of either of these characters. I wanted to like them but in the end it just never happened. I tried to make excuses for them but I could never get past how annoying and frustrating they were. If there had been no children involved maybe I could have been more forgiving in my assessment but alas, that would have made this a completely different story.
3.5
This book started out odd for me and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
I wasn’t a fan of Caro worrying over everything to the point she seems to cave into pressure. I also didn’t like how Easton was with her in the beginning, letting his temper get the best of him, as it seemed out of character with his level headedness. It made me feel as though these characters were more like teenagers than in their mid twenties.
I didn’t like how fickle Caroline and Easton were in their feelings, either. One minute they’re hot for each other the next (mainly Caro) pushing away and acting out.
Honestly I liked Easton, he seemed to get his head on straight much quicker and tried to play by Caroline’s rules, but it just made me feel bad for how she treated him. It felt like he was growing and she was stuck in the mud until the last few chapters.
It seemed that the majority of the book was like this, but eventually it led to a HEA. I normally enjoy this author’s work but this book felt a bit forced and just wasn’t for me.
I will more than likely give the next book in the series a read when it releases.
Tension, Love to hate to love, hockey, parent
Great story, it pulled me in right from the first page and I love it! 5 hockey pucks for this one!
Meet Easton, rookie for the Sockeyes, he did it, with hard work and dedication he made the team and he couldn’t be happier, or could he. He dreams of the one that he felt got away, they shared two months together, what he know realizes were the best of his life. If only she hadn’t moved on.
Caroline, the one that moved on after Easton, or at least she thought she did. After suffering a terrible loss, losing her husband, she finds out all may not be as it seemed. She finds out something she never knew about the twins family.
I don’t want to give to much away, I feel you have to read along and experience first hand all that happens with these two. I will say you will fall in love with the kids in this story! Grab this one asap!
Some people are lucky enough to meet their One Person at a young age, but sometimes it takes a little more time to get the HEA.. This is the story of Easton and Caroline. Jami Davenport extends her Sockeye’s Family to include new Teammates, The Puck Brothers. Shutout is the story of the first of these new guys, Easton. Easton made what he felt was the right decision for his future at a very young age when he first met Caroline. A decision he questioned over the next 6 years. Caroline lived with the decision Easton made for her as well, with some consequences she was not aware of until she suffered a tragedy of her own. Shoutout follows the story of how Easton and Caroline work thru their own fears and concerns about relationships to find their way back to each other and their HEA. We get to visit with some of our favorite characters from the previous series like Ice and Coop as a bonus. Again, Jami Davenport brings a heartwarming story that you don’t want to end and I can’t wait for more from this group of “Brothers”.
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title in exchange for an honest review**
I’m a sucker for a good sports romance and Shutout was a very good one. As the first book in the Scoring Series, we meet up with some familiar names if you’ve read Davenport’s Seattle Sockeyes series, but we also meet a new crop of rookies.
Easton Black is concentrating on making the Seattle Sockeyes team as a rookie. He knows there is something missing in his life, but he’s not quite sure what it is. A couple of years prior, he tracked down his ex-girlfriend, the one that got away, and he realizes that he’s too late; she’s married and has children. He refocuses on hockey and hopes it will fulfill him.
Caroline Mills has recently lost her husband much too soon and she is now dealing with that loss while also raising her two young twins. When she finds out from her husband’s parents that he had been adopted and had never know, it spurs her on to get a DNA test done so the children can know their father’s side of the family. What she never expected was that her husband was not the father of her twins, the man she had such a connection with for a short period when she was young is.
Knowing she has to do the right thing, she reaches out to Easton and asks to meet him. The chemistry between them is still unbelievable and off the charts, but she knows she’s got to do the hard thing and tell him he’s a father. Things don’t go well right off the bat, but slowly Easton ends up spending time with the kids and unavoidably with Caro as well. Will these two people that still have such a strong connection be able to create the family that maybe they should have had all along or will things fall apart?
I enjoyed this story and I’m really looking forward to what’s coming with some of the other rookies. It’s clear that Davenport has set us up for some very interesting stories to come!
DNA and fatherhood!
Easton Black had finally made the Seattle Sockeyes after all of his hard work and giving up the girl of his dreams but he knew they were both young and they had a lot of growing up to do.
Caroline Mills was a young widow when she found out her husband wasn’t the father of the twins but she knew she needed to tell Easton that he was a dad six years after the twins were born.
Jami Davenport has brought us back to the Seattle Sockeyes hockey team with a story that is very much real life with DNA tests and such but definitely with her trademark hockey romance where Easton and Caroline figure out what they need to do for their twins before rekindling their relationship.
I can’t wait for more books about the Seattle Sockeye’s and now I want to do a re-read of the earlier books.
Shutout is a second chance romance with a definite twist. Easton Black has worked his whole life to get to the NHL. He is now a rookie with the Seattle Sockeyes. He’s come a long way from a sixteen year old player at a hockey camp. That’s where he met Caroline Jones and fell in love with the girl he never forgot. When he leaves he breaks it off with her but little does he know he has left more than his heart behind.
What do you do when you discover your children don’t share DNA with your late husband? Anger, freakouts, and a whole plethora of emotions are what happens. Caroline has to confront the “boy” who broke her heart years ago and tell him that he is a father. Easton’s whole world gets turned upside down by that revelation. These two drove me crazy. I liked them and I disliked them. I just wanted to shake them and tell them to work it out. I got that Caro had trust and control issues, but she was also grieving. I got that Easton was angry but his anger really pissed me off. I didn’t like Caro’s control issues. It bothered me that she kept fighting Easton on everything. But Easton bothered me by not taking to Caro and just pushing his ideas and plans on her without caring what she thought. These two needed to be a united front and that isn’t how things started out. It was bothersome. I also have to say I was not a huge fan of Juniper’s. She was supposed to be Caro’s friend. Yeah, I got she wanted her friend to be happy but I personally thought she was a horrible friend. She was all team Easton all the way and didn’t care how Caro felt. This book just agitated me. I am really happy these two got their HEA though, and I’m looking forward to reading more of these young Sockeye players. *I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.*
“Shutout” is a sports romance book with a helping of second chance romance and a side of secret baby(s) goodness. Having never read anything by this author, I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of this book. Easton is an up and coming professional hockey player. He’s young, sexy, single and living the life. Caroline is a mother of twins and a widower, she is beautifully broken and trying desperately to keep it together. Discovering her deceased husband was adopted; she has DNA tests run on her children, to determine if there are any genetic issues to be concerned about. Her worst fears are unfounded but a new one takes its place, her dead husband is not their father, but a certain sexy hockey player she had a teenage summer romance with, was. Reconnecting with Easton for the sake of her children has them slam back into each other’s lives and to face their past actions, feelings and attraction. Coming together for the sake of their newly formed family ignites their feelings for one another and brings them together. Their HEA isn’t easy but ever so sweet when they finally work their way towards it. TBR and enjoy.