He’s the biggest, baddest, most spider-fearing motherpucker on the ice… of the rink. I don’t come early, but I come often, if you know what I mean. And I always leave the ladies wanting more.
Until that chick last night.
I’m no one-thrust wonder, and you’re damn right I’m going to prove to her I can do better. But every time I think I’m finally on my way back into her pants, she one-ups and out-balls me.
I should cut my losses, lick my wounds, and walk away.
But Zeus Berger doesn’t walk away from anything.
Especially when she’s the only woman in the world who might be able to handle me.
The Pilot and the Puck-Up is a standalone romantic comedy featuring a hockey player whose ego is the only thing bigger than his shoe size, the most badass woman to ever fly a plane, rubber chockey (don’t ask), and no cheating or cliffhangers.
more
I loved Zeus bad luck.
I absolutely LOVE the Berger siblings, not just the twins but all three siblings! Reading this story made me love them even more! The pilot and the Puck-Up is another great story by this author. It’s sweet, full of feelings, and totally laugh out loud wonderful. Who wouldn’t be in love with Zeus, especially after reading this. Though I have to admit I wasn’t a big fan of Joey at the beginning. She was hard and locked down and she just seemed emotionless. She was right at the end when she said that having feelings make you human. I think that’s part of the reason I wasn’t a big fan of hers until closer to the end. I just wanted her to be human, not some cold-hearted robot who was afraid to feel. But she was great for Zeus and he was great for her. Loved all the secondary character’s, especially catching up with my favorite couple Chase and Ambrosia. Looking forward to Manning and Gracie’s story and how they are going to get away with their love under the watchful eye of Joey!
Pippa Grant has cemented herself as the best romantic comedy author with The Pilot and The Puck-Up. At least in my book! I have never laughed so hard as I did with this book. When I say laugh I’m talking the side splitting, snorting, rolling on the floor laughter. I probably looked like a loon laughing at my kindle. I had a huge smile on my face this entire book. Romance and comedy seamlessly intertwined to make a definite five star read.
Joey is hilarious and tough. She has bigger lady balls than any chick I’ve met. Joey’s personality is so great. She’s seriously like a loyal, crazy, boss. Joey is my spirit animal. We met Zeus in the two previous books but we got to know him in this story. Zeus parades around like a brute, making everyone think he’s a dumb jock. When in reality he’s a smart teddy bear. I’m so glad he got his HEA.
The Pilot and The Puck-Up will have you rolling in laughter, feeling butterflies in your stomach from the romance, and wishing your name was Joey and a kickass pilot. I can’t recommend Pippa Grant enough, she’s an auto buy author for me and the first person I recommend when others are needing a romcom fix. Her books somehow become funnier each time and I can’t wait for Manning and Ares’ stories!
Joey has Lady Balls
Why am I always surprised at the emotional intensity of Pippa Grant’s writing? Why, why, why? I keep underestimating the emotional forces at work and then I’m gobsmacked by the unexpected feelings. Oh, dog, the feelings.
What kind of woman do you think it takes to bring Zeus Berger to his knees? Figuratively and literally. It sure wasn’t the kind of woman I expected him to fall for. And that is the genius of Pippa Grant. Bringing it. And bringing it hard. I’m not going to say a word about Joey “fireball” Diamonte. I’d rather just let you discover her charms on your own. But I guarantee you will love her and love this book.
Oh my DOG in heaven!!! Yeah, you might think that’s a weird thing to say but you haven’t had the supreme pleasure of reading The Pilot and the Puck-Up by Pippa Grant yet. Once you do, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
This is the third book in Pippa’s series on connected standalones. It feature Zeus Berger and Joey Diamonte who goes by the nickname Fireball.
The Force and the Fireball. I wonder if Pippa ever thought of using that for the title of this hilarious, snort-laugh out loud book. I think it’s catchy, don’t you?
As you know, (if you’ve read the previous books, and if not, why not. They’re flipping brilliant) Zeus is Ambrosia’s brother and twin to Ares. He’s also a huge hulk of a hockey player and a man of few words, although not as few as his brother. When another team member bets he won’t turn up at a private golf club meeting dressed as a woman. He can’t refuse. Manning, the friend, takes one look at him and makes another bet.
That he can’t find a woman and ask her out on a date dressed as he is.
Zeus never backs down and he’s not a quitter.
That’s how he comes to met Joey, a.k.a Fireball, who’s there with her own agenda. To find an investor for her adventure airplane company.
Sparks fly when these two met. Joey’s never really known a man quite like Zeus, and he feels the same about her. He wants her, badly.
A series of hilarious and definitely OMG moments occur before these two finally get to bang uglies but it was worth the wait.
Zeus isn’t just a hard-headed hockey player, he’s got a soft side. A gentle giant of a man who really just wants to be normal. But, with Joey, him finds not just himself, but her too.
Joey’s a bada** pilot who wants to take her company to the next level. She sassy, strong-willed and has a vulnerable side she tries to heep hidden but Zeus just pulls it out of her. She had a tough childhood, and has been mother and sister to Gracie since she was eight years old. They’ve been alone for a while now, and it’s always just them and Joey’s business partner and best friend Peaches.
From a tough beginning to a beautiful ending, this book had me smiling the whole way through. There’s not angst, just some tough love, hot sex and weightlessness. And you will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Zeus Berger but you’ll adore Joey. These two are soo deserving of this story and a whole lot more.
I loved seeing all the gang from Mr McHottie, Knox from Stud in the Stacks even got a mention but no cameo. I’m really looking forward to Ares’ tale, but we have to wait for that as first up, we have the Prince of Stolland and Gracie when their book come out in the near future.
Want an enjoyable weekend with a light hearted book boyfriend! Then fall in love the Berger Twins. Zeus is my kind of man funny , solid and funny as. Pippa Grant has a great way of creating wonderful belivable characters that make you laugh out loud.Light hearted but a romance through and through Loved it.
Zeus and Joey are a match made in a vomit comet. Poor Zeus, deep down, all he wants —- well, I’m not spilling his deepest secret, because I don’t want the behometh hockey player coming after me (because he’s that real, people)! 😉
Joey’s a tough nut. A hard-nosed pilot who’s climbed high and low and high again flying jets in her getting-off-the-ground vomit comet business, men don’t interest her. Much. One thing you have to say about Zeus is he makes a distinctive entrance into her life. Joey’s there to drum up investors in her business. Zeus is there…because.
Things get crazy after that, including a ride on a gravity flight, the aforementioned vomit comet, and we meet a little girl who’s got possibly more moxie than either Joey or Zeus who frankly deserves a book or her own – or her single mother does. (Hear that, Pippa Grant? I want the kids’ mom to have a HEA too, because they deserve one!)
The romance is hilarious and top-notch, with all the craziness in a PG (that’s Pippa Grant, and it’s NOT PG rated) book. So, get it, sit back, and be prepared to giggle your way through Zeus’ growing self-awareness and Joey’s crash landing into giant Zeus. Hey, any landing is a good one, even a crash one. And I think Joey would agree. And Zeus.
Zeus one half of set set of Berger twins, I have been waiting for his story. I knew there was more than just ice and food to him. And oh yes there is. Joey the Pilot is something else herself. This book is different than most of Pippa Grants books. It has the humor and sexy fun times but we also get to see more in-depth to the characters. We get to catch up with some of our friendly faces from last books and meet new ones as well.
So excited for a new series. I get some of my favorite characters back in action. I love the chemistry between Zues and Joey. She isn’t afraid of this monster of a man. And he is a huge, giant hockey player. Their witty banter and the back and forth was so fun. I couldn’t put it down.
The Pilot and the Puck up has been on my tbr list for a while and I finally got to reading it. So here we have a rom com and I am excited to say that I sure did get a lot of laughs while reading this book. We have Zeus who is a huge mother pucker. He is crazy in a sense of being funny and the center of attention. He and his twin brother are like the kings of pranks. He never backs down from any bets/dares. So imagine when I start reading about a Goliath of a man in a dress for a charity event. Then we have Joey who is one tough chick. She is not one to put up with a lot. She has worked hard for what she has. She is just as scary as Zeus or maybe scarier. It is a slow burn but the tease and build up through out the story is funny. I got one word. SPIDERS! OH MY GOD I almost laughed my self out of my chair. Cause I so would have done the same thing. I definitely like Zeus and Joey. These two are perfect for each other. Now off to book two.
I love a big, sweet, goofy guy and Zeus checks all of these boxes. He had me from the very first chapter and stole my heart just few chapters in. And Joey? She is badass perfection. I love that she’s a pilot and created her own business with her sister and best friend. She’s the one meant to tame the God that is Zeus because he’s the one meant to tame her.
Hockey romance rarely appears on my rather extensive reading list, but when it does, it usually goes on my list of best books. I must confess, Pippa Grant uses slightly different style of writing that I’m used to, but I picked it up pretty fast and after a few pages I was already laughing till tears started streaming down my face. I LOVE strong heroines so there’s needless to say that I fell totally in love with Fireball. And how can I forget this huge, strong and successful hockey player with giant ego who screams like a little girl at the sight of a spider. I really enjoyed reading Josephine’s and Zeus’s story and can’t wait to continue with this series.
This book is for all the women (and men) that think they are too different, too loud, too weird, too hard, too whatever to be worthy of beautiful, sweet, fairytale love. This story shows us we are all worth finding what makes our heart happy. It has a little bit of everything – sweet moments, fan your face steamy, side splitting hilarity, tearful scenes, and heart squeezing love. Zeus and Joey’s love story has all the feels – expect to laugh and cry – but more importantly, expect to be able to see yourself as sexy and beautiful for all the moments when you’ve been a less than magazine model, designer label wearing, perfectly put together, sweet as pie woman. On the surface, Zeus and Joey both appear to be too rough around the edges and too big of personalities to be a good match together. Zeus is a 6’9” mountain of a man who’s a professional hockey player. Everyone believes he isn’t very bright and see him only as a sideshow freak. Joey is not a typical woman. She is a swearing, hard driving pilot who owns her own company and flies planes that simulate Martian, moon and zero gravity. Neither Zeus nor Joey believe they will ever have a spouse or kids because they’re too weird but love finds a way regardless of our weirdness. On their way to their HEA, Zeus and Joey have to both learn a lot about love, trust, letting go of fear, and learning to embrace who you are. Sprinkled liberally throughout this beautifully paced story of Zeus and Joey’s HEA, there are also some other characters from the Pippa Universe. It is okay if you have not yet read the love stories of these characters though. They are woven seamlessly into this story so rather than being overwhelming or detracting from the main love story, these characters are beautiful additions to the unfurling of Zeus and Joey’s dance of love, passion and hilarity. With The Pilot and the Puck Up, Pippa Grant once again proves she’s the queen of rom-coms.
I’ve just finished the first three books in Pippa Grant’s The Thrusters Hockey Series. Yup, addictively read them one after another (plus the freebie extra epilogues kindly provided via links at the end of each book), laughing (and nearly peeing at times) all the way through. These books are not only perfect romantic comedies they’re perfect romance tales. Period. I don’t know who I’d rather be, super tough pilot Joey, better than a princess Gracie or super brainy ventriloquist (and so much more) Felicity. They are all super heroines. If I can’t be them I wish I had them as close friends, and really love the super-hunks they ended up with (and not just because hockey is my favorite sport). All three books are highly recommended – and I can’t wait to read through book 4 which I’m about to start.
A spider fearing hockey player meets a fearless female pilot and the laughs, fun, steam and romance are off the charts. Such a fun read and the audiobook is awesome. First in the Thruster series and am looking forward to the next. Snap this one up.
Audio Review
I laughed out loud so many times while listening to this audiobook. This author is one of my favorite for rom-coms and this one was a 5 for me.
Zeus Berger is one of the twin brothers of Ambrosia Berger who was in Mister McHottie, which was great also, anyway Zeus plays hockey and he’s big, really big and not known for his brains or his heart as he hasn’t let either been seen before but when he meets the fiery pilot that steals his heart he lets it all shine through.
Joey aka Josephine is tough as nails and takes no prisoners in business or life. She refuses to get her heart broken so she just keeps it wrapped up tight and hidden behind her tough girl persona but Zeus works his way into no only her heart but her head too and she finally lets herself love and be loved.
This is a fast past story where there is always something funny or sexy going on. I love all the characters and all the hilarious moments between Joey and Zeus and how they both find what they didn’t even know they were looking for. Great story.
Jason Clarke and Erin Mallon are off the charts funny and sexy with this one. Just perfect.
I loved it and recommend it.
I had so much fun listening to this hilarious, heartfelt, and steamy hockey romance. I fell for Zeus, the huge professional hockey player with an even bigger heart. He is smart, confident and unapologetically blunt. He easily has women throwing themselves at him, so when he meets Joey “Fireball’ Diamonte, he is completely bowled over. Joey is ex-military, and is a pilot that runs her own flight adventure company. She is tough, athletic, loves taking care of her family, and never takes crap from anybody. She and Zeus are drawn to each other right from the start. They are so much alike as they care for those in need, and love a challenge. Joey doesn’t give in easily to Zeus, making him work for her attention. There are so many hilarious moments when Zeus is out of his element, but it makes him want her even more. I love Zeus and Joey together! They really understand each other, are sensitive to each others flaws, and are so competitive, it only fuels their explosive chemistry. I also all their quirky friends and family, who made this story even more fun.
Jason Clarke, and Erin Mallon did a great job bringing this story to life. I love both their voices, along with their flawless comedic timing and dynamic voice changes as they delivered the clever, fast paced, snarky banter. They made this hilarious, heartfelt, and steamy story even better.
2021 and someone recommended me Pippa Grant and this read.
Well this is a sign of good things to come as I am in for a Pippa Grant Holiday.
Loved Loved Loved F’loved it.
My new addiction is Rom Com and Hockey (US Ice Hockey) even though I don’t understand a damn thing about the game, I love the shenanigans that Pippa Grant and her Pilot and the Puck Up has bought to me.
What I love moist about this series, is that there is going to be more to come. Yayy for me
But this story, the Characters of Zeus and Joey and the OTT laughter and giggles I got and “Jupiter” Forget about going to the Moon, give me Jupiter anytime lol.
Also not just the adult characters, Bailey, I think we all need a Bailey in our lives.
Great book great read and what a way to start off the Year. Pippa you are seriously going to be a huge part of my Reading Challenge in GR for 2021 lol
Also you have incorporated my other fave things i reading, Small towns settings, where I can pretend I live and travel to through books. Only an author can let you fall in love with something not actually real.
5 Zero Gravity Stars
Since finding Pippa Grants books a week ago I literally have dived over board and into all her books. The Pilot & the Puck-Up is the first book into the Thrusters Hockey series.
Joey “Fireball” Diamonte is one independent lady. Her balls are just as big as any man. She has attended college, served a six year stint in the military, and now runs her own business. She is a kick ass female that takes no prisoners. She has no time for her love life because who needs that hassle when you have a company to run and planes to fly and zero gravity planes at that!
Zeus Berger is a big giant hockey player who likes to that the piss out of himself and others whenever possible. Life is never boring when he is around. I didn’t expect to see a softer, smarter side of him but when I did it had me swooning for him in big way.
“Call me Fireball. I don’t wear lipstick.”
“Damn, girl, could’ve fooled me. Think I need to know your secret.”
“I eat my enemies for breakfast and wear their blood the rest of the day.”
This book was so funny and had me in stitches through most of it. It also had the feels and the relationship between the two was perfect. They were perfect for each other. The secondary characters where a plenty and I couldn’t get enough of them. A good book is made great by the characters the support the main and I stand by that. I highly recommend this book and Pippa Grant. Her book worlds are addictive!
3.5’s.
I love a sports romance and even though this one was low on the sports, it was high on the humor. Zeus is one funny motherpucker. He can hold his own except when the badass pilot, Fireball aka Joey is involved. Zeus on his own is a little crazy with his thoughts and words but add in Joey’s internal dialogue and no filter mouth and it was hard to keep up with them at times. But on reflection, Zeus needed to find someone just like him for a romance to work. He needed someone who could look past his tough exterior and know what softness is hidden underneath. And Joey had the same personality, she cares deeply for those she treasures, her sister Gracie knows all too well. Some of the storyline was way out there on another planet, and it threw me but again, it suited this couple to a T. I have been enjoying these books from this author immensely and can’t wait to start up the next one in the time line order. Therefore I have an engagement with a Royal and a baker – Manning and Gracie here I come.