"Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover" holds true for this delightful surprise gem!
Another exceptional hockey romance in my collection is "Walk of Shame" by Avery Flynn! Surprisingly, I found the third person point of view enjoyable, despite my usual preference.
Astrid has quickly become one of my favorite FMC, especially in hockey romance, and Cal is undeniably delicious! This story is spicy, has delightful banter, emotional growth and healing heartwarming moments.
I loved every aspect so much that I finished it within a day! I regret not reading it sooner...
and that epilogue?! 🤯🥺

Don’t sleep on this read! I promise you’ll love it!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Read if you like:
▫️dual POV
▫️hockey
▫️forced proximity
▫️work romance
▫️“one night stand” never doing this again

This was my first book by Avery Flynn, but it won’t be my last! I had a blast reading it, and I can’t wait to go back and read the first book in this series, and her other series as well.

This was just a super fun, flirty, light-hearted hockey rom com. Astrid is sassy and Cal is sexy (especially when he wears his pink sweater). There’s fun banter, tension, and forbidden love. I giggled, I swooned, and I was totally invested in Astrid and Cal.

I loved Astrid’s friendships and her relationship with her dad. The side characters were all fun and interesting and I want books for all of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to add to their “hockey romance” TBR.

Thank you to Amara, Entangled Publishing, NetGalley, and Avery Flynn for the copy. I received it for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Reviewed for A Wanton Book Lover Blog

Astrid was jilted at the altar by her childhood sweetheart and has never quite been the same. He was also a hockey player that her dad coached so she has stayed away from everything hockey-related since that fateful day. Now, she's a one-and-done type of girl. Absolutely no relationships; just one night of fun. One night when Astrid is helping out at her friend's bar, Cal, the lumberjack look-alike comes to her rescue and gets her all hot and bothered. The two end up at Cal's for a night of fun but guess what? Cal lives in the same building she does. Not only that, Cal is back helping her dad's team and Astrid is also helping to get the team goalie back on track. Even though Astrid has her one-night rule, she and Cal can't seem to stay away from or keep their clothes on in each other's presence.
Walk of Shame is a hot romance story with great characters and funny commentary. It was enjoyable to see that Astrid could not control herself around Cal and ended up falling in love with him, even when she kept trying everything in her power not to. Cal sacrificed a lot too to give their relationship a chance. Walk of Shame is book 2 in the Downside of Dating series and can be read as a stand-alone

This story took a little bit for me to get fully engaged in, the pace was a bit odd to me.
Astrid and Cal’s banter, tension and humor pulled me in. Not to mention it’s spicy very early on. I’m a sucker for a steamy and hot couple.
I’m also a sucker for a sports romance. A jilted bride at her wedding is a great beginning to this lighter romance with plenty of laughs and some emotional moments.
The characters are interesting and realistic.
There are some really fun and hilarious moments and aspects to this book and the characters.
It was my first book by this author, I’m definitely going to read more. I think her style is unusual and that interests me.

This is a book I would not have picked for myself. I received an ARC copy. With that being said, I loved the book! I literally laughed out loud and fell in love with the characters. Some of the spice was more explicit than I am comfortable with, so those parts were skimmed over. Even though I may blush a time or two, I will definitely be reading this author again. First hockey romance I have ever read, maybe the start of a beautiful relationship.

𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲 - 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗻𝗻 🩷💍

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀:

🏒 hockey romance
🎀 coach’s daughter
🛏️ one night stand
🔑 neighbors to lovers
👥 forced proximity
🩵 he falls first
🏡 found family
✌🏼dual pov

𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:

walk of shame is the second book in the 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 series, but it can be read as a stand alone. it’s set in the same world as ‘anger bang’, we follow astrid who was left at the altar by her fiancé. 👰🏼

5 years later, astrid has sworn off hockey & dating, but is brought back to her home town after her father announces he is retiring. after a one night stand with cal she finds out that he is the new coach of her ex fiancé. 🏒

this was another cute & spicy hockey rom-com! i loved astrid & cal as a couple. their banter & sexual chemistry was off the charts! 📈

it was nice seeing the character development between the two evolve as astrid deals with her insecurities of dating again & cal wanting a second chance at playing hockey again. 🥅

some of my favorite moments were definitely when cal was courting astrid with diet coke, reese’s peanut butter cups & maine coons. 🐈

i definitely recommend if you are looking for a neighbors to lovers office romance with witty dialogue & a HEA.

𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲:

“𝑻𝒐𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.“

thank you valentine_pr_ & averyflynn for allowing me to receive an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions are my own. 🫶🏻

"Sorry I'm late," a familiar gruff voice said. "I took the wrong train."
Astrid froze. No. It couldn't be. Turning she caught sight of Cal half a second before he spotted her. Oh God. Her therapist was going to love this.
Cal didn't believe in fate or luck or the magical workings of the universe, and yet here he was in a city of eight million people standing in the same room as her. Why was Astrid here?

Astrid is a one and done kind of girl. She hadn't always been - but things changed. After her failed wedding attempt, she had rules. Rules that made her life manageable. So the one night with a guy and not seeing him again worked for her. Yet, here she was, looking at Cal - someone she just hooked up with, was standing in her dad's apartment. She's learning she'll be working with him in the foreseeable future.

Cal was in Harbor City do a job. It was his chance to get back into hockey. He may no longer be able to play, but he could still be useful. Now he's accidentally involved with the coach's daughter. Things are definitely getting complicated. For once, he doesn't really mind complications!

This is a great story! Wonderful characters!

I got tricked again by the cute cover! It does not seem to go at all with a hockey romance. The steam was good but their actual relationship was kinda meh. And I really want to take off another star strictly for that epilogue. WTF even was that?!

Walk of Shame is a hockey rom com that’s full of banter and steam. It hits all the right tropes from office romance to he falls first. The plot is simple but there’s character growth. I enjoyed the FMC and liked the banger. Flynn delivers an overall entertaining and fun read.

This was such a fun read!

I immediately was hooked and I honestly couldn’t stop reading. This book started off super strong & you were immediately thrown into some sizzling scenes!!

Loved the father/daughter dynamic and I totally connected with the MC and her need to “people please.”

I’m 100% here for hockey romances and this book had me giggling so much. The way he LISTENED & SPOILED her was giving me LIFE!

(I will say this is my first book I have read of Avery’s) but I think there could have been a bit more character development, we met so many different characters that all I could think about was that I must have missed a spin off series and it kept me a bit distracted.
I also really, really wanted to give this book 4 stars, but the ending ruined it for me, completely threw me for a loop and just a bit weird.

But overall, this book was such a cute read and it’s definitely binge worthy.

I don't regularly read sports romance and this was my first ever hockey romance, and I enjoyed it so much.

Walk of Shame is fun and spicy. The physically intimate scenes are A+, and the author did a really good job keeping the tension and relational intimacy building throughout the book even though the first spicy scene happens like 15% of the way through.

Even though Cal and Astrid have amazing chemistry, the author helps you understand Astrid's reluctance to be in a relationship. The way things ended with Tig and her professional relationship with Cal, Tig, and her dad all combined to make the potential success of a relationship unlikely.

This book has humor, heart, and a generous amount of explicit content, so if you enjoy those things in a sports romance, you'll love this book.

Walk of Shame by Avery Flynn is book Two in the Downside of Dating Series. This is the story of Astrid and Cal. Astrid is the daughter of a hockey coach and her boyfriend at the time was on the team. But then she got dumped by him right before their wedding. So she has sworn off players and has stuck to that until she happens to meet Cal. Unknown to her at first he is part of that life. Enjoyed this book.

✨ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 ✨

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐲𝐧𝐧
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: March 18th, 2024
(Available now!)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
🏒 sports romance
🩷 office/workplace romance
🏒 neighbors to lovers
🩷 he falls first
🏒 romantic comedy
🩷 open door romance
🏒 dual POV/3rd person

Astrid has sworn off hockey forever & doesn’t plan on ever immersing herself back into the hockey world. After her fiancée never showed up to their wedding five years ago & face timed her to tell her that he was on his way out of town after being offered a goalie position for a different hockey team, Astrid has blocked hockey out of her life completely. Not to mention her fiancée was the goalie for her dad’s team that he coached for. Astrid was doing well with being able to block hockey out of her life, until her father asks her to work with him this year & this year only because he plans to retire. The catch?! The man she had a one night stand with ends up being the goalie coach for her ex fiancée AND is the neighbor upstairs in her apartment building. Can Astrid & Cal avoid the temptation?!

This was such a steamy, funny, & fast paced hockey rom-com! Astrid & Cal ended up being so dang cute. Their journey to each other wasn’t an easy one & they each have experience their own types of trauma, but they eventually were able to step out of their own way to allow each other into their lives. I felt so bad for Astrid, but I did love her character growth throughout the book. I loved how Cal allowed her to be herself & gave her the time she needed. Cal’s family, more like all of her sisters, were so fun to be introduced to as well!

Walk of Shame is a hockey-themed rom-com that follows Astrid and Cal’s story.
Five years ago, Astrid was left by her ex-fiancé, who happened to be a professional hockey player, on her wedding day. She swore herself off relationship-related dramas and turned her back on hockey ever since. Cal is a former player who suffered an injury that ended his career; he’s now returning to the ice through coaching. When they first meet, sparks fly and they’re never to meet again. Except they live in the same apartment building. And he’s working with her father. And her ex.
I really liked Astrid and seeing her navigating through her feelings and thoughts to move past the incident and become stronger. And Cal was endearing as well. When it comes to the couple, they have obvious chemistry – still, although I liked and enjoyed them, I felt like their story was a bit rushed. The main conflict was evident from the beginning, and everything just happened so fast. The plot wasn’t all convincing, but the book was very enjoyable and you should definitely give it a shot!
Thanks to Valentine PR, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC to this book.

3.75 stars

I know I’ve said this before and it bears repeating - Avery Flynn is good at rom coms!

Five years ago, Astrid was dumped by her hockey goalie fiancé, Tig on the morning of her wedding before she even made it to the alter. Angry and humiliated from that experience, she’s vowed to never, ever get entangled either any aspect of hockey again. So she’s managed to stay away, an impressive feat since her dad’s the retiring coach of the Ice Knights, and as luck would have it, her ex is now their goalie. He has the ‘yips’, and her dad has asked for her to help Tig get over them. God bless her because Astrid’s a better person than I am. Her dad wants her to work along side Cal, a former player and oops! He was most recently her one night stand. So much for keeping her distance from hockey.

Flynn doesn’t waste time getting the spice going. That initial encounter between Astrid and Cal, followed by their next one is absolute 🌶️ 🔥 🌶️ 🔥 I loved their texts to each other which were flirty and cheeky. And of course, I’m a fan of the banter.

The story lulled a little for me in the middle when Astrid does her best to avoid Cal in hopes of avoiding temptation. I was caught between thinking it was childish, and also empathizing with her because she’d been so skewered by the media and gossips after the non-wedding disaster that the last thing she wants is to give them reason to put her in the spotlight again.

This is the second in the Downside of Dating series (𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗴 is the first), and can be read as a standalone. 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲 is a rollicking good time all around and you should add it to your TBR!

Highlights:
* Hockey romance
* Insta-lust
* Workplace romance
* Steamy/spicy
* Banter

Thanks to @netgalley & @entangled_publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲 is out now!

This was such a fun and sexy read. I love Avery Flynn’s writing style and humor. It had me giggling and blushing the whole time. This is a perfect romcom in the truest sense of the word.

I alternated between the audiobook and the e-book on this one. The narrations by Robert Hatchet and Savannah Peachwood were very good. I always love the different voices for the different characters, especially in romances when you get the deep rumble. So good for the hot parts.

I have read several Avery Flynn books before and have always really enjoyed them. I struggled getting into this one, but it easily could have been that I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it.

This is a sports romance, in which Astrid is having to deal with the ex that left her at the altar years ago and also the man she got it on with from a bar. She has lots of no getting it on rules that she lives by, but can she stick to them when she finds herself having to work with the hot guy from the bar?

Thanks to Entangled Publishing, Valentine PR, RB Media and NetGalley for the copies. All thoughts are my own.

Rating: 3.75 Stars for "Walk of Shame" by Avery Flynn

"Walk of Shame" by Avery Flynn is a steamy and heartfelt hockey romance that packs quite the punch. Astrid's story begins with a heart-wrenching twist as she's left at the altar by her high school sweetheart turned NHL goalie ex via Facetime (!!!). Swearing off hockey and erecting walls around her heart, Astrid finds herself in a whirlwind of emotions when a one-night stand with Cal, her upstairs neighbor and the newest member of her dad's NHL coaching team, threatens to unravel her carefully constructed defenses.

The chemistry between Astrid and Cal is palpable, with sparks flying off the pages. Despite Astrid's best efforts to keep Cal at bay, he chips away at her barriers, leaving her questioning everything she thought she knew about love and relationships.

While "Walk of Shame" delivers on many fronts, I felt a bit lost at times amidst the multitude of cities, names, and teams mentioned throughout the story. Keeping track of all the characters and their connections proved to be a challenge but was still overall enjoyable.

Nevertheless, "Walk of Shame" is a solid read for fans of steamy hockey romances with a touch of heartache. Avery Flynn's signature blend of passion and humor shines through, making this novel a worthwhile addition to any library. If you're a fan of the hockey romance trope, "Walk of Shame" is definitely worth a read.

What a blast! I greatly appreciated Avery Fylnn's return to this universe after reading Anger Bang, which was a fun time. Astrid's story was very entertaining, sexy, and brashly modern. It was a hockey romcom that had just the right amount of puck action that I didn't feel like this was a sports book. Cal was perfect cinnamon roll love interest.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC | Entangled: Amara, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Astrid & Cam
ARC Review

*Forced proximity
*He falls first
*Coaches daughter
*Cinnamon Roll one night stand / boyfriend
* Dual POV

Astrid was left at the alter by Tig, her superstar bound hockey goalie fiance 5 years ago. Since then Astrid has sworn off serious relationships and all things hockey. A few things pose a problem- 1) her Dad is a hockey coach 2.) she was once his assistant for the team 3.) Dad is now the head coach to her ex-fiance who has not been performing all that well as a goalie since returning.

The last few years she has been bartending at The Flying Sow Pub and Cal is a newcomer to town and enters the bar. Sparks fly and they decide to have a little fun. Their chemistry and banter is off the charts. It is then discovered later that Cal is her dad’s new goalie coach. He was unable to continue in his hockey career due to a serious unfortunate injury on the ice. This means her current fling is brought on to teach her ex how to be better at his job. Trouble continues when Astrid's Dad asks her to come back for the year to assist. Did I mention he also moved into her apartment building as well. So much for hating all things hockey or relationships and rules.

Astrid and Cal have great chemistry and adult relationships. They communicate well with each other and with those around them. Cal continued to pursue Astrid and really paid attention to her and her needs. He never relented or wavered in his attraction for her or his intentions. She wanted so much to not fall for Cal and to keep all her rules. Slowly her walls crumbled. Cal was perfection in a boyfriend!!

Astrid was able to have a conversation with her ex and get closure and answers. It was heartbreaking at times. The ex was stupid, but he loved her in his own way. And then....

It could have ended there. AND IT SHOULD HAVE. Continuing on the story well into the epilogue just killed the story. Not sure why the author felt there needed to be these twists at the end, but it made an otherwise well written story on the unbelievable side. It felt like I was reading something from the Jerry Springer show there at the end. Do yourself a favor and just have the ending be the ending and skip the epilogue.

I received an advance copy of this book for free and am leaving a review voluntarily. Many thanks to publisher, Valentine PR, Netgalley, and Author for the opportunity to read and review early.