Cover Image: Game On

Game On

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Member Reviews

I loved this book. I loved their sense of humor and the characters in general. I look forward to reading more from this author.

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Cam and Olivia were a fantastic couple. I loved this book, and enjoy this series. Great writing. Humor, steamy love scenes and drama all combine to make a great read!!!

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I really ended up liking this book. The reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I didn’t like how they met. Both using and wanting something from the other. It just felt so dishonest and a bad way to start a relationship.

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Cam and Olivia are #goals. Kelly Jamieson gets better and better each time. Hockey + romance = fantastic read.

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Admission: I used to avoid hockey, really any sports themed romance.

Now:
Over the last year, I've been reading some really great ones. Mostly hockey. 🏒
This series is right near the top of my favorites list.

Talk about having a good "How did you meet" story. Personally, I would find it funny if someone told me this was how they got together.

A funny & beautiful way to end a series.

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Like with the other books within the Aces Hockey series, this one did not disappoint. While this can be read as a standalone, having read all books in the series does help to provide the reader with background on secondary characters to help weave one greater story of the entire Aces community.

Cam is fun loving and always looking to have a good time, and when he hits on Olivia she takes it as an opportunity to get what she wants. Little do they know, that when they both play games, they both are playing, although slightly different games. Olivia has a lot to prove, to her herself, her family and her non-profit. Cam doesn't always take things seriously. These differences is what makes this such a great book. Reading as Olivia and Cam navigate their own separate parallel initiatives, really gives them a foundation that is entertaining to read. As they both go out on dates, while each reaching their different dreams and goals, they learn to really rely on each other. For a pair who really had no intention of falling in love or being together for the long term, they have a relationship with fun, laughter, misunderstandings, and of course heat.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Dear Ms. Jamieson:

This is the ninth book in the Aces Hockey series and the fourth that I’ve read. It starts with a premise that I don’t love. Cam Brickley sees Olivia Lockwood in a bar and ends up in a bet with his teammates: he’ll date her for two months and not fall in love. On the one hand, it’s not the worst “hero ends up pursuing heroine because of a bet” premise I’ve read. He’s just betting that he won’t fall in love, after all, not that he can get her into bed or something sleazy like that. But the fact is he has ulterior motives for dating Olivia, other than the fact that he likes her (and he does like her; there is an immediate and strong mutual attraction between them). It felt squicky to me.

Olivia has a bit of an ulterior motive herself, which I guess is supposed to balance things out, though her motive and approach are somewhat nobler than Cam’s. Olivia runs a charity dedicated to encouraging physical activity in children through running. When she realizes who Cam is, it occurs to her that he would be a great spokesperson for her charity, which has stagnated a bit. Their donations have dropped off and they recently lost out on a grant they’d applied for. Olivia really wants to make the charity successful – not only is it her passion project, but she has issues with her high-achieving family that make it important to her to be successful at something.

Olivia and Cam go on a date and are both struck with food poisoning. This sets up a mildly humorous bit where their first couple of dates are kind of disasters. After the food poisoning incident, on the next date a chair breaks under Cam at a restaurant, and then Olivia (who’s a bit of a klutz) spills a glass of water all over him. It was sort of cute (and unusual) to see two attractive, wealthy and successful people go through these mishaps.

Eventually, they get it right, and before you know it, they’re sleeping together. To Cam’s credit, he does try to tell Olivia about the bet before they first have sex, but she brushes him off. The bet storyline isn’t drawn out too long, though, which I had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, since it was distasteful to me, it was for the best that it wasn’t belabored. On the other hand, had it been, it might have provided a bit more dramatic tension and angst, both of which I felt the story lacked.

I really liked Olivia. I liked her insecurity, which felt very real and relatable. She’s beautiful and smart and likable, but she’s never felt good enough, and it’s affected her relationships (somewhat unrealistically, it appears all her previous beaus were only into her for her money or connections – her family owns a big conglomerate called Lockwood Industries). She’s a bit neurotic – for instance, she’s scared of dogs, even Cam’s dog Magnum, who is described as a golden lab mix. I realize I can’t relate to the fear of dogs, but the idea of someone being scared of a LABRADOR made me laugh.

Cam I liked less. He was okay, I guess. He was somewhat crude – on their first date he makes a joke about how he’d like Olivia’s hands on his balls. I guess I expect slightly more PG-13 behavior on a first date. He jokes (?) that Magnum is named after the condom brand. I will cop to being a little prissy, so YMMV. To be fair, Olivia seems to find his crudity charming.

In general Cam just seemed very basic. He’s Canadian; he grew up with sisters. His family doesn’t have any stated dysfunction. He’s a very typical romance hero who “doesn’t date” but essentially has one-night stands or maybe goes out a few times with a woman (presumably just for sex).

I’ve gotten less and less patient with that type of hero over the years. I may never have been very fond of them in the first place, actually. I spent a lot of my early romance reading career reading historicals with “rake” heroes, and while they sometimes (often?) bugged me, at least it made sense that those men hadn’t had “relationships” in the contemporary sense. But the contemporary hero who gets to a certain age and has never had a relationship, and doesn’t have any trauma or a backstory to explain it annoys me. It either feels like a device to have a hero who doesn’t have any baggage, and/or it’s supposed to be romantic that a hero never knows what love is until he meets the heroine.

Very late in the book there is a mention of a high school girlfriend who took their breakup hard, and even later Cam’s father posits a reason for Cam’s unwillingness to do relationships. But still, in real life if I were a 30-year-old woman and met a guy of a similar age who’d never had a real adult relationship I’d think the guy was likely a stunted man-baby and I’d run in the other direction.

(Thank you for coming to my TED talk.)

Anyway, the story unfolds pretty predictably – the ulterior motives give way to feelings, but reasons (albeit, paper-thin ones) keep the two from thinking their relationship can be anything but short-term.

I do like that the author obviously has a real love for the city of Chicago and includes details about the city in the series. There were a couple of times in this book where some of the “facts about Chicago” felt a bit shoehorned in, but all in all, I appreciate an author creating a real sense of place.

Overall, though, Game On was pretty blah for me. Readable enough, as most competently written contemporaries are, but lacking in any real dramatic heft. The denouement felt like it was pretty much the same as in the three previous books I’ve read in the series (I’ll spoiler-tag it since it comes so late in the book but it won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read more than two romance novels):

Spoiler: Show

I’m giving Game On a B-. I’ll probably still read the next book in the series.

Best,



Jennie

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This book was so hard to put down to get stuff done. I could have spent my day getting lost in Cam and Olivia’s story. I need to go back and read all the books in this series. I love a good sports romance.

Cam doesn’t take chances and doesn’t do commitment. He takes a bet his teammates throw at him. They don’t think he date one woman for two months without falling in love. After getting to know Olivia it was game over.

Olivia is the daughter of a powerful family. She doesn’t trust easily. All the men from her past dated her for what she could do for them. She is not looking for a relationship but decides to go one some dates with Cam.

Game On was a fun fast pace read that I did not want to end. I will miss these characters.

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Kelly Jamieson's Aces Hockey Series is one of my favorite contemporary romantic series, so I was very happy to read Game On. I loved the main characters of Cam Brickley and Olivia Lockwood. The storyline about the two was a good one. It was great to see their developing relationship, but I kept waiting for the train wreck to happen once Olivia figured everything out. I thought that Jamieson handled everything well, and I ended up being charmed and delighted by this addition to the series.

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A great final installment to the series! Sexy, sweet, and hockey...what else could you ask for. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

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This is the final book in the series and what a ending it is, I loved getting to catch up with characters from the previous books and seeing where they are now and a little glimpse of where they will be in the future.

This is Olivia and Cam’s story, it started out as a bet for him that he couldn’t date a woman for 2 month and not fall in love and some much needed publicity for Olivia’s children’s foundation. Where is the harm in having a few dates with a hunky hockey player? But what happens when emotions become involved? Can Cam keep his heart in check and not fall for the sweet, focused Olivia?

Although I’m sad this series is over I’m over the moon we will be getting a new series. I’ve loved every minute reading this series and will miss theses characters immensely.

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Cute romance story, and I liked how normal both characters were. I liked the mix of hockey and romance, with Chicago playing a third character in some sections. I just wish some of the references were more accurate, like Michigan Avenue, not Michigan Street. Overall though, I liked it.

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It’s very sad indeed when a series you have been enjoying since the very first book comes to an end, but I also feel that when you extend series for too long they lose their luster. So, this series ends with a bang with a great story about Cam Brickley and the girl he finds in a bar and invites out on a date to win a bet with his group of hockey team friends. They bet that he couldn’t date her for two months without falling in love. Game on!

Olivia is a great character. She has a slight problem about self-worth, coming from a childhood where she was chubby and clumsy. Now she’s the proud founder of a non-profit organization Move On Chicago, with programs to get kids in school to run and live a healthy lifestyle. She is also an avid runner and turned that chubby body into the sculpted body of an athlete. She knows how much she has achieved, knows how much she’s worth, yet the niggling feelings of inadequacy hide deep inside. When she meets Cam and he invites her out, she can’t believe that he could be into her, but she goes. The first dates are a riot and a comedy of horrors. There are so many laugh out loud moments, but both characters show their colors. They persevere in their dating and they get to a point where they are a fantastic couple. Cam wins Olivia over because he’s caring, attentive, charismatic and so well mannered.

I loved meeting with old friends like Rupp, Chase, Hallsy, Dupois, Army and their lovely wives. Their bantering and caring for each other shines again in this book. The sex scenes are, as always, plentiful once they get going, but their tender scenes are also plentiful and cute.

This story was straightforward with a few bumps and bruises to make it entertaining and it was straight fun and sweet and sexy. A great finale to such a fantastic series.

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4 Stars from Renee!

This story has laughs, secrets, and heartbreak.

Before reading this story please read the below books first:
Major Misconduct (Aces Hockey #1)
Off Limits (Aces Hockey, #1.5)
Icing (Aces Hockey #2)
Top Shelf (Aces Hockey, #3)
Back Check (Aces Hockey, #4)
Slap Shot (Aces Hockey #5)
Playing Hurt (Aces Hockey #6)
Big Stick (Aces Hockey #7)

This is Olivia and Cam’s story. Cam and his teammates are all about betting on things. They bet on everything. When he is dared into a new bet, he takes it because there is no way he will not win. His bet is he can’t date the same woman for 2 months and not fall in love. He knows he can do it. Olivia is used to people using her for something. If it’s not her money, it’s her family. But with Cam she thinks she is safe he has his own money and connections so it’s should be all about her right? With him she might be able to use him to help her out. But in the end who is going to get anything out of this relationship? Will he win the bet and walk away or are they building something bigger then they thought? What happens when the secrets are revealed? Will it change everything? Will they both lose everything?

I loved these characters and the side characters. I felt I was able to connect with the characters and the story was a great read.

I recommend this book.

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This is the first book I've read in this series. I was surprised the ice didn't melt whenever they were together. I will be reading the others

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I have enjoyed getting to know the Aces team and their girls. I have enjoyed each book more and more. While reading Cam and Olivia’s story I had no idea this was going to be the finale. It’s a bittersweet goodbye. As I want to get to know the rest of the team, the ending is everything you’d want not only for Cam and Oliva but the entire Ace’s franchise. It may be the end of the Aces but it’s not the end of Ms. Jamieson’s hockey romances and I say BRING.IT.ON!

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This has been the only book I've read out of the Aces Hockey series at this point, and that's because I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I enjoyed the book, the book wasn't too hard to follow in regards to the team members even though I haven't read any other books since they didn't really play a huge part in the storyline. When they talked about, the author threw in references about who they were a bit to keep things straight. I liked how Brick told Olivia about the bet early on, instead of her finding out about it at when it was concluded.

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Okay, this wasn't exactly a hit out of the park for me, but I still found it to be rather enjoyable.

Books starting off with a bet always get me a little nervous because you know once the truth is revealed all hell breaks loose. But Game On surprised me with the truth coming out a bit earlier than later and I really appreciated that. To me, that was just more realistic.

I give these two major props for still giving their dates a chance in the beginning, sooo many freak accidents happening, but it was super entertaining to read about. However, it really gave us the chance to get to know them better.

Cam was what made this book for me because I had trouble connecting with Olivia's character. I found that she was a bit stuck in past and used it as a crutch more than I liked her too. I was hoping that the real reason behind why Cam doesn't do relationship was mentioned sooner and talked about a bit more. I think it would have added even more depth to the story.

The one thing I need to get going on ASAP is reading the rest of this series. As usual, I'm a bit late to start this series with Big Stick being my first-read. I truly enjoy Kelly Jamieson's writing style, she definitely had me giggling at some of the moments between Cam and Olivia.

So there's no doubt that I'll be keeping my eye out on Jamieson's future releases!

Major thank you to Loveswept and Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy!

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I am sorry to see this last book in the Aces Hockey series! But it was a great book! Cam & Olivia were the perfect couple to end this series. For a woman that doesn't care to watch sports I love a great sports romance. Kelly always delivers a great one!


I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open, honest review.

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This book is bittersweet for me. It is another great hockey book from Kelly, yet it is also the final book in the Aces Hockey series. Every time a new Aces book was released, I would devour it in its entirety. The same happened when I finally had my hands on Cam and Olivia's story.
Cam has been a constant character in previous books, and I am happy that it is his book that sees the series out.
I loved how their relationship started. Those first two dates were hilarious and gut churning at the same time. Cam was totally oblivious to what was happening between him and Olivia. Luckily he has wonderful friends and family around him to offer him advice.
Thankfully Kelly has written at the end of the book that she will be starting a new hockey series. Makes the ending to the Aces almost bearable.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

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