I love romances where the characters pine away for each other, believing that the other person is not interested, might not like, or even might hate them. A sweet, steamy, romance with plenty of angsty pining, lively back and forth banter, sizzling sexual chemistry, humor, and a thought-provoking exploration of serious societal issues affecting military veterans and women in male dominated professional sports, Good Guy does a brilliant job of exploring that trope. It’s the first book in Rookie Rebels, Kate Meader’s new Chicago Rebels spin-off hockey romance series focusing on rookie hockey players who are a little older than usual because of having to delay their entry into the NHL.

At the center of the novel are Levi Hunt and Jordan Cooke whose lives are tied together by her now deceased husband, a member of Levi’s Green Berets team and his best friend. Driven by his upbringing and painful secrets from his childhood, Levi chose to enlist and serve in the military to protect and serve the vulnerable and the U.S. from its enemies instead of starting his professional hockey career as a young man. After being discharged, he’d expected to play in the AHL for a couple years, but an injury to a team member on the Chicago Rebels resulted in him being called up to make his NHL debut on an emergency basis. Fans and media interest in the former Special Forces Veteran is high, but Levi keeps to himself, avoiding both as much as possible. Consequently, his team owner and manager force him to agree to fully cooperate with the reporter they’ve chosen to shadow him and the team and to write a profile on him. A widow of five years, Jordan hosts a successful weekly hockey podcast and covers the AHL in the regional Midwest. While filling in for a sick hockey reporter at Chicago SportsNet on the Chicago Rebels beat, Jordan gets the opportunity to take her career to the next level, but it all rests on getting Levi to open up to her, breaking his press silence and refusal to grant interviews, for an exclusive profile on his transition from military to civilian life and his big break into the NHL. Since she’s convinced he has not only never liked her, but actively hates her, her chances of scoring her dream NHL hockey reporting job looks like it will remain just that—a dream.

Levi is grumpy, taciturn, cynical, rarely smiles, extremely guarded about his personal life and privacy, honest, honorable, kind, dependable, and, as Jordan learns once she begins to spend more time with him, he might just be a true American hero. Not just because he was a Green Berets, but because beneath all the gruff reserve he is a genuinely good guy with a good heart. Jordan, on the other hand, is friendly, vivacious, always ready to laugh joyfully, loyal, determined, and maybe a little naïve and too trusting because she tries to see the best in people. They couldn’t be more different. As they say opposites attract, and despite their differences, Jordan and Levi are perfect proof of this. The chemistry between Levi and Jordan sizzles every moment that they are in each other’s presence, initiated by an unexpected kiss on the night of her husband’s funeral five years ago. Those differences are what Levi believes make him the type of man Jordan would never choose.

Good Guy is rounded out by a colorful cast of secondary characters from Meader’s previous series’ Chicago Rebels and Hot in Chicago, which readers of her other series will love as they catch up with those characters. Unfortunately, readers who are looking for a lot of detailed hockey game play will be disappointed. While the novel is sprinkled with authentic details about the ins and outs of hockey and the players, the novel features very little detailed actual hockey games. I love the game of hockey and I love when hockey romances have in-game action weaved into the story. Especially since Levi had been away from the game for so long, I would have liked to have seen more of his POV during games. That being said, the primary focus was the relationship between Jordan and Levi, as well as the societal pressures and issues they faced as a military veteran and a woman reporting on men’s hockey. Meader’s exploration of both was nicely done.

The novel starts off very slowly. But once Levi and Jordan start interacting, the pacing picks up, and it doesn’t take too long before their story draws you in. Meader’s description is vivid bringing the characters and story to life.

ARC provided by author via Netgalley.

Levi Hunt is the oldest new rookie making his debut in the NHL. That in itself is news worthy, but him being also ex special forces makes him a story everyone wants to read.
Jordan has paid her dues covering AHL and is now looking forward to now reporting NHL for a reputed network like CSN. But like all good things it comes with a caveat, she has to do a in-depth profile on Levi Hunt.
But Levi is not interested in telling his story, will Jordan be able to convince him ?
I enjoyed this slow burn romance. Jordan is funny, perky woman and Levi is all hot, broody man. They are opposites but their attraction is sizzling hot and their interactions are full of heat, passion, emotion and attitude. Loved the secondary characters mentioned and I hope to read their book soon.

Kate Meader's writing style is one of my favorites. Her ability to draw you in and make you fall for the characters is my favorite. Levi and Jordans story is sexy, heartbreaking, learning to let go, learning to trust. I loved every minute of it.

Levi Hunt served his country as a member of the Green Berets. Jordan Cooke, sports reporter, has been tasked with interviewing Levi in his rookie season with the Chicago Rebels. The two share a connection. Levi Hunt was her husband's best man. Neither is ready to see one another. Five years ago Jordan buried her husband. Five years ago the two shared a kiss..
The story felt long. But I really enjoyed both characters. The romantic tension between the two is real. This is a good beginning to a new series. I especially enjoyed the romance between Jordan and Levi. Kudos to Ms. Meader for really exploring sexism in the sports casting industry..

Levi Hunt truly is a Good Guy! In fact, this guy is almost too good to be true! Luckily for Jordan Cooke, however, the more we get to know him, the more we discover just what a gem he really is.

Things don’t start out well for these two. When the story begins, Jordan is given the assignment of writing a profile on Levi. Of course, this is only because he was friends with her late husband. And he’s never cared much for her… or at least that’s what Jordan believes. Come to find out, however, Levi does have some very strong, long-standing, and not all negative feelings for her.

As these two get more/reacquainted, they start to have an effect on how the other sees the world. They also begin to suss out their very complicated feelings for one another. There are quite a few tense moments in their relationship, as they learn things about each other that they didn’t know. But mostly they realize what a good person the other one is, and they how much they have to offer each other. Of course, there are disagreements and misunderstandings along the way, some with rather high-stakes results for both the two of them and others around them. But there are a lot of feel-good moments too, as well as some slow but sure realization of how happy they make each other.

Apparently, this book is the first in a spin-off series from the author’s Chicago Rebels and Hot in Chicago series. There were several characters with a back-story that was heavily alluded to, that perhaps was covered in more detail in these other books. However, this was my first book by this author, let alone in this world of hers, and I did not feel the least left out or confused. This came off wonderfully well as a self-contained story. I look forward to reading more stories by her in the future.

There is a delightful supporting cast in this tale! Levi’s hockey teammates are all quite interesting and personable. I especially enjoyed Theo, Eloise, Joe and (of course) Cookie. I’m hopeful that we’ll see more of all these characters in future volumes of the series.

What a beautiful story of not letting your circumstances define you, overcoming heartbreak, and putting yourself out there! To say I loved both Levi and Jordan would be am understatement. Levi was the epitome of strong, silent and a leader while having a heart of gold, wanting to help his fellow veterans. And he did it without the flash. He came from such humble beginnings and achieved success but wanted to give back to his community. He really is an admirable man. Jordan was a strong woman, trying to become a successful sports reporter without compromising herself. I loved how she hung with the guys, but yet maintained her femininity. She was so cool with them, humor, sarcasm, cool bantering. I loved this story, had heart ache during crucial scenes with misunderstandings, and a smile on my face for their reconciliation and uber hot but sweet epilogue. Now all I need is a perfect story for Theo and Elle. Those two seriously entertain me.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through Netgalley.

Levi Hunt is trying to make it in the NHL after serving his country. While Jordan and Levi have a history, Jordan needs Levi to help her broadcasting/journalism career. The heat between these two characters is apparent right from the beginning. I enjoyed this book, and can’t wait to see how the rest of the series turns out.

This was an entertaining, well-written romance. Jordan has a chance to move up in the cutthroat world of sports reporting, but it requires her to access a connection from her life before her husband passed away. Levi was her husband's best friend in the service, who she shared a kiss with after her husband's funeral. Levi is now resuming the NHL career he put on hold while he served in the military. Now they have to work together on a story about him for the press, and all kinds of feelings are involved. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

4.5 Stars

YES! I love when I one click because of an author and don't really read the synopsis and then get into the book and do a happy dance because I know this world! Ha! Thanks for taking us back to the Chicago Rebels. Soooo happy to catch up with the Chase sisters again. And this time they brought some new blood to the team. The Rookie has a story and Jordan Cooke is the one to get it.

I loved that Levi and Jordan had a history. I liked seeing them stumble through friends with benefits or did they mean something more to each other. I liked the place they landed at in the end. Respectful, open, trusting and in love. Such a great story for these two.

We meet some interesting players from the hockey team as well. I would have liked to see a little more sport in this one, but the set up for what players may get their HEA was worth missing out on the playing time. Great peek at life in Chicago.

Thanks for giving fans more of the Rebels!!

So this is a first for me in the world of Kate .. I actually struggled with a few plot points in the story (GASP, I know!!) but at the same time, I really enjoyed the story as a whole, so I’m very middle of the road with this one.

For me, it started out slow. Maybe slow isn’t the correct word, but it didn’t grab me, and I found myself thinking that if this was my first read by her, I might not even get to find out how ridiculously talented she is. So that bummed me out a little, but I forged on because I know her work …. Turns out it was like the beginning of a roller-coaster when you’re inching up and up and up and up and then BAM, you free fall at ridiculous speeds and twist and turn until you might be sick LOL So yeah, the story kinda started like that and then it just took off … until it didn't.

I’m not a fan of any of the conflict in the story and how it played out, if I’m being honest. I didn’t connect at all with the struggle Jordan and Levi had over their moment in time back in the day. The whole dead husband/my best friend thing could have worked for me if the book wasn’t taking place so long after the fact. For me, it was a moot point and felt a bit forced. Jordan’s conflict as a journalist was not a big surprise when it happened but I was really surprised at how Levi was written into it. Honestly, this book had entirely too many conflicts LOL so it came across to me as OTT

I was a huge fan of the appearances of main characters from the Chicago Rebels. No, not just appearances, some were integral parts of the journey and because of that, I totally bumped the entire series up to re-read asap! So there’s that … lol

4.5 stars

I am giggling like a school girl! You don't have to have read the Chicago Rebels series to fall for the Good Guy but it definitely colors your glasses! Knowing all the secondary players in this story makes it that much more special! Newbies to the Rebels will definitely be drawn to start at the beginning. Old friends, like myself, will want to re-read all the awesomeness. It's like visiting with your old friends! You are ridiculously excited to see them and it feels like you've never left them.

Good Guy is all the swoons. You have a former Green Beret turned hockey stud who is an all around respectful and stoic man. (You may not have inferred from the Green Beret/hockey player part...But dude is in outstanding shape!) A hockey hottie with military manners! What is not to like...throw in a Cookie, a Theo, and some visits from Rebel Royalty and Good Guy will leave you smiling and a little bit breathless! Not to mention the hashtags...#superglutes!

This is the first book in a new series by this author, but more of a spin-off from the Chicago Rebels series. I haven't read that series yet but it certainly didn't cause me any problems when reading Good Guy -- it can absolutely be read as a standalone. That being said, I think a reader would get the most enjoyment out of these reads if they're really into hockey -- which I'm not! Nevertheless, I still liked the characters and the flow and the plot of this one,. I can't say I was as invested or connected to Levi and Jordan as I was with her previous series (Laws of Attraction) -- that series I adored! If you like sports romances, especially hockey romances, you'll love this one -- I would definitely recommend it. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

What a wonderful first book in a new series, with some appearances from some favorite characters from other Kate Meader books. I really enjoyed both Levi and Jordan right away, I liked them separately and once they got together. Levi and Jordan had a past together but not a romantic one, Levi was best friends with Jordan’s husband, who passed away not long after getting married. Now they meet up when Jordan, a sports reporter, is hired to write a piece on Levi, NHL rookie and former Green Beret. Sparks fly between these two because Levi is quite tight lipped and doesn’t want to walk about himself and Jordan believes that he doesn’t and never has liked her. Of course that is not at all what is happening. Jordan is working on a side story about women behind the scenes in sports and what they have to deal with and when she is on a show talking about this she is blindsided by secrets that she knew and nobody else should have had. This destroys the fragile relationship that Jordan had started with Levi until another person hurt by these secrets helps Jordan out.
I really loved this first book and am excited for more in the series. So many teammates of Levi’s I can’t wait for them all to get a book!

I struggled to get through this one. It just had way too much going on. As in the previous series gender roles/equality is a big part, but there were (too) many other issues touched on as well. For me it was way too talky and preachey.

This was a Fantastic start into a new series. Where the new rookie Levi Hunt is also the oldest rookie. Levi had been off the ice and serving his country for the last nine years as a Green Beret. The newest Chicago Rebel was the hottest story in hockey, and everyone wanted his story.

Levi Hunt wanted to forget what he had seen in his deployments, he didn’t want to talk about it. He had so much regret, pain, but most of all guilt that he had survived. He had hoped to stay in the feeder league for a year or two to get game tough, but after the Rebels center fractured his arm Levi was called up 4 months after he was discharged. And now they were assigning a sports reporter to do a story about him, and he couldn’t believe it was her.

Jordan Cooke has been a women working in a mans world, dealing with the good and the bad. She finally had a chance at one of the most coveted reporting gigs in sports with an interview for a job at Chicago Sports Net. After losing her husband five years ago, she was forced to focus on what was important and that became her career. Now she was was ready to seize her destiny. But she didn’t want it to be based on her past with Levi Hunt. He had been her husband’s best friend and his best man when they got married. And a man she had kissed six hours after she buried her husband. Now she had a new job because she had a connection that could be exploited. And she really didn’t want to have to deal with him.

These two are a slow burn romance. Their interactions are filled with angst, attraction, attitude, emotion, passion and love. Doing some articles about this mild mannered Super hero, could be the start of getting to know the Good Guy.
I cant wait to read the rest of this series!!

A good start to a new series. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous series. Overall, the characters are interesting. The romance isn't forced. There are a couple of real world concern topics. Sports romance fans will definitely enjoy this one.

We've read a few Kate Meader books in the house. Me = a book from her firefighter series. Daughter = one of her kid books. Both of us walked away thinking boring writing.

The thing is, I love hockey romances and was willing to give her another try. This had some interesting ideas, namely #MeToo, BUT had a more skilled writer tackled these issues, this would've been a better, more meaningful, emotionally satisfying story.

#Disappointed.

A story that has Levi Hunt resuming his hockey career after serving with the Green Berets. He begins to realize that he may have been called up as a publicity stunt so it is up to him to work harder to prove everyone wrong. Jordan Cooke had put her career on hold as a journalist when she married a man in the Green Berets. Now five years after her husband’s death she has resumed her career and has also begun a Podcast about hockey and has hockey players as guests sometimes. Things change for her when a sports writer gets ill and at the same time, Levi gets called up. Both the team and the company she works for wants her to do a piece about him. The problem with the whole thing is he does not want to talk about his service especially to his buddies’ widow who he actually likes. She must figure out a way to get him to open up a little. They both see no end and of course share kisses and once her notes are taken by another reporter and used against her they come out fighting together for what happened to her. But will that be enough to keep her with him? There is also a story going along with how female reports are treated and viewed. I thought that to be a very interesting part of the story as well. You still get glimpses into the three sisters who still run the team from the previous books. Overall a good book.

This was a quick read from Kate Meader. It is a spin-off of the Chicago Rebels series. You don’t need to read that series to be able to enjoy this story. Jordan is a reporter and Levi is an ex-green beret that has now turned into an NHL rookie. They have a past that comes into play and could possibly affect their future. It had some steamy love scenes. It is a good read for fans of sports romance.

4.5

After putting his hockey career on hold in order to serve his country, veteran Liam Hunt is back in the NHL playing for the Chicago Rebels. Known as the oldest Rookie in the league, Liams popularity is on the rise, but his personal life remains a mystery.

Enter Jordan Cooke. She's relatively new to sports journalism, but what she's done in the past five years has proven talent and love of sports is not only relegated to the boys' club. She's ready to break the barriers behind the gender disparity in her work environment. But first, she's got to get her foot in the door, and when it's discovered she has an "in" with the newest Chicago Rebels rookie, Jordan's boss demands she get behind Liam's persona and let the world know who he really is.

Liam and Jordan know each other through Jordan's husband who served with Liam and died in the line of duty. She's always thought Liam didn't care for her, but no matter what obstacles she faces, she's determined to get the job done. Seeing each other again brings not only the past into the present, but some much repressed feelings as well. They'll both have to reconcile with who they've become if they want to explore what's between them.

I adored Kate Meader's Chicago Rebel's series so I was super excited when I learned of this spin-off. I would go back to this setting time and time again because the dynamics are just so great, between the players and between the women (and men) with whom they form their romantic entanglements. Good Guy picks up about three seasons after the monumental ending of the parent series, and I really like seeing what has changed on the team and getting the feeling for the new things to come.

This time around Kate Meader tackles the ever-present inequality in a male dominated industry such as sports journalism and the double standards set forth for the women who attempt to enter the field. I loved the way Kate Meader tackles this very relevant issue and it's a perfect example of not discounting the romance genre as fluff like some are wont to do. I feel like Kate Meader presents readers with two sides of the issue. One side being Jordan who is a woman on the inside and the other is Liam's perspective on the side of the athlete who interacts with the journalists. There's a lot of bumpy road to navigate in order to ensure you get your story, but how far are you willing to go for a story, and as a woman, why should you have to go farther than a man in the same circumstance, but if you don't or if you speak up about it there's the fear of being ostracized. It's kind of a double-edged sword.

On the other side of things, I really enjoyed the interactions between Liam and Jordan, and they're just amp'd up because of the shared past they have together. I really like seeing both Liam and Jordan's perspectives on one another, and themselves, and how those same perspectives differ. Such as how Jordan always thought the stilted way that Liam would speak to her was indicative of the fact that he didn't like her, but instead it's actually him holding himself back because he has actually liked her from the moment he first saw her, but his best friend - and Jordan's future husband - caught her attention first. So Liam did the right thing and stepped aside. Now, though, being thrown together again years later, they're able to explore their feelings. I like that the narrative was very respectful of what was between Jordan and her husband, but also acknowledged that you are allowed to move on / forward with your life after tragedy.

Overall, another wonderful entry in a fabulous series. I think I've already spotted which of the other Rookies will get their own books, and I cannot wait.