Jordan Cooke is a woman trying to make it in the world of sports journalism. Widowed at a young age when her husband is killed in combat overseas, now is her chance to focus on her career. Unfortunately for her, Levi Hunt is currently the most interesting player in the NHL. Levi is a former Green Beret, who served with Jordan's husband. Stoic, emotionally shut off, and sometimes just plain grouchy, Levi doesn't want the memory of how or when he met her, yet here she is, 5 years later, wanting an interview.

This is the first Kate Meader book I've read. I enjoyed her writing style, and the mixed tropes. I did feel a little lost since I haven't read The Chicago Rebels series, that is my own fault for not researching before reading. I assumed since it was the first of a series I didn't need any background, but it would honestly have been helpful, especially in the first chapter or two. I adored Jordan and her drive, especially to get ahead in such a male dominated world. Levi, of course he has a tragic backstory beyond losing his friend in the military, and true to the title he was a good guy. I think I was hoping for a little more angst, or heartache surrounding Josh's death and that link between Jordan and Levi. This book was definitely a lighter read than I was expecting, which isn't a bad thing. I would recommend reading The Chicago Rebels series first, so that the secondary characters, and continuation of that plot (NHL team owned by women, one who marries a player from the team) is easier to understand and follow. Overall it was a pretty good read.

Absolutely loved Jordan and Levi. His start in the NHL was quite unique. He enlisted in the Army and became a Green Beret. An elite soldier that serves, protected his brothers in arms as well as the freedoms that all Americans hold dear. Starting as the oldest rookie in the NHL brought him the attention from every news source desperate for more from the elusive hockey player. Jordan was a connection he had made while in the Army. His best friend was her husband that unfortunately perished while serving his country. Getting a closer inside scoop would definitely be well received by her employer and hockey fans everywhere. The chemistry between both characters is hot enough to melt the ice!

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. It will obviously appeal to anyone who is into sports or military romance, but I'm not automatically interested in either of those themes, and I still loved this book. What I truly loved was the great characters Kate Meader created in Good Guy. Levi and Jordan were easy to relate to and root for. The story presented complex issues with just the right amount of angst: How can Levi build a relationship with his best friend's widow? Where are the ethical boundaries for Jordan when she has to report on her late husband's friend and then develops feelings for him? It touched upon current issues of how a woman can navigate a traditionally male space, in a way that felt organic, not stiff or rigid. The character development was great and the issues the characters had to face were handled thoughtfully.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Kate Meader's books and this one did not let me down. The Rebels series is back and the story of Jordan and Levi is a winner. Jordan's fight to make a name for herself in the cut throat world of sports journalism, and her first prime profile, Levi are the story. The background of their initial meeting is not a new story, but Kate knows how to spin it into a story you can't put down. I also love how other Rebel book characters make cameos--this is such a fun group! Hockey players make for a hot story, and Levi does not disappoint! My only negative on this book is that I read it too quickly -- it's a full book, but as said above, I couldn't put it down. Another winner for Kate Meader. I look forward to what comes next, and may also have to reread a past favorite in the interim.

This is the first book in the Rookie Rebels series which is a spin off of the author's Chicago Rebels series. I enjoyed catching up with all the key players from the first series. This book had some really good parts and some okay parts. I found it a bit of a stretch to think that a NHL team would be open to recruiting a 30 year old as a rookie but stranger things have happened. The premise of Levi and Jordan having previous history through her late husband (and a former Green Beret who served with Levi) was well thought out. I found Jordan's struggle to grow professionally in the male dominated sports reporting world interesting. However, I was taken aback to see that her laptop with all her sources, notes, etc. wasn't properly secured so that another sports reporter could read it? Overall, a good book but not quite up to par with the previous series.

I was given a free ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an awesome sports, to military and back to sports love story with a woman sports journalist covering his story...And the woman he has been in love with forever. The ups and downs of his life and her struggle with being accepted as a journalist in a male dominated career field has these 2 struggling to figure each other out. Loved this book!!!

A book that is way more than a romance. This is my first book by this author and boy am I glad I got the pleasure of reading her work.

This book is deep. A forbidden love, best friends widow. Their attraction was very intense together, and even though they knew they shouldn’t. Things started heating up, what began as a story ended up being so much more.

Levi Hunt is the oldest rookie in the NHL, he served as a Green Berets. Levi knew his life could of gone differently if he stayed and played hockey but he needed more and serving his country was it. Now he’s back and it just so happens that Jordan Cooke is the reporter who needs his story. And just so happens to be the love of his life. Though no one knew.

Jordan Cooke is trying to get her foot higher up in the chain as a journalist/reporter for the National Hockey League. When the opportunity to have a big story arises, she goes after it, even if she has to deal with the grumpy Levi Hunt.

We follow as more than one story breaks out. We read about the diversity between male and female roles in different positions. And we follow as two people find out so much more about each other and the love that blooms with every day.

Highly recommended.

Great Series!
Jordan is a sports reporter, a woman working in a predominantly male world. She had put her career on hold while married to Josh, a career military man. When Josh was killed in battle, Jordan felt it was her time to establish the career she always wanted. Five years later, she has an opportunity to work with the Rebels, a hockey team, and more specifically their newest member Levi Hunt. Levi was her husband's best friend, best man at her wedding, and the one guy who never liked her. Will sparks fly when they get together, or will the past always stand in their way?
Fun read, lots of humor, romance, and fun dialogue.

What could be better than a military man who is also a hockey player? Quite honestly NOTHING! I loved this story. Levi is such a good guy who is drawn to do the right thing. The pull between him and Ms. Sunshine is instant and so strong you know they will have a very happy ending. This was a great story - one of my very favorite summer reads! Get ready to not put this one down – you won’t be disappointed!

I love this book. There are some books where you struggle along hoping it will get easier to read and connect with ... this is not one of them. I was drawn in from the start. It was well written, humorous as well as serious an so easy to read. I couldn’t put it down and before I knew it I was finished. Highly recommend.

I loved this spin off of the Chicago Rebels, series. Levi is truly one of the good guys. They need to clone him in my opinion. I can't wait to see who gets the next book in the series.

Harper is a woman working in what some consider to be a man’s world - as a reporter for the NHL. She has worked hard in her chosen profession, particularly since the death of her Special Forces member husband.

Levi is a retired Special Forces member who is currently in his rookie year in the NHL. He opted to go straight into the Special Forces after completing college on a hockey scholarship. He soon realizes that a woman who he has been in love with for years, his late best friend’s widow who is an NHL reporter, will be embedded with his hockey team in order to do an in-depth report on him.

Can two people working hard to be successful in their careers find happiness together?

This book is the first in a new series about the lives and loves of members of the Chicago Rebel’s hockey team. This series continues where an earlier series about the team left off. Don’t think that you need to be a hockey fan to enjoy these books! I’m certainly not a fan, but hockey simply serves as the back drop for Ms. Meador’s well-written stories.

So much more than just the typical sports romance, Good Guy touches on love, loss, service, sexual harassment, accepting yourself... it’s a fantastic book full of deep emotion and features a hero who is so, so swoonworthy (even if he doesn’t see himself that way). The story follows Jordan, a young widow who finally gets her big break in sports reporting when she is tasked with interviewing Levi, a 30-year-old rookie pro hockey player. Levi was Jordan’s husband’s best friend - the best man at her wedding - a Green Beret who has now left the service and is pursuing his career in hockey. They’ve never got along, and the only time they really connected was following her husband’s funeral - when they shared a steamy but ill-advised kiss. Now that Levi and Jordan are coming face to face for the first time since, they have to navigate the awkwardness of having leaned on each other in their grief while also dealing with the story Jordan is trying to write.

I’ve read books by Kate Meader before but none of her sports romances, and I’ve got to say that this was awesome. The dual perspectives really added depth to the story - their interactions have totally different interpretations depending on whose view it is. Levi is a stoic guy, taught to focus on his mission and guard his emotions, so Jordan has very little understanding of how he really feels. Turns out he is the ultimate good guy, and it was so satisfying to watch him find love. There’s also more to this story than just their romance (though that is truly the heart of the book). As a female sports reporter, Jordan has to deal with plenty of things that her male coworkers do not. Gender dynamics are a focus of the book, taking this story to another level. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have a guess as to who the next book will feature, and I am so excited to read that story.

Hockey: ✔
Romance: ✔
Second chance: kinda
Friends To Lovers: kinda
Military Romance: kinda
Good Guy has it all for the romance lovers out there. I've been a fan of Kate Meader since her Hot In Chicago series, which led me to her Chicago Rebels Series and here we are are with the spin-off Rookie Rebels. Characters from the previous 2 series are in Good Guy and I'm so freaking happy about it. To have so many threads connect makes me glad I did read those books before, but her books can always be read as standalones because you never feel lost. Please let Kershaw have a book soon! His super-glutes are killing me

I have read Kate Meader before and loved the Chicago Rebels series so I was excited to read the next generation of Rebel Rookies. This book did not disappoint. Flawless from start to finish, with smart dialog, a side story about contemporary issues facing professional women today, hot sex scenes, hot & funny hockey players and the perfect amount of sweet moments (Levi’s volunteer work at the Mission and him taking care of Cookie...swoon) this is honestly, in my opinion, the best Rebel book so far.

Levi is the quintessential ex-military strong but silent hero who becomes a 30-year old NHL rookie. I mean, what could be hotter than that? Military and Hockey are my favorite tropes and you get both here. Levi is the perfect hero, gruff but a good man.

Jordan, the widow of his best friend, is out to write his story. But Levi is hiding more than just his personal history, he is hiding his history with Jordan, and watching Jordan learn who Levi really is was a beautiful journey. But this is also a story of Jordan learning who she is and what is more important to her, her career or love.

I loved that we got to see some of the original Chicago Rebels here and I am now impatiently waiting for more Rebel Rookie books to come....Maybe Theo and Elle will be next (fingers crossed). Overall, this was good, slow burn read that contains all the hotness, hockey and romance you want to read.

Good Guy is the first book I have read by this author and I am definitely impressed. I’m a huge fan of sports romance and this book hit the spot.
I enjoyed the characters and always like a HEA.
Thanks NetGalley for the copy to read and review!

Good Guy was my first book by this author and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Good Guy is about Jordan who is a sports journalist and Levi who is a former Green Beret turned NHL player. He also happens to be her deceased husband's best friend, who also has had a crush on her for a long time.

I really liked both characters and the overall premise of the story. I found the plot to be engaging and I read the story in one sitting. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author or more about some of the other characters mentioned in the book.

Guys. I LOVED this book. I am a huge fan of KM. this was the first of her new series and it did not disappoint. It had all of one old hockey favorites along with the firefighter Dempsey’s. ALL the feels! It was terrific and I can’t wait for the next one. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

Levi Hunt is the Chicago Rebels hockey team's oldest rookie, having chosen to join the Green Berets rather than start his pro-hockey career out of college. He may be the strong silent type but he also volunteers at a homeless shelter and acts as a mentor to the younger rookies.

Jordan Cooke gets her big break from local sports when the opportunity comes to cover a fellow journalist's spot while he recovers from a heart attack, reporting on hockey, especially the Chicago Rebels for Chicago SportsNet. At the interview Jordan discovers that what gave her the edge was her previous association with Levi Hunt, her late husband's best friend and Green Berets team-mate, pity Chicago SportsNet don't know that Levi hates her guts. He never liked her, never thought she was good enough for Cookie, always had a sneer on his face, especially after she climbed him like a monkey the evening after Cookie's funeral. It may have been inappropriate and fuelled by grief but that steamy kiss five years ago still gets her a bit hot and bothered all these years later. But if an in-depth article on the Rebels' newest rookie is what they want Jordan will pull up her big girl panties and deliver it.

Levi doesn't hate Jordan, not even a little bit, not even at all (sorry, channelling Ten Things I Hate About You), he fell for her the first moment he heard her gorgeous laugh, but he was too slow and she only had eyes for his mate Cookie. Ever since then he has felt guilty for the feelings he has for his best friend's wife, but he never did anything about it, well not until after Cookie's funeral when there may have been a kiss which haunts Levi to this day. Now Jordan is back, digging into his private life that he wants to stay hidden, and just as beautiful as ever.

I always laugh when I see the titles of some of the category romances, you know the "Cowboy Sheikh Billionaire's Secret Baby" variety, but honestly I kind of see their point. Kate Meader had me at former special forces, best-friend's girl, sports-romance - when she threw in a dog I just about squealed with joy!

Reading about Jordan and Levi's romance as she tries to dig into his personality and he does all he can to resist her was pure joy, there's a backdrop of casual sexism and harassment which Jordan and the other women working in the sports world face on a daily basis, as well as some thoughts about letting women fight their own battles.

I loved this start to a new series and I can't believe I have missed three books from the last series - off to Amazon I trot!

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

‘Good Guy’ combines forbidden attraction, hockey and a reporter desperately using anything she can to get a scoop on the latest (and oldest) rookie’s life, with a little bit of a twist. But Kate Meader is a near-auto read for me most of the time and this spin-off from her popular Chicago Rebels series brings them all together again, albeit a few years down the road on an unusual premise to start.

Much of the story deals with Jordan following Levi Hunt and the team around in order to get a read on him to get her article up; it’s essentially, her desperate bid to build her career that drives her efforts to get close to a man with whom she’s already has sort of history and a process that reunites them in an unexpected way.

‘Good Guy’ sits in the middle of a few intersecting tropes here and with Meader’s assured writing, it’s not a hardship at all, to go through all of it. Like many authors these days in romantic fiction (a genre written mainly by women for women), Meader shines a light on the issue of gender equality, workplace ethics, harassment and assault, especially in male-dominated fields like sports reporting. It’s also a thorny theme that drives characterisation, which in some ways, proved to be my personal stumbling block.

Jordan felt a little preppy and chirpy for my liking—I was surprised not to get the gravitas or the lingering sadness that normally surrounds a widowed heroine—and whose personality felt incongruous to the role she was playing in this romance. I didn’t quite her exploitation of her connection with Levi to get ahead, or how she pushed and needled her way into prying him open for the sake of her story: it did feel too calculating at times and I had a hard time trying to reconcile this picture of a cheerful, warm protagonist who had a manipulative side to her that she tried to ‘reframe’ in so many different ways which Meader valiantly tries to justify. That Levi had found himself grovelling quite a few times made her seem unfairly blameless when she clearly wasn’t.

In contrast, it was easier to like Levi, whose only crime it seemed, was wanting his best friend’s widow from afar. Past the gruff, stoic exterior, he seemed more highly evolved than many others, given that he didn’t deny his attraction for Jordan and the keen sense of right and wrong that he carried which made him easy to gravitate towards.

Different strokes for different folks, is all I can say in conclusion. Meader rarely goes wrong with a writing style that I can always get on board with, nonetheless, and I’m eager to know what this new story arc is all about in the Rebels finding their second wind.