Sitting on a balcony in a hotel in his hometown Chicago Ford Callaghan, star right winger of the Cajun Rajuns, overhears a spicy conversation between friends. One of the voices sounds familiar, the other one smokey and sexy.

Addy, a successful and famous plus-size model, is fascinated by their eavesdropper. After calling him out they share an explosive anonymous experience. Addy regrets that she will never see and get to know this man but after her marriage to the controlling owner of a hockey team she cherishes her independence.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5
This was the perfect novella (yes you heard that right- a novella I loved). It was steamy as hell but still had enough relationship development and left me with biggest goofiest smile on my face.

One night our heroine is staying in a hotel and she has an experience like nothing else- she dirty talks with the stranger next door on their balconies and the experience ends with a bang. The next day our hero is desperate to find the woman who blew his mind the night before to find she has already checked out. That doesn’t stop him for long because he hunts her down and wants to show her that this connection can be more than just physical.

I’m a sucker for sports romances and even though this was a novella I still got a perfect little slice of hockey. I loved that the hero was the one chasing the heroine and that he was there for her and more than just her body. For a novella this book was sooo steamy and honestly I didn’t want to put it down!!! If you love novellas (and even if you don’t) and sports romances then you need to check this out.

Kate Meader had me at "flirting with fire." She just knows how to make the best storylines and meaningful characters. I just love her books and her characters.

This book was so good I really wish it wasn't just a novella, but a full-sized novel! What makes it so awesome, you ask? Unlike a lot of romance novels that claim to have strong female characters that really aren't, Kate Meader consistently bring strong female characters into her books who aren't afraid to tell a guy where to go, and stand up for herself when the guy (or any other character for that matter) does something they don't like. It's very refreshing!

Having already read the first book in this series, Irresistible You, I really enjoyed going "back in time" and getting to learn Addison and Ford's story, before the series really gets started.

While having a girls night on a hotel balcony, Addison bemoans her lack of good man options, knowing full well there's someone on the next balcony over eavesdropping on her conversation. This revelation leads to some harmless but totally hot flirting with her shadowed stranger, thinking she'll never see him again. Little does she know she's latched herself onto a guy who's going to find her and make her his.

5 stars! Can't wait to read the rest of the series (and the offshoot series!)

Addison Williams isn't looking for romance, but when she encounters an eavesdropping stranger on an adjoining hotel balcony, she figures she's due a little fun. She just hadn't reckoned on the "fun" escalating so quickly to "out of control." One minute she's flirting with a whiskey-graveled voice in the dark, the next that same voice is telling her to do things. Hot, wicked things. Cup-winning hockey player Ford "Killer" Callaghan can't believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He'll track her down because once could never be enough—even if discovering her identity places her strictly out of bounds. Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?
This was a quick and hot read that had me wanting more. I read through it rather quickly and can’t wait for more!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This was much better than the first book, it was fun and sexy!I absolutely adored Ford and how mature he was, and he wasn't a player.I was so intrigued by the idea of the couple connected in darkness, hearing but not seeing each other.It has lot of sex which was great and hot!

It was okay. It felt a little labored in exposition and light in real story. But it wasn't bad enough that I wouldn't continue to know more about the series.

A story that jumps off from the very beginning with Ford Callahan overhearing a conversation on the hotel balcony after eavesdropping and the woman leaves Addison Williams who had known he was there the entire time begins to talk to him. Within minutes he is at her hotel door then they are in bed together.
Addison does not want to see him again, where Ford is taken by her and wants to be with her. When she finds out that he is a hockey player she realizes he is a former teammate of her husbands, though she and her husband are divorced she still feels awkward about it. Ford does not see any issue at all since they are divorced, he also has no problem with her being six years older either he just wants to be with her. Now he must find a way to get her to see it his way. A very good and sexy story, very much worth the read.

In Skates Trouble is a prequel novella in the Chicago Rebels series by Kate Meader and it's a stand-alone. There is a scene included in this book that we will later see in Irresistible you (book 1 in the series) so I think it would be more fun to read this one first. When it comes to novellas I am more flexible with my expectations. Insta-lust/love is something that I expect and I don't mind. Ford and Addison met in an unexpected way, which was something I liked. For a novella, I found their relationship well developed. Both main characters were likable and Harper seemed like an interesting person which made the idea of reading the first full-length book in the series even more appealing. One thing that was ironic and seemed out of place, in the beginning, was the dig about the Chicago Rebels. I wondered if I was reading the correct series or if I had misunderstood, but Ford is not a player for the Rebels and to be honest, the team was downhill for a long time. The rest of the series will focus on how Harper and her sisters will try to bring some glory to the team while finding love. I would recommend the book.

DNF @ 47%

There's nothing WRONG with this book, it just didn't click for me. I could have slogged through the rest of it and it would have been a solid 3 star read (even with not really feeling it), but I have SO MANY books I'm ecxited to read so I chose to DNF instead.

Don't avoid this book just because it wasn't my style. ;)

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

This book was really good. Ford had me at hello and kept me until the sweet ending. This book was funny and romantic in all the best ways at the best times! Overall I loved this book and cant wait to see what's next.

This one moved a little too quickly for me, and I just didn't buy the instant love connection. There just wasn't time to get to know or like the characters. I realize this was a novella, so I will try one of the author's full-length books at some point.

I received a copy of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. In Skates Trouble by Kate Meader is a novella in her Chicago Rebels Series. Hot young hockey player Ford Callaghan has returned to his hometown of Chicago with the Stanley Cup. Arriving in town a few days early he overhears a frank discussion of male failings between some women on the hotel balcony next door and determines that he really wants to meet Addison Williams whose voice alone has him hot and bothered. Unfortunately for him she is the ex-wife of the owner of his hockey team and it was not an amicable divorce. I enjoyed this story and do recommend reading it. Published December 31, 2017. Medium Steam #NetGalley #InSkatesTrouble #KateMeader #Bookstagram #SportsRomanceNovel #KateMeaderBooks

This book has everything I look for in a great read. Wonderful storytelling, a coming home story with lots of emotion, complex characters, a plus size model who readers will find inspirational and a hero with a tragic past. There is plenty of attraction and seduction with the backdrop of hockey without the play by play that sometimes overshadows the plot. I really enjoy this author’s style of writing. I read a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

Kate Meader's book have always been and will forever be One-Click buys for me.

I love the way she writes the sexual tension and well placed humor.

I don’t know what it is but hockey player romances give me all the feels. Normally I don’t like sports romances but I always love hockey one and this was no different! Enjoyed from beginning to end. A fun lol rom com. Thanks NetGalley.

If you love a good sports romance then In Skates Trouble is for you! It was great and I would recommend it. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading this arc.

I've read the Chicago Rebels novels so when the prequel novella came up on NetGalley I was intrigued to know how it all began.

Addison Williams is a former model and the ex-wife of Michael Babineaux, owner of the Cajun Rage hockey team, she's setting up her own lingerie business designed for real women. About to move to Chicago, she and some friends are shooting the breeze on the balcony of her Chicago hotel room about men and their lack of a clue when it comes to pleasing a woman.

Ford Callaghan is back in his hometown of Chicago but his troubled relationship with his brother Jax means he's spending a couple of nights in a hotel before going to stay with Jax and his family. He can't help but eavesdrop on the raunchy no-holds-barred conversation on the next door balcony, then when her guests are gone he and Addy have a steamy anonymous encounter, neither knowing the other's real identity.

Of course Addy is Ford's boss' ex-wife. An illicit romance, more hook-ups than dating, this is a steamy novella - heavy on the steam and light on the plot. Nevertheless, this was a satisfying read, enough tension to keep things interesting, strong backstories and a glimpse of the main characters for the first novel. Overall, I think this was a good teaser novella for the new series.

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

I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't put it down.

Addison is a woman who has been put through the ringer by her ex-husband. She is a woman who is on the path to show the world what she is made of and bring the sexy back. Not only with herself but with her new business. While she is aggressive in business and knows what she wants, she is a little more gun shy in her romantic life. However one night on a balcony changes all that.

I LOVED Ford. There is nothing sexier to me that a man who knows what he wants and he wants Addison. He doesn't care that her ex-husband is his boss or that she is plus size. He sees her for her and that is sexy. This man goes above and beyond to show Addison that he wants more everything with her. He wants more of her heart, her body and her time.

I loved the lengths Ford was willing to go to show Addison how he feels. It was ballsy but at least to this reader, it worked!

This book was as funny as it is hot! I loved Ford and Addison. The whole Chicago Rebels series is great and this prequel does not disappoint. Not only do we get a fun and funny romance but also lots of hockey and a preview of what’s to come.