Love this author and LOVED this book. I love steamy romance novels especially ones where random strangers fall in love. I love that Lainey was a nerd and such a quirky and awkward character. The way RJ loves her is so sweet. I loved that there were little details added in such as the name kodiak having special meaning to the couple and the aquarium. Thank you for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Pucked Series is one of my all time favourite hockey tales and when I heard there was going to be a spin off series I was so excited and A Lie for a Lie book one in this series did not disappoint, it was everything I expected and so much more. This book captivated me and once I picked it up there was no putting down until I had read the final line.
Rook or RJ as he is sometimes known as was everything I want in a hero, he is hot, he cares about his family, friends and teammates but most importantly he has learnt from the mistakes he made early in his career. He is the man we would all like on our side because he never crosses lines and he is always there to lend a helping hand.
Lainey is the baby if her family and has always been just a little bit spoiled, her family have wrapped her up in cotton wool but now it’s time to be a woman and live her life her way. She always says what’s on her mind even if that sometimes offends, she never means any harm she just has no filter, she may have a nervous disposition but that doesn’t mean she won’t try anything that’s thrown at her so what does that mean when these two meet in Alaska well I can tell you that’s when the fun and games begin.....
This book has it all, characters with intense sizzling chemistry, lots of funny witty banter and a beautifully written love story. I loved everything about this book and it will certainly be on my best reads of 2019 and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the All In Series because if this book is anything to go by this author has a hit on her hands.

I can not wait to read more from this new series. I have loved Helean Hunting's stories since I started reading them and I just can't put them down! The flow of this one worked out pretty well. There were a few parts where it was slightly slower or faster than I would have liked. But overall, the pacing was well done. The characters were sexy and I loved that although they got to gather it didn't last but then they meet up again a year later. It really makes you understand the power of love in a new way as well as how a story can unfold. The story had a good amount of twists and turns and it blew me away with some of them. I can't wait for more!

Definitely there is no one who can write a ROM-COM like Helena Hunting and this time was no exception. A lie for a lie is a sweet, funny, sexy story with a dramatic tint that I loved, I couldn't get enough of the characters and the plot, I read without stopping and practically without sleeping for two days in a row.

Rook stole my heart, I die of love with him, never while reading Pucked off I thought I would like him so much, but I loved how sweet he is, how important the family is for him and how he is willing to help Lainey through the plot. HE IS PERFECT. Lainey is my animal spirit, I felt so identified with her, sweet and somewhat nerdy.

Their attraction and connection is intense and immediate. I loved them together, their scenes are so sexy, wow, they made me laugh and sigh so many times. Their romance is unique and it caught me from beginning to end. They are so cute together, gahhh I swooned so hard. They are perfect for each other.

Besides everything, secrets and lies accompany their journey, and it left me in shock, I never saw it coming.

If you like Helena Hunting stories, this is one that you won't want to miss. Its plot will catch you and leave you breathless. Highly recommended.

YOU👏🏻GUYS. Helena is now officially one of my favorite authors and I’ve barely made a dent in her long list of hit titles. RJ & Lainey’s story was a joy to read. I instantly loved and connected with both of them. Even though I didn’t like that RJ was keeping things from Lainey, I understood why. Plus, he was so good to her in every other way. I love how he made her comfortable and helped her manage her anxiety but always made it a point to remind her and her parents that she was strong and independent and didn’t need anyone to protect her. Lainey is a rockstar. She’s intelligent even though she’s shy, I love that after just a bit together, she’s comfortable enough around RJ to show him her sassy side. I love that we got a glimpse into their future and I honestly feel like I could read another entire book about their life together. RJ & Lainey are one of my new favorite book couples FOR SURE!

3.5 stars

Lainey is 25 years old and getting her third Masters Degree. Rook (R.J) is a professional hockey player in the NHL. They have a "meet cute" on an airplane to Alaska. Lainey doesn't recognize him and Rook likes it that way. They have a few short weeks together in Alaska, before he had to leave quickly for a family emergency. She didn't even know his last name or telephone number. Fast forward to a year later, they meet again in Chicago. She finds out who he is and guess what she has! Surprise!

I enjoyed Rook and Lainey's story, though I found it a little predictable. It's not my favorite troupe to read. It was good, but I can't say it will be memorable to me or something I will want to reread again. It was a good escape for a couple hours. I am looking forward to book two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Lie for a Lie is a fun, cute, and sexy romance. A Lie for a Lie may be one of my favourite Hunting novels. I’ve read most of her work and enjoyed her novels, but never loved them. A Lie for a Lie is definitely the exception.

RJ and Lainey’s personalities match, making it easy to picture them falling in love easily. The best way to describe Lainey is adorable. She is intelligent and confident. RJ is not an over the top alpha male, instead he is solid, confident in himself, and soft.

The beginning of A Lie for a Lie has strong The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker vibes. They both take place in Alaska and all the hardships that go along. The first half of the novel is easily the best part. I loved how Hunting took the time to develop their relationship in the beginning. Stories like these usually garner a more negative review from me because the past is never explored fully and the chemistry is always implied instead of earned.

There are three reasons I rated the novel four stars instead of five. First, the chemistry is not as explosive and all consuming as I wished it would be. Instead, it is a slow reliable burn. Second, there were a few moments that faded to black that I wish had been explored further. And, finally, I’m not usually a fan of the plot turn this book took, but Hunting made it work for me. At the risk of spoiling the novel, I will not elaborate further.

Overall, A Lie for a Lie is a solid romance that does not rely on stereotypical characters.

I can't stop smiling. Why you may ask? Well, I just feel so happy after reading A Lie for a Lie. It was such a cute and romantic story. Pro NHL superstar meets beautiful, shy nerd type. It was GREAT all around.

Helena Hunting always comes up with the best meet-cute moments and was definitely creative with Lainey and RJ's (Rook). I thought that their chemistry was felt from the very beginning. RJ was tired of meeting 'puck bunnies' and wanted a real connection with someone. Just when he thinks it's impossible, a woman named Lainey falls right into his path. She is unlike any other woman he has been attracted to. She is smart, anxious, and unique.

They are both headed to Alaska for their own self-care vacation and end up spending more time together. Although they are from different worlds, they realize they have so much in common. Lainey and RJ start falling and falling fast.

An unexpected event leaves RJ booking a flight home.

They didn't see each other after that, until 1 year later. Everything is so different in their lives, but when they see each other their 'connection' is constant.

I don't want to give anything away but I swooned so hard. I had so many favorite moments in this book, but I absolutely loved how they brought out the best in each other.

I give A Lie for a Lie 5 stars! Helena Hunting wrote another amazing sports romance that was filled with so much heart. She has the unique ability to make you feel apart of every story she writes. This just might be my favorite Helena Hunting book so far!!

When I first read the Pucked series by Helena Hunting, I immediately became a fan of the series. This spin-off of that series is just as fantastic!

This story focuses on RJ/Rook, a hockey player who is hiding out in the cabin he shared with his dad and brother in Alaska. While enroute, he meets Lainey, the nerdy girl trying to finish her dissertation atl a cabin in the middle of nowhere. When RJ offers her a ride to her cabin, he's not sure about leaving her in the run down shack. When he invites her for dinner at his sprawling A-frame, she never really leaves. The two start a hot and heavy romance that ends too quickly when RJ is called out of town by his brother. A series of events causes them to leave touch with each other for over a year.

When Rook, now back in Chicago, attends the birthday party of one of his team members kids, he's surprised to see that Lainey is there working!

Their reunion is not easy, as she discovers who he really is, and he has to win her back and find out exactly what she's hiding from him.

I am really looking forward to the this series!

I really loved the premise of this one, but the book I just finished didn’t feel like it came from that synopsis.

I liked Lainey and Rook well enough. She’s very smart and maybe a bit sheltered and naive. He’s charming and fairly down to earth. Together they’re thrown together in a meet cute and then it all went a bit weird. There are a lot of side characters due to his teammates and their wives and I didn’t even try to keep them straight.

Plot wise, it was okay. I liked that we actually got the flashback of how they met and the relationship before it came back to the present. For me the sex scenes were a little cringe-y, there were far too many uses of the word “beaver”, and I never once actually saw the chemistry between Lainey and Rook. I did like how he tried so hard to get her back and that they had open conversations once they met again.

SPOILER:

I will say that the entire plot thread about the pregnancy should have been included in the synopsis. I was looking for a second chance romance and while it was there, the main focus was the baby. I don’t often care for the surprise pregnancy trope and likely wouldn’t have requested this if it had been stated.

Overall, it was a quick read that I felt compelled to finish. I highly doubt I’ll be reading any other books in the series.

**Huge thanks to Montlake Publishing for providing the arc free of charge**

A Lie for a Lie will pull on your heart strings. You will wonder what is happening while you are living in the moment. I fell for Lainey and RJ. Lainey had a lot of strength with her independence and a lot would under estimate her. Not RJ aka Rook. He knew what he had was something special. Make that a year later times two!!

The moment you read this book, you are hooked! You feel like you are coming home when the side characters come back to life in a world I love to visit over and over again. You get your Helena Hunting trademark with HOT AND STEAMY in the mix. But the under line of the story is pure heart. A Lie for a Lie is not your typical second chance romance. Nope, not even a little. You get a full second chance to make it right and stronger than ever. I whole heartily recommend this book to all those book lovers that fall in love time and time again!

I forgot how much I loved Helena Hunting's writing and the glory that is Violet lol. This story, while it has cameo's of other characters from the Pucked series, can be read without reading Pucked...but then again, why wouldn't you read all about Violet (can you tell I just love her?). In any case, Kodiak, Alaska is the backdrop of some truly fun, funny, dramatic and wonderfully sexy times in the story that is Rook and Lainey. Fate is sometimes some one of the most mysterious animals I know and when she decides that something is meant to be, who are we to fight it. BUT, Lainey soon learns that not all is as it should be and that her past haunts may make it difficult to forgive. "My skin burns. My heart stutters. I should tell him my own truth. But for now we're tied: a lie for a lie." Getting past the lies is a journey in itself, and the truth should set you free, but can these two see past them in order to have what they both desperately want?

I can just die a happy woman! Once I finish reading the new spinoff series by Helena Hunting. A Life for a Lie is book #1 of her All In hockey romance series which takes place in the same universe as her Pucked series. Yes! We get to read a bit more of her Chicago NHL stars like Alex Waters.

Rook (RJ) Bowman wanted a break from the pressure of being captain of his NHL team and going to Kodiak Island in Alaska to get away from it all is just what the doctor ordered. He never expected a sweet, nerdy and gorgeous woman to literally fall on his lap on the way there. The fact that Lainey doesn’t know who he is only makes him feel more at ease and spending the following weeks with her are filled with delicious sexy times, laughs and happiness.

Unforeseen circumstances force him to cut their time together short and leave without a way to contact her, though. But a year serendipity puts them on the same path once again, only this time Rook is forced to come clean regarding his job while Lainey has a big secret of her own. Can they look past the lies and see person they fell in love with during their bliss filled vacation together?

Helena Hunting has skillfully written a story with a wonderful blend of sexiness, delicious sweetness and a whole lot of fun. Even though his past when it comes to women cast a philanderer shadow on RJ, we get to meet his true, caring, sweet and thoughtful self during his time with Lainey in Alaska. And once he gets over the shock of seeing her again and the very unexpected news she needs to share with him, he continues to display all his best qualities that made me fall for him along with Lainey.

Although their relationship was based on a lie, it developed in a truly deep and heartfelt way which had me rooting for them from start to finish. Together they made a supremely cute couple. And speaking of couple, we get to see a bunch of the fun and crazy couples from the Pucked series who added a layer of laughs and smiles that made this story absolutely enjoyable.

A Lie for A Lie is a standalone hockey romance in the All In series by Helena Hunting. Told from both points of view, with a happy ending.

I really enjoyed this book. We all know I am a sucker for second chance romances, especially when they are genuine. This one is most certainly a genuine, feel good second chance.

What I liked most about this book is we get a lot of their quick relationship. We get a connection to both of them and their attraction before they are brought back together. That aspect along helped build the new romance for these characters.

You can tell by the title, there are obstacles these two must overcome for their reunion to work. I enjoyed the train ride these characters took me on. I pretty much devoured this story from start to finish.

A spin off series to one of my favorite hockey romances you say? Puck yeah count me in. I was estatic when I heard Helena was doing a spin off of the Pucked series. I mean come on it’s the Pucked series. Helena writes sexy hockey players like no other. Add in her witty humor and I see a spectacular sports romance no doubt and this was no exception to that.

Part sports romance, part second chance romance and a whole lot of swoony romance in between. From the beginning I knew this book was going to warm my heart and make me all kinds of giddy. RJ and Lainey had amazing chemistry. From their first meeting I knew these two were meant to be. Rook or RJ for short was swoony and had my ovaries exploding on many occasion. Lainey was a sweet independent girl and I loved her sass and spitfire attitude.

This was a lighthearted romance that will have you peeing your pants in laughter one minute and fanning yourself the next. You’ll swoon, you’ll melt and your heart will be full. It was sweet and sexy and something you won’t want to put down.

I can’t wait for me in this new series!

I can always count on Helena to give me a feel-good story, and A Lie For a Lie was no different. I loved how sweet this story was, and while there was some heat to this story, it was tame compared to her other works. I also love love-tropes that involve coming together because of a child. It's almost like enemies-to-lovers- love tropes which is why I love it so much.

A Lie for a Lie is released October 15th. If your a fan of romance, sweet stories, or contemporary Helena's books are for you.

This book was another hat-trick by Helena, her books have become my go to when I want to read something fun, sexy and swoon worthy! R is my favorite hero out of the hockey series so far! I can't wait to see what this series becomes!

A Lie for a Lie is the first book in the new All In series by Helena Hunting. A remote cabin setting in Kodiak Island, Alaska. A sexy, alpha male hockey player on a solo fishing trip. An anxious, beautiful young woman working on her thesis. The two collide with fiery passion, but one of them is keeping a secret. It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out. Readers will love the steamy romance and angst in this fast-paced sports romance with second chances and forgiveness. I can't wait for the next book in the series! Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.

Categorising a novel must be one of the hardest things to do for an author. There are so many different genres and then you also have a readers opinion. For me, this book falls into contemporary, with a sports theme and a trope of a second chance romance. It is a spin off from The Pucked Series and has that same witty feel to it. The first half is their meet cute and the second half is their reunion. They fall for each other instantly and spend six or so weeks together in a secluded cabin in Alaska. The bubble bursts suddenly when Rook needs to fly off to be with his family in an emergency. Things were left unsaid and the communication is severed.

Rook is a confident man who starts out only needing his family and his sport to keep him company. He has learnt from his old player days to stay on the straight and narrow from now on. Once he spent some time with Lainey, he then knew what was missing and what his team mates had been telling him all along - what it is like to find that special someone.

Not all characters can be as self-assured or extremely sassy as others. Books would get boring fast if they were all tarred with the same brush. This is why I liked Lainey, and more so because she had qualities I see in myself. She was a little naive in some areas but very knowledgable in others. She was sweet and at times inexperienced and she also wore her heart on her sleeve. She gave of a believable vibe for me with her warmth and temperament. Even though I thought her parents were annoying and over the top, I can see that this can and does happen to some people. I was ecstatic when Lainey stood up for herself and RJ and made it clear what her intensions where.

RJ's character delivered big time for me. His little white lie was not one I could hold against him due to his past experiences with the "puck bunnies". It wasn't a great start to their relationship and only made it more difficult for Lainey to connect with him after Alaska. But once he saw her again, I felt he put his "all" into rectifying all his misgivings. It was now up to Lainey to explain her lie and hope that RJ is as understanding as she was. Lainey's lie is not hard to guess and with book doesn't have any over the top angst or drama. It is a charming love story that is told well. I am looking forward to the next book in this series and hoping there is a little more of the sport involved.

Being a hockey player means your life is always in the public eye, and it's not very often that you can get away from the prying eyes of the media, but Rook has found a way to do it. In the off season he heads to Alaska to hide-out with his family for some downtime, they fish and just relax. But this year there has been a slight change in the plan, his brother can't make it to their yearly getaway, so he is on his own... that is until he bumps into a beautiful woman headed in his direction.

Meeting Lainey was completely unexpected, she has no idea who he is so he doesn't have to worry about her using him for a story or money, he can just be himself with her... and that is quite refreshing for a guy like him. They start off as just neighbors, but after Lainey's living arrangements turn out to be a disaster waiting to happen, he offers up a room for her to stay in... and that's when things take a steamy turn!!

A Lie for a Lie is a second chance romance that'll tug on your heartstrings and bring you many moments that will leave you smiling. This unlikely pairing brought heart squeezing emotion, steam, and laughter to the pages, I loved my time with them. I was immediately pulled into their story, the chemistry between them was very evident from their first meeting and continued to sizzle with each page that followed. Their relationship may have had an unconventional start, but it also had a natural progression to it, that gave time for the romance to build, as well as the anticipation... and they did not disappoint, the fireworks were a plenty! Highly recommend you get your hands on this one and meet Rook, the moment he wanders onto the page you'll be saying goodbye to your heart... the man has perfect book boyfriend material written all over him!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley request, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.