Another great read from Kelly Jamieson. Lily and Easton were wonderful together. Such an enjoyable read.

Kelly Jamieson is off to a victorious start with the first book in the Bears Hockey series, MUST LOVE DOGS...AND HOCKEY. This is hockey player Easton Millar and dog walker Lilly Evans story. It is appropriate for adult readers. It primarily takes place in New York.

Kelly Jamieson does a fantastic job with her character development. I love Easton’s character. He suffered a great tragedy in his past that still affects him. I respected how he rescued Otis. Lilly is an admirable heroine. She has great principles. I like that she stands up for what she believes in. Both characters have issues that cause them not to want to rely on another person. I like that they grew and learned to trust one another. I am an animal lover, so I appreciated that they both love dogs.

I enjoyed the story. There are a lot of compelling things that happen throughout the novel. This is a story that made me laugh and cry. I recommend this book to people who love dogs and hockey. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Cute dogs and hot hockey players, what more could you want in a book? Oh yeah! Add in a little sexy time and there is so much more to love about this book. Lilly is floundering and trying to figure out what to do with her life since her career in hospitality has tanked and when she meets Easton and his dog, is it really his dog, and he needs all the help, this starts her on a whole new career path. Easton is a hockey player for the NY Bears and he claims Otis after his keeper abandons him when they are separated at the elevator. Easton has a grueling travel schedule and having a puppy will not do and it is Lilly to the rescue. Soon they sort of rescue each other when they both need that extra compassion and friendship that turns to something a lot more. Will they survive the ups and downs of misunderstanding and insecurities? I cannot wait to find out where this series goes and more hockey hotness!

This book didn’t have the same magic of this author’s other hockey stories, but it has a cute little dog that was everything! Easton was traded from the Warriors in Vancouver to the New York Bears hockey team. He has a tragic event in his past that has made him cynical and standoffish. And yet, hockey is his life and all he loves.

Until one day he’s arriving at his building and there’s a lady with a dog on a leash about to enter the elevator. She went in, the dog didn’t, and as the elevator started to rise, the dog would have choked if Easton hadn’t saved him. The lady panicked and left him with the dog, no name and no apartment number. You could say it was fate that a dog fell into his lap.

Although initially, Easton was reluctant to keep the dog, Otis (he named the dog after the elevator!) was so loving, amusing and entertaining, that he grew on Easton. He then proceeded to spoil the dog!

Later he met Lily who was walking a friend’s dog, the dogs got embroiled in a dog squabble and fate was sealed.

From a man who had no one, now he had a dog that was totally attached to him, and a gorgeous girl who was also getting attached to him. His problem is that he had suffered so much loss that he didn’t believe in the staying power of the things he loves, so he’s protecting himself.

Lily and Easton were dealing with issues at their place of work; Lily took legal action and Easton waffled about it. They are different in their attitudes, and hesitant about getting serious. Then only thing they were serious about was on loving Otis!

This was a fun and fast read, and needless to say, I loved Otis above other details. I found both characters charming, I loved that Lily was searching for a job that fulfilled her, and hated that Easton was suffering at his. I rooted for both and their HEA!

I really like Lilly and Easton together they give really good banter. But let's get real for a minute the real star of this book is Otis. And the way Easton dotes on Otis is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Kelly Jamieson + Hockey Romance = Just read it now, read them all

Love this author and love her books. Lilly and Easton are just meant for each other and even though they come for other worlds they just fit perfect. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

This was such a cute hockey romance. I love when romances involve a dog! I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Super cute - all my favorite things rolled into one - quirky main character, hockey player, animals... what's not to like? Kelly Jamieson is a favorite.

Must love this book! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I picked it up at a time that it was exactly what I needed. I will definitely be recommending this book.

Charming and sweet, this romance made me smile. It gave me all the warm fuzzy feelings that you want out of a love story.

You definitely want to meet Easton and Lilly. Their chemistry jumps from the page and I found myself reading chapter after chapter, unable to put their story down.

Must Love Dogs and Hockey was a terrific start to a new series.

Contrary to what you may have expected... This is not a happy light hearted book. Instead it has men who don't have filters and a women who gets fired.
I was kind of hoping more for an adorable rom come than a gritty romance.

The cover and the rom-com title call-out made me think this was going to be more lighthearted than it really was. The book opens on a scene of hockey players at a bar, being crass. Which might be realistic but who reads romance novels for the realism? The abusive coach situation is introduced. Then, at the end of the night a puppy almost gets strangled when his leash gets caught in the elevator doors. Oh, and we learn that the male protagonist's brother died in his arms. Meanwhile, our heroine gets fired as a result of her boss having an affair with a different employee. So that should give you a sense of the situational melodrama driving this one. Maybe I picked it up on a bad day, but I felt kind of worn out and uninvolved by the end.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was an average short romance with lots of steam. Due to its length I couldn’t really connect to either main character, and it’s evident I won’t really be remembering much about this story in the future. Still fun!

This was a lovely romance with a cute dog.Easton and Lilly were great together.They have a great banter, they were flirty with each other and I find their romance emotional in some way.The beginning of the book moved a little slowly for my taste but apart from this it was a great read.

Book 1 in Kelly Jamieson's new Bears Hockey series, and if more of this is what we have to look forward to, this should be a fun and entertaining journey. Easton and Lilly are likable characters and they have great chemistry, but the show-stealer here is Otis, adorably neurotic Otis. He's a little dog with a big personality, and he's the perfect thing to pull Easton and Lilly into each other's orbit. Both have things they need to work through, some of it pretty heartbreaking, but the romance is low angst overall. There is, of course, the required bit of trouble to resolve, but mostly the story is engaging and fun - and sexy, definitely sexy. Kelly Jamieson is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, and the terrific characters, sexy and swoony romance, and the well-timed wit makes this one another great read in a list of great reads.

<i>Must Love Dogs...and Hockey</i> is a decent romance. On the plus side, there's very little hockey bro-ness to it. There are some references to the hero having been a player, but there's no evidence in book. There's a cute scene at the start where the hockey guys discuss contraceptives with oral, which admittedly made it weird when that was considered with Lilly. But still, I liked that that conversation happened. Otis is definitely the star of this, though. Lilly and Easton are...fine. The writing feels a bit amateurish or perhaps just under-edited. Expect a lot of exclamation points, for example. I was entertained but also didn't like it enough to be planning to read more Jamieson, unless I hear really good things from readers I trust.

DNF at 29%

I loved the premise of this one...but it sort of became a book that focused on drama that felt more manufactured than real.

I usually like this author, so I think this was a one off, but this one didn't work for me and I gave up after the 3rd time I found myself thinking that the author could have used characters to move the story forward but instead chose a situation.

Seriously, this book!! Do yourself a favor and read it. A perfect blend of laughter, drama, dogs, hockey and steam! I would give this 10 stars if I could! I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was fast paced, sweet and emotional read. Loved all of the characters in this story, especially Lilly and Easton. Their antics throughout this story, had me glued to my kindle. So entertaining. I loved this book. Bring on the next book please. Happy reading everyone

Must Love Dogs...and Hockey by Kelly Jamieson started out as a warm and fuzzy read and then the deep emotions crept in taking this book to a whole other level.

Lilly and Easton bond over Otis the dog.... and the way they start to fit into each other life has the reader knowing these two are meant to be together.

The author did a wonderful job with the city of New York allowing it to add the story!

I adored the way Lilly's past intertwined into Easton's present in a very current way... yes I know that is crypt but I want the reader to enjoy how this unfolds just as I did.

The way Lilly and Easton finally come together made for such a wonderful story. The support they show each other in the end and how they push each other to be better humans really touched me!

Since most of the time, I am an early reader of authors like Kelly who I adore it is RARE I get to jump right into the next book.... in this case, though I spent more of the book wishing I had read this sooner I ended up being so glad I waited to read this one because as the epilogue revealed the New York Bears newest player was Josh Heller I got to dive right into You Had Me at Hockey!

For long-term fans of Jamieson yes that is a second-generation Heller from her Heller brother's series...... Josh is Tag's son from Faceoff!

4.5 stars

I do wish it had a nice epilogue....