You Had Me at Hockey is Kelly Jamieson is Josh and Sara story and they are perfect together. it's a story of Up tight hockey player and a spirited, down-to-earth influencer who brings him out of his shell.

Loved the story and Highly Recommend it to all readers.

Kelly Jamieson hits it in the net with YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY (Bears Hockey #2). In this story, defenseman Josh Heller was traded to from Dallas to the New York Bears. He meets influencer, Sara Carrington, who makes his transition easier. This contemporary sports romance is suitable for adult readers.

I was looking forward to reading this book since Josh was traded to the team at the end of book one, MUST LOVE DOGS…AND HOCKEY. Josh played in the WHL with Easton Miler from book one, MUST LOVE DOGS…AND HOCKEY. They were both in a tragic accident when they played junior hockey. They have unresolved issues that are part of this novel.

I enjoyed Sara and Josh’s characters. Sara is funny, honest, and outgoing. She thinks she is screwed up. She’s a genuine person. Josh is quiet, serious, and controlled. He has a fear of hospitals. She is spontaneous, and he needs structure. They seem like an unlikely couple, but she makes Josh laugh, something he has not done in a long time. The poetry throughout the story is amusing.

YOU HAD ME AT HOCKEY is the perfect addition to the Bears Hockey series. It complimented the first book but was its own unique story. It was skillfully written and entertaining throughout. I recommend this book to people who enjoy hockey romances. Kelly Jamieson knows hockey, so the hockey scenes are intelligently written and realistic. I look forward to the next book in the series. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Hello

Apologies for the late notice, but I have decided not to review this title.

While I am certain it's obvious by now, I wanted to also clear this off NetGalley, so it's not showing as open for either of us.

I look forward to continuing to work with you in 2023 and beyond.

Laura

This is the second book in the Bear Hockey series. Although I read it as a stand-alone and had no problems, it sounds like the entire series is pretty entertaining. Sara and Josh's characters are so genuine with real-life issues. I loved watching them grow and find their way toward their happy ever after. This was a beautiful story that will touch your heart and is certainly worth reading.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read to & review an ARC of this book!**

Please find my extended feedback below...along with some spoilers (beware).
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Things I Liked:
-I liked that this book discussed mental health and did not shy away from how trauma can impact people.
-I did enjoy the banter between Sara & Josh.

Things That Didn't Sit Quite Right With Me:
-I liked Sara at the beginning of the book, but as it went on she felt more "woe is me". I think it is important to process insecurities in characters, but it felt like so much of Sara's character became the I'm the weird girl, no one could ever love me, etc. vibe.
-The sexual parts of this book felt a bit disconnected to me. Almost like as soon as Josh & Sara had sex...so much focus was put on that part of their relationship.

Overall, this book was okay & it 3 stars.

Josh is a buttoned-up, change-resistant control freak. Sara is a live out-loud, upfront influencer. They meet on her podcast and have instant chemistry. It’s what Jamieson did with the chemistry that I thought was great. The pair got to know one another and took time to grow close. The reader gets to see their feelings develop and watch as they help the other become better versions of themselves. I found Josh and Sara to be so relatable. I will definitely check out more books in this series.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Loveswept and Kelly Jamieson. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

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

OMG , I just realized I read this book and didn’t really understand sone of the things going on. Why you ask?? Well , I’ll answer… quite honestly it’s because it’s book two… slaps forehead with both palms!!
Aside from the above. It was a very quick read. A interesting book . And quite good.
Hue onto book one !!

Q: How do I like my sports?
A: In my romance novels.

While this wasn't my favorite of hers I'll never say no to a Kelly Jamieson hockey romance.

I like that H/h support each other while also pushing each other to grow.

After a traumatic event in his past Josh understandably became a bit of a control freak. Spending time with Sara forces him to loosen up a bit and lose some of his rigidity.

Sara has used her quirky, fun yet still vulnerable personality to become a quite popular social media influencer. When pressured to change her image Josh is there to support her and remind her why she makes her videos in the first place.

4.5 stars — This book actually delighted me in quite a few ways. And I’m giving it a half star bump for great hockey depiction. I’m not an expert, but as someone who watches hockey quite a bit, it rang truer than most hockey books do.

I was surprised by all that was lying in Josh’s psyche, if that makes sense. It was weird, because finally understanding a bit of what made him up and had dominated his thoughts since the accident made me dislike him a bit…and yet, we find it out around the same time as he finally accepts it for himself and starts to turn things around, so yay? So I definitely had conflicting feelings for that boy.

On the other hand, I loved the quirkiness of Sara. Not just quirky, but strangely vulnerable too. I read a lot of heroines with self-esteem issues, and sometimes it gets to be a bit much even as I can connect with that. I kind of appreciated the way hers was depicted…it was definitely there, but I guess I felt I got her inside her head, and it was nice that it was balanced by these other moments of self-confidence.

They kind of had an adorable romance in so many ways. They were so hesitant, but they couldn’t help but be drawn together. I could have done without quite so many thoughts from Josh of how he shouldn’t be with her, because they didn’t always fit the story for me (sometimes they did, sometimes it felt forced). But wow, their chemistry was unbelievable. Not *just* the steamy chemistry, but also, holy wow *definitely* the steamy chemistry. I think I just also loved how they connected on so many other levels as well — friendship, fun, support, understanding.

This book made me laugh in quite a few moments, and Sara definitely belongs on the girl crush list. And now I want to read about Lilly and Easton as well.

I will admit that as a born and raised Saskatchewan girl, and Swift Current in particular, this one hit a bit close to home with the accident. I know the author was inspired by Humboldt, but I wonder if she knew about the Swifty one in the 80s — I was just a kid, but I definitely remember it, and the use of SC as the town felt…well, it was hard.

So yeah. This was just what I was needing in the moment — something fun and quirky, but with depth.

Great story. When two completely opposite people meet while talking on a podcast, get ready to watch sparks fly.

Josh Heller's life is hockey. After an accident changed his whole life when he was 17 years old, he became a completely different person. He became afraid of everything, so the only way to control that fear was to plan everything and stick to that schedule. When he finds himself traded to another team in the league, the last thing he wants to do is move to NYC.

Sara Carrington knows she's different and she owns it. She's now a popular You Tuber who is her true self. She talks about her pimples on camera, she's honest about her problems with depression, and now she's at the top of her game. She owns her own apartment in NY, launching a new podcast, and has big brands wanting to have her represent them. The only thing she never had time for was dating.

So when Sara and Josh meet each other for the first time at her podcast recording, they are both pleasantly surprised with each other. She's beautiful and makes him laugh. He's hot and has her hoping he will help her get rid of her V-card.

Sara makes Josh laugh like he used to and slowly stop freaking out when plans change. Josh makes Sara feel that it's okay to be herself no matter what she says. Both are good for each other.

But when an old friend of Josh's is on his new team, Josh must learn to live with his resentment and feelings of betrayal from the accident. But when Sara pushes him to talk to the player about it, it blows up in her face.

A must read!!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory

I just love this author’s hockey romances! The men are just a little damaged but strong and kind. The women vary, some are athletic, some are scatter brained, some are logical and nerdy. But all in all, they are fantastic characters and the love stories are yummy sexy and super entertaining.

In this case, we have a pro hockey player who went through a tragic accident when he was playing junior hockey. His dreams of going pro were in danger, but after one year of hard physical rehabilitation, he made it. The accident and the repercussions from it changed Josh into a somber guy. He needs structure in his life, everything has to be planned and he needs to be in control of all that is happening. In other words, spontaneity is a bad word for him.

When he was drafted to the New York Bears team, he was thrown in a loop because, of course, things were out of his control. Even more, in the New York team was one of his friends from the junior hockey team and he resented that his so-called friend abandoned him after the accident. And on top of it all, he’s forced to do a radio podcast with a social media influencer he hadn’t heard of before.

Enter Sara, widely known for her podcasts and YouTubes featuring whatever she finds interesting in life. She’s bright, smart, honest and wildly spontaneous. She has a passion for what she does and has a strong dedication to her craft, but she also changes directions and plans at the drop of a hat. Josh and Sara are complete opposites, and yet they worked together.

“I like her. What I don’t like is unpredictability. And it seems Sara brings that with her everywhere—spontaneous lunches, bumper cars, and allergic reactions.”

I loved how they each learned and compromised in their relation, first as friends and later as lovers. Poor Josh had to survive bumper cars and poetry readings, but he dealt like a champ.

Apart from an entertaining read, I loved the other themes touched on, like depression, the after effects of a tragic event, rifts between friends, communication and compromise. This story was heartwarming and so full of fun. Sara was enchanting, Josh was a good sport, and some of the scenes were so funny they had me in tears.

Cute story and interesting protagonist with easily relatable characters. The author perfectly captures the life of an inherently cheery person who also struggles with clinical depression.

Sara and Josh were on fire from the moment they met. Josh has a lot of emotional depth and issues he needs to work out. Sara is the life of the party and people love to be around her. Put these two people together and you get a romance that tells itself with great world-building and emotional depth.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did I commit a reading crime? Probably. Why? Well, I dove into book 2 without reading the first one. Oops? Oh my! Ha - it happens but after reading You Had Me at Hockey I have a feeling that I will probably dive into the first book soon.

In this, you will meet Josh and Sara. He is a hockey player who was just traded from Dallas to New York. She is currently launching a podcast. So they are both winners in my book right now. These two were pretty cute and had awesome banter. Seriously. They bantered so much throughout this book and it was giving me so much joy. Plus, they really seemed to challenge one another and that made them a pretty addicting couple in my eyes.

Other than that, I liked how this also dipped it's toes into some serious topics like anxiety, depression, and trauma. The way Josh had anxiety definitely made him a more relatable person. I don't personally have anxiety but I know a lot of people who do. So it made me think of them and that made my heart happy and then my brain goes '..maybe you should text them?'

In the end, this was a pretty cute book that flew by for me.

This was an okay book. It was the 1st book that I read from this author book it was okay. I do not generally enjoy 1st person point of view but I think that if you are looking for a small cute hockey book this will be for you.

This book is so refreshing. It was refreshing to see that the two main characters work in different industries and were so different from each other, but could really relate to each other. Usually, the heroine is always tangentially related to the sport in some way (publicist, trainer, physical therapist, etc.), but Sara was totally outside of his world. I read a lot of sports romance and this one is really unique.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately I couldn't get into this sport romance. Neither character had the sort of spark that makes you want to turn the next page to see what they would do or say next. Their conversation borderd on the mundane and the pace felt slow. Just not what I was expecting.