thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc!

This book was a good read and I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a sapphic sports romance. Our two main characters find threads in common with each other, despite their outward differences and have some mature development throughout the book. However, this book fell a little flat for me as it was just a little bit boring.

While I enjoyed all the books in this series, this was easily my favorite. I think it's because I resonated so much with Tierney and the lengths she went to protect her heart and Hope's. It was also interesting to see Regan from a different point of view because I'll admit I had my doubts about her. They were great together and their banter was amazing. This is likely going to be one that I regularly reread because I just LOVED IT SO MUCH.

This is the third and last book, so i read it and sort of lacked context of some minor details of the characters but nothing that stop me from enjoying the story so...
it was funny and interesting and romantic.

rivals to lovers + second chance romance + women’s hockey league

Calling the Shots is the third installment of Farmer’s On the Ice series and follows two coaches of rival teams who both have a lot to prove. I haven’t read the first two books, but this was easy to read as a stand-alone and wasn’t confusing at all! I liked the relationship between Regan and Tierney, who had a week long romance over a decade ago but ended when Regan ghosted. Their spark is rekindled when Regan issues a challenge between the two teams after she takes on the role as coach. While I loved the commentary on bias in women’s sports vs. men’s and navigating a new relationship as adults with a child in the mix, I thought too much time was spent on how Tierney and Regan continued to let their childhood and their parents’ relationships dictate how they behaved. I totally get being wary because of past experiences, but they both seemed a bit immature and blamed their issues on their parents without taking accountability for the majority of the story. While that would have been excusable during their first meeting in their twenties, I kinda feel like they should have worked through it now that they’re in their forties. But in the end, they figured things out and overcame their hang-ups to reach their happy ending!

If the spice scenes wouldn’t have been fade to black, I would have enjoyed it more. It was still a decent read, but I probably won’t be picking up the first two books anytime soon.

thank you NetGalley and Carina Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review :)

In this hockey romance, Regan and Tiernan are rival coaches. Regan is a former olympian and is known as one of the best in the hockey world. Tiernan is a single mom who has always lived in the shadow of her hockey star father. As the pair’s teams constantly playing each other the interactions of the two coaches turn into flirtation and then a full blown relationship.

This book is the third in the Out on the Ice series and the second one I have read but it can be read as a standalone. I think I liked the second one in the series slightly more, but still enjoyed reading this one. I really liked Regan but found Tiernan’s insecurities to be a bit exhausting. I did like the two together and found that they made each other better people. This book was fade-to-black but the chemistry was there so it didn’t feel like a fade-to-black romance.

Thank you to Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Calling the Shots is the third book in Kelly Farmer’s Out on the Ice series. Some twenty years ago, Regan and Tierney had a week or so of great sex and possibilities but Regan flaked out and Tierney moved on. When they meet again as coaches to rival teams in the NAWHL, sparks fly between the congenial former Olympian everyone loves and the closed-off coach who hides behind her Resting Bitch Face.

As happens often, I don’t remember much about the previous books besides the fact that I enjoyed them. I honestly don’t know how much of this book will stay with me and it was a bit messy but I really really liked the characters. Regan and Tierney but also Tierney’s daughter Hope, Regan’s siblings, Tierney’s assistant coach, and even her ex-wife.

Regan and Tierney are opposites and yet have a lot in common. Regan is “the living embodiment of Bad Girl Lesbian”, irritating and irresistible on the surface but actually caring and endearing. Tierney lived all her life in other people’s shadows and has had to protect herself, something she doesn’t want her young daughter to go through. Despite their extremely different personalities, Regan and Tierney understand each other on a very personal level. Their fantastic chemistry allows them to think for a while that it’s all there is, yet they’ve found kinship in similar childhood experiences, a familiarity that makes opening doors worth considering. I’m all about journeys and character growth and there’s a lot of both in this book. A lot of tenderness as well, and my favourite scenes were when either MC let the other beyond her walls.

In short, excellent chemistry and character growth make this book well worth reading.

A sports romance with an enemies-to-lovers set-up but make it sapphic? This book was practically calling my name! Calling the Shots follows two hockey coaches whose heads butt time and again but when circumstances change, their differences suddenly turn into strengths. Tierney and Regan had so much chemistry right from the start that I couldn't help but fall head over heels for them! I loved how we got their backstory and were able to root for them even as the past held them back. What I maybe loved most that both Regan and Tierney made mistakes in their past but instead of sweeping it under the rug, they both have to work individually as well as together on their issues to make their relationship work and grow on their own.
While the writing offers room for improvement, the story flowed easily and made for an enjoyable read.
Can't wait to read more from this author!

I enjoyed reading calling the shots but wished that the book was a bit longer so the author could dive into more of the secondary characters.

This is the first book I've read in the Out On The Ice series, and I definitely think I will be reading the others. This is a romance about two head coaches of rival women's hockey teams. This has the usual tropes of a second chance or rivals to lovers romance but avoids feeling cringey. Both Tierney and Regan have character flaws to work on and contrasting personalities but you never question how they feel about each other.

I know that this is a book in a series, so maybe that's what I am missing, but I often felt lost with all the characters. I also think there could have been more of an introduction to who these people are. The book is still enjoyable regardless but it kind of took me out of reading when I had to think about who each person was. I think the book would benefit from more of an explanation of hockey terms and what happens during the season.

Thanks to Carina Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Calling the Shots” is a sweet and fun WLW enemies to lovers romance set in the hockey world that was a quick read and brought some stuff to light that needs it shined on.

Regan Lane is a playing legend in the hockey world and is now a coach in the WNHL. She is loud and opinionated on all things and especially equality in the hockey world. Tierney McGoven is also a coach and lets her coaching skills speak for themselves. Since the league is small, their two teams often go up against each other which leads to some friendly betting to make it interesting. But as they get to know each other more, there is an attraction lying underneath.

This was a fun book to read even if it completely lacked on the spice. I wasn’t expecting a throw her down and have your way with her for several chapters but some sort of intimate connection would have been nice. I did love the connection Regan and Tierney had and that’s why I wanted the adult connection. A lot of the “relationship” scenes could have been perceived as friends getting into an argument vs a couple in an agreement. Their banter was great and kept me turning the pages to see what would happen with them next. My favorite part was how involved Regan was on bringing equality to the women and their careers in the sporting world. The women are just as talented the men and deserve to have the recognition. This is the third book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone.

This is book 3 in the Out on the Ice series but I read it as a standalone. It’s a series with recurring characters but the focus is on a different pair in each book. I did enjoy this book but it didn’t wow me. I loved Regan and her siblings but wasn’t a huge fan of Tierney. Hope was absolutely adorable though and the saviour was that Regan and Tierney make a very cute couple. It’s fade to black which I think did dull the chemistry a bit but the romance was sweet. I also love the great representation which includes trans and ace characters. They also show what women’s sport is really like and how much they have to fight for a fraction of the support men’s teams get. All in all, it’s an enjoyable cutesy read.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Kelly Farmer's Calling the Shots is a solidly entertaining and emotional contemporary sapphic romance. This is the third in her On the Ice series about professional women's hockey players. She's gotten stronger and more confident with each book. The characters are more comfortably layered and complex and the push/pull of Regan and Tierney relationship flows easily, even the third act break-up.

Regan Lane has gone from being a professional women's hockey megastar, to an assistant coach for a middling professional men's hockey team. She has a reputation for being outspoken with the press. While talking to reporters after her team's loss, she's told there may be a head coach position open in the women's league. Her response, that she would will the championship her first year, becomes known as The Challenge. Tierney McGovern is already the winningest head coach in the (short) history of the professional women's hockey league, but she feels like she still has to fight for credibility. When Regan takes the job as the Boston head coach, the two are positioned as rivals. Regan thinks it's all good fun, but Tierney is frustrated that the attention is because of Regan and not her own stellar work.

The two have some similar issues - they tend to keep people out and push people away, but they do it in different ways. Farmer does a great job of weaving in their strengths and weaknesses, their joys and fears so that the characters feel real, grounded, and complicatedly human. The well deployed dual POV shows it's less that one has baggage to get over and more that both have issues to sort through. We get to see the ways in which they obliviously stumble into hurting each other, and also the choices they make to love and support each other. Tierney's daughter was a fun kid to read.

This is a third book, but it can be read as a stand alone.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Carina and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

A note: The HarperCollins union goes on strike starting Thursday 11/10. This is the last review of a book published by Harper Collins or it's subsidiaries that I will post until the strike is over. Employees deserve to be paid a living wage.

I hated sports romances, but this is the perfect example of how they're done right. This was so funny, so witty, and steamy. It ticked all my boxes and just made me fall in love with the world of hocky. I definite must read.

Reading Kelly Farmer's writing is very comforting for me. I enjoy the pace and the characters. Even when they have things to get over, they don't make stupid romance books mistakes. The world that she's created with her Out on the Ice series feels big, and I like visiting the characters.

Something Farmer does here is to show the common ground between two characters who might seem on the surface to be very different. Regan is brash and loud-mouthed. Tierney is very closed in. One might even call her an ice queen in the non-hockey sense. Both have things to work through, but their hearts are in the right place.

The story here is about Regan taking up a coaching position for the Boston Ice, and Tierney continuing to coach the Lady Libertys all the while coparenting her adopted daughter after a divorce. The ladies have to get over their own broken childhoods, and balancing seeing each other. This fits a second chance romance trope because almost 20 years ago in their past, the two ladies had a fling that was memorable to both of them.

This was a good read and recommended for those who like sports romance and two independent leads owning up to their damage and working on it.

This was fun and I really like Regan and Tierney. I was very confused a lot of the time about who’s pov I was reading. I don’t think that it was made clear at all times who was who. I did love Regan bonding with Hope and I wish we had gotten a bit more of it.

I received an arc through netgalley

I tried really hard to like this more but I just couldn’t overcome the writing/narration style!! It’s not told in first person BUT there are moments where we get the thoughts of the main characters as if it *were* first person?? It’s jarring and took me out of the story every time. So did the multiple secondary characters.

Criticisms of the writing aside, the romance itself was really sweet and enjoyable. I wish it was less bogged down in writing and side characters.

CW: Past divorce mentioned; Misogyny

As a fan of hockey I was intrigued by Calling the Shots for a female sports romance. The Regan and Tiereny, our two main characters were enjoyable and their romance felt realistic and well developed. I'm not familiar with Kelly Farmer's previous titles so familiar side characters to others who have read her books were unknown to me, and yet I found each one nuanced and enjoyable enough that I would consider picking up previous titles just to learn their stories.

Kelly Famer did a wonderful job with building a realistic rivals to lovers/second chance romance, describing and the descriptions of the hockey scenes were wonderful. However, the writing was a little difficult to follow at times. It could have been better if the chapters were in first person point of view and alternating between Regan and Tiereny. There were jut one too many times where I would have to re-read sections because I got confused on whose internal monologue I was reading and it take me out of the story completely.

Overall, a fun read with enjoyable characters and a happy ending. What more could you want?

Thanks to NetGalley, Carina Press & Carina Adores (Harlequin) for the advanced ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

Calling the Shots is a a hockey romance centered around Tierney and Reagan. Tierney is a bad girl, who has the i don’t care what anyone thinks vibe and Reagan is a level headed woman pushing for inclusion within the professional hockey realm.

i enjoy an enemies to lovers moment so i loved how these two female MCs came from a spotty past and reconnected into something that started as a fling. I loved the idea of this book, but I felt strongly it shouldn’t have been written in first person POV. There was a lot of instances where i felt like i lost connection with the characters because it was on 3rd person.

I enjoyed the MC banter and their development but it felt disjointed at times and due to that I was left in a place where it didn’t feel memorable to me.

I also didn’t know this was the 3rd book on the series, but it read as a stand-alone! It’s a quick, cute read, nice palate cleanser but wasn’t memorable.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While this is the third book in a series, I have not read the first two and this definitely can be read as a standalone.

Regan Lane has a big personality and she’s not afraid to show it. When declares that she can lead the Boston Ice to a repeat championship she ends up creating a rivalry between herself and Tierney McGovern, the coach of the New York Lady Libertys. Tierney’s personality is the opposite of Regan’s and she just wants to quietly lead her team to championship. But, the media latches onto the challenge and the two find themselves forced together and only able to avoid their past for so long.

I really like the approach the story took when discussing the value of Women’s sports. This is an unavoidable topic given the subject matter but many novels will acknowledge bias exists but won’t take any type of stance on how it should be handled. Regan is very clearly dedicated to fighting that bias even if her ways aren’t always the most graceful.

I found myself cringing near the end, there were just too many cliches, bad puns, and a feeling of just rattling off facts. There was a moment where I felt like the novel was going to end because too much of the conflict was resolved. Instead of continuing to build on the existing conflict it a new one needed to be introduced to carry the plot through the rest of the novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

A charming sapphic hockey romance. It did start a bit slow for me as I got to know the world and the characters, but once I was in, I was completely invested and turning pages quickly. I really loved how real the love story between Regan and Tierney felt. It took place over a long period of time in comparison to many romances, and left plenty of room for their initial connection to deepen and grow. They were super sweet together and really felt like a family. Their struggles made sense with their characters, and the way they learned and adjusted left me feeling like they really did have a solid future. The hockey parts were great, and as a female hockey coach, player, and mom, I love seeing the enthusiastic support for women's hockey.
This was a closed-door/fade-to-black romance, and has content warnings for divorce and emotional trauma due to troubled family history.