Mitch is a notorious angry, grumpy, defenseman that can’t keep his temper in check. Which leads him to a fifteen game suspension and having to coach a youth hockey team. He meets Andie, and she’s spunky and beautiful, and she’s the sister of one of the kids he’s coaching. Both have baggage, while he is grumpy, she is sunshine.

Desire or Defense is a closed door romance so if you’re looking for a little spice, you won’t find it here. I enjoyed the story, Mitch has some troubles of his own and ends up in therapy for it. Who doesn’t love a man who’s working on his problems? And Andie’s troubles start when she becomes her little brother’s guardian because of a tragic accident. It was a really slow burn with no sexy time but has a happy ending so it was enjoyable enough. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrators did a great job keeping me entertained enough to get through the book because if I were reading it and realized it was a closed door romance I probably would have DNF’d it… if I’m being totally honest. BUT if you don’t need some spice in your romances, you’d probably like this because it is a good, heartfelt story.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC and the chance to listen and review it honestly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and to the author for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW. Wow. I’m not much of an audiobook girly usually, but I applied for an audio arc of this book in hopes of distracting myself while putting my {dusty} treadmill to use, and also because I’m a huge hockey fan. {GO BOLTS.} Also, hi, the cover is so cute. When I read the description I knew this book was going to be perfect for me, but I didn’t realize that the book was going to be literal perfection.

A gumpy, tattooed hockey player? Sign me up.
No third act breakup? You’re speaking my language.
The before mentioned hockey player in a berry scented bubble bath, listening to a spicy hockey audiobook?? You’re kidding me, right?

I cannot tell you how many points during this book I literally had to pause it to squeal. THIS MAN. THIS BOOK. Read it. It’s amazing.

August 2023 Re-read on Audio: I loved this so much when I read it earlier this year that when I saw it as an audiobook on NetGalley, I knew that I wanted to listen just to hear the narration. Both narrators did a great job bringing Andie and Mitch to life. The voicing was perfect for both characters and exactly how I heard them in my head during my earlier read. The story is still just as good and I definitely recommend picking this up as an audio if your reading with your eyes time is short but you want to get into this story.

Original Review: I loved everything about this book. The argument meet-cute, the flirting, the found family aspect and sweet brother/sister relationship. It tackled the loss of parents (both by tragedy and by life choices) with a picture of unhealthy ways to work through this emotions to finding a way to move beyond your past/loss in a healthy way. I loved that at some point Mitch realized that while Andie was good for him, he couldn’t depend on her alone to keep him on the right path - it had to be for him.

I’m not sure I knew that I loved a “he only smiles for her” trope before this but I do now! I loved watching a big burly man turn to butter over his woman. Dual point of view is always a win for me and I loved the way Leah wrote both characters. This was so well-written and it was such an enjoyable read.

Romantic Content: Fade to black

This book was pretty good but there were parts of it that irritated me. I really loved the narrators for this book!

My first Leah Brunner book and I really enjoyed it. This was a great grumpy sunshine, hockey romance. Mitch really was a grump but he really overcame his demons and lightened up a bit. He also had a soft side which not many people see and I really enjoyed his connection with Noah and Andie. Andie and Noah were a great pair. There story line really tugged at my heart. This story not only hit me in the feels but made me laugh and smile. The narration was great both narrators did a fantastic job of capturing their characters. I would not hesitate to listen to a book by them again. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more in this series.

I listened to the audiobook of this book for context in my review. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy!

Let me just say that I LOVED this book! The plot, the characters, the mental health rep, the hockey romance trope, I loved it all! I’m a sucker for a good hockey romance though. I really appreciate how the author portrays mental health and therapy in this book. The growth of the characters and the struggles they go through were nice to read about. It gave depth and reality to the book and helped me as the reader to connect with the story more. I encourage everyone to read this book it’s so good and the audiobook is great !!

I enjoyed this book that follows Passion or Penalty. Leah Brunner has once again done a great job of making you root for the characters. I was excited to keep reading and I was sad when it ended. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

What an adorable clean hockey love story! It’s a wonderful story about finding love after loss. It’s family and sports. Understanding self and personal growth. But it’s also cute and fun.

I listened to the audiobook. Narrators did an excellent job. At one point they had me laughing out loud!

This was a decent romance between a pro hockey player sentenced to coach a youth team while he serves a suspension and the older sister/guardian of one of his new charges. It's sort of a Hallmark version of a hockey romance - closed door, pretty earnest, and a little bit cheesy. The audiobook itself is fine - I didn't love the performance of the male narrator, but the female narrator was good.

2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC.

I have not read any books from Leah Brunner but that is going to change. I also don't read a lot of sports/romance books but I finished this one very quickly. It was a cute, entertaining story with a lot of chemistry. Definitely swoon worthy. It is closed door romance, but done with steam and lots of tension.

I enjoyed listening to Desire or Defense by Leah Brunner, especially after having the book on my physical "to be read" list. Leah's writing flowed through the audio and I found myself wanting to listen to this story in one setting. Dane Anderson and Alex PIcard brought this story to life and made me consistently want to root for Mitch, the male main character that I thought I may not enjoy. Readers who want a closed door, fast paced hockey romance should definitely check out Desire or Defense by Leah Brunner!

Audiobook notes: PERFECT. NO NOTES. But really, both narrators did an incredible job and I will relisten over and over again because I love this book so much.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

This book has my whole heart and is Leah Brunner’s best book yet.

I LOVED Mitch. I loved his grumpy nature and his cinnamon roll center. The positive mental health conversations and therapy discussions were amazing and one of my favorite aspects. I also loved Andie. She was a wonderful FMC who did her best to look for things to be grateful for and was just someone I really wanted to be friends with.

All of the hockey dynamics were woven just right and I couldn’t get enough. Alongside the games was the best cast of side characters and teammates. I love them all and I loved every time they popped up. I’m already excited for the next book.

Noah was one of the sweetest kids I’ve read. I loved him too (see a theme?). He added so much to the story and I loved his placed between Andie and Mitch.

I need to address the third act too!!! It was PERFECT. Instead of a breakup that wouldn’t make sense it was more of a *take a breath* moment. I could rave all day just about this scene and the follow through. GAH THIS WHOLE BOOK WAS MAGNIFICENT.

Read and love it with me!!

This was my first hockey romance, and I think I'm hooked now! Each of the players would be so fun to read. Desire or Defense was such an easy but absorbing listen, I loved their relationship and how it developed. The banter and text flirting had me giggling, but I love that the author didn't magically cure them of their grief, past traumas, and anger.

The two narrators were fantastic and I seriously cannot wait for the next in the series!

3 stars!

I was a little disappointed in this book considering all the hockey sport romances this book is falling to the more unmemorable side. It is a sweet book about finding family and working through past trauma's which I appreciate and I am happy the author handled it so well but I still found this book a little boring and underwhelming, As for the audio itself I give that a 4 stars because I don't think there could be a better audiobook casting than in this book!

so overall I give this book a 3 5 stars!

Sometimes opening your heart to someone who is also hurting can be healing. This was a quick light-hearted book.

Audiobooks can easily be ruined by a bad narrator - The choice of narrators for this one was spot on ... super articulate and in line with the theme of the book.

This book was the first I've read by Leah Brunner and I look forward to reading more.

4.75 stars

I adored this book so much I bought the paperback and preordered the next one as soon as I finished it.
This was fun and sweet and mitch owns my heart!
This was enemies-to-lovers/ grumpy sunshine and I love every minute of reading it.
This book gave me everything I wanted and more.
Definitely a new favorite book/couple.

The narrators made this book even better so if you can get the audiobook and read along with it, do it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Desire or Defense is the first book in the new hockey romance series Hooked on a Feeling. When Mitch Anderson, a grumpy defenseman for the D.C. Eagles, is suspended for fifteen games when his anger gets out of control he is forced to help coach a youth hockey team. Enter Andie, whose younger brother Noah plays for the team, and Mitch finds his defenses coming down.

I am a huge fan of hockey romances so when I saw this book, I was definitely interested. Having read many book in this genre, I can say that this is one of the tamest hockey romances I have read. With Andie’s younger brother, Noah, playing this book does not get steamy, which was fine for me, but if you are looking for a steamy hockey romance this is not it. I found this to be a cute romance and I enjoyed reading it. I was a big fan of Andie’s and loved seeing how she was making Noah a priority in her life, but also not always putting herself second. This was a good hockey romance that I would recommend to anyone looking for a tamer version of all of the hockey romances out there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook!

Audio rating: 4 stars
Story: 5 stars
Romance: 3/5
Chemistry: 5/5
Spice: 0/5 (it's a clean on y'all)
1st kiss: +-66% in
Drama: 0/5
Suspense: 0/5
Humor: 3/5
Cry factor: 1/5
Foul language: 0/5

My thoughts:
- Since I listened to this one, I'll start with the listening experience. I love it, both narrator had great voices. Each one did their different voices very well. Our male narrator has a wonderful deep voice. I just loved his voice for the therapist, I felt the calm! Our female narrator was just amazing, her voice would quiver when needed, smile and laugh too. Unfortunately I didn't hear this from the male narrator. There were also times our male narrator kept that high tone in the beginning of every sentence - I don't like that, makes them sound very robotic. But over all both did a great job, you could hear perfectly well who was talking and the moods the characters were in.
- The story itself was great. I loved it. I haven't read that many sports romances, but this one gripped me from the beginning. I especially love a grumpy hero, they are always the best cinnamon heroes!

Overall:
- This was a clean, sports romance with tons of chemistry, so much so it will still curl your toes.
- Twice it made me cry - I love it when the author does that!
- A fun, fast and easy read/listen, no heavy subjects, each one was tread on lightly. There was some emotions from our characters that made me cry, and feel their pain.

Tropes:
- Sports romance
- Nurse FMC
- Professional Hockey MMC
- FMC is a guardian to younger brother
- Grumpy MMC
- Grumpy meets his match
- Loss of loved ones
- Troubled upbringing

Thank yo NetGalley for letting me listen to the audio book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good grumpy sunshine hockey romance and this one was really cute. Mitch has only one thing in his life, hockey. Andie and Noah are siblings grieving their parent's death and Andie is navigating the new world of parenting a younger sibling and trying to keep her head above water.
Noah plays hockey and Mitch has recently been placed on a 15 game suspension for his anger. He has been tasked with assistant coaching a little league team to help his image. He sees his fellow teammates in love, but he can't even fathom feeling that way about someone else, until Andie upends his world. Not only does he fall for her spunk, he sees himself in her little brother and wants to take him under his wing. He sees is potential but not just that, he sees his struggles and wants to help.
I liked the reallness of this story. The greif, the therapy and the growth. I didn't feel a huge connection to the love story though. I am not sure if it was because I wasn't feeling it or if it was because I didn't love the narrators, but this was a delightful story that dealt with heavy topics but didn't make them unbearable for the reader. 3.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley, Leah Brunner and Dreamscape for an early copy.

THIS WAS CUTE!!

* grumpy / sunshine
* single parent (Andie becomes her brother's guardian)
* hockey romance
* Dual POV
* No 3rd Act Break-Up
* Closed Door

Overall, I enjoyed this one! It was sweet and heart warming, which I adored, and Noah was wonderful! Andie and Mitch also had some cute banter and flurtiness.

I will say, I found Mitch to be a little too grumpy in the beginning? Like, it felt almost more than grumpy and just... mean? It def improved throughout the book, but I felt his character ARC needed a bit more development amongst him and his teammates and showing more of his cinnamon roll self!

Rating: 3.5 stars