This book was fun and light hearted, an overall cute vibe. I love hockey and hockey romances so I was down to give this a try, but it fell a little short for me. I was just hoping for a bit more chemistry and emotion from the book to grab me and pull me into the story. I think it’s still worth the read, it’s just not one of my favorites.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin - Romance for the opportunity to read an early copy of "Wake Up, Nat & Darcy" in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited when I came across this title and read the synopsis. I do not see sapphic hockey romances often, and with the rise in popularity of women's hockey with the creation of the PWHL, I am looking for more of these types of stories to be published. "Wake Up, Nat & Darcy" did not disappoint! The writing was good and the story was fast-paced. The story did not suffer from feeling rushed or shallow though. One issue I have with second-chance romances, is that they rely too much on the former relationship and don't develop the present relationship or resolve the present conflict enough. I think this story was well balance between the flashbacks and building of the basis for the relationship and subsequent conflict and the present relationship. The characters were funny and the writing demonstrated good chemistry between the two. Kate Cochran did a great job with showing that chemistry through their interactions instead of just telling the reader about it. The conflicts were realistic and significant, and I thought the resolutions were done well. The story did not cut corners to resolve the conflicts quickly with superficial or easy fixes. I will definitely pick up Kate Cochran's next novel, and I look forward to seeing what else she publishes.

Devoured this book so fast I forgot to review it! Obsessed with the banter between Nat and Darcy and all of the different sports through the playing through the Winter Olympics. An absolute blast. The slow reveal of their previous encounters and the drama that had happened to the two of them to get them to where they are now was very interesting, leaving me holding tight and making my own predictions at every little detail revealed.

Thank you !

3.25/5

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and honestly it was a bit of a disappointment.

I loved the winter Olympics setting and over it was a fun book, but I had such a hard time with Natalie’s character. I wanted to scream at her for the majority of the book. She was a really frustrating character.

I was so excited for this one! I mean sapphic, sports, and romance? Yes please! And while it was ok, it didn’t do everything I wanted it to be if that makes sense. I don’t think it was bad, but it also wasn’t what I expected.

I say that because I thought it was a bit repetitive. Like they said ten thousand times it seemed like that Nat was so upset and hurt about the young girl taking her spot. It was like in every chapter. And yes, I get it, it was all she thought about because she was hurt. But when it came down to it, she didn’t show any kind of growth after that. Like she never acknowledged that they were good, she never acknowledged that she was getting older, nothing. Her growth only came centered around Darcy. And though that may be something real, I wanted something more. And there was a chance for something more too so I think it was fair for me to say this.

As for the characters, I really think that Nat had some real work to do on herself before going to anyone else. ESPECIALLY Darcy. She was taking everything out on her and then when it came down to it, she went against her when she was the number one person who should have been happy for her. But she spent the entire book basically being jealous of everything. Idk if this is me being me tho and mad and holding grudges. Because I know how I am. But to be honest, I think that was a real thing to be mad about. I truly think she had to work on herself first. And Darcy was so meek. Like they were real deal opposites attract. It was cute, until someone thought they were together and one of them panicked.

As for them turning to romance, I didn’t really feel like it flowed together. I think that was the problem for the whole book actually. The way it flowed was weird. She was mad at everything but still attracted to her. But then was like flirting with her but also still being mean to her? I didn’t understand the kind of flirting. But I never say anything because I never know how much of that is me and how much of that is a legit concern lolol

This is why I don’t want to say I didn’t enjoy it. But I finished it and I was happy they made it. Even if I didn’t actually care for how they got there. It was ok for what it was. I do like a little more sports in my sports romance, but I did like it. And I hope that y’all read it and like it too. if you do, let me know what you think. Let me know if i made all this up in my head or not lol

EVERYTHING I WANT IN A SAPPHIC ROMANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So perfect. Cochrane is an exciting new voice and I couldn't have loved this book more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin for the copy in exchange for my review.

Wake Up, Nat & Darcy follows Nat Carpenter and Darcy LaCroix, women who were college hockey team mates, then lovers, then after a very bitter break up, strangers for many many years. But after Darcy, who is working hard to become a sports broadcaster is asked to do a segment during the Olympics with Nat, the two are thrown back into one another's lives. After social media exploded with the love of the two's chemistry, they are asked to play up the flirtation. Play becomes all two real and the two are confronted with the truth that those long ago feelings, both hurt and affection, aren't so distant and buried after all.

Overall I really liked this story. The segments of Nat and Darcy learning the sports were entertaining and their chemistry leapt off the page. They both have quite a bit of baggage that they have to deal with and many of their issues seemed to stem from a lack of communication, but everyone rallying around them and basically telling them to 'get their heads out of their asses' was amazing.

If you know me at all, you know that I’m always on the lookout for new sapphic romances to get my hands on. So needless to say, I was really excited to read this one.

Overall, I thought it was fine. The chemistry between the characters was great, and I thought it was cool to have both second chance and enemies to lovers as tropes. It led to a lot of great tension, and the slow burn was fantastic.

But there was something missing for me to make this a really great read. I have no idea what it was, and I could see a lot of readers really loving this one. I just found that it dragged on a bit too long for my liking, and I couldn’t connect to the characters as much as I wanted to.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for my gifted copy!

This was very fun, and I think it had a lot of potential, but the characters, while mentioning and displaying tension from having a lot of history together, never really explained WHAT that history is. It left a lot of questions hanging in the air, which left me as a result, unsatisfied. I loved the concept and execution of the segment television backdrop - it was done very well. Also, there's something very satisfying about a good old American vs. Canadian rivalry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I was so excited to read a sapphic hockey romance even though both characters are past their actual playing career.

This book is a second chance romance between two women that had a fling in college and it ended badly with a miscommunication.

In fact, if you don't enjoy miscommunication, you probably wont like this book very much because there is a lot of that.

I enjoyed it but wasn't super wowed by the story. I knew the characters were into each other and enjoyed taunting and teasing as a means of showing interest but beyond that I couldn't see why they were falling in love a second time.

The reunion at the end and the epilogue bumped this up to 3 stars, as I love a declaration of love. :)

It's cute, a little spicy, and I thought a sapphic hockey romance was a nice twist.

This was SUCH a quick, fun but emotional read! I loved the relationship between Darcy and Nat, they had such great chemistry, and you totally understood why they broke up but also why they could work for good if they got back together. The Olympics setting with the classic USA/Canada women’s hockey rivalry + love connection combination was SO fun, and the confession scene made me cry. The hockey metaphors!! 🥹 I really enjoyed this and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Harlequin Books  and NetGalley for the digital ARC; all opinions are my own.

I loved this book! I don't like sports, I don't know anything about sports, and I still found the setting and characters to be compelling and believable. I liked how they exposed their emotions and appreciated how the setting forced them together. I really appreciated that they have friends--too many romances neglect the characters that make the leads feel real. In this case, the side characters are so real that I'd like to see more of them. This book is sweet and smart, and you can't ask for more than that!

First, I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I had a couple of false starts with this book, but once it got into the Olympic Games I enjoyed it more, and the last third was paced well.
I really wanted to absolutely love this book since it’s rare to find women’s hockey represented in a romance, but I didn’t love the immaturity and the cheesiness from the main characters throughout. I also didn’t feel like I knew why they wanted to be together and the little bit of the past we got didn’t really answer any questions of what they had before.
My favorite part of the book was the talk around women’s hockey, pay inequality, and how women broadcasters are seen in sports.
Overall, this was fine - sadly nothing that’ll stick with me.

Overall, this was really entertaining! I thought Nat & Darcy were both great characters and I was drawn to them both. I really like their dynamic as rivals and think their banter is great. I also really enjoyed the morning show setting and felt that the forced proximity was done super well. I do wish the cover matched the actual descriptions of the MCs, but it's a cute cover.

Kate Cochrane has written a highly entertaining workplace sportsball romance wrapped up in a second chance tropefest. Loved the use of flashbacks which gave the weighty background for the present obstacles. The first entry in Cochrane's Puck Struck series was a brilliant start. Overwhelmingly enjoyed.

Thank you to Harlequin - Romance | Carina Adores and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I will always be ready for a hockey romance but make it sapphic? I’m there.

This was such a fun read & I really loved the chemistry between the MCs. Their banter was so good and I really liked them together. I will say I was a little frustrated at times with the way they treated each other but I think that’s to be expected with a rivals romance.

Either way, it was a cute read & I’d definitely be up for reading more from this author. :)

3.5 stars!

"Wake Up, Nat & Darcy" by Kate Cochrane is a second-chance, friends-t0-enemies-to-lovers sports romance that's not at all like you think. Nat is just winding down her hockey career, and Darcy has pivoted to broadcasting about sports. Nat is asked to come in and give a screen test to see if she'd be a good fit to be a broadcaster during the upcoming Olympics, only to discover that the network wants to capitalize on her former rivalry with Darcy. The network plays up their former on-ice shenanigans while they both played hockey, as well as the Team USA vs. Team Canada angle in the hopes of driving viewers to watch their coverage. Little do they know, Nat and Darcy's shared history extended waaaaay beyond the ice (and even into the sheets). I found this to be a decent romance! I liked the rivalry between Darcy and Nat. They have a lot of great banter with one another, even if it can get a little nasty here and there. It's not angsty, but the chemistry is clearly there and palpable. My chief complaint is that Darcy and Nat feel a little immaturely written. They are supposed to be in their 30s, but they feel like they are in their early 20s. Maybe it's because they went to college together and there are a few flashbacks of that time so that feeling never went away, but it was an observation that stuck with me throughout the book. A lot of their relationship happens off the page where we are to infer some things about their pairing. I didn't love that. The first half is much stronger than the second. I think once Nat and Darcy start to reconnect romantically, the book starts to feel a little stale. I also didn't like the very end of the book. The resolution is ok, but that happens before that, the blow-up, left me a little baffled by the antics. Still, I did enjoy this for the most part. It's not a perfect book, but it's not bad at all.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Cochrane, Harlequin - Romance, and Carina Adores for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Wake Up, Nat & Darcy is enemies-to-lovers gold with a side of sapphic angst that will have you grinning like an idiot one minute and clutching your chest the next. Kate Cochrane absolutely nails the tension between Nat and Darcy—from their fiery banter to those heart-stopping, are-they-acting-or-not moments on screen. The mix of sports drama, second chances, and forced proximity had me hooked, and don’t even get me started on the chemistry. It’s messy, it’s raw, and it’s so, so satisfying. If you’re into rivals who can’t stop looking at each other like they’re still in love (because duh, they are), this one’s a must-read.

This book was an absolute delight! It The chemistry between Natalie and Darcy is undeniable, sparking tension, heartbreak, and a love story that will keep you hooked.

As they navigate their past and present, I found myself deeply invested in their journey. Their growth as individuals is great so see, and I couldn’t help but root for them to overcome their challenges. Whether you're a hockey fan, a hopeless romantic, or simply appreciate well-developed characters, this book has something for everyone.

With its perfect mix of heart, humor, and sizzling romance, this book is a must-read.

*A special thanks to Harlequin Romance and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I really enjoyed this book!! As a woman who grew up playing hockey, it was SO nice to see the women representation in this book! I also thought the premise of it all was so cute. Loved walking through each sport they tried with them, and was really content with the ending. A feel good and easy read, for sure 🥰