I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was a light hearted second chance romance set in a small town with Professional Hockey players. Quick and easy read with Fall vibes and down to Earth characters.

✅ General Fiction/Romance
✅ Small Town Vibes
✅ Quick and Easy Read
✅ Hockey Romance
✅ Second Chance Romance

Loved the characters in this town and looking forward to reading Emmy’s story.

He took her for granted…

Dan was callous with his high school girlfriend, Kiera “Kiki.” He’s been no saint and he’s taken full advantage of the fact he’s a pretty boy hockey player. Did he redeem himself? Not really. Zero groveling and he certainly didn’t work for it.

Kiera was great. She deserved better.

I cannot recommend this book. I almost DNFed the book at 82% but pushed through. As someone who is a self proclaimed feminist, and a basic hockey fan, this book is cringy, too fast paced, and does not paint women in a good light. The timeline of this book does not make any sense. According to Dan, the hockey season hadn’t started up when this book started and yet it was snowing during one of the scenes when he was back home? Even if this started in early September, before the official hockey season started (though the season would have started with practices and such), then how was it fall and snowing during this book. Additionally, how would a NHL team be okay with their captain being away for part of the season, even if he is injured and not playing. It doesn’t make sense. Now Kierra was a terrible FMC. Ya’ll are in your late 20’s and acting like you’re teenagers. You break up with him instead of TALKING with him about the future? Be so for real right now. Additionally, how she talks about other women in this book, is not it. “They look more like they belong in a Hugh Hefner nightclub than at a hockey after game party.” Like that’s such a terrible thing to think about other women. Also, you’re both in your late 20’s and keep thinking “he’s a jock and I’m a nerd,” is so cringy. Lastly, when the journalist kept probing Dan about Kierra, its becomes very obvious that the author hasn’t spent much time watching hockey or interviews. These journalists do not have a single care about who the NHL player is dating.

The Rebound Play is book two in the Love on Thin Ice series by Kate O'Keeffe.
A sweet second chance love story about a jock and a nerd who gets a second chance in this small town romance.
Keira and Dan were just amazing.
I loved everything about this book. The writing, the characters and the storytelling was just incredible.
This book was fun, light, and easy going.

Thank You NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours/Wild Lime Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This was a did not finish for me. The redundancy in the writing was really annoying for me as a reader. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Hockey, ex back in small town, spending extra time together...... all lead us to The Rebound Play by Kate O'Keeffe. It was a fun and quick book to read about second chance and family.
Thank you netgalley for The Rebound Play by Kate O'Keeffe

this was such a sweet second chance romance! i absolutely loved these two, they never stopped loving each other even all these years later. i love how their story progressed, low angst with the sweetest HEA

This was such a sweet story! I enjoyed it - it felt like getting a little snapshot of the character's lives. It doesn't delve too deep into their story, but I don't feel like it had to. It was really nice to be able to sit down and read this in one go, and I finished the book feeling warm and fuzzy inside!

Thank you Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, and the opportunity to give my thoughts on it.

Yes yes yes. This is a cute quick read that makes you smile. Loved the characters. It is a sweet closed door romance that makes you fall in love with small towns, single moms, second chances and hockey.

Former high school couple Dan and Kiki reconnect when he comes into town for a charity match and they realize that they still love each other ten years later.
Overall I’d say this is a great waiting room book. It’s sweet but very predictable. It’s totally clean, the most spicy thing that happens is kissing. It’s not a bad read, but it didn’t really pull me in. The townsfolk of Maple Falls seem nice, and there are lots of opportunities for standalone companion books.

If you are looking for a closed door small town second chance romance. I would highly recommend this book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley & Wild Lime Books. The Rebound Play by Kate O’Keeffee is a story about a second chance romance. Dan & Keira were high school sweethearts when life took them on different paths. Dan had his hockey career in the NHL and Keira after completing college in Seattle returned to their small town to take care of her sick sister and her kids. When Dan returns to Maple Falls a cute meet leads to a second chance at happily ever after.
This book is a light wholesome fluffy quick read. I thought the map at the start of the book was pretty and I already plan to read all the books in the series. The author did a very good job of enticing us with the possible love stories waiting to happen. Possibly my favourite part of the book was when they meet for the first time after all these years - it was really adorable and funny and not so awkward that I was cringing with second hand embarrassment.

I liked the concept of the story but felt the story and the characters didn’t get a chance to develop a lot. I could easily see this book being stretched out another 5-10 chapters. The “obstacle” they faced really didn’t get a chance to expand before a solution and declarations of love were thrown out which was kind of a let down.
Overall I gave this book 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

A wholesome, closed door romcom good for people looking for romance without spice or explicit language.

I enjoyed the small town, cozy fall vibes that underpin the story. I was imagining Stars Hallow so laughed when the book made a reference to it. While I felt like I could imagine the town, I do wish the characters were a bit more built out (e.g., I know they broke up because of college but I don’t know what made them fall in love in the first place to want this second chance romance to succeed)

My biggest issue with the book was the writing style - things were very explicit, leaving characters saying long lines that felt forced to push the story forward but not realistic to normal conversation.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“She smiles at me and it’s as though I’ve won the state lottery. Man, I have got it so bad for this woman.”

Dan and Keira dated in high school, the jock and the nerd. With their plans leading them to opposite sides of the world, they did what they thought was the best for them, they broke up.
10 years later Dan, hockey star, is back in their hometown. Keira never really got over Dan and doesn’t want her heart broken again so she plans to avoid him while he’s in town. But Dan has other plans, he realized that she wants Keira back and would do anything to show her. Can this really work since Dan is only in town temporarily and Keira has her life in Maple Falls?

This is such a cute second chance romance! The one that got away! Dan is just the sweetest, once he realized what he wants, he went all in. Offering to help Keira’s nephew with hockey, and just showing Keira that she needs someone to take care of her while she takes care of everyone around her.
And Keira deserves that, she is selfless and has the biggest heart.

An adorable second chance romance with all the swoon and steam but no spice! Fall back in love with Keira and Dan and enjoy Maple Falls!

🍁 synopsis:
The Rebound Play is a small town, hockey romance where Keira and Dan get their second chance at love when he comes to play on a hockey team for charity. Keira feels like she’s living the same life as she was when she dated Dan back in high school and she doesn’t believe a hockey star could want to date her even if they were high school sweethearts. Dan on the other hand can’t believe Keira hasn’t been snatched up by a guy and he will do whatever he can to get his first love back.

🍁my thoughts:
to put it short and sweet: I loved this book. For a little bit longer explanation, this romcom delivered all of my favorite things in a romcom but also had way more depth than I was expecting. I loved the emphasis on the importance of family and how they helped each other in hard times. This is a second chance romance and I appreciated the fact that when they broke up ten years before, it was because one of them had done something mean or stupid, it was because of distance which was actually quite understandable for how young they were. Dan is such a precious MMC and how he pursued Keira was just top tier. The fall vibes in the book were immaculate and the town honestly feels like Stars Hallow from Gilmore Girls. This book is perfect for anyone who wants a closed door autumn hockey romance!

🍁 read this book if you love:
🍂 autumn vibes
🏒 hockey
🏡 small town

🍁content ratings:
🍭 - no spice
🤗 - no explicit language

The Rebound Play just release today and is apart of the Love on Thin Ice series which is a must-author seven book autumn romance series!

Thank you so much Kate O’Keeffe and NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved this quick, fast paced story about second chances at first love and the sacrifices and heart aches that come along the way. Definitely recommend.

The title sums up this book completely. Childhood sweethearts reconnect. She’s a small town bookish girl and he’s a NHL player. Simple plot and wholesome romance.

The characters felt a tad 2D and could have been developed a bit more.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. I devoured it on one sitting! It was exactly what I needed.

Keira a woman who stayed in her small town and supports her family. Dan a hockey star who returns to his home town for some R&R. When the two exes bump in to each other, sparks fly! Need I say more? This is a sweet second chance romance set in the town of Maple Falls. It’s an interconnected series of stand alone books with each one being written by a different author.

I would definitely recommend if you want a sweet love story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Thank you NetGalley & Wild Lime Books for allowing me access to this e-book! The Rebound Play by Kate O'Keeffe is releasing today Aug 29. It's a second-chance romance with plenty of charm! Keira's struggle to protect her heart from the hockey star who broke it is both relatable and engaging, while Dan's determination to win her back adds an irresistible sweetness to the story.
I absolutely loved how easy it was to read, I read this in one day! I loved the little map at the beginning! Loved the cozy ambience and small town! It was super sweet, I recommend it to anyone who wants a warm hug in a form of a book!

Thank you to Wild Lime books, Kate O'Keeffe, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title.
This was such a quick, easy read coming in under 200 pages. This is not a spicy hockey romance. This books is a small town, second chance romance between the girl next door, Kiara, and NHL golden boy, Dan. A fateful charity game brings them back to their home town where their mutual feelings linger into something neither can ignore.
Opposites attract in this sweet novel about winning back the one who got away.
It's simple, sweet, and worthy as a good palate cleanser.