After reading many positive reviews from some of my Booksta friends, I was excited to read Tell Me Lies. Hockey romance, single dad/nanny, adorable 3-year-old… sign me up! Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me for an abundance of reasons.

First, there was no tension or build-up to the connection between Logan & Maci. Logan seemed to have a sexual comment for everything. His innuendos were immature, unsexy, and very unprofessional. If I was Maci, I would have been running for the door. Even once these characters got together, I found myself fast-forwarding through the sexy scenes as the dirty talk was cringey and unbearable to listen to.

The twist could be seen coming a mile away, but it didn’t ruin the storyline for me like some reviewers had mentioned. I didn’t really understand Maci’s guilt, but trauma manifests in different ways for everyone.

The narrators of this book really embraced their characters and kept me engaged throughout. Although, I didn’t particularly care for their voices while reading Amelia’s lines I understand it can be hard to embody a child’s voice and make it sound realistic.

Hannah Gray is a new-to-me author and one I was excited to try. I’m not sure I’ll read any more of her books after this. This just wasn’t the right writing style for me, but if you love hockey romances with lots of steam, dirty talk and insta-love, this could be the book for you.

2.5⭐️ rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars. A single dad who's an NHL star and a romance writer turned live in nanny with a twist that even I saw coming. I liked the side characters but I found Logan to be just a bit too cringe for my liking.

Absolutely fantastic! A five star listen with the perfect narration. The story had great pacing and kept me engaged and wanting more. I loved the choice of the narrators and can’t imagine anyone else for these characters. I need more from Hannah right away. This got me out of a major book slump.

3.25⭐, 3🌶️

So this book had its pro's and cons. I liked the start with the nanny x single dad arrangement and Logan WANTING to give his author nanny inspiration.

However, while I enjoyed some of this book, what I wasn't a fan of was all the lack of communication/ assumptions, and unnecessary drama for the second half of the book. The twist of the connection between Maci and Logan/ Amelia was a good twist, but all the communication issues afterword's were just eye rolling and ...tired and felt like a...lazy plot choice. Maci's choices to shut down over and over again....GIRL get into some therapy PLEASE.

🖤 Single Dad x Nanny
💙 Forced Proximity
🏒NHL Hockey Player MMC
💙 Author FMC
⚠️Grief - Death of a parent, Deceased Birth Mother

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid opinion.

Loved it from start to finish the audio was perfection I already loved this story and the audiobook took it further and made me fall in love again with the story and the characters.

4.5 stars! I loved this story! I couldn’t tell from the audio if the male narrators accent was genuine or if he was purposefully trying to sound like Elvis Presley talking. Either way it didn’t really deter me but it was distracting wondering. I did figure the twist out early on but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story!

EXCUSEEEE ME???? Who gave Logan Sterns permission to be THE book boyfriend like that??

Maci McKenzie is a romance author that has lost her muse. She has lost her inspiration so she takes a job as the newest nanny for the hottest single dad in the NHL, Logan Sterns. She’s only supposed to be his daughter, Amelia’s, nanny for six weeks until he finds a replacement but her inspiration starts coming back to her in more ways than one….

“You gonna go inside and write?” “Maybe,” I say slowly, narrowing my eyes in question. “Why?” “You’re going to use a certain shower scene, aren’t you?” He nods his head proudly. “I gave you some solid material last night. You’re welcome, by the way.”

HEHE gah the tension, the backstories, the relationship Maci & Amelia have is just perfect, and THE SPICE?!? Absolutely unwell. I also loved how the story she was writing in the book was the actual book. A fun take on the story for sure.

PSA: Don’t read this in public you will be blushing and giggling like a fool

Tropes:
-single dad X nanny
-forced proximity
-NHL player X romance author

This checks all the boxes for a single dad x nanny romance. While he is a hockey player, there’s not really any hockey involved. There’s very little drama but a whole slew of SPICY and sweet scenes. Between the dad jokes and some of the choices for dirty talk, I was laughing.

Professional hockey player Logan Sterns is a single dad who's struggling to find a new nanny for his 3 1/2-year-old daughter when a friend introduces him to Maci Mackenzie. Maci is a struggling romance author who needs a change of pace, having lost her father in a car accident several years ago and still nursing a broken heart after her fiance' left her. Although she has almost no experience with kids, it's clear that she is an instant pro at caring for little Amelia. When Maci's editor hears about Maci's new employer, she suggests Maci try writing a hockey romance. Logan can't fight his attraction to Maci, and when he hears that her writing is still stalling out, he offers to provide her with some...inspiration. But will Maci's dark secret tear them apart?

Holy hell, this book is spicy -- maybe the spiciest book I've read/listened to so far, in fact (granted, I'm still dipping my toe into the world of smut). It's also the first hockey romance I've tried, and now I need more. The chemistry between Logan and Maci is undeniable, it's clear their bond is more than just physical, and the sex scenes are absolutely filthy (in a good way). And yet somehow Hannah Gray also manages to include plenty of sweet family scenes involving Amelia that are just plain cute. I thought Amelia seemed a bit too precocious for her age, but maybe it's because she spends so much time with adults. Logan is an adorable book boyfriend with lots of terrible dad jokes.

The narration felt very convincing and professional, and kept me entertained throughout.

I'm glad I caught this series at the beginning, because I can't wait to read about the other Sharks we meet in this first book.

4.5 stars.

I read this book when it came out as well as listened to the audio version! I enjoyed every second of it! Hockey romances with a single dad are my FAVORITE and this book scratched my brain perfectly! We have our single dad who's desperately needing a new nanny and our sweet author struggling to finish her book and needing a change of pace. With a bit of a secret and a shared past that they don't know about until the end! I give this 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for this ALC 🫶🏾

Absolutely fantastic! I didn’t think I could love Logan and Maci any more than I already did but they were absolutely fantastic in my ears. I love this story: hockey romance, single dad x nanny, golden retriever MMC, and this man fall so hard.

I love how Hannah takes a love story and adds and extra emotional punch, and let me tell you I was all in my feels! The narrators brought such depth to this story.

I felt like I was waiting for more from the characters, mainly more depth. The overall story is great about a hockey player who is a single dad and his nanny who is an aspiring author in need of some inspiration. It’s a super quick and cute read.

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What.Nikki.Reads rated a book really liked it
about 21 hours ago
Tell Me Lies by Hannah Gray
Tell Me Lies (New England Bay Sharks, #1)
by Hannah Gray (Goodreads Author)
Read
3.5....

Single dad x nanny
Pro hockey romance Forced proximity
Romance writer FMC
Golden retriever MMC
Grief/loss and heavy topics
Third act breakup


LISTEN
The story.... 5 stars honestly I loved it.
The daughter Abigail/Amy is adorable. The trauma part so emotional. Loved the her being a writer aspect and him being game for helping write the story.....

BUT some of the things that come out of this man's mouth.... He is not a book boyfriend written by a woman that's for sure 🙃. I clocked no less then 10 things that made me shake my head. No way I woman wrote that. Absolutely cringey and not hot in any way.

"what's got you so happy I haven't even shown you my Weiner since we got home"
So much bust a nut/load 🙃
"As my cock spews it's seed"

And that's just what I was able to write down while listening to the ALC.

Thank you for this ALC netgalley and dreamscape

Wow these narrators voices are just delicious. The accent for the male character was fantastic. These two truly brought the story to life. I flew through this whole book with a huge smile on my face. The only thing that I disliked was the male narrator narrating the 3 year old little girl. It’s an audiobook ick for me. It’s probably a me problem. Other than that this whole thing was amazing.

Tell Me Lies was an okay read for me, but nothing more. I just couldn't connect with the main protagonists and felt detached from their story. There wasn't any real development to their romance. They went from zero interaction to full lust in the span of a few pages. It just made no sense to me. I listened to the audiobook which had a good narration, although I didn't think the male narrator was the right fit for Logan. I still enjoyed some moments of this story, but I won't continue the series.

The audio was well done. I liked the dual narrators for both characters (and the child, Amelia, the narrator’s voice for her made me laugh every time!). I had no idea of the premise of the story going in but enjoyed myself. It did not have a whole lot of hockey details (which I appreciate) and focused mostly on the story of Maci and Logan. My first nanny x single dad trope and loved it! Logan is this masculine athlete who borderlines cocky with a soft side for his daughter. Maci had trouble with writing her book and he offers his assistance. It’s steamy, sweet and entertaining.

Maci and Logan, where have you been all my life?? WOW! This single dad/nanny, close proximity, hockey star/romance author listen was INCREDIBLE!! between the heartbreakingly beautiful writing and great narration, I am obsessed. Hannah Gray is a relatively new to me author and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to dive into her books because Tell Me Lies was just phenomenal. I was captivated by this couple (and adorably written little lady) from the get go. What seemed like an awkward pairing really worked and the connections they didn't even know they had had me shaken, but in the best way.

Hockey ✔️
Single dad x Nanny ✔️
Forced proximity ✔️
Logan Sterns 🫠

I loved this book. It hooked me early and didn't want it to end. The twist came out of no where!

This was so fun to listen to! Such a great narrator telling such s fun story! Rockin' hockey dad and the Nanny. Use all your imagination and you still can't come up with the hotness of this one. Better read this!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ALC and got the pleasure to listen to this book. The narrators are Chloe Ryan and Walker Williams. This audiobook is in dual narration. The narrators did a great job. I had no issues listening to them at all. I actually think I might add the Chloe Ryan to a top narrators list because I enjoyed her parts to much. She had so much depth to her chapters.

The story is about a hockey player who's nanny is moving on to her dream job and is now on the search for a new one. Maci is a famous romance author who has writers block after her trauma 3 years ago. She lost her dad and her fiance not long after each other. The way she described her fiance, that dude was a dick. So good riddance. Now, I know everyone deals with trauma in their own way but the deep dark secret she always talks about...well, after its voiced, this book went downhill for me. The guilt and self loathing she experiences seems so out of place for what happened. And I lost a little respect for the Logan when he found out and reacted the way he did. Even after he said not to tell him for a week straight.

Also, the forced proximity felt too forced. The break in felt so out of place and like it had no real value in the story other than to force these characters into the same house. It was just so random.

Amelia and Poppy were amazing characters. I loved them both. The kid was adorable and you can't help but smile when this girl speaks. Her friend also felt so genuine.

Even though I lost interest after the secret reveal the HEA was adorable. The last few chapters were also like extended extended epilogues but they were also cute.

Thank you Netgalley for the ALC!