4.5 ⭐️

This book ended up exceeding every expectation I had. I was uncertain at first, wondering if it could live up to the anticipation—but then one scene shifted everything. It reminded me why I always come back to Stephanie Archer’s books: she knows how to deliver exactly what you didn’t know you needed.

Stephanie Archer’s writing continues to be a favorite of mine. Each character feels distinct, which is rare in interconnected series. So often it can feel like the same FMC and MMC just copy-pasted into different outfits. I expected Alexei and Georgia to share a similar dynamic to Rory and Hazel with all that built-in hate and tension. Their chemistry is entirely its own, and it might be my favorite yet. Nothing tops The Fake Out when it comes to banter. This one does brings its own kind of magic though—flowers, sleepwalking, damon and stefan—and somehow makes it all work.

One thing I really appreciated about this book—especially compared to The Wingman—was that it starts before Alexei and Georgia get married. I loved getting to see how and why they made that decision, instead of it just being stated as a given. That was one of my biggest disappointments with The Wingman. Even a short prologue of Darcy ending the relationship would’ve made such a difference in how connected I felt to their story.

And can we just acknowledge that Alexei gives serious Lukas Blomqvist energy? That same brooding presence, and yes—the same need for control when things get heated in bed. You can disagree, but I stand by it.

Now onto Book 5 business. I have been hoping for this since The Fake Out, and I cannot believe it is happening—Ward and Jordan are next. The glimpse we get into their lives in this book—from Tate’s hockey past to both of their family histories—completely caught me off guard. But (minor spoiler), it looks like the single-dad trope is happening. Yes, I screamed.

❄️ Tropes
🏒 Marriage of Convenience
🏒 Hate to love
🏒 Love language: Flowers
🏒 Friendship bracelets
🏒 You’ve heard of nightmare to one bed… now let me introduce you to sleepwalking to one bed.

Stephanie Archer I will always love you writing about hockey players. SO excited to start recommending this one

4 ★

This was sooooo good. The banter was unmatched. The slow-burn was slow-burning.

If you know me, you know I love a good hockey romance. However, I do not like it when it feels like there is no plot to the story, and Stephanie Archer surely delivered a delicious plotline to keep me hooked. They both need to get married (he needs Canadian citizenship, and she needs her inheritance for a rehab program she is passionate about), so they decide to marry one another even though they hate each other...

This was PEAK enemies to lovers, and the character growth + development for both characters was so fun to see unravel.

I can't wait to read more from Stephanie!

Your typical “Marriage of Convenience” trope and Hockey Romance. Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good Hockey Romance. “Gloves Off” by Stephanie Archer takes the classic “Enemies to Lovers” and “Marriage of Convenience” tropes we all know and love and creates the love story between badass Dr. Georgia Greene and grumpy hockey star Alexei Volklov. I like the two main characters and really enjoyed their witty banter throughout the whole novel. The one thing I will say is that there seemed to be a lot of “fluff”. I kind of kept on waiting and thinking there would be more to the plot but it just never arrived. Now, that might just be my opinion because I like books with a little more to them but if you just want a nice, fluffy romance with no third-act breakup than this is for you.

Just as a side note: I think another thing that impacted my rating is because this book is a hockey romance and I am a huge fan of the sport. My biggest annoyance when it comes to reading hockey romance is if the sport is not explained correctly or the lingo is incorrect, I will notice it. Stephanie Archer did a decent job most of the time but there were some parts that just did not add up and make sense.

#IndigoEmployee

this is a great interconnected series! I loved the enemies to lovers, fake marriage tropes and the way they were done in this book! it was really well written and i loved both of their characters and the sweet /funny peaks into the relationships of the couples from the other books! My only wish is that i got to see more groveling from our mmc when he started realizing that he unfairly misjudged our fmc. But i think part of that is because I loved her so much and she can do no wrong in my eyes haha!

Stephanie Archer absolutely delivered with this one!! Oh my gosh! The banter and tension were so freaking good!! I love the marriage convenience trope but throw in some hate to love and man was I eating it up!

I am such a sucker for banter and Gloves Off has so much of it! I couldn’t stop laughing and giggling the entire time I was reading!

I absolutely loved the character growth and development of Georgia and Alexei! They each have assumptions about one another and why they hate each other… But to see them both work through that and to have their eyes opened was really fun to see play out!

I love Vancouver Storm series so much and cannot wait to see what Stephanie Archer writes next!

𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒…
- Dual POV
- Spice
- Marriage of Convenience
- Enemies to Lovers
- Hockey Romance
- Hate to Love
- No 3rd Act Breakup
- Tension & Banter
- Protective MMC

I loved this enemies to lovers hockey romance packed full of my favorite tropes- hate to love, marriage of convenience, only one bed, language of flowers as a declaration of war, and best of all, WIFE GUY. It's so refreshing to see enemies to lovers where they don't instantly forget why they hate each other in the face of attraction- the tension and the yearning is off the charts. Seeing Alexei and Georgia coming to terms with their feelings and warming up to each other slowly, without a lot of physical intimacy, is delicious, and Archer really makes us wait for the emotional development as their walls come down and their perspectives start changing, which is rare in romance these days. I completely adored this story, and Archer does a great job of making book 4 in a series accessible to new readers- I'm sure there were cameos, but they didn't overwhelm. A fantastic romance.

I really tried to like this one since sports romance is usually my thing, but I just couldn't. The writing didn't flow for me at all.

this book was written very well and i couldn’t put it down! the banter between the two characters had me laughing out loud! i absolutely loved this book and hope there’s more in the series! i would recommend to any sports or any romance readers!

I loved every minute of this book. Alexei and Gergia are absolute fire together, and we got a glimpse of that in previous but boyyyyyy I was not ready. This book is hot, a little emotional, a lot of fun and tender and sweet. I think it's my favourite of the series. I loved how Alexei really had it all wrong about Georgia and slowly figured out all her truths while she opened up to him and trusted him. Wow, the DEVOTION this man showed to his wife when he didn't really like her, then when he loved her? No words.

Tropes:
-marriage of convenience /fake relationship
-ennemies to lovers
-hockey romance

A dynamic novel with a steady, addictive plot that quickly became impossible to put down. I love a good hockey romance, and this one did not disappoint. At first, it seems like your classic enemies-to-lovers setup, but as the story unfolds, it’s clear that Archer brings incredible depth to her characters, driving each one with sharp motivation and well-crafted tension. Her ability to weave storytelling with such realism is rare and impressive. Reading this fourth installment in her Vancouver series has me eagerly downloading the rest of her work. A great, easy read with surprising emotional depth and a comforting sense of progression — highly recommend.

This was sooooo good. I love when there are jealous men in books. I'm not into the marriage of convenience trope too often, but this was very well done. I thought the bunnies were hilarious, but they were a great tool to show the less serious side of the mmc. I love that they had the conversation about kids, but kids wasn't forced as a plot point during this book. I would love to see a short story about that in the future *wink, wink*

When he goes from:
“Yes, Hellfire, I remember what happy feels like. When we divorce, I’m sure I’ll feel it again.”
To:
“I hate you,” I lie, reaching for her…
🫠

Alexei and Georgia are so much fun. Their snippy banter is everything. This felt like a fresh take on the hate-to-love trope, the reasons they hated each other and the way they became lovers. The whole journey was different from all the others I’ve read. I loved the choices Stephanie made with that.

The last 20% was a little slow. No third act breakup but also no real conflict so it kinda peters out.

Overall I had a great time!
⭐️ 4.5
🌶️ 3 (explicit, multiple scenes)

Hate to love is my favvvvvv (even though they truly never hated each other! Loved their relationship as well as the relationships between the friends/players.

Marriage of convenience isn’t my favorite trope BUT I ate this book up!!! The banter, the swoon, the spice, and my personal favorite….. the MY WIFE. I was kicking my feet and having the time of my life reading this book. The pacing was perfect and the characters had me down bad. Can’t wait to read what Stephanie writes next!
4.5⭐️

The enemies were enemy-ing in the beginning and I loved every second of it! The banter was excellent and I loved both of the main characters. Some of my favorite micro tropes were present (only one bed), and the jealousy was off the charts. The pacing was perfectly set and I didn’t feel overwhelmed with the hockey setting, which is a big plus for me. Stefan and Damon, I would die for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC!

If you love hockey romances but feel like you've read the same story over and over, let me introduce you to *Gloves Off* by Stephanie Archer. This laugh-out-loud, forced marriage romance delivers a fresh twist that kept me thoroughly entertained.

Although I haven’t read the other books in the series, I had no trouble keeping up. Alexi and Georgia, who appear in previous installments, take center stage in this one: a veteran player and a team doctor who absolutely *hate* each other. But when a fake marriage becomes the key to securing citizenship and an inheritance, they reluctantly agree to tie the knot—on paper, at least.

One particular scene after Georgia moves in completely won me over, transforming this book from just another hockey romance into one I’m excited to recommend. With humor, sizzling tension, and strong characters, *Gloves Off* earns a solid 4.5 stars from me!

Add it to your TBR list and check it out when it publishes this June. Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy.

#GlovesOff #Dell #NetGalley #booktok #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookish #bookworm #reading #bookreview #bookaddict #booknerd #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #romancebooks #bookblogger #romance #bookshelf #bibliophile #reader #bookrecs #kindleunlimited #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookphotography #booklovers #realtorreads #soldbyjori #livingonthehill

Wow! I think this might be the best book of the series. Alexei and Georgia are such a hilarious couple to read about but they also had their moments where I started tearing up. Can’t wait for their story to be out in the world, it’s a ride.

Don’t you just love it when you have a good feeling about the book you’re about to read and then you’re proven right?! I went into Gloves Off with expectations sky high and, oh boy, did Alexei and Georgia deliver!

Alexei is an hockey star for the Vancouver Storm who is looking to marry quickly to gain Canadian citizenship, and Georgia is one of Vancouver Storm’s team doctors who needs to marry just as quickly to gain access to her inheritance in order to save her athlete rehab program. What better solution than two with similar needs coming together? At least it would be simple if they didn’t hate each other so very, very much. But like the saying goes, there’s merely a thin line between love and hate…

How do I love Alexei and Georgia? Let me count the ways!
The very first scene these two share together has them staring icy daggers and exchanging chilly words with one another, but as a reader, all I felt was the heat from the very blatant flame igniting between the two! And I relished every ember of it! Alexei is convinced Georgia is nothing more than a spoiled rich girl, and Georgia sees Alexei as a demeaning, heartless man. They are so busy casting judgement upon one another that they turn blind to each other’s truth. And even so, even with that past and present history of animosity, from the onset there is also a clear pull they have towards one another. It’s so powerful, like a force of nature that cannot be defeated by mere man. Alexei and Georgia may say some mean things to each other’s faces, but they are constantly on each other’s minds. They are two souls whose eyes will connect across a crowded room, who will know the other is coming by mere footstep (or high heel in this case). In other words: the chemistry is fire!

To get to the endgame, we first must journey through a well known trope: miscommunication. The miscommunication trope is one that can tend to grate on nerves, at least on this reader’s nerves, but oh my gosh it plays SO perfectly here. This book needs it! It embraces it in a way that ensures its use to full potential. Like oh yes my heart was burning with frustration at times. There were necks I wanted to wring (looking at you, Alexei!)! I was getting hot under the collar but not for the reasons I wanted! And yet- and yet!- that feeling kept me so addicted! That feeling led to more investment because I knew once the path was clear, everything would change between Alexei and Georgia. I knew that final push would be most delectable to consume. The miscommunication lit a fire under both protagonists, but also under me because I became hooked to it and it led to an unyielding building of anticipation.

And the payoff is brilliant.

I also massively appreciate that once things are cleared up it doesn’t neuter the spice of the banter and bite between Alexei and Georgia. It just becomes a lot more playful and teasing. There is now a weight lifted from their shoulders where they can take open delight in how they poke one another. Their romance is developed beautifully from start to finish. It excited, it frustrated (in the best way!), it yearned, and it triumphed.

Simply put, I loved this one. I hold it dearly to my heart. It riled me up in the very best way! And with the deepest respect I must ask The Fake-Out to step down from the podium, because there’s a new winner in town to crown!

By book’s end there is a pretty good hint at which couple may be next. I wasn’t immediately hooked by them, but if there is one thing I know to do, that’s trust in Stephanie Archer’s writing. I won’t be surprised one bit if the next couple’s book becomes my favorite of the series!

Until then? Gloves Off reigns supreme! Brava, brava!

Thank you so kindly to Dell Romance and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

ARE YOU KIDDINGGGGG MEEEEEE!!!! are you KiDdInG mEEEE!!!! alexei's growth over the course of this relationship was so freaking good. we love a man who can listen, reflect, and change his behaviors. the slow burn of marriage of convenience to actually in love felt really good – i genuinely loved their relationship and i'm going to be WAITING to see georgia and alexei in the next storm book!