3.5 ⭐️

I was really looking forward to this after loving The Fake Out, but it wasn’t the best. The beginning started off very strong and I kinda started to lose interest over time & felt no emotional connection to the characters. With that being said, it is a classic marriage of convenience & and cute hockey romance if you’re looking for something easy!

Thank you to Ballantine for the advanced copy!

We LOOOOOOVE a hockey romance and marriage of convenience. This was SO good and I ate it up!!! This was my first book by Stepahnie Archer and I was not disappointed, it lived up to every expectation I had. Alexei is everything and I need an NHL star in my life. Way to go Stephanie, will recommend this to everyone.

Alexei Volkov and Dr. Georgia Greene can’t stand each other. Like, they are petty and dealing low blows at each other constantly. His body is ready for retirement, but he’s not emotionally there. Retiring would come with work visa issues and deportation. She’s losing funding for her athletic recovery program, but can’t touch her inheritance unless she’s married. Alexei and Georgia come up with a way to solve these problems. Of course, it’s a marriage of convenience!

Tropes include: hockey romance, enemies to lovers, and marriage of convenience. Plus lots of flowers ❤️

This series just gets better and better with each book! I am in love with Alexei and Georgia. The chemistry is perfect. One of the best enemies to lovers I’ve read in quite awhile!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

4⭐️

Marriage of convenience will always do it for me 🤭. Every time he said “my wife,” I died—like I haven’t heard it a million times before.

He’s so in love with her, and I love every second of it.

Enemies to lovers with hate spice? Epic. Their chemistry had me in a chokehold—their hate scenes had me giggling and kicking my feet like an idiot.

I love a smart-mouthed FMC. They’re the baddest, and they know it. And her taste? Immaculate. Shoes? Flawless. Husband? Perfect. 🙂‍↕️ I’m so jealous of her.

And him? He had her favorite designer create a pair of heels named after her in multiple colors. Oh, and he’s obsessed with her in heels—he lives for it 😩.

Their banter? Absolutely everything. 😩

My absolute favorite of the series.

The tension between the grumpy enforcer and the "rich" doctor was palpable! I loved how mean they were to each other while they were secretly pining the whole time. This is a perfect romance novel.

Stephanie. Archer. It honestly is amazing how every book you publish becomes my new favorite of yours. I've been wanting Volkov's book since "Volkov and his wife dancing" at Hazel and Rory's wedding was mentioned in that bonus scene. I absolutely adore this couple. There were a few moments where the miscommunication was frustrating and they honestly just needed to talk- but it resolved so well and I was so glad to get to read this early!

Can I interest you in a marriage of convenience between a hockey player on the verge of retirement and the team's physician who have hated one another for years? Ever since they met Alexei and Georgia have hated each other. She thinks he’s arrogant and he thinks she's vapid, but Georgia needs research funding from her inheritance to continue her program training young women athletes after injury, and Alexei needs a green card to remain in Canada following his imminent retirement. Solution: a year long marriage until they both get what they want. Who cares if she’s actually intelligent and fiercely kind with a not-so-minor Vampire Diaries Addiction and a tendency to sleepwalk into his bed. And who cares if he wears glasses, communicates through the secret language of flowers, and takes care of her two bunny rabbits, Stefan and Damon. Warning, Gloves Off will leave you in the feels as these two so called enemies cohabitate and open up to friendship—and to love. What I liked about this addition to the Vancouver Storm series was how Stephanie Archer built a solid bedrock for the mutual hatred between her two leads. I could really understand why Alexei and Georgia viewed each other the way they did — even as I wanted to shake them so hard and beg them to see things properly. Romance is in the little things in this twist on marriage of convenience and hate to love. The drives to soccer practice and showing up to hockey games are all part of this developing romance. Georgia and Alexei had a slower build up but it is totally worth the wait. I entered this wondering how they would make a marriage work, and left wishing I could romance someone through a marriage of convenience myself. Funny how that works.

This review will appear on my blog closer to publication!

I absolutely loved this and COULD NOT put it down!!!!! Idk what Stephanie puts in her books but the last 3 I’ve read I physically could not put the book down and stayed up half the night reading <3 I just love a hockey romance and I loved the hate to love and marriage of convenience. I usually don’t enjoy enemies to lovers in romance bc it doesn’t feel realistic but Stephanie did this so well and I ate it up!!!!! It was a slooooooow burn that’s for sure and I loved how they slowly let each other in to the deepest parts of themselves 🥲 I love seeing the previous characters and the found family with the hockey players + the way they both hated marriage and said they never wanted to get married and then they fall in love ugh! I love!! I cannot wait for the next book!!!!

I think this might be my new favorite in this series. The tension between Georgia and Alexei, and the reasons for the tension felt so realistic. Like I know women who are fueled by spite and I know men who think all women are dummies. I love when women prove men wrong

At times the book felt really long, but also I don't know what I would cut out because it was all so great. So I guess not a complaint but an observation?

Thank you Stephanie Archer, Dell Romance, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

this is definitely one of my favorite Stephanie Archer books! the characters were perfect and I loved their story :,) the cutest enemies to fake married to in love. and the fact that he sent her flowers every day with special meaning for each one 🫶🏼

Alexei and Georgia are one of my all time favorite couples and I would 100% recommend this one for anyone looking for a cute, funny, and hot hockey romance!

Stephanie Archer, I bow down to you! Nobody does a hockey romance like her! I LOVED Georgia so much! Alexei is the grumpiest grump at the beginning but so into her, even though he won’t admit it. Their marriage of convenience was full of delicious tension! Loved this one!

Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer is marriage of convenience perfection!

An amazing last book of the series to close off the Vancouver Storm with Alexei and Georgia. I absolutely loved their dynamic. Hate to love but they need something from each other and what better way to solve it with marriage? I love that they both assume things of each other and yet fall hard but it takes time and the slow burn of their relationship had me flipping page after page begging them to finally fall and when they do, it was everything. I loved their banter and bickering and animosity because it was hilarious seeing them fight with each other and their perceptions of each other despite being attracted to each other but he needs citizenship and she needs access to her trust fund and living together goes anything but smooth but their forced proximity, forced to bond and act in love helps seeing each other in a different light and how they want to make this fake marriage a reality. I loved their banter and mutual longing and the mouth on that man? I love him. I mean he's a tall Russian hockey player that spoils and takes care of her but also takes charge and speaks Russian and gives her flowers? Naturally I love him. I love how she challenged him and made his idea of love and marriage change for the better and how they helped each other grow and seeing all the team as a found family. It was perfection. I love this book and I love this series! It's a must read!

Y’all it’s finally time! The Stephanie Archer book I’ve been dying for. I have loved Alexei and Georgia since they were first introduced. Book 3 left me begging for their story. And thanks to the ARC gods it’s finally happening. Hands down Gloves Off is officially my favorite of the series! I devoured this in less than 24 hours and I have zero regrets staying up to finish it. I will already tell you this was a 5 star read for me. And If you’re an enemies to lovers girly, boy oh boy do I have the perfect book for you!!

Gloves Off follows Alexei & Georgia. Both are in a bit of a pickle. Alexei needs to acquire his green card. Georgia needs access to her inheritance in order to save her medical research program. They agree to enter into a marriage of convenience in order for them to both get what they want. However, Alexei and Georgia LOATHE each other. And when I say LOATHE y’all I mean it. The bickering, tension and antics between these two is off the charts. So of course chaos ensues.

Lets talk about my love for our two main characters. We’ll start with Alexei. First, Stephanie where can I get my own. Cause hot dang. The way this man says “My Wife” well hello there 😉 Alexei is 100% at times a butthead, but underneath it all he’s really a softy at heart. And watching this possessive flirty hockey player get his girl was the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a while.

Next up we have Georgia. By far she is one of my favorite FMC. I love that she is a ball busting hard working doctor. Her spitfire energy and caring nature is magnetic. I related to her on so many levels and I wish more characters were like her. a

Overall, if you haven’t already gathered I highly recommend this book. Heck I recommend this entire series. So if you haven’t started yet what are you doing go grab book 1. Lastly big thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie Archer & Dell Publishing for providing me an arc to read and review.

God how does Stephanie Archer do it? It's no surprise that I loved these enemies to lovers since the friction between Rory & Hazel was my favorite. But Alexei and Georgie have stolen the crown! Their point of views were written with such sharp clarity. He needs to feel supported in his career, but she recommended him for retirement. She needs to feel recognized in her career, but he reported her as incompetent. So they hit each other right in the secret Achilles heel. This romance is all about the secret insecurities we have and letting go of past hurts.

When Alexei realizes that everything he thought about her is wrong, he starts piecing together the mystery that is Doctor Georgia Greene. And he is very observant. He uncovers every secret and appreciates everything about her. Talk about feeling seen! And Georgia starts to put some trust in him as he makes amends. They never stop teasing each other so it's incredible fun as they bait and switch while falling in love. Their friends can't stop teasing them either as the fake marriage starts to look much more cozy. I could feel Georgia's blush as Darcy, Hazel, Pippa and Jordan interrogated her.

Fans of the series are going to love how these two chafe and then bloom for each other. AND JUST WAIT TIL YOU REALIZE WHO THE NEXT BOOK WILL BE ABOUT!! My lips are sealed! But boy I cannot wait.

I absolutely loved the fourth book in this series from Stephanie Archer. Gloves Off finally gets to Georgia and Alexei, whose story is a true enemies-to-lovers. They hated each other from the minute they met and have spent years being at war with one another. Their animosity is only heightened by the fact that each one finds the other attractive. Georgia refuses to accept an inheritance from her grandfather, which requires her to get married, until she realizes she can save a program that means everything to her with that money. She mentions it to her friend who realizes Alexei also needs to get married to cement Canadian citizenship for himself and his parents. They agree to marry each other, convinced that it will only work as long as they avoid each other but fate clearly has other plans for these two.

I love that Stephanie Archer’s books don’t have a traditional third act breakup — sometimes it’s just nice to get to the happy ending without all the upheaval! I loved Alexei — he is a dream hockey hero, sending her silent messages in the forms of flowers that have different meanings and he slowly melts her icy shell. Meanwhile she realizes how much he means to her when every time he gets injured, her stress causes her to sleepwalk straight to him to make sure he’s okay. I just loved these two, truly, and I can’t wait to see whose story comes next in this excellent series.

Gloves Off is one of the BEST enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience books I’ve ever read. They really hate each other, and it makes for the banter and tension to be OH so perfect throughout the whole book! Alexei HATES that he wants Georgia so bad, and it had me SAT. He is one of the best MMCs I’ve ever read. The growth he had throughout this book was truly amazing to see. This man actually apologizes, and it eats him alive when he realizes that he was wrong about Georgia. It was refreshing to see. I put off everything I needed to do to read this book. I needed to see them finally give in, the tension was killing me in the best way. I have no complaints, only praise for Gloves Off. Easy 5 stars from me.
P.S. THE FLOWERS😭

Thank you so much Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC!

5 FREAKING STARS!!

Did I just receive this ARC last night? Yes. Did I immediately start reading it and stay up until 3 a.m. to finish it? Also yes. This is officially my favorite book of the series. We get a marriage of convenience between Alexei and Georgia and they LOATHE each other. I truly ate this up. The loathing, the TENSION, the flirtatious baiting, and the ongoing war of who can get at the other person the most was everything. I am 100% an Alexei girly. He is a possessive and HOT hockey player with a filthy mouth. At first he does anything he can to make Georgia miserable, but the more he gets to know her the more he is so soft and sweet to only her. Georgia is a favorite fmc for me. She is full of fire and god did I love her perspective and attitude for life. She has worked her way up to be an amazing doctor and didn't let anything get in her way. I loved seeing her be so protective of Alexei even when she didn't want any emotions showing.

Gloves Off has:
- Hockey romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Spicyyy
- Filthy mouthed hockey player
- Fiery doctor fmc
- Hate to love
- Marriage of convenience

I will quite literally be screaming about this one forever.

Stephanie does not miss with these books! I am honored to receive another arc for this series! I love the fake marriage trope in this book! You can really see the characters learn who eachother are without their own biases. Thank you NetGalley, Stephanie and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell