4.25⭐️ 2🌶️

I really enjoyed this hockey romance. I’ve recently found out that I really like hockey romances. Bruce was so much more than what people gave him credit for. Their relationship was real, and sweet. I loved that this story talked about infertility and PCOS.

Favorite quote: “you can also have more than one feeling at a time. you can be happy for someone you love, and sad for yourself at the same time. those emotions can coexist together.”

Thank you @NetGalley and @Dreamscapemedia for the Audio ARC. This is the last book in the D.C. Eagles Hockey series. I loved Bruce, he was like a big teddy bear. He is the goalie for the team and one night has a shattering kiss with a stranger. Than he finds out the women he can not stop thinking about is his team captain newly divorced sister. Bruce yearns to be with her but Farrah needs to heal first. The sexist thing Bruce does is wait for her to be his.

I really wish I knew this was a fourth book in a series. But other than that I really loved this book. It was super cute and heart wrenching at times. I’m excited to read the others in this series!

I have loved this series so much!! Bruce and Farrah’s story was the perfect ending to the D.C. Eagles Hockey books and it was just so good!!
And the audio was amazing! The narrators did a fantastic job and I couldn’t have loved it more!

After sharing the best kiss of his life with a beautiful woman, whose name he didn’t get, Bruce is shocked the next morning to find out, she is his hockey team, captain‘s sister and that she’s…..married?

Now, a year and a half later, Farrah is living at her brother’s, so she can be a nanny for his toddler and has a new business with her friend Mel, who is married to one of Bruce‘s teammates. So, the odds of Farrah and Bruce being in the same time at the same place are pretty high! And when that happens, no one can deny the sparks that fly!

Oh my gosh, Bruce is the kind of guy that dreams are made of! I loved how hard and fast he fell and how determined he was to let Farrah see that he is nothing like her ex and is everything good that she could want or need! Farrah is so sweet and after being burned by her ex, I didn’t blame her for being hesitant to start a new relationship! My heart broke for the things experienced with her PCOS and I loved how Bruce helped her through her pain and grief.

This book was just SO good! And Bruce might be my new favorite Eagle! Although, I did love seeing all the guys and their wives again!!

This was a fun one. I’m not a huge sports fan but I did enjoy this book. They talked about sports but it didn’t overpower the plot.
I loved the narrators and thought they did a great job with the different voices.
I loved the group of friends that they had- they were all sweet and supportive of each other.
I also liked that the main character wasn’t perfect in every way- she struggled with infertility and other health problems. It made the story more relatable/believable.

2.5⭐, 1🌶️

I am very disappointed in this book unfortunately. I hated that it was a cliche teammates sibling trope where the only reason to deny the relationship is his historical bad boy/ lady killer persona. I was very annoyed that Remi became the bad guy in this book, especially because of the choice to make Bruce and Farrah prioritize Remi's needs because of his autism and making it "super important" to not bother him. Idk it gave me the ick.

I hated the third act breakup. I almost DNF'ed right there because I was so frustrated - Bruce fighting so much for Farrah and her rejecting the relationship over and over made me want to shake her. Like girl PLEASE go see a therapist. All your friends and family clearly aren't helping you. Idk, just could not relate to her character.

The rest of the series were cute and non-spicy hocket romances, but I could have lived without this book. Which is FRUSTRATING because Bruce is so perfectly teased in all the previous books

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

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a copy of the audiobook.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Alex Picard and Lee Samuels. They did an amazing job on their POV chapters and the various voices. I ate this story up all in one sitting.

This was the perfect ending to a very enjoyable series. In this book you will find the sister of best friend troupe, closed door romance, PCOS and infertility topics, and divorce topics.

I love that the MMC was a total golden retriever and was referenced to look like Kristoff from frozen.

Bruce and Farrah are soo good together, even with the Reverse age gap and the Disability she has it was soo good! Going through a Divorce is hard I imagine, and having gone through what she did because of her Disability was devastating. And Bruce was always so caring and Loveable I Loved him so much! Book 4 was a great Read and Listen!

“The jealousy monster tries to convince me that because I kissed Bruce, he’s mine.”

From the moment they locked eyes at the bar, there was instant attraction and an even hotter kiss. Imagine Bruce’s surprise when he sees Farrah at his Captain Remy’s house. Turns out the girl of his dreams is Remy’s sister , which means she’s completely off limits.

Farrah went through a rough divorce and doesn’t think she can trust herself to open up to anyone. Not only do they have Farrah’s well built walls to overcome, there’s also the matter of her brother Remy who is Bruce’s teammate. But Bruce keeps showing up for her and proving that he’s nothing like her ex. Now it’s up to Farrah to figure out if she’ll jump in and take a risk.

Bruce is just the sweetest, a golden retriever at heart. The way he shows up for everyone that matters especially Farrah and his little brother Jackson.
Farrah’s gone through a lot and I’m glad she moved to DC to help out her brother because not only did she meet the love of her life, she also found some ride or die girlfriends.

Such a sweet and cute romcom with a swoony, rom com watching hockey goalie and a sweet and sassy baker.

*Please check the content warning because you might be sensitive to some topics mentioned in the book.

This was a sweet hockey rom-com. Light in the spice so if spice isn’t your thing this is for you!

❤️ she is older and he chases her
- Farrah is older and Bruce chases her regardless of the baggage and insecurity she has! Her past marriage was awful and heartbreaking and Bruce goes out of his way to show her that not every man is a jerk.
❤️ baker & hockey player - enough said 😂
❤️ her brothers friend
- Remi is not only Farrah’s brother and Bruce’s friend but also Bruce’s coach. So much tension with the forbidden love! It starts to take a toll on hockey and friendships.
❤️loved the Canadian references
❤️Bruce. All of him. His cockiness, his family and him being a “Big Brother” to Jackson.
❤️it brings to light a lot on PCOS
💔the narrators were great but I could have done without the baby voice for Nala

This was a sweet and sassy book and the third in the series!

Publishing date was March 27th so get your copy now!!

Okay-hear me out. Secret or Shutout is book 4 of the DC Eagles Hockey series. Is it an interconnect standalone? Technically. But- do this book justice and read them in order. I did not do this, so if you dont want to take my advice, you wont be lost, but this friend group is so massive and loveable I want you to get the best reading experience for this one. Another honest fact for ya. I was not expecting to love this story as much as I did. I haven't heard of this series before and when it popped up on Netgalley I had some time and it was Hockey, so I was like I’ll give it a shot. You can now find me diving into Leah Brunner’s entire backlist. So thank you Netgally and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity!

Secret or Shutout is the long-awaited final story in Leah Brunner’s DC Eagles Hockey series. It’s a forbidden romance with a reverse age-gap. This series contains a novella, Passion or Penalty, and Desire or Defense, Flirtation or Faceoff, and Betrothal or Breakaway. This story will be enjoyed more if read/listened to after the earlier stories. This is a closed-door sports romance told in dual POV, with some mild cursing (no F-bombs).

31-year-old Farrah Remington is the younger sister of Ford “Remi” Remington, Captain of the D.C. Eagles hockey team. She was introduced in Betrothal or Breakaway because she moved in with Remi and his wife, Amber, to be a nanny for their infant daughter, Nella. Farrah is recently divorced and has relocated from their hometown in Ohio. On the evening after her divorce is final, Farrah goes to Charlie’s Bar to drink her sorrows away. She meets a handsome man, and they talk, flirt, eat chicken wings, and share the best kiss of their lives. The only thing they don’t do is reveal their names or occupations. The next day she is shocked when the Nordic kissing god walks into her brother’s house, and she learns that he’s the 26-year-old goalie.

6'6 Bruce McBride is a giant blond loudmouth NHL goalie who loves women. He was adopted as a newborn by a small dark-skinned couple who had a daughter, Avery. The McBride’s loved the big fair-skinned super-sized baby boy and encouraged him in his hockey career. He moved to Washington, DC from Quebec, Canada, knowing no one. He became close friends with some of his older teammates, who have all married and settled down. Bruce wants to find a good woman to settle down with too. When he started feeling lonely, he signed up for Big Brothers, Big Sisters and was matched with a boy in foster care, Jackson. Bruce is the only one in his friend group who doesn’t live in the cul-de-sac; instead, he lives in a penthouse condo in downtown DC.

Bruce is instantly smitten with the beautiful Farrah and is so disappointed when he discovers that she is Remi’s sister. The players have a rule about their sisters being off-limits as romantic partners. While Bruce has been a “player” in his love life, he stopped dating after he met Farrah. He secretly admired her from afar for 18 months, while she got over her broken marriage. When the other players’ wives found out about his crush, they arranged things so that Farrah and Bruce could spend time together and get to know each other.

Farrah and Bruce pretend that they never met, and certainly never kissed. Farrah is dealing with infertility and reproductive problems and is afraid that no other man will ever want her. After 18 months, Bruce wears her down and she secretly spends time with him. However, she knows that her brother will explode if he finds out, and she’s concerned about the age gap between herself and Bruce. The DC Eagles have made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs, so they are especially cautious about causing conflict between the teammates.

Secret or Shutout is my favorite story in the DC Eagles Hockey series. Bruce was such an attention-getter from the first book, and I have been waiting for him to finally meet his match. Farrah’s reproductive health issues and fears about infertility are a relevant topic for many readers, providing a realistic storyline. Remi’s protectiveness towards Farrah is admirable, and the reader waits anxiously for the inevitable clash between Remi and Bruce when their secret relationship is exposed. The descriptions of Farrah’s baking creations were so clear that I wanted to get out my baking pans!

While I enjoyed all of the stories in this series, I believe that Farrah and Bruce had the most chemistry. It was wonderful to see earlier characters in the series, and Secret or Shutout was an excellent conclusion to this hockey romance series. I really appreciate this author for creating the first closed-door hockey romance series; previously hockey romances were all spicy.

I enjoyed listening to Secret or Shutout; the narrators, Alex Picard and Lee Samuels, do an outstanding job giving life to Farrah and Bruce. While Ms. Picard has done a fabulous job voicing all of the female characters in this series, I especially want to mention that she did realistic children’s voices, including toddler Nella. Lee Samuels did an excellent job portraying Bruce and lent earnest emotion to his voice. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook for a richer experience than reading.

I received an advance review copy of the ebook (ARC) from NetGalley and LBP, LLC, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I received an advance review copy of the audiobook (ARC) from NetGalley and DreamScape Media for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Secret or Shutout
By: Leah Brunner

The vibes:
- NHL hockey player + baker
- brother’s best friend + forbidden/secret romance
- he takes care of her & always shows up
- divorce, PCOS, infertility, adoption/foster care rep
- 4th in a hockey rom com series

This was top tier romance & an easy 5 stars for me! The way Bruce talks to/about Farrah is swoon-worthy 😍 Bruce is a total cinnamon roll. I love the brother’s best friend trope & even more so when there’s strong connections with other characters from other books in the series!! This series is fantastic 🤍👏🏼

I listened to the audiobook & the narrators were so great!! 🎧

Trigger warning: infertility, PCOS, divorce

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for access to this ARC in return for my honest review!

Secret or shutout is the 4th book in a series of interconnected standalone hockey romance books. I have not read the previous books in the series and I could tell that there were some previous stories from other characters, however, I didn’t feel like it was too telling to read out of order.

The FMC has a lot of prior demons she needs to work out before she can accept the love she’s feeling, and the MMC is a giant golden retriever, waiting for her. The story is cute and sweet, but there’s not much to stand out against other hockey romances. I really The male narrator and his soothing voice, I was impassive about the female narrator.

The FMC does go through fertility issues and lives with PCOS, so be aware if that’s a trigger for you before you start reading. I don’t think I’m going to continue the series, as I said, there wasn’t much that stood out to me.

3.5 🌟 Secret or Shut Out was a sweet, closed-door romance that really hit me in the feels. It’s a heartwarming story that balances light, cute moments with more serious, emotional themes. I appreciated how Leah Brunner explored the female main character’s journey with PCOS and the struggles that can come with trying to conceive. It felt honest and compassionate, and it was refreshing to see a romance novel touch on something so real.

What stood out the most to me was the way the author highlighted different paths to family planning, showing that there isn’t just one “right” way. The male lead’s unwavering support made the story even more touching—his love and understanding added so much depth to their relationship.

Overall, this book is both adorable and meaningful. If you’re looking for a clean romance with heart, emotional depth, and great representation, this one’s worth picking up.

This book was so cute with hockey romance and a baker it was also brothers bestfriend it was so fun to listen to and hearing about the infertility journey was hard as I'm going through the same

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

I love a good sweet read full of slow burn! This book had everything on my checklist for a 5star, then add in all the great representation this book has for PCOS & Adoption - I loved it! I’m with the FMC please sign me up for the IRL version of Christof from Frozen who gives you a French pet name, this MMC is so swoon worthy!

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

On the night she signed her divorce papers she kissed a guy at the bar after a few too many Long Island ice teas. Little did she know he was her brother’s best friend and teammate…

It’s been a year and a half since that night in the bar when he fell for Farrah, he has it bad but she won’t give him a chance. She is definitely off limits as the team is working toward the cup and dating the captain’s sister would definitely cause drama. But Bruce can’t resist Farrah or her baking and he’s on a mission to convince her to give him a chance.

Farrah is attracted to Bruce he’s the IRL version of her Disney crush, but she’s older than him and feels she’d hold him back. Due to her struggles with PCOS she doesn’t know if she can have kids and she won’t ask him to deal with that. But she’s finding it harder and harder to resist this swoon worthy man for goodness sake he bought her, the oven of her dreams!

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“Does my stove turn you on that much? This whole time…all I had to do was show you my oven?”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* He’s Ready to Meet the Love of His Life
* Professional Hockey Goalie NHL
* Divorced Baker & Nanny to Her Niece
* She’s 32 & He’s 27
* Off Limits Captain’s Little Sister
* He Gives Her Pet Name in French “Yeux Bleus”
* He Falls First & Has to Chase Her
* Adoption & PCOS Rep
* Found Family
* Dual POV

🧁💕🥅🧁💕🥅🧁💕🥅🧁💕🥅🧁

Secret or Shutout Honest ARC Review:

This is the 3rd book in the series that I have read and I really enjoyed this!

NHL Goalie Bruce McBride walks into a bar to have a drink by himself and ends up meeting the love of his life. He never gets her name. The following morning while visiting his Team Captain, the mystery woman is introduced as Farrah, his Team Captain’s MARRIED sister.

After having just signed divorce papers from an awful marriage, Farrah moves in with her Brother Remy and his wife to act as a nanny for their daughter and bake professionally with Remy’s wife Amber.

The more that Bruce and Farrah see one another, the more their chemistry increases. Will sneaking around prevent issues with Bruce’s best friend and Team Captain or will everything fall apart in the midst of the Stanley Cup?

Filled with complexities such as infertility, adoption relationships and self reflection, this is so much more than a simple romantic comedy. Each topic is approached sensitively and with respect. Main characters have depth and develop further throughout the novel.

I really loved the wholesome vibe in this regarding the families of the players. It was a nice compliment to the romance. Secret or Shutout was entertaining and sweet. I enjoyed it and think it would be a great addition to your TBR!

Thank you for sharing this ARC with me.

Thank you NetGalley and dreamscape media for the audiobook arc. Super cute hockey, teammates’s sister closed door romance. Written well and the duel narration was chef’s kiss. I love duel narrators in books.

She healing from and mentally abusive ex husband and doesn’t want to get into a relationship, but he can’t think of anyone besides her after they share a kiss after they meet in a bar a year before.

She ends up moving in with her brother to be a live in nanny for him while running her bakery business, and that’s when Bruce finds out she’s his teammates sister he tries and fails to hide his affection for her, and showing her time and again that he wasn’t going anywhere despite what her ex made her feel.



🔹PCOS rep
🔹curvy girl rep
🔹hockey romance
🔹teammate’s sister

I looove a brother’s best friend romance!! This is my first read in the DC Eagles series, I definitely need to read the rest of the series.
I really loved the relationships between all the characters and Bruce and Farrah are a perfect fit. Farrah has PCOS and has experienced infertility and Bruce was adopted and provides respite care for a foster child that he calls his little brother. These two were like two missing puzzle pieces and I loved every minute of watching their relationship grow.
The narrators were fantastic and added to the experience, I went and looked for more books they have narrated.

Thank you to the author and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!