Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication! I sadly found this book to be very Wattpad reminiscent in the way that it was written, which made it quite difficult to read and enjoy.

There were too many POVs going on at the same time, sometimes on the same page. I truly believe that skilled storytelling can be told from a single POV, or chapter specific POVs at the very most. It made reading this book confusing, especially considering I was unsure of who the main love interest was supposed to be throughout the book.

I’m struggling to articulate what I disliked about the writing, but I think simply there was too much of it. This could easily have been cut down by at least 100 pages by removing waffling and unnecessary monologue. More concise sentences may have helped to better tell the story and keep the reader invested.

However, as someone who grew up around Roller Derby, it was refreshing to see this included within a story, maybe there’s a market for derby sport books out there!

This rom com was tongue in cheek. It makes sense if you love hockey for the spot you'd have a rule that you wouldn't date a hockey player. Especially when your the publicist for the team and you know how they are off the ice. But I still enjoyed this one.

Thank you Net Galley for this Arc!

I expected a love triangle/ workplace romance with drama and some toxic behavior. What I got was a psycho who doesn’t know how to be a human and communicate while two adults navigate a relationship. There was no love triangle. Despite that, Anna was a doormat to her dad. She let him bulldoze her and shoot down all her ideas and I wanted to scream at her to quit so bad.

This was an ok read for me. I love sports romance but there wasn't a whole lot of hockey. I see the potential of the story for sure but I kept loosing interest. This is a book I may try and revisit at a later time. It was to long and drawn out for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

This book had everything I needed. . Definitely would read again! I was gripped from the beginning to the end, I hope there is more in the series⭐️⭐️⭐️

I do love my an ice hockey romance and this didn't disappoint and I have no idea why it has such a low rating on Goodreads!

We join Anna who is a hockey team's publicist and you have a potential love interest on her team and one on another.

It may have been a bit predictable at times but then often romances can be. I thought this was very well written, had enough side plots and bits of interest to keep me well engaged and I'd happily try anything further from this author.

The third person pov threw me. See other version for review. Just was not for me. Too much going on in the first chapter and kind of all over the place. Was a DNF for me

This was my first hockey romance, so I wasn't sure what to expect but this was cute! If you're after something that's easy to read and a fun time, I recommend this!

I was really excited to get the are for this, however, I unfortunately was not a fan of this book. I did not feel connected to the characters and felt that they lacked the depth I am looking for. The pacing felt off throughout most of the book as well.

While I love that this book starts off with lots of hockey (my biggest pet peeve is a hockey romance with no games or hockey events), I really couldn’t get into this because of the third person POV. I think this would have done great for me written in first person with only our FMC thoughts and feelings. I just felt like I was being told everything instead of figuring it out on my own. I read 10% and couldn’t keep going but was actually interested in the story itself.

Unfortunately was not a hit for me. Started really slow… and remained slow. The writing wasn’t my favorite, and it was really hard to get into the plot. Not a single character I cared for.

This book hit every mark for me, especially as someone who loves sports romances with sharp, spirited heroines and messy, real emotions. The push and pull between Anna, Blake, and Charlie kept me turning pages late into the night, feeling all the heat and tension. It’s a fiery, emotional ride that I absolutely adored.

This was… not great. It felt like the author decided it was time to jump on the hockey romance bandwagon and hastily put this together. I couldn’t find a single character with a redeeming quality, and I found it impossible to connect with anyone. There were too many plot points, too much back-and-forth, and too many failed tropes. Unfortunately, the book’s description is extremely misleading, which made for a very frustrating reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

After seeing other reviews on this addition, I chose not to read it. I did request the newer edition & will read & review that one if I’m approved!

This book started a lot more slowly than expected for something marketing as high stakes.

The characters majorly lacked communication skills needed to build an effective relationship (even while ironing out their feelings).

The dialogue is clunky and there are so many phrases that are just not how people speak to each other. Fiction or otherwise.

They did not seem to trust their reader to remember what was going on. At multiple points there were recaps of what had happened prior.

As more of a side note - the author mentions the city the story takes place more in this book than is even remotely relevant. AND calling your dad coach is honestly crazy.

I was immediately drawn in by the cover and honestly the ingredients are there.. it’s just not fully cooked. The third person POV kept me disconnected and I ultimately had to DNF.

HOWEVER- there is a new edition with 1st person POV now available that I would love to give another shot.

I Don’t Date Hockey Players had all the ingredients for a great sports romance—high stakes, a sassy heroine, and a love triangle set against a fierce rivalry. I was totally on board with the premise and loved the behind-the-scenes look at the hockey world. But while the setup was solid, the story didn’t fully land for me. The love triangle brought the drama, but I struggled to connect emotionally with either Blake or Charlie. And while Anna had her strong moments, I wanted a bit more depth and growth from her journey.

That said, there were definitely some fun, flirty scenes and moments of tension that kept me turning pages. I think readers who enjoy fast-paced, banter-heavy romance with a sporty edge might enjoy this more than I did.

This had the setup for a fun, tropey sports romance—rival hockey teams, a tense love triangle, and an FMC caught between loyalty and attraction. I was hopeful, especially with such a charming cover and a promising blurb. But unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me.

The writing style made it hard to stay engaged. The constant POV switches—sometimes mid-paragraph—were jarring, and the third-person narration created a distance from the characters that I couldn’t quite bridge. Anna, the protagonist, felt underdeveloped and passive, more of a placeholder in the story than someone with agency or depth. As for the two male leads, they didn’t have enough contrast or chemistry to make the tension believable. Blake was too grating, Charlie too smug, and neither made a compelling romantic lead.

The core conflict—romance threatening careers—had potential, but it didn’t feel grounded or emotionally earned. Add to that some pacing issues and under-edited sections, and I found myself skimming rather than savoring. I really wanted to like this, but I couldn’t connect with the characters or the stakes enough to stay invested.

I requested this book as I was really looking forward to reading it. My approved request email (dated April 14) stated the publication date is July 22, 2025 and the archive date as Oct 15, 2025. However, this title archived on April 18, 2025 before I was able to download it. I"m really disappointed that I will not be able to enjoy this book. In the future it would be nice if we were warned about a change in archive date before it happened. Thank you for your consideration.

I’m so sad to say I had to DNF this 5 chapters in. The so called MMC was absolutely insufferable, I don’t immune a grumpy egotistical man but as long as he’s written well, he was coming across as an idiot. The FMC was about as interesting as a wet cardboard box and the jumping between character POV was extremely confusing at times and would happen in the middle of paragraphs. This had such a good plot but it definitely needs better editing