Pucking Strong
Emily Rath
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book: 60
Favorite quote: This feels like a timeless moment. You get so few of them in life. Moments when every part of you is set to record. It’s not just something you see with your eyes or feel with your hands. Your soul takes a picture too.

Thank you to Emily Rath, NetGalley, and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC of Pucking Strong by Emily Rath.

I really liked this one! I recently blew through the rest of the Jacksonville Rays series and while they were good they just did not really hit any serious marks for me. Pucking Strong felt thought out and really opened the conversation about topics like custody troubles for gay couples especially interracial gay couples. I also really enjoyed that Henrik and Teddy were able to have an open and honest conversation about demisexuality and what that meant in their world and for them. I think there were definitely some high points and other moments that were a little harder to digest. Overall, I really enjoyed the story in this book and I think the plot to smut ratio was a bit more level than previous books but, all things considered, I think it really worked out for them.

I'm not usually a sports romance reader, but this series has me by a chokehold and won't let go. I've loved the previous books and the Ray's family and every book I think is my favorite. But then comes along Pucking Strong with sweet, sweet chaos tornado Teddy and stalwart and quiet Henrik and jumped ahead of the others real quick! I will always love the Price's, but these two (plus Karro) absolutely stole it. This book was so touching, emotional and sweet! I think I cried about half a dozen times! Teddy's longing and Henrik's slow burn for him and their mutual commitment to Karro was the best! The way I wish I loved in their world and was a part of their friend group. I loved that we also got a good interaction with the characters we all love and how they helped enhance the story and didn't feel in competition or feel forced. Emily Rath has become an auto buy author for me and will read anything she puts out. Her character development and depth of characters is unparalleled.

I had the absolute privilege to enjoy an eARC of Emily Rath’s 4th book in the Jacksonville Rays Universe. 5 freaking stars.

As Rath continues to be my firsts, she was my intro to hockey romance, and now intro for MM romance, I was in love with these characters. Teddy and Hendrik are perfectly imperfect.

I loved how Rath is able to convey such detailed character development, especially through Hendrick and his journey discovering his sexuality. It was a beautifully told story. The slow burn made the spice feel so well-earned.

As a fan of the series, I was incredibly excited for this new addition. Other love interests I felt like had more appearances throughout the other novels compared to Teddy and Henrik. It was a refreshing change. I'm not always a fan of the slow burn, however, Emily Rath can slow burn me all she likes. The intricate building of a relationship before physical intimacy is even introduced was lovely. Teddy is so relatable and I think Henrik's story arc is handled artfully.

I absolutely love this entire series, and the opportunity to read it on NetGalley was a dream come true. From the first few pages I was drawn right into the story of Teddy, Henrik, and Karo among the backdrop of other favorite characters. As a novice intern working with a brand new hockey team, Teddy has one goal in mind. Or maybe two.. To succeed in helping players get through the regular aches and pains that come with the regular season and succeeding in his academic pursuits and become a doctor. On his first day he gets almost run over on the way to the arena and a handsome stranger saves him just in time. Teddy is dumbstruck by the handsome stranger and they both rush off only to discover after a moment that they both work for the Jacksonville Rays. Henrik is a player, and Teddy resigns himself to the idea that he will never get over his infatuation. Several years go by, and Teddy gets a job with the Rays, but this time it’s to cover for Rachel Price’s early maternity leave. While waiting around, Henrik gets a message from a hospital in his home country and the news is not good. His sister and niece were in a terrible car accident, and his sister is gone and his niece has a broken arm and leg. Teddy offers to come along to Sweden, and offers to help however he can. When Henrik’s lawyer explains that a single man will not be able to get custody of his niece Teddy offers to help then too. Because there’s nothing like a marriage of convenience to help get over an unrequited crush, right? Teddy and Henrik go from strangers, to acquaintances, to friends, and finally to lovers. As Teddy works on getting Karo better, he also works his magic with Henrik and gets him to open himself up to his teammates and family. And then when they least expect it, they have to prove to the Swedish government as well as each other that they are a family. It was a beautiful, emotional, well-written gem of a book and I have every hope that this is far from the last from the world of the Jacksonville Rays.

With Emily Rath, what you see is what you get. And that's not a bad thing! Her hockey series is highly entertaining, but have little substance in them. Like I said, you get exactly what you're expecting!

This is probably my new favorite of the series. The amount of emotions poured into the characters was just astounding. And I loved the new view of a demisexual. The universe is full of unique and amazing people. Emily Rath has truly poured her entire heart and soul into this series and I hope it never ends. Some people judge these books for being too long, but I love the amount of detail that is added to the story. I get such an insight into the characters and people and it makes me feel so much more connected to them. I also don't like feeling sad after I complete a book because I never get to know what happens to the characters when the story ends, but Emily's prologues are done so amazingly well that I feel so happy when I complete one of her books because I get to know more about the lives of the characters. Well done all around.

Pucking Strong is by far my favorite title so far in the Jacksonville Rays series. Teddy and Henrik were great together, communicating and explaining their thoughts and emotions.

The Great:
The Communication between characters.
The Slow Burn
The cameos from previous books
The Epilogue

Woo! This book is SPICY!! In fact, I told a friend to read the others in the series because they were filthy. Loved it! Love Emily Rath! Great book!

I have enjoyed this series for a while, but the tone of this one was BONKERS, especially at the beginning. It was giving off "wow lighthearted marriage of convenience!" and weirdly skipping over how the child in question just had her MOM DIE? It was bizarre.

This is an incredible book that I could not recommend more to romance readers. I am such a fan of Emily and was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint.

Genuinely I don’t think Emily could miss if she tried. Her books are the blueprint for learning yourself and loving who you are. Teddy and Henrik falling in love and learning to navigate love after loss and also how to be guardians in the midst of grief was done absolutely incredible. Infinite stars.

Dr. Dr. Emily Wrath is at it again and it's 100 percent amazing. Teddy and Henrik's story was adorable and so heart warming. Five stars for the demi awakening and the found family.

Sweet AND spicy. And when I say spicy I mean big spice! Teddy and Henrik’s story was so tender and beautiful. did teddy’s fam make me mad? Yes. Did I have to get over it? Also yes.

Also very very happy to see Demi representation! So infrequent in literature

How can you not love anything by her right? lol. Good book and can’t wait to read more by her. Loved it!

Dr. Emily Rath has done it again. Pucking Strong made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me kick my feet like a teenager. I absolutely love the diversity in the Jacksonville Rays series, and Pucking Strong did not disappoint. Henrik’s sexuality character arc is *chef’s kiss*. Don’t let chonky books intimidate you! The emotional rollercoaster is worth it, I promise.

If you love hockey romance but want depth, queer joy without apology, and the tenderness of found family, healing real wounds, you need to really read this book. It's about choosing to stay, choosing to love and letting yourself be loved back, even when it's messy, even you're learning how.

"Pucking Strong" surprised me with how soft grief can be, even when it's tangled in the rough edges of Pro hockey. This is a queer romance, yes, but it's also a story about a man who lost his one and only sister and is desperately trying to piece together the shape of family again, clutching at the small hand of his niece while trying to be enough.

I din't expect to care so much about a hockey player learning how to let someone in (especially a man), how to ask for help, how to let himself love while everything feels like it's slipping. And I didn't expect to fall for the workplace tension that crackles quietly between him and his personal therapist, the one person who sees through every defense he tries to throw up.

The Fake marriage trope here? This hit different. It's not a gimmick but a LIFELINE, the paperwork and the act that says "I won't let you lose her too". And somehow, in the middle of court dates, practice ice, and small moments of grief, LOVE GROWS. Soft, patient and Inevitable.

Dr. Emily Rath does it again!
The Jacksonville Rays feels like coming home, and Henrik and Teddy's only made me fall in love with the series even more. I LOVED their love. I loved the representation and how their love bloomed. I just love the way Dr. Rath writes queer love and joy, while also highlighting real world issues members of the LGBTQIA+ community face. Overall, I just find her series so hopeful. I want to live within the world of the Jacksonville Rays.

If you love found family, MM romance, hockey romance, and laugh-out-loud humor, you NEED to pick up this series, and this book!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC!

This one felt really slow but I liked Henrik and his niece.
Perfect golden retriever vibes maybe too much sometimes?
I didn’t particularly feel much towards the characters in this one but I somehow liked it than Book 2 and 3 for me. Also middle of the road for me.
I would have liked a bit more depth. I’m sure I’ll try the next instalment too!
Thank You for the Arc!!

I was absolutely ecstatic when Kensington sent me an approval to read this early. Emily Rath is one of my favorite authors and I’ve loved every book I’ve read by her. So it was no surprise that I loved Pucking Strong.

After Henrik told Poppy he got married to Teddy at the end of Pucking Sweet, I didn’t even guess that it was a marriage of convenience. So I was really surprised by that aspect of the book and loved how everything turned out. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me and I even cried toward the ending.

The growth of Henrik and Teddy’s relationship throughout is truly a beautiful story.

Thank you Kensington and NetGalley for the e-ARC! Can’t wait to purchase a physical copy for my shelf.