I am here for this series 100%. The journey has been a little crazy and chaotic but these characters are worth it. I was excited for an M/M novel, finally but was hesitant that it was slow burn. Teddy and Henrik are goals. It took them a second to get there but who doesn’t want a partner who will throw a monkey wrench into their life for you? The steam was hot and spicy in all the right ways. Love that we got to see everyone from the previous books and not just fleeting glimpses. I would not be opposed to another short story volume or even another book in the series. I’ve fallen in love with the found family the Rays have created.

A nice continuation of this already popular with readers series, following two flawed but ultimately loveable characters as they find themselves and love.

Wow. I was worried when we were going back to characters we weren't as familiar with, but holy cow did Dr. Rath de.liv.er. The arc of Henrik and Teddy's stories, their relationship roller coaster, and my word, Karro. I will throw hands at Denise (you'll get the joke once you read it) over these wonderful people, this chosen family.

Seeing Teddy and Karro build a familial/parental relationship was beautiful. Being a parent is hard enough without adding the loss into the mix. I was so touched by how their relationship was built, and honestly, how similar the building started to my own relationship with my daughter who came into my life at age 2, 10 years ago.

I also enjoyed Henrik's own journey discovering himself outside of hockey, of making room for things in his life in America, and not compartmentalizing so much that he wasn't really living.

This is probably a top contender for my favorite book in the series, honestly. I don't think one could regret reading this!

Please hold my tissue box while I SOB about how much I LOVED Pucking Strong! Seriously, I cried so much. Emily Rath always finds the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. I don't know how she does it. Henrik and Teddy are precious angels. I loved their journey both to each other and to find their true selves. It was so beautiful and well done. One of the things I love so much about Emily's books is the genuine sweetness of the stories. While the spice is definitely spicing, the heart of the story is learning to love your true self and finding the family who will love and accept you for who you are. It's always so beautiful and lovely. Another 5 star read from Emily Rath!

🏒 Book Review 🏒

I’ll never stop screaming from the rooftops my adoration for Emily Rath or her Jacksonville Rays series. It is my comfort series that I turn to when I’m seeking hope, acceptance, and joy. Thank you to @kensingtonbooks and @emilyrathauthor for my e-arc copy of Pucking Strong.

🇸🇪 Quick Blurb:

Henrik Karlsson loses his cherished sister in a tragic accident and begins to seek custody of his only niece, Karolina, who lives in Sweden. Due to his career and his living in the US, he needs a strong case of home stability and familial support. His coworker, Teddy O’Connor, steps in to offer a marriage of convenience to Henrik to help solidify that stability as he fights to step up and take care of Karolina.

🏒 My thoughts:

This installment is honestly my favorite yet.
I am wholly obsessed.

Emily Rath executed the slow burn with excellence.
I don’t know how she does it, but I’m crying tears of unadulterated joy over that ending and subsequent epilogue.

Teddy and Henrik are pure perfection together. Their love holds such depth. Karro was the perfect extension to the family that they built from the ground up in this story.

The journey these characters take is so incredible. Both MCs have incredible growth arcs, together and apart. I fell in love with them slowly & steadily, and then never let go. The way they both blossom is so earnest and pure.

I can’t say ENOUGH because there really aren’t the words. This book is filled with heart, emotion, grieving, healing, and unadulterated joyful self discovery.
The spice hits later in the game with this one, but when it does, it’s *chefs kiss* — and there is no found family quite like a Jacksonville Rays story.

This series will live in my heart in perpetuity.
I am an official TEDRIK stan.. and I already can’t wait to read it all again. I’m am simply unwell. 🥹

Haven’t started the series yet? You have plenty of time to catch up! Start with the prequel That One Night & then move on to Pucking Around.

To know Emily Rath is to love her. Pucking Around was my intro to contemporary hockey romance and why-choose and it has been my Roman Empire ever since. I have loved every other installment to the Jacksonville Rays series and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one. I requested the ARC through NetGalley and was so excited when I got approved for it. I devoured all 500+ pages in about a day. I was crying within the first 30 pages. That's how easy it is to empathize with Emily's characters. From there, I could not put this down. This has been described as her slowest burn and let me tell you, it doesn't feel that way when you push through 350 pages in one afternoon! All of your favorite characters from the previous books make appearances here and it is so satisfying. The WAG devotion scenes are great and picturing all of these huge guys in bedazzled WAG jackets is hilarious and sweet. This installment far exceeded all of my expectations for the 4th book and I cannot wait for the next PEA as well as the last book. I will cry when this series is over but will leave all my books tabbed so I can go back and cozy up with my favorite characters!

Dear dr. Emily, please continue what you do <3 I love this series and everytime there is a different plotline for the books, but you still keep the plot together :)

This book was so good, i read this in one sitting.

Dr. Rath has done it again, to the surprise of no one who is an immense fan of the Rays series, myself included. This series as a whole has been so important to me personally as a companion to forging forward to prioritize joy, found family, and hope for a world that is more like the one I want to see. So you could say that I was eagerly awaiting the fourth installment of the series. Teddy and Hendrik did not disappoint!

As with all the characters in this series, I feel like they are fleshed out in such a way that I feel as though I know who Teddy and Hendrik are and how they would react in a myriad of situations. Dr. Rath does so well with making whole characters. This book had me crying, laughing, and just saying "oh Teddy" so many times.

This is marriage of convenience done very well and is more grounded than the trope can often be done. It also has a more realistic transition for characters getting to know not only one another but also a new parenting role. This story is a slower burn than others in the series, but honestly I appreciated that because the depth of connection felt natural and earned. Henrik's responsibilities and compartmentalization of aspects of his life were well done and Teddy's more chaotic way of living was still so grounded in heart. The handling of grief, demisexuality, chosen family, and authentic connection were well done and compelling. The presence of other characters from the series was also delightful as a fan of the series.

For every Ray's series book that drops, I feel both excited anticipation and a hint of nervousness because I feel like I have always loved the previous one too much. But I fall again with every new character and I love Teddy and Hendrik, especially together. This story is beautiful. Thank you Dr. Rath for sharing your world and words and I will continue to read anything that you write. And thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for rewarding my impatience with an eARC.

I have to say this is my favorite book in the series so far. It’s more of a slow burn than the other books in the series but I don’t mind it. I absolutely love both of these characters and I like how the author drought in another sexual orientation versus.

Fans of Rath's Jacksonville Rays series will be delighted in this next installment. Although both Henrik and Teddy were bit players in the previous volumes, Rath brings them to the foreground here, and gives them a story equal in emotion, tenderness, and heat to the stories of their teammates and colleagues.

I absolutely love this series. Long books filled with heart that make me sigh and not want to leave the world. This book shares aspects of Rath's other books, a well-developed plot with fully fleshed out characters, among spice and heart. Rath's books make you want to keep reading because she brings hope into devastating situations and makes it seem like it is possible for horrible situations to turn out well. She develops the relationships, not just between the main characters, but relationships between side characters, so well. She makes her fictional world seem like light amidst sadness, reality meets soft and sweet. Teddy and Henrik's relationship and love will stick with me for a long time. One of the joys of continuing with a series is getting updates on our other favorites and Rath doesn't disappoint...we get to see the Price family and Poppy's family as they grow with love. I highly recommend reading this excellent book, it is worth the wait.

I freaking LOVE this series so much, I didn't think it would be possible for it to get better but it did. Loved these characters, the storyline, and really the family that this book has given all of these characters. I"m hoping there will be more books (and novellas!) because this world is a delight.

This is such a fun series and it’s really fun to be back in that world and read meeting all of the characters from the other books from a different point of view. In this case we have Teddy who played a small role in the earlier books as a PT who was there as an intern. Now he’s back as a doctor and unable to help himself from making some very rash decisions. Henrik is the quiet sweet, who keeps to himself, and even after all these years and the team hasn’t really made a lot of connections. When a disaster and tragedy brings he and Teddy together and becomes clear that they might be able to bring out the best in each other. This had some spice, but it was definitely more romance than the other books I felt and it’s hard not to hope that these two find their happiness together as the book goes on

🏒 Thank you, NetGalley & Kensington Publishing, for this eARC in exchange for my honest review! 🏒

I absolutely adored everything about Pucking Strong. This book had me in a full emotional chokehold from start to finish. The characters felt so vivid, so fully human, that I wanted to crawl into the pages and never leave. I would genuinely throw myself in front of a train for Teddy, Henrik, and Karro... they have my whole heart. This is hands-down my favorite of the Jacksonville Rays series.

Emily Rath gives readers fair warning in the forward that this slow burn is slowww, and she’s not exaggerating. But oh my god, the pining?? Off the charts. The tension is delicious, the yearning is excruciating in the best way, and when the spice finally hits? WHEW. It is so worth the wait. Y’all wanted pining back in romance? Emily Rath said bet and she delivered.

But what really sets this book apart is how Emily weaves real-world issues into her storytelling with such care and clarity. From racism and homophobia to flaws in the foster care system, she never shies away from showing the hard stuff. It makes her characters feel even more grounded, and the stakes that much more impactful. And as a queer reader, seeing demisexual rep on the page was a beautiful surprise and meant so much!

This book has heart, heat, humor, and so much love. Pucking Strong is everything I want in a romance: emotional, tender, messy, and affirming. Just... perfect.

First of all, thank you to Emily Rath and Netgalley for advanced access to this book. This was romantic, erotic, emotional, and a fun trip back into the world of the Jacksonville Rays! Fans will be delighted!

I am so in love with Henrik and Teddy! I've been reading the Jacksonville Rays series since Pucking Around was first released, and have been so looking forward to an MM book. It did not disappoint AT ALL. I think this was my second favorite in the series following Rachel and her men. This was also the first book I've read that featured a demisexual main character, which I thought was written very well. I'm so impressed with Emily Rath and her representation of so much the the LGBTQ+ community throughout her books. The slow burn is slowww, but very much worth the wait. The spice is phenomenal between Teddy and Henrik! And of course, it's always wonderful to get to see characters from previous books again. Overall, I absolutely loved Pucking Strong and I can't wait to keep recommending this series.

Teddy is a new comfort character. I think he was wonderfully written, silly and dramatic in a way that made him immediately lovable. Henrik's journey was deeply emotional and hopeful as he found his family in caring for Karo and Teddy. I loved the family aspect between these three. I do wish there was a bit more Karo especially dealing with her emotions, maybe some negative reactions to how her life was changing, just to see her depth and have the boys face that kind of obstacle. However, I know the point is Henrik and Teddy's journey.
The book is both insta-love and slow burn. I definitely preferred the slow build up. I also admit to coming into the book with a more critical lens than I did for any of the other books in this series given the characters stray from the authors lived experiences. There were some things I felt could have been done better around Teddy's family like including more of his mother and aspects of Henrik's journey that could have been expanded upon. I did find myself wanting some Ace inclusion or descriptions of other places Henrik's sexuality could have lied before going straight to demi though it says up front there is a demi character so you know where the conversation will go anyway.
I'm curious about what will come next for the Jacksonville Rays!

I enjoyed this book but I did realize that my limit for reading about gay sex in depth is around 2 scenes and this book had around 6 or 7. I did like the chemistry between them and the aspect of representation of demisexuality.

This was so much more than a marriage of convenience story. Teddy, an out and proud gay black man has just been reunited with his long standing crush who has never seen him, or anyone with any real kind of interest. Cue a terrible accident where Henrik is now trying to get guardianship of his orphaned niece, and may lose her to the foster system because of his busy travel schedule in the NHL. In comes Teddy for the save. He agrees to marry Henrik to create a stable family for her, without any regard for how much it will hurt to be married to a man who can’t love him back.

The story has a delicious slow burn full of baby steps and finding home in another person. Henrik had never desired someone before because he’d never been in love or really fully known by another person. I loved that Henrik has no hang ups on being perceived as gay, and no shame when he allows himself to let Teddy love him. Once his heart is open, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Teddy. Even the little moments when they still felt fake, Henrik would do these little romantic things to show Teddy that he saw him and appreciated him in his life. Swoon.

I loved this book. As someone who has read the books leading up to this one in the series, it felt like coming home to a clean house after a long vacation. Teddy coming back and seeing everyone felt like me coming back to see everyone. I felt included in the book since I hadn't read in a while. I loved the dynamic between Teddy and Henrick. They were both such different people, but they complemented each other so well. The character development throughout the story was very well done. It wasn't rushed. This felt different than the previous books in a good way. There was less spice, but it wasn't missed. The tension was enough to keep me going. Very well done!!