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.

trong is book four in the Jacksonville Rays series by Emily Rath, and I’m just going to say it—this is my new favorite. (Teddy might be my new favorite MMC, but don’t tell Jake.)

This book is a beautifully written MM romance that explores love, trust, healing, and what it means to truly choose someone—without conditions or expectations. It’s also my first full MM romance, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction. I learned so much through this story (hello, demisexual rep 🙌), and as always with Rath’s work, the representation is rich, thoughtful, and full of heart.

What I love most about the Jacksonville Rays series is how every book stands strong on its own while contributing to a larger, interconnected world of found family, growth, and love in all its forms. Pucking Strong continues that trend in the best possible way.

If you’re already a fan of:
🏒 Hockey Romance
💪 Emotional healing arcs
🌈 LGBTQ+ rep (MM, demisexuality)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Found Family
❤️ Complex, deeply human characters
🌶️ Slow burn spice that builds beautifully

Then this book belongs on your TBR—and will be available to all in just a few weeks! Emily Rath’s writing is tender, hilarious, and achingly real (and spicy AF). Pucking Strong hit me in all the right places, and I was cheering, crying, and swooning the whole way through.

This series is my Roman Empire, and this book just might be its crown jewel.

This book is fake marriage, real feelings, big hockey men, and full-on swoon. If you’re a fan of slow burn, workplace proximity, and two idiots in love but pretending it’s for PR, congratulations—you’re about to spiral. Henrik is the emotionally constipated Swedish hockey king of my dreams. Teddy is a panicking physical therapist with a doctorate and a decade-long crush. Together? Chaos. Chemistry. I laughed, I kicked my feet, I cried at least once. I read 700 pages of this book and would have read 700 more. If you’ve ever looked at a stoic grumpy man cradling a toddler and said “uh-oh,” this is for you.

LOVED this book so much!! Teddy and Henrik's story is a great addition to the Rays series. I can't wait to see what comes next!

I read the first two in the series last year and the third shortly before reading this one and overall I enjoyed this story and its characters better.
The insta love that came into play with the other three books wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but I enjoyed there being actual history with Teddy and Henrik other than a one night stand. Giving them a chance to find love with each other in between all the chaos in their lives was a great making of a romance and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Hockey romance with sweet characters guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I also loved seeing the familiar faces from previous books.

I'm very new to the Jacksonville Rays and I started with book #3 that was Poppy's story and desperately need to go back and read the first and second books, however, I could not say no to getting to read an ARC. These are very lengthy books but I feel like they are so digestible that if you have time, you can definitely get through them rather quickly.

This book follows Henrik, a Ray hockey player who is Swedish, and Teddy, a physical therapist coming back to the Rays after being an intern for them 6 years ago. There is a marriage of convenience, death in the family, a family member with dementia, and a male-male workplace romance. There is Swedish sprinkled throughout the book which I loved. Henrik is definitely a silent, stoic type of character and one who is hard to get a feel for because he is so reserved. Teddy is a teddy bear - he is incredibly sweet and thoughtful and wants to help everyone. I liked both of these characters right off the bat. I loved the progress they made throughout the book. The spicy bits were fantastically written, as per usual. I loved this one more than the last (which how is that possible?!).

It Was... Fine, I Guess?

Okay so listen. I love my romance books with drama, emotional damage, and enough heat to make me side-eye my Kindle in public. I picked up Pucking Strong expecting some tension, spice, and a fake marriage situation that would make me yell, “JUST KISS ALREADY.”

Instead, it was kind of like... watching a rom-com with your mum. Cute. A bit funny. But nothing you're going to re-read at 1 a.m. while screaming into your pillow.

🧊 What Didn’t Really Hit:

It’s a slowwww burn:
Like, painfully slow. And not the kind that has you desperate in a good way — more like, “Come on, can we please get to the good stuff now?” I almost forgot it was supposed to be steamy.

The spice is softcore:
If you're used to unhinged dark romance where someone says “You’re mine” and means it in a legally questionable way… yeah, this isn’t that. The steamy scenes are there, but they’re pretty tame. No kink. No edge. Just vibes.

Predictable AF:
I could’ve guessed the ending at page 10. No surprises. No betrayal. No “oh crap” moments. It’s cute, but not messy. I like messy.

❤️ What I Did Like:

Henrik is a total golden retriever husband:
He's sweet, soft, and clearly worships the ground Arlo walks on. It was nice. A little too nice, maybe. But if cinnamon roll men are your jam, he’s got you.

There’s a kid and she’s adorable:
Henrik’s niece is a literal plot-saver. She adds warmth and helped keep me invested when the romance felt like it was dragging its skates.

It’s queer and soft and safe:
Which I totally respect — we need that. Especially in sports romance. It just wasn’t scratching my itch for angst and emotional carnage.

Final Thoughts:

If you want a cozy fake-marriage romance with low stakes, soft guys, and PG-13 spice, Pucking Strong is your book. But if you came for “touch him and I’ll bury you” energy, secret trauma, or scenes that leave your brain buffering… you might feel a bit bored.

Me? I finished it. But I wasn’t clutching my chest or feral-texting my friends.
So yeah — it’s fine. But I like my hockey boys a little more… unhinged.

This was an easy read with a sweet story that I enjoyed overall. Having not read the earlier books in this series, it took me a little while to get my bearings with the full cast of characters, but a quick search fixed most of that. I appreciated how the hockey elements were woven into the story without overwhelming the reader if you don't know much about the sport. There was a good mix of tension, sweet moments and spicy spice; and I enjoyed the team dynamics when some of the other characters got more involved in the relationship / wellbeing of the two MMCs.

Overall, it was okay. It didn't blow my socks off, but maybe that's partly because I haven't been with the series the whole way through. Worth a read if you’re into sports romance and looking for something easy to sink into. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for allowing me to read and review this one.

This was literally one of the cutest books ever. If you want that kicking your feet and giggling type of feeling, this is the book for you. While I’m not a huge fan of a slow burn, Emily Rath always brings the heat. It does tackle tough subjects but I think they are handled fairly well. This definitely knocked Pucking Around out of first place for my favorite from this series.. and that’s saying something. If loving this book is wrong, I don’t want to be right. The only crime is that The Only Exception by Paramore isn’t on this book’s playlist.
I’d like to thank Kensington and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars!!! Anything Emily writes is 5 stars for me, every book is just so good. Pucking Strong made me go through so many emotions, I loved it sm I love teddy and Henrik’s story. I love the small sweet gestures, I loved how it was a bit of a slow burn and the yearning🛐 overall this was a good book and definitely check it out

Let me paint the scene: I cracked this book open thinking I was about to witness some locker-room flirting and maybe a little “oops we kissed at the holiday party” drama.

Instead, I got an emotional fake marriage with legal consequences, a brooding single uncle turned reluctant dad, and a cinnamon roll physical therapist with a six-year crush that’s somehow still thriving under the weight of repressed feelings and hockey tape.

Teddy O’Connor is one ER visit away from a romantic breakdown. He’s sweet, he’s professional, he’s literally the medical backbone of the Jacksonville Rays and he's been in love with Henrik Karlsson since the Obama administration.

So obviously, the logical next step is... flying to Sweden and accidentally getting married. For custody reasons. As one does.

Henrik? Dreamboat. Tragic backstory. Hockey god with a tiny grieving niece and zero idea how badly Teddy’s been crushing on him since internship days. But when Teddy steps up, Henrik doesn’t just notice…he feels things. Slowly. Deliciously. Tensionfully.

Was I yelling at them to just kiss already ? Yes.
Did I shed a single tear when Henrik let his guard down for like 0.3 seconds? Also yes.

Teddy is that guy, hopelessly in love, trying to be professional, and making us all scream into our hockey jerseys. And Henrik? Once he melts? Lord help us.

This book gave me gay Hallmark movie but make it legally binding and emotionally devastating. I loved it. 4 spicy, slow-burn stars.

Absolutely loved this book! It is a great addition to the Jacksonville Rays series and anyone who has loved the previous books is sure to love this one as well. This is much more of a slow-burn than the previous books in the series. It is filled with yearning and emotion. It is a beautiful love story between two very different characters who suddenly find themselves living as a family and then go on a journey to truly become a family.

While I would always recommend reading the whole series, because I absolutely love it, this book can also be read as a standalone for those who may only be interested in the tropes in this book and not her previous ones.

Such a beautiful addition to the series. The representation in these books are just incredible, recommend to all!

Another great addition to the Jacksonville Rays series. enjoyed the demisexual element and explanation of how one could feel about themselves prior to realizing their sexuality. The slow burn did burn my patience at times though that is a me problem since I have minimal patience but oooohhh the payoff, thank you!!! The familial relationships in this one really tugged at the heartstrings. As much I have liked Teddy in previous books he did drive me a little banana sandwich in parts his story, though as a high strung emotional double water sign myself I kinda get it. Can't wait for what is next in this series.

I adore Teddy and Henrik. Their story is beautiful. I love seeing more LGBTQIA couples in sports romances.

My unexpected spring/summer reading obsession has been all things Emily Rath. It started with finding her on social media and watching her defend herself against MAGA. I bought Pucking Around almost immediately! Then that book was SO silly and spicy and I knew I was hooked. On Monday, I learned my request for a Netgalley ARC for Pucking Strong was accepted and friends... I read it in 12 hours. It MIGHT be my new favorite. Its August release date cannot come soon enough. #emilyrath #puckingstrong #jacksonvillerays #bookreviews #hockeyromance #mlmromance

Thanks so much for this ARC!! A fab series and great addition - loved the chemistry between Teddy and Henrik, and the slow burn aspect to the romance made me root for them even more. Important topics dealt with carefully. A great holiday read!

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book! I knew I would because the rest of the series has been incredible, but the pain and honesty that I felt reading this book just seemed to hit even deeper. Trigger for death of a parent and I just lost my dad so maybe that’s why it hit me so hard, but it was amazing!

Pucking Strong is a really cozy, feel good hockey romance that pulled me in right away—especially after all the snippets of the characters I’d seen leading up to it. Teddy and Henrik’s relationship was such a slow burn, but the emotional buildup really paid off. I loved that their connection developed gradually, with a strong focus on trust and getting to know each other. The demisexual rep was a great touch and felt thoughtfully done.

While I didn’t connect with the characters on a personal level, I still loved their journey and the little moments that made their relationship special—Henrik bringing Teddy iced coffee was such a small but sweet gesture. Karolina was a standout for me too; her growth and happiness with her uncles added to the story.

It did feel a bit long and slow in parts, but overall, it’s a sweet, feel-good read that I’d definitely recommend to read as part of the series