Zoe & Chase ❤️

⛸️Zoe and Chase met a decade ago at ice skating summer camp. She was the star of the show with her fierce mom the owner, Chase was the hockey player whose coach recommended him for the job. It was love at first sight but as their relationship heated up, things quickly fell apart.

⛸️With a silver Olympic medal to her name, an injury and a divorce just behind her, Zoe gets a temp job working as a skating coach for the NY based Legends team. One problem is that Chase is a professional player on the team and she’s not even sure if he remembers her.

✏️I adore Sarina Bowen’s writing and having waded through her Brooklyn Bruiser’s ice hockey team series and a few spin off stories, it was a treat to discover her latest that creates a new team universe. There’s a carry over character that was a delight to cross paths with again as well. A true second chance romance, I enjoyed how the present day story is told from Zoe’s perspective while 99% of the flashbacks come from Chase’s. Can’t wait for the follow up to this story, can see the signs!

This is a fun and cute little hockey book with a solid storyline and writing. Zoe and Chase first met as coaches at a skating camp years ago. After a contentious ending, they are now back working together, with her as a skating coach and him as a professional hockey player. When their old skating videos resurface, they are brought back together for the good of the team and their reputations.

The setup of this book was interesting. The present-day chapters were told from Zoe’s POV, while the flashbacks were from Chase’s POV. I thought that was a unique choice, but I am not sure it was very effective here. I wished it had been dual POV in both time frames. The flashbacks also stopped halfway through, and I felt the pacing could have been adjusted to carry that structure throughout the entire book.

Overall, it was very cute, but I am especially looking forward to the next book. Those characters caught my eye, and their story seems like it will be even more fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the advanced copy!

This book was not my favorite sports romance but still good I think there were a ton of characters I loved but the plot was a bit normal

The only books I've read by Sarina Bowman have been the wags books with elle Kennedy. Elle Is probably top three favorite romance authors, a hockey romance story is my top pic.

When this book came available, I jumped on the chance to read a solo novel by Sarina. Did not disappoint. It was not the smut I was expecting, I'm assuming that was the elle portion of the previous books. But the story and the characters were so interesting and well written that I devoured this book in 2 days. I'm so invested in the characters that at the end she mentioned there will be a second book and I yelled "yes!"

If you love a hockey romance, childhood sweethearts, two people who are in love that aren't together, and a powerful woman main character, this book is for

Thank you netgalley for this Arc exchange for an honest review

This was my second book from Forever this year, featuring a hockey player and ice skater, and I'm not mad about it lol. Zoe and Chase's banter was one of my favorite aspects of this story, easily. Chase was the epitome of broody at the beginning, who turned all golden retriever for Zo,e and as always, I ate it up. There were initially alotttt of flashbacks to when the two first met years ago, which threw me out of the story just a tad at times, but it did allow for a good backstory as to why they initially do not like each other. Both characters showed their vulnerable side and were able to open up to each other and become a good balance for the other. Overall, solid romance.

3.5⭐️

This one is kind of hard for me to rate. I enjoyed it and felt compelled by the story but for some reason I felt like there were too many flashbacks at the beginning and it kind of took away from the story. However, I did very much enjoy the second half of the story. I am usually not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope but this one I kind of get since they were so young.

I liked the characters main and side enough to want to continue the series. Thank you for the eARC!!

4.5⭐️
A hockey romance written by Sarina Bowen? A no brainer!
I keep on getting blindsided by tropes that I usually don’t like-I honestly might have to change my biases!

A second chance, dual timeline, figure skating/hockey romance with misunderstandings and character growth…but still cute and it’ll make you kick your feet in the way only a rom com can.

Oh, and it’s the first in a series and I can’t wait for summer of 2026 to get the next couple and maybe a look at Chase and Zoe in the future!

This was a really great twist on a sports romance.

This probably would’ve been a five star read for me but the tone shift from the “present” chapters being in first person from Zoe’s point of view and the “past” chapters written in third person was pretty distracting throughout the book.

I really enjoyed Zoe and Chase’s banter, seeing his teammates interact with Zoe as their coach and a hopeful love interest for their friend, and Zoe’s friendship with Darcy. Definitely looking forward to other books in the series.

I wish Zoe had gotten slightly more closure with her mother or confronted her about what she made Chase do. He definitely deserved an apology from her family.

Overall, I liked getting glimpses of their summer fling and really felt like you could see how much Chase loved Zoe. I enjoyed her coaching mindset and how she KNEW she was good at what she does because it could be especially hard to be appreciated for that in such a male dominated staff and team.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing at Grand Central Publishing, and Sarina Bowen for the ARC.

“You and I don’t do comfortable. We go after the things we care about. And I care about you.”

This was a 4.5 for me.

Young love is something that everyone should experience and while many of us will find different relationships throughout our lifetime, our first love is one of the most important ones.

I had such a fun time with Zoe and Chase. I love the little banter they had, I’m a sucker for second chances so I was eating this up. One thing that bothered me was Zoe and her chasing - like don’t chase… Chase (lol). Let him go after you too! Also, she could get a little annoying at times, but I think about my group chats with friends - it’s literally like that.

Mr. Chase is a fun character because he’s what almost everyone wants, I love a brooding asshole turn into sunshine golden retriever for the right person. It makes my heart swell. Like you can feed me anytime Chase Merritt *wink*

Remember: Never a wrestle bear after drinking vodka and, most importantly, always listen to smart women.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Overall, I found myself blushing, smiling, kicking my feet, and laughing out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

This was a cute second chance hockey romance! I don’t usually read second chance but I didn’t mind this one. I loved seeing the hockey friend group and wished we got to see a little more of that. I will say i didn’t love how the past chapters were in third person pov when the present was first person, I rather have one or the other then whole book. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

As a huge fan of Sarina Bowen's work, it's hard to say that this one didn't work for me at all.

Zoe is a former Olympic skater turned skating coach for the NHL. Chase is a struggling NHL player, needing a miracle to turn his playing around. You'd think it would be a match made in heaven, except Chase can't stand Zoe. The two met ten years earlier and things did NOT end well.

This book is told in two parts, the past when Zoe and Chase meet, and present time. It was kind of jarring, because while the present time was in Zoe's POV and first person, the past was in Chase's POV and in third person. I thought the flashback chapters were too long and happened too often, especially in the first half of the book. For the most part, the flashback chapters didn't add much to the story line, and could've got the point across in a much smaller amount.

However, the present time wasn't much better, as Zoe and Chase had zero chemistry. We were being TOLD there is attraction but I never FELT anything between the two of them. I think it was over 80% in the book when they had their first romantic interaction. At that point, I didn't really care about them or their relationship which isn't idle. The majority of the side characters were just annoying and cause me to do a lot of skimming.

I hope Sarina goes back to her roots and writes books that feel more than her old writing.

This is a pretty solid hockey romance. I liked Chase and Zoe and felt they worked well together. I especially loved Zoe's strong character and her profession. I didn't love all of the flashbacks and found some of them to be boring and repetitive but I understood the reasoning for them and they did give a bit of understanding/depth to the story. I'm not always a fan of second chance romance but I think this one was done well.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another sweet hockey story from Sarina Bowen. Brooklyn Bruisers fans will be excited to see one crossover character. And Sarina fans can draw parallels with her classic story setups. I highly recommend.

I love a good hockey romance and this was no exception.This second chance romance gives us a dual timeline of figure skater, Zoe, and hockey player, Chase as they met as teens as counselors at a figureskating camp and again as adults working for the same hockey team. I love the figure skater/hockey player dynamic and love that Chase had experience as a young figure skater and that Zoe now works in professional hockey as a skating coach. I love that overlap as they both have an understanding and appreciation for each other's professions.

I love their dynamic, I love their vulnerabilities. They are both likable and easy to root for. The pacing feels off at times, but I enjoyed the storyline so it didn’t bother me too much.

Thank you to Forever for an advanced digital copy of this book.

Nearly ten years ago, Zoe was an Olympic level figure skater working at her mothers skating camp when she met Chase. He was a hockey player aspiring to the NHL, but needing work in the mean time, hired as counselor/coach by virtue of being about the only guy who wanted the job and also having some figure experience from his late mother

Over the weeks they grew closer. From pairs skating to demonstrate for the campers to quiet evenings on the roof eating trainer banned pizzas. Trying not to think about their limited time together, romance bloomed.
Something happened at the end of that summer though.

Now, it’s nearly a decade later
Chase is living his NHL dream, even if it has the edge of a nightmare now that his skating has started suffering and no one knows why
Zoe, post knee injury and turning away from the figure skating world, has pivoted to a different position on the ice. She’s the new speed/skating coach for Chase’s team
To say he’s not happy and she’s nervous about the reunion would be a double understatement, but she needs this job and he needs her expertise

Will they find love again? (And why did they ever lose it?)

The story is told in time jumps, between present day and that summer at camp 9 1/2 years ago

The pace was slower than I’d normally like, and for the first half I was far more interested in what happened when they were younger
About halfway through - “all hail the pelvis whisperer!” 😂 – I ended up much more invested in the present, and I enjoyed it thoroughly from then on
But unless you count when they were younger - and I don’t, really - be prepared for a burn that is sloooow

I absolutely picked this one up because it promised Cutting Edge nods - and it hits, including an obligatory ‘toe pick!’ moment
The difference being they both take turns in each others worlds, and I really liked the balance that added

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the arc!

I liked the ice skating parts in the story. There wasn’t that much romance in it. Was a little bit too long.

When Zoe and Chase were eighteen and nineteen, they fell in love as counselors at an ice skating summer camp. It was the greatest summer of their lives until everything fell apart. Ten years later, Zoe’s ice skating career is long over and she is starting her new job as a skating coach for the New York Legends. The same team Chase is now starring on. She can’t help but be wary about seeing him again after all these years. Knowing it was her fault that their summer ended badly but yet she also doesn’t fully understand why he never spoke to her again either. And when he sees her, yeah there are definitely some harsh feelings there. But she wants this job to work out more than anything, so she will do what she can to get Chase listen to her and let her help him with his skating which has been suffering lately. And in doing so, she may just learn more about the truth about what happened all those years ago. And maybe they can finally find their way back to one another. I love hockey romance by Sarina Bowen! She is just the best when it comes to them. I love that we have a new team with a whole lot of interesting characters to explore. And a familiar cameo as well. I really loved getting to know Zoe and Chase. Their second chance romance is just so sweet and I loved that they were able to find their way back to one another after so long. Definitely looking forward to seeing where this series takes us!

Thrown for a Loop is a high-heat, high-stakes second-chance romance that blends the thrill of professional hockey with the grace of figure skating—and brings a whole lot of emotional tension to the rink.

Zoe Carson, once America’s golden girl on the ice, is ready to reinvent herself as a hockey skating coach. Her big break? Joining the New York Legends, one of the NHL’s most high-profile teams. The catch? She has to coach Chase Merritt—the cocky, charming star forward who also happens to be the man who ghosted her a decade ago after one unforgettable summer.

What follows is a steamy, smartly written romance filled with sizzling chemistry, snarky banter, and the kind of tension you can cut with a skate blade. Zoe is strong, sharp, and no-nonsense—a woman determined not to fall back into old patterns, no matter how good Chase looks in a jersey. Chase, on the other hand, is a man wrestling with fading fame and growing regrets, and his vulnerability beneath all the bravado makes him surprisingly lovable.

When a long-buried video of their figure skating routine resurfaces and goes viral, the past crashes into the present, forcing the pair into an awkward spotlight—and even closer quarters. The viral fame acts as a clever plot device, pushing them together professionally and emotionally in ways neither is prepared for.

The strength of Thrown for a Loop lies in its balance: the author doesn’t just rely on spicy moments (though there are plenty); they also take time to explore themes of ambition, forgiveness, and the fear of being vulnerable when the stakes are high.

3.5 stars

This was tough for me because I did really love the two leads and the plot of this story BUT all of the flashbacks to the past really bogged down the pacing in the first half of the book, and then the end felt insanely rushed. I needed a lot more of the present relationship between the leads, but instead, it relied on their past connection.

I still enjoyed it, but this could’ve been a 5 star read for me (having LOVED most of this author’s previous hockey romance), but it just wasn’t.

Chase and Zoe first connected at a skating camp ten years ago, but things ended badly. Now he’s a pro hockey player struggling through a rough season, and she’s an Olympic silver medalist turned coach—thrown back together when an old video of them goes viral. Forced proximity + a little PR stunt = plenty of sparks.
The dual timeline (then/now) was a bit distracting in the first half but smoothed out later, and I loved seeing how much both characters had grown. The ten-year gap felt believable, the drama stayed low, and the miscommunication was minimal—huge win there.