`✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 4 stars 🌟 3 spice 🌶

arc review 📖

જ⁀➴ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
🏒 hockey player mmc
🥅 nanny fmc
🏒 father's teammate
🥅 age gap
🏒 forbidden romance
🥅 grumpy x sunshine
🏒 spicy

"𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙-𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙-𝙤𝙣𝙨."
- 𝙇𝙖𝙧𝙨

۶ৎ I absolutely love a good hockey romance that gives me yearning, tension and spice – and this was exactly that!

۶ৎ Lars is a hockey player who has a new baby, and in need of a nanny to help him care for her... so along comeshis team mate's adult daughter who happens to be head over panties in lust with him.

۶ৎ Kate Meader knows how to get our attention and keep it. I was never bored, always wanting more and either swooning, sweating or laughing throughout.

𖹭 I would definitely recommend this to my sports, spicy romcom romance lovers.

────୨ৎ────

⋆˙⟡ 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘.

This book was such a fun, feel-good ride with just the right amount of swoon and steam. The whole “surprise single dad” thing hit right from the beginning — Lars finds out he has a baby during a night out celebrating with his team, and boom, instant chaos. He’s a pro hockey player, totally unprepared, and suddenly responsible for a tiny human.

Enter Adeline, the daughter of his teammate and a girl who once very embarrassingly called him the “sexiest guy alive” — and yes, he definitely heard her. Now she’s back from a year abroad, needing a job, and ends up as the nanny to his new baby. Talk about awkward. And let’s not forget there’s an age gap, a shared house, and a whole lot of unresolved tension simmering just under the surface.

I loved watching Lars try to figure out how to be a dad while completely failing to hide how drawn he is to Adeline. And Adeline? She’s trying so hard to be professional, but her crush is alive and well — and getting stronger every time Lars does something ridiculously soft and dad-like. Their dynamic is a mix of sweet, flirty, and straight-up hot once things finally start to shift.

The pacing was great, the banter felt natural, and the emotional moments hit just enough to give the story depth without weighing it down.

Perfect if you’re in the mood for something warm, spicy, and a little messy in the best way.

I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

This was such a fun hockey romance with all my favorite tropes rolled into one: 🏒 single dad, 👀 age gap/long-time crush, and that delicious “off-limits” tension.

Lars goes from carefree hockey player to surprise dad overnight, and Addy (his teammate’s daughter and the girl who’s crushed on him forever) steps in to help. Cue all the sparks, banter, and slow-burn tension you could want. 🔥

I loved the found family vibes, the emotional growth, and how Kate Meader balances sweet + steamy so well. Lars learning to be a dad melted my heart, and Addy’s strength and independence made me root for her the whole way.

If you’re looking for a sports romance with heart, heat, and a big swoony payoff—Sweet Thing totally delivers.

4.5 ⭐️
I do love me a hockey romance! It was such a lovely book to read and I gelled with the characters
Thank you for allowing me to read this

Okay so I didn’t realise this was part of a whole book world so it was a bit confusing at times and that’s completely on me.. but let me put it this way
- hockey romance
- single dad
- nanny

Need I say more? I didn’t think so

Sweet thing - Adeline and Lars were very sweet. I’ve only read instant crush by this author so some of the side characters at the beginning I was just confused by. That said having already known Elle and their story it was so fun to see them as parts to this wild gang. Addys storyline fell a bit flat for me as it’s almost like her mugging was an afterthought and I didn’t think it added much to the plot. However Lars on the other hand. His storyline was perfection. From showing up at the nightclub to being there for addy during her nightmare and omg him with Mable. It’s always so adorable when grown men have full adult conversations with babies.

This book is a fun, flirty start to Kate Meader’s new hockey romance series. Lars and Adeline have great chemistry, and the surprise single-dad twist adds both humor and heart. The story hits all the right emotional beats, even if some of the tropes feel a little familiar. A quick, satisfying read that leaves you wanting more from the Chicago Players.

The original series is on my 'keeper shelf' at home so when I heard about the spin off series, I just had to dive in. It's great to see the team back even though I found that at times the catching up with everyone took slightly away from the hero and heroine of this story.
It was still enjoyable though and I can't wait to dive into the next book of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ahead of the publication date.

3.5/5 stars

This was a great book! I love hockey romances and this one was just what I wanted! It has such a cute dynamic between the main male character and his daughter which was so sweet!

I didn't realise this was in a pre-existing world and if I had I might have read them first. It was just a lot at beginning learning who everyone was and it felt like characters were being thrown at us left, right and centre.

I normally don't mind an age-gap trope but this just didn't work for me - I think the age of her and her father was jarring for me and maybe if I'd read the previous books in this world it would have worked better?

I might come back to it in the future - DNF'd

I looooooved this book so much. I read it little bit later than I should have but I am glad I read it now. 100% recommend.

I wasn't aware this book was set in a pre-existing universe, so the random name drop threw me off at times.

The story follows Lars and Adeline, who know each other because Lars is Adeline's father's bff and teammate. Adeline developed a crush on Lars soon after he was transferred to the Rebels hockey team. I was apprehensive that they had met she was a young minor but it got cleared up that Lars had joined the Rebels 5 years prior when he was 30 and Adeline was 17/18 so it didn't bother me, especially with the crush being one-sided.

Lars grows a lot throughout the story. He becomes enamoured with his daughter after the first shock passes. His first reaction to the situation was not the best, but he surely made up for it. He also worked through some of his issues with his father and felt like he was not deserving of good things because of his father's mistakes.

I wanted to see Adeline finding herself separate from her relationship with Lars. She was very sheltered, and I felt that she could have benefited from distancing herself from other's expectations of her. I would have liked to see more of her relationship with her mother, I felt that there was such a big focus on her relationship with the men in her life that we barely got any interactions between Adeline and other women (but especially her mother).

Overall, it was a light read with a sweet romance, some nanny/employer spice, and age gap drama.

This is a new to me author and it was a surprise single dad, nanny, age gap, hockey romance! It was very sweet and of course I loved the single dad aspect. For me it was a little harder to connect with the author's writing style but I gave it a full shot. The characters were entertaining and vivid, I liked the family aspect in the book. Now the H&H connection, again this was something I had to work at to get to. I think it's because of the way the Hero is towards the baby and the situation and the Heroine has had a crush on him for a long time so she does a lot for him. I liked once we got to the connection part the way the hero was towards the heroine and the side characters were great too.

Kate Meader did an amazing job writing an age-gap romance that did not feel like an age-gap romance. Lars and Addy's storyline was complex and well-written. The twists and turns of Lars becoming a new dad from a one-night stand to admitting his feelings for Addy were a fun ride to read! Addy’s youthfulness kept the book light when to Lars' grumpiness started to dim the light. It was really beautiful to watch Addy's family welcome Lars into their fold, but it made the tension from their forbidden romance that much more stressful to keep secret!
The build-up to the spicy scenes kept me wanting to read more and helped to propel the plot wonderfully. Lars gives hot DILF a new meaning in this book! There were a few moments when it felt like there were too many different obstacles our MCs were facing all at once, but Kate Meader did great at navigating through them to keep the story on track. I will definitely be reading more from this universe! I can't wait to read the Great Love Story (TM) next!

It’s a 3 ⭐️. It was good but I wish the age wasn’t such a huge focus in the book. Both characters really do have development throughout the story. You see how the MMC takes on being a dad and becoming more open after being closed off for so long. You also see the FMC come out of her shell and become more confident. The nanny trope was good. Thanks to Victory Editing for the ARC!

what an enjoyable read. these characters are really cute, and i enjoyed their chemistry. however, the forbidden part of this romance did actually make me somewhat uncomfortable, and i do not know why, as the age gap is not unrealistic. i think it may be related to the fact that the fmc is written in a relatively childlike way still, making the age gap look bigger? regardless, i had fun and i enjoyed it, even though i usually do not enjoy books that partly revolve around babies.
i also would have loved to see more ice time in this romance!

thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

This was such a cute sports romance! It was sweet and funny. I would also call it cozy and slow burn. I really enjoyed reading this book and it started with the adorable cover! I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

Wow! Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC.
Who doesn’t love a hockey romance with an age gap! Add in a surprise baby and this book gives you all the feels. Can’t wait to read the 2nd in the series but why have I got to wait so long 🙈

I loved this book. The chemistry between Lars and Adeline is amazing and how Adaline is with Mabel was so lovely. It was a bit of a slow burn even though they were attracted to each other early on. I loved how Adaline's family felt like such a great family and how they took in Lars and Mabel was adorable. It was good to see the emotional progress with Lars and his past and now with Mabel. Such a cute little family

I’ve read all of the Chicago Rebels and Rookie Rebels books so you know I’m all in on another Kate Meader hockey book, and SWEET THING didn’t disappoint.

Lars Nyquist is a keeps-to-himself defenseman on the Chicago Rebels line with Theo Kershaw (and it’s always a good time when Theo shows up) until a former one-night-stand walks into the bar, hands him a daughter he knew nothing about, and walks out. Theo thinks a good solution for a stunned Lars is for Adeline Kershaw, Theo’s 23-year-old daughter freshly home from traveling the world and currently at loose ends, to act as his nanny. Adeline puts aside her long-term crush on Lars and agrees.

I enjoyed the way that Lars and Adeline each offer the other healing and acceptance they both need. It was great to catch up with some of the Rebels players from past books, and the epilogue drops hints for the next book, which I will be waiting impatiently for.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an eARC. Opinions are my own.