This was a cute hockey romance with some fun tropes! Single Dad/Nanny, Dad's Best Friend, Age Gap. These tropes have the potential to be harmful, but this was done really well and it was enjoyable! There were so many cute moments and I loved the love between both the hockey team and family. There were serious topics approached really well and processed throughout the story as well. Overall a good, cute read!

All of my favorite tropes:
*Hockey Romance 🏒
*Single Dad/Nanny
*Age Gap
*Dad's Best Friend
*Found Family
*Gives her a nickname in a foreign language 🩷
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 1/2
This book hooked me from the first chapter and I devoured it in one day. The MMC Lars is in a bar after a hockey win when a woman comes up and hands him a baby saying it's his. After she disappears, he's thrust into instant fatherhood. Adeline has secretly had a crush on her dad's teammate who is 36 to her 23 but she buries that to become his temporary nanny. Lars and Adeline are such well written characters with great chemistry. Lars was complex and trying to overcome a rough childhood. Adeline is part of a large family with other characters from previous books making cameos. I rushed to download the past series. Based on the epilogue, I can't wait for book two.

I was lucky enough to receive as an ARC 🥰

Lars Nyquist was just celebrating a big win when his world flipped—he’s a dad. Surprise! One night, one baby, and zero warning. When the mother disappears, Lars is left holding the baby… literally. Enter Adeline: nanny, lifesaver, and unfortunately for him, his teammate’s daughter.

Adeline’s had a massive crush on Lars for years. The embarrassing kind. The “he overheard me say he’s the sexiest guy alive” kind. But now she’s back in Chicago after a year abroad, and suddenly living under the same roof as the man she’s trying not to want… while helping him figure out diapers and bottles.

The chemistry? Electric. The tension? Off the charts. Watching Lars grow into fatherhood is heart-melting, and Adeline’s mix of sass and tenderness makes it impossible not to root for her. With the perfect balance of laughs, longing, and steamy tension, Sweet Thing is a slow-burn age-gap romance full of heart.

Tropes:

👶 Surprise Single Dad

🍼 Nanny Romance

💘 Age Gap

🥵 Forbidden Crush

🏒 Hockey Romance

🏡 Forced Proximity

💔 Teammate’s Daughter


Sweet Thing is everything you want in a hockey romance — heartfelt, hilarious, and irresistibly sexy. Lars is the grumpy, brooding dad you’ll fall for, and Adeline is the sunshine that melts him. This book had me smiling, swooning, and staying up way too late.

4 Stars ... a sweet hockey romance

This is a cute romance that had me laughing and swooning. The chemistry between Lars and Adeline was off the charts. In the beginning Lars made me mad ... all he could think about was how he could get out of looking after his daughter Mabel. But he eventually won me over. I loved Adeline ... she was this genuine person who just wanted to help. I found that there were too many characters from past books being mentioned and it was really hard to keep them straight. But all in all, a good start to a new series.

Lars is a defenseman for the Chicago Rebels and is best friends with the team captain Theo. One night after a game, they are in their favorite watering hole and in walks his one-night stand from over a year ago ... she hands Lars a baby carrier and walks out. Lars is frozen. What's he gonna do with a baby? Theo's grown daughter Adeline offers to help him until he can find a permanent nanny. Adeline had a crush on Lars when she was younger and she thought she was over it ... but apparently she wasn't. Not only that ... is Lars flirting with her?

I received an ARC courtesy of Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op through NetGalley.

Lars finds out he fathered a baby with a former one night stand when she shows up at the same bar they met in to leave him with his daughter. He has no clue how to take care of her, but luckily Adeline, his captain's daughter, knows what to do and has nothing but time. But can Adeline handle living with her teenage crush when he starts seeing her as the adult she's grown into?

Read if you like:
-Age Gap
-Off Limits
-Single Dad x Nanny

This one just wasn't for me. The characters felt one dimensional and stale, and the romance felt forced. It might be for you if you really like off limits age gap romances.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC for review.

I really wanted to like this book, but the story and the characters felt really flat to me and the writing style just didn't grab the way that I wanted. It came across as very rudimentary, with the sentence structure very simple. It was not very engaging and it read a bit stilted and awkward at times.

The characters were a bit awkward and one dimensional, and I didn't really see where the chemistry was between Lars and Adeline came across as a bit immature, which if you're trying to make an age gap romance work, it seems prudent to have your characters exhibiting similar levels of maturity.

Not my favorite book, but I'm sure plenty of people will enjoy

I’ve read all of the Chicago Rebels and Roomie 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.

Adeline has a massive crush on Lars, an older man and her father's teammate. She knows that can't happen so she focuses on her world travels. Just after she comes home, Lars is presented with a baby he didn't know about. Theo (Superglutes!) suggests that Adeline would make the best nanny while Lars gets details in place. For her own reasons, she can ignore that there was ever a crush and help out the team. But the chemistry between Adeline and Lars cannot be ignored, even by the reader. That makes it hard to put the book down. I liked the twists on the single dad/ nanny trope. I loved visiting with the Kershaws again.

This book is cute I'm just not vibing with it at the moment there were a few points where I found it cringey so it's a dnf for now but I might come back to it in the future.

I was hooked right from the start of this book. The main themes are:

-Single Dad (Hockey Player bonus)
-Best Friends daughter (who doesn’t love a forbidden romance)
-Age Gap

There was lots of spice throughout this book, all I wanted was for Lars to declare his love to Adeline. I loved the character development, already looking forward to book 2 (even more so after the epilogue!!)

Sweet Thing was an entertaining read – exactly what I was looking for in an ice hockey romance. The story focuses on Lars, his daughter Mabel, and Adeline, the daughter of his best friend and teammate. While the plot was quite predictable and didn’t offer many surprises, I still enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. A sweet and feel-good romance, perfect for a cozy read in between.

Thank you to Kate and Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this single dad x nanny romance, add in a touch of hockey, and this book was perfection. Lars and Adeline were great characters, I enjoyed the connection that developed between them. They were determined characters, and I enjoyed the relationship that formed between Mabel and Adeline. This plot was easy to follow, and I loved how it flowed and built to the perfect ending.

I look forward to reading the next book.

I loved Adeline and Lar's journey along with Mabel.
I also loved getting more Theo Kershaw.. he reminds a hoot!
when Lars a star defenseman finds himself in the middle of a bar with a baby in hand, he panics.
Lars has Theo and Elle and then finds Adeline is home and willing to help Lars find a nanny.
Adeline has had a crush on Lars for years but she went traveling with best friend Rosie. only to return a bit broken.
Lars is so thankful for Adeline and she teaches him so much about caring for Mabel.
Lars finds Adeline in a nightmare and helps her deal with her issue.
Lars and Adeline start a fling but Adeline falls hard along with Lars. Lars tries to push Adeline away but is miserable.
it take Theo, Lars partner for Rebel to call Lars out on his carpet with Adeline. Lars let's go of his feelings and risks his career but take the gamble.
Luckily it all works out for them.
I can't wait for more from this new series!

Rating/ Recommend
2.5⭐️/3🌶️/ Maybe??

****SPOILERS****

My Thoughts:

The storyline was good but it could’ve been executed better?
Overall, I was okay with this book but I was a little weirded out by the MMC being referred to as “uncle”. I know he was just a family friend so the younger children called him uncle but it was weird to read when she was the oldest of family? (She never referred to him as an uncle thank goodness.)I guess them calling him uncle was meant to be endearing. But personally It’s an ick and honestly not necessary for the story line at all.

The FMC felt a bit young. She was 23. A grown women who was treated like a kid by everyone around her?

The FMCs dad went all caveman when he found out but as soon as the MMC says he loves her he’s like “oh okay. You have my permission” ????

If you’re fine with taboo stuff then you’ll probably enjoy this read and not mind it. Personally, I would’ve rated it higher had the Uncle stuff not been involved.

CW: Adult only read. A few open door scenes that are not super descriptive. Adult language.

Sweet Thing
By Kate Meader

This is an age gap, surprise baby, forced proximity trope.

Lars Nyquist loves hockey, he's given up everything else to get there. He's got the perfect fit with his teammate and captain and they are on top hoping for an amazing year. Now his focus is turned upside by a daughter he didn't know about. Scrambling to make it work with his crazy schedule, the solution may create bigger problems.
Adeline is the people pleaser and is happy to be home where her safety net is. She's not expecting to be pulled in as the nanny for her not at secret crush. Now with tight quarters and secrets being revealed they lines are definitely blurred. Whose to say that they aren't the perfect solution and the doubts be damned.

Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this eArC copy of Sweet Thing by Kate Meader.

If you love an age gap, single dad, nanny, sports romance, this will be your jam. The story is a standalone, but you can definitely tell it is a part of an interconnected universe. I’ve read one other book by Kate Meader (Good Guy, really cute too), and I could tell the stories were connected. It didn’t take away from this one, if anything, it made me want to go back and read the earlier books to find out more about the players mentioned throughout the book, especially Adeline’s parents!

Lars and Adeline are super cute. Watching Lars grow as a father was adorable. I also loved all the side characters. It had just the right balance of hockey and real-life moments. There were a lot of familiar tropes, but they didn’t feel overdone. If you’re looking for a sweet little spicy sports romance, I’d highly recommend it.

Hockey romance, best friend's daughter/secret romance...... need I say more? If you like sweet sports romance novels, then you are going to love Sweet Thing by Kate Meader. This is book one in a new series by Meader and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Fans of Jenny Proctor will enjoy.

I really wanted to love this because I am a sucker for a single dad romance, and a forbidden love on top of that! I was ready for the feels, but this book didn’t do it for me. Addy and Lars were cute, but they didn’t make me fall in love with their story. And honestly, I couldn’t get past his name, it just didn’t work for me and pulled me out of the story more than once. What actually got me in my feels were the relationships outside of the romance. Lars and his daughter were so sweet and I loved seeing him fall in love with her. And then that final heart-to-heart between Addy and Theo? That’s what stuck with me way more than anything between Addy and Lars.The hockey team names also stuck with me, I laughed every time one was mentioned. If you’re gonna write about pro hockey, at least make the teams sound somewhat believable.

Sports romances and Kate Meader make for a good combo - and she delivers yet again in Sweet Thing. With lots of other things going on, this story had emotional depth, character growth, and sports drama all wrapped into one nice package. If you’re into fiercely independent sunshine FMCs and grumpy, single dads who are hopelessly in love, then this is the book for you.

If you like hockey romances this is a fun one for you! Lars is a sweet dad. Adeline is trying to figure out her life and has a crush on Lars; but she can't go after him because he is her dad's teammate. Adeline decides to help out Lars as he is looking for a nanny. Now they just need to make sure they don't fall for one another.

Read if you like:
🏒 Hockey Romance
🏒 Age Gap
🏒 Single Dad
🏒 Some Spice

Thank you to the publishers and NetGally for this Advanced Release copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.