Checking Mr. Wrong was super cute! Grumpy sunshine romances will forever be a hit with me, and I loved the snarky banter between Mabel and Asher. Overall cute and fun, and such a good read!

This book was quite enjoyable, in Maple Falls with Asher and Mabel as the main characters this time. It was great to see the start of this season from Asher’s perspective, just having come from the AHL and getting onto a new NHL team can be a lot and it shows with his OCD. The rep of OCD and in general mental health is amazing and I can not say how much I appreciate it and I feel like it’s more and more relatable now days. Checking Mr. Wrong was a great small town romance read and I feel it’s a great addition to the Maple Falls series.

Fantastic easy read. So fun. I love the series. Amazing characters. Definitely recommend. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

"Checking Mr. Wrong" was such a cute, and cozy hockey romance that really captured my attention. The setting, Maple Falls, Mabel's hometown, was reminiscent of the fall season and Gilmore Girls, with a cozy, autumnal vibe.

Mabel is a work-oriented sports journalist who meets Asher, an upcoming hockey player, in the airport while traveling to her home town. Initially, their first impression is filled with a broken tooth and banter, but soon they grow a strong relationship full of understanding, compassion, and romantic tension.

I loved especially the inclusion of Asher's OCD and how he managed to be understood and accommodated by his mother, his teammates, and of course Mabel.

Their relationship progressed naturally and it was extremely endearing to watch it unfold.

I was able to read the book in one sitting because it was so cozy. This is a perfect book to read if you want a charming fall set romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Bird Publishing for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fun, cozy small-town romance with a lot of potential. I really enjoyed the setup — the quirky hometown vibes, Mabel’s sarcasm, and the grumpy/sunshine banter with Asher pulled me in right away. The beginning especially had me hooked, and I loved the balance of humor and heart.

That said, the romance felt a little too rushed for me. One moment it was “I can’t stand him,” then suddenly “I love him,” then “I have to leave”… and before I could really settle into their dynamic, we were already at the big grand gesture. (Though, to be fair, the gesture itself was really sweet and well done!)

Overall, this is a lighthearted, feel-good fall read that has plenty of charm, small-town antics, and the kind of hockey-romcom energy that fans of the trope will love.

I was so excited to keep this series going, but this book fell a little flat compared to the first two.

In this novel we follow journalist / Maple Falls native Mabel and Ice Breaker hockey player Asher. When these two first meet, Mabel is the grump while Asher is the sunshine. Mabel instantly tries to dislike him, but Asher proves he is the guy for her as she interviews him, attends his practices, and has to endure some setups from her mother.

This one had potential, but a few things were amiss. First, I didn’t truly feel Mabel’s chemistry with Asher. It was completely clear he was slotted with her, but she struggled with her feelings. At the end when she chooses Asher, it just didn’t feel real. It was sudden and out of place. A few chapter in between the dance scene and the end would have helped build this up.

It also feels flat in a few areas. I know I said some additional chapters would help, but there were times I thought it was too long and more could have been happening.

Since this timeline crosses over some of the other novels in this collection, it makes sense that we see some scenes again but from a different perspective. However, it does get repetitive and expected. I really don’t want to see Drench the Defense (or whatever it is called) again. Please, I beg you.

I do love this series and plan on continuing with it. I hope the rest are a bit more creative.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

In this “grumpy/sunshine” romance, Mabel is the grumpy one. She’s downright prickly, partially due to her relationship with her mother, town gossip Mary Ellen McCluskey. Mabel has always felt like her mother is too busy doing good for the town to really engage with her, and she’s not pleased to be returning to town to do a feature on the Ice Breakers.

I’d always pictured Mary Ellen as a little more elderly, and that’s definitely her vibe in the hands of other authors. In this case she has recently married Murry, whom we first met as a janitor in Penalties and Proposals, and who’s kindness and wisdom I had appreciated in that book. He’s just as kind and wise, only now he’s the arena manager for the team.

When Mabel first meets Asher, she’s cranky and even mad at him—only to find out that he’s one of the players she’ll be interviewing.

Asher is a total golden retriever happy guy—with obsessive compulsive disorder. Although it is not the focus of this book, how he deals with it is important, as is Mabel’s compassionate acceptance and understanding of his condition. I really liked this element of the story. It wasn’t a surprise; we learned about it in the previous book and see it developed much more here.

This is particularly crucial when Asher inadvertently causes a fight that leads to hospitalization of the goalie. He completely blames himself and spirals, and the way Mabel helps him through is very sweet.

There is almost a third-act breakup when Mabel has the opportunity to return to a job in New York that she had been fired from. Asher doesn’t want her to go, but he’s not willing to stand in her way—leading to Mabel being the one to make a grand gesture. I love this! It’s usually left to the male character, so seeing Mabel do this was really satisfying.

There’s an indication of something with the goalie that we’ll have to wait a couple of books to see developed.

There is a small continuity error in saying that Cade came to the Ice Breakers from Chicago. He came from New York. I do kind of question Mabel having several weeks in Maple Falls to work on a single story.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Mabel gives a “one-finger salute”. Kissing. Some hockey-related fisticuffs. Mention of a past injury which causes someone to become paraplegic.

Who might like this book:
If you like witty banter, humor, hockey, and romance, here you go!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

#NetGalley #BookReview #Biblioquacious #RomCom #Hockey #GrumpySunshine #OCD #ForcedProximity #KateOKeeffe #CheckingMrWrong

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2025/08/welcome-back-to-maple-falls.html