What the Puck is Up With
Hockey Romance?

by Charlotte Brandman

If you’ve been on Book-Tok for even a millisecond, you’ve run into a hockey romance book. They’re all over my TikTok For You Page and at first, I didn’t get the appeal either. Really? Another sports romance genre? What’s the difference, the male protagonist can skate? But trust me, there’s a difference… and the skating aspect is just one of them.

Something you’ll learn about me through reading my blog posts is how much I love a good height difference. That’s why I always enjoy a basketball romance: the male protagonists tend to be unreasonably tall and the girls are always shorter than average (chef’s kiss for predictability). So, naturally—as someone who has never even stepped foot in a hockey rink—I didn’t realize that hockey players were significantly taller than the average male. And, get this - they’re huge. Like, football players-huge-massive backs-huge thighs huge. And that makes for a mouth-watering first impression from our female protagonist.

But more than just the height difference, there is something so appealing about a big, scary hockey player being a secret softie. That aspect of the scary-ice-hockey-player to the cute-adorable-sappy-man pipeline is lacking in other sports romance genres. Add a feisty female protagonist who doesn’t take any bullshit and you have yourself a hit romance novel.

So, now that I’ve convinced you that there’s a reason to read a hockey romance book, where do you start? Like with every sub-genre within the romance genre, there are classics - the go-tos for Book-Tokers and bloggers alike. In the hockey genre, I would recommend Icebreaker by Hannah Grace as your “Intro. to Hockey Romance” novel. I know, it’s an obvious choice. Not only did it blow up on Book-Tok, but it’s the perfect rivals-to-lovers story with a competitive figure skater and the captain of the collegiate hockey team. Anastasia Allen is on her way to the Olympics with her pretentious skating partner, Aaron, when she starts hooking up with Nate Hawkins, the University of California, Maple Hills hockey captain. Turns out, he’s a sweetheart and Anastasia has a hard time staying away from him which makes for the perfect story. Another twist? Aaron does some major blackmailing and throws a wrench in their love story. I promise there’s enough drama to fill your entire week with gossip.

I will say, though, Icebreaker only features white characters. So, if you’re like me, a woman of color who wants to see other women of color represented in her books, I’ve got a second starter recommendation for you: Mile High by Liz Tomforde. Mile High is another hockey romance between Evan Zanders (Zee), assistant captain of the Chicago Raptors, and Stevie Shay, a new permanent flight attendant aboard the team’s private jet. Safe to say, there is plenty of forced proximity.

The irony is, they never join the mile-high club in this book. I feel like that was a missed opportunity on Tomforde’s part, but I promise there are plenty of other intimate scenes that will make this worth the read. This book is also the first in a developing series, the second being The Right Move and the third one, Caught Up. I’ve already read The Right Move and it’s safe to say it exceeded my expectations. It is a basketball romance (I know, horrible timing for this blog post) but I promise it will woo you the same way these hockey recommendations will. And Caught Up? A single dad who has a track record of firing his nannies… until he meets Miller. I’m already invested. And just in case I haven’t convinced you with the series, Liz Tomforde writes incredible spicy scenes.

Whoof. I’m already sweating.

On that note, I hope I’ve thoroughly convinced you to take up ice skating in your free time to woo a hockey player. If not, what are you waiting for?! As for me, I’ve been trying to convince my girlfriend to take up competitive ice hockey but she keeps refusing to change professions. In the meantime, hopefully, one of you will fulfill our shared hockey player dreams.

See you next read,

Charlotte

Photograph: Pinterest

What the Puck is Up With Hockey Romance?