If I’m being honest the first sentence had me with this book, loved it!  The banter was so cute, I loved how they began, the stealing a sign was such an iconic moment and I’m a sucker for the sunshine character that has anxiety and depression; the character depth to accomplish that is really nice to see.

In general all the queer rep and mental health representation was on point.

It wasn’t until the 63% mark that things kinda fell flat for me.  The characters felt more telling than showing and the plot got too cliché for my taste.  A lot of the drama near this point and to the end was extremely predictable and I just couldn’t get back into it.

Most of the things that happened near the end just felt rushed and lacking whatever charm it had in the first part of the book.

Thank you to the author, Canary Street Press, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for a eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✓ Artist MC

✓ Hockey Player MC

✓ Third Act Breakup

✓ Grumpy x Sunshine

✓ Black Cat x Golden Retriever 

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Sad Level: 💧

Plot: 4/10

Pace: 5/10

Ending: 3/10

Characters: 7/10

Enjoyability: 4/10

Writing Style: 3/10

Would I Recommend? Maybe

Favorite Character: Jaylen

Favorite Quote: ❝ Wait until you see the jerseys tonight for Pride night in action. It's going to be like if the Care Bears were violent. ❞ - Jaylen

POV: Duel, First Point of View

Pages: 304

Format: eBook 

Language: English 

Release Date: 11, March 2025

Rep/Extras: LGBTQIA+ Characters, Mental Health Rep, BIPOC Characters