Must Love Dogs...and Hockey

You can’t go wrong with hunky hockey players & cute dogs! I really enjoyed watching Easton & Lilly slowly fall for each other when the last thing they want is attachments. Everything evolved at a nice pace & Otis the dog was an adorable scene stealer. Kelly Jamieson is a new to me author & I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

Hockey is all I’ve ever known. It’s my life and I love playing, however, our coach has been on my case lately and all I want to do is lash out at him. My anger is what got me traded here in the first place, I have to make sure I keep my cool. It’s not just me he’s yelling at, it’s all of us. When we lose a game, he throws clipboards at us, continuously yells, kicks equipment in the locker room, this is not the way you want to motivate any team! One of my teammates lives in the same building as I do. While we wait for the elevator, a woman gets in and she has a dog on a leash, except the doors close and the dog is on the outside. I jump to save the poor animal and between my friend and I we manage to take off his collar. Eventually she returns and says she can’t deal with taking care of the dog anymore and walks out! My friend and I look at each other, wondering what to do. I’m the one that eventually takes him up and figures this will all work out tomorrow when someone is missing a dog. Except no one does. For now he’s mine. Otis, as I now call him, tries to befriend another pup, except in his exuberance, the owner of that dog thinks they are fighting. Come to find out, she’s a dog walker and a beautiful one at that! I hire Lilly instantly, and explain my predicament. This is going to work out great, hopefully she’ll also go out with me. When I run into Easton, his dog attacks the one I’m walking. Well, I do find out that Otis is just not trained and he was trying to be friendly. It’s a good thing this happened since I just lost my job and I’m having to resort to dog walking in order to pay my rent and eat. Until I can find another job in my field, hopefully I can expand my services and get more pups to take care of. I don’t want to mix business with pleasure, but it’s getting harder to say no every time Easton asks me out. I’ve never felt this chemistry with anyone else. When we both agree to go with our feelings and not label it as a relationship, I’m sure it will all work out. Except feelings have a funny way of creeping in when you last expect them to. I love anything that Kelly Jamieson write. I received a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Dogs + Hockey... what’s not to love? I love how Lilly doesn’t immediately fall for the charming and attractive hockey player. She is tough and isn’t the annoying, giggly girl that falls head over heels for the guy. She pushes back and doesn’t have time or the patience to dealing with someone flirting with her. Easton has a pup land in his lap due to weird circumstances and this dog just melts my heart on how attached he is in no time 🥰. My first opinion was that Lilly makes Easton off his “game” which turns his come ons into cheesy lines but more they talk the more I notice he is just a tad awkward. It is kind of cute that made me crack a smile and shake my head at him. Lilly and Easton have some struggles in life that seems to help them relate to each other more to form a more secure friendship/relationship. This brings them together yet causes their strain at the same time. There was a couple inconsistency that threw me off and dialogue is a bit repetitive but the story to me felt strong and kept me intrigued. When I got to the Epilogue, I felt it was missing the end. It just suddenly dropped off. Maybe that was the author’s way of trying to open up into maybe another book after this to continue but I really felt there could have been more to complete that still would have brought you interest in continuing to another book. This part was just slightly disappointing. I honestly struggled to decide to give this a 3 or 4 star review based on the negatives in this book. I felt 4 stars because overall even with the couple things that bothered me, I was hooked on this book. Overall I really enjoyed this storyline, there was a lot of enjoyable adventures with these two along with the other great character. I received this ARC by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. The opinion given is mine alone and not influenced by anyone else.

This was super cute and I loved this couple. I also loved that Otis, the dog was a big part of Easton and Lilly's story. He had a huge personality and was the glue that kept these two anti-relationship people together. Now usually the anti-realationship characters are not my favorite. However, Kelly Jamieson wrote this couple in a way that avoided what I don't like about them, mainly not getting to see them together very much. This was the opposite. We got really good couple time with these two and they were just genuinely fun characters to read about. I also really loved how this ended. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I highly recommend this for when you are in the mood for a really cute story.

Loved Must Love Dogs...and Hockey!! Lily & Easton are just the cutest & watching their love story unfold was so sweet.... and sexy!! Kelly Jamieson is a favorite author of mine & Must Love Dogs...and Hockey was one of my favorites. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this first book in this new hockey romance series by Kelly Jamieson. I just know we will meet so many lovable heroes and heroines as we always do in her books. We even get a new team to fall in love with here, the New York Bears. And first up is Easton, a cocky but lovable hockey player. He has a good core group of buddies on his team. The team has its struggles but they also have a nasty coach which ends up being a pretty significant issue for Easton. He meets Lilly thanks to the antics of a little dog he suddenly finds himself taking care of. A dog he ends up keeping, despite being gone all the time, and naming Otis. Otis is adorable and very good for Easton. Lilly is looking for a new purpose. She has just gone through quite an ordeal in her previous career and still is. She ends up helping Easton out with Otis which leads to so much more. More work for her, dog sitting and dog walking, and more between her and Easton too. I love how their relationship develops and honestly just love their whole story, especially how they support each other with what is going on in their lives. It isn’t always easy and they have some hiccups for sure. They deal with some pretty serious real world issues too. It’s great to have someone on your corner when you need it and Lilly and Easton give each other strength and end up being perfect for each other and exactly who the other needed. And little Otis was the best thing to happen to them. I was also very excited to hear a familiar name at the end of the book and now I really can’t wait for more of this new team!!

As usual, Ms Jamieson doesn’t disappoint. She writes some of the best hockey romances that are out there and this one is no different. She captures the players and the team camaraderie and dedication. Her female leads are not meek and mild, they have dreams of their own. Easton and Lilly were no different. They each had their own issues and problems to deal with, and a relationship of any kind wasn’t in the cards. Who knew that they were meant for each other and that Otis would be the catalyst to get them together, especially with the circumstances that brought Otis and Easton together. And, as a bonus, we have a whole new team to root for!

This was a fantastic start to the New York City Bears Hockey series! Kelly Jamieson always brings it, but she swept me away with this hockey romance. And Otis absolutely charmed me, as well as stealing the entire show. Written with such warmth and filled with emotion. So palpable her characters sneak into your heart and stay for a long time. A great book to lift your spirit and entertain and touch your soul. You don’t want to miss this one!