Big Stick Energy - Sarina Bowen

A terrific MF hockey romance from Sarina Bowen, between Darcy Kendrick, the GM’s assistant and Eric Tremaine, the captain of the NY Legends.

The meet-cute is hilarious when Darcy sends a fantasy text about Eric straight to him, instead of her bestie. Eric thinks it’s charming, and just like that, he starts to really notice her. Darcy has been noticing him for years, but she’s as wary as she is smitten. On the face of it, there is not much conflict between these two lovely people, but dig a bit deeper, and it's very tricky. They both have messy and complicated family situations which are not only necessary for them to navigate, but have impacted on how they view the world. They agree to help each other out at an upcoming mutual family wedding and things get steamy very quickly.

Eric loves the ladies, but avoids commitment so he is essentially clueless when he gets feelings for Darcy. Unluckily he doesn’t express that very well, so Darcy is supercautious. Throw in a significant power imbalance – he has a multi-million dollar contract, she assists the GM – and Darcy is right to be guarded.

I love all Sarina’s books, especially her hockey stories. What makes her writing stand out is the detailed character work that makes Darcy and Eric relatable and vivid. They are both sunshiney people-pleasers, which is amped up by their family situations. There are no major comeuppance moments, even with all their family drama, just a lovely happily-ever-after where they learn how to date and consistently choose each other.

Thank you Sarina Bowen and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the ARC. Opinions are my own.