A trio of seasonal goodies featuring hot hockey players getting their happily-ever-afters during the holidays. Includes a brand-new Chicago Rebels story!
Instacrush
Hockey player Theo thinks his prickly neighbor despises him. One chilly Christmas Eve, he’ll learn that maybe the girl next door isn’t such a hater after all . . .
Rebel Yule
Chicago Rebels tender Erik can’t understand why Casey in the front office won’t give him the time of day. At the team’s holiday party, he’s determined to uncover the root of their mysterious conflict and show this woman that goalkeepers do their best work . . . on their knees.
Holly Jolly Rebel
A brand-new holiday short story! Fast forward a few years to check in with Theo, Elle, and their boisterous brood. The Kershaws are about to celebrate the season, but a surprise is waiting in their Christmas stockings . . .
Instacrush (83k words) and Rebel Yule (40k words) are previously published and separately available. Holly Jolly Rebel (12k words) is brand new. This steamy collection of hot hockey romances is available for a limited time.
Review:
(I’ve already read and reviewed the first 2 books, so a slightly condensed version of their original reviews are here and I’ve added a review for the new-to-us short story at the end)
Instacrush
SUPERGLUTES’ STORY!!!
Normally, I’m not a fan of all-caps-shouty-like writing, or of excessive punctuation, but trust me–Theo deserves all that and more 🙂
I mean, he was a ton of fun in Levi’s book ( Good Guy ), but here in his own? In all of his live-Instagramming, special pants to fit his hockey butt-wearing, putting up with his kind of crazy grandma, and sexy bantering with Elle-oh-Elle Butler glory? It’s magic!
Elle–aka Sargent Cupcake–was pretty wonderful too, keeping Theo’s ego in check (while secretly binging on his IG feed, and maybe becoming a little too attached to his glutes…and lats…and abs…and pecs…) and giving just as good as she gets throughout. Together? They make magic…and maybe a little something else 😉
Instacrush isn’t all sexy banter, though. Both Theo and Elle had past/family issues that they need to work though individually before they can really be a couple. Even though their actual experiences growing up were drastically different, they have some really similar issues, including doubting their worthiness and lovability. I liked how Kate Meader had them work through their problems, resolving them realistically and not always taking the story in directions that might have made her job easier but instead choosing ones that made her characters do the work.
Because that ending? Made everything that went before it worth it!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
Rebel Yule
I loved Erik and Casey’s story!
The tension between the two has been apparent in a few books (she, who is nice to everyone, won’t give him the time of day; he’s apparently baffled) and it was so satisfying to finally find out why and watch them as they moved toward their HEA. (If you haven’t read the other books in the series yet, though, this should work fine as a standalone, too–if you have, you’re going to love seeing all the Rebels as they celebrate the holidays!)
Ms Meader did her homework on this one–the reason behind the conflict is a good one, and one I haven’t seen used in that context before. That, combined with the other character’s personal issues, makes these two a couple I absolutely had to see end up together–otherwise it would have been too heartbreaking to bear. All of the Swedish holiday traditions that Erik shared with Casey added an extra layer of fun–and OMG, that epilogue! <3
Rating: 4 stars / A-
Holly Jolly Rebel
So much holiday fun in this one! We revisit Superglutes and Elle mostly–their family is OTT fun, of course–and get ready for the next series, which will be a new generation of rebels. I’m not going to say more than that, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I am more than ready to continue reading anything and everything that Ms Meader wants to give us in this universe!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
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