The Pucking Bet
A Fake Dating, College Hockey, He Falls First Romance (Defenders Diaries)
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The Pucking Bet
Buy Now for £15.32
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Narrated by:
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Shane Martinez
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Clinton Woodhams
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By:
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A J Summers
It was supposed to be simple.
Fake date campus hockey royalty to make my long-time crush look my way.
Enter Kieran O’Connor—star winger and campus legend.
Devastating good looks. Cocky dialed to eleven. The kind of guy who always gets what he wants.
He needs help passing a class. I need a fake boyfriend.
We make a deal.
I write the rules in permanent marker: no touching, no kissing, no feelings.
But Kieran O’Connor doesn’t do rules.
His grin is a blade.
His hands? Pure trouble.
Somewhere between late-night problem sets and his number stretched across my shoulders, I forget we’re pretending.
Then I find out the truth.
The bet he agreed to.
Make the tutor fall for the golden boy.
He thought it was a game.
He didn’t think he’d get burned.
And if Kieran O’Connor wants me back,
he’ll have to skate through everything he set on fire —
and prove he knows how to earn what he broke.
A fake dating, college hockey romance where the most wanted man on campus falls first—and falls hard—for the underestimated girl who refuses to be anyone’s prize.
©2026 Attraction Publishing (P)2026 Attraction PublishingContinue the series
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Fabulous
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The narrators performed the various roles beautifully with emotion, passion, and pizzazz. Their voices are easy to listen to and smooth in presentation, keeping the story moving along nicely. I loved the cameos from the Defenders and their ladies, the brief glimpses into the future, and the growth arc of Kieran’s character was well-played. There are some triggering moments in this one for sure, but it is well worth the read/listen.
Wow! Relevant & Well-Written!
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The first quarter of the book was particularly rough. The pacing was painfully slow, the characters failed to grab my attention, and the dialogue often felt repetitive. Honestly, I came very close to making this a DNF. It seemed like the story was spinning its wheels rather than building meaningful momentum, and I struggled to understand why so much time was being devoted to scenes that added very little to the overall plot.
Thankfully, things did improve once the story found its footing. The chemistry between the main characters became more believable, the emotional stakes increased, and I started to become invested in the outcome of their relationship. The character development was stronger in the second half, and there were genuine moments of sweetness and humour that reminded me why I enjoy sports romances in the first place.
One aspect that stood out, though not always in a positive way, was the constant emphasis on consent. Don't get me wrong, clear communication and consent are incredibly important in romance, and I appreciate authors making that a priority. However, in Pucking Bet, it often felt like the narrative was stopping repeatedly to underline the same point. Instead of feeling natural and integrated into the relationship, the discussions became so frequent that they occasionally pulled me out of the story. After a while, it started to feel less like character interaction and more like the author repeatedly reminding the reader of the same message.
The audiobook narration itself was solid and helped carry me through the slower sections, but it couldn't completely overcome the bloated runtime. This is a book that probably would have benefited from tighter editing. Trimming even a few hours' worth of repetitive scenes and dialogue would have made for a much stronger experience.
Overall, Pucking Bet ended up being better than I feared after that difficult opening section, but it never fully justified its length. While the romance improved considerably as the story progressed, the excessive runtime, and repetitive consent discussions, kept it from being a standout read for me.
Not a complete miss, but definitely a book that required patience and could have been significantly stronger with stricter editing and a faster start.
Hard read
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A must read for any hockey romance fan.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A must read for any hockey romance fan
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Listener received this title free
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Tender, emotional and worth the read
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