Weekly Reads: December 29, 2025 to January 4, 2026

Hat Trick by Chelsea Curto (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 4 of the DC Stars series. Starting with a total downer here when hockey player Riley gets injured in a car accident and loses his right leg. We get a story of his progression through grief and rehabilitation, with athletic trainer Lexi by his side. Of course, he’s always had a crush on Lexi and she’s a total commitment-phobe, but let’s be real here, they will most definitely fall in love. I loved the slow burn process of building their trust and friendship and then the slow dance into a physical relationship. I like how they team up together to work on Riley’s physical training and how supportive Lexi is. Plus, Riley has his own ways of impressing Lexi.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Sin Bin by Chelsea Curto (2025)

Contemporary romance. Book 5 of the DC Stars series. Timeline overlaps a little bit with Hat Trick and starts with a one night stand between hockey coach Brody and his player’s sister Hannah. Things get interrupted, but it’s a reminder for Brody to keep things professional and his distance. But then a year and a half later, his daughter needs a new figure skating coach and Hannah is available for the job. They rekindle their acquaintanceship and so much more. Even with the age gap between Brody and Hannah, you don’t feel it at all. These are clearly two mature and consenting adults here who are falling into more than just lust. Loved it.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

My January Duke by Kate Bateman (2026)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Rake Review, Season Two series. Novella that takes places in the same universe as the Her Majesty’s Rebels series. Olivia has just buried her father, found herself in a heap of debt, and suddenly being rescued by her friend’s older brother and longtime crush Devlin. He’s kind of offering a marriage of convenience or a marriage of lust, but she’s hesitant since she’s been in love with him for many years and doesn’t want to commit to something that’ll break her heart later. What’s interesting about this book is that you don’t get Devlin’s point of view until at least halfway through the book, and it’s all fairly typical motivations once we hear about it. Easy breezy straightforward historical romance read.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.

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Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. If traveling gives you anxiety, this book isn’t for you because everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Ada is on her way to her sister’s destination wedding in Ireland, but her flight gets cancelled, she is low on funds, and has no place to stay. She meets a nice handsome stranger named Jack along the way, only to find out that he’s actually the best man at the wedding, and she’s probably supposed to hate him. It’s a lot of arguing and bickering through their road trip from London to Belfast, with some minor flirting along the way. Mostly made me anxious, wondering what catastrophe would strike next.

Ebook and audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

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Time to Shine by Rachel Reid (2023)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Mostly fluffy and super cute. Landon is the newbie on the Calgary team and the very outgoing Casey invites him to stay at his house instead of finding his own place because he’s got the room anyway. Well, actually Casey is afraid of the dark and living alone, but no one talks about that. We’ve got a grumpy-sunshine romance here that is an absolute delight to read. Teammates to friends to roommates to lovers and they fit so perfectly together. Loved it.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid (2025)

Contemporary romance. Standalone novel. Wow, this one will rip your heart out. Adam and Riley haven’t spoken to each other in about 12 years, when Adam suddenly shows up at Riley’s dad’s funeral. Bad timing man. They also had a teammates, roommates, friends with benefits thing going on back when they played hockey together, except it was only when Adam was drunk enough and he definitely did not fall in love the way that Riley did. We get a few heartbreaking flashbacks mixed in with Adam’s present-day redemption scheme. Everyone’s skittish and wary here, because Adam seriously broke Riley’s heart and I am skeptical too. But feelings are feelings and totally undeniable in this romance novel setting. It’s pretty much a small-town second chance romance here, no one plays hockey anymore, and Adam is actually divorced to his wife because he realized he was gay. Duh. Full of angst, so you have to be in the right headspace for this one.

Ebook accessed from Kindle Unlimited.