Just Don’t Call It Love

Bayou Blades series

by Erin Nicholas

Blurb:

Welcome to Rebel, Louisiana—where the humidity feels personal, even the otters hold grudges, and chaos is a competitive sport.

I used to play hockey in sold-out arenas. Now my wrecked knee and I are stuck in a little bayou town that’s been mad at me for a year. I need a big comeback–and ZERO drama.

So first thing, I get tackled at the airport by a sunshiny woman in yellow overalls who’s thwarting my kidnapping… by her grandpas.

That’s Nora Delaune—Parks & Rec director, caffeine-powered menace, and the only person in Rebel willing to give me a chance. She needs me to win games and help save the town’s ice arena before it gets turned into a laser-tag nightmare.

And I… kind of like being needed by her. Even when she’s producing a singing, dancing, wig-wearing ice extravaganza that is definitely not hockey.

Then my sister—the team’s new owner—drops the bomb: if Nora and I “date,” the town might stop hating me.

Fine. We’ll fake it. As long as we don’t call it love.

But between late-night practices, the sugar-addicted swamp-werewolf mascot, otter drama, and the way Nora looks at me like I’m worth rooting for…I’m in trouble.

I came to Rebel to rebuild my career.

I didn’t expect to lose my heart doing it.

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄𝙩 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘧-𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺-𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘧𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳!

https://a.co/d/7ZjG02A

Available in KU

*****

Review:

This was such a fun read. Nicholas’s books are always full of humor and quirkiness and small town eccentricities. Throw in a hockey game based off of the zaniness of Banana Ball and it’s a win for me! Readers will need to be OK with what is basically insta-love because the whole book is about a week long 🙂 But that doesn’t keep it from being an enjoyable reader.

Nora is very dedicated to her hometown and she has her reasons for wanting to keep everyone happy & to stay in Rebel. It’s complicated but born of love and is handled in a way that totally works. Alex has his own troubles. He’s basically only ever been wanted or needed because of hockey. Finding himself cut from his team leaves him struggling. But time spent with Nora and the rest of the citizens in Rebel has him looking at life a little differently.

From the the very first page, I was hooked. Goofiness mixed with heart is a hallmark of Nicholas’s stories and she brings it in spades. Returning readers will recognize some of their favorite characters but there’s lots of new ones to fall in love with too. From Otter Club to bonkers hockey, Just Don’t Call It Love is all rom-commy fun with a HEA and a glimpse of what’s to come.

*****

Author Info:

Erin Nicholas is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over sixty sexy contemporary romances and rom coms. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy, and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).

https://www.instagram.com/erinnicholasbooks/