Head Coach: A Hellions Hockey Romance

Lia Riley’s HEAD COACH is top-shelf. Sports reporter Neve Angel and Hellions’ head coach Tor Gunnar are nemesis. However, a game of air hockey might change it all. This contemporary sports romance is suitable for adult audiences. The story takes place in Colorado. I looked forward to reading Neve’s and Tor’s story ever since book one, MISTER HOCKEY. The two have an interesting relationship, enemies that are attracted to each other. The plot was clever and believable. There were a lot of interesting twists throughout the story. I liked the wedding aspect of the novel. I love when Neve went dress shopping. Kendall was just what she needed. I thought the traffic app aspect was smart. The moose was entertaining. Lia Riley does a great job with her character development. Neve is smart and feisty. She has some self-esteem issues. Tor is a good man and father. He is reasonable. He is usually good at reading people. I like that Neve and Tor always respected each other. Both love their jobs and realize that a relationship between the two could cause a conflict of interest. I like how the story ended. It felt well concluded. Because of the tidbits told about Patrick Donnelly that happened in this book, I cannot wait for book three, VIRGIN TERRITORY, to hear his story. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

I love Lia Riley books for the escape factor – it’s easy to jump in and read just to hide away from the chaos of the world around you. In Head Coach, we are reintroduced to Tor, the head coach of the Hellion’s Angels hockey team, friend of Jed (Mr. Hockey) and not a fan of the dance coaches are expected to do with the media. In fact, if he could burn all the press passes in the arena – he would do that just to avoid talking with them. In particular, he’s frustrated and flummoxed by one particular sports writer who just happens to be the sister of his friend’s girl: Neve. Neve has worked her entire life (and works hard) to prove herself as a sports journalist. She researches exhaustively, and as a lifetime fan of the Hellions, she seems always to ask the questions that no one else does, much to Tor’s disgust and discomfiture. The two have poked and prodded at one another for years, and a lost bet leads Tor to invite her as his plus one to an out of town wedding. With the two away from their jobs and the necessary back and forth – things heat up spectacularly – even though neither is looking for anything more than that weekend. It’s back to normal as they both try to deny the undeniable: resulting in several memories that heat up even the most cold-hearted. Full of the things that makes a Riley book fun: Tor’s change into smutty talking, all alpha male and Neve’s enjoyment of being ‘that woman’ for only a weekend has to be enough. Or is it? If you like the fun of a Lia Riley book with the lack of drama and angst as everyone rethinks everything rather than going down the path destined for them to follow – you’ll enjoy this book with a side of ice water! I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Good read , I enjoyed all books in this series.