I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Can't Always Get What You Want Series: Houston Baddies Hockey #2 by Sara Ney
on June 2, 2025
Genres: Adult Sports Romance
Pages: 408
Source: the author
Format: E-galley
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Also in this series: Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Also by this author: The Learning Hours , The Coaching Hours , Jock Row
My Rating:
Blurb:
Next from USA Today Bestselling Author Sara Ney is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud romp packed with sizzling chemistry, sharp banter, and a no-strings fling that’s about to break all the rules. The follow up to Hit Me With Your Best Shot will leave you wanting more… There are two sacred rules in the Montagalo
Family comes first. Don’t date my brother’s teammates. Of course I went and broke both… It started with a little banter on a dating app. A teeny, tiny Flirty messages with Luca Babineaux, the sweet, charming—and stupidly attractive forward on the Houston Baddies—who makes sweat and bruises look so f’ing hot. One spark turns into a secret first date. A few kisses become way more.
Now I’m tangled in a full-blown secret romance and every time Gio walks into the room, I have a full-blown anxiety attack.
Dating in secret? Thrilling. Lying to my brother? Exhausting. Falling for Luca Babineaux obviously wasn’t part of the game plan. It never is, is it? He wants to go public with our relationship. I’d rather not.
Now I have to decide what matters keeping my promises to my dumb, overprotective brother…or choose myself for once.
All’s fair in love and hockey. Right?
My Review
The first book in this new series, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, came out last year and I was eager to read about Gio’s sister getting her own HEA. Luca was a total sweetie with a fun banter game. There was the usual thing you get in a story where the love interest is on a team with a brother. Gio has told all his teammates that his sister Nova is off limits. And of course he’s told her to stay away from them as well.
The match on the dating app starts the whole relationship with some fun back and forth and a first meet up that is a NON date. At the Rainforest Cafe. Do they still have those? Those were always fun to take kids to back when they had them here. A second date starts at a grocery store with an “accidental” meet-up, followed by going back and cooking at Nova’s place.
So most of this is keeping the romance a secret, which means both from her brother, but also obviously from everyone because if a picture got out to the press, of course her brother would find out. This would also be a he falls first story, as he is the first one to say it and really is ready to show it and tell her brother and get it out in the open. It is understandable why Nova is unsure about going further based on her past relationships, as well as what happened to her and Gio’s parents. There was a little bit about Luca’s family in the story too, so it is also easy to see why he is at first a little hesitant, even if he gets over it pretty quickly.
Like pretty much every other story by this author, once the story gets steamy, we get a lot of that, almost always just right there on the page, so if that’s not your thing, this might not be for you. I’m also noticing that this latest series has completely different types of guys than her earlier series had. I mean I guess when you look at the series title from before, D-bag, you kind of get that, lol. And while I do love a guy like this, I also have a little trouble with this many guys being softies and not at all like you’d expect the ego of a pro-hockey player/athlete to be? It’s almost a little too easy for me? I also would have liked a little more of Luca’s background maybe? I don’t know if I missed it maybe, but I’d have loved some more on him like we got from Gio and Nova’s side.
I am really enjoying this series though, love this hockey team and am very excited to see Nova’s best friend Poppy’s story coming in book 3!
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It sounds like you enjoyed this one. It might be a bit too steamy for me though. Nice review, Lisa.
Yeah, I would definitely think it might be. That’s why I’m adding the spice rating for people who the story sounds good but I know they won’t care for that bit. 🙂
I’ve tried an earlier Sara Ney and the banter was hilarious. I meant to pick up more of hers. Sounds like even with the new types of guys, that the flirty moments are still present. I never noticed the high steam, but then again, I skim most sex scenes after the first encounter. 😉
Yeah, I kind of skip past the sex scenes after the first one too for most books these days.
Glad you seemed to enjoy this one. I appreciate when a follow up is as good as you anticipate it to be. I like Hockey romances, might add this to the TBR – thanks for sharing
It was good, I’m a little bit missing some of the angst she had in her other books, though!
Sounds good! I’ve enjoyed some hockey romances.
This new series from Ney is a cute read.