ARC Review: Puck the Halls (The Chicago Hawks Hockey Series #0.5) by Mariah Jolie
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Series: The Chicago Hawks Hockey Series #0.5
Author: Mariah Jolie
Published December 8th 2025
Goodreads Synopsis
Sadie has two rules:
#1 Never date a hockey player.
#2 If you accidentally break rule one, run.
Too bad Liam Stonemore, Chicago’s golden boy and walking sin in skates, doesn’t take rules seriously.
When a gossip-hungry reporter corners him about his “womanizing ways,” he does the unthinkable… points to Sadie and calls her his girlfriend.
Now the cynical bartender who swore off athletes is stuck fake-dating the league’s most charming disaster through the holidays.
He needs a wholesome image.
She needs a foot in the door of her dream job with the Hawks’ medical staff.
It’s the perfect deal—until late-night texts, Christmas galas, and one very real kiss blur every line between pretend and too-damn-real.
She’s still haunted by the hockey player who broke her.
He’s still nursing scars no one can see.
But when the lights fade and the world stops watching, there’s no faking the heat between them.
Because this Christmas, she might just break her own rule…
and fall for a man she swore she’d never touch.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via BookSirens. This in no way impacted on my view.
Sadie has more than had her fill of hockey player's, and when that previous romance crashed and burned, she swore she would do anything to avoid getting into a similar situation. Working two jobs to make ends meet, all she wants is to work as a sports physical therapist, but it's hard to get into the industry, even with the qualifications. When bad boy hockey player, Liam Stonemore walks up to her and offers a deal - be his fake girlfriend to get the press off his back, and he'll give her an in with the Chicago Hawks team - she doesn't want to say yes, but something about him makes her let down her walls, slightly.
I've loved all of Mariah's books that I've read, and have newly discovered a love of hockey romances, so this was bound to be a good one. Sadie and Liam both had really well written backstories, and I appreciated the way they delved into their past traumas in a safe way. Sadie's ex had also been a player for the Chicago Hawks, so that was a hurdle to overcome, but when he turned abusive, she found the strength to go to the press and show the world just what type of man he was - which in turn destroyed his career, and her chances. She found it hard to trust Liam at first, but he proved time and time again that he was not like her ex, and he was in the romance completely. I liked that the conflict wasn't really much more than a bump in the road for them, and they came together to overcome it all. The epilogue was really sweet, and definitely whet the appetite for the next book.
Dates Read:
November 29-30, 2025
Rating
4 Stars
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