4 SMOOCHES!
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SYNOPSIS:
Fake dating a hockey player for Christmas wasn’t on my bingo card.
Clare Johnson’s job is handling PR for the Dallas Stampede—not getting tangled up with one of the players. But when Mitchell Drake—charming forward, fan favorite, and very off-limits—asks her to pose as his girlfriend for one week in small-town Minnesota, she reluctantly agrees. What’s the worst that could happen?
Mitchell’s had six months to get over his very public broken engagement, and his family is done waiting. The last thing he needs is pitying smiles and whispered gossip. Clare is smart, sharp, and strong enough to hold her own with both fans and family—the perfect fake girlfriend.
But holiday lights and snowy nights have a way of blurring the line between pretend and real. Clare fits too easily into his world—bonding with his grandma, winning at pond hockey, and looking unfairly good in his flannel. The more time they spend together, the less fake it feels.
Full of small-town holiday magic, meddling relatives, and sizzling chemistry, Checking It Twice is a hockey romance about second chances and falling in love when you least expect it. Perfect for fans of fake dating, one-bed tension, forced proximity, and happily-ever-afters wrapped in Christmas lights.
Because sometimes the best gifts aren’t under the tree—they’re standing right in front of you.
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REVIEW:
The third book in Kendall Ryan’s Must Love Hockey series, Checking It Twice was a swoon-worthy holiday hockey romance that wrapped fake dating, forced proximity and a reformed bad boy into an irresistibly festive package. When Mitchell, a pro hockey player with a notorious playboy reputation, was forced to team up with Clare, his team’s no-nonsense PR manager, to rehabilitate his image, their trip to his hometown for the holidays blurred all the lines.
Ryan masterfully built the tension as a shared bed, a meddling family and that small-town holiday charm worked their magic to transform their fake relationship into something startlingly real. The magnetic chemistry between them simmered beneath witty banter and tender moments, creating a slow-burn romance that was as heartwarming as it was hot. Told with Ryan’s signature engaging and entertaining style, this story was an addictive mix of Christmas cheer and sizzling attraction! Four smooches from me for Checking It Twice by Kendall Ryan!
~Danielle Palumbo
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