Only One Kiss: 1

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you know that Natasha is one of my go to authors. Everything she writes is golden, but there are two things she really excels at, Hockey romance and turning hated characters into beloved ones. This story combines both of those.Far away from New York and the Stone Family, we find ourselves in Dallas where the Oilers have been taken over by the youngest owner in the history of the NHL who is determined to throw out old school and bring together a team of über talented players, one of those being Ralph. He’s a single Dad struggling balancing his professional life with being the best father he can be for his adorable baby daughter Ariella, keeping up with his social media is just one step too far. When he is told he needs to get on that or he will start to lose his sponsorships, he’s introduced to Candace, who he is immediately attracted to, but scars from his past prevent him from doing anything about it to begin with.You may remember Candace from my man Evan’s book, she’s his sister, who was cruel and disrespectful to Zara as his relationship with her grew, even going so far as to push Evan’s ex into the mix to try and break the pair up. In this story, we meet a very different Candace, all is forgiven for her previous behaviour and she is as close as can be to Zara and the Stone family, and a wonderful aunt to Evan and Zara’s daughter Zoe. Candace has been doing her brother’s social media for years and thanks to his high profile and her own determination and hard work, she’s gained a following and has become the most sought after in her field with a wait list a mile long. But when Candace meets the hot single Dad, whose smouldering blue eyes and beautiful baby daughter captivate her from the moment she meets them, she decides she can squeeze them in for a little help.I despised Candace after reading, This is Crazy, and couldn’t see how Natasha could redeem her character, but from almost the first page my mind was changed and I not only began to like Candace, I started rooting for her to get her deserved happily ever after, which was perfect by the way.Ralph is hard and hot headed, with a snappy temper and quick judgements, I wanted to shake him at times, but his unwavering determination to care for his daughter, giving her everything her heart could desire to show her nothing but love, softened me to him. He’s a great father, dealing with so much, along with a gruelling schedule as a professional sportsman, made me fall in love with him, even after he makes a huge mistake.The attraction between the pair sparks from their first meeting, but both hold back until the heat engulfs them and they can’t stay away any longer.As always, Ms Madison weaves a painfully beautiful love story which will make you laugh, cry and fall in love along with every other emotion in between.The new team and it’s members are an excellent addition to the established hockey world she has created and I can’t wait for more of the teams stories, along with Candace’s best friend and more appearances from our beloved Stone family.Once again Ms Madison has hit it straight into the back of the net. Undoubtedly a 5 star, and a 100% sarah_loves_reading_romance recommended read.

I’d probably give this book a 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.This is the first book in a continuing series, however the book stands alone. There is no cliffhanger.Candace’s brother is a NHL player and when he first started out he was so bad at doing his social media she took over for him. Several years later she doing social media for 50 hockey players and has a waiting list for clients. She’s generally an all round lovely person who everyone likes, her family adores her, especially her three-year-old niece who has her own room at her aunt’s house so she can lure her family to stay with her when they visit.Ralph is a NHL player who had to take most of the last season off. His wife died giving birth to their daughter and the first time he tried to get back on the ice after his daughter, Ari, was born he managed to get a concussion that wiped him out for months. Now his daughter is a few months old and he’s trying to get back to training, he hires a babysitter and his agent tells him he needs to hire Candace because his social media presence is nil and he needs to have a presence if he wants to get sponsorship deals.When Candace and Ralph meet at a party there is an instant attraction that sets them both immediately on the back foot and they have to try and make sense of their feelings.I enjoyed this book even if it was a smidge predictable, plus Candace was too perfect. Ralph was wonderfully endearing and had enough faults to make him human and I think we can all empathise with his ability with social media photos. Both Ralph and Candace had wonderful interactions with Ari and I have to say she was the star of the book along with Candace’s niece Zoey.There were plenty of sex scenes to spice things up, but I did feel the plot was a little lacking in interest and the emotions didn’t feel that deep or real to me. However, it was an entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it. I just don’t know if I’d buy the rest of the series after reading this freebie, but if it was in KU, I probably would.