An Appies Hockey Romance: A Sweet Hockey RomCom Series by Emma St. Clair & Jenny Proctor: Reading Order (7 Books)
For most hockey players, the NHL is the place they aim for as they learn to skate and play; however, the Appies AHL team in Harvest Hollow has given the lower hockey league a name and a large social media following.
Join the Appies players in this series of smoking chemistry and characters to root for, but NO spice. (Yes, you read that right–a low-spice hockey romance.) Perfect for fans of sports romance who want less heat.
An Appies Hockey Romance Series Books In Order
- Just Don’t Fall
- Absolutely Not in Love
- A Groom of One’s Own
- Romancing the Grump
- Runaway Bride and Prejudice
- When Alec Met Evie
- As You Ice It
Publication Date: 31st August 2023
Publisher: Create If Writing LLC
Page Count: 330
Just Don’t Fall: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Emma St. Clair
Book Series: An Appies Romance Book 1
Part of the Sweater Weather Series
Just Don’t Fall is a small-town, closed-door hockey romcom in the Appies series with all the fake dating, brother’s best friend vibes. You’ll get smoking chemistry and characters to root for, but NO spice. (Yes, you read that right–a low spice hockey romance.) Perfect for fans of sports romance who want less heat.
Before Logan Barnes was hockey’s hottest bad boy, he was my brother’s best friend … and my first crush. Oh, yeah–and the guy who ghosted me and broke my teenage heart.
Now Logan is back in Harvest Hollow, but not willingly. Recovering from an injury (and some bad press), he’s stuck playing for our minor league team.
Which means I’ll be working with him almost daily.
As the hockey team’s social media manager, it’s my job to wrangle all the guys into filming TikTok trending videos. But Logan doesn’t want to be wrangled.
Turns out … neither does my heart.
Because my old crush never died.
And when Logan becomes my accidental fake boyfriend, those old feelings flare hot enough to melt the ice.
But this is all totally one-sided. Totally fake. Isn’t it?
No matter what signals he seems to be giving me or how real things start to feel, I know Logan’s not home for good.
I survived Logan leaving me once. But this time, I’m not so sure my heart will recover …
“Because if you were mine, I’d be sure everyone knows it. There would be no question in anyone’s mind.”
Totally Booked UK Review
Publication Date: 12th October 2023
Publisher: JPC Publishing
Page Count: 326
Absolutely Not in Love: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Jenny Proctor
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 2
Part of the Sweater Weather Series
Absolutely Not in Love is a closed-door hockey romcom with neighbor vibes between a bookish hockey goalie and a classical cellist, some forced proximity, and all the swoony chemistry!
My requirements for a man are simple. Must love books. Must NOT love hockey.
Which is why I will never be interested in my neighbor, the aloof and mysterious Felix Jamison, no matter how many books I see him hauling into his apartment. Unless he loses his pro hockey skates, I’m out.
But then he shows up at my symphony concert.
And I catch the sweet strains of Beethoven floating across the hall.
Have I mentioned how incredible he looks in his game day suit?
Still, my history with hockey is complicated. My older brother played, and let’s just say he stole enough limelight to land a plane at midnight. I was forced to be a part of that world for so long, now that I have a choice, it’s the last thing I want.
But something tells me Felix is about to change my mind…
I can’t promise I won’t ever screw up again. But I can promise I will live every day trying my hardest to put you first—to love you like you deserve.
Totally Booked UK Review
Middle school music teacher Grace is returning home to her apartment when she finds her path blocked by piles of hockey equipment. Frustrated once again by her neighbour, Felix Jamison, who plays for the Appies AHL team, although usually it’s one of his teammates knocking on her door asking her out, despite her repeatedly saying no. Bashing on Felix’s door, her brain nearly short-circuits when he answers, wet from the shower and dressed in a towel. But Grace does not like hockey, especially hockey players.
Appies goalie Felix Jamison lives next door to Grace. However, she is unaware that he owns the building and is her landlord. Investing the money his grandmother left him to build a future business, he is slowly putting it into action around his hockey schedule. Listening to Grace play her cello through their shared wall soothes him and brings him back to the classical music his grandmother taught him about growing up.
An incident with a burst water pipe has Grace crashing into his life for help, and he reveals his secret about the building. Navigating being roommates whilst work takes place in her apartment, the pair grow close. However, Grace is attempting to guard her heart after hockey has caused heartache over the years. Slowly, they seem to be navigating a relationship with each other, but as letdowns occur, will they pull back and rethink whether this is the right relationship for them?
Publication Date: 1st March 2024
Publisher: Create If Writing LLC
Page Count: 368
A Groom of One’s Own: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Emma St. Clair
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 3
He always dreamed of getting married–but for love, not to avoid deportation.
Eli Hopkins has it all–almost. A hockey career with the wildly popular Appies. Teammates who are like brothers. The only thing he’s missing is someone to share it all with.
Oh–and correctly filed visa paperwork.
Due to administrative error, Eli is about to lose everything.
Unless he can find someone to marry him in the next thirty days.
And he might have the perfect woman in mind. The only problem? He’d like to marry her for real, not simply for legal purposes.
Now Eli faces the challenge of winning over a wife who thinks the marriage is in name only …
“But whose name will be on the back of my jersey?” His face darkens, and it only makes me push more. “Maybe Van? He’s a fun guy.” Eli’s heated look turns molten, and he shakes his head slowly. “Mine,” he says firmly, his low voice wrapping like a fist around my heart. “You can only wear my name.
Totally Booked UK Review
Moving from Canada to play ice hockey has been a dream come true for Eli Hopkins. His mom previously sorted out all the relevant visas, etc. he has been happy with the Appies, and his mom’s health issues are more understood in the US. Eli is blindsided by an issue that the Appies’ lawyer brings to his attention: his current visa runs out in a month, and he’ll need to return to Canada until a new one can be processed – or he could get married to stay that way. With no girlfriend in his life it is an unlikely scenario, the only girl coming to mind is the shy dog shelter worker Bailey.
Bailey McKinney has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Following the death of her parents years ago, she has not only had to deal with all the financial crisis her parents left behind, but also ensure her grandmother with dementia is cared for within a residential facility. Alongside this, she hopes to become a vet and has been saving and working hard to take the next steps. Stumbling blocks in her path from price increases at the care facility to her workplace dramas have her wondering if she’ll ever achieve her dreams.
Visiting the shelter to play with the dogs soothes Eli, and he is pleased when Bailey sits with him. His predicament is that he jokes about her marrying him, but knowing that this will help her too, she agrees. A short timeline leads them to rush to date, meet his mom and arrange a wedding, but along the way, it no longer feels like an arrangement, and neither is brave enough to share their true feelings.
Publication Date: 23rd April 2024
Publisher: Jenny Proctor Creative
Page Count: 358
Romancing the Grump: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Jenny Proctor
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 4
Romancing the Grump is a closed-door, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating hockey romcom with heart and humour, sizzle but no spice. Perfect for fans of sports romance who want a little less heat.
He’s a grump and happy to stay that way. But can her sunshine melt the ice around his heart?
Nathan Sanders didn’t earn his reputation as the grouchiest player on the Appies hockey team by chance. So when Summer Callahan breezes into his life with her flirtatious smiles and endless charm, he responds like he always does: he completely ignores her.
But Summer is intrigued by the surly defenseman, so when a viral social media post requires her to step in and fake it as Nathan’s girlfriend, she jumps at the chance. She’s convinced the ones with the hardest shells are often the softest underneath, and she’s determined to prove it.
But Nathan doesn’t crack so easily.
Despite their obvious chemistry, he makes his lack of interest in a relationship—any relationship—perfectly clear. But the longer they pretend, the less fake everything seems, and the more Summer starts to fall.
She can only hope her fake relationship doesn’t lead to real heartbreak.
“Kiss me,” she repeats.
“If you want them to know you’re spoken for,
then show them you belong to me.”
Totally Booked UK Review
After two years of working alongside and putting up with a jerkhole DA boss, Summer Callahan finally reported him and found another job. Relocating to Harvest Hollow, she stands outside The Summit, home to The Appies AHL, hoping she is cut out for handling their contracts and brand associations. Soon, she realises that Nathan Sanders, the grump she met six months ago, is still very much a grump.
Heading to The Summit for practice, Nathan is blindsided in the car park by bumping into Summer. Whilst he is normally a man of few words, they are even more restricted around her. Recalling when they first met, she talked enough for both of them. Getting off on the wrong foot when he tells her that she is parked in his space, but he manages to redeem himself when one of the rookies is disrespectful to Summer.
The Appies have an outstanding social media performance thanks to Parker, who, alongside sponsors, etc., has brought some unwanted attention towards Nathan. Parker suggests a fake relationship between Nathan and Summer, feeding off their chemistry to help cool down the fans. With rules in place, they begin navigating their fake romance, promising to tell the other if things between them change. Nathan holds firm that playing hockey and dating don’t mix, whilst Summer falls deeper for him day by day. Will Nathan change his mind, or should they break things off?
Publication Date: 28th August 2024
Publisher: Create If Writing LLC
Page Count: 418
Runaway Bride and Prejudice: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Emma St. Clair
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 5
Runaway Bride and Prejudice is a closed-door hockey romance featuring the team’s bad boy and a very good girl who also happens to be the coach’s daughter. It’s a sports romance with all the sizzle and swoon, but no spice.
There’s one rule smart hockey players know not to break: never, and I mean, NEVER date the coach’s daughter. But no one ever accused Van of being smart.
When the mouthy bad boy of the Appies catches the groom cheating on the coach’s daughter, he can’t just walk away. Not on her wedding day. Maybe his own relationships are casual, but he would never cheat and never treat wedding vows so carelessly. Not after he and his sisters watched their divorced parents cycle through marriage after marriage.
But forcing the groom to come clean sets off a chain reaction Van couldn’t have expected. Ending with a black eye, an unexpected trip to Florida with one runaway bride, and a secret bargain struck with Coach.
A bargain that may just jeopardize the very real and very inconvenient feelings he’s developing for the very last person he ever should.
“I don’t come close to being good enough for Amelia. But if she were mine? I would never let her go. I would spend every waking day and every single breath just hoping I could show her the love she deserves.”
Totally Booked UK Review
Publication Date: 23rd January 2025
Publisher: Jenny Proctor Creative
Page Count: 356
When Alec Met Evie: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Jenny Proctor
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 6
When Alec Met Evie is a closed-door, best friend’s brother hockey romcom with heart and humour, sizzle but no spice. Perfect for fans of sports romance who want a little less heat.
Evie told herself not to fall for her pro-hockey crush. But when she sees him holding her baby girl, all bets are off.
When Evie moves South to the same mountain town where her childhood crush plays pro-hockey, she arms herself with all the reasons why she can’t fall for him again.
Number one: Alec is her best friend’s much older brother.
Number two: She’s recently divorced and does not need another man in her life. At least not anytime soon.
Number three: With a four-month-old daughter, she has zero time for dating.
Trouble is, Evie doesn’t know another soul in North Carolina, so when her rental floods before she’s even moved in, her only option is to crash with Alec for a few weeks. When she protests, he insists it’s what he’d do for his sister, and that’s basically what she is to him.
But all these years later, the unexpected chemistry between them definitely says otherwise.
A new relationship is risky when Evie is still licking her wounds from her divorce, and she has no idea if Alec has any desire to be a dad. His sister already warned he isn’t the type to settle down.
But she can’t make herself care about any of that. Not until she’s already fallen, and it might be too late to save herself from another heartbreak.
Maybe fatherhood is just a matter of paying attention, of noticing what your family needs, then stepping up to take care of that need. It’s being present. Invested. Willing.
Totally Booked UK Review
Publication Date: 4th May 2025
Publisher: Create If Writing LLC
Page Count: 334
As You Ice It: An Appies Hockey Romance
Author: Emma St. Clair
Book Series: An Appies Hockey Romance Book 7
As You Ice It is a closed-door hockey romance with all the sizzle and swoon, but no spice.
If at first you don’t succeed, DO NOT try, try again. At least not when it comes to dating a hockey player.
When Naomi met Camden Cole on Oakley Island, she assumed he would be gone in a week or two, like any other tourist passing through.
Perfect for a fun summer relationship. A temporary one.
As a single mom to ten-year-old Liam, she’s not holding out hope for husband material and is way too skittish about commitment to consider more.
So when both Naomi and Liam start getting too attached, she cuts Camden loose. Better to end things before either of their hearts could get broken.
But the joke’s on her—they broke anyway.
As an added punchline (and gut punch), her job relocates her to the town of Harvest Hollow—where Camden plays for the Appies.
It’s FINE, Naomi tells herself. He’s a professional hockey player with a busy career. Their paths will never cross.
And they probably wouldn’t have—if not for Liam’s newfound hockey obsession.
Now, Naomi is right back where she was last summer—with the same feelings and the same desire to protect her and Liam.
But when Camden wants to go all-in with her and Liam, is Naomi ready to stop running?
Maybe it’s wrong to feel more whole around another person—but that’s how I feel. Whole.
Totally Booked UK Review
Single mom Naomi is driving her 10-year-old son, Liam and herself to their new home. Relocating from Oakley Island to Harvest Hollow in North Carolina. Whilst she initially picked the state during a work promotion, she didn’t realise it would put her in the same town as Camden, the man she had a summer fling with last year. The one she let go, thinking that there was no way to make a serious relationship work between them. Now she is listening to Liam reel off ice hockey facts as she drives – his latest obsession, and in part due to the handsome AHL player from the summer.
Ever since Camden Cole returned to Harvest Hollow after the summer, he has been in a funk. Still caught up on Naomi and Liam, but understood her reasons for shutting things down before it got too serious. Coach is attempting to get him to help with the kids’ skate school, has him saying no – until he catches sight of Liam being picked on by two other kids. Taking him under his wing, they don’t mention to Naomi that they are spending time on the ice together.
An injury has the pair intertwining with a mama bear punch, fainting and witty banter. Camden is trying to navigate looking after his old billet dad, who has early-onset dementia and dealing with past family hurts. All the while hoping that he and Nami can find a way to rekindle their summer fling and turn it into a proper relationship. Naomi is used to running away from her problems, and despite the uncertainty that comes with dating an AHL player, she is looking to fight for their love. Can they overcome everything to find something beautiful?
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