Hold Me Forever | Layla Hagen

This was my first Layla Hagen book, but it will not be my last! She has been on my TBR list for a long time, so when I saw this was a hockey player and set in Chicago I knew now was the time to pick up her books! I am so happy that I picked this book.  One I adore the city of Chicago and I feel like she really did it justice.  Part of the reason I love Chicago so much is the amount of water, the different neighborhoods and all of the fun things to do in the city.  I am a huge hockey fan, so I was intrigued about how an injury and a benched player may act after not being able to play.  Their meet cute was so great, and I love how Kendra was just unabashedly her.  She had heard of the famous Tyler Maxwell.  Not only was he drop dead gorgeous he was one of the best goalies in the league he also comes from one of the wealthiest families in the Chicago area.  Kendra was just a young professional trying to get some work done and shove some lunch down her throat.  I can totally relate to her. 
I really adored Kendra.  She is driven, goal oriented and has a heart of gold.  As a volunteer coordinator she works with a variety of people, and I love how she wasn’t star struck by Tyler.  Yes, she thought he was hot, but not intimidated by him.  Her focus was on her career and programs she was fighting for.  Tyler on the other hand was taken aback because this was one girl he could not get out of his mind.  And he tried very hard to get her attention, and it was not at all unreciprocated.  The family dynamics in this book are also so great.  I love how close the Maxwell family is. Tyler has 5 brothers and 2 cousins that he is very close with.  He sees them all of the time and they fully support each other.  And their Gram. Well, she is the best!  Kendra is also very close with her sister, and struggles to get out of the caretaker role at times. 
I am a reader that enjoys low angst, and Layla Hagen delivers.  I appreciated how the characters were adults, they had adult issues, but also handled things as they came up like adults having open and honest conversations.  If you enjoy a family series, low angst, and some steamy scenes then I highly recommend this book! I am counting down the days until the next Maxwell family book!