Review: The Rule Maker by Gina Azzi

Rating 5/5
Steam 3/5
Trope: Hockey Romance, Friends to lovers, childhood friends, slow burn,
Series: Boston Hawks Hockey book #4 (Standalone)

The Summer of Rules and Flings!

We meet Chloe, she’s moved back to Boston to live with her parents after the unthinkable happens to her. She can’t believe she’s back home but figures she will make the best of it. While going to dinner at their long-time family friends’ home with her parent’s, she’s captivated by Austin, her childhood friend.  A night filled with old friends and laughter, is just what she needed, along with getting a “date” to the upcoming engagement party she must attend where her ex fiancé and ex best friend will also be at.

Austin can’t figure out when he and Chloe became distant. She moved away after sophomore year of high school but even before that they had grown apart.   They were the best of friends before, but now that she’s back, he see more than just his childhood chum he tormented. He is captivated by her.   Austin often worries that he has to choose hockey career and his team over a relationship.  Balance is hard for him but isn’t it for all of us. 

Austin is one of the swooniest characters I have read in a long time.  I simply feel in love with him. His kindness was just amazing!  Chloe is a great character. She has been beaten down but she isn’t afraid to realize her mistakes and be better.  Chloe and Austin are magic on the page. The two of them have some super swoony moments like when he fireman carries her out of the bar.  But the flirting and banter is spot on. 

One of the sexiest friends to lovers I have ever read!  This book has amazing chemistry, big feels and so much more.  Honestly readers this book kind of made me a liar, I typically don’t like friends to lover and slow burn romances but this ones was perfection! I loved every second of it. Once you start it you will not be able to put it down. 

Sometimes off-season hockey romances will fall flat because they lack the team dynamic.  Azzi totally wove that dynamic in spectacularly.  This book is the perfect Off-Season Summer Hockey Read!  With each book in this series the read gains a new favorite or even better book boyfriend. I love this series, if you haven’t read the others, this can read this as a standalone, but make sure you add books 1-3 on your tbr list.