Slap Shot | Kat Mizera

The Lauderdale Knights is a brand new series brought to hockey romance lovers by Kat Mizera.  And let me tell you the weather isn’t the only thing that is hot.  This group of guys that Kat has curated has it all.  There are some familiar names and faces from her previous series but a lot of new ones, too. First up is league veteran Vaughn Elliot. Vaughn is lonely.  He is in a new city working to get his bearings and just wants to play hockey. 

Juliet is a rabid hockey fan and was ecstatic when a brand new expansion team ended up in her hometown.  She quickly becomes a season ticket holder and is ecstatic when the season begins.  In an unfortunate twist of fate she is injured at the game.  

I wasn’t sure the direction that Mizera was going to take this book when we first met Juliet and Vaughn.  But their ‘meet cute’ was definitely memorable. What I enjoyed the most was not only the way the characters described how they felt around each other, she clearly showed us by their actions.  

Juliet is a woman that handles everything for her large family’s business.  And when she is not there it all falls apart.  When she is struggling to bounce back after her injury her family continues to put more and more pressure on her.   Once again, Mizera masterfully made us simultaneously love and loathe her brothers.  As a sister myself I completely related her relationship with her brothers.  They rely on her for so much but also are fiercely over protective of her and struggle to allow her to make her own life decisions.  

Then there is Vaughn.  He definitely wants the world to see him as a tough guy, but he has such a gooey soft side.  Sweet sweet Vaughn is genuinely a nice guy, and friends he is lonely.  As he is working hard to settle in a new city, build new friendships, he realizes that he is alone.  After losing his mother. After being absent most of his life his father makes a reappearance.  Vaughn definitely isn’t sure how he feels about that on top of his feelings for Juliet.  

Book lovers, if you are not sure how you feel about an amnesia book but are also intrigued then this is the book for you! It is really well done and I love how Juliet comes into herself and stands up for what she wants.  And the family dynamic both blood and found is wonderful.  I adored getting to know Juliet’s crazy loud and overbearing family and how they blended with Vaughn’s family both found and biological.  I am so looking forward to more of the Lauderdale Knights!