Kristie J’s review of One Timer (Baltimore Banners, Volume 9) by Lisa B. Kamps
Contemporary Romance published by CreateSpace 26 Dec 16
Now that the playoffs and hockey beards have started in the NHL – and thankfully this year there are some Canadian teams – I’ve been watching some of the games and my love for hockey and hot hockey players is coming back. So, of course, that means some hot hockey romance books in between the live games. One Timer by Lisa Kamps is one of the ones I’ve inhaled lately.
I read and loved the first few of her Baltimore Banners series and then read one that I gave a huge thumbs down on. Then real hockey ended and the other books I’d uploaded by Ms. Kamps kind of fell off my radar. However, with my renewed interest in the game and going through my books, I noticed some of this author’s other books and thought “Oh right! I enjoyed most of her books.” So I started this one and couldn’t have been more delighted.
This book is absolutely adorable. I love Maggie Anderson, the totally geeky heroine who very reluctantly agrees to tutor Dillon Frayser, the pro hockey player who needs a little bit of help in getting the final course for the Master’s degree he’s been taking.
I love Maggie so very much. She’s a geek and totally comfortable being one. She wears clothes no self-respecting girly girl would wear, and if others don’t like it, well too darn bad, she does. She has a ferret named Slinky as a pet. Who could not love a heroine with a pet ferret? She has a very strong beef against jocks, thus her reluctance to tutor Dillon and would have refused if it weren’t for the money. She knows nothing about hockey and is, therefore, unimpressed with his career. She is just such an endearing hoot.
And as much as I love Maggie, that same love goes to Dillon. Head to toe, front to back he’s just the perfect kind of hero. Though he’s a pro hockey player, I wouldn’t really call him a jerk. In fact, underneath and much to Maggie’s dismay, he’s kind of a nerd himself. He’s not like a lot of the professional athletes we read about. He’s not a ‘player’, not at all. While not a virgin, he hasn’t really indulged with ‘puck bunnies’ and I find that quite refreshing. He’s rather bemused by Maggie and her eccentricities, and his interactions with Slinky are adorable.
There isn’t a whole lot of conflict in this book and it might have profited from a wee, wee bit more, but, saying that, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a cute, funny, appealing and, yes, ADORABLE book.
Just as an FYI, I have been reading these books out of order and though they are a series, they work quite well as standalones. Characters from other books make appearances but they don’t detract from current book.
Grade: A
Summary:
For Dillon Frayser, a rising star for The Baltimore Banners hockey team, life has come easy. A solid childhood, a happy family, a natural talent for playing the game he loves. The only thing missing is the degree he promised his parents he would get soon after he was drafted. If he could just force himself to focus on carbon atoms and organic chemistry, he wouldn’t have to worry about squeezing in embarrassing tutoring sessions between a busy schedule filled with practices and games.
Maggie Andersen dreads meeting her new student but she needs the money that tutoring will provide. That doesn’t mean she’s willing to put up with the anticipated antics of an arrogant brainless jock. When she finally meets Dillon, he turns out to be the exact opposite of what she expected: smart, funny, driven, and humble. Maggie soon finds herself letting her guard down and discovering a different kind of chemistry.
Will the tutoring sessions lead to something more for the mismatched pair? Or is this nothing more than a one-timer for the sexy hockey player?
No excerpt available.
