Play Your Part by Kathryn Kincaid

Rating: ★★★★☆

Dates Read: 7/7/23 - 7/11/23

    Three months. Two enemies. One goal. Zero time for distractions.

    Kennedy Cole's life hit a roadblock a year ago when she lost her mom. She gave up on college and quit her job with the Palmer City Wolves, her family's hockey team. Now, she's ready to start anew with the support of Justin Ward, the star player. But just when things are looking up, Justin gets traded and leaves town, leaving Kennedy alone once again.

    Alexei Volkov has a fiery reputation on and off the ice, with a heated rivalry against Justin. The Wolves gave him a chance with a one-year contract after his previous team let him go. But when a misleading photo of Alexei and Kennedy goes viral, his career and the team's image are at stake.

    Alexei wants no part of the sassy brunette who caused his troubles. Kennedy would rather steer clear of the arrogant hockey player. But a fake relationship might fix their bad press. The deal is simple: three months together, strict rules in place. Yet the more they're together, the harder it gets to resist the chemistry. Can they tell where pretense ends and reality begins?

    "When you're next to me, you're the only person who does exist."

    After reading Icebreaker, I realized that I'm a true hockey romance fan at heart. This book reignited that passion in me. Play Your Part is an incredible enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, he-falls-first hockey romance that had me hooked from start to finish.

    The banter, the tension, and the heartfelt conversations as they discovered they were mistaken about each other were absolutely swoon-worthy. It was captivating to see everyone else recognizing their connection while they remained oblivious. Every word I read was worth it. I adored both characters and admired how they faced their past obstacles together, without expecting the other to fix them, but instead accepting and loving each other just as they were.

    I would have loved to see more of Kennedy and Alexei together, witnessing their sparks flying. Their moments cooking together and sharing late-night secrets on the phone were incredibly sweet and precious, and I wish there were more of those. The slow burn between them was torturous at times, but we all knew it would lead to a satisfying outcome. Alexei's heartfelt gesture for Kennedy at the end, in memory of her mom, was truly touching.

    I personally feel like Kincaid has done a really wonderful job of portraying Kennedy dealing with the grief of her mother passing away, as well as excellently tackling all of the much lighter moments. That's not easy to do, but it was executed beautifully here. There's also the perfect amount of spice for this novel, and my final thought is that I will die if I don't get a book about Zach.

    Thank you so so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC to read, I absolutely recommend this to all the sports romance readers!