Book 3 in the Love and Hockey Series | Reviewed by LD | Rating: 3.2/5 🎧
You guessed it. It was fine.
Sometimes a book is fine. Not bad. Not great. Just… fine. The Proposal Play was fine.
Okay But Who Actually Agrees To This
Asher and Mave are best friends. A decade long friendship. He suggests a marriage pact. A few weeks later they’re in Vegas, they’ve been drinking, and somehow they decide it would be a fun adventure to just get married. With plans to get it annulled.
I’m sorry. Who agrees to that? Even drunk?
I know this is a romance novel and I know I have to suspend some disbelief but this one asked a lot of me right from the start.
Nothing Hooked Me
Book one in this series felt fun and flirty right off the bat. This one felt really off — a lot of parts just didn’t add up or make sense to me. I think that’s actually why it took me four days to finish. Four days. That’s not normal for me.
And I couldn’t help but notice — Asher seemed to have a LOT of free time for a professional hockey player. Maybe I had higher expectations for what their schedules actually look like but it pulled me out of the story more than once.
The Setup (Once You Accept The Premise)
Their wedding photos go viral overnight. Now everyone thinks they’re a real couple — which actually works out conveniently since Mave has just landed the art commission of her dreams and Asher is launching a sports charity. They need to look like they meant to tie the knot.
So they go home together, stay in separate rooms, pretend to be in love for the hockey season and try very hard not to ruin a decade long friendship by falling into bed again.
You already know exactly how this ends. That’s kind of the problem.
The Inconsistencies That Bugged Me
These two are supposed to be best friends for ten years. And yet she’s apparently never been to his place? Because she had no idea he kept building and displaying the Lego flowers after she gave him the original one.
And the personality gaps felt off too. The writing drops small hints about Asher’s anxiety throughout the whole book — but Mave doesn’t notice until the very end. Okay fine. But then she points it out, he blows up and leaves — and then suddenly he agrees he needs counselling and makes an appointment immediately?
I have a hard time believing that. Most people don’t move that fast when they’ve JUST realised something is a problem. It felt rushed and convenient rather than real.
Where Did Mave Go?
Mave was actually in Book 1 as a side character and she was fun, exciting and all over the place in that book. That energy felt completely missing here. The version of Mave I met in Book 1 was way more interesting than the version I spent this whole book with.
And after getting told once that she’s too needy — just once — it became her entire relationship personality. Every time she wanted something from Asher it was I can’t ask him that, I’ve already asked too much.
One comment. Her whole arc. I found that really frustrating.
The Thing I Actually Loved
The accidental pay it forward movement.
They’re in Vegas with two hotel rooms and spot a family who desperately needs two rooms but the hotel is fully booked. They give up their rooms and share a bed instead. That family posts about it online saying they’ll pay it forward — and it starts a whole movement.
That part was genuinely sweet and felt organic in a way a lot of the rest of the book didn’t.
The Predictability Problem
I found myself knowing exactly what was coming at almost every turn. Of course he builds her a painting studio. Of course she misses every single one of his completely clear statements that he wants her to stay and interprets them as vague hints.
And then when someone suspects they were lying about their marriage? Instead of just owning that they love each other and are actually married — they feel like they have to do damage control and confess to people who it honestly did not affect at all. Maybe they felt it was the right thing to do. But it was none of those people’s business.
The Ending Though
Okay. The ending got me.
He proposes again at a game — with their wedding song playing and fans holding up signs with the proposal. That was really cute and it landed the way a good romance ending should.
It just took a long time to get there.
The Steam 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Decent amount of sex. Four flames. Not shy about it at all.
The Audiobook Experience
Narrators were really good — consistent with the whole series honestly. Lauren Blakely picks great narrators. Audiobook all the way. 🎧
Skip It Or Read It?
Honestly? I’d personally skip this one. If you loved Book 1 and want to keep the good vibes going — maybe just move straight to Book 4. You won’t be missing much.
Where to Get This Book
📖 Physical Book
🎧 Audiobook
- Audible Canada — Amazon.ca
- Audible US — Amazon.com
- Chirp Books
- 🎁 New to Audible? Get 3 months free (US)
📱 Ebook
📚 More from the Love and Hockey Series
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- Book 1 — The Boyfriend Goal | Reviewed by LD | ⭐ 4.4/5 🎧 — [Read the Review]
- Book 2 — The Romance Line | Reviewed by LD | ⭐ 3.6/5 🎧 — [Read the Review]
- Book 3 — The Proposal Play | Reviewed by LD | ⭐ 3.2/5 🎧 — [Read the Review]
- Book 4 — The Girlfriend Zone | Not Interested In
- Book 5 — The Overtime Kiss | Not Interested In
- Book 6 — The Flirting Game | Reviewed by LD | ⭐ …/5 🎧 — [Read the Review]
Plot Twisted. ✅
🎧 Audiobook | Series: Love and Hockey Book 3 | Genre: Romance, Hockey Romance, Contemporary Romance