Book 2 in the Tilton University series
Reviewed by CJ | Rating: 4.5/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 | 📱
⚠️ This is a full spoiler review. If you haven’t read Mac Meyers Needs Me yet — go read it first. We’ll be here when you’re done.
OPENING HOOK
Mac and Fee. If you’ve spent any time in the Toronto Terror/Tilton University world, this is one of the one you’ve been waiting for, and it brings us exactly the kind of silly, wild, comfort-read energy this universe always does.
THE FULL STORY — SPOILERS INCLUDED
Fee and Mac have been circling each other for a while now, and the wait has been half the fun. Mac is the guy everyone on campus wants; he’s a hockey player, always surrounded by women, with a reputation as a player. But unknown to everyone is the fact that none of his rep is true. I mean, he is well liked and can’t eat a meal without people coming up to him non-stop, and he dates all the time looking for a connection, but the big surprise for readers is that this player is not a player. He’s a virgin. He’s not interested in sex without connection, and once he starts shifting their fake dating into real dating, he especially feels that way when it comes to Fee. He wants to do this right; to make sure they’re both ready and to take their time getting there. It’s not played up as some huge reveal or plot twist, so don’t be put off by his virgin status if that typically bothers you, because it’s just quietly mentioned as a part of who he is, and not a plot device; it’s sweet.
The world-building here is one of my favourite parts of what Helena Hunting does. You don’t need to have read the Toronto Terror books to follow this, but if you have, it’s an absolute treat. Lexi and Roman (their book is If You Love Me, Toronto Terror book #4) are here (Lexi is Fee’s sister and former guardian), Fee’s roommate Tally is dating Philip “Flip” Madden (their book, If You Keep Me, is Toronto Terror #6), and Mac’s roommate Brody is Tristan’s younger sibling (Tristan and Rix are Toronto Terror book #1 If You Hate Me).
Once Mac and Fee finally get together, the back half of the book is all about them navigating what that means as far as life, school, work, and his hockey career goes. Fee’s been quietly building a secret identity as a street artist around campus (stickers, posters, the whole thing) and it gets revealed at a gallery show near the end of the year, which opens doors for her: apprenticeships, opportunities, and a whole future of possibilities opening up for her in Toronto. Meanwhile Mac is a year ahead of her and facing the very real possibility of getting called up to the NHL in the fall, plus he’d applied for a couple of overseas summer program before they got together. Fee finds the acceptance letter, and it makes her panic. Not just because he might leave, she already knew their timeline was uncertain, but because he didn’t tell her before she let herself get so invested. Fee lost her parents when she was a teen and that loss shapes a lot of how she approaches getting close to people, so she’s learning how to balance feelings and fears within their relationship, while he’s a certifiable people pleaser who kept delaying telling her becuase he’s terrified to make waves.
It’s a lot to work through, and both of them clearly have their own hang-ups feeding into how they react, some of that being fair, some of it being them protecting themselves from previous damage, and the book doesn’t pretend that’s simple to untangle. But they have their whole extended family-like crew behind them and helping them sort things out, and watching them find their way to each other anyway is what this book is about.
BEST PART OF THIS BOOK
Watching two people who already care about each other let it become something bigger. They’d been dancing around it for a while, and getting to watch that shift from friendship into something more was just really cool to witness.
WORST PART OF THIS BOOK
Watching them navigate the loss and the big feelings underneath everything. Both of them have real hang-ups, and it’s as a reader to tell how much of their reactions are fair versus how much is overcompensating to protect themselves from past trauma.
THE STEAM RATING BREAKDOWN
- 🔥🔥🔥🔥The steam itself sits around a 3, but the frequency bumps it up. This one’s a solid, spicy good time, so the flame rating reflects that.
- Mac’s arc around intimacy (needing an emotional connection first) is central to the romance, not a side note.
- Romance is core to the plot, not a subplot.
THE ENDING — SATISFIED OR DISAPPOINTED?
Satisfied. Mac gets called up to Ottawa, and while they have to make Fee’s final year at Tilton long distance, She’s able to join him the following year. They make it work with visits in between until they land in the same place. It’s sweet and clean, and just one of the many reasons I love Helena’s books in this universe.
WOULD WE REREAD IT?
Yes! And already planning to buy the paperback. This whole universe is a comfort read for me and I’ve reread several of these books more than once. I own them all in digital and will slowly be acquiring the paperbacks.
WHO IS THIS FOR
Friends-to-lovers people, college hockey romance fans, and anyone already in the Toronto Terror/Tilton University world who wants to see the younger half of this crew show up again.
WHERE TO GET THIS BOOK
📖 Physical Book
Amazon
🎧 Audiobook
Audible | Libro.fm
📱 Ebook
Amazon Kindle
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📚 More from the Tilton University series
- Book 1 — Chase Lovett Wants Me | Reviewed by CJ | ⭐ 3.75/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
- Book 2 — Mac Meyers Needs Me | Reviewed by CJ | ⭐ 4.5/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (this review)
MORE FROM THIS REVIEWER
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Plot Twisted. 🔥
📱 | Series: Tilton University Book 2 | Genre: College Hockey Romance, Friends to Lovers | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
TAGS: Hockey Romance, Sports Romance, Friends to Lovers Romance, College Romance, New Adult Romance, Helena Hunting, Tilton University Series, Book Review, Toronto Terror Universe