This book is perfect for your hockey romance era. It has the best friend’s sister, sports reporter/hockey star, sports superstitions that all make a seriously fun story. After a chance-flashing, the pair find a new routine they have to complete before each game. Their pregame ritual gets more involved, and more complicated as time goes on. Joy was a fun character who was making a name for herself in a male-dominated field. She loved toeing the line and seeing just how far she could get, without going too far. Obviously it goes too far, and turns into a super steamy situation. These two were on fire. Now when both of their pasts keep popping up, they both have some things to figure out. Dalton was sure about his feelings, and gives our girl a harsh wake up call. Their happily ever after was so worth the read.

This was such a cute and lighthearted read! Good amount of spice and humor! Also, who doesn’t love a good brothers best friend trope??? I will be purchasing a physical copy as soon as it’s released! It’s one of those easy reads to get you out of a reading slump and something I could reread for fun, as a comfort book.

Rating: 3/5
Spice: 2/5

Joy works for a local news stations as a sports reporter. She's tough, smart and doesn't trust easily.

Dalton is the goalie for the minor hockey league. Known to be a player, with a nickname of "One Night," no one thinks he will ever settle down. Oh, and his teammate and best friend just happens to be Joy's brother.

One accidental new pre-game ritual turns Daltons season into a winning one, and starts an unlikely relationship between the two. Can they overcome the obstacles they set in their own ways?

Overall, this is a easy to read sports rom-com. I found there to be too many hyperboles and puns to where it got a little overwhelming.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC! All opinions and reviews are my own.

Can never go wrong with a hockey romance. I thought this was such a fun story and loved the characters so much. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

You can truly never go wrong with a hockey romance- ever!!!!! I have never read a book by this author until now but I’ll definitely be reading more by her! Typically in romance novels I tend to not like or get annoyed with one of the MC but I loved both the mmc and fmc. The tropes and spice were 🤌🏼

Sports broadcaster, sister of hockey team captain is off limits to all the ice hockey team.
Superstition plays a part in pre game rituals. An accidental encounter leads to the team goalie marking time.
Can it be a relationship or disaster within the team and family?
A HEA romance. 2nd in a trilogy but can easily be read as a standalone

This was a quick read that I devoured on a sick day. This was my first book by Lauren Landis and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more from this series. Hockey romance fans will enjoy this!

I didn't read the previous book in this series but I love a good hockey romcom so I decided to try this one.

Sports reporter Joy Barlow is covering the local hockey team (which includes her brother) and enjoys a bitter banter with goalie Dalton Days.

One day, that banter leads to Joy getting an eyeful of Dalton. Then it's hockey, so it becomes a superstition for him to give her an eyeful before every game.

This is all top secret and, of course, becomes complicated with emotions.

It's a cute book. I wasn't super enamored with any of the characters but it entertained me for the afternoon. I probably won't be picking up any others in the series.

Oh my god I loved this book so much!! From the cover I was expecting more of a sweet/cutesy fake marriage situation but that wasn’t the case at all. This book was SPICY in all the best ways - definitely one of the hottest books I’ve read in a while. I didn’t realise this was the second book in the series, but that didn’t matter! Although I am now very excited to go back and read the first! Thank you again so much for the opportunity to read this, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly unconventional hockey romance and I can’t wait to read more about the maple creek moose!

This is my first book by this author and it definitely won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to read more. The pace and the story kept me intrigued. Thank you so much for the ARC!

I loved reading this book. Dalton and Joy’s forbidden love is beautiful to read.
Tropes:
Best friends sister, secret relationship, forbidden love, hockey romance, he falls first.

Joy Barlowe, a sports reporter, and Dalton Days, a hockey player from their meet cute in locker room to the end loved every bit of their relationship. I love hockey romances and this one was not any different. Don’t get me started on the spice it was panty melting.
Totally love the strong story line, hilarious & spicy moments.

Now i am eagerly waiting to read Sheperd’s book..

The Pucking Proposal was one of the spiciest books I’ve read in a long time. The pacing in the beginning was great but it did start to drag in the middle. I liked the chemistry between Joy and Dalton, and liked the tropes that were included! I will definitely read Shep’s book when it comes out.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

"The Pucking Proposal" is a wildly entertaining romantic comedy that brings together a sharp sports reporter, Joy Barlowe, and charming hockey goalie, Dalton Days. Joy's unexpected glimpse into Dalton's locker room antics sparks a provocative pregame tradition, turning their playful dynamic into a steamy connection. As Dalton's superstition ties him to Joy as his good luck charm, their late-night FaceTime sessions blur the lines between friendship and romance. Lauren Landish delivers a fun and flirty story filled with humor, sizzling chemistry, and the challenge of keeping their relationship under wraps. A delightful read that captures the excitement of unexpected love!

Lauren Landish’s books are always entertaining. Do not expect complicated, intellectual plots. Hers are always charged with lots of sex scenes in almost every chapter, and sometimes, they are the whole chapter, but what’s wrong with that? They are always fun to read and even those extra hot scenes will make you smile or laugh as well. This story won’t disappoint you.

Joy and Dalton are great characters with lots of chemistry. Joy Barlowe is the tough sibling, a sport reporter with the guts to confront every obstacle, or in her land of field, every misogynistic reporter who believes she doesn’t belong there. Her brother is the captain of the local hockey team in the minor league. He has one rule, “no teammate can f… a sister”, so when Dalton, his best friend and the team’s goalie start a relationship with Joy first out of superstition, nobody can predict how complicated everything will turned out to be as their pregame routines become more intense. To me this book is a 3.6 stars.

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

While the cover art suggests some kind of fake-engagement deal, in fact this is a funny, pacy banter-filled secret relationship romantic comedy. Which I was quickly on board with, despite the confusion! It's the second in a series set in Maple Creek (the previous book having featured Joy's twin, Hope), but while there are a few cameos from the leads, this is still completely standalone.

Dalton Days is a veteran goalie in minor league hockey team the Maple Creek Moose, alongside his best friend, centre and captain Shepherd Barlowe - who also happens to be the brother of sports reporter Joy. After an unexpected locker room encounter (!), superstitious Dalton and Joy agree to recreate said encounter in order to keep the Moose's winning streak going. But what starts out as mutual gratification ends up becoming so much more, with both of them catching feelings as they get to know one another better. The trick will be in admitting this to themselves, to each other, and to Shepherd without derailing anyone's careers or the Moose's playoff chances, or breaking any hearts...

I loved that this was something a little different, with the focus being not on an NHL team (real or fictitious) but a minor league farm team. In a way, this means the stakes are higher for players like Dalton and Shepherd, who not only have to do right by their current team and its fans, but also still have aspirations to be called up to the majors, and so every game is a showcase, and rivalries between (for example) goalies and their backups are fierce, with each player wanting to prove themselves. Plot-wise, there's nothing too groundbreaking with the best friend's sister conflict, but the writing was good enough that I didn't care! Tonally, Landish's writing is warm, sharply funny and the spice is legit, meaning that it sits (for me) right alongside Pippa Grant and Meghan Quinn, and I'm excited to have found a new writer to explore!

I look forward to (hopefully) Shepherd's story, or wherever the Maple Creek series goes next!

Me costó mucho terminar el libro; varias veces estuve a punto de abandonarlo.

No me gustó el estilo de escritura ni que todo se centrara en el sexo. Si son de los que califican el 'spice', probablemente disfrutarán de esta historia.

Lo mejor fue la última parte, ya que se centra en la relación de Joy y Dalton. Se dejan de lado las escenas sexuales (que las hay, pero son más cortas, en menor cantidad o simplemente se da a entender que sucedieron, pero no se muestran), y además disminuye el lenguaje vulgar.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Pucking Proposal is the second title in the Maple Creek series written by Lauren Landish.

*Brother’s best friend
*Sexy hockey superstitions
*Pierced 🍆

These two characters were the hottest couple I have read in a while!! I love a well written hockey romance and Lauren Landish knows how to write stories that are funny and spicy, and still include a storyline. The superstitions were so cute and spicy!!

No OM drama, I tiny bit of OW drama but no cheating at all, Dalton Days would never! A little bit of a third act fight while Joy came to terms with her feelings, but Dalton was never going to let her get away from him and the love he had for her.

Looking forward to seeing how book three plays out and who Shep ends up with!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title!

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Contemporary fiction, romance
Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Characters: Joy (FMC) & Dalton (MMC)

This book was really great! The writing style was very good! I really learned to like the main characters. I would highly recommend this book!

This is a knockout five-star read. This is the second story in the Maple creek series, but they can be read as stand-alone stories. I adored I do with you and loved seeing Hope and Ben popping up in this story, but in all honesty, you don’t need to have read that story to fully understand this story. There is a good story with this one, and Joy is just someone you would want in your corner, she knows how to keep herself together and she understands the quirks of superstition that players get.

This is a great and enjoyable read. The chemistry between Joy and Dalton was sizzling, especially in the first part of the story, where they're trying to resist the attraction to each other.

After they "give in," it turns into a pretty standard sport romance, with little to add to the space.
All the talking about Joy being a badass boss bitch it's just that, and we never see her dominate the space the way we're told she usually does.
The same thing applies to the spicy scenes, which are few and far between with a lot of talking about how they were going to be explosive, instead, we get a mostly bland spice.
If you tell me that Dalton's nickname is "One-Night," that he has a third leg between his two, and not only that but it's also pierced, I'm honestly expecting something out of this world, with Joy having a mystical experience. We get none of this, as he's hyped up for nothing and their sex scenes are some of the most basic I've ever read.
Unfortunately, the author lacks imagination in this regard.

Despite all of this, I enjoyed reading their story especially, as I said, in the first half of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.