This book is a great ending to the series. Bruce was my fave throughout the series and it was great to see his cinnamon roll self finally get his moment in love. Farrah,Bruce’s best friends’/teammates’ sister loves to bake. She’s reeling from a recent divorce as well as a medical diagnosis. she tries to fight against her attraction, but he’s just too damned lovable and persistent. Seriously, who doesn’t want a big strapping manly man that confident enough to admit he likes watching romcoms and wants a family?!

Secret or Shutout is a romance about finding trust again. Though this story is written as part of a series, I jumped in cold and had no trouble getting to know the characters and their past stories! I loved meeting Farrah and Bruce and all the other D.C. Eagles hockey players and wives as well.

This story played on the idea of forbidden love, and while that's not my favorite trope, I did enjoy this story. As Farrah learned to move past her pain and see the good in others again, she was able to release fear and experience the love being offered to her. While Bruce is a hockey player, I didn't feel like this book revolved around hockey, it more centered on the characters as people and I appreciated that!

While still closed door, this book had quite a bit of innuendo and some steamy moments that I hadn't necessarily expected.

Secret or Shutout by Leah Brunner was a great feel good book. The devotion Bruce shows to Farrah, even when she's getting in her own way, is so sweet.
Farrah who recently got divorced because she couldn't get pregnant due to PCOS didn't think anyone could love her and want to be with her. But one night Bruce meets her and does everything in his power to change her mind.
The only con I have for this book is Farrah resisting Bruce got annoying after awhile, I just wanted to come through the book and shake her!
Overall, this book was a fun, light read and I'll be definitely be reading the other books in this series. Thanks, #netgalley, for allowing me to review this book!

I have loved every installment of the D.C. Eagles Hockey series by Leah Brunner but I think Secret or Shutout was by far my favourite! Following the Eagles’ goalie, Bruce McBride as he convinces whose team Captains little sister, Farrah, to give their relationship a chance after an unexpected meeting in a bar before either knew who the other was. When fate (and Bruce) continue to bring them together, Farrah must face the insecurities for her recently failed marriage and Bruce is there to help her along the way. This was such a heartwarming story, I really enjoyed being back in the D.C Eagles university and learning more about Farrah and Bruce. Overall, I highly recommend! While it can be read standalone I think it’s a richer reading experience when you have read the previous book or at least, Betrothal or Breakaway. Thank you to the author, Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This review has been published on Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon AU on the publishing date.

✨Review of 'Secret or Shutout' with thanks to author, Leah Brunner for providing me with an e-copy to review✨

What to expect:
🏒Best friend's sister
♥️He falls first
🤫Sneaking around
🏡Found Family
💛Golden Retriever Hero
😉Nicknames
❤️‍🩹He takes care of her
🚪Closed door

📖Summary:
When NHL goalie Bruce McBride finds out that his bar hook-up is none other than his team captain's little sister, he knows he's in trouble! Sneaking around ensues and when the truth finally comes out, Bruce finds himself in the fight of his life to keep from losing his soulmate, his best friend and the playoffs.

✏️My thoughts:
Bruce McBride is the ultimate Golden Retriever. He falls first and he falls hard. If you are anything like me, your heart will completely melt as he gives his all to show Farah that she can rely on him.

Be sure to read the TWs listed by the author before you jump into this one though, as there are some heart-wrenching moments, including medical emergencies. That said, there is also plenty of fun and a lot of laughs. I particularly enjoyed the snippets from the Eagles Fan Forum that appear throughout the story.

As with the rest of the D.C. Eagles series, the found family dynamic in this book is beautiful and one of the reasons that the series has become a comfort read for me.

If you enjoy closed-door, dual POV, heart-warming hockey romance (and Kristoff in Frozen makes you feel some kinda way), I highly recommend adding 'Secret or Shutout' to your TBR! It's out on March 27th, 2025.

Farrah and Bruce were a delight to read. Bruce is such a golden retriever and I am always here for that. He never wavered in his feelings for Farrah and I liked how forthcoming he was with Remy. The friendships/found family and team mates sister tropes are always a winner.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Leah Brunner writes sweet hockey romance very well. I’m sad that it seems like this was the final book in this series but after reading the free bonus scene which takes place 8 years down the road, now I’m hoping Noah will get his own book and include the next generation of the DC Eagles clan!

This series was one of the first hockey romance books I read and fell in love with the characters, so of course I couldn't wait to read about Bruce! This is a closed-door romance book with several great kissing scenes 😍

I couldn't relate to Farrah feeling like Bruce was too young for her, but I understand others will relate. I personally don't consider this an age-gap romance because I think there was only a 5 year(?) gap. When I think of age-gap romances, I'm thinking more of a decade or bigger gap. But... maybe I'm just biased because my husband is 5 years younger than me 😂. However, when both parties are close to 30, I don't think 5 years is that big of a deal.

Bruce was a perfect match for Farrah!! His goofiness always makes me smile, but he proves he can be serious with her.

If this was the final installment, which I believe it is, it has a perfect ending!! This book also brought the other couples back throughout the majority of the book and it just felt great reading about them again!

"I'm not falling Ambs, I'm crashing and burning and don't know how to stop."

If you want a cute sports romance story that will make you kick your feet and giggle, this is for you! This is the fourth book in the D.C. Eagles Hockey series and I read this as a stand alone but I am immediately going to need to run to read the first 3 books in the series! This book is about Remy's sister Farrah and his goalie teammate/best friend Bruce. It checks so many boxes for the perfect romance!

"You're a shameless flirt."
"Only with you."

- Sports romance
- Brothers teammate/best friend
- The MMC is a goofy fun loving cinnamon roll/golden retriever/teddy bear
- He literally watches romcoms before games for good luck
- Good luck charms
- Lots of baking and desserts
- Cute texts

Also, there is mention of PCOS and infertility but I thought it was handled very well!

Thank you so much to Leah Brunner and the NetGalley team for the arc!

Brothers' best friend, hockey romance.

Farrah's divorce is final, and she spends it at a bar and experiences the best kiss of her life. She is struggling to cope with her PCOS and is not looking to get into a relationship, so she leaves without even getting his name.

Bruce has watched all of his friends and teammates pair off and get married. He is no longer interested in casual hook-ups. He meets the girl of his dreams but lets her go without getting any of her information.

Both of these characters are surprised when the very next morning they meet up again. Farrah is the little sister of Bruce's team captain Remy!

This was a cute, closed-door romance. I am always a little confused at the protective big brother trope, especially when they are friends, and the guy is a pretty good guy. The first part of the book was a little boring for me. Not a lot happened but at about the 30% mark it really picked up. I absolutely loved Bruce! He was such a nice guy. I also love it when authors compare characters to something real. I have a hard time visualizing people but when Bruce is compared to Kristoff from Frozen it really let me visualize what he would look like.

Farrah frustrated me a little through, I am not crazy about tropes where characters try to decide what is best for someone without getting their input. I am super happy she finally came around. I thought Bruce and Farrah where such great characters together.

Thank you to NetGalley and LBP LLC for this title. This is my very honest review.

Brother's best friend done right!!! I love reading Leah's books. They make you swoon with just the right amount of yearning and fade to black spice. Farrah and Bruce's story was a wonderful way to complete the DC Eagles series.

Farrah is in her 30s, recently divorced and had fertility issues with her ex-husband. Bruce is in his late 20s in his prime as NHL's favorite goalie. The two meet unexpectedly at a bar after Farrah has signed her divorce papers and do not know who they are to each other. They quickly find out and realize that getting together would not be prudent as Farrah is Remy's younger sister and Bruce is Remy's best friend. Their journey to realizing that being with each other is worth the risk was heartfelt and sweet. Seeing all of the other DC eagles and their significant others was the cherry on top.

Thank you Leah Brunner and NetGalley for this ARC! Highly recommend Secret or Shutout- especially to those who enjoy a hockey romance on the sweeter side!

I absolutely LOVED this book! Hockey romance is my favorite sport romance and boy did this book deliver!
Farrah and Bruce meet one night at a bar but never share their names. After a steamy makeout session they go their own ways. The next day, they find out that Farrahs older brother is Bruce's captain.
Farrah is recently divorced and thinks Bruce is too young for her. She's also dealing with infertility issues and doesn't want to put that on Bruce.
The author did a great job with the sensitive topic of infertility. Many women suffer from PCOS but you don't hear much about it. I found myself rooting for Farrah and I feel like Bruce was the perfect loving, considerate and caring man she needed in her life!
Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to ARC read this great book!

I loved all the books in this series but I have to say I think Bruce and Farrah just might be my favorite.

I have loved this series from the very first one, and Secret or Shutout did not disappoint! I loved getting to see all our old friends, make some new ones, and cannot wait for this series to continue!

Secret or Shutout by Leah Brunner is hockey romance excellence!

I love her series but I always love a good golden retriever mmc that adores and is down bad for the love interest. I love that they have a bit of a history. She's a baker, he's a hockey player and she's the one he can't stop thinking about despite thinking she would never see him again but fate is funny but she's his captains litter sister and the tension of that was perfection. I love the "we shouldn't" but they do anyways because who doesn't love a pining golden retriever hockey player thats also 6'5? I am down bad. I loved their dynamic. I loved their chemistry. It's fun, seeing the older characters and how they are all one big family and I thought this book was so fun and sweet and steamy. A perfect hockey romance to devour in a sitting!

I received an ARC from NetGalley but I have read the previous books in this series not as ARCs and loved them. I absolutely loved this book also. Bruce is amazing and so sweet and supportive. I love Farrah too and love her personality. Bruce and Farrah are definitely one of my favorite couples from this series. I also enjoyed how she wrote about Farrah's PCOS and her infertility. If you love hockey romance, sports romance, or have read any of the books from Leah Brunner you should definitely read this book.

This was such an amazing book to read. The whole teammate's sister is such a fun trope to read. How they met was so cute and how they finally got together. Also the infertility storyline is so well written. How women feel when dealing with infertility and the insecurity about it. I read it in one sitting and I absolutely love it.
5 stars

I want to say thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for all allowing me the privilege of being able to read this book.


This was a really good book! I've never read the three before this one, which I only found out about once I started it. That doesn't matter though because this author is fantastic at making her book work as a stand alone and then make you want to catch up on all that came before! It was very cute and sweet, but with a lot of realism. The characters were also very likeable, and were able to all pull you in and feel like you were along for the ride. I also really liked that well this was a romance it wasn't "sex romance" which in my head is where most of the romance is sex based, so for the people who really love that in their romances this doesn't have that. It also didn't need it either, it made the romance feel more genuine and real and I've really really missed that lately in my reading!

The only issues I have are kind of minor. There's a good handful of spelling errors or repeated word errors throughout especially towards the ending. There's also really big and really noticable timeline errors all throughout this book and I hated having to double check whether I missed something or not. In this story that timeline part actually matters because its a big premise for the whole of the book. But apart from that I really liked this book!

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart again for allowing me to read this book I really liked it!

Four starts with plus, for my immense enjoyment while reading.

Each of us sometimes needs a book that will make us smile with tenderness while taking public transport and shed tears into our pillow in the middle of the night. A romance with a man who supposedly belongs to the “fiction” category but, in reality, is much closer to “fantasy.” This was probably the saddest book of the series, but at the same time the closest to my heart and the most uplifting.

I love the sweetness of these books—they’re like strawberry hard candies: bad for your teeth but good for the soul. After a long, hard day of being an adult and pretending to have everything under control, reading about a true knight in a fancy suit who comes to the heroine’s rescue rekindles a tiny spark of faith in humanity within me. A spark that, believe me, is buried very deep. This is what women dream of—unwavering support, emotional maturity, and keeping one’s word. That is far sexier than all the muscles in the world… though Bruce isn’t lacking in that department either.

I also think the theme of PCOS and infertility, which this book addresses, is incredibly important. Farrah’s story is the story of millions of women worldwide—often dismissed by doctors, overlooked, and not taken seriously. Our pain can’t be that bad, and that’s just the way we are, right? The world needs change, and speaking out about it is the first step in the right direction.

The D.C. Eagles Hockey series is for you if you’re looking for a charming romance that lets you escape reality for a couple of afternoons. Each book is like a comforting cupcake with a different flavor, and their sweetness is gently balanced by the characters’ sometimes painful pasts. Their lightness will make you melt and take you back to the memories of your first teenage loves. They won’t change your life, but they will definitely make it a little more bearable.

I was SO excited when this book was approved on NetGalley! I have quickly become a huge Leah Brunner fan and I have read all of her books. This one being especially exciting since it was about another DC Eagle, Bruce McBride. I have been so excited for his book to come out ever since being introduced to him in other books in this series. Bruce and Farrah’s had me in a chokehold from start to finish! A new divorcee meets a handsome man in a bar and watch the relationship (not so secretly—just ask Andie) flourish. The witty banter, the blushes and smoldering looks, and everything in between you have to add this to you TBR!

•Hockey •Age Gap
•PCOS/Infertility Rep •HEA
•Closed Door Romance •Mild Language
•Cinnamon Roll MMC
4.5 ⭐️