Title: Pucked Over
Series: Pucked #3
Author: Helena Hunting
Release Date: January 22, 2016
Lily LeBlanc isn’t versed in the art of casual sex, but after seven years in an on-again, off-again relationship, she’s definitely willing to give it a shot. And who better to try it with than her best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing at all.
NHL player, Randy Ballistic, lives up to his last name on the ice and in the bedroom. His best friend and teammate has recently given up the puck bunnies and traded them in for a real girlfriend. And she just happens to have a seriously feisty, extra-hot best friend on the rebound. Randy’s more than happy to be Lily’s spring board back into the dating scene.
Casual sex is only casual until those pesky things called emotions get involved. Once that happens, someone’s bound to gets pucked over.
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right? Rebound sex is supposed to be casual, maybe repeated a few times if it’s off-the-charts. No feelings—just sex. But Lily LeBlanc isn’t well versed on the art of casual sex—she’s been in a dead end relationship for seven years, so it’s about time she’s learned right? Especially if it’s with an uber hot hockey player who’s more than willing to play the game.
Randy “Balls” Ballistic is used to the single life—likes it actually. What’s better than playing the game you love for a living and having access to all the bunny pussy you can handle? Not much. And after watching his best friend and teammate fall hard for his girlfriend— and now with access to Sunny’s extra hot best-friend, Lily—Randy’s thinking maybe a bit skewed, but he’s perfectly happy to be her rebound back into the dating scene.
But what happens when things move past the fun stage into something that may actually involve emotions including those 4-letter words like and love? What about the emotions of fear and risk… because love is a risk. Is it a risk they’re willing to accept?
I really and truly LOVED this book. Randy and Lily are so great as individual characters and together as a couple. Randy is determined to not turn into his father, just as much as Lily is determined to not turn into her mother. Both are dealing with horrible “love” role models—and both are petrified of their true feelings. You can’t help but root for these two to get it together, though! They’re ridiculously compatible between the sheets. For their smoking hot sexy times, be sure you have a full charge or extra batteries handy!
What I also love is how their friends and “family” rally around them. Miller and Alex with their protectiveness for Lily, and Miller in his support for Randy to choose happiness. And Sunny and Violet pushing Lily to make a choice for her own happiness too—she had to give up her dream, but her friends continue to support her in finding another one. I loved getting more insight into Lance too!
Gah, I can’t get enough of these characters. Whose story is next?
~ Review by Missy
Like Violet, I have a hard *snicker* time not giggling about RANDY BALLS. I mean…can you blame me? Of course, once I started Pucked Over, my giggles changed from funny-name laughter to did-that-just-happen laughter. Which is just what I wanted and expected from the third book in Helena Hunting’s raucous Pucked series.
Randy Ballistic thinks that being the rebound for his best friend’s girlfriend’s best friend is a stellar idea. He's not the relationship type, but sex with a smokin’ hot girl, no strings? Sign him up.
Lily LeBlanc isn't your typical fuck-buddy, puck bunny type… However, she's just out of a long relationship, and looking for a little fun, and Randy Balls seems like the exact man to give it to her.
Until fun becomes serious, and casual becomes intense. Then what?
I've really enjoyed this sexy, silly hockey series and its nutty cast of characters since the first page of Pucked. And while Pucked Over isn't as ridiculously hilarious as that first book, it holds its own against Vi and Alex’s craziness. Although, honestly, a good portion of the funny in this one comes from that couple, especially the awkwardly filter-less Violet. Damn, she cracked me up—her playful, girl-talk banter with Lily, Sunny and Charlene absolutely made me smile. Those moments with the girls were the best—almost like hanging out with your drunk girlfriends and discussing life-altering topics like blow-jobs. Vital information, that. For real.
Actually, when I think about it, this whole book—save for a few stomach-dropping moments towards the end when the inevitable conflict comes to a head—made me smile. Sure, I loved the girl talk, but there was also the Lance situation (please, Ms. Hunting, we need a Lance book!), which was intriguing, to say the least. And the friendships between the men were great, too—seeing Miller and Alex’s changing relationship was deeply rewarding, and still occasionally conflicted.
Oh, and let's not forget the chemistry between the hotter-than-hell Randy and the sweetly naïve Lily. It was the center of this book, and I just loved these two together. They had sexy on lock, adorable on tap and funny on point. It was enjoyable to watch them figure out where they were going—which was straight past fun, let's be real here.
*Snort* Horny Nut Sac... He might be somewhat conflicted, a little damaged, a lot panty-melting, and most definitely swoon-worthy—and have a giggle-inducing name—but I was just so taken by the way he cared about Lily. The little things (defiled underwear, for example) he did that showed she was something else. There were moments when I cringed for and at him, but then there were moments that he showed his true, squishy center, and I just wanted to sigh and then see him get the girl. Of course. That's what romance is all about—getting the girl, and getting the girl off. Which, incidentally, is something that Randy Balls was exceptional at… With a name like that, how could he not be?
~ Review by Beth
I love hockey… they have players!
Canada. Snow. Hockey. They all go together so well, don’t they? One other thing is hockey players. Gorgeous, bearded, talented, dirty-talking hockey players. And Randy Ballistic is a fine example of just that. Lily LeBlanc cannot resist his charms though there are so many reasons why she should. From a less-than harmonious start to their relationship—oh yes, that is such an understatement—Lily and Randy are going to hit many highs and lows before they figure things out.
A beard and a man bun. I’m not one to fall head over heart for a beard and a man bun but for Randy… I believe I will make an exception. He is bold and brash with moves on and off the ice that have given him the reputation he richly deserves. Lily from the start has knocked him over, though he fights tooth and nail against anything more than physical. Lily is just getting out of a relationship so she’s very happy to go with the flow and simply enjoy what they have between them. A bit of a hot head at times, okay more than a bit, I couldn’t help but love her. They each have reasons to keep things casual and all is good… until pesky emotions get in the way.
This series has been one marked by scorching heat, sarcasm, humor and, above all, emotion and love. Humans as a species are a messy lot and often take the long way round to figure things out. Lily and Randy could be the poster children for the circuitous route but they are beyond entertaining while they do it. The sheer bawdiness of the sex and humour are balanced by the real emotion and love that also shines through. These two were snarky and sarcastic with wonderful glimpses into the truly loving people they are. While I wanted to nudge them along in the right direction at times, okay a few times, they managed to figure things out very well on their own.
I loved this book and the ones that came before it. I hope there will be more in this series!
~ Review by Diane
After enjoying the first two books in this series, I was disappointed to feel bored with Pucked Over after 35%. So, I gave it a break and when I picked it back up a week later, I became hooked. I’m glad I picked it back up as I really ended up liking it.
Randy and Lily met in the previous book, after Lily had just broken up with her boyfriend of seven years. Since getting out of that relationship, she wants to try to have a casual relationship with Randy, even though she doesn’t do casual.
After a while, causal turns to not-so-casual and feelings get involved, and that wasn’t part of the plan. Will they be able to face their feelings or will they let their feelings ruin what they have?
Randy and Lily have some undeniable chemistry. Even though they live in two different countries, it’s during the hockey season, and with Lily’s two jobs, they make time to see each other to have some fun. It may not be as much time as they would like, but they make it work. They both have daddy issues which cause them to be more cautious in who they involve themselves with and how they see relationships. Randy’s belief of why he wouldn’t be able to make a relationship work really bugged me. I just wanted to smack some sense into him and tell him he shouldn’t think the way he does. His friends ended up doing that for me, and it changed his thought process on the situation.
I ended up really liking this book. It’s not as funny as the first two, though it really didn’t need to be to work for this couple. Randy and Lily definitely had an interesting relationship but they made it work for them. It was great to catch up with the rest of the gang, especially Violet. She was as interesting and funny as ever. I really hope we will be getting Lance’s book next as he really made an appearance in this book.
~ Review by Leah
For the love of all things Helena Hunting! That lady sends my emotions on a joyride full of sexy chemistry, off the wall humor and that mushy love stuff that we all secretly can't get enough of. My bar for Pucked Over was set high. How could it not be? The two previous Pucked books were chock full of so much humor, I was crying from all the Beaver and Yeti goodness. This book surpassed any and all expectations.
Lily, with her tough exterior and sassy mouth was just waiting for the perfect man to crack her shell. Randy and his bachelor ways did not go unnoticed. He had a website practically decided to his manhood. It's safe to say, Randy "Balls" Ballistic got around. Both with difficult pasts, these two came together and formed my favorite power team! Full of sexy tattooed goodness, smart mouthed sass and a whole lot of steam!
~ Review by Kelly
New York Times and USA Today best selling author of PUCKED, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She’s putting her degree in English Lit to good use by writing contemporary erotic romance. She is the author of Clipped Wings, her debut novel, and Inked Armor.
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