Release Blitz, Excerpt & Review: Halftime by Kim Findlay

Halftime by Kim Findlay 

Release Date: April 26, 2021

Series: Moo U #6

 

There’s no halftime in hockey, but maybe there’s one in love…

Drunk dialing your girlfriend to tell her that you didn’t really cheat is a bad idea–a lesson Seb Hunter learned the hard way. It was no surprise when she cut him completely out of her life. Now he’s finally moved on, and he’s looking forward to sophomore year at Moo U. Until his ex arrives on campus.

For goalie Faith Devereaux, cheating is a hard pass. She grew up knowing all too well how destructive infidelity can be. She’s gotten over Seb and picked the college of her dreams. The fact that he’s a student there will not be a problem. Hockey is her priority. Not guys, not dating, definitely not exes.

But when an exhibition game forces them into close proximity, it isn’t long before their old attraction flares. Regaining trust is hard, though, when the heart plays a good defensive game.

But when the goal is love, one more shot might be all they need.

Order Halftime at:   

Excerpt

I went up to my room, and Coop knocked on the doorframe.

I looked up from my textbook. I wanted to get on top of my reading. I’d told Holly I’d be tied up until after the game. The women’s team was hosting a party after, and I’d promised her we’d go together. Faith was not going to mess with my head anymore.

“Got a minute, Hunter?”

I put my book down. I was on my bed, and he sat on the desk chair.

“What’s up?”

He stared at me for a minute, and I wondered what was wrong.

“Is Faith the one?”

I froze. I couldn’t speak. I wasn’t ready to talk about Faith. How the hell had he worked this out?

“Devereaux. You two obviously know each other, but you pretend you don’t.” I shook my head a bit, and he held up a hand. “She didn’t swear at any of us or call us by our first names.”

At least Faith was the one who’d messed up.

“Plus, you knew she’d done that newbie shoot-out thing before, but then you disappeared. And her name is Faith.”

I’d mentioned her name last year when it had all gone down. I hadn’t said she was a hockey player. I hadn’t said much about her to anyone those first couple of weeks before the big blowup, but I had said her name. I’d hoped no one had remembered.

“She’s from Toronto, and you were playing like someone else while she was in net today.”

Cooper was listing everything off like I was on the stand and he was cross-examining me. Had he switched to a prelaw major? He leaned back, waiting for me to respond. He knew. No way I could deny it. I forced my muscles to relax. I hadn’t committed a crime. It was just embarrassing.

“Yeah, she’s the ex.”

I’d gone out with a couple of girls last year before Holly, but Faith was the ex. The others hadn’t been a big deal. With those girls, we’d gone out and had some fun, but it had never been like with Faith.

Review

I was so hyped for this book because it was an all hockey romance! Faith, just as Seb, was a hockey player and I really wanted to read about her perspective, her struggles and experiences in hockey and of course their romance. Their story had a tricky premise and I was a little worried about that.

Seb was a great guy. Sweet, caring and still hung up on his ex: Faith. They had a major blow up soon after Seb started college but, even though Seb thought he had moved on, it was pretty clear that he still had feelings for her. I went into this thinking I would struggle with Seb, but the author did an amazing job with the circumstances surrounding their break up and with his character.  I loved him so much! I need to stop loving characters this much from the beginning, because that usually means it’s harder to meet my high expectations regarding their love interest. Spoiler alert: It happened with this book. Cooper, Seb’s hockey teammate and friend, was a great character too. I’m very curious about him, I want to understand why he was so invested in Seb and Faith’s relationship. I hope we get his story! 

Faith was a complex character. I loved Faith, the goalie – hockey player aspects, in the story. I loved the way the author showed the double standards for male and female athletes, this is such an important topic and I enjoyed it being exposed. I adored Faith’s passion for hockey and how hard she fought for her dream. She was also a great team player and her story was very empowering. Unfortunately, she did annoy me, at times, mostly because of the way she handled Seb. I understood that she had major trust issues and she had her reasons for it. Her parents relationship was very dysfunctional, her mom and her dad were awful together, and Seb drunk dialing her, leading to their breakup (before the book started), didn’t really help her with trusting. Honestly, I wasn’t convinced Faith would trust Seb completely, no matter what he did. And I hated that for him. In spite of that, I really wanted them to be together and I rooted for them. I just doubted that Faith was ready to completely trust him (or any other love interest) at this point.

Then… the epilogue… I LOVED it. I cried when I read it. I can’t put into words how much I truly loved it. It was PERFECT! Frankly, I was thinking about rating it 3 or 3.5 stars until the epilogue, but I ended up boosting it up to 4 stars. That epilogue… 😍😍😍

Overall, Halftime was a sweet, entertaining, empowering, interesting, well written story. I hope we get more books featuring Faith’s teammates! I would love that!

Rating

                                          

Author

Kim Findlay grew up in Canada but now lives on a sailboat in the Caribbean. She gave up her accounting job to write romance novels. Life goals accomplished! Kim can be found reading, writing, and exploring paradise with her husband and the world’s cutest spaniel.

Find Kim Findlay online: