Penalty Play

Boston Rebels, Book 5

We were never meant to see each other again. It was a one-night, no-names fling in Bermuda . . . until the next day when I watch her walk down the aisle at our parents’ wedding and discover she’s now my stepsister. We say it won’t happen again, but we give in to the temptation of “just one more time” . . . twice. We tell ourselves there’s no harm in it. Given my stepdad’s and her mom’s rocky marital histories, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see each other again.

Except, a few days later, I walk into the Boston Rebels’ offices to assure management that I’ll focus on nothing but hockey after I missed last season thanks to an injury. Instead, I find myself face-to-face with my stepsister, Morgan, who now works for the team. At first, we pretend we’ve never met and try to steer clear of each other. But it’s impossible. Her friends are tangled up with my teammates. Her dad is my agent. She’s everywhere: at the rink, out with our friends, and in my head. I have every reason not to pursue her. I tell myself I’ll stay away. And yet, I can’t get enough of her. So we make a deal: a secret friends with benefits arrangement—no feelings, no commitment.

The more I truly get to know her, though, the more I can’t imagine my life without her. But forever is the one thing I promised myself I’d never give anyone again.

©2026 Julia Connors (P)2026 Julia Connors

Such a great listen!

I just finished listening to Penalty Play. The narration is perfection. Listening to Megan Wicks and Aiden Snow bring these characters to life was delightful. Aiden did such a great job of being both growly and sensitive. He also did a great job of groveling and showing just how conflicted Aidan was throughout the entire book. Megan portrayed Morgan well. You can hear her self doubt and self loathing come through loud and clear.

The tough topics were handled sensitively by both the author and the voice actors. A perfect duet narration! Thank you to Julia Connors for an advance listener copy.

Ahhh, since I first read about Morgan, I hoped she would get her own book. And did she ever!

While it’s billed as a step sibling romance, it’s not really. Max is Aidan’s step/adopted father, who was his dad’s best friend then married to his mother after his dad died when he was young. Max is a great father and raised Aidan as if he were his own son.

Despite that fact, both MC’s feel it seems forbidden due to their parents’ relationship. They then find out they work with each inside the Rebels organization, though Morgan is only a contractor, helping out short term. And, her dad is his agent and warns him to stay away from his daughter. He knows how Aidan is.

Both carry past relationship baggage that interfere with their ability to be honest with each and trust what the other is feeling - especially when words and actions don’t align with each other.

The spice is great in the book and plentiful. We see our favorite characters from previous books make small appearances.

As this is a romance, we all know there will be a HEA, we just don’t know exactly how we will get there. I loved “how we got there”.

You’re Going to Love This One

What would you do if you found out your one night stand was your new step sibling?

Aidan is grumpy, broody, and trying to fit back into the dynamic of the Boston Rebels. Morgan is sassy, funny, and is trying to adjust to her temporary position with the team.

Aidan and Morgan bring a lot of great banter, tension, and sweet moments with their story, and Megan Wicks and Aiden Snow bring them to life in the best way. Both narrators nail their parts and made me love this one even more than I already did. You’re not going to want to miss out on hearing them.

Great end to a great series

Overall Thoughts: As excited as I was for this book, I am so sad to see this series come to an end. I have loved all these characters and getting to know them better throughout the books. This book has a favorite trope, step siblings. I especially liked the way this trope played out between the two main characters. This book was cheeky, and fun, and full of spice, and the banter was epic. I 100% recommend this entire series by Julia and implore you to listen to it. The narration has been top notch through every book. Megan was so fun to listen to as she narrated the feisty Morgan, and Aiden brought Aidan, the NHL bad boy to life. Their voices worked so well together.

Narration: Duet, dual POV, first person, present tense, some flashbacks

Tropes: Hockey, found family, close proximity, vacation hook up, adult step siblings, enemies to lovers, she helps revamp his image, fierce FMC, he notices the small details, estranged from her mom, workplace, her father is his agent

Overall: 5 ❤️
Spice: 3.5 🌶️
Humor: 3 😂
Drama: 3 🎭
Darkness: 1.5 🖤
Narration: 5 🎧

Morgan flies to Aruba for her mother’s third wedding since she divorced her father. On the night before the wedding she meets a handsome man in the bar, and they spend an incredible night together. The next day he is standing at the end of the aisle, next to his father.

Aiden can’t believe he slept with his stepsister and is grateful he won’t have to see her anytime soon if ever, knowing how long his father’s marriages tend to last. He’s happy to be returning to the team after rehabbing a hand injury. Until he walks into the owner’s office and sees Morgan is part of the Rebel’s social media team.

The two fight like siblings but can’t help but be drawn to each other. With the complication of working together, and their parents being married, they both don’t see this going anywhere. As the season progresses, they get to know each other, their lives become even more entwined, and they can’t help thinking maybe they could be more.

So freaking good!

Step Siblings
Vacation fling
Agent's daughter
Broken Boy x Good Girl
Workplace Romance
Dual POV - 1st person

Duet narration - Megan Wicks & Aiden Snow
What a pair. These two compliments each others voices so well. They both performed this story wonderfully.

Book #5 Boston Rebels series

Julia Connors has done it again, giving us a fabulous hockey romance romcom. Love this series so much. Each book is great in its own way. This one has the best "meet cute". One night stand hook up on vacation only give it an extra spin when they discover who each other is.

Once I started this book I did not want to stop. I love each and every character and all the vibes.

Morgan is a strong and independent woman starting her PR/social media business when a friend needs her help covering for someone going on maternity leave. Morgan has a hard time telling people no and always wants to help in anyway she can. Stepping into the roll for the hockey team as temporary PR manager she does not expect to see her vacation fling and new step brother at work. She can't seem to resist him and her attraction to him. Aidan is back on the team after a year long injury recovery stint. He is known as a fighter in the hockey arena but the bosses want to see him settle down into a more leader type of roll. He also can not resist his new step sister Morgan when the universe keeps throwing them together.

Such a good book. I love the friendships and the development of a found family within them.

Penalty Play: Boston Rebels Book 5

I have to give mad props to Julia for this blurb! I mean if you are not LOL by the time you are halfway through reading it, I can’t help you! Shenanigans for the #win! I’ve read it so many times for its humor effect that I might have it memorized! And you know what, the story had the same vibe! #winning I have yet to meet a Julia Connors story that I didn’t like! I’ve not read every one of the stories she has ever penned, but the ones I have, have been winners for me, not just reading but also listening! I cannot wait to get my listening groove on with this story!

Normally I talk about this next aspect towards the end of my reviews, if I talk about it all, but it was done so realistically, that I’m doing it now. I’m not a fan of last minute/third-act conflicts. Mostly because they come across as forced and unnecessary in most stories that I read. This is not one of those cases! Yes, there is conflict towards the end(ish) but it’s realistic conflict. Could the story be as impactful without it? Sure, but having it didn’t really register to me as a negative. It felt more like an “of course” moment to me. Obviously, this all sounds super cryptic now that I read over it (lol), but I can’t spoil it for you, so you get what you get!

Julia really went out with a bang with this story. She hit every one of my high notes and I am so in love with it all that it makes me giddy! I love the growth that both Aiden and Morgan underwent because of their relationship. They were to each other the thing they both needed so they could be the best possible people to each other! It was a thing of beauty. The support and lifting up they gave to each other was very emotional for me and I just loved it! Their chemistry sparked off the pages from their vacation fling to the end! The banter and wit in the story were addictive and humorous.

I’ve loved this team from the very beginning, and I hate to say goodbye to them, but it was a superstar goodbye so I’m okay with it! This is one of those series that I know I will come back to over and over again in the future!

🎧There are just not enough audiobooks narrated by 🎤Megan Wicks! Her talent holds no bounds. I’ve only listened to a handful of the audiobooks she has narrated since I discovered her this past summer and in every single one she has had to perform a different “type” of character and she has nailed every single one. I could not have asked for a better Morgan! I really felt all of her layers thru Megan’s performance, from her quick wit and sass to her self-doubts. Megan brought her to life spectacularly for me and I found myself even more emotional listening to this story than I was while I read it. 🎤Aiden Snow is a narrator that I have come to gravitate towards in the last year or so and knowing that he would be bringing Aidan to life just made me so excited! And yes, he too brought his a-game to the table. Aidan is the kind of character that really fits Aiden’s voice and style and together with Megan in a duet performance they just exploded.

I’ve experienced this series both with my eyes and my ears and last month I took the opportunity to sit with the series as a whole back to back and I have to tell you guys, that not only do I think that overall my audio experience beats my reading experienced but also this is one of the few series that I can say can be binged back-to-back without a missed beat. Let’s be honest, or at least I’m going to be honest LOL, when it comes to “binging”, after the 3rd book I tend to wonder and come back. That’s not true “binging”. Well, I didn’t stray. I started with Center Ice and did not stop until the end of Penalty Play, back to back to back. I can count on one hand the number of series I can do that with and I love a lot of series. <<< Pay attention LOL! I bring this up because it’s something I think Julia Connors needs to be celebrated over. It takes a lot of work to find the perfect fit for a character and not just “any” talented narrator will do for every character. Julia not only found exceptional narrators in their own right, but they all fit the characters they performed ridiculously well. I cannot express how much I have loved this series from the very beginning and the cast of narrators that Julia has brought together played a big role in that. Those of you in your audiobook era, pay attention. *wink*