Cross Check Hearts

Love and Hockey

By: Nikki Lawson

Narrated by: Casaundra Long, Jay Tee

I’m the coach’s daughter. He’s the team's new rookie—and the man who gave me the hottest night of my life.

After a messy breakup, I wanted one night to forget. No names. No complications. Just heat, chemistry, and a handsome, dark-haired stranger who made my knees weak and my heart race.

But when pre-season training starts, guess who shows up on the ice wearing my father’s team’s jersey?

Declan Murray. Rookie defenseman for the Denver Aces. My dad’s newest project… and the guy who had me pressed against a wall six months ago, whispering things that still make me blush.

Now we’re stuck in each other’s orbit. He’s off-limits for a million reasons—including the fact that my father has expressly forbidden any of his players from touching me. I’ve always been a good girl, the one who plays by the rules and tries to live up to my parents’ expectations.

But Declan? He’s not playing fair.

He remembers everything about me. He sends me food when I forget to eat, crochets adorable outfits for my cat, supports my dreams—and gets all growly and possessive in front of my ex.

Worst of all? My dad thinks yoga will help Declan’s game… so now I’m stuck giving him private lessons.

The more time we spend together, the harder it is to remember why we shouldn’t be doing this.

He wants more. I want to stop wanting him.

But when the guy you’re trying not to fall for is already all in?

Staying away might be the biggest penalty of all.

TROPES IN THIS BOOK:
Forbidden romance
Coach’s daughter
Forced proximity
Anonymous one-night-stand
Golden retriever with a dominant side
He falls first and hard
Boy obsessed
Praise / dirty talk
Angst and banter

Cross Check Hearts is a contemporary coach’s daughter/rookie hockey romance loaded with banter, a touch of angst, and deliciously dirty steam. It can be listened to as a complete standalone.

©2025 Nikki Lawson (P)2025 Nikki Lawson

One night turned into more

Ah! I love them together! They met in a *club* have a wild and fun night together, that’s suppose to be just one night, never see each other again. Only thing is he is new the to hockey team and she’s the coaches daughter! This was so good! And I love how he never stopped trying to be with her.

Love

We all deserve the love Hannah gets from Declan!! He's beyond the hero, he's understanding, choosing to be there even when times are hard and tough!! To be chosen over everyone a d everything else is exactly what we all deserve!!

Too long

My goodness, this book should not be this long. I do enjoy the story, but I just had to stop listening because I can’t handle the idea of 3 more hours until the end. I’m just tired of it. I’ll come back to it, but I needed a fresh story.

What happened???

Granted it’s been a while since I first listened to the other books in the series, but I absolutely LIVED them and couldn’t wait for this one to come to audiobook. That being said this story was so bad compared to the previous ones. The whole “dominant” side that she tries to portray is so far from anything ethical and perpetuates some not-quite-right practices albeit very lightly. The male actor’s audio is also very low quality in parts of the the book. Overall, I’d stay away, even if you liked the previous books in the series.