Cross-Checked

Boston Rebels, Book 3

De: Julia Connors

Narrado por: Sebastian York, Angelina Rocca

This steamy enemies to lovers, single dad story is coming soon!

©2024 Julia Connors (P)2024 Julia Connors

Not Your Average Romcom!!

I listened to this audiobook as a palate cleanser—something lighter after a string of dark, heavy reads. I was not expecting to fall head over heels for it. What I assumed would be your typical sports romance with a strong female lead turned out to be so much more.

From the razor-sharp wit and fast-paced banter to the incredible character development and toe-curling steam, this book is a rare gem. It's a true unicorn of rom-coms. It’s smart, sexy, and laugh-out-loud funny in all the right ways. (Let’s be honest, finding a rom-com this spicy and well-written is no easy feat!)

If I could give it a thousand stars, I would.

I highly, recommend listening to this one on audio. The banter comes alive, the chemistry sizzles, and the overall experience is just on another level. Trust me, this is one you’ll want to hear, not just read.

grumpy single dad

I loved this book when I first read it so when I got the opportunity to listen I was super excited. Then I started listening and realized it was a duet and that just made it even better!

Sometimes duets are a little choppy but not this one. It was recorded flawlessly and was so well done. I loved both narrators.

I love AJ. I love that she is a GM of a professional hockey team. But I do not love that she felt like she had to work 3 times as hard as the men in her role. But it was a character trait that was super well written and brought to light these career inequities.

I also love grumpy single dads so McCabe was perfect. I love how driven he was the be the best dad and how he would drop anything to be there for his daughter.

I would highly recommend this to anyone that loves hockey romance especially with workplace romance thrown in. The back office perspective of the team combined with the game scenes were amazing. I really love the bond between the WAGS and the staff too.

This one does have some triggers so please check those but as someone that has the triggers this book has I do think they were handled well.

I can't wait to see what comes next in this series.

I received an advanced listener copy of this book through the author. This is my honest review

What a sensual production in your ears!!

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5) but actually ♾️⭐️
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5) but actually ♾️🎧
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5) but actually ♾️🌟
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) I bump up for public places/outdoor spaces. My trip to gorgeous Valley Forge this summer was quite a bit less exciting than theirs. 😆

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 I already love this book with ♾️ ⭐️ & quite possibly my favorite book of the year! And the audiobook, with DUET narration by Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca, definitely pushed all my buttons. Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca totally and sensually took on the personalities of these fabulous MCs. This amazing audiobook entertainment is like having a movie/production playing in my ears. You know the saying, the book was better? This one has me thinking: the audiobook was better!
🤩 I adore these MCs—boss babe GM for the Boston Rebels, AJ (Alessandra Jones), and team captain for the Boston Rebels, Ronan McCabe!
🤩 Single dad of sweet baby Abby–she’s perfectly written into this story.
🤩 Workplace enemies vibes, and a little bit grumpy, sunshine.
🤩 Forbidden plus forced proximity, yes please! 🥵🌶️
🤩 The love in action. The caretaking. So swoony!!
🤩 I love a little bit of locker room and rink time in my hockey romance!
🤩 Sneaking around! And that under the table knee grab! ❤️‍🔥🫠
🤩 Teammates who have your back & found family.
🤩 I’m a sucker for a gala, especially when the hockey hotties decide to attend in support!
🤩 When Morgan did the mini family photo shoot for social media! What impeccable details. 🥰
🤩 When the conflict is so captivating and feels so nerve-racking but also so good and right! I think this is me saying all the feels! I’m so glad I savored every scene!
🤩 Talk about feels—AJ and McCabe had me feeling the chemistry and tension through my whole body.
🤩 I had tears in my eyes a few times throughout the book, but I had tears streaming down my face in a stick room/closet steamy scene. These are some strong feels! And I bawled in the epilogue—happy tears, of course.
🤩 This is my favorite bonus epilogue of all time—you won’t want to miss it! 💯

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have one tiny but—but we didn’t get the special un-jersey scene. I really wanted the un-jersey scene. The teaser of it was almost enough.
💫 I cannot wait to find out who is narrating the audiobook for this beautiful and scrumptious story! An audiobook reread of a book I love is my favorite!
💫 Gimme more Boston Rebels! I’m so excited for what’s to come!

5 Stars. Full Stop.

Three of my favorite tropes in one book! Single Dad, Hockey, Reverse Age Gap. I mean, it had to be good right!

I love this series so much.

The FMC is a strong boss lady and doesn't take ANYTHING from anyone.

McCabe will do ANYTHING to take care of his daughter.

And they can't stand each other. But those reasons seem to be wrapped up in a secret or two that will change everything.

Soon, McCabe is changing his tune about leave the Rebels and doing everything in his power to stay wherever AJ is, no matter what the cost.

Such incredible characters, growth and the deepest of connections. 5 Stars. Full Stop.

Angelina Rocca & Sebastian York were the absolute perfect choices for these characters. They brought AJ & McCabe to life exactly as I imagined when reading this originally. And it made a book I already loved even better.

So good!!! Love this book

Workplace Romance
Hockey romance
Enemies to lovers
Single dad
Strong FMC
Spicy

Duet Narration - Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca
Absolutely fabulous narration! Loved these two together

Loved this book!

AJ is a badass hockey General Manger. Very hands on with her team. She’s divorced and single, work focused.

Roman is a star hockey captain that AJ recruited from college. They had a falling out of sorts when Ronan defended AJ against her low ex husband.

Now through forced proximity sparks are flying.
This story was sweet, spicy and heartwarming. I loved these characters. HIGHLY recommend to any hockey romance lover and others!

AJ & McCabe

🔹️Enemies-to-lovers
🔹️workplace romance
🔹️reverse age gap
🔹️Single dad
🔹️Found family
🔹️girl group
🔹️forced proximity
🔹️no third act breakup

AJ is the GM for the Boston Rebels NHL team and is the first female nominated for GM of the year. McCabe is the grumpy, single dad, team captain in the last year of his current contract. They have some lingering "bad" history from their time in St. Louis.

When McCabe finds himself without a babysitter for his daughter for a game, AJ steps in to do what's best for her team, including caring for Abby. During the game a fight breaks out, and AJ gets hurt while protecting Abby. McCabe offers to care for AJ while she is healing from her injury. In the following weeks, attraction and desires ignite. AJ gets a glimpse of what her life could look like if she opened up and found balance.

AJ is the badass boss babe, a queen, an icon, a role model. McCabe is the man she needs to support her and let her shine but also let her be vulnerable.

Audiobook narrated by Angelina Rocca and Sebastian York. Angelina performs AJ's confidence and vulnerability amazingly. SebYo plays the grumpy hockey player flawlessly.

RUN & go go listen to this one!

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

In Short: Do not walk, RUN to go listen/read this one. I devoured this one in one sitting. Absolutely loved it. No notes!

General Thoughts: OH MY GOSH! This one is SO SO SO GOOD! So good that I had to break out the all caps and the exclamation points. The chemistry, the spice, the banter, the side characters, the plot, the writing--all exceptionally well done. I haven't read anything by Julia Connors before, and I want to slap my past self for that. How/Why did I not read this author sooner? Learn for my mistakes, and pick her up right now. It's been a while since I've been fully engrossed in a book like I was with this one. So so good. Take a look at the tropes, and you'll see some of what made this one so, so good. Just some exceptionally good tropes! But again, this one was exceptionally well-written, and none of it felt forced at all. I will immediately be going to read her backlog. I received an audio review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Spice Meter:❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Spicy, and so so good! I was down bad.

Romantic Tropes and Things:
-contemporary realistic
-sports romance
-hockey romance
-older FMC age gap
-dislike to love
-love to hate you/hate to love you
-GM and player
-off-limits
-secret romance
-all the spice
-workplace romance
-he falls harder and faster
-boy obsessed down bad MMC

Another banger from Julia

Okay, seriously, I LOVE a boss babe. I love seeing a woman in a male-dominated industry. And AJ is so good at her job!

AJ is the GM for the Boston Rebels, McCabe is the team captain....and they have not liked each other for the better part of a decade... until they don't. There is so much tension that it just builds and builds...until they snap.

Watching their story unfold was so fun. McCabe is a grumpy, single dad, AJ is career driven but that didn't stop them from having their worlds collide. AJ was so precious with McCabe's daughter and he was all in once that tension snapped.

🎧This audio slayed. Sebyo & Angelina in a duet narration.... I ATE this up like nobody's business.

Loved it!! Single Dad Hockey Romance!

🏒 Hockey Romance
🏒 Forbidden/Secret Relationship
🏒 Enemies to Lovers
🏒 Reverse Age Gap
🏒 Single Dad

Looking for a grumpy, single Dad hockey player with a dirty mouth? Well you’ll definitely find it in Ronan McCabe! He’s the quintessential broody, protective MMC in all the best ways.

🎧Narrated by Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca🎧
This audiobook was so great! The performances were spot on for each character, and the chemistry was awesome. If you’re looking for a listen that’ll give you a spectrum of feels, this is it!

Thank you so much to Julia Connors for the chance to listen to & review this ALC.

AJ & McCabe

This book made me so happy, and I loved being back in the Boston Rebels universe. Cross-Checked is the third book in this series and follows Alessandra Jones (AJ) and Ronan McCabe. AJ is the first female general manager in the league, and currently manages the Boston Rebels professional hockey team. She is fierce, independent, and a total boss. Ronan is a single father to a baby girl, Abby, and the team captain. AJ and McCabe have a complicated history that has impacted their professional relationship. When McCabe needs someone to watch Abby during a game, AJ steps in to help. AJ gets injured, and Ronan insists on taking care of her. What happens next? We get a rollercoaster enemies-to-lovers, reverse age gap, forbidden workplace romance with all the feels.

Whew! AJ and Ronan took me on a journey, and I loved every second of it. They had undeniable chemistry and were perfectly matched. McCabe is an amazing father, and I loved how he prioritized Abby in every decision he made. As a protector, he was always there to take care of Abby and AJ, but he knew when to allow AJ to be the strong and highly capable woman she is. AJ's natural maternal instincts were so sweet to witness, and I loved her moments with Abby. AJ and Ronan experienced much growth and helped each other heal. AJ fit so well into Ronan and Abby's lives, and she gained a life filled with so much happiness and love. Cross-Checked is a swoony, emotional, fun, and steamy read with characters that feel real and are easy to root for. I adore this series and can't wait for more.

Narration:
Angelica Rocca and Sebastian York performed this audiobook in duet-style narration. They were the perfect voices for AJ and McCabe and brought them to life in the best way. There is something so satisfying about listening to an audiobook after having already read it. Hearing certain scenes and the emotion Angelina and Sebastian put into them was an amazing experience. I loved the tension, chemistry, and banter. Angelina and Sebastian's performances elevated my experience with this story. Highly recommended.