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”.

Boston Rebels end with a BANGER!

I knew I was going to love this last book in the series just based off the tropes alone & I wasn't wrong. I related to this story all too well & Morgan really climbed to the top of my favorite FMC's in this series. She was so relatable. Deep down, she's a romantic, someone looking for a real & meaningful love but she keeps picking the wrong men. She's realized that she done with "casual" love & she just wants a man that's gonna stick around.

When she and Aiden meet in beautiful Bermuda, she thinks she's found him only to discover that he's her new stepbrother. I loved watching Morgan grow in this story, coming into her own & finally taking a stand for herself, not only with her mother but with Aiden as well. Her body insecurities were so real & genuine. As a woman who is curvy & tall, I related to her insecurities, her struggles with her self-confidence and how she perceived herself. Even though, she had a man who just slathered on the praise & adored every inch of her body, she still struggled with believing it but her real turning point was realizing that she deserved MORE!

After being off the ice for a year due to an injury, Aiden is back and determined to skate better than ever. He's definitely got the drive but Morgan's a big distraction and he can't seem to get her off his mind. Not only is he recovering from a physical injury, his heart is still recovering from a past relationship. He genuinely tries to be a better teammate & man and watching him develop and realize that he needs Morgan was so satisfying.

These two have such a fun dynamic with flirty, sexy banter. I LOVED how Aiden made Morgan feel seen, feel beautiful & wanted. She did the same for him and that's what made these two so great together. Even though their relationship becomes complicated and could have probably been solved with a little communication, it honestly felt like something that could easily have happened in life. Sometimes the hardest conversations make for the easiest solutions. The chemistry & growth between both of these characters just made for such a great read & I was rooting for them from start to finish!

🎤Let's talk audio: Megan Wicks just slayed this ya'll. I ADORED her as Morgan. She is just sooo good! You feel every layer of emotion that Morgan is going through in her performance from feisty, to fun, to sassy & determined. She's vulnerable & genuine when dealing with Morgan's insecurities and her performance really sealed the deal for me in me loving this character so much. Aiden Snow's voice is exactly what you're looking for in a grumpy hockey player whose got a guard up to love. His commanding & deep tone HITS LADIES! I really loved the dynamic between these two narrators and the audiobook is absolutely one you need to get your ears on. Without question!

I'm sad to see this series come to and end but the found family, girl gang and older MC's are what keep pulling me back to Julia's writing. Her books are genuine & relatable. She works hard to craft characters that people can connect with & I loved EVERY one of these characters and their stories.

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*

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.

LOVED!

Aidan and Morgan had a "no names" fling while in Bermuda for their parents wedding. But they sure didn't realize their parents were marrying each other & now they're stepsiblings. When Aidan comes back to his hockey team after being off for an injury, he's in for another surprise when he sees Morgan there working PR for the team.

GAH! These two had some serious chemistry. They tried so hard to stay away from each other but when the pull is that strong, you just can't resist. The spice was hotttt. Aidan's mouth though 🥵 And the care taking! Swoon! I loved seeing grumpy Aidan fall to his knees for this girl. The banter, the spice, the chemistry, the tension, the sweet moments - goodness I loved it all.

I've loved Morgan since way back in a different series so I was so happy to see her get her HEA. This series ended on the best note and this one might possibly be my favorite of the whole series!

🎧Audio:🎧
This is a duet narration by Aiden Snow & Megan Wicks. This was a pairing I didn't know I needed! Their voices complimented each other so perfectly. The heat, the tension, whew!! It was perfect!!

What to expect:
🏒Hockey Romance
👙Vacation Fling
🏒Stepsiblings
👙Workplace Romance
🏒Opposites Attract