Just Breaking the Rules

Hockey Ever After, Book 1

By: Lauren Blakely

Narrated by: Samantha Brentmoor, Teddy Hamilton

A new hockey romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely performed in duet by Samantha Brentmoor and Teddy Hamilton!

Hockey superstar Corbin Knight is a recipe for trouble…and I'm ready to take a bite. The sexy single dad is not only a world-class hockey player, but my brother's best friend. Strictly off-limits, and always has been.

But when I inherit an old firehouse to transform into my dream bakery? The bossy, protective athlete also becomes my hero, buying in when the financing falls through. I have to keep reminding myself – no more flirting with my new business partner… no matter how tempting he looks helping me paint.

It's a good rule to remember when he starts making surprise shirtless appearances after each win. Insists I wear his jersey to games. Stands up for me when a celebrity chef is rude. Soon, his heated glances make me feel like I'm the answer to his dreams.

Falling for the hockey player I work with could cost us everything: the bakery, his friendship with my brother, and my family who already thinks I'm a hot mess.

But when Corbin shows up after a rough game one night and tells me he can't stop thinking about me and hasn't been able to for years? I'm ready to break all the rules.

This is Corbin and Mabel's romance: A brother's best friend/workplace/one who got away, he falls first hockey romance!

©2025 Lauren Blakely Books (P)2026 Lauren Blakely Books

A must listen for Lauren Blakely fans!

This is one of my favorite books I’ve listened to by Lauren Blakely. There is so much great banter and lots of sweet moments in the story. Samantha and Teddy were absolute perfection and had the best chemistry. I highly recommend this book!! Can’t wait for the next one in this series!

Sweet

This book was so sweet, loved it!
Spice level- 🌶️🌶️.5
& listening to it was great! The bloopers were so unique at the end, I’ve never heard that before! And Samantha has the cutest giggle

cute story line

I loved the bloopers at the end!!!!! I wish all audiobooks did this at the end of the book.

Swoony, steamy and heartfelt

A hockey player who loves to bake and saves the day… sign me up. “Just Breaking the Rules” is a swoony, steamy and heartfelt single Dad, brother’s best friend hockey romance that was an amazing start to this new Lauren Blakely series.

Mabel is a baker and she has been trying everything to open her own bakery since it’s her biggest dream. And the last thing she thought would happen is she needs saving from a cake catastrophe during a baking competition. And the last person she thought would save her is her brother’s best friend and hockey star, Corbin Knight. Corbin has always loved baking and has wanted to open a bakery in memory of his mother. And when Mabel’s brother floats the idea, Corbin invests in Mabel’s bakery, especially since Mabel has inherited a renovated fire house, he’s all in. The thing is, Corbin has always had a crush on Mabel and now that they’re going to be working together, he vows to keep his distance. But as they work together, things outside of the kitchen start to heat up.

I absolutely loved this story and was hooked from the moment I started listening. Mabel is a self declared hot mess and I connected with her right away. She is someone who was always dreaming big but obstacles kept getting her way. I loved how passionate she was about baking and how hard she was working to achieve that dream. Corbin is such an amazing guy and he only got better as the story went on. He’s an amazing Dad to his daughter, a great teammate and I loved how he was with Mabel. He never made her feel less than and did everything he could do to help her. He loved baking as much as Mabel since it was a connection to his mom who had passed away. Corbin tried to keep his distance from Mabel but he had been down bad for years and being around her only intensified those feelings. Mabel felt the attraction to and I loved no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t stay away from each other. The steamy scenes were great and showed how deep their connection was. Both characters grew so much during this story and I was all for it. Mabel was able to overcome the doubts she had about herself and Corbin was able to realize that as much as he wanted to do everything, he was only one man. These two were perfect for each other and I loved their story so much.

Teddy Hamilton and Samantha Brentmoor narrated in duet and I loved listening to them bring Corbin and Mabel’s story to life. Teddy brought the caring and protective Corbin alive perfectly and I loved how passionate he was. Samantha was perfect as Mabel. Her narration was fun and genuine just like Mabel. And it was a treat to have James Joseph narrate some parts of the story, he’s always so great.

Hockey Romance

The thing about a Lauren Blakely novel is that she can take you away on a journey to a world that’s free of political oppression or turmoil and deliver a story to make you smile and believe in all things good again. And don’t we need that right now! I’m not sure how many books will be released in this series (that links to another) but I’ll be reading them all.

Corbin and Mabel have known each other for a few years, Corbin being her brother’s best friend. This is why he never acted on his attraction to her along with being a newly single dad and playing pro hockey. She too was interested in him at that earlier time but she thought she was too much of a hot mess for him. Eventually with a little intervention they open a bakery together and get to spend a lot of time in each other’s company. I loved the interactions between them, their banter was fun and witty and Corbin was so supportive not only of Mabel but everyone he holds dear to him. Mabel wasn’t as scattered as it looked, she really was a smart and caring character.

Whenever I get the chance, I’ll listen along to the audio whilst reading, I feel it brings the story to a higher quality. This author takes time and picks the best fit narrator to each character and it shows in the final production. I absolutely love her audio books.