This was my first book by Chloe Liese, the second in the series but stands well on its own, centered around a family of 7 siblings. I was drawn to its blurb because I like sports romances and I ma always on the lookout for diverse MCs in them and the cover showing us a heroine using a cane also drew me in. 

This is an ownvoices story with autistic heroine who also has a chronic illness and uses a cane who works for the social media department of a professional hockey team and the hero is a lind-hearted hockey player who is a virgin and has been in love with heroine for years She is a grump who never smiles and always wears black, he is all smiles and caring and kindness. That's pretty muchmy romance catnip - grumpy / sunshine who complement each other.

I can't comment on the autism rep but I am happy to see a romance with a heroine like Frankie. She is strong an independent, has built mechanisms that help her live on her own while doing a demanding job.

Ren is lovely, kind, and gentle, a big Shakespeare nerd, essential for his team and his family. He keeps his cool on the ring and with his friends and family but gets all flustered aroudn Frankie. And I loved it. 

I absolutely loved the way he was with Frankie,supportive and caring without babying her or making her helpless in any way. At the same time, he felt too perfect, without a single weakness. Even the big conflict was all about her accepting his care and love, allowing herself to be loved the way she was.He never did anything wrong. She grew and changed in the course of the story while he stayed is perfect self from start to finish. 

Se really stood out for me. A complex character dealing with serious health issues and being underestimated and underappreciated by most people around her. She navigated falling in love and having a serious relationship for the first with the inescapable mistake from time to time.

I loved their relationship, we see a lot of them together as a couple, the changes this brings into their lives, the gradual opening up with each other. 

All that said, I also had some issues with the book. Besides the boring perfection of Ren, I felt the felt the author tried to include all the tropes and it was just too much - forced proximity, illness (hospital stay), virgin hero, confessions under the influence. This is very much a personal thing but I found some of Frankie's language and humour crass and didn't enjoy it. 

Despite these issues, I still want to read more in this series, book one h as a deaf hero and a footballer heroine and the next one is a marriage in trouble one, both sound very much right up my alley. 

CW: Hospital stay, sports trauma, medicinal drug use