Gloves Off: The Next Spicy, Laugh-Out-loud Hockey Romance from TikTok Sensation Stephanie Archer (Vancouver Storm 4)

4.5

I requested this ARC basically everywhere and didn’t expect to get it, but here we are and I'm extra thankful for it.I love Stephanie Archer and was particularly excited for this book after meeting Alexei and Georgia in The Wingman. Our main characters are both flawed and easy to love. Alexei, despite being a grump and slightly mean at the beginning, ended up being honest and owning his mistakes. It was nice to discover a softer side of him. Georgia, on the other hand, was a queen from the start. I’m always incredibly happy to see women portrayed as successful, strong-willed AND girly.The banter was everything I wanted, but we also got very wholesome moments, whether it was between Alexei and Georgia or during scenes involving their families. The marriage of convenience was great, and I’d say this was true enemies-to-lovers, since there’s real animosity for a good portion of the story. I’ll never get enough of forced proximity (yes, there was in fact only one bed), and as someone whose car regularly requires a trip to the garage, (minor spoiler) the rich husband getting his wife a new car might be a new favorite of mine.I'm usually skeptical of romances that are 400+ pages, but I enjoyed every part of this one. Gloves Off imposed itself as a favorite for me. I have no hesitation about giving it 5 stars and would absolutely give more if I could.