Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Power Forward
SERIES: Chicago Thunder
AUTHOR: Jodi Oliver
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 322 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2025
BLURB:
Jackson
When I attended my teammate’s wedding, I wasn’t expecting to come face to face with the man who broke my heart fourteen years ago.
He was my teammate. My first love.
But when I got traded, he threw what we had away.
Now he’s back in my life and he wants to give things another go.
If I agree to try again, and it all goes wrong, it’s not just my heart that’s at risk of breaking. It’ll be my kids’ hearts too.
Hayden
I don’t have many regrets in life. Only one.
Hurting Jackson Wilde.
Since my career ending injury, my life has been on a downward spiral. I’ve projected to the world that everything’s fine, but deep down, I’m a broken man.
For the last six years I’ve been working on getting back pieces of the man I used to be. Not just to save me from myself, but for this moment.
A chance to win Jackson back.
I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to give it my all.
Power Forward is a second chance sports romance featuring a hockey player and an ex-teammate turned sports agent. It includes mental health rep, adorable kids, unintentional matching Halloween costumes and all the Thunder found family vibes.
It is book four in the Chicago Thunder series and can be read as a standalone.
Please use the look inside feature to check the content warning.
REVIEW:
Jackson Wilde is having a bit of a hard time. He’s a custodial parent for his two kids. His parents help out when he’s on the road with this team, but he can’t help the guilt. This wasn’t how he saw his life turning out. Then he goes to a wedding of one of his teammates and who should be there, but his ex. His first love. Former star power forward turned sports agent Hayden Cassidy. Their love affair crashed and burned 14 years earlier when Hayden broke his heart after Jackson got traded from Boston to LA. Jackson was devastated. This was not how he thought the weekend would go.
Hayden’s life completely spiraled out of control after Jackson’s trade. He was sure that he wasn’t good enough or just plain enough for Jackson. He knew Jackson would find someone else in LA. So he backed out. Then things really went to hell after his injury and he couldn’t play anymore. Hockey was all he’d ever known. He got married. He got divorced. He went into therapy. Now he wants back the life that he always envisioned. The one he pictured with his first and really only love – Jackson Wilde. But it’s gonna take some convincing to get Jackson to even be his friend again, let alone more.
Hayden has a plan. He’s going to show up where Jackson is and get him to talk to him. He’s going to try to rebuild their friendship if nothing else. He needs to show Jackson that’s he’s done the work and he’s changed. He needs to apologize for how things ended 14 years ago. But will Jackson even be open to it? After all he’s been married and divorced too. He’s got kids now. There are a million what ifs. But he just knows he has to try 
Jackson couldn’t be more shocked to see Hayden. First at the wedding. Then in Boston Then in Chicago. What is going on here? When Hayden tells him the truth, well Jackson is gobsmacked. He’s not sure what the right thing to do it. But he does know that he never stopped caring about Hayden. Maybe they need to see how things go. Could he really get his happily ever after that he had counted on all those years ago? Was it a case of right guy/wrong time? It might take some work, but they just might be able to make it this time.
Ok. This is definitely my favorite book in the series so far. There are so many wonderful parts to this book. Hayden and Jackson’s story of second chances was soooo good. This isn’t an easy story. Both men have dealt with love and loss. Hayden had to deal with a career ending injury. He had mental health issues that weren’t addressed for too long. Thankfully he had a wonderful friend in his ex-wife and found a wonderful therapist to help me start to do the hard work. My heart just broke for him. The way both he and Jackson talked about his inner voice – just spot on. Honestly I shed a tear at the end of this book – which doesn’t happen that often for me. I loved how Jackson put his kids first but realized that he deserved something for himself. The guilt over his divorce and trying to get everything right was a little bit heartbreaking too. I think any single parent has a lot of that to deal with. Hayden acknowledging and taking full responsibility for the previous breakup was a brave thing to do. The fact that Jackson was able to hear what he was saying instead of being loss in the anger and bitterness was a good sign that both of them had really grown up a lot. Talking about raising kids who are encouraged to talk about and express their emotions is a big deal. Anyone who has grown up in an environment where emotions are to be squashed down can attest to the long-term damage that does.
As usual, the rest of the team rallies around our guys 
It takes a little bit of time for some of the teammates to figure out what’s going on and longer for others to get on the bus, but all’s well that ends well. It’s fun to watch this team coalesce into a supportive family unit. Whether it’s being lonely on the road, recovering from injuries or surgeries, having fun at costume parties or celebrating a wedding, these guys all have each other’s backs. I’m excited for the next book. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
