Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Stick Around: A Punk as Puck Novel
SERIES: Legends and Fury Book 1
AUTHOR: E.M. Lindsey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 296 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2026
BLURB:
“Would you slap a teammate for twenty-five grand?”
“Uh, yeah. There are a few I’d slap for free. Just point me in the right direction.”
Problem number one: My personal life is falling apart.
Problem number two: My public life is also on thin freaking ice.
Problem number three: The ridiculously hot NHL D-man with the inability to remove his head from his ass has decided I’m his number one target.
And that last one is a bit of an issue since his idea of targeting me is to have absurdly hot hate-hookups with me in the locker room. Which I don’t necessarily mind…
Except there’s one tiny snag in his plan: I don’t like guys.
Or, well, I didn’t think I liked guys.
But when Alexio Zeki drops to his knees and, uh, gets to business, I realize my very narrow view of my own sexuality needs some adjustment.
And that’s ironic coming from a blind man.
Admitting I’m bisexual is the easy part.
Admitting I’m kind of, sort of, ridiculously into the man I claimed to hate is something else entirely. But the more he insists that I’m worth keeping, the more I start wanting to believe him.
Stick Around is the first book in the Punk as Puck spin-off series, Legends and Fury. It’s a high heat, enemies to lovers rom-com with a snarky NHL D-man who has a lot of big opinions and doesn’t care if they’re unsolicited, a PPHL goalie with a mountain of problems and no way to reach the top, locker room hookups, praise, swoony romance, a low-stakes bi-awakening, hockey bro banter, tons of chirping, and the swooniest happily ever after.
REVIEW:
Full disclosure, I did not read the Punk as Puck series, that this is the spinoff of. Which in the long run didn’t affect my enjoyment of this new series from E.M. Lindsey. Although, I will go back and read that series. I must admit upfront, that I wasn’t sure if I would like this book. But I really loved it.
The world building in this book is fantastic. Not only does E.M. embrace the hockey world but also incorporates some very important aspects of life outside of Hockey. From a blind goalie to a parent suffering from their rapidly advancing Alzheimer’s. The attention to detail is also outstanding. I am always so impressed by the sheer volume of research that must go into these stories.
The character development for this book is outstanding. I loved how much of an in depth and detailed their main characters are. From Alexio to his love interest Micah, we get to see all the ins and outs of their complicated relationship. But They do not skimp on the any of the side characters wither. We get glimpses at the Russian teammate Vanya and the teammates that help Micah. They are all so detailed and wonderful, well except for maybe a couple of them, which honestly, I wanted to throttle through my eBook reader screen – stares at Micah’s parents….
This story included some of my favorite things. Humor, found family, hockey, steamy sexy times, and enemies to lovers, just to list a few things. This is a brilliantly crafted Rom-Com with some heartbreaking aspects. Will Alexio and Micah get their happy ever after? Will Micah repair his relationship with his brothers? How does a blind goalie “see” the puck coming? Will Alexio overcome Micah – not being into guys? Well, my dears, I am not going to tell you… You know the drill, go snatch up this book for yourself and enjoy the ride.
I highly recommend this story from E.M. Lindsey. So much so, you need to run right out and grab a copy from your favorite eBook purchasing site. I am so looking forward to the next book in the series.
Till next time…
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