Power Play by Chelsea Curto | Book Review

[ad/gifted - I received an eARC copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

Title & Author: Power Play by Chelsea Curto 

My rating: 5/5

Publication date: 24th October 2024

Blurb:

Piper Mitchell needs one thing to go her way.

Divorced, feeling stuck in her professional life and terrified of reentering the world of dating, she's decided she's going to work on something she can control: learning how to be good in the bedroom.

Enter Liam Sullivan.

The star NHL goalie might not be a people person, but he's the perfect teacher. He knows what he's doing behind closed doors, and with a little convincing, he agrees to be Piper's guide.

Things between them are casual and easy. Something they can both benefit from. And when a road trip to Vegas as Piper and Liam waking up from a night they can't remember with matching wedding rings, they decide to figure out how much more fun they can have as husband and wife.

It's just for the hockey season. It doesn't mean anything.

But as the clock ticks down on their fake-marriage-with-benefits, can Piper and Liam make it work in the real world? Or will their relationship be a power play straight to disaster?

Review: 

I genuinely don't know how to put into words how much I love this book. 

I read Face Off, the first book in this series, back in May and I instantly fell in love with Maverick and Emmy, but also with Curto's writing style. I loved it so much that I then went and read her 'Love Through A Lens' series. I had built up so much anticipation and excitement for Power Play and it still managed to exceed my expectations.

Power Play focuses on Liam Sullivan who is the goalie for the NHL team, the DC Stars, and Piper Mitchell, the in-game reporter for the team.

As soon as I read the Author's Note at the beginning with regards to women in sport, I knew this was going to be special. Yes, it is a romance book with plenty of spice (bedroom lessons in this case and Curto writes these VERY well), but the tackling of important topics are always brought to the forefront too. Women in what are seen as "men's spaces" was a big part of this one and it felt refreshing to read about a man calling out another man's behaviour even when the woman wasn't there. Isn't that something all men should be doing?

At the beginning we very quickly learn that Liam is a bit of a grump with Piper being sunshine. She has however gone through a rough time with a divorce so she does have things she is hiding too. As time goes on you can feel the two change with each other in the most beautiful way. There is no 0-100 here. It is a really gorgeous natural progression with Liam really boosting her confidence and Piper bringing out something deep inside him that he didn't know he was missing. It is tender, it is emotional. I felt so many feelings.

Curto does characterisation like no other. I always feel like I know these people and it's enthralling. Not even just with Liam and Piper but the supporting characters too. It genuinely excites me to know that we are going to delve in on each person as the series progresses.

Liam Sullivan. Wow. I thought Maverick Miller in Face Off couldn't be knocked off the top spot but now I am unsure. Perfection with a little bow on top and I think I just smiled and swooned like a lunatic at my Kindle. If you like Liz Tomforde and Hannah Grace, you'll be blown away by Chelsea Curto's books.