Look, I need to talk about Elli Fisher's inner monologue for a second. Because if I had a dollar for every time this woman told herself she wasn't pretty enough, thin enough, or good enough for Shea Adler, I could hire a full-time nanny and actually finish an audiobook in one sitting. I get it - she's been through real trauma, an abusive ex, years of being torn down - and that part is handled with genuine weight. But somewhere around hour six, I was sitting in the school pickup line whispering "GIRL, HE CLEARLY LIKES YOU" at my dashboard like a lunatic.
And yet? I kept listening. Because Toni Aleo knows exactly what she's doing with this formula, and I am apparently her target audience.
The Hockey Player Who Actually Has Feelings
Shea Adler is the kind of book boyfriend who makes you side-eye your husband for leaving his socks on the bathroom floor. He's a Nashville Assassins hockey star who's tired of the party lifestyle and falls hard - like, embarrassingly hard - for Elli during a promotional photo shoot. What I actually appreciated is that Shea isn't just some blank-slate hot guy. He's patient with Elli's walls in a way that felt earned rather than saintly. He pushes back when she spirals but doesn't steamroll her, which - in the romance audiobook world - is honestly refreshing. The man has boundaries AND emotional intelligence. In a hockey player. Sure, it's fantasy, but it's MY fantasy, so leave me alone. I had that same "this is ridiculous and I don't care" energy with Barbarian Alien - different universe, same shameless surrender.
The romance builds at a pace that worked perfectly for my fragmented listening schedule. Their banter during the early chapters kept me engaged during morning drop-off runs, and the emotional beats hit harder during nap time (Sophie cooperated exactly twice this week, bless her). At nearly 15 hours, this is longer than my usual picks, and I'll be honest - it could've been tighter. There's a chunk in the middle where the will-they-won't-they stalls out because Elli's insecurity loop repeats without much new ground. But the payoff scenes between them, especially when Elli finally starts letting herself want something good? Satisfying ending - exactly what I needed.
Lucy Malone Carries the Weight
Lucy Malone does solid work here, especially considering she's narrating both POVs. Her Elli voice captures that particular brand of self-deprecating humor mixed with genuine pain - you can hear the difference between Elli joking about her body and Elli actually hurting about it, which is a fine line to walk in audio. Shea's voice gets a slightly lower register that works well enough, though I wouldn't say it's the most distinctive male voice I've heard from a female narrator. It's serviceable. You always know who's talking, and Malone's emotional delivery during the heavier scenes - particularly anything touching on Elli's past abuse - landed without feeling melodramatic.
I listened at my usual 1.25x and it felt just right. Malone's pacing is steady enough that speeding up didn't lose any of the emotional texture. Survived 47 pauses and still made sense - I picked this up and put it down constantly over about eight days and never felt lost.
The Body Image Thing (Let's Be Real)
I've seen reviews where people call Elli whiny, and I understand that reaction. But as someone who has also stood in a dressing room wanting to cry over jeans that used to fit before three pregnancies - I don't know, it hit differently for me. The body image stuff isn't handled with perfect subtlety, but it felt real in a way that a lot of romance heroines' "flaws" don't. Elli isn't just insecure in a cute, quirky way. She's genuinely struggling, and the book doesn't pretend that one hot hockey player can fix that overnight. Does it resolve a little too neatly by the end? Yeah, probably. But this is a comfort read, not a therapy session. Thick as Thieves does something similar with a heroine carrying real damage - and I had the same "neat but earned" feeling when I finished it.
Content note for anyone who needs it: there's discussion of past physical abuse, body image struggles, plus explicit sexual content and language. Not one to play on the car speakers with kids in the backseat. Ask me how I know. (I don't actually know from experience - I caught it in time. Barely.)
Who's Taking This Shot
If you love sports romance with emotional depth and you don't mind a heroine who needs a minute (or several hours) to get out of her own way, this is a really satisfying listen. It's the first in the Nashville Assassins series and it sets up enough to make you curious about the other players without leaving you on a cliffhanger. If internal monologue about self-worth makes you want to throw your phone, maybe skip this one. Not groundbreaking, but sometimes you don't need groundbreaking. Sometimes you need a hockey player who thinks you're beautiful and a narrator who makes you believe it.
Car time approved. My book club will love this - if I ever have time for book club again.
