I knew it. I knew I was going to love Fall with Me. Curse you, Becka Mack. The fourth book in the Playing for Keeps series has proven that this ice hockey sports romance series is taking top position in my preferences. There is so much I love about the characters, their relationships and dynamics, their interactions and dialogue, and the deeper themes and conflicts in this story.

Jaxon Riley is exceptional at three things: starting fights on the ice, picking up women post-game, and going home to fulfil his role as the world’s best cat dad. Relationships, unfortunately, missed the list. Lennon Hayes is supposed to be on her honeymoon. Instead, she’s alone and single, vacationing next door to a surly tattooed man who ran his date off the resort. When a run-in at the bar results in a night of bickering and cocktails, she finds herself tumbling into bed with the enemy next door, then sneaking out before the sun comes up. Lennon’s plan to start over in a new city is going great, until she starts her new job. The job? The Vancouver Vipers’ new photographer. And the defenseman scowling at her from across the room? The one-night stand she wasn’t supposed to see again. Good thing neither of them are looking for anything serious… Right? Jaxon may not be used to falling, but if he’s going to go, he refuses to go alone. If he falls, he wants Lennon to fall with him.

This is so much more than a one-night-stand romance. This is also so much more than the higher level of spice Fall with Me contains compared to the rest of the series (so far). That being said, there are more than a handful of explicit scenes in this book, and the first few chapters do not shy away from that. Given what I know of the characters, their personalities, and their behaviours I’m not surprised at this, nor do I feel it doesn’t fit with their characterisation. This is the case for Jaxon especially, and it tells a lot more about him and how he handles emotions and feelings, which incidentally is something of importance in this story.

Navigating the deeper and darker aspects of Lennon and Jaxon’s pasts takes a lot of skill and sensitivity to get it right, and I can wholeheartedly say that I think Becka Mack handled the subject matters really well, making the actions and reactions feel authentic and accurate for the Jaxon and Lennon and for the rest of the gang. We don’t just have insecurity and uncertainty coming from Lennon, and seeing how these feelings and the expression of love and support is shown between the guys really sells this novel for me. I said it before and I will gladly say it again – these boys are peak healthy masculinity and incredibly loving men, especially to each other. Men not afraid to say they love each other, to do dumb stuff for each other, and who support each other through all life’s hurdles. I love it and I love them.

Now comes the challenging part where I have to wait for Breathe with Me to come out, trying to put it out of my mind knowing full well that it will be one of the only things I think about when I hit my downtime. I am so eager to read Emmett and Cara’s story, to see what’s going on in their heads and the struggles they have been hiding. I know it is going to be an emotional, heartfelt, tear-inducing read but I am ready. I suggest all you romance readers pick up the Playing for Keeps series and get. through Consider Me, Play with Me, Unravel Me and Fall with Me so you can jump straight into it when it comes out in late October.