At last, I have finished the Playing for Keeps sports romance series by Becka Mack. It has been such a fun ride, from the chaos of Consider Me to the slow yet steady love in Breathe with Me, and I honestly think this is my favourite sports romance series to date. With such depth of emotion and experience, these characters come off the page with every word and action. My tolerance for popular romance has certainly increased thanks to these books.

The Playing for Keeps series is an ice hockey sports romance series set in Vancouver. These books are adult romance, and as such, contain mature and explicit scenes. This series also deals with many serious and heavy topics, including single parenthood, adoption, death of a loved one, grief, and infertility, and I advise that you read up on the content warnings for the books before diving into them if you have any concerns regarding triggers for your own experiences.

Consider Me starts us off, leaning into the bad boy falls first trope that many love. But that is just the surface, and the more you read, the more you will see that this book is not afraid of getting into the vulnerable parts of its male characters. Carter is, undoubtedly, a masculine man, but the emotions he expresses show an emotional maturity that is not common in a lot of male sports characters I have read. This is one of the key things that hooked me into this series – the breadth of emotional capacity these men have. Not just for their women, as that is a given for romances like this, but for each other. I really appreciate that within a team dynamic, and it creates such a strong foundation for the relationships within the series going forward. Carter is, as a captain, a pivotal player in facilitating and encouraging these interactions and relationships, and it is clear that he has many facets to his personality and ego. Olivia is awesome, she is sweet, and she is the perfect match for this man. I was surprised because the bad boy character in a sports romance tends to be uninteresting to me, but Carter is an exception.

Play with Me takes a sidestep and gives us the brother’s best friend trope, handing us over Garrett, the sweet and shy man who can’t keep his eyes off his captain’s sister. Jennie is confident and independent, knows what she wants and will get it without asking, and the two contrast so wonderfully in their budding relationship. I love the support they show each other, and how that support is extended to and by the team. This novel has a miscommunication element, which is one of those things that can make or break a book for me, but I loved it here. It is dealt with in such a mature way, and it really goes to show how miscommunication can be effectively used in an adult romance (because let’s be honest, there are differences between genuine miscommunication and hidden feelings and miscommunication because of a lack of communication in general).

Unravel Me is the one that truly sealed the deal for me with this series. This novel has the single-parent trope, but it also features themes of adoption and the loss of a pet. There are many elements in this novel that had me clutching my chest, but the tension and conflicts are subtle, deeply personal, and feel much different from those in the previous books. Everything about Unravel Me felt right, and I cannot get over the support and care these characters have for each other. Nothing is too small or inconsequential, and everyone is deserving of love, respect, and a listening ear. Adam is an incredible character, both on and off the ice, and his personality really shines in this one.

Oh, Fall with Me, you sent my heart into overdrive. The first thing I need to say about this book is that there is an increase in mature scenes and content, and it is apparent from the beginning. I didn’t mind it, but that isn’t why this book had me signing and doing all sorts of gymnastics in my chest. Jaxon is an angel in my mind, not just because of his loyalty but because of how much he cares. He still feels like an outsider in this one, and things have been rocky for him, but it is his job as an enforcer on the team to deal with the opposition on the ice when they start going after his guys. But that doesn’t mean Jaxon feels like he fits in. It honestly broke my heart, and I was invested in the relationship buildup between him and Lennon. His actions show so much love and kindness, and his emotional break hit the spot, not to mention the boys all being there and showing what real masculinity and brotherhood are.

And last but not least, and in fact I don’t think I could pick a novel in this series that is ‘lesser’ than the others, we have Breathe with Me. This one is one of the ones that needs a content warning, because the themes and topics of infertility and mental health are heavy and emotional. There is also an increased amount of mature and explicit scenes. While the series has a strong foundation in terms of the relationships between these characters, this one shows a different side to it. It shows how even though you may be surrounded by people who are there to support you, they don’t understand what you’re going through. It is a harrowing and deeply emotional rollercoaster as a reader, and it makes this novel really hit home, even though I have not dealt with such experiences. Emmett is the epitome of a whipped man, but he is also an incredible husband through and through, and his actions and words in this novel had me in tears.

Overall, I cannot recommend this series enough, and I just know I will be rereading these in the coming months. I love this series with all my heart; these characters, their interactions and relationships, and the content that forms the basis of these novels make for such insightful, interesting, and fulfilling reading. The depth of emotional understanding within these pages is endless, and the maturity and open-mindedness of these characters means that there is not a single part of these books that I don’t like. I hope more people pick up the Playing for Keeps series in 2026, as it is a series well deserving of praise and readership.