Another Callahan brother, but this time it was with Cooper Callahan, and a new character to the story, Penny Ryder. Cooper had always loved Hockey and had dreamt of the day that he would be drafted into the NHL, but in the meantime he had to finish out his years at McKee University and get his degree like his parents wanted. When it came to hockey, it seemed like Cooper always found himself getting into fights, and therefore making Coach Ryder question whether or not Cooper would be the right fit for being team captain. Penny on the other hand was trying to move on with her life, start fresh at McKee, but some things were harder than expected. With Cooper wanting to become team Captain, and Penny hoping to get out of her comfort zone, and have some fun, it seemed like fate brought them together for a reason.

Even back when I was reading, “First Down”, I had been anticipating Cooper and Penny’s book! With the premise of Penny having a list, specifically all the sex related things she wanted to do, and Cooper feeling like he had been in a dry spell, they both found themselves agreeing to have a secret friends with benefits arrangement. Why secret you may ask? Well that was because Penny was Coach Ryder’s daughter. With some amazing tropes such as, secret friends with benefits, forbidden romance (coach’s daughter), hockey romance, Penny loves to read and write smutty romance books, and Cooper being charming and all kinds of sexy, this all of my favorite things and more. 

Right away, I really liked both Cooper and Penny! First off, anytime there is a character that loves to read, I immediately like them, but with Penny it was even better because, she loved to read and write smutty romance books, and she was working on her own novel as well! Yay! I felt a kinship to her right away! Throughout the book, whether it was Penny talking about her novel or how she and Cooper exchanged books to read, that kind of love language is romantic and one I was living for while reading. I also loved that despite Penny staying in her comfort zone in the very beginning of the book, to see her actively go out and eventually end up in a secret friends with benefits arrangement with Cooper was good for her. Plus, seeing Penny openly be comfortable in her self pleasure was a positive since she knew what she liked, but also by being with Cooper she was able to further explore more of what she wanted to do based off of her sexy list (I call it a sexy list due to all the sex related things haha). 

Cooper was also easy to like right away since I felt like there was more to him than meets the eye. With Cooper coming from a well known family, his father being a famous former football player, Cooper in a way had always felt like he needed to prove to his father that he could achieve greatness in his hockey career despite not following in his dad’s footsteps on football. There were moments, I feel sympathetic towards Cooper because, seeing how he felt like his dad was always aware of his mistakes or how he usually got into fights while on the ice, made Cooper feel like he wasn’t good enough in his dad’s eyes and for that and more I just wanted to hug and reassure poor Cooper.

Ok so I know I said, “First Down” had some good spice, but in this book… OMG IT WAS FANTASTIC! WOO! With the sex positivity, openness, lots of fun exploring kinks and fun positions as well as different places to hook up, Cooper and Penny were having the time of their lives! The spice in this book went up even higher, and I mean with Penny’s list having quite the variety in things to try, I guess I didn’t fully realize just how spicy things were going to get. Again, loved the spicy scenes, but also loved seeing Penny take control just like she sought out to do in the beginning. Cooper was quite the man in the bedroom and for all the rumors saying he was generous…. Cooper lived up to expectations and more! Forgive me, for I have sinned because, I was getting hot and bothered reading these scenes! OMG! Even with all the hooking up and trying out new things from Penny’s list, I loved how Cooper also made sure to make Penny feel at ease, and remind her she had control over everything, we love a man like that! Among the spice, there was praise with lots of, “good girl”, bondage, O denial, spanking, and even more goodies. 

Like all good friends with benefits situations, it came to an end once both people couldn’t deny their feelings had gotten real and deep. Cooper and Penny were having all kinds of fun, but more than that they experienced true happiness like they’d never had especially in a romantic relationship. Copper and Penny became each other’s person, the one that they could always put a smile on their face, they became cat parents to sweet Tangerine, read each other’s favorite books, and more! Quick side note, the fact that Penny got Cooper to read, the “Twilight” series and other romance books was awesome, but even better was Cooper loving them as well as taking notes to use on Penny! Yasss! Penny was definitely right in telling Cooper that he was better than her book boyfriends! There was true support and love between Penny and Cooper that I was both happy for them, but envious lol. Each Cooper and Penny had inner insecurities and pasts they dealt with, but having each other by their side allowed them to confront their worries head on, and had each other’s back. Especially when it came to Penny’s past, I was very glad for one, having Penny feel like she was in a safe place to tell Cooper all that happened to her before enrolling at McKee, and two, Cooper once again being the best boyfriend possible to ensue that Penny was ok at all times no matter what. As if you couldn’t tell already by this lengthy review, I truly loved and admire both Penny and Cooper very much. 

WOW! Simply amazing, couldn’t get enough of Penny and Cooper! I wasn’t expecting to have liked this book as much as I did, but wow so good! I mean, I had a feeling this book was going to be good, but so far it seems like Cooper Callahan is the man of my dreams! From his love of books, being possessive/ protective over Penny, taking Penny to book stores and buying her however many books she wanted to being supportive of her novel, that was just the tip of the iceberg on the many fantastic things I loved about Cooper. Penny was wonderful and honestly I loved how much she loved to read, took initiative in her sexuality, and while she came off an innocent in the beginning, she was secretly a vixen with the power to being Cooper to his knees. The chemistry was off the charts hot and steamy in this book! I had to constantly fan myself and catch my breath from the amount of spice in this book. Grace did a phenomenal job from depicting Cooper and Penny’s intimacy, as well as covering some of the heavier topics throughout the story. Penny’s original idea to go through her list was a means of taking back control over what she wanted to do, as well as exploring her sexual pleasures, but along the way found herself falling in love with Cooper, and his charming/ cocky ways. The story was great especially with the premise of a secret friends with benefits, but obviously that went out the door once Cooper and Penny made things official. Once again, I loved the close knit family of Callahan’s, and it was sweet getting to see James and Bex. I feel like there were so many things I loved about this book that I genuinely can’t get over! I love a hockey romance, and with Cooper and Penny at the helm of this book, they delivered on every front! The epilogue ended on a funny, sexy, typical note for Cooper and Penny, but also left me surprised (in a good way) at the turn of events which plays nicely for the next book that’ll come out eventually *wink. Highly recommend this book if you love, hockey/former figure skater romance, secret friends with benefits, LOTS OF SPICE, humor, lovable characters, and romance that’ll make you swoon and wish you had yourself! Happy reading!