Off the Ice: a sunshine/grump, forced proximity romance (Central State)

Elle needs a hob over summer to afford living. Luckily she finds a bartender job right down the street from her place. Unluckily the owners nephew is Cal, someone she does not get along with and really hates. Cal has had a crush on Elle since they met. When his uncle has an emergency he jumps at the opportunity to help handle the bar until he gets back to allow himself to get closer to Elle.I devoured this book. I just loved it so much. Their relationship dynamic was addictive. I read this is a day.

This is the fourth book in the series and it is Cal and Elle’s journey. Cal is emotional stunted after so much pain at the age of 18. After such a huge loss he becomes a bitter grumpy man. Which to me I saw it as him protecting himself in away if he kept people which meant his team mates and friends at arms length there was no way he could loose some one and it be as painful as it had been back then. So he became bitter pushed people and lived his life alone. That was his way to grief and we all do it differently. I loves Chuck by the way he was amazing and I was extremely happy that Cal had him in his corner as well as his team mates. I loved how along the way he realized what he had in his teammates and that they were more like a family not just people he worked with they were ate through and through. After his uncle needs to take a leave from the bar Cal starts to work there where he meets Elle. Now Elle is the total opposite of Cal she is super bubbly and full of happiness. But don’t let her bubbly personality fool you she is a tough cookie being raised in a hockey family with her brother Gabe playing hockey she is tough as they come and won’t let anyone put her down that includes her family. She is determined to prove her family wrong and to show them that she can do it in her own and do what she loves. She at one point thought the world of Cal until his mouth and his opinion made her change her mind now she can’t stand him well mostly. Now when Chuck finds himself with a four yr old daughter who needs him they are going to be spending a lot of time together working side by side. Which I thought was perfect for them. I loved that was the way that the author had them reintroduce them selfs to each other. They got to know who they were which was not who they each had thought the other was. They got a new prospective of each other and a new sense of who the other person was. I loved this book it was a perfect romance and a perfect pair for Cal. He needed that someone who would show him that he wasn’t alone and that he deserved to be happy. That he was so loved by many people even though he tried not to let them in. I highly recommend this book.

i absolutely loved cal’s character arc throughout the whole series - this book even more so! i also loved that dani continually would call out elle’s attitude whenever I wanted to also yell at the page

I really did enjoy this book! I love a good forced proximity / friends-to-lover trope! Cal is a very sweet and caring character. And I love that he loves taking care of plants! 🥹🪴This isn’t really focused on sports which I like because sometimes it can get redundant with the whole traveling all the time player with puck bunnies plot.

Mrs. Snowe, you have done it with this one. It was a little cheesy but I loved that you saved the best for last! Cal made me cry with his adoration for elle and being completely obtuse to his own feelings. My heart just kept getting tighter in my chest everytime something went wrong or right! Ugh! I love it!

Tropes:✨enemies to lovers✨grumpy sunshine✨hockeyI don’t have anything bad to say, but I can’t say this book was all that memorable either. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I would read it again.

This was a fast read. I liked both MCs and the plot mostly. I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, so that fell flat for me in this book. I do love the sunshine x grumpy trope and that brought this one back to a middle of the run read.Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Good story. Good chemistry. The whole will they won’t they. I like that the author tries to build in the reason they can’t be together/miscommunication into their character and why they are the way they are vs just bad communication.

Cal and Elle are an absolutely adorable couple! I love how all of the books in the campus series have pieces of Cal in them, so to finally have his book was such a good read. The little bits of his personality shine through and the backstory makes so much sense as to how he reacts, behaves and connects with those around him. A totally adorable grump!But Elle, I love her character and the flutter of desire for books. Her joy and bubbly personality and the desire to find her own way connects deeply with Cal and his need for family. Their bond and the way they work together as friends to more but never fully is refreshing.I love a trope with hate to love and this one has that but more. But I also liked how there wasn’t truly a third act break up in this one. While there was the sadness and the heartbreak seen in romance the couple never truly breaks up with each other.I loved this one and Reiners stories the best out of the Jacqueline's Campus Series, which I find ironic how their stories are so intertwined and have similar backgrounds. I look forward to reading more from Jacqueline! 📚💕

Cal (MMC) was introduced in book 1, he's the stereotypical douche-bag - the hot hockey guy who's getting drafted and has girls all over him. Elle (FMC) is introduced in book 3, she's Dani's BFF and Gabe's younger sisterHe's the kind of guy that Gabe wants nowhere near his sister... he's also the kind of guy that Elle wants nowhere near her, because although she was crushing hard on him in the past, he's totally in her bad books now!So of course, because it's a fabulous romance novel, they, of course, end up being around each other ALL THE DAMN TIME 👏👏👏Again Jaqueline chucks together some of my favourite tropes - grumpy x sunshine, opposites attract, dating in secret (never ends well!), enemies to lovers, tortured MMC, alphahole who is secretly wonderful and caringI grinned a lot through this book and was cheering them on for their HEA

Cal peeked my interest when he was introduced in take the lead. You can tell that he is trying to keep it under control but he is hurting. Orphaned and missing his parents, Cal doesn’t let himself be vulnerable.Elle wants to break out of her brothers shadow and wants to stand on her own two feet. Her parents aren’t too supportive on her career plans so she sets out to prove them wrong.Her first move is to get a job which she lands the bartending job she wanted. The downside, the owners nephew is Cal. The man who she had a huge crush on and managed to crush her feelings during their first meeting.When life happens and Cal needs to step up and pull his weight around the bar, means they are tossed together frequently.Elle has always intrigued Cal and he doesn’t understand what he did to create such a response and as they get to know each other.. truths are revealed, feelings are explored and the passion between these two burns bright.I absolutely loved this story and the little quirks from both characters. The plant loving (iykyk) just fits the story so well.They are both afraid to open themselves up to the possibility of hurt but when they decide to take a chance.. it’s everything.This story will make you smile, hurt and it will heal you in ways you didn’t expect. This book is a stand alone but to enjoy the entire experience you should read all four.