![Book cover of Dump & Chase, being held up by hand in front of a flower budding tree](https://i0.wp.com/betterberomance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_6158-1.jpeg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
I donβt think Iβm made for jail; they donβt have an ice rink.
Aiden
Author: Toni Aleo
Genre: Hockey Romance
Series: Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Book 1
Pages: 326
Release Date: April 30, 2019
![1 star out of 5 stars](https://i0.wp.com/betterberomance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/5-star-out-of-5.png?resize=825%2C150&ssl=1)
To be frank, I had a difficult time even finding a decent quote from this book. Iβm not sure how many times the phrase βjust a f*ckβ was said, but if I never heard the phrase again; itβd be too soon.
I found this book because I was specifically looking for books based in Nashville, and I love hockey romance books!! But unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. My blurb/thoughts belowβ¦
Blurb & Thoughts
Shelli Adler has known Aiden Brooks her entire life; their families are friends, and he literally held her as a baby β thatβs kind of weird to me, not gonna lie. Now sheβs all grown up, performing on Broadway, and heβs an NHL star in NYC, as well.
Shelliβs ready to give up Broadway and move back home to Nashville. Shelli wants nothing more than to catch the eye of Aiden. Strangely, her friend knows Aiden (and has ALL this time), and on her last night in town, he takes her to a party at his apartment.
Shelli works up the nerve to talk to Aiden, and he immediately starts kissing her, and they take it back to his room. Thatβs great news, right? He likes her, right? Wrong. Shelliβs wearing a wig, heβs drunk, and he doesnβt recognize herβ¦ awkward.
Also, to make matters worse, her βfriendβ Chris literally brought her to the party as a hookup girl for Aiden without telling her he does that. He βprovidesβ girls for Aiden to sleep with β no strings attached. That was seriously not okay. So gross and messed up. βSheβs solid, she was pissed that I basically made her a call girl and didnβt tell you who she was.β β Chris. Yeah, thatβs disgusting. Oh, and the reasoning behind this. βIn my defense, it was getting her back for all the times she rejected me.β NOOOOO. Do not do that. EVER. NO. Thankfully, Aiden did say that was wrong, but this book was basically over for me.
Anyways, Shelli manages to get out of Aidenβs apartment without him realizing who she is, once she realized he didnβt know. And luckily, sheβs moving back to Nashville. Oh wait, unluckily, Aiden gets traded that same week to play in Nashville. And oh wait, did I forget to mention that her mom owns the Nashvilleβs NHL team, the Assassins?
And the rest of the book is pretty much just them fighting about it being βjust a f*ckβ (heβs kind of an asshole about it tbh), then being together and Aiden being afraid to loveβ¦ he canβt love and wonβt love because his parents werenβt together when he was younger, and he had a bad past encounter with a woman. Hiding the relationship from everyone. Fights over miscommunications. Until the end. HEA. Sorry to spoil it.
This hockey romance book could have been 200 pages and been much better. It felt like the longest 300-page book Iβve ever read in my life β I skimmed the last 20% because there was SO much filler dialogue, and I LOVE dialogue. I was shocked when I saw the length after reading it. I thought I had put in a good 400. I wanted a fun Nashville hockey romance book, and this really wasnβt an enjoyable read for me sadly. Itβs a 1-star for me, because although I was able to finish without DNFing, the Chris situation is still irking me.
Let me know if you read this book – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked this book review, I’d love for you to share this post!
xo, Renee
P.S. It might seem like I hate hockey romance books based on my review for Checked and Dump & Chase, but I actually love them! You can’t go wrong with the Off-Campus or Briar U series from Elle Kennedy! A+.