Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun surprise! While not the most polished writing, the story had a solid plot, and I really enjoyed Lars as a main character, he was thoughtful, layered, and easy to root for. The romance was well-paced for most of the book, with great tension. The third-act was emotional and believable, and I found myself genuinely invested in seeing their happily ever after.

On the downside, there were too many side characters mentioned who didn’t add much to the story, which made a lot of group scenes feel messy and confusing. Also, the ending felt a bit rushed and underwhelming after such a strong setup. Especially the epilogue, which just felt like promotion for the next book and didn’t actually contribute anything to Lars or Addy’s story.

A new generation of Chicago Rebels. It is nice to see the familiar faces and how the families have grown and matured. Lars gets a surprise when a baby is dumped in his arms - literally. We have the hero who is thrown into the deep end without a life preserver and is so out of his depth it is amusing. Adeline is at loose ends and agrees to help him out. The rest is somewhat predictable but enjoyable. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

This was my first “surprise baby” book & I am shocked by how much I enjoyed it!

I loved the age gap, hockey, nanny elements to the book as well! I feel like Lars’ response to a baby being thrust into his arms & left with him without warning was a bit wild but I still binged this book!

I first want to thank everyone involved in my receipt of this advanced copy.

I want to emphasize how much I wanted to enjoy this book and how excited I was to read it. I am a huge fan of hockey romance novels and was so thrilled to be approved for one. Unfortunately, I could not finish this.

To begin with, I noticed early on that there were an overabundance of named characters. This book, which is part of a new series, seemed to be referencing pre-existing characters and I had the sense that these characters mattered but could not figure out why. I finally checked Goodreads about 1/3 of the way into the book and realized that this author had written an extensive series about the same hockey team and the named characters were coming from there. While I love a good easter egg and cameo, the shear quantity of them here without warning of the prior series, was enough to pull me out of the novel every single time.

While reading, certain speech patterns from the characters read as too formal for casual conversation. While I do want books to have proper grammar and syntax, the dialogue was overly formalized between Adaline (the FMC) and Lars the (MMC).\

Now I know that this was a surprise single dad story, but it seemed like the idea of babies overtook the entirety of this story. Adaline stops college and stays home to basically become the mother of her little sister. nearly every character who is coupled up references wanting more kids after seeing Lars's new child. Rosie makes jokes about Adaline wanting to have Lars's babies. It just became too baby heavy. It seemed like procreation was the only thing on everyone's minds.

Lastly, elements of the book seemed to be needlessly reiterated in a frequent fashion. For instant, The inside joke of "Trademark!" between Adaline and her siblings was explained 3-4 times by the time I DNF'd the book at 60%. It again, took me out of the story.

Once again, I am extremely appreciative of the receipt of this book and I do hope to give Kate Meader another try in the future, but this book just was not for me.

This was... bad. I've given it an extra star because I was able to finish but I was so close to DNFing. It just didn't feel realistic at all with the mother dumping the baby on Lars. It wasn't that bit that felt unrealistic, it was just the fact she did it in a bar and everyone watched and her simply walking out. It was as though it was too easy of a way to start off the book, I guess? Throughout the book, I found myself getting bored and skim reading a lot of it or sometimes skipping chapters and I was easily able to continue reading, which made it feel like I hadn't missed much. Wouldn't recommend.

Loved this ARC! I just recently found Kate's books and I know I should have read others first, but I really loved the sound of this blurb and boy did it not disappoint! Lars and Adeline's story was so good from start to finish and has a little bit of every thing
*Age Gap
*Forbidden Romance
*Secret Baby
*nanny
*lots of Laughs!

Yes yes yes!!!!!!

This book delivered everything I wanted and more! The relationship building between the main characters was lovely to read and had me swooning over them. Definitely a slow burn but that made it even better 🔥

I love the plot of this book, as well as all of the character. I can’t wait to continue this series (Roll on rebel bride)

Just as a side note I loved the little newspaper articles as well!

Ly daddy Lars 🫶🏻🫶🏻

Thank you so much to Kate Meader, NetGalley and victory editing for giving me access to this book, I enjoyed it thoroughly!!

I devoured this hockey romance in one sitting, swept up in the chemistry, tension, and heartfelt moments that made it so hard to put down.

Lars Nyquist, our gruff, broody defenseman for the Chicago Rebels, is blindsided when a one-night stand leaves him with a baby, literally. Mabel is dropped into his arms and into his life, and everything changes. Enter Adeline, daughter of Lars’s teammate Theo, freshly back from a year of soul-searching travels. She needs a job. He needs help. It’s the perfect setup…until emotions complicate everything.

Lars was a standout MMC. He was emotionally guarded yet so full of love for his daughter and so determined not to repeat the mistakes of his own father. Watching him learn to care for Mabel (clumsily, lovingly, fiercely) made my heart melt. But what truly elevated the story was Adeline. She’s battling her own trauma and insecurities, still trying to figure out where she fits in her family and who she is beyond being Theo’s daughter. Her growth felt so real, and her connection with Mabel? Adorable.

The chemistry between Lars and Adeline is palpable from the start, instant attraction mixed with slow-burn tension that builds beautifully. Yes, their romance is forbidden, but it never feels forced. It’s tender, messy, and ultimately healing. There’s family drama, of course, but it’s handled with care, and the resolution is both satisfying and earned. The epilogue? It wrecked me in the best way.

I'm such a sucker for single dad romances! I also loved the age-gape trope and the found family trope. As soon as I saw how much the Kershaw's welcomed Lars into their family I knew immediately it was going to get bumpy when things came to light about Adeline and Lars. But, I was also looking forward to seeing Lars get the big family permanently when it all works out between them. To see him go from such a rough childhood to having no one as an adult... the dream is to see him find the family to fill his heart full. Heck, I want to be a part of the Kershaw's family too! And Adeline... she's 23, young and quiet in a room full of big personalities. In no way did she get lost in the story. I think the author did a great job of showing who she really was. I rooted for her and Lars hard! And you must get the bonus epilogue when you finish reading this book. Oh my heart! It's exactly what I needed to feel fulfilled. Great book and I want to dive into the others in the series!

The chemistry between Lars and Adeline!!!! Obsessed! I love all the family and how close everyone is. Makes me happy.

Lars Nyquist’s life is turned upside down when a one night stand turns up and bundles 7 month old Mabel in his arms then runs off. Without an ounce of knowledge on how to deal with this, Lars turns to his best friend and hockey team mate Theo Kershaw and his wife for help. What he doesn’t expect is the Kershaw’s eldest daughter, 22 year old Adeline to move in and become not only his nanny but his everything. The feelings are reciprocated by Adeline but how will the pair navigate the news when their decision to be together means causing problems with Adeline’s family and the whole hockey team.

This was a cute read, Lars, Adeline and Mabel are the sweetest trio and I really liked the relationships Lars builds with them both, even in the sudden circumstances he found himself in as a father and roommate to his new nanny. There is a huge forbidden aspect to Lars and Adeline with her being his teammate and captains daughter and I thought it was written well how they ended up giving in to their feelings.

I got a little confused at times with the amount of side characters and eventually had to just focus on the main characters and pick up the side characters as and when they appeared. The next book has been set up well and I think it is going to be an interesting series with the found family aspect and how they are all intertwined.

This is a sports romance in that Lars plays hockey but there is very minimal actual discussion surrounding the hockey aspect and is very much focussed on Lars and Adeline’s relationship so don’t go in expecting a lot of hockey play. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes surprise baby and single dad x nanny tropes.

This is my first book by Kate Meader. I struggled in the beginning with an info dump of other characters. I now know that these characters were in a previous series, so I think it would be helpful to have read that series first. I did get the characters straight as I read more. I ended up enjoying this book. I think both the FMC and MMC had a lot of growth throughout the book. This book had single dad/nanny/age gap/dad’s best friend tropes. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. 3.75 stars

While this book wasn’t my personal favorite, it was still a super solid book! I think that my rating is more due to it not being exactly my type of book and not because of any fault in the author or the story. It was my first hockey romance and I am definitely not opposed to reading more after this book. I loved all of the characters—Adeline trying not to upset and disrupt the peace and people in her family felt really real and I loved getting to see Lars’ relationship with all of the Kershaw’s, but especially Theo and Elle—and the main relationship was absolutely adorable. If you love a good hockey romance with a healthy dose of single dad-ing and an adorable child, I highly recommend this book!

Super sweet story. Loved the the main characters and I was so engaged with storyline development. It was a slow build to a raging fire and then just as you catch your breath there are a few twists that leave you a bit breathless. The dialogue is snappy and there some very funny lines. ( especially during a certain fight scene). Always fun to catch up with the rest of the team.

The Sweet Thing by Kate Meader is a great read that pulled me in right from the start. The characters are charming, the chemistry is off the charts, and the story has the perfect blend of heat, heart, and humor. Meader does a fantastic job building tension and emotion, and the romantic moments feel both swoon-worthy and genuine.

While a couple of parts were a bit predictable, it didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the story. If you’re a fan of well-written romance with strong characters and just the right amount of spice, this one’s for you.

Would definitely recommend to all romance lovers looking for their next cozy escape!

This book gave me alllll the feels! I really enjoyed reading the dual perspectives and seeing the character growth from both Lars and Adeline!

The one thing that let this down for me was the third act break up - I hardly ever like that trope 😂

However, there’s something about a single dad nanny trope this just hits every time. Especially when the child is a BABY and the dad is learning everything from bottles to nappies and everything else!

Tropes:
• sports romance
• single dad
• nanny
• forced proximity
• forbidden
• age gap
• dads best friend / team mate

I will definitely be looking to read more from this author. This book was so easy to read and connect to the characters.

4.5 ⭐️

Cute book. Part of a series, but a good stand alone. I haven’t read any of the others in the series and had no problems with the characters or keeping track of the story lines. Cute story. Fun and a quick read. Read the book in one sitting - I have no will power to transport myself to another world. Would like to read the other books in the series.

This was the first book I have encountered by Kate Meader, and I was able to read an advanced reader copy through my partnership with Net Galley. This was the perfect vacation day read, the quintessential contemporary romance, reminiscent of Tessa Bailey’s books. Initially I was a little hesitant as I do not believe I have read a book with such a large age gap (13 years) and I found myself judging immediately. After reminding myself that my partner is in fact 13 years older than me I was able to continue with the first book of this new series, laughing at my hypocrisy! I chose the book because I needed a good, light, fun book, and it did not disappoint there. The characters were extremely fallible, there was the right amount of tension, and it followed the trope, so I was not surprised by the ending (life is stressful enough as it is). The sex scenes are a bit over the top, but no judgement there, I knew what I was getting into. So for a quick, low stakes read with fallible characters looking for a bit of romance, and a side of sports, this is a fun one.
#sweetthing
#netgalley

Sweet Thing by Kate Meader was such a fun, swoony read that delivered exactly what I was hoping for — and then some. The characters absolutely stole the show for me. The chemistry between the two leads was off the charts — from the very beginning, you could feel the tension building, and it just kept getting better.

The slow burn in this book was perfectly paced. It made me wait (and wait!) but in the best possible way — every glance, every almost-moment just added to the anticipation and made the eventual payoff so much sweeter.

I also really enjoyed the tropes — single dad and nanny, plus a delicious age gap? Yes, please! Kate Meader played with them in such a smart, satisfying way, giving the story both heart and heat. It was also quick-paced, which made it super easy to fly through without ever feeling rushed or shallow.

All in all, Sweet Thing hit the spot — great characters, great tension, and a romance that kept me fully hooked from start to finish. I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author!

Hockey players, age gap and the perfect amount of spice to plot? This one had it all.
I absolutely loved this story.
Lars- I was swooning for this man. He gets thrown into this life changing event and manages it in the best way he can. The way he grows through out the story and the depth of his character had me obsessed. I was loving his relationship with Mabel and their bond. He struggles with trauma from his dad and self worth and the way Adeline and those around him are supportive it was so sweet.
Adeline- She is such a strong FMC. Seeing how much she grows after such a horrific incident really blew me away. The way she steps up for those she loves and the bond she shared with Mabel , she truly was the glue to her family. Her bond with her family and team, the way they all come together for each other was super special and had me all in my feels.

I loved the character growth in this one, and the way the spice was just the right amount. This book definitely had me feeling all the emotions.