Sweet Thing by Kate Meader is the first novel in the new Chicago Players series, a spin-off set in the same universe as the previous Chicago Rebels. This was my first time reading anything by this author, but the plot immediately made me want to request the arc.

Tropes
🩷 Single dad & Nanny
🩵 Age gap (13 years)
🩷 Off-limits / Father’s teammate and friend
🩵 Forbidden
🩵 Slow burn
🩷 Grumpy x Sunshine
🩵 Sports romance (hockey)
🩷 Found family
🩵 Forced proximity

Lars Nyquist is a defenseman for the Chicago Rebels who suddenly finds himself a father overnight when a woman he had a one-night stand with leaves little Mabel with him at a bar, claiming she’s his daughter. Blindsided and completely unprepared for parenthood, Lars accepts help from Adeline Kershaw, daughter of his captain and best friend Theo. Addy, 23, has just returned from a year-long trip and has been harboring a secret crush on Lars, who’s thirteen years older than her. By offering to be Mabel’s nanny—a role she knows well from raising her younger sister—Addy moves into Lars’s house. Their forced cohabitation gradually awakens mutual attraction. Addy discovers a tender heart beneath Lars’s rough exterior, and watching him learn to be a father makes her fall for him even more. Lars, who initially saw her only as his teammate’s daughter, also begins to see her as much more than a friend.

Addy is a sunny but determined young woman: sweet, cheeky in just the right way, and incredibly protective. She starts out with insecurities about her appearance, being seen mostly as ‘Theo’s daughter’, and dealing with her unrequited crush on Lars, but through their relationship, she learns to put herself first and fight for what she wants.

Lars is the classic grumpy hero: surly, reserved but incredibly loyal and protective. His journey from emotionally distant man to loving father is one of the most beautiful aspects of the book. Behind his rough exterior he hides a tender heart, and with Addy he learns to let his guard down. He’s a man who struggles to express emotions, wounded by an abusive and emotionally damaging father, but when he does open up, he does so with disarming honesty.

The book is told through dual pov, alternating between the protagonists’ perspectives. Kate Meader’s style is lively and witty, with the right balance between humor and romance. The spicy scenes are present but never excessive, and most importantly, they’re never awkward or over the top.

If you love hockey romance but especially age gap and the FATHER’S BEST FRIEND trope (this is a gem), I know this book will win you over. I’m curious to read the next volumes in the Chicago Players series to discover the other players’ stories.

A crush, a baby and a sexy hockey player. Can she fall any harder?
Such a great hockey story that had tropes I love reading.
-Hockey player
-Single dad
-Age gap
Adeline (Addy), Theo’s daughter was true to the title of the book, a Sweet Thing who was over a decade younger than Lars and who’d had a crush on him for the longest time.
Addy was a gorgeous mix of sweet and sassy when she wanted to be and I loved her character and how much her big family adored her.
If only she had the confidence to see herself as they do.
The closeness and friendship between Chicago players Theo and Lars also added to the storyline.
Theo took Lars under his wing and welcomed him into his large family, knowing that Lars now had no one.
Addy heads off on a trip of a lifetime and on her return ends up helping Lars out being a temporary nanny for his gorgeous daughter Mabel.
The more time they spend together lines blur, feelings get in the way, there’s a bit of jealousy and rivalry, then lies / hidden truths become inevitable.
Can they sort out how they feel about each other?
Or will other people’s opinions tear them apart before they even get started.
Fantastic storyline and characters and great start to this series.
I’m looking forward to reading more in this hockey world.
Thanks to NetGalley, Kate Meader and Victory Editing for the ARC.

A Heart-Melting Hockey Romance That Scores Big!

Sweet Thing is an absolute delight from start to finish! If you're a fan of swoony sports romances with a hefty dose of heart, humor, and heat, this book is your next must-read.

Lars Nyquist, the gruff yet lovable defenseman for the Chicago Rebels, finds himself in the most unexpected situation—a surprise baby dropped into his arms mid-celebration. Enter Adeline, the smart, sassy, and secretly smitten daughter of his teammate, who steps in as the nanny and turns his world upside down in the best possible way.

The chemistry between Lars and Adeline is electric, but what really makes this story shine is the emotional depth. Watching Lars grow into fatherhood is both touching and hilarious, and Adeline’s inner struggle with her long-standing crush is so relatable. The age gap and “dad’s teammate” dynamics add delicious tension, while the slow burn keeps you hooked and rooting for them every step of the way.

With tropes like surprise single dad, nanny romance, forbidden love, and “touch her and die” protectiveness, Sweet Thing delivers everything romance lovers crave. It’s sexy, sweet, and full of heart—perfect for fans of Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen.

This is the kind of book that leaves you smiling long after the last page. I can’t wait to see what the Chicago Players series brings next!

↝ arc by netgalley review
this was my first age gap romance and it was such a fun spicy read!!!

the story follows lars
- a pro hockey player who just found out he’s a dad (already a plus bc who doesn’t love a single daddy)
AND
his teammate’s daughter, adeline
- who ends up helping him take care of the baby
- plus she’s had a MAJOR crush on him forever
(one of my favorite fmc’s i’ve read this year, what she goes through and how it’s taunting her is something i struggle with, lars being the one to reassure her and give her that strength was everything and i wish we saw more of how Greece affected her)

who doesn’t love a forbidden love…
i absolutely adored the dynamic of lars x adeline and loved how the author expressed their love without the use of over the top sexually graphic language like other books do (which i enjoy very much) but for a book like this, it was perfectly written.

something i struggled with was the amount of characters!!!! there was ALOT of characters and it seems like some of the characters were introduced in a previous series! after reading sweet thing i will definitely go back to read meader’s previous work and i’m so excited to read the next installment in this series especially after that CLIFFHANGER.

The good. I finished the book. I won't say it was bad, but I struggled with the characters and some of the vocabulary used (plunder? lovely ass? and not many 23 year old american women are using the word 'needn't') I did want to see what happened next, so I guess I was engaged enough. But i didn't feel a real connection between the characters. This book sounded right up my ally. Taboo? check. Age gap? check. Dad's best friend? sure.
There were a lot of side characters, which isn't always a bad thing, but was a little confusing sometimes. Like summer, Who was she engaged to, Rhyder or Dash? or were they the same person. it confused me. I would give this book 2.5 stars, but the thing is, I actually want to read summer and hatches book when it comes out. The seed was planted through this one and made me curious about them.

This single-dad romance was undeniably cute, but the pet name kept pulling me out of the story. Despite that, it had enough charm and heart to make it a sweet read. A solid 3-star book for those who love adorable family dynamics and heartfelt moments

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

I could not stop reading this story!!

Honestly, I was so engrossed in this book. I loved the MMC and FMC so much! Some of the best characters I’ve read about in the sports romance genre.

Adeline was caring, affectionate, fab with kids and completely down to earth and loveable.
Lars….what a man! The feelings he had for Adeline and
then becoming the dad he was meant to be was 🔥❤️‍🔥

Single dad falling for the nanny….gets me every time 🥵

I really dislike third act breakups but this one was so tastefully done.
The whole hockey fight between Lars and Theo (Adeline’s dad and Lars’ team captain) made me giggle.

Will be recommending this book to everyone!

If I had to describe this book in one word it would be ADDICTIVE. I had so much fun reading it. Was the plot a little far fetched/silly? Yes. Did the characters “fall in love” without actually earning it? Absolutely. Does the nickname Sweet Thing make me cringe? 100% Did I care? NOPE! I read this in a day and had a damn good time.

Addy, the main female character, was great. She has a strong personality and I understood her insecurities. Lars, the love interest, was fully fleshed out. His complex relationship with his father added a depth to him that is sometimes missing in romcom leading men. I just wish I saw more of an emotional connection between the two before the L word appears.

The pacing was great. I literally couldn’t put the book down. Often romance books can feel repetitive, but Sweet Thing thankfully didn’t fall into that trap. Something fresh was happening in each chapter.

I will say there are approximately 100 side characters mentioned in this book. That’s too many. I guess the author has a previous series about Addy’s parents? But as this is billed as the first of a series, it’s a little confusing. I sometimes couldn’t tell who we were supposed to know from before and who would matter in the future. But, that’s easy to skim past (which I did). I’m sure if you’ve read the previous series, you’d love all the Easter eggs.

I will say that I am PUMPED for the next book in this series - sign me up for a forced proximity, enemies to lovers story EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK.

This book is fun. It’s a little silly. It’s very light hearted. If you just want a quick, good time without too much depth - this one’s for

Book Title: Sweet Thing

Author: Kate Meader

Tropes: Surprise Baby, Age Gap, Dad’s Best Friend, Forced Proximity, Grumpy x Independent

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️

🤩 The Vibe:

Sweet Thing is a heartfelt, emotionally layered romance that pairs found family with unexpected parenthood and a dash of grumpy-sunshine tension. Lars is every bit the gruff, emotionally unavailable hockey player… until a one night stand delivers his baby girl to him in a bar and flips his world upside down. Addy is fiercely independent and refreshingly no-nonsense, and watching these two orbit around each other—with smoldering tension and reluctant tenderness—makes for a compelling slow burn. It’s about responsibility, redemption, and letting someone in when you least expect it.

👩‍❤️‍👨 Main Characters:

Lars – Hockey star who goes from “not my problem” to “ride or die” for a baby he didn’t know existed. Broody, gruff, loyal, and unexpectedly tender when it counts.

Addy – Caregiver, protective older sister and Lars’ Captain’s daughter. She’s tough, fiercely independent, and doesn’t back down—even when her heart is on the line.

💕 What I Loved:

• The banter—sharp, funny, and full of tension.

• Watching Lars go from detached to absolutely devoted overnight.

• Addy’s relationship with her family, especially her protectiveness over her dad’s hockey career.

• Strong character development—both leads felt mature and multi-dimensional.

🚫 What Didn’t Work For Me:

• The believability of the baby drop-off setup felt far-fetched—a random bar felt like the wrong choice for that moment.

• I usually love an age gap, but the fact that Lars is Addy’s dad’s friend and teammate pushed the dynamic into awkward territory—it felt like more like a 20-year gap than the actual 12-year gap.

• I wanted more scenes with Lars and Addy together. A lot of their development happened separately or internally, which slowed the romantic momentum.

💭 Final Thoughts:

Sweet Thing delivers a swoony, emotional, and slightly unconventional sports romance that blends grumpy dad energy with fierce heroine strength. While a few plot choices stretched believability and the central couple could’ve used more page time together, the chemistry, character arcs, and emotional depth kept me hooked. If you love a man who’s secretly soft and a woman who protects her people at all costs, this one’s worth picking up.

Rating 4.5

"The best path is one I choose for myself. And I chose you"

Hockey Romance
Age Gap
Single Parent

Stand offish hockey player turned dad. After a startling bombshell of a baby being dropping into his lap, Lars have to learn how to navigate being a single dad and juggling his career in hockey. Thankfully with this help of the Kershaw family, specifically in the form of his new nanny Adeline, things are looking hopeful. When you're trying to find your great love story some times it happens when you least expect it. Slow Burn, Forbidden Hockey Romance, sign me up!

This was my first Kate Meader book and I fell in love. I might need to go through the other books for the characters that were mentioned in this book. This was an adorable hockey romance. It really challenged both the characters to be confident in themselves, making for strong character development. Lars' daughter, Mabel, was the cutest little thing in this book.

"My Great Love Story. Trademark."

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I struggled to connect with this book. I finished 96% but to me there wasn’t much depth in the primary characters, or in their relationship. With a popular trope, and traditional character flaws, I typically look for something to set the story apart but it ultimately fell flat for me.

Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC

I'm appreciative for the ARC copy, thanks to the author and Netgalley.

Lars ❤️ Adeline
Baby Mabel

Hockey Romance
Nanny X Single Dad
Age gap
Dad's BFF
Secret relationship
Miscommunication

2.5 ⭐
2 🌶️

This was enjoyable-ish, but I won't be putting it on my re-read list the way I do with 5 star reads, nor would I rush to recommend it, but if someone had a copy, or wanted a quick, easy read I'd say that they'd enjoy it enough. I liked the overall plot, and while it wasn't overly meaty or surprising, I did want to know what happened next. The characters were likeable overall, but I didn't connect with them emotionally the way I do with characters in my top reads.

I didn't enjoy things being completely spelled out, for example, "the taboo" of their relationship being discussed by the MMC and FMC in case the reader wasn't getting it. There were a lot of excessive descriptions that didn't really add much to the storyline, such as what the brother ordered on their lunch date, or the fact that the granny drinks her martinis with extra pineapple juice, or "Jacobs put down one of the 5k hand weights and picked up an 8k". The granny character was annoying, she was given a lot of attention (I assume for a future book) but the attempt to make her comedic fell flat for me. I'm assuming that the plentiful details given about the secondary characters are Easter eggs for future books in this series (or maybe some are the focus of previous books and the author is letting her audience know how they're getting on?)

Overall, I think it was the writing style that I didn't love - no offence to the author, it just wasn't for me, and I'm sorry not to be reviewing in a more positive way. Some of the descriptions gave me the ick, for example; "this mouth. I want to plunder it and make it mine", "my thumb sought her little clit", and "taking that slick instrument and burying it...", "I'm going to kiss you again and maybe grasp your lovely ass". The 13 year age gap seemed a bit too much of a plot line at times (and I'm not against age gap romances)

Attempts to keep it modern, 2025, detailing extras characters having a same-sex marriage, and the MMC being concerned for the welfare of his baby mama, but it misses the mark, as in other areas it was a bit yuck to read as a woman (albeit I don't think this was the intent, just how the wording came across) "I’d worked that gorgeous body good", "With my release and claim".

I won't be waiting impatiently for the next in the series, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I'll even bother to read it, probably not.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the early chance to read and review “Sweet Thing” by Kate Meader.

This book had some of my favorite tropes: single dad, surprise baby, teammates sister (and daughter) so I was really excited to read this one. It did not disappoint, I really enjoyed the story of Lars falling in love with his daughter as he tried to become “worthy” of a relationship with Adeline. This is the first book of a new series but it is a “next gen” of the two previous Chicago Rebels series - there were a bunch of returning characters that were nice to catch up with since I had read the previous books. However, it totally works as a standalone if you have not read the previous series. I would recommend this to readers of contemporary romance and hockey romance, for a sweet, sexy read. 4 stars.

Thankyou to Kate Meader and team for providing me with an ARC copy of this book.

This is my first book of the author and I can say I will be going back to read her previous work as I really enjoyed this book. My favourite books are romance, especially hockey romance in particular and have read over 100. This was a great one.

The main tropes are Surprise Single Dad, Single Dad x Nanny, Age Gap, Dads best friend, found family. If those tropes can’t convince you to read then I don’t know what will! I loved the evolution of Lars and Addies relationship, and the Easter eggs coming about the authors future books too.

I would say this book is definitely steamy and sexy and would rate it 3 out of 5 on the spice scale. Ultimately I give the book a 4 out of 5 stars and look forward to the next instalments in the series.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy to read and review!
This was the first book by this author that I read! It will not be my last!

I absolutely loved this book! I loved the relationship between Lars and Adeline. I loved how she was such a support for him when he got the news that he was a father! The relationship between them made me smile from the start! I loved hearing bits and pieces of her parents story! I loved seeing the characters grow as individuals but also together! Can't wait to read more of the series!

Hope you all enjoys this book as much as I did!

Books have always been my “happy place.” The genre that I can never get enough of is romance. That’s why I was excited to get a chance to read this one. While some of the side characters in this book are featured in an existing series, I was able to read this book as a standalone.

I’m not normally a fan of age gap romance (unless the female lead is older), but I really did enjoy this one. The age difference did not come off as “creepy” like I have seen in other books.

I did have some questions in regards to some of the loose threads that appear in this book. Seeing as there are at least two other books coming in the series, I’m sure those questions will be answered in a later book.

Ultimately, I did really enjoy the book, and I’m excited to read what is next.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I actually loved this so much. Adeline and Lars were the cutest and Mabel even more so. Girl had me wrapped around her finger as soon as she was mentioned omg. Surprise single dad and Lars handled it like a champ with Adi's help of course but that's what family does, the Kershaw family helped Lars and Lars helped Adi see that she was so much more than what she thought of herself. I loved the themes and tropes in this book.

I loved this love story of Lars and Adaline.. This story has some of my favourite tropes including single dad and teammates daughters. Add in that this is a second generation story and features the characters who we met in the rookie rebels series led to this being a fantastic read for me. I could not put it down. I loved the dynamics between the two and how they developed a relationship initially started by Adeline stepping in to be Lar’s nanny. The story flowed well and has set the scene for the next books in the series. I am looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
🌶️🌶️

🏒 Ice hockey romance
🏒 Single dad x nanny
🏒 Teammate/captain’s daughter
🏒 Age gap (13 years)
🏒 YEARS long crush

Snapped this up in 24 hours because it delivered everything I need, expect and love in a single dad x nanny, ice hockey romance story.

What I LOVED:
🏒 Lars and Theo having such a strong friendship and camaraderie on the ice DID make things feel quite forbidden between Lars and Addy, so I thought the author did this very well.
🏒 This was a pretty interesting/unique take on the single dad trope and it was refreshing to read about an MMC learn and discover how to be a dad.
🏒 The interactions we got to see between the older Kershaw siblings were TOP TIER! I actually wish there was more of this, more text chains, etc. but I’m definitely keen to see how their love stories unfold!
🏒 The writing really sucked me in and made me want to learn more about Theo’s story and that generation of Rebels’ stories, but at the same time, I didn’t feel lost not having read the previous series.

What I DIDNT love:
🏒 Everything felt like it happened super quickly. It would’ve been nice to see Addy and Lars’ relationship and emotional connection develop at a slower pace, rather than something that came to fruition in a matter of weeks.
🏒 I don’t think Addy’s drama was necessary for the plot. It seemed like it was a little skimmed over/brushed over? Like we don’t even really get a follow up on it and she’s not even had a conversation with her mum about it.

WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK? Yes ✅
WILL I CONTINUE THIS SERIES? Yes ✅

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review]

Sweet Thing was a beautiful and delicious read!

Tropes:

🏒 Hockey Romance
😏 Age Gap
❤️‍🔥 Forbidden Romance
🧑 Single Dad
🔥 Slow Burn

Seeing Lars step into fatherhood was a rollercoaster of emotions but an unexpected task that he tackled easily. It was almost comical seeing him go from panic to super dad within months. Nobody is perfect at first try but with the help of his found family, he found a way. And Adeline? She was his Enkelini that helped pave the path and burrowed herself in so perfectly with him and Mabel.

This was my first ever read by Kate Meader and it definitely won’t be my last.

The spice was intense, the friendships were beautiful and wholesome, and I was so proud of both Lars and Adeline for overcoming their trauma and accepting forgiveness.

•
Favorite quotes 🩵

Addie: “My Great Love Story. Trademark.”

Lars: “Theo, you could break every bone in my body, but it wouldn’t change how I feel. I love your daughter.”

Lars: “I was a slave to her and would happily follow her anywhere.”
•

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review before its debut 🫶🏼