ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 3 in the Sophie Fournier series, and while I was disappointed in Book 2, the series rebounds here. In all honesty, this is what I thought book 2 would be.

So, Sophie is starting her third season with the Condors and Elsa has finally decided to show up. She and Sophie bond from the start and their relationship is intimate, even though it remains platonic. It’s not explicitly stated but Sophie appears to be demisexual. This is billed as a slow burn, and that seems to be because Sophie is incapable of reading romantic cues. Elsa does everything but pee on her leg and Sophie still doesn’t seem to realise what’s going on. Hopefully in book 4 someone will clue her in, since it seemed obvious to everyone but Sophie.

As usual Sophie puts the weight of the world on her shoulders, and is constantly under pressure as a result of her own and everyone else’s expectations. There’s also another woman, Lexi, added to the league, and she provides some comedic breaks in the book just through her attitude. Gabrielle, who joined the league last time, appears again, but her rise isn’t as rapid as Sophie’s, or Elsa’s.

Those who love hockey/sport will likely get more out of those scenes than I did, they all started to blur after awhile, in all honesty, Sophie’s relationships with her various teammates, other hockey players and especially with Elsa were what held my interest. I loved Elsa’s fierce protective streak when it came to Sophie, but honestly wish she’d had the courage to just tell Sophie she was interested in more, especially when it became obvious that Sophie wasn’t reading the cues. Hopefully book 4 will develop their relationship further, I guess we shall see. 4 stars

This series has to be one of the most frustratingly great series I've read in a long time! Since this is book 3, I'm going to try to not spoil anything with this review...

Collins has an incredible gift of storytelling, and she truly makes it feel as if you're living the life of a professional hockey player. Even if you're not a hockey or a sports fan, it would be almost impossible not to enjoy this story. Billed as a "slow burn romance" though, and with the way book 2 ended, I was hoping for a bit more of a push in the romantic department in this installment. We *sort of* get that, but not really. Know going into this one that you're not reading this story for the romantic aspect of things. Sophie does take a few steps towards that direction, but that's not the point of this novel.

In my personal opinion, book 2 was lacking some of the excitement that Collins brought us in the first book, but this installment is right back on track. If you're looking for a great sports story, look no further. I can highly recommend this one and can't wait for the next in the series! 4.5 stars.

**Many thanks to NineStar Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honeacst review.**

I was ambivalent about reading this after the second installment and I’m really glad I did. It’s still all action-packed ice hockey but Sophie comes alive in this one. Elsa Nyberg from the Swedish Hockey League finally joins the North American Hockey League and, more specifically, the Condors. Two other women also get drafted for other teams. Sophie is no longer alone but it’s her resilience and superb playing that has paved the way. From the moment Sophie collects Elsa at the airport things are better and then she’s named Captain of the Condors.

This series is not a romance unless you count the love of hockey but it is an exceptional story about how difficult it is for women to get the same recognition as men for playing the same sport, better. Sophie’s ability to play hockey and negotiate the haters makes her seem incredibly mature and it’s a surprise every time I remembered she’s only 20 years old. I adore her as a character and I loved seeing her have someone not only to share her love of the sport but also to be unconditionally on her side.

‘Lighting the Lamp’ made me appreciate ‘Sophomore Surge’ much more than I did at the time because it highlighted how on the outside and alone Sophie was. I’m back to hoping there is more to the story and I can’t wait to read it.

Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.

With the title Lighting the Lamp and the intro of more women into the NAHL, I've been wondering if this means a wrap-up of the Sophie Fournier series. I hope not because we need more storytelling like K.R. Collins.

Female readers can be just as loyal hockey fans as any guy -- I mean, how many hockey romance novels are out there? -- and I think we all deserve to have a book that expands the sports world like this series. Sophie's a complex character, there's amazing hockey action and the stories make a statement. It's tough to be a woman in hockey and, just when you think it'll be easier when there's more representation, the challenges Sophie faces proves that's still not true.

K.R. Collins scores again with this hit! Full of hockey and the connection of two plays off and on the ice you will devour this book the same way I did within a day. This novel is full of energy, friendly and so much more.

Rating = 4.25.
K. R. Collins performs a hat trick with this one (that's the extent of my hockey knowledge). You don't need to know hockey to enjoy the three books Collins wrote in the Sophie Fournier series. You may want to read the first two books in the series before you start this even though Collins introduces the characters in the first two chapters.

Lighting the Lamp is about Sophie's journey in her third year in the NAHL. This year the league has three women playing hockey with several others in the minor league. Similar to the other books, this one is told from inside Sophie's head. Sophie narrates with the same intensity, angst, and growing pains as she did in the first two books, but she has more to lose in this book, and more to gain. She buries her emotions when dealing with the press and teammates. However, we finally see her coming into her own and opening up with the women in the league, particularly Elsa Nyberg, who plays on her team, the Concord Condors.

Although a subplot, we see how each of the players handles the insults, prejudices and abuse thrust on them by fans, press and coaches even as they more skilled then their male colleagues. That part of the book is most engaging, in my opinion.

There is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the book, loose ends that will eventually be revealed in the next book in the series. Stay tuned!

I received this ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was even better than the first two books. It was super compelling and full of tension and stakes the whole way through, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the next book, hopefully soon.

So good! Sophie finally gets to play with Elsa and they are living their best life. Like with previous books in this series, the timeline runs from the draft to the end of season awards and the themes focus mostly on Sophie's struggles with being a model minority with the added issues of being on the asexual spectrum (she is demi). The latter is what I enjoyed the most as it was reminiscent of many stories my ace friends have shared with me and it was the newest element, without which this entry would have been too close to book 2. I also liked that the other coaches got some development and Sophie starts to see more clearly the nature of her relationship with Coach Butler.

If I had a complaint, it would be the lack of resolution to the developing romantic subplot, however, I am allosexual so that is 100% my problem and what fanfic is made for*. Heck, even if none of my many, many ships don't sail, I would still continue reading this series. Condors for life!

*I want to make an otome (dating sim) where the player is Sophie so I can romance Dima, Elsa, and Lexie. I want to have my three cakes and eat them too.

4.5* – This series is on its way to being the most frustrating while clearly addicting I’ve read in a long time. I’m going to try not to spoil too much, but damn, it’s not gonna be easy. If you’re worried I might fail and don’t want to ruin your own enjoyment of this book, maybe all you need to know is that it could have been a full 5* if the author had taken it just a step further in the relationship department.

K.R. Collins writes hockey beautifully. I don’t think I’ve ever watched an entire ice hockey game (I’m French, hockey is definitely not my sports), yet when reading her books, I’m a Concord Condors fan all the way. The plays she describes are utterly exciting, the suspense is thrilling and breathtaking. We know that, we’ve known it since book 1, Breaking the Ice. The real suspense here pertains to Sophie’s love life. Or rather lack thereof so far. I know romance isn’t everything, and I don’t really need it in every book I read but when a novel is released by an LGBTQA publisher with tags such as “bisexual”, “demisexual”, “lesbian”, “romance” or “slow burn”, you can’t blame readers for believing they mean something. In this instance, I think that something will be the slowest burn ever, but that’s only speculation on my part. Also, Sophie is such an endearing character and her growth over the series is so beautiful that I plain and simple want more, for her and for me.

Sophie Fournier’s third season in the NAHL is bound to be very different from her first two: she’s not the only woman in the League anymore and what’s more, she’s not the only woman in her team anymore. After postponing her arrival last season, Elsa Nyberg is finally here, and the two of them take to each other like ducks to water, both off and on the ice. There’s a connection between the two young women (it’s sometimes difficult to remember, but Sophie is still too young to drink alcohol at the beginning of this book) that Sophie, whose life has always been focused on hockey, fails to identify for what it is, or at least for all that it is. The athletic crush, the very needed friendship with another female player, the novelty of having a roommate are all she sees. Once again, as I wrote above, this is only speculation, but all the signs are there of something more. The matter of the moment, however, is to win the Maple Cup. While things may get better and better, Sophie still has to prove herself day in, day out, but this season, she’s got more backup and more opportunities than ever.

As the first and only woman in the league until now, Sophie has had her way of dealing with the pressure, the demands of both management and the media, the love and the hate of fans. Now that other women have also been drafted, different personalities come into play, and if we get a fourth book (I might be frustrated, I still want a fourth book), I hope we’ll get to see more of that, more of how these other female players capitalise on the path Sophie has opened.

This instalment brings back the energy and exhilaration of the first one. Every scene about hockey is fantastic, whether it’s the games, Sophie’s efforts at motivating her team, everything. I’m still very annoyed at her father’s attitude but she seems to have made her peace with it and to only take the good, in a very mature way. In this book, the third in the series, we get to see more of the adult she’s becoming, the human being, the woman, not just the player anymore. She’s more open with her badassery, her snark, her sense of humour. She’s more comfortable with the other players on her team and it shows in the best way. She was a bit boring in the first two books, she’s becoming quite captivating, as others are also coming to find out. In book 2, Sophomore Surge, most of the off the ice scenes centred on Sophie’s friendship with Dima, the Russian star of the Boston team and her official “rival”. Dima’s still in the picture, and I really enjoy their relationship, but Elsa is now centre stage, and that’s a big part of what makes this third book so exciting. The relationship dynamics are very different, more layered, more complex. Collins writes these scenes very well too and I can’t wait to see where she’ll take the story next.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

4.25 Stars. Back in the groove. After a disappointing book 2, I’m happy to say that this series is back on track. Plus the storyline we were promised to get in book 2, we finally now get in this book. The story stopped feeling stuck and the plot actually moved forward. And this book brought back some of the things that made me fall for the first book. I had high hopes this book would rebound the series and I’m so happy it did.

This book is a big change for Sophie as she is no longer the only woman in the NAHL. Finally she has others around that understand just what she is going through. Will this give Sophie the boost she needs to play even better, or with promises made and her career possibly on the line, will it be too much pressure for her to take?

This book had me hooked from the first few pages. It just had the magic back that the first book did but the second was missing. You saw some actual growth in Sophie and even some of her teammates. It still drives me nuts that Sophie can be so passive when it comes to her dad, coach, and reporters. For a hockey player she needs a tougher backbone, but I feel like maybe she can eventually get there.

The hockey scenes were great. Well the hockey scenes are great in every book of this series but this book was really exciting. I felt on the edge of my seat most of the time wondering what’s going to happen. It was exciting and an entertaining ride. This is the closest I have gotten to real sports in a few months so this book came at the right time for me.

There has been lots of talk if this series will have any romance. It still doesn’t yet but it felt like it took the first step to maybe. How close of a line is there from friendship to something more? Well it looks like Sophie is approaching that line. The person she is approaching it for seems to have feeling for her back (at least that was the signs I was reading) so there is potential for something there in the future, that is if Sophie can handle hockey and romance at the same time. I guess we will have to wait and see if there is a book 4 to have that question answered.

If you are a hockey fan I highly recommend this series. If you were a fan of the first book, chances are high that you will enjoy this one too. I don’t know if there will be a book four, but if there is, I will be happy to get back on the ice with Sophie.