A Groom of One's Own is the first book in the new Appies hockey romance series but is a spinoff of Just Don't Fall & Absolutely Not in Love from the Sweater Weather series. While I definitely recommend those books (they're amazing!), you can definitely enjoy this one as a standalone as well.

I fell in love with the Appies in Sweater Weather, so I was really looking forward to this series. When I learned the first book was going to take on marriage of convenience!? Even better! Hockey and marriage of convenience are two of my favorite tropes, so my expectations were very high. Thankfully, this one absolutely did not disappoint! I feel like a bit of a broken record saying each new Emma St. Clair book is my new favorite... and yet, here we are. Again. This book was absolutely fantastic! Eli was such a wonderful, outgoing character and so hard not to enjoy. He balanced out Bailey's shyness and they really had the very best chemistry together. I couldn't get enough of them.

As much as I love Eli and Bailey though, the side characters absolutely made the story as well. I loved seeing more from the Appies teammates, of course... but I also loved getting to know Eli's family. His mom's meddling and his sister's lack of boundaries had me laughing out loud! As someone who deals with chronic illness and pain, I really appreciated that representation in Eli's mom as well.

A Groom of One's Own is a closed-door romance. It did seem like it had just a hint more sizzle than we typically see from Emma St. Clair, but just barely and no spice. I have found that tends to be more typical in marriage of convenience stories anyway, because--- well, they're married. There is one scene that would probably technically be considered fade-to-back but felt more like implied intimacy to me. There's no doubt what happened off the pages and there was some slight buildup, but it felt pretty tame. And again, they are married at the time. There was also a handful of very minor language (Four uses of H-E-double hockey sticks--- that's it.)

**Complimentary copy received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

I love the Appies! I’d already a couple books with players on the team, so I knew I had to dive in on this one. And it was adorable! Eli has big golden retriever energy, and Bailey was a very relatable sweetheart. I love a good fake marriage trope, and this delivered it nicely. I can’t wait for more books of the Appies!

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was the quintessential “sweet romcom”. I love everything about it.

Eli is the MOST unproblematic MMC you could ask for, the closet romantic, a kind and loving friend and person. I adore him. And Bailey, while she is a sweet and shy lady, she really goes for it, and it’s so refreshing to see someone shy voicing what they want. The main characters really make this book an easy and cozy one to read. I love them with my whole entire heart.

And that’s not even including the AMAZING side characters, Eli’s mom (who is one of those moms who is a mom to everyone) and sister (I would love to see her spicy brand of fun in a future book) his teammates (WHO DOESNT LOVE A GOOD GUY GROUP WHO SUPPORTS EACH OTHER?), and Bailey’s bffs (two of the sweetest friends to ever support a bff). They’re so fun.

And I love that, while there are stakes, it wasn’t a really heart wrenching book. It was a perfect read when I needed one that wasn’t too anxiety filled. 😍🥰 EASY five stars. Definitely one I’ll reread.

It was a good book. I would have liked to see more of them married, I understood the build up but it would have been nice if they had married earlier. I was so happy there was no 3rd act breakup, I was really dreading one. Eli was so freaking adorable, such a sunshine of a person, would do anything for the people he loves, fantastic man really. Bailey was one of those people that takes a while to process their feelings and I have to admit that the speed at each she went, frustated me to no end. I understood her struggle and all but the times she questioned Eli and his actions and feelings wasn't fair. But overall, it was a cute book

It was sooo good to be back with the Appies. Eli is a real peach of a guy. So sweet, caring and loveable. Bailey is the perfect match for him, she sees him for who he really is. A big thank you to the author for normalizing that it’s okay to be shy and socially awkward. Not everyone is an extrovert, and yes, ambiverts exist, too. I also really loved Eli’s mum, she’s such a sunshine. The fake marriage thing worked out the best way it could. The affection between them was swoonworthy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

4/5 stars! I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice quick read. I always love to read a hockey romance book. This book is released March 1, 2024. Thank you to Emma St. Clair, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

absolutely loved this book! i couldnt put it down and i was so happy to back in the appie world! i loved their connection and they had amazing chemistry. this story had me laughing constantly but it also had me in my feels, the perfect mix! i couldnt get enough of these two, the passing was amazing and i love how much they cared about each other since the beginning! i definitely recommend this one to all the hockey lovers if you love marriage of convenience and the sweetest hockey team as much as i do!

Not your typical hockey player....

And that's a very good thing. Eli Hopkins is as sweet as a puppy, a Viking sized, hot, puppy. He's crushing on the shy vet tech, Bailey. Oh, and he's also going to be deported to Canada in one month, unless he marries.

Bailey is super shy, strapped for money (she's supporting her grandmother in a care facility) and crushing on Eli, who she didn't know was a hockey player until he sort of proposed to her.

These two are the sweetest, caring people who are perfect for each other, if they could only say the words. So, its a sort of marriage of convenience but they both really want to marry each other.
Recommend for a feel good, low angst, sweet read.

Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, and who can’t resist a cinnamon roll main male character? Read this if you want to laugh your socks off. You’ll fall in love with the Appies, and there are more great books to read next!

It was so fun to revisit the Appies!! (And this makes me want to read the rest of the sweater weather books I haven't gotten to yet 😄)

We meet Eli, finding out there's a problem with his visa and that he'll be deported back to Canada in 30 days, unless, plot twist, he happens to be seeing someone and is okay moving up that timeline and getting married. No problem right? Except, he's not seeing someone, and he wants to be married for real. Eli is one heck of a sweetheart cinnamon roll. With his work schedule, having a dog isn't in the cards for now, but, enter Bailey. She works at the animal shelter to get experience prior to applying to vet school. The shelter where Eli spends a lot of his time snuggling the pups. Bailey isn't necessarily the grumpy to his sunshine but a bit of a tough nut to crack, and Eli slowly but surely works on getting her to be a bit more comfortable around him.
She has a bit of a crush, he has a bit of a crush. When it's suggested that he needs to get married, she's the first one he thought of, but he wanted it to be because there are real feelings, not a fake marriage on paper. When it [jokingly] comes up that he has to get married, she says okay.

We see them falling into their feelings, we see him planning a perfect wedding for her. We see his mom's scheming bookclub, we see his teammates showing up in the found family aspect that I love. With the proposal being one of my favorite movies, I was expecting a little bit of conflict surrounding the actual legalities of what was happening, but the story stays true to a light hearted, plenty of chemistry, closed door, happy read. Can't wait for the next in the series!!


Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I absolutely loved this book, I had seen an Instagram post about A Groom of One’s Own by Emma St. Clair and added it to my Amazon wishlist. When I saw it on NetGalley I had to request it and I am so grateful to have received and ARC of this novel. I haven’t read any of the books in the Appies Hockey Romance universe and I will definitely be going and reading all the others because I adored this book and the characters so much. A Groom of One’s Own was well written and well paced. The minimal angst in Eli and Bailey’s relationship (and in the novel overall) made it a great read for when you really want to enjoy all parts of a story and as it was closed door you don’t have to worry about who is reading over your shoulder. I devoured this novel in a matter of hours and there wasn’t a single think I didn’t like. I cannot recommend it enough.

#AGroomofOnesOwn #NetGalley

My review has already been posted to GoodReads (linked) and will be posted on Amazon AU when the novel is published and available for review on that platform.

Emma St. Clair's books are the best. I love them all! Especially the Appie's series, and having a book about Eli is chefs kiss. Her books are a beautiful blend of a romantic comedy while being so clean that the whole family can enjoy them. I can't recommend her books enough, read them all, and then read them again.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for an ARC of A Groom of One's Own.

This looks so good! I love a good sports themed romance as of late and I love the fact that this a but less near as I feel some are over the top a but much lately. Beyond excited to read and share my thoughts on this one. I apologize due to an unexpected family emergency I’m a bit behind on reviews and things but will catch up very soon!