This is the first book of this author that I have read and I couldnt not love it. I really enjoyed the second chance romance part of the book and it makes you all swoony for these characters.

Ellis and Liam reconnect 10 years after they break up in college. Liam has never stopped loving her, but Ellis, now a single mom suffering from fibromyalgia, doesn’t want to burden Liam and big him down. I really enjoyed this story, sure there were a few moments I wanted to smack Ellis for being so resistant, but her ever changing feelings kinda felt authentic to someone who has pregnancy hormones combined with past issues, AND wanting to do what’s right despite how she feels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for a chance to read this book it was a definitely tugging at your heart strings with mention of chronic illness. I felt so involved in this book and I can see how if anyway loves hockey and wants to have their heart strings pulled at then this book is for them. It is a wonderful heartfelt book for hockey romance readers. I want to read more from this author and definitely more hockey romances. I recommend this book.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read.
If you’re into sports romance, Melting For You by Tegan Phillips is definitely one to check out.
This was a wonderfully written romance story.
I absolutely loved these characters and really enjoyed getting to know them.
A sweet, fun and engaging read!

Melting for You by Tegan Phillips, is an enjoyable, sweet, heartwarming love story where an accidental pregnancy is the spark for finally finding true love, after reconnecting with each other again. There is a chronic illness representation which is displayed in an honest and open manner.

Ellis Ainsley and Liam Ruinsky were the perfect couple during their college days, but life had other plans, once they graduated. A decade after their painful breakup, they unexpectedly cross paths again. Much has changed: Ellis is now a dedicated single mom to a spirited five-year-old, Jack, and successfully runs her own flower shop, while Liam has risen to fame as a star NHL hockey player. Despite the years apart, the undeniable chemistry between them still simmers beneath the surface.

What started as a fleeting one-night stand quickly spirals into a life-altering situation when Ellis discovers she's pregnant. Suddenly, both Liam and Ellis are forced into a whirlwind of emotions as they struggle with their unexpected reality. With a baby on the way, they need to deal with their feelings for each other and reassess their futures. Liam is determined to be fully present and involved in this new chapter of their lives as they figure out how to build a family together and whether or not love can be part of their future.

Ellis’ journey is not just about love rekindled: it’s about resilience, community, accepting oneself and finding peace amidst the chaos. The way the topic of pregnancy is discussed throughout the book was great, realistic; showing that, especially with Ellis’ illness, making it not all sunshine’s and rainbows. I struggled with Ellis pushing Liam away; especially when her actions and her words didn’t line up. Liam just wanted to love and support her. These two needed a heart-to-heart talk sooner, as it might have helped Ellis earlier.
I loved Liam naturally assuming the father role to Jack without realizing what he was doing. Both as a partner and parent his protectiveness and lovesick puppy moments were delightful to read.

Ms. Phillips wrote a love story built on history, healing, and the slow rebuilding of trust. Ellis and Liam’s journey was not just about love rekindled; it’s about resilience, community, accepting oneself and finding peace amidst the chaos. There are some really likeable side characters in this story: Ellis’ son, Jack, Lyndsey, who worked for Ellis, and some of Liam’s Hockey teammates. I can hope there are more stories coming: especially after the ending - Lyndsey’s and Anders’ story, and Edge deserves a story too.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #HeraBooks #MeltingForYou

⭐⭐⭐

This was a cute book. Ellis is a single mom who reconnected with her ex, Liam, for one night. Everything changed with a positive pregnancy test.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this. A nice palette cleanser. This had both hockey romance and a second chance, which I'm a big fan of. it's a wonderful job of representing someone with a chronic illness and how it impacts their day-to-day life. however, I felt that there needed to be more character development, and the pacing of the story felt a little off at times. I would have enjoyed seeing some of the work/growth Ellis did instead of just hearing about it at the end.

I can always be pulled into a hockey romance book. To me, I did enjoy the storyline, but I felt like it lacked at times. I got that Ellis had a complicated life and had to work through some stuff, and Liam's chapters pulled me in more than hers. Overall, it was good but just fell short for me in areas.

I read this book and it was right up my alley, who doesn't love a second chance, hockey romance? Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me! Liam is a wonderful Hero and he is just the best book boyfriend. Ellis, on the other hand, just never hit as someone I was rooting for to get a hea! The book did handle Ellis' fibromyalgia really well, and this is the first book I have read that covered that chronic illness and I feel like I understand that disease much better than I did before. But, Ellis came across as very whiny when it came to everything and it just got old. It took me forever to finish this book because of that. Also, I believe this book is written in British English, which at times just reads as typos which distracts from the book. I am very sad to say this book barely rates a 3 star from me. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced review copy.

The story of Ellis and Liam. A second chance romance with an accidental pregnancy. Will she give him a chance at forever? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. It’s a nice story that also has some tension, I guess you could say due to Ellis’s health situation and her daily struggles. I wish she had been able to accept how wonderful Liam was being to her and Jack, and just accept his love without all the back and forth. He never gave her a reason not to.
The characters are likable and even lovable. Liam, Ellis and little Jack make for an adorable little family and the addition of their baby even more so. I like his teammates and her friend Lindsey as well. I would like more about them.
I do feel as though some of the conversations with Liam and Jack should have included Ellis before Liam agreed to anything. You’ll know when you read it.
Ultimately, this is a sweet second chance romance with a wonderful HEA. I realize this is the first book by this author and I just have to say, well done. Keep writing! I hope you give us more stories about the rest of the team. I will definitely read them!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book, while very cute, fell a little short for me. I loved that the FMC, Ellis, was not only dealing with the ups & downs of daily life while being a single mom, but also has fibromyalgia. It’s rare to read a book with the FMC having a chronic illness.
However, her constant back & forth was frustrating. I wanted to love this story, I love a second chance, rekindled romance.

This one was a miss for me. I deeply appreciate the disability representation as someone who suffers from chronic health issues. However I am both a hockey fan and a fan of hockey romance and surprise pregnancy tropes and this missed on all three for me. I found myself disengaged with the characters and the plot meaning the pacing was very off for me. Romance is a super personal preference genre and this one just didn’t hit the right pace or tone for me.

I really tried to get into this book, but it just didn't happen. I got about 20% in when I felt like I could not connect with the characters or story. The FMC has an illness that overtook her whole personality, and as someone who is unfamiliar with that, it was a lot. I can see where if that is something you suffer from, you could find this book beneficial, but for me, it was a miss.

Such a cute book! I loved the characters growth through this book. The MMC is just perfect. His joy and dedication to the FMC and her son is immediate and genuine. I also liked how the FMC had this illness and didn’t let it stop her from doing anything she wanted in life.

✨ Thank you to the author, Hera Books, & NetGalley for the ARC ✨

I thought this book was very cute! I loved Liam’s character and the way he cared about Ellis and took Jack in as his own child. Ellis was a complicated character with many things she needed to work through. Girly pop could have benefited from some therapy 🫶🏻 Along the way, I found myself itching to get back to Liam’s POV & it made Ellis’ chapters hard to get through at times.

I am definitely not the right person to speak to the fibromyalgia representation in this book, but I felt like I was really able to empathize with what Ellis was going through with her condition. I appreciate that the author was able to put her own experiences with fibromyalgia into this character.

Overall, this book was cute & fun! 🤍🏒⛸️

Tropes: hockey romance, pregnancy, second chance romance, found family, disability rep

Tegan Phillips’ Melting for You is a heartfelt, high-stakes romance that starts with a one-night stand and spirals into something neither Ellis nor Liam saw coming. What begins as a spontaneous reunion between former college friends quickly becomes an emotional rollercoaster when Ellis discovers she’s pregnant—and the father is none other than NHL heartthrob Liam Ruinsky.

This book beautifully blends steamy chemistry with real-world vulnerability. Ellis is an incredible heroine: sharp, resilient, and refreshingly honest, especially as she navigates her life while managing chronic pain and the unexpected curveball of impending motherhood. Liam, on the other hand, is a cinnamon-roll hero in a jock’s body—thoughtful, sincere, and quietly desperate to make things right, even when he’s clearly out of his emotional depth.

Phillips doesn’t shy away from messiness. She dives headfirst into the fears, miscommunications, and slow rebuilding of trust between two people with very different lives—but a shared history and undeniable connection. There’s something deeply comforting in how she balances the swoon-worthy moments with the hard conversations, making this more than just a second-chance story—it’s a blueprint for what love can look like when it’s built on honesty and effort.

If you like:

Surprise pregnancy

Friends to (accidental) lovers

Soft sports heroes

Chronic illness rep

Big emotional payoff

Then Melting for You is the kind of romance that will leave you full of feeling—and maybe even googling “NHL schedules” afterward.

˗ˏˋ 2 stars ⟡ ݁₊ .

the premise sounded so good but the execution was lacking. the fmc, ellis, felt kinda insufferable to me so it made it was difficult to fall in love with the book.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧• ellis ainsley 💐
honestly, i think she really needs some sort of therapy. the amount of self-blaming and victimization was kinda appalling. i liked the chronic illness representation, it was handled with care and her struggles felt real.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧• liam ruinsky 🏒
i guess he's okay. he's super patient and thoughtful with ellis. he was showering love on both ellis and liam. i feel like he deserved better than ellis, ngl.

⤷ thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

︶︶︶⊹︶︶︶˗ˋ୨♡୧ˊ˗︶︶︶⊹︶︶︶

₊˚⊹♡ pre-read ♡⊹˚₊ ↴
dont mind me, i'm currently on an arc grind... anyways an ice hockey romance always hits different so fingers crossed!!

Rating: ⭐⭐½ (2.5/5)
Review:

Melting for You has a great premise that immediately caught my attention — a second-chance romance between a chronically ill single mom and her NHL ex after a one-night stand leads to pregnancy. The concept is strong, and as someone who enjoys single mom tropes, I really wanted to love this.

Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired. The writing is overly reliant on inner monologue, with very little dialogue between characters. As a result, the pacing felt stagnant and repetitive. Scenes that could have been emotionally impactful — like discovering the baby’s gender or rekindling their relationship — are often skipped over and told in a recap rather than shown in real time. This kept me from connecting deeply with the characters or their journey.

The chemistry between the two also fell flat. The spicy scenes felt awkward and cringeworthy, in part due to unnatural dialogue and inconsistent tone. For example, phrases like “stupid hockey with his stupid team” pulled me out of the narrative and felt immature, given that the characters are in their 30s.

The characters themselves, especially the female lead, Ellis, often felt emotionally contradictory. She claimed to know and trust her ex after not seeing him for 10 years, yet also expressed uncertainty about who he had become. This back-and-forth made her character arc feel inconsistent.

Despite its flaws, I appreciate the author’s attempt to include chronic illness representation through Ellis’s fibromyalgia. I do believe the author has a strong sense of plot and character ideas — the foundation is there — and I would be interested in reading a future installment, especially if it involves the hinted relationship between Lindsey and Anders.

With some tightening of the writing style and more focus on showing vs. telling, I think this author has great potential. A solid concept that just needed more polish.

Ellis and Liam were sweet and I liked that he was all in from the beginning. I love a good cinnamon roll MMC. I also loved that Ellis was an actual character that had some depth to her. We got a little of her background and a peek into why she was so skittish to commit when Liam made it clear he was all in. Second chance romance is usually hit or miss for me..but this one worked especially with the found family and single mom tropes. Overall a quick and cute hockey romance!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC

1⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for an advanced copy of Melting For You.

Ellis and Liam loved each other over a decade ago. Then they run into each other and that spark is still there. They spend the night together and then the positive pregnancy test shows up. Can they make it work?

I usually love a sports romance but this one fell way flat for me. Plus my least favorite trope is a pregnancy trope. I just did not like these characters.