⭐⭐⭐

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.

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.

Melting for You is a book with a lot of interesting ideas, but the book doesn't manage to land all of them.

Ellis and Liam dated in college, but broke up because they were going in different directions - Liam was heading for the NHL and Ellis wanted to make a life for herself in Seattle after emigrating from England. But when the two reunite for one night ten years later, they quickly realize that they will be tied together for the rest of their lives.

I did really appreciate the portrayal of Ellis' struggle as a mom with fibromyalgia. It's an issue that affects up to 8% of American women, and can be really underdiscussed in literature. The book is really honest about how hard it is for Ellis to be pregnant, especially as the mom of a 5 year old. But there were a lot of aspects of Ellis and Liam's life that I wish we knew more about. The first is that the book tells us how connected they are when they meet in college, but doesn't really show us their connection. There a lot of interesting ways the two could connect - the book mentions that Ellis has retained a lot of her British identity, despite migrating as a teenager, while Liam's father came from Russia. It would have been really fascinating for the two to share a bit more about their shared immigration experiences. I did enjoy that the book is very honest that a lot of things which are difficult to juggle as a couple - two intense jobs, kids, and medical issues, are a lot easier if money is not an issue.

Thanks to Hera Book for the ARC and I'd recommend this to fans of Leah Brunner and Julia Connors.

4/5 stars
2.5/5 peppers

Thank you to Netgalley and Hera books for the opportunity to read this early read.

I'm a sucker for second chances. What I didn't see was the surprise pregnancy. The combination of the two had me at the edge of my seat. This is my first time reading this author and I would be interested to read more.

Liam and Ellis were sweet. I loved them together. Ellis is very independent and sometimes you know she needed to slow down or have someone tell her to sit down and breathe. Liam was there for them both and never wanted to falter.

This was such a fun read, I finished it in 1 day! 4 stars.
I enjoyed the characters development through the book. I loved the pace of the book and overall enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Melting for You comes out on May 22nd, 2025.

This was a cute (somewhat) easy read. There’s a big representation of chronic illness (specifically fibromyalgia, which I feel like is not a common illness in stories like this, so that was nice) and unexpected pregnancy. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because of the focus it had on the pregnancy and the repetitiveness of the chronic illness topic (even though I fully understand that having a CI is a day-to-day occurrence).

If you like hockey romances with a parent-to-be plot, this book’s for you.

Ellis and Liam dated back in college, but life—and Ellis’s chronic pain from fibromyalgia—made things complicated. After Liam was drafted to a pro hockey team in New York, she let him go, convinced it was the right thing to do. Fast forward ten years, and a chance hookup at a bar turns into a life-changing surprise when Ellis finds out she’s pregnant.

Unlike her ex, who reacted terribly to similar news, Liam is all in. He’s thrilled about the baby and wants to be a real family, but Ellis, used to doing life alone and guarding her heart, is determined to keep things strictly co-parenting. Of course, Liam—giant teddy bear that he is—isn’t having it. He’s patient, persistent, and so genuinely good that he slowly wins her over, with a little help from his awesome teammates.

This was such a warm, feel-good read. Ellis’s struggles felt real, and Liam is total book boyfriend material. If you’re into second chances, sports romance, and cinnamon roll heroes, this one’s for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hera Books for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 🌟
I enjoyed reading this book and thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is sweet, no other word for it. That being said, it would be good to know that there is a single parent, suffering from a long term health condition and with parental issues, perhaps as a trigger warning or just general information.

The book follows the second chance trope and found family, which is lovely. I loved how the wider hockey team got involved and supported her and her son as well, not to mention Liam being the most helpful and kindest person to exist!

It does walk you thought the emotions of parenthood a bit, from beginning to end, and there's a lot of internal monologue as well. I found the parts in italics a slight unnecessary add on at times that disrupted the flow of the book for me.