Sweet Thing is ideal for readers who adore hockey romances infused with familial bonds, emotional growth, and slow-burn chemistry. Its strength lies in heartfelt character arcs, sweet dad moments, and the supportive, often humorous backdrop of the hockey team. If those are your kind of feels, this feels like a big, comforting hug.

Thank you to Victory Editing NerGalley Co-op for the ARC of Sweet Thing in exchange for an honest review.

Let me get straight to the point here, I loved this book so much!! Sweet Thing is Book 1 of Kate Meader’s new Chicago Players series and she kicked this series off with a bang! Book 1 follows the story of Adeline and Lars. Adeline is the daughter of NHL Chicago Rebels all star defenseman. Lars just so happens to be the best friend and teammate of Adeline’s father. Ever since she was in high school, Adeline remembers having an innocent little crush on Lars, who is 13 years her senior. After going off for 15 months to explore the world with her best friend, Adeline returns home to watch what could be her father’s final season as she starts to plan her next steps.

Upon her return, Lars is immediately handed a reality check when a one night fling shows up at a Rebels afterparty and deposits his 7 month old baby girl, Mabel, into his arms who he never knew existed. Mabel’s mother immediately leaves informing Lars she cannot care for Mabel any longer and that she’d be in touch. At the look of panic on Lar’s face, Adeline steps in as Mabel’s temporary nanny while Lars attempts to figure out his next move as a new father. All under one roof, it’s impossible to not let feelings take control of the situation as the three of them start to form their own family. Even though their relationship appeared a bit taboo on the surface, it may be exactly what each of them needs.

With the perfect combination of sweet and spice, Sweet Thing is the perfect romance book for lovers of hockey romance novels mixed with a nice little age gap trope. I’m on pins and needles waiting for Book 2 of this series, Rebel Bride, which will focus on Adeline’s older brother Hutch, who also plays on their father’s hockey team. Please do not hesitate to run out and grab this one! I promise you will not regret it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kate Meader and the publishing company for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Single dad hockey player Lars enlists his teammates daughter. Adeline, to help him with the baby. As expected, emotions get in the way and they develop a boss/nanny age gap relationship.

I enjoyed this book. You really feel for Lars and spend the whole time rooting for their relationship. There is minimal hockey in this book, so if you’re looking for that to add to the story, you may be disappointed.

This book was a quick read. However, it felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

This was such a cute and sweet read. I love the hockey player romances, and this one was a fun one! A baby, falling for the nanny, worrying about friends and family, it all added up to a great little rom com!

Adeline has had a crush on Lars for years, but bad thing is her dad plays hockey with him. Lars overheard Adeline confess this crush but she leaves for an over sea adventure with Rosie.

Lars has always been lucky in the woman's department, but one night + married woman = his baby, Mabel. The married woman leaves the baby with Lars.

Adeline comes back, to Lars being a dad and needing a nanny. So she agrees, but will the past crush turn i to something more??

This steamy, heart-melting romance brings together everything I love in a guilty pleasure read—hockey, surprise baby drama, and an irresistible boss/nanny setup with just the right dose of age-gap tension. When Lars, the grumpy, emotionally guarded pro hockey player suddenly becomes a single dad, he’s in way over his head. Enter the younger, fiercely independent Adeline, the temporary nanny who happens to be the daughter of his best friend and d-man! Having thought she gave up her crush on Lars he is now her new boss. Still so devastatingly hot—and emotionally off-limits.

The chemistry is electric from the start, with slow-burn moments that build into swoon-worthy heat. As the lines blur between professional and personal, the emotional stakes rise, especially when secrets from the past (enter: the surprise baby twist!) come crashing into their fragile new normal. Watching them grow—not just as a couple, but as individuals and eventually a family—was deeply satisfying.

A perfect pick for fans of messy, emotional, high-heat romances with a protective hero, a capable heroine, and just the right touch of spice and angst.

Thank you NetGalley, Kate Meader and Victory Editing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review🤍
I ate this up! Single dad - nanny, best friends daughter, forced proximity and forbidden romance, what more could you ask for😍 I was hooked and had read half of it in a single train journey giggling away on my way home🤭 There wasn't a single character that grated on me (which is rare) and I was obsessed with the dynamic of the Kershaw family, can't wait to see more of them as the series goes on! It was so nice to see how they accepted Lars into their family, looking out for him and welcoming him like he was always a part of it. Adeline was quiet and afraid of always being the side character having so many huge personalities and 'stars' in her life, but Kate did such a great job of ensuring that she was seen and heard and finally developed into the main character of her own life. It was beautiful to see Lars give her the confidence she needed to find her own voice🥹 The character development was perfect and I honestly can't wait for the rest of this series!

I will be posting my review to Goodreads, fable and Amazon.

I really enjoyed this book! It was heartbreaking to watch Lars go through so much and not feel like he was worth anyone's time and love.

The only part I didn't care for, was that Lars and Elle never had a reconciliation. She was very rude to him, basically telling him he's not worth her daughter's time, and then that just gets glossed over. We got to witness he and Theo coming back together, but I would have liked to see Elle's redemption.

Aurora was probably my favorite. I could just picture her so well.

This book was a fun, refreshing read. Adeline the FMC wants her great love story which Lars is the perfect MMC for her. The chemistry between the pair was off the charts!

I loved watching Lars tackle parenthood and watch him grow as a parent throughout each chapter.

I also loved the addition of the Hot Goss column chapters and the Rebel Insider inbetween the chapters.

The epilogue with the cliffhanger about the next book in the series was jaw dropping. I can’t wait to continue on with this series!

Kate is a brand new author to me, but I flew through this in less than 24 hours 😅 the slow burn in this was done amazing, which im generally not a major lover of, but this worked so well.

The character growth in both Adeline and Lars was amazing to read, and I was routing for them to just finally give in, and when we finally got the spice... we got the spice 🙌🌶

This is perfect for anyone who enjoys

🏒Sports romance
👨‍🍼Single parent
💙Age gap

This may be my first by this author, but it definitely won't be my last ❤️

This is the first book in the Chicago Players series, and was also my first book by this author, which I enjoyed and will definitely be going back to read some of her other series.

This is a great Hockey Romance with a single dad, age-gap, dad's best friend theme. It wasn't an insta-love story, which I liked. The female lead had a crush on her dad's best friend, but you really saw the relationship develop over time.

Lars is also a hockey player that just found he is a dad when his kid is dropped off unexpectedly. Adeline has been travelling, and whilst not fully over her crush, she hopes she can put that to one side to help out Lars.

There was romance, chemistry, family drama, and a female lead that whilst young developed to be a strong confident woman. Overall, an enjoyable read.

ARC by Netgalley Review - I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This story had me hooked from the beginning. Lars is a professional hockey player for the Chicago Rebels. He never expected a one-night stand to come back into his life, but she does when she walks into the bar where he is celebrating a win with his teammates. But she is not there looking for another night with him. Instead, she hands him a baby girl and announces he is the father. She runs out, leaving a shocked Lars and the baby behind. He has zero parenting experience and, quite frankly, is not thrilled with the idea of being a dad. He is entirely out of his depth. In steps his best friend and team captain, a seasoned dad who offers all forms of help. In particular, he offers to have his daughter, Adeline, act as a temporary nanny. What he doesn't realize is that Adeline has had a serious crush on Lars for years. But she doesn't know how to say no, and Lars is desperate for help, so they find themselves living together and working as a team to care for his baby. But the arrangement quickly turns into something deeper. As Lars fumbles with fatherhood, Adeline finds herself falling even deeper for the unexpectedly tender side of the tough athlete. Their story is tender, funny, and swoon-worthy. Not to mention, it has some serious sparks!

4-4.5 stars for this one.

A really easy read where the story flowed well. Having read the author previously I already knew I liked their writing style so I could go into this knowing I would find it an easy and enjoyable read. I loved both the main characters and was soon hooked on their story. It then kept me engaged throughout. I'm not always a fan of the surprise baby story but I love grumpy heroes who fight their attraction for the heroine so this ticked that box for me big time. Loving this series and ready for more!

Absolutely loved this, as a fan of hockey romance books this did not disappoint, would love to read more from this author

This was an easy single day hockey romance with an age gap and nanny trope. It was a nice easy read for me and I really enjoyed this story. I loved the relationship that Adeline has with her family and I really enjoyed the bond that Lars has with Adeline's family. I am really glad that Vickie didn't become a larger problem in the story. It was a nice easy read during a long car ride and a great introduction to this author for me.

I love the single dad x nanny trope so I was looking forward to reading this; safe to say it did not disappoint.

It did have a little bit of a slow start but honestly, once you get past the first couple chapters you will instantly take a liking to the characters. I absolutely loved the love story between Lars and Adeline and then of course you add Mabel into the mix, what's not to like?

You get to know so much about these characters throughout. The relationship between Adeline and her dad, Theo, and also Lars and Theo is so well written, even the small conflict they have towards the end just shows the growth in Lars' character throughout the book. It just makes you fall in love with Lars a little bit more.

The ending was maybe a little rushed for some people, however I am looking forward to reading the next book already and getting to know more about some of other characters.

Hockey player ends up finding out he has a 7 month old daughter after a one night stand. In desperation, his teammate's adult daughter steps in to help as a temporary nanny. She's been crushing on him and he finally notices her. As he comes to terms with being a dad, they find a growing mutual attraction.

Tropes: age gap, hockey romance, best friend's daughter, nanny/single dad

The book was cute. Some of the writing felt awkward (for example introducing characters using first and last name and including a bio felt forced) but there was good character development and spice. Overall, a solid 3⭐️ book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this free ARC!

This book was amazing and so easy for me love. From the characters personalities to the writing just amazing! It had me hooked from the very beginning. It was funny and charming. I hockey romances have become one of my favorites and this one does not disappoint. Lars and Adeline had great chemistry I honest wish this book didn’t end. Not only were they great but I also loved the side characters! I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!!

Single Dad/Nanny-Age Gap-Hockey Romance

This was my first novel by Kate Meader and it sure was a good one! The spice was spicing and the plot was great. I really enjoyed the story. Check your triggers as there is an assault mentioned in the story. I absolutely loved this hockey family. As I obviously came into the middle of a series with this book there was times it was a little confusing or maybe not confusing but felt like irrelevant information or mentions of side characters, but I’m sure if I knew more about them from other books I would have loved hearing tidbits about them. I did make me curious about them and want to read the other books. Maybe it made me feel left out, like I wasn’t in the know and need to read the other books so I can be in the inner circle. 😂 Overall, I loved it. Lars the sexy hockey daddy and the Adeline the nanny was a great story. I might have cried a bit, but I get emotional when the characters are brought to life and feel real to me.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely given.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you love age-gap, forbidden romance with a dose of found family and swoony chemistry, Sweet Thing is a must-read.

What I loved most about this book? Adeline. She’s not the polished, put-together heroine who has it all figured out—and that’s exactly what makes her so compelling. She’s the classic oldest daughter, constantly feeling out of step with her athletic, high-achieving family. Adeline’s journey of trying to find where she belongs, of carving out her own identity beyond “Theo’s daughter,” was raw and relatable. And I loved that she was the one pursuing Lars—owning her attraction and making the first move. That tension? That chemistry? Off the charts.

Lars is equally layered. He’s not perfect, but he shows up—and that matters. He’s just had a baby (surprise!) dropped into his life, and watching him rise to the challenge of fatherhood is heart-melting. There’s no over-the-top baby mama drama here (thank you, Kate Meader!). Just real, heartfelt conflict and growth. The forbidden element—Adeline being the daughter of Lars’ teammate and best friend—adds just the right touch of angst, but the way it’s handled feels authentic rather than overblown.

And let’s talk about the side characters for a second: the protective dad/brother energy usually isn’t my favorite, but here, the cluelessness of the guys just made me laugh. They were so dumb sometimes—but in a lovable way. On the other hand, Adeline’s mom? I wanted to shake her! It was so obvious what was happening with her daughter and Lars—how did she not see it?

The emotional depth of the story is balanced by humor, heart, and heat. There’s so much longing and tenderness, especially between Lars and Adeline, and the little found family they create with baby Mabel is adorable. I do wish we got just a bit more of them as a family after the conflict—because their chemistry was that good—but overall, I couldn't stop reading.

This book hit all the right notes: strong character arcs, sizzling romance, a heroine you’ll root for, and a hero who rises to meet the moment. Sweet Thing was tender, angsty, sexy, and oh-so-satisfying. 💗

Tropes:

Age gap

Forbidden romance

Single dad / secret baby

Nanny romance

Found family

Protective dad/brother

Emotional healing