ARC Review: Just One of the Boys by Leah Rooper & Kate Rooper

*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for review consideration. This does in no way affect my opinion, and all thoughts expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.*

Title: Just One of the Boys

Author: Leah Rooper & Kate Rooper

My rating: 5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pub. date: October 2nd 2017

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Synopsis: Alice Bell has one goal: to play for the elite junior hockey team the Chicago Falcons. But when she’s passed over at tryouts for being a girl, she’ll do anything to make her dream a reality…even disguising herself as her twin brother. With her amazing skills on the ice, Alice is sure she’ll fit in easily. That is, until she starts falling for one of her teammates…

Hayden Tremblay, star of the Falcons, can’t keep himself out of the penalty box. Constantly living in the shadow of his older brother, Hayden’s losing his passion for hockey. But when he gets shown up on the ice by the Falcons’ new rookie, Hayden’s determined to teach the kid a thing or two. Little does he guess that “Al’s” surprises on the ice are just the beginning... 

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush title proves that wonderful things can happen when you’re brave enough to go after your dream. Dream hockey player, that is! Warning--a few locker room scenes are included... (synopsis from Goodreads)

I loved this book! The romance was sweet, the plot was enjoyable – and there are hot hockey players! What else could you ask for? Just One of the Boys is a super sweet, romantic and light read, and it fit me perfectly! I finished it in one sitting, and then I regretted it, because I didn’t want it to be over.

I love Alice!

Alice is a super-fun character to read about. She loves hockey, and she’s good at it, too. Good enough to play with the boys. I loved reading about Alice, because she wasn’t like many other main characters you read about. She was fun, caring and stubborn – and I loved how she broke the norms!

Can we please talk about the hotness that is Hayden?

Let’s start with the fact that he’s a hockey player – I have a weakness for those, and Hayden doesn’t disappoint! I loved to see how he slowly started opening up to Alice, how he started to heal after losing his parents in a car accident. It broke my heart to see how sad he was, but it also healed it when I saw how he started living life again.

The romance is so sweet.

It’s not the most intense romance, but that was fine. I liked how Alice and Hayden became friends – best friends – before they became boyfriend and girlfriend. It felt really natural, the way the romance built, even though Hayden thought she was a boy through most of the book. It was really sweet and lovely, and they are so cute together!

The plot was great!

The plot was really interesting and unique. Since Alice is pretending to be a boy, it lands her in a lot of interesting – and funny – situations that you just can’t get enough of, and it was never boring to see how she tried to balance being both a girl and a boy. Plus, there’s tons of hockey, and I love hockey, so this book was really just perfect for me!

I really enjoyed every moment of reading this book, and couldn’t put it down! It had me going through all the emotions; crying, laughing, swooning, and – I can admit – wishing for a hockey player of my own. If you like a light, fun and romantic read, this book is definitely for you – it’s exactly what YA Romance should be!