Life as a professional hockey player keeps me plenty busy, and yet it often feels like I’m on autopilot as the world passes me by. I suppose I can’t complain. I have the honor of calling myself a New England Bay Shark, so I have more than enough money to buy some form of happiness.
Sleeping around with beautiful women may come with the territory, but I’ve never taken the time to actually get to know any of them. In fact, there’s only one I’ve relentlessly thought about, but she’s off-limits. Everyone knows you can’t go after your best friend’s little sister. Especially if he’s already forbidden it.
I’ve had a crush on Saylor Sawyer since I met her years ago, and even though I’ve spent many showers and nights alone creating my own fantasies, starring her, I know I can’t
act on those … filthy thoughts.
No matter how hot they are.
This was my first Hannah Gray book, and WOW, what an introduction. Bite Your Tongue completely pulled me in from the first chapter and held me captivated until the last page turn. It’s raw, emotional, and unapologetically sexy, but underneath all the spice is a story about healing and self-acceptance. It’s more than just a brother’s best friend romance; it’s a love story about learning to see yourself the way someone who truly loves you does.
Saylor Sawyer is chaos wrapped in confidence — a little wild, a little lost, and completely misunderstood. She throws herself into fleeting moments and temporary connections, trying to feel something real, even when she doesn’t believe she deserves it. She’s the kind of woman people judge too easily — open with her sexuality, unashamed of her wants — and yet behind her bravado is a girl terrified of silence, of stillness, of facing her reflection without someone else telling her she’s enough. After a humiliating breakup leaves her shaken and exposed, Saylor decides it’s time to do something different: focus on herself, rebuild, and finally stand on her own two feet.
“I have to be strong for myself right now. How am I ever going to be comfortable in my own skin if I always need a man around to make me feel whole?”
The only problem? Ryder Cambridge, her brother’s best friend and the man she absolutely doesn’t want to want. After years of secretly pining, Ryder finally gets his chance, but Saylor isn’t looking for love. She’s determined to stay on her soul-finding journey, to prove she can be whole on her own. Friends with benefits? Maybe. But the second real feelings get involved, she’s ready to walk away, because if she lets herself fall for him, it’ll feel like she’s failed at the one thing she promised herself: to stand on her own. It’s such a real, relatable struggle — wanting love, but needing space to learn who you are first.
“One more thing,” she says, her gaze sharp and apologetic. “I am emotionally unavailable, Ryder. Sex? That I can do. But the second you get the urge to tell me your feelings again? Bite. Your. Damn. Tongue. Do we have an agreement?”
But Ryder makes it hard to keep those walls up. The New England Bay Sharks hockey player with the dirtiest mouth and the biggest heart refuses to be kept at arm’s length. What starts as a one-night stand turns into something neither of them can walk away from. Ryder is patient, thoughtful, and quietly relentless. He loves her in the way she’s always needed — through actions, not words. The postcard. The surprise visit. The gentle persistence that says I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.
“She takes off, and I chase after her. I realize right then that I’d probably chase that girl anywhere. And even I don’t understand why yet.”
Their chemistry? Off the charts. The banter sizzles with humor and heat. There’s praise, brat taming, zip ties, gray sweatpants, and the kind of filthy talk that makes your heart race, but what makes this story unforgettable is the connection behind the spice. Ryder gives Saylor space to grow, to find herself, and still manages to show up for her in every small, meaningful way. He doesn’t try to fix her. He simply stands beside her while she learns to see her own worth.
“With him, I’m stripped down to my authentic self, and he doesn’t run away…little by little he’s silencing all the insecurities that live deep within my soul, always trying to scream out their opinion and remind me of what they think is the truth.”
I have such a soft spot for love stories like this — ones that balance self-discovery and devotion, heart and heat, laughter and vulnerability. Bite Your Tongue was the perfect introduction to Hannah Gray’s writing, and I can confidently say it won’t be my last. It’s a fairy tale wrapped in realism, a story that reminds you love doesn’t always swoop in to save you… sometimes it stands quietly beside you while you save yourself.