Emerson (Emmy) Hartwell has waited for a spot on an NHL roster since she became a professional hockey player, and this season, she’ll finally get a chance to showcase her talents with the struggling D.C. Stars. Maverick Miller is the best player in the league, but he’s never had a winning record. Team captain and desperate to turn things around, he agrees to play nice with the fiery new left-winger even though they’re total opposites.
After a night where the tension between them reaches a tipping point and they fall in bed together, Emmy and Maverick vow it was only one time. Just once to get it out of their systems so they can play better and help their team.
Except… what should’ve been just once happens again, then again. They tell each other their friends with benefits arrangement is only for the season, but despite facing off on the ice, behind closed doors, the pair is nothing but fire.
A book is typically an automatic “yes” for me if the female main character has red hair. Being a red head, it’s easier to immerse myself in the read, almost imagining I’m able to switch places with the character. Combine that with my LOVE (my husband would call it borderline obsession) of hockey romance novels and spicy banter, Face Off by Chelsea Curto is a HECK YES read for me.
Face Off is the first in a series of four books, that promises heat, heart, and hockey-induced whiplash. Emmy Hart is fierce, stubborn, and ready to prove herself as she is called up to the professional hockey league, the first female ever to do so. She is determined to silence those who have doubts she belongs there. Maverick Miller is her complete opposite – cocky, broody, tattooed and pierced (yes, please), and the last person she wants to room with, let alone fall for. After he mistakes her for a puck bunny when they first meet, tension and resentment fill the air.
Under the stress of the season, they agree to give in to one night together. The tension is instant and electric. These two do not get along, and that’s exactly what makes their chemistry so delicious. Their banter is sharp, the emotional buildup is authentic, and when things finally heat up? Let’s just say Chelsea Curto does not hold back on the spice.
But the one night is never enough. They’re drawn back to each other again and again. Their “friends with benefits” pact becomes so much more than they expected. As they balance careers, team pressures, and headlines, real emotions start to emerge. Maverick begins to Emmy for who she truly is, a driven, talented player, who belongs on the ice just as much as he does.
“Hartwell’s hockey skills are on a different planet, and I think I might be a little bit in love with her. I’ve never seen anyone play like that, and I have no fucking clue how she’s not already on an NHL roster.”
Maverick’s possessiveness and protective streak walk the perfect line between intense and swoony, while Emmy’s independence and drive make her a heroine you root for every step of the way. It’s not just about their romance, it’s about two people learning to let down their walls, face off against their own fears, and find something real when they least expect it.
“I never really felt like I had a home. But with Emmy next to me, I think home is wherever she is. A place I’d like to stay forever.”
There’s no third act dramatic break up here. Emmy and Maverick are two people driven by their love of the game, and blind-sided by their love for one another. They’re in deep, and they refuse to give up on each other, even when their careers are determined to pull them apart.
If you love sports romance with major tension, late-night vulnerability, and spicy scenes that live rent-free in your head, Face Off deserves a spot at the top of your TBR.