Hating Patterson Cross is easy.
Keeping my hands off him? Not so much.
He’s my ex-fiancé’s identical twin brother, my father’s star hockey player, and the man I’ve despised for years. That’s three very logical reasons I shouldn’t ask Pattycakes to be my hookup for the season. But I recklessly do it anyway.
To my surprise, my biggest hater says yes.
We agree to keep it secret. Behind closed doors, I’m his. In public, nothing changes. It’s so much harder than it sounds. Because the more time I spend with Patterson, the more I realize hate was never the problem. It was just easier than admitting the truth.
(ARC Read)
I am 100% in my feelings after this one. Wow. Lyra Parish—ma’am. Just when I think you can’t outdo yourself, you go and drop this emotional, spicy, chaotic masterpiece.
Kendall and Patterson’s tension is hands-down some of the most scorching, raw, and emotionally charged I’ve ever read. These two don’t just dislike each other—they resent each other on a soul-deep level. Years of unresolved feelings, heartbreak, jealousy, and bad timing have turned into explosive chemistry that practically jumps off the page. Their enemies-with-benefits dynamic is messy, reckless, and impossible to resist, and the spice? Filthy. Intense. Addictive. Every scene feels like they’re pouring years of frustration and longing into each other until everything finally breaks open.
“I should shove him away, but instead, I grip fistfuls of his shirt and pull him closer. He tastes like whiskey and bad decisions and six years of wanting something I can’t have. I bite his bottom lip because I need to hurt him, need him to feel this.”
The setup is deliciously complicated. Kendall is Patterson’s twin brother’s ex-fiancée…and the daughter of his coach. Off-limits in every possible way. Patterson fell for her first, quietly and completely, and then had to stand by and watch his brother build a life with the woman he loved. So he waited. He buried his feelings. He convinced himself that wanting her was wrong. He stayed in the background and never truly moved on. When Kendall returns six years later to paint intimate portraits of the hockey team, including Patterson, all of that buried emotion comes roaring back.
And their reunion?
Ice cold. Hostile. Brutal.
Every conversation turns into a fight. Every glance is loaded. And yet…the chemistry never died. It detonates.
“What are you doing to me?” I gasp.
“Hating you so fucking much.” He thrusts deeper.
“Hate me harder.”
What I loved most is how emotionally layered this story is. Yes, it’s spicy. Yes, it’s fun. But it’s also full of hurt, regret, and longing. As we learn more about their past, their “hate” starts to make sense. Kendall isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with Patterson. She pushes him. Challenges him. Matches his energy. Underneath her sharp wit and tough exterior, though, is a woman who carried years of guilt, heartbreak, and complicated loyalty. She tried to do the “right” thing. She loved Jamie. She walked away when everything fell apart. She spent years convincing herself that leaving was the only option and coming back to town forces her to face all of that again. Kendall is strong without being cold, soft without being weak, and stubborn in the best possible way.
“Teach me how to forget you.”
And he? He may come across as arrogant, grumpy, and emotionally closed off at first, but once you peel all of that back, he is pure devotion and longing. This man fell in love at first sight and then spent years loving Kendall in silence. He watched her belong to someone else. He convinced himself he didn’t deserve her. He repressed his feelings until they turned into bitterness and walls. But none of it came from a lack of love. It all came from loving her too much.
But once he’s all in, he is all in. He would burn the world down for her. Risk his career. Risk everything. And when he’s tested, he never wavers. He stands firm. He’s protective without being controlling and endlessly devoted to her.
He unlocked the cage and set me free. I’ll never be the same.
Together, Kendall and Patterson are fire. Their banter is perfection. The jealousy scenes? Elite. The yearning? Painful in the best way. Patterson has loved her quietly for so long, and watching him finally fight for her had me cheering him on. They understand each other’s wounds. They know exactly where to poke to get a reaction. They know when they’re being unfair. And slowly, instead of hurting each other, they start learning how to protect each other.
Kendall brings honesty and heart into his life, whether he’s ready for it or not. She pushes him to stop hiding, to stop settling for “fine,” and to actually go after the happiness he’s been denying himself for years. Patterson, on the other hand, is her steady place to land. He’s loyal to his core, shows up every single time, and loves her in a way that never feels shaky or conditional. With him, she doesn’t have to be strong all the time. She doesn’t have to carry everything alone. Their relationship works because it’s built on real history, hard conversations, forgiveness, and choosing each other, again and again, even when it’s messy.
“You ruined me, Kendall. From the moment I saw you, you ruined me for anyone else. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. I’ve never even come close.”
I’m already a sucker for a sibling’s ex romance, so I was invested immediately. But then you layer in the fact that Kendall is the coach’s daughter, and the forbidden tension just gets even messier. The emotional stakes feel real, the angst never really lets you breathe, and the tension between them is constant. The enemies-with-benefits setup fits them so well, and the spice? Whew. Easily the hottest Lyra Parish book I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of them.
If you love hockey romances with forbidden tension, explosive chemistry, and a “this is a terrible idea but I need you anyway” dynamic, this one will wreck you in the best way.
Not suitable for work.
Not suitable for emotional stability.
Absolutely worth all the stars and spicy peppers.
Release Date: February 19th, 2026 (OUT TODAY)
Thank you to Lyra Parish for the ARC read!