Fresh out of a failed marriage and with an old injury threatening to resurface, I only have one priority right now: rebuild my life both in and out of the rink. At thirty-five, I know it won’t be easy, but hockey is all I have, and cutting my pro career short is not an option that I’m willing to take.
Feeling down on my luck, I conclude my best move is to focus on the positives, including the good people around me. So when a close friend approaches me with a predicament concerning his twenty-one-year-old only daughter, Billie Quinn, I figure the least I can do is help his family out. After all, they’re practically my family, too, and being a decent friend always makes me feel good.
Except, I’m not a good friend; I’m a bad one. While my initial intentions might’ve been innocent, my attraction to Billie when I see her for the first time in over three years definitely isn’t.
Is she into me too? Or am I grasping at straws, interpreting fleeting glances from a stunning younger woman as more than friendship? We’ve always had banter, although there’s nothing funny about the burning tension growing between us and especially when my ex-wife is in the same room.
My teammates are urging me to back off before it’s too late. But staying away from my best friend’s little princess is way harder than it should be … and now that she’s in my bed, there’s not a chance I’m letting Billie—or her baby girl—go.
Even if us being together makes me the worst friend in history, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
(ARC Review)
I don’t even know how to properly explain how this book made me feel, only that it felt like everything. Emmett Richards is yearning, restraint, and quiet devotion wrapped up in one devastatingly good man. You can feel his internal battle on every page: the pull toward Billie, the guilt, the fear of losing everything he’s built, and the ache of knowing exactly what it feels like to settle for a life that isn’t enough. Watching him fight his heart, until he finally can’t anymore, was beautiful and painful in the best way. I wanted to reach through the pages and hug him.
“I don’t know what this is between us, Bill, but I do know that if we don’t get out now, then we’re going to end up doing or saying something we can’t undo. You mean too much to me; you light up my goddamn world when we’re in the same room. I care for you and Blake, and if stepping back is the only way I can keep you both in my life, then that is what I’ll do. Even if it breaks me, I’ll hold it together so I can keep you in some form.”
And Billie Quinn? She is more. More strength, more maturity, more resilience than most people twice her age. At just twenty-one, she’s a single mom doing everything she can to give her daughter a better life while navigating a world she wasn’t prepared for. Her growth, her self-awareness, and her quiet determination completely stole my heart. Together, Billie and Emmett just make sense. The history. The trust. The familiarity. The love that’s been building long before either of them dared to name it.
“While others speculate over us being a rebound, I’m over here knowing that you’re my soulmate.”
Age-gap romances can be tricky, but this one is handled with so much care and emotional depth. Nothing feels rushed or contrived. Their relationship is earned, being built over years of friendship, banter, and mutual respect. When Billie needs more than just friendship, Emmett steps up in every possible way: protector, supporter, safe place, home. Not just for her, but for her daughter too. Watching him become exactly what they both needed? I was a puddle.
“I think about you all the time,” I confess. “It’s like when we aren’t physically in the same room, we’re still somehow connected.”
And let’s talk about the slow burn. The longing. The restraint. The absolute tension simmering beneath every interaction. Ruth Stilling could honestly teach a masterclass in yearning and payoff. This book edged me for ages before delivering some of the hottest, most emotionally charged spice, and it was worth every second of the wait.
“Tonight, your body deserves to be worshipped, but when the time is right and you’re ready, I’ll treat it with the disrespect I’ve been fantasizing about for way too fucking long.”
There are villains here, more than one, and the way they’re handled was deeply satisfying, especially when layered with the found family, nostalgic cameos from across Ruth’s universe, and the emotional weight of watching the Blade Kings series come to a close. I was not prepared for how hard this goodbye would be.
This story felt real. Messy. Tender. Full of heart. I went into this knowing I already loved Ruth’s writing, but somehow she still blew me away. Within Range broke all the rules, made me fall head-over-heels for a trope I usually avoid, and delivered a soul-deep, unforgettable love story. Daddy Emmett is ready for you, so you’d better buckle up.
Release Date: January 29th, 2026
Thank you to Ruth Stilling for the ARC read!