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Watch Your Mouth

By Kandi Steiner

Romance

The second Kings of the Ice novel follows a woman who has a steamy night with hockey defenseman Jaxson Brittain, one of the players her brother asked to keep an eye on her. When they are thrown together again on a secret road trip, their promise to stay just friends becomes harder to keep.

Release Date
2023
Length
428 pages
Publisher
Kandi Steiner, LLC
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Our Review

About the book

The second Kings of the Ice novel follows a woman who has a steamy night with hockey defenseman Jaxson Brittain, one of the players her brother asked to keep an eye on her. When they are thrown together again on a secret road trip, their promise to stay just friends becomes harder to keep.

Our review

Steiner gets real mileage from a road trip in this forbidden brother’s-teammate romance.

Steiner knows exactly what readers come to this subgenre for, and she delivers it with confidence: a brooding, protective hero, a heroine tired of being managed by the men in her life, and a premise that keeps them in close quarters. The road trip is the smartest choice here, stripping away the hockey world so the relationship has room to grow through conversation, small adventures and plenty of tension. The banter is quick and the heat level is high.

The forbidden angle relies on a brotherly rule that feels more like a plot device than a real obstacle, and the third-act conflict follows a well-worn track. At over four hundred pages, the middle can sag between big moments, and readers wanting much on-ice action may be disappointed since the sport stays in the background. Still, fans of steamy hockey romance will find a charming, emotionally warm installment that works on its own.

What we loved

  • Road-trip setup gives the romance room to breathe
  • Strong chemistry and lively banter
  • Protective hero with an emotionally open side

Keep in mind

  • Familiar forbidden-romance beats and third-act conflict
  • Long for its story, with little actual hockey

Read it if you like

Fans of Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker, Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series, or Sarina Bowen’s hockey romances.

The verdict

A warm, steamy road-trip romance that hits its genre marks well, even if few surprises await.

Author

Kandi Steiner