There’s no one more off limits than my best friend’s daughter.
Peggy Aurora Hammerstein. The Toronto Terror’s unofficial team princess. I would never do anything to mess with our team dynamics this late into the hockey season, but seeing her work in the front office changed something for me.
I see her as she is now: a powerful woman with ambition for miles.
When I hold her against me, she fits perfectly.
Her little flirts and taunts push my buttons, if she doesn’t stop–my control just might break.
But I can never cross that line. I can never know what it could be to call her mine.
I’ve never wanted anyone more than Aurora and no one can ever know.
| Title: | If You Want Me |
| Author: | Helena Hunting |
| Series: | Toronto Terror Book 2 |
| Pages: | 460 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Friends to Lovers Age Gap – Older Hero Dad’s Best Friend |
| Point of View: | First Person, Present Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Toronto, Canada |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 11th July, 2024 |
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I just didn’t feel it
If You Want Me is the second in Helena Hunting’s Toronto Terror series about a team of hockey players. We met most of the characters in the first book in the series, If You Hate Me, but this book focuses on player, Hollis, and another player’s daughter, Peggy. This book stands alone with its own happily ever after and you really don’t need to have read the first book to understand this one – but you’ll definitely get a fuller picture of the dynamics of the team and who’s who if you read the books in order.
I really like Helena Hunting’s writing style, her books and did enjoy the first story in this series – so I was inclined to like this book, too. I just…didn’t. I didn’t warm to Peggy / Hammer / Aurora specifically and didn’t feel the chemistry between our couple. It was also a fairly long book (460 pages) where nothing much happened and I just didn’t vibe with it, I’m afraid.
Our heroine is 20 year old Peggy. She’s just finishing up university and has a major crush on her dad’s best friend, and veteran hockey player, Hollis. I usually don’t mind an age gap in a story (this one is about 12 years) but as the book progressed, Peggy’s behaviour become more and more indicative of her age. She teased Hollis even though he asked her not to, the way she would’t speak to her Dad about not liking Barbie anymore, her jealousy and her idiocy about her name swapping between Peggy, Hammer and Aurora. She was also ridiculously entitled. “Other kids my age don’t get me. I get to fly out to other cities on weekend and go to exclusive clubs. Oh poor me!” Nope.
Hollis was a better fit for me but still had his issues. He’s around 33 so younger than Peggy’s dad but has been a father figure in her life for a while. He tries hard to curb his attraction to her but obviously does end up giving in. There was just an increasing ‘ick’ to the whole thing as it progressed.
“There was just an increasing ‘ick’ to the whole thing as it progressed.”
As I said, regardless of all that, I didn’t feel a connection between our couple and therefore the sex scenes left me a little cold. Some minor bum stuff in this one in terms of the more racier side of things, but nothing on the scale of the first book – although those things are definitely mentioned!
There was the obligatory ‘dad finds us in a compromising position’ and all hell breaks loose drama at the end but things do work out. I just, well, I don’t think this couple will last more than a year or two, if I’m honest. Peggy doesn’t seem mature enough to be in a relationship, especially not someone a fair bit older than her.
But since I’m on a rant, the bit of the book that really peeved me was the epilogue. Written 3 months after Peggy graduates and suddenly she’s the depute director of PR for a high-level hockey team. Either she seriously nepo-babied her way into that role (despite moaning about being seen as an independent woman throughout the book) or someone doesn’t know much about the marketing and PR industry.
Sadly, this book just wasn’t for me. But I am one of very few negative voices in a sea of adoration – so perhaps I am the exception that proves that it was in fact an excellent novel. If you’re reading the series or just picked up this book because you fancied the story – I really hope you love it where I could not. 3 stars from me.
And as an aside, that cover is just horrific. Definitely doing nothing to entice me.
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review.*
NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance with all the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.
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Toronto Terror Series
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