Cross-Checked

Boston Rebels, Book 3

De: Julia Connors

Narrado por: Sebastian York, Angelina Rocca

Some people might call it a grudge, but in reality, hating Alessandra Jones is more like an obsession. AJ is the league’s first female general manager, and my boss. As the team captain, I have to play nice with her—in public, at least. But in private, the gloves come off. And then one time, our clothes do too.

We vow it won’t happen again. Not only can we not stand each other, but we’re in tense negotiations over my contract right now, and AJ is up for the league’s GM of the Year award. Getting involved wouldn’t just be a PR nightmare—it would be unethical. It doesn’t help that we have a history, or that she and my daughter adore each other.

When AJ is injured protecting my baby, there’s no choice but to move her into my place. Taking care of someone I hate shouldn’t feel so right. Getting to know her better shouldn’t break down my defenses. She’s hurt me once before, and I’d be a fool to trust her again. But the more time we spend together, the more I realize that maybe I’m not obsessed with hating her...maybe I’m just obsessed with her.

©2024 Julia Connors (P)2024 Julia Connors

Not Your Average Romcom!!

I listened to this audiobook as a palate cleanser—something lighter after a string of dark, heavy reads. I was not expecting to fall head over heels for it. What I assumed would be your typical sports romance with a strong female lead turned out to be so much more.

From the razor-sharp wit and fast-paced banter to the incredible character development and toe-curling steam, this book is a rare gem. It's a true unicorn of rom-coms. It’s smart, sexy, and laugh-out-loud funny in all the right ways. (Let’s be honest, finding a rom-com this spicy and well-written is no easy feat!)

If I could give it a thousand stars, I would.

I highly, recommend listening to this one on audio. The banter comes alive, the chemistry sizzles, and the overall experience is just on another level. Trust me, this is one you’ll want to hear, not just read.

What a sensual production in your ears!!

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5) but actually ♾️⭐️
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5) but actually ♾️🎧
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5) but actually ♾️🌟
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) I bump up for public places/outdoor spaces. My trip to gorgeous Valley Forge this summer was quite a bit less exciting than theirs. 😆

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 I already love this book with ♾️ ⭐️ & quite possibly my favorite book of the year! And the audiobook, with DUET narration by Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca, definitely pushed all my buttons. Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca totally and sensually took on the personalities of these fabulous MCs. This amazing audiobook entertainment is like having a movie/production playing in my ears. You know the saying, the book was better? This one has me thinking: the audiobook was better!
🤩 I adore these MCs—boss babe GM for the Boston Rebels, AJ (Alessandra Jones), and team captain for the Boston Rebels, Ronan McCabe!
🤩 Single dad of sweet baby Abby–she’s perfectly written into this story.
🤩 Workplace enemies vibes, and a little bit grumpy, sunshine.
🤩 Forbidden plus forced proximity, yes please! 🥵🌶️
🤩 The love in action. The caretaking. So swoony!!
🤩 I love a little bit of locker room and rink time in my hockey romance!
🤩 Sneaking around! And that under the table knee grab! ❤️‍🔥🫠
🤩 Teammates who have your back & found family.
🤩 I’m a sucker for a gala, especially when the hockey hotties decide to attend in support!
🤩 When Morgan did the mini family photo shoot for social media! What impeccable details. 🥰
🤩 When the conflict is so captivating and feels so nerve-racking but also so good and right! I think this is me saying all the feels! I’m so glad I savored every scene!
🤩 Talk about feels—AJ and McCabe had me feeling the chemistry and tension through my whole body.
🤩 I had tears in my eyes a few times throughout the book, but I had tears streaming down my face in a stick room/closet steamy scene. These are some strong feels! And I bawled in the epilogue—happy tears, of course.
🤩 This is my favorite bonus epilogue of all time—you won’t want to miss it! 💯

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have one tiny but—but we didn’t get the special un-jersey scene. I really wanted the un-jersey scene. The teaser of it was almost enough.
💫 I cannot wait to find out who is narrating the audiobook for this beautiful and scrumptious story! An audiobook reread of a book I love is my favorite!
💫 Gimme more Boston Rebels! I’m so excited for what’s to come!

Absolutely perfect in duet narration.

Loved this story and it’s so fitting to be narrated in duet narration. Narrators are brilliant.

5 Stars. Full Stop.

Three of my favorite tropes in one book! Single Dad, Hockey, Reverse Age Gap. I mean, it had to be good right!

I love this series so much.

The FMC is a strong boss lady and doesn't take ANYTHING from anyone.

McCabe will do ANYTHING to take care of his daughter.

And they can't stand each other. But those reasons seem to be wrapped up in a secret or two that will change everything.

Soon, McCabe is changing his tune about leave the Rebels and doing everything in his power to stay wherever AJ is, no matter what the cost.

Such incredible characters, growth and the deepest of connections. 5 Stars. Full Stop.

Angelina Rocca & Sebastian York were the absolute perfect choices for these characters. They brought AJ & McCabe to life exactly as I imagined when reading this originally. And it made a book I already loved even better.

Loved McCabe and AJ’s story come to life!

I enjoyed listening to the narrators bring the tension, the drama, and the spicy moments to fruition. Don’t miss out on experiencing some of your favorite moments from the book on audio!

So good!!! Love this book

Workplace Romance
Hockey romance
Enemies to lovers
Single dad
Strong FMC
Spicy

Duet Narration - Sebastian York & Angelina Rocca
Absolutely fabulous narration! Loved these two together

Loved this book!

AJ is a badass hockey General Manger. Very hands on with her team. She’s divorced and single, work focused.

Roman is a star hockey captain that AJ recruited from college. They had a falling out of sorts when Ronan defended AJ against her low ex husband.

Now through forced proximity sparks are flying.
This story was sweet, spicy and heartwarming. I loved these characters. HIGHLY recommend to any hockey romance lover and others!

AJ & McCabe

🔹️Enemies-to-lovers
🔹️workplace romance
🔹️reverse age gap
🔹️Single dad
🔹️Found family
🔹️girl group
🔹️forced proximity
🔹️no third act breakup

AJ is the GM for the Boston Rebels NHL team and is the first female nominated for GM of the year. McCabe is the grumpy, single dad, team captain in the last year of his current contract. They have some lingering "bad" history from their time in St. Louis.

When McCabe finds himself without a babysitter for his daughter for a game, AJ steps in to do what's best for her team, including caring for Abby. During the game a fight breaks out, and AJ gets hurt while protecting Abby. McCabe offers to care for AJ while she is healing from her injury. In the following weeks, attraction and desires ignite. AJ gets a glimpse of what her life could look like if she opened up and found balance.

AJ is the badass boss babe, a queen, an icon, a role model. McCabe is the man she needs to support her and let her shine but also let her be vulnerable.

Audiobook narrated by Angelina Rocca and Sebastian York. Angelina performs AJ's confidence and vulnerability amazingly. SebYo plays the grumpy hockey player flawlessly.

AMAZING STORY WITH AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE

This story! Ladies, this book has everything you will want! There is depth, character growth, a secret past between the characters, lots of spice and an unforgettable story that kept me hooked! This is book 3 in the Boston Rebels series and we get to find out AJ & McCabe’s story. AJ is a total bad@$s woman and I loved that for her. You don’t get to see too many women in power, let alone in power in a male sport. Being in her position has made have her guard up and it is not easy to break through but McCabe is able to do it. I loved McCabe, he was very misunderstood. He has been through being traded, loss of a loved one, a surprise child and he is just trying to do the best that he can.

Their slow burn was everything. Pure chemistry from the start, building in the best way. The conflict was real and necessary, not just drama for the sake of it, making their journey even more satisfying. They had a lot going against them but they still managed to fight through. I loved all the snarky comments and their banter, but even more I loved seeing AJ’s relationship with McCabe’s daughter, Abby. And there are some “he takes care of her” moments to make you swoon.

Getting to experience this book again through audio made me love this so much more. I am a major fan of Angelina and I think she nails every narration. I loved her in this role by such a badazz-woman. She did an amazing job portraying the strong in control AJ. Sebastian was great as McCabe. I loved getting to see him break down and be vulnerable but yet he was dominant with AJ.

Fantastic Audiobook!

Cross-Checked is book three in the Boston Rebels series by Julia Connors. I love this series with all my heart and this book is my favorite! Alessandra Jones is the fierce, chic-as-hell, boss bish general manager of the Boston Rebels. Ladies!! Team captain, single dad, and all around grump, Ronan McCabe is a real one! These two have been as contentious as oil and water for years, and professionally distanced themselves. But when Ronan gets in a bind, AJ jumps in for the good of the team and the icy mountain between them begins to thaw. Julia has written another fantastic love story with heartbreaking backstories, healing individual and joint journeys, and top shelf heartwarming romance. Ronan McCabe is a dream crunchy cinnamon roll (only for her) book husband who (mostly) keeps it professional in the rink and unleashes the growly dirty-tongued alpha in the bedroom. He falls first and hard is my catnip.

Angelina Rocca and Sebastian York were magnificent as Alessandra and Ronan! I have loved AJ since she was first introduced in this series, and Angelina brings her ferocity and kindheartedness to life with a sublime performance! I didn’t think I could love Ronan more, until I heard Sebastian York’s portrayal with his low, seductive, gravelly timbre. My heart eyes were sparkling from start to finish of this delightful, heartfelt, spicy hockey romance! If you’re looking for a well-balanced, spicy sports romance with a bit of angst and a whole lot of heart, grab Cross-Checked now!

grumpy single dad

I loved this book when I first read it so when I got the opportunity to listen I was super excited. Then I started listening and realized it was a duet and that just made it even better!

Sometimes duets are a little choppy but not this one. It was recorded flawlessly and was so well done. I loved both narrators.

I love AJ. I love that she is a GM of a professional hockey team. But I do not love that she felt like she had to work 3 times as hard as the men in her role. But it was a character trait that was super well written and brought to light these career inequities.

I also love grumpy single dads so McCabe was perfect. I love how driven he was the be the best dad and how he would drop anything to be there for his daughter.

I would highly recommend this to anyone that loves hockey romance especially with workplace romance thrown in. The back office perspective of the team combined with the game scenes were amazing. I really love the bond between the WAGS and the staff too.

This one does have some triggers so please check those but as someone that has the triggers this book has I do think they were handled well.

I can't wait to see what comes next in this series.

I received an advanced listener copy of this book through the author. This is my honest review