Meet Me in the Penalty Box

Orchid City, Book 1

By: Cali Melle

Narrated by: Macie Miller, Tim Paige

She was the one thing he couldn't have, but that wouldn't stop him from getting what he wanted.

After a nasty break-up with her ex, moving to Orchid Beach was like a breath of fresh air. Harper landed a brand new job as a sports photographer for a professional hockey team. It was just what she needed to get away from everything she had ever known.

One drunken night at a club had her sneak into another room with a stranger. But that stranger ended up being no one other than Nico Cirone. The star rookie player for the Orchid City Vipers. The same team that she was now working for.

And that made him completely off limits.

Nico Cirone had been at the top of his game, but as a rookie, he couldn't afford to lose his new position. His luck felt like it was stretching thin, and there was only one solution. He needed a new good luck charm. After running into Harper, he knew that he had finally found what he was looking for.

It was an easy arrangement, one they could both benefit from. He would help her forget her ex, and she would help him play the best hockey he'd ever played before.

It was supposed to be simple…

Until it wasn't anymore.

©2023 Cali Melle (P)2024 Podium Audio

Cute and quick

Cute quick read! Cute work place romance . Overall I enjoyed the book the audio was okay not my favorite

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

So I liked it. But I think I would have liked it even more if they actually got to know each other a little better before falling in love. I’d have still read it if there were 100 more pages before they were suddenly in a relationship. But it was cute and I’m interested in the rest of the series now too

Easy breast quick read.

This was my first book by Cali Melle and I really enjoyed it. I was looking for something easy to read for the end of the month and this satisfied the vibes. The female narrator did sound a little robotic or stilted throughout the book, which is why I dropped it down a star. Overall I really enjoyed the story and will come back to see the other couples get their HEA.

Hockey Romance

Loved Harper and Nico together! Harper has found a job that will help her reach her goals - she'll be one of the team photographers for the Orchid City Vipers. Only she doesn't realize that the guy she almost hooked up with at the club, while trying to forget her ex, is a Vipers player. That means they are off limits but Nico isn't too concerned about the rules. As workplace romances are known to, things become complicated. Enjoyed watching their relationship change and how protective Nico becomes. The audio version was fantastic!

Love a secret relationship!

Nico & Harper are everything I love about a secret/forbidden relationship! The narration was great as well, they really brought it to life for me!

From their meet cute (at least I see it that way haha), to finding out who the other is afterwards, to fighting their feelings, hiding their relationship (no fraternizing policy), & falling HARD for each other!

I love when a man falls first and hard, and Nico was all about Harper from day 1! He was protective, patient, dirty (in the GOOD way), encouraged her dreams, & made Harper want to love again after her toxic & abusive ex.

While I loved their story, there were a couple things I wanted more of or needed answers to: Nico's repercussions (if any) with his coach, & Harper's ex to see her thriving & him punished for the Vegas game (hopefully!!!)

I can't wait for the next installment of Orchid City!

NICOOOOO!!!

Nico will always be TLOML! Stole my heart from the very beginning!

definitely recommend listening to this book!

No regrets!

Fun Hockey Romance

3.5 ⭐ 3 🌶️ 4 🎧

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet, quick and a lot of fun. I loveedddd that Niko fell first and hard; he was so obsessed with Harper from the very start. It was pretty low angst for a forbidden romance, but it made for a great beach read feel.

I was disappointed we didn't get more with her ex and what happened after the incident at his game. It just kinda happened and then disappeared... The true third act was good, but again, we knew where Harper's heart lay, so it wasn't very angsty. All in all I probably won't read this one again, but I'll definitely be continuing the series.

The audio was good. Macie Miller and Tim Paige did a wonderful job with their characters and telling this story.

Unfortunately, this story is forgettable.

This book had no redeeming points. I got to a point where I was so bored I skipped every other chapter just to get the story over.