e-ALC, 09:52:54
Narrated by: AhDream Smith & Hassiem Muhammad
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Published by: Recorded Books, Inc.
Read from: February 2-3, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received this ALC free from the publisher and app. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Infidelity, Toxic Relationship
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Contempoary Romance, Dual POV, Sparkly Cover, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Realistic Fiction, Religious Fiction, Religious, Romance, Dual NarratorsJabari Hall has spent his entire life chasing victory on ice–but one devastating hit leaves him benched, not just from hockey, but from the future he thought he had. Now, as he struggles with deteriorating eyesight, his well-meaning teammates set him up on a date, hoping it will cheer him up–only the date they choose is none other than Val Elliott, his ex’s sister.
Val never expected to be sitting across from Jabari, especially after the way he broke her sister’s heart. But when Jabari opens up about his diagnosis, Val’s guarded heart softens, and she offers him a listening ear out of compassion. What begins as a simple friendship quickly turns into something more.
As Jabari navigates life off the ice and searches for a new purpose, he’s drawn to Val in ways he didn’t expect. With her loyalty to her family on the line and Jabari searching for faith and a new purpose, can they make it to the goal together, or will their hearts wind up in the penalty box?
Delve into award-winning author Toni Shiloh’s sports romance for fans of Emma St. Clair, Pepper Basham, and Melissa Ferguson.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This isn’t my usual read, but I’ve liked Shiloh’s books before, so I figured this would be right on time. And of course it was. I did have some issues in some places, but for the most part, I had a lot of fun with this.
So I loved the characters. Jabari was a sweetheart and so was Val. What I loved about Val was she believed in God, but she let Jabari come to his own ideals and beliefs. She never pushed him to believe what she did and I loved that. That’s kind of how I am. I will do what I do and if you believe, fine, if not, I’m not going to force you. Jabari also felt really real. He was one of us who only prayed when things got tough. Real people do this all the time.
Then there’s the romance. I actually really enjoyed it. It took a while before they kissed, but it worked well with the stroy. And I thought it was so adorable that Jabari called her beautiful, even when he was suffering from some of the eye stuff. And I loved that. It meant he was serious about her. They were the cutest.
The only thing I didn’t like but had to set aside was the disability aspect of this. I have some friends who are actually blind and them praying to Gawd did nothing. They always complain about books where the disease or disability has been saved. And that’s exactly what this sounded like; the more he prayed the more God would re-grant his sight. But I know this is a Christian fiction book, so I let it go. I also researched it and knew that temporary eye sight issues are for people who have have concussions. So I didn’t love it, but I knew there was another reason that it could have happened the same way without those things.
This is also a sports novel, so I wanted to talk abuot that too. And Lordt. Huge thanks to Shiloh for actually give them some time on the ice. We actyally got to see them play and feel his emotions throughout the game and his injury. It was sad but it went along perfectly with the plot. In the end they’re on the ice again, but for a completely different reason. And that was cute too lol
This was a cute little ol romance. This isn’t exactly what I thought I would like but that just goes to show you it isn’t hard to find something you love from any genre. AND this one also happened to be a Black book as well. Which means, no excuses for not reading diversely!
Overall, I give this
