FAKING THE SHOT by Kendall Hale is AVAILABLE NOW
Blurb:
After my divorce, I swore off dating.
No commitments, no complications—just a clean, quiet life.
So when I’m assigned to fix Kaden Crawford—the grumpy hockey star with a reputation as the league’s biggest PR disaster—I’m determined to keep things strictly professional.
But Kaden has a knack for creating chaos.
The solution?
Staging a fake relationship to save his reputation.
My answer should’ve been a hard “no.” But somehow, I’m tangled up in his mess—sharing staged kisses, dodging cameras, and trying to ignore the sparks we can’t control.
The plan was simple: clean up his image and move on.
But the more we fake it, the messier it all becomes.
The line between real and pretend is blurring, and I’m risking everything for a man I swore I’d never fall for.
Faking The Shot is the first book in the Crawford Family Playbook series, featuring a determined divorcee publicist rebuilding her life—one play at a time—while facing off against a grumpy hockey player who’s more trouble than he’s worth… or so she thinks.
Buy Link:
Available in KU
Sunny Shelly’s Review: 4 Stars
This book went from the cutest meet-cute at a coffee shop trivia night to an enemies-to-lovers book! Bad boy hockey player Kaden is on his last chance and needs a reputation rehab. Divorcee Valentina is on his PR team, but never expects to be the fake girlfriend planted by the team to change the public’s opinion of Kaden. And neither of them ever expected to fall hard and fast for the other.
These two characters had great banter. Val kept Kaden on his toes and wasn’t afraid to lob back the insults when he was being grumpy and broody. I really liked how Kaden let down his walls around her and showed Val a side of him that he usually reserves only for his family. And in turn, Kaden broke through the barrier she’d erected around herself after her divorce. Although they are pretending to date for the public, lines get blurred and behind closed doors, Kaden and Val find themselves not really pretending after all. But can Kaden convince Val to take a chance on something real with him?
Faking The Shot kicks off a new series about the Crawford family siblings, but it is a spinoff of Kendall Hale’s Happily Ever After Mishaps series — Val is the sister of Noelle from The Night Before Grumpmas and works with Noelle’s husband Jacob. I loved getting to catch up with those two characters, and getting to meet Kaden’s siblings! I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series!
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Meet Kendall Hale:
Kendall Hale is a daydreamer and a bookworm with a dangerous addiction to chocolate and wine.
At night, she’s a fiery wordsmith with a penchant for creating romantic mayhem with a lot of heat. She believes in the power of laughter, love in its messiest form, and the magic of happily ever afters.
When she’s not crafting swoony, steamy stories, Kendall can be found at home with her family, including her adorable furry companions. She loves experimenting with new recipes, watching movies, and losing herself in her favorite books while music plays in the background.
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