The Love Penalty
A Friends to Lovers Hockey Romance (Grand Marquee Manticores, Book 1)
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The Love Penalty
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Narrated by:
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Meghan Kelly
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By:
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Stef C.R.
About this listen
It’s hard to be a woman in the NHL, especially in one of the most hated positions. Olivia’s dream is to be a referee, and to get there she’ll need to work hard, stay focused, and be free of any distractions, especially ones with blue eyes and easy smiles that won’t leave her alone.
This might be Robbie’s last season of professional hockey and he wants it to be his best one yet. He’s well liked amongst his teammates, crew, and officials, but there’s a new face among the crowd that he can’t forget about. Referee #13. She’s feisty and prickly and wants nothing to do with him. So naturally, Robbie is determined to befriend her.
When the line between friendship and love starts to blur, they both need to consider what giving in might mean for them. Will distance and work get in the way, or can they compromise and find a way to be together?
©2024 Stef C.R. (P)2024 Stef C.R.Related to this topic
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What listeners say about The Love Penalty
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amanda Parker-Heck
- 12-16-24
Hockey Player x Female Referee
The Love Penalty by Stef C.R.
⭐️4/5
🥰He Falls First
🥰Opposites Attract
🥰Friends to Lovers
🥰Hocky Player X Female Referee
This was such a sweet debut story. Robbie and Olivia were the perfect couple. I fell in love with them the first time they met. Their relationship was so natural. The Chemistry will draw you in and never let you go. I was hooked. Robbie would do anything for Olivia. Watching the way he supported her was by far my favorite part of the book. He loved her with his whole heart. They worked through all their issues mutually. They were both looking for something and found each other resulting in the creation of a sweet new loving family.
The narration of this book was great. I loved listening to this story, and I couldn’t stop listening! I loved the narrators voice, she really brought his story to life.
I would highly recommend this as your next read!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ellie Schaben
- 02-11-25
Sweet hockey romance
Thank you to Stef. C.R. and My Universe PR for the ARC!
This was such a quick, sweet read! Definitely HEA and green flags all around. This is a great read for the holiday season when almost everything is light and fluffy.
I really enjoyed the character development of the secondary characters. Made me really excited for the next ones, especially Ashton’s!
My only complaint was that it was a little too picture perfect/no drama. The only part that was slightly dramatic took about 30 seconds and was over.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gwen Jacober
- 11-28-24
Obsessed and sobbing all at once!
Stef did a fantastic job with The Love Penalty! It’s the perfect combination between romance and genuine friendship and Stef throws it all into Olivia and Robbie for a curl up and listen romance! And Meghan Kelly is FANTASTIC! It is definitely worth the listen for those who want an easy listen without getting lost on whats happening!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gigi
- 11-29-24
Sweet Perfection, With the Perfect Build to Heated Wow!
Olivia is a mite bit prickly … actually, more than a bit, but does that deter Robbie from pursuing her? Noooo, not in the slightest! From their first meet, he KNOWS she’s the one for him, BUT getting HER to view him with something other than distain will take time, perseverance, and hot dayum, possibly a decree from a higher order! Once Robbie persuades Olivia to at least give friendship a try … can he completely win her over, or will the nefarious in their midst end their season prematurely by drawing “The Love Penalty”! I really enjoyed this one! This, THIS is the very definition of easy, breezy listening! If you’re not familiar with hockey, fear not, our author has that covered! The sporting detail provided is perfect, allowing the listener to become completely enmeshed in both the story, and the lives of these beautifully drawn characters! I really loved how the characters develop organically as the story plays out, allowing me to come to know them, and care for them as I would had I just met them in life! They all resonated as REAL. From the situations they found themselves in, to the words they spoke, this story felt REAL, and thanks to spectacular narration, this story sounded REAL! The voicing choices were fabulous, perfectly fitting the personality of each and every character! From fear to passion, laughter to anger, and everything in between, there was a ton of emotion in this one, and ALL of it was beautifully and consistently conveyed through STUNNINGLY accurate vocal intonations! I knew who was speaking, what they were feeling, their anxiety level, their mindset, everything! I could see it, I could FEEL it, from the first word to the last I loved it! “The Love Penalty” gets five fantastic stars across all categories!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lisa X
- 11-18-24
The player and the referee
This is a cute one! I grabbed it because I love stories about women working in men dominated fields. Everything that they have to put up with from the males in that field always interests me. She is a Referee for hockey so what she has to out up with from players, fans and colleagues make this a story that could go many ways. Then add in the hockey players and it easily pulled me i ! The characters are fun and believable. I love her nickname for him! He has a wonderful family and friends to round out this story. Their holiday antics are perfect for this time of year. I listened to this on audio. Meghan Kelly is the narrator and she does a fabulous job portraying these characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Svetik
- 12-04-24
Love on ice
A clandestine love between the referee and the hokey player is the subject of this romantic tale. The hokey player, Robbie, is sympathetic and patient. He always looks for methods to build positive relationships with others and appreciates them. The referee, Olivia, needs to trust people because she has experienced hardships in her life. Who is the greatest teacher, then?
They put a lot of effort into maintaining their long-distance relationship. Can their love withstand the challenges they face? Learn by listening.
Meghan Kelly, the narrator, performed a fantastic job. Every character had a distinct voice, and it was quite simple to follow on your own.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bren
- 12-01-24
Awesome Book!
This is my first book by this author and I loved it!! Olivia is a hockey referee and meets Robbie, who is a hockey player, at her new referee job. At first, she doesn’t think they can be friends, but changes her tune over time as she gets to know Robbie. Robbie is the sweetest guy ever and I loved this cute story with them chasing their HEA. I loved that Oliva is a strong woman on the ice, even though she is dealing with some past issues. Meghan Kelly did an awesome job at the narration, as always. Her voice for each character is great and makes this a great audiobook to listen to.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Virginia
- 11-26-24
Wonderful!
What a great fun love story. It was well written and it built so well, I couldn’t wait to see what took place. Meghan Kelly is a master at the art of narration. She has a fantastic voice and she can do both male and female characters. Meghan makes the story come to life.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lauren H
- 12-02-24
Such a fun twist on the popular hockey romance!!
Story/writing: 5 stars - I loved this twist on the popular hockey romance genre. I want to see more females in professional hockey stories! Stef did a great job building up Robbie & Olivia’s friendship before they dove into a relationship, and I loved Robbie’s protectiveness over Olivia. It was sweet and not overbearing. Olivia was strong, and a little stubborn, but eventually let her walls down and it turned into a found family, which I also adore. I will definitely be picking up the rest in the series!
Audiobook performance: 3 stars - The narration was well done, but I don’t think this narrator’s voice is really suited for this genre. It just didn’t really fit some of the scenes. I don’t think it took away from the overall story, but if the same narrator does the future books, I will probably skip the audiobooks and read the physical/ebooks instead.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Shy G.
- 01-05-25
My Thoughts on The Love Penalty
This book was a perfect example for me of why I try whenever possible to finish a book once I’ve started it. Because my feelings in the beginning versus the end were so different. The FMC came across as kind of abrasive and unlikable in the first couple of chapters. I tried to be patient given what we learned about her history in the beginning, but she made it really hard to like her. And it, therefore, made it very difficult to see how any type of romance was supposed to develop between her and the MMC. A few major things cause the dynamic between the two main characters to change quickly. And with that shift also came a steady change in the FMC’s likability. She started opening up and letting people in and I started rooting for her. By the end, I had enjoyed the story so much and was so happy I stuck with it. The narrator did an amazing job. She was honestly the reason I tried this initially and her performance was one of the other reasons I stuck with it.
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