In the Penalty Box

by Lynn Rush, Kelly Anne Blount

Overview

Willow
Figure skating was supposed to be my whole world. But one unlucky injury and now I’m down...but I’m definitely not out. I just need to rehab—a boatload of rehab—and who’d have thought I could do it on the boys’ hockey team?

Of course, the infuriatingly hot captain of the team seems to think I’m nothing but sequins and twirls. What’s a girl to do but put him in his place? Game on.

Brodie
Hockey is my whole world. I’ve worked my tail off getting my team in a position to win the championships—hopefully in front of major college scouts, too—so what’s a guy to do when a figure skater ends up as our new goalie?

Of course, the distractingly sexy skater thinks I’m nothing but a testosterone-laced competitive streak. And surely she’s only biding her time to heal, then she’s gone. Game over.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682815762
Publisher:	Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	01/05/2021
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	373,000
Product dimensions:	5.46(w) x 8.27(h) x 1.01(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

KELLY ANNE BLOUNT
Kelly Anne Blount is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s probably lost in a book or having an adventure with her handsome husband and their darling daughter. After living in a palace in Scotland, across from the Caribbean Sea, and in the snowy land of Wisconsin, Kelly and her family now reside in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.

Kelly loves connecting with readers on social media! You can find her everywhere: @KellyAnneBlount

LYNN RUSH
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lynn Rush is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattlesnakes. When she’s not running, writing, or reading, she and her Ironman husband are watching movies that fuel her undying love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural.

Find her on social media: @LynnRushWrites

Editorial Reviews

12/04/2020

Gr 9 Up—When Willow is injured, her hopes of figure skating at the Olympics are crushed. Moving back home to Woodhaven to recover, she finds herself propelled into an ice sport she had always written off: hockey. With the newfound comfort of team comradery and a crush on team captain Brodie, Willow finds herself becoming whole once again. Spending time together on and off the ice, Willow and Brodie navigate a forbidden love alongside the struggles of family challenges. Rush and Blount share a story of perseverance and hope that focuses on the ice rink. Impactfully written from both Willow and Brodie's points of view, the book offers glimpses of the thoughts and inner struggles of each character. The romance between the characters does overshadow the narrative, but it is redeemed in its intimate portrayal of family dynamics. The emotional journeys that the characters face drive the story forward and build empathy for their circumstances. Readers will find themselves rooting for both the budding relationship and personal success of Willow and Brodie. VERDICT A story of perseverance that will appeal to romance readers and ice sport fanatics.—Aliza Mangefrida, Honeoye-Falls Lima Central School Dist., Rochester, NY

School Library Journal

2021-01-05
A figure skater starts over as an ice hockey goalie in this YA contemporary romance.

Seventeen-year-old Willow Covington has reluctantly moved back to small-town Minnesota, where she hasn’t lived since grade school. An Achilles injury and rapidly dwindling funds derailed her full-time pursuit of a professional figure skating career at an elite Colorado training center. A chance meeting with Brodie “Wind” Windom, a very cute ice hockey star whose father owns the town rink, leads Willow to a possible redirection of her energy: goalie on the all-boys club team. Brodie and Willow make a deal: In exchange for extra time on the ice to build up her figure skating skills again, he’ll show her the ropes of what it means to be a goalie. Soon, flirty insults like “Toe Pick” and “Puck Head” are flying as fast as stray pucks, and, after a successful stint on the club team, Willow wins the high school team’s goalie position. The catch? No fraternizing between players allowed. As Brodie’s home life—no mother; alcoholic, frequently absent father; and a beloved, severely asthmatic younger brother—grows more fraught and he and Willow embark on a secret relationship, she receives the opportunity of a lifetime that will reignite her Olympic figure skating dreams. Will love—and hockey—prevail? Bestselling authors Rush and Blount have crafted a teen romance that’s as fast-paced as a championship match, with witty dialogue, alternating narration from Brodie and Willow, and depth in every character, not just the two protagonists. Budding hockey player Willow faces realistic obstacles from the outside—not everyone is on board with a female goalie—and the inside. Does her heart truly lie with her old sport or her new one? Brodie also has a fully developed character arc as he learns to open his heart to Willow and accept help from his community when his father’s alcoholism reaches a destructive peak. The book’s ending is both satisfying and well earned.

A love story that nails every goal with heart to spare.

Kirkus Reviews