Overall Grade: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Tropes: opposites attract; new adult romance; he falls first; forced proximity; hockey romance; Cinderella story; fish out of water
To date, Helena Hunting has gifted us three incredible books in her Lies, Hearts, & Truths series: Little Lies, Bitter Sweet Heart, and Shattered Truths. Until today, I would scream to the rooftops that my favorite of the three is Little Lies. Lavender and Kody, the next-gen of Hunting’s wildly popular Pucked and All In series, stole a piece of my heart as Lavender and Kody struggle through the difficulty of their bonded relationship. However, her newest characters, BJ and Winter, have stolen another piece of my heart for an entirely different reason: these two offer one of the most equitable relationships of this series. They are truly partners: edifying, exhorting, and enticing each other in ways that made my heart sing for them. In fact, I ate this book whole, not intending to do so. I wanted to savor it, relishing my time in this world rife with the progeny of some of Hunting’s beloved characters. But I just couldn’t do it. Before I knew it, I had finished BJ and Winter’s book, and I already yearned to read it again.
This is what I loved about this book:
BJ, the guy who beds women and remains friends with them in large quantities, falls first. He’s literally and figuratively struck by Winter. And given Winter’s story, it would be simple for Hunting to have BJ “save” Winter; however, that would go against Hunting’s sense of romance. Instead, BJ needs proximity to Winter, and this affords her incredible opportunities, opportunities she takes advantage of even though, given her upbringing and circumstances, she could have denied. BJ provides the space, and Winter uses her facility and agency to step forward. BJ becomes her biggest cheerleader, not her savior. Winter saves herself and her mother instead. That’s empowerment and the best use of Winter’s agency. Can I get an AMEN for that?
Winter returns BJ’s gift later in the story when tragedy strikes for him. This is the equity/partnership of this romance. In Shattered Truths, Hunting complicates their individual lives, and she allows them to create a true coupleship grounded in mutual respect. I reveled in this throughout the story, which was why I couldn’t put it down. When one of them faltered, the other was there to lend support. This is what healthy relationships look like: one partner giving more at moments when it’s needed. It’s this concept that stole that piece of my heart.
Of course, the extended family of this world entices the reader. Hunting grants us more access to Rose, Darren and Charlene’s daughter, as well as my new favorite character, Laughlin, a Butterson sibling, and the rest of the Pucked and All In crew. Lily and Randy, my favorite Pucked series couple, continue to be $ex-positive idols, and they play a major part in Winter’s journey. Returning to this world of old and new characters feels like a warm blanket on a cold night; it’s comfort and nostalgia mixed with the promise of future stories from this beloved universe.
Add to all of this the themes of domestic violence, the challenge of women’s hockey, the expectations of parents, the letting go of dreams, etc., and you recognize the gravity of Helena Hunting’s storytelling. Yes, the spice and humor expected of Hunting’s romance are also found in this book, but I don’t fall in love with her characters for those reasons entirely. It’s the real-life situations entwined in this fictional world that keep me coming back for me.
For now, I’ll accept a tie between Little Lies and Shattered Truths as my favorite stories from her Lies, Hearts, & Truths series, but I suspect she has future stories that might steal that top spot if she continues to be the gifted storyteller I’ve come to expect.
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 