Overall Grade: A
Tropes: opposites attract; pro hockey romance; found family; grump/sunshine; librarian FMC with a heart of gold; misunderstood MMC; marriage of convenience
The fear of being vulnerable in love will always be my favorite romance theme. It makes my heart race and brings tears to my eyes every time. There’s nothing more terrifying than trusting someone with your heart, knowing they could destroy it with a single harsh word or action.
Helena Hunting absolutely nails this in If You Claim Me, her latest Toronto Terror book featuring Mildred “Dred” and Connor. This story took me on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish – and it’s easily my favorite in the series.
What I loved:
- Connor’s quiet, devoted love for Dred
- Dred’s ability to love even the most difficult people
- The amazing friend group and found family
- Connor calling Dred “darling” (swoon!)
- The perfect balance of grumpy/sunshine and marriage of convenience tropes
The way these two struggle to open up to each other, even when it’s obvious they’re deeply in love, absolutely wrecked me. Hunting masterfully builds the tension until you’re practically screaming at them to just be honest with each other. And when they finally do? Happy tears guaranteed.
This reminds me so much of Little Lies (Lavender and Kody’s story), which is my other favorite Hunting book. Both couples share that same fear of revealing their true feelings, terrified of losing everything. The emotional depth in these two books shows a different side of Hunting – beyond her trademark steamy humor, she can write heart-wrenching emotion that stays with you long after the last page.
If You Claim Me is easily in my top 5 romance reads of 2025. If you love stories about two people learning to trust each other with their whole hearts, this book is an absolute must-read. Helena Hunting has earned a permanent spot on my auto-buy list.
In love and romance,
Professor A
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Professor Romance 