Tag: toronto terror series

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Helena Hunting’s If You Claim Me ✍🏻

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Cover of the romance novel 'If You Claim Me' by Helena Hunting, featuring an illustration of a couple in wedding attire. The woman is wearing a white dress with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt, while the man is dressed in a maroon suit. The background is decorated with library elements and the title is prominently displayed in colorful text.

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

Cover Reveal

✍🏻 Dred + Connor = If You Claim Me ✍🏻

professorromance
Cover reveal for 'If You Claim Me' by Helena Hunting, featuring a couple in formal attire on a purple background, with the release date highlighted.

IF YOU CLAIM ME 

By Helena Hunting

Toronto Terror #5

Release Date: November 6th

Cover Designer: Hang Le

https://www.instagram.com/byhangle/

Illustrations by Rosie’s Fables

https://www.instagram.com/rosiesfables/

Book cover for 'If You Claim Me' by Helena Hunting, featuring a couple in formal attire with the title prominently displayed. The male character wears a maroon suit, while the female character is in a white wedding dress, holding a bouquet.

Hockey’s most hated player just asked me to marry him. 

Connor Grace is the league’s bad boy–and my best friend’s worst enemy. 

He’s the fallen prince of a famous hotel chain dynasty. 

Me? I’m the foster kid who grew up to be a librarian. 

I never thought I’d end up in a marriage of convenience to make someone’s grandma happy, but here we are. 

I have no plans to kiss my husband for any reason other than show. 

I have no plans to fall in love with the arrogant man dressed in a custom suit hiding intricate tattoos. 

But when we’re alone, he drops the mask he wears for the rest of the world. 

He holds me like he means it when he says I’m his. And I want to believe him.

Too bad I learned early on that fairytales aren’t real, and nothing good lasts forever.

Book cover for 'If You Claim Me' by Helena Hunting, featuring a couple in formal attire. The background is purple with wedding-themed illustrations. It highlights themes such as marriage of convenience and hockey romance, with a release date of November 6, 2025.

PRE-ORDER IF YOU CLAIM ME

Amazon → https://geni.us/IfYouClaimMe

Goodreads → https://geni.us/IfYouClaimMeGR

💕🏒 Paperback Preorders + Bookplate & NSFW Art! 🏒💕

Novel Grounds Preorder → https://geni.us/IYCMNovelGrounds

Flutter Preorder → https://geni.us/FlutterIYCMPreorder

Hopeless Romantics Preorder → https://geni.us/IYCMHopelessRomantic

new release, Review

✍🏻 Professor Romance’s Reviews: Helena Hunting’s If You Love Me, book 4 of her Toronto Terrors series ✍🏻

professorromance

Overall Grade: A-

Tropes: second chance; forbidden romance; close proximity; sports romance; workplace romance; age gap; hockey romance; found family

Helena Hunting’s latest Toronto Terrors installment, If You Love Me, delivers a refreshing take on hockey romance that will delight fans of the series. Roman emerges as a surprising and complex male lead. Readers who met him as the protective father in If You Need Me will be delighted by his transformation into an unexpectedly dominant romantic partner. Hunting skillfully reveals new dimensions to his character while maintaining the protective nature established in previous books.

What distinguishes this romance is Roman’s nurturing personality. Despite workplace complications creating the primary tension, his devotion to Lexi and her sisters forms the emotional core of the narrative. Rather than following the conventional third-act breakup formula, Hunting focuses on the challenges of navigating professional boundaries.

Lexi stands out as a particularly well-crafted character. As a female coach in men’s hockey, she brings distinctly feminine qualities of empathy and connection to her coaching style. Hunting avoids the common pitfall of masculinizing female characters in male-dominated settings, instead showing how traditionally feminine attributes can be strengths in professional environments. This approach demonstrates how female perspectives can enrich traditionally masculine spaces.

The familial relationships, particularly Lexi’s commitment to her sisters, add meaningful depth to the story. These bonds, along with the hockey team’s found-family dynamic, create a rich emotional landscape that extends beyond the central romance.

The novel’s departure from the typical romance structure creates both strengths and weaknesses. While the absence of a third-act breakup feels refreshing, it does affect the narrative tension in the latter portion of the book. Even potential professional conflicts lose their edge against Roman’s steadfast support. The story transitions from compelling drama to sweet affirmation, which may satisfy readers seeking comfort but slightly diminishes the narrative momentum established early on.

If You Love Me showcases Hunting’s talent for creating multifaceted characters and sweet yet spicy romances. The novel skillfully balances workplace drama, family dynamics, and romantic development, even if the pacing slows toward the conclusion. With tantalizing hints of future pairings, this new story reinforces why Helena Hunting remains a master of romantic comedy, leaving readers eagerly anticipating the next Toronto Terrors story.

In love and romance,

Professor A

new release

✍🏻 You are not ready for Roman…not. at. all. He is one of Helena Hunting’s swooniest, dommiest MMCs. Today’s the day to grab If You Love Me, the next book of her Toronto Terror series. ✍🏻

professorromance

If You Love Me

by Helena Hunting
Toronto Terror #4

Release date: March 13th


Cover Designer: Hang Le

https://www.instagram.com/byhangle/

Illustrations by Rosie’s Fables

https://www.instagram.com/rosiesfables/


Narrators: Stephen Dexter & Stella Bloom

Two nights with her ruined me for all other women, but I never got the chance to make her mine. 

I’m the pinnacle of control. I protect the net, my team, and my daughter.

It’s my final season and I can’t afford any distractions. 

Except our new assistant coach just walked in. 

And I would know her face anywhere.

She’s the one I dream about. 

That weekend, I was just a man—not the legend, the dad, the mentor.

I didn’t care that I was a decade older. 

For the first time in my life, I was ready to risk everything if it meant having her.

Until I woke up to an empty bed and no note.

Three years of wishing I knew how to find her, now she’s my new boss. 

I can be patient.

But for her—I want to break all the rules. 

AVAILABLE NOW

Amazon World → https://geni.us/IfYouLoveMeAmazon

Audio US → https://amzn.to/41dYijc

Audio World → https://geni.us/IYLMAudio

Amazon World Paperback → https://geni.us/IfYouLoveMePBZon

Goodreads → https://geni.us/IfYouLoveMeGoodReads

About Helena Hunting: 

NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her adorable, emotional cat, who thinks the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from emotional contemporary romance to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Website: http://www.helenahunting.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1y6OBB7

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/helena-hunting 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helena.hunting69/ 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/helenahunting

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@helenahunting 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helenahunting

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