Review: "Holiday Hat Trick (Portland Storm)" by Catherine Gayle

Synopsis:
Mitchell “Q” Quincey, a journeyman playing for the Portland Storm, has three goals for his three-day Christmas break.

1. Move the rest of his gym equipment out of his ex-wife Mia’s house.
2. Get his lawyer to file a petition for joint custody.
3. Spend every last minute he can with his baby girl.

When he arrives on Mia’s doorstep, things don’t go as planned. With her whole family gathered for the holiday, the only way he can spend time with their daughter is to spend time with the whole clan. The compromise is doable, if not ideal, because he’s still in love with Mia and she won’t take him back.

Having her ex-husband show up completely unannounced at Christmas throws Mia off her game. The least Mitch could have done is called so she could have emotionally prepared herself to face him. Instead, the love and attraction she still feels for him combine to leave her fumbling for excuses. He’s always been able to leave her flustered, but now that he’s making himself part of the family again, she’s afraid she’ll lose her nerve and fall back into old patterns.

Things heat up on a snowy Christmas Eve, and Mitch decides to change his goals on the fly. With assists from Mia’s family and a bit of mistletoe, he might end up with a Holiday Hat Trick.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Review:
Holiday Hat Trick is a sweet holiday read. Getting to know Mitch in this family environment, you'd never know he was a tough hockey player. He's an alpha-male, most definitely, but sensitive and emotional. He owns his feelings and isn't afraid to show them. He's also a great father and uncle and that comes through clearly in the story.

I think showing Mia's perspective in this story is really interesting. Albeit a high profile, unusual marriage, the issues that she experienced were real - losing yourself to your marriage. And she hadn't even had children yet. How many women can say they lost who they were when they married and had a family. It was great to show how she has discovered who she can be and finds a way to do so with Mitch.

Links:
ATTENTION: As of this publishing, Holiday Hat Trick is FREE at most retailers. So click your preferred link and pick it up now!
Goodreads • Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Kobo • iBooks • Google Play

About the Author:

Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of Regency-set historical romance and contemporary hockey romance with a New Adult feel. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic.

If you enjoyed this book and want to know when more like it will be available, be sure to sign up for Catherine’s mailing list. You can find out more on her website, her blog, at Red Door Reads, at Hockey Romance, at Facebook, on Twitter, and at Goodreads. If you want to see some of her cats’ antics and possibly the occasional video update from Catherine, visit her YouTube account.