Pucking Ever After: Volume 2 (Jacksonville Rays) Paperback – November 23, 2023

Emily Rath's storytelling is a masterclass in world-building and character creation. Her ability to craft such intricate, believable characters is unparalleled, and The Rays universe is a testament to her talent. The Prices and the Langleys embody the essence of the friends we all wish we had in our lives, bringing warmth and depth to every page.From start to finish, this novella had me on an emotional rollercoaster. I laughed, cried, sobbed, and ultimately found myself smiling with tears of joy. The last two chapters, in particular, are pure perfection—an exquisite ending to a beautiful journey. Chef’s kiss to those final moments!Favourite Chapters:No ExitThe Dentist Part 1 & 2Favourite Quote:“She’s all smiles. It glows like a light inside her. This is the most beautiful she’s ever looked. I want a picture of her sitting just like this—hair a mess, IVs in her hands, tired circles under her eyes, nursing my kid. She looks like an earth goddess, all power and calm and love.”This quote perfectly encapsulates the raw, tender beauty that Rath infuses into her characters. It's moments like these that make the story so unforgettable.📖 Be sure to check the author’s website for trigger warnings before reading this book.

Pucking Ever After Volumes I & IIDr Emily knew we wouldn't be able to leave these characters after their books and survive on only the little snippets we get as they pop in and out of the next books. Especially since these next books are spanning years! “Jake makes me happy,” he says at last. “Rachel makes me feel whole,” he adds. “But you [Caleb] make me feel safe.”These little novella stories were so much fun! I loved getting to not only see silly little parts of these character's lives, but to see their relationships continue to grow was really well done.“Cay has to teach her how to surf, and Jake has to teach her to ice skate. And please don’t let Rachel talk her into getting any tattoos until she’s at least sixteen—” “Tess,” he soothes, cupping my face. “Stop, baby. Everything’s gonna be fine.” “Mars has to approve anyone before she gets married. Promise me.” He wipes away a tear as he nods. “Yeah, babe. Anything you want.”Some of these little ones were lighthearted, while others were definitely emotional. Each was given a little header so we knew what to expect going into it. If you're starting this series, I definitely recommend reading all the novellas in the order Emily recommends! There are all kinds of little easter eggs throughout the series about the future characters! Now, if I could just get approved for Pucking Sweet on NetGalley, that'd be glorious!

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙙?” 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙙. “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 ‘𝙗𝙞𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙙’ 𝙖𝙨 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙩?” 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨, 𝙢𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨. “𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙅𝙖𝙠𝙚?”“𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚,” 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙣𝙡𝙮. “𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨. 𝘼 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮. 𝘼 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡. 𝘼 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”Yes these books (and HEA novellas) are 🥵 but the sweetness and ❤️ are such a big reason for why I love this world.Each of the novels in this book will be following a different relationship, and these “HEA novellas” give us little glimpses of their lives as established partners. Emily absolutely nails what I always want when I finish a romance novel; stories of our fave characters living their HEAs, which aren’t always smooth and easy, but always beautiful, and I just eat it all up.I loved seeing the continued evolution and deepening of the relationship between all the Prices (Ilmari being the star in my eyes here). But I have to say that Tess & Ryan’s stories were actually my favorites in this novella. (“Turks & Caicos” being my favorite chapter in the book 🥰.) Their two “Waiting” chapters were super stressful and tear-filled (please check TWs!), but I thought they were really well done.We also got just the teensiest of glimpses of Poppy, Novy, and Morrow, and it just made me even more excited to read their story, which is the next one up! 😊What this book is giving:✅ Hockey Romance (not so much Hockey in this one)✅ HEA “Novella”✅ Relationship Evolution✅ MF & MM✅ The Prices + The Langleys✅ Pregnancies, Birth, and Babies✅ Living their HEAs

This was such a great update on the Prices and the Langleys! There were some gritty moments (check the TW section) but just - wow.Ryan and Tess made me laugh out loud and cry, too. (I'll never think of a villa over the water the same, for sure!! ) And there were some tough moments, but Ryan just shows up for her and loves Tess like crazy.For the Prices, we got some incredibly painful moments, some giggles, and some raw, real emotions. What a great expansion the there story (I love Caleb, but there's just something about Ilmari...)Enjoyed this immensely - don't miss this collection if you are already of the Rath-verse, but if you aren't, you need to get started immediately with That One Night (0.5) and work your way through a terrific series. Hockey and romance- one of the best combinations to be found!

When you least expect it, or when you’re honest about it? Great laughter through anticipation as the unexpected reveals itself.