TEAM PLAYERS by Deanna Grey (2022)

★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - A cute & spicy m/f college hockey romance featuring the casual “no strings attached”/“you better not catch feelings” situationship trope—rep: Black MCs, bi FMC, Black author, queer SCs…

Feb 19, 2025

∙ Paid

Our fingers entwined. I couldn’t tell if it was him or me who did it.
“You good?” he asked.
I turned away from him before he could coax anything out of me. My fingers tightened around his as I pulled him behind me. It felt so natural to have him following me. His hand in mine was mundane and extraordinary. How did being with Morgan make me feel like I was simultaneously safe and on the edge of a cliff?

title: Team Players

series: Mendell Hawks (book two)

author: Deanna Grey

published: 2022

publisher: self-published

genre/subgenre: hockey romance

setting: college campus

main themes/subjects: hockey—college hockey, women’s sports, sports gambling, college romance & dating scene, casual dating, college admin drama, house parties, dorm dynamics

representation: bisexual Black FMC hockey player, her nonbinary roommate, & other queer players on the women’s team, Black MLI hockey player with a speech impediment

tropes: friends with benefits? “just casual/no strings attached” situationship—he bets her she can’t be a ho & she bets him that he can’t not be a ho… if I followed that correctly…

“So, when I win,” Jacobs started with a smile. “What do I get?”
“When you win?” I played dumb.
She nodded. “When I prove I can sleep around casually without catching feelings and you fail at sticking with one partner—”
“So sure of yourself?” I leaned back in my seat. I was also sure of myself. Jacobs sounded like a textbook romantic. Falling for someone on the first date? Absolutely wild.
“Very sure,” Jacobs agreed. “Now, what do I get?”
I rested my arms on the table, leaning in closer. “What do you want?”
She tapped her fork on her lips. The action resulted in more whipped cream transferred onto her skin. I watched her tongue as she licked it off. A frustrated groan threatened to rise in my throat. I took a sip of water to silence it.

my thoughts:

This was a super cute, wholesome, & spicy romance with two very lovable MCs who were smart & mature but still vulnerable & imperfect. Their insecurities & flaws were believable without being exaggerated & I thought their overall dynamic was very precious. I also really liked the secondary characters, sub-plot-lines, & minor themes (re: the inequality in women’s vs men’s sports, classism in college, & family relationships).

I was a little nervous about the bet trope because as a demisexual the idea of, not being forced to, but, being very strongly encouraged to have “one-night stands” as a form of recreation or stepping outside your comfort zone or whatever was not cute but the plot handled it well without it feeling overtly problematic I think it just held me back a little from getting invested in the story early on.

The only other thing that tbh always bothers me about romance novels is how there’s never a like “final” spicy scene? Like, the last spicy scene in this book came with 30% of the story left & idk, again, as a demisexual, the spicy bits feel like they should be a very important part of the characters’ romantic relationship so for it to be left out of the happily ever after always feels off for me but for some reason it was especially jarring in this one… idk.

“You know what I mean,” I said through gritted teeth.
It was something that could be more. What I felt for Aderyn was like a new door placed in my path. Whatever was on the other side could change me for worse or better.
“Maybe I do,” he agreed with a nod. “You mean you’re scared of rejection because no matter how hard you try, you can’t guarantee she’ll stick around. Hockey’s around as long as you want it. People are a different story.”

final note: Also idk if I like college romances… but I would definitely read Grey’s take on sapphic romance!

CW // sexual content, concussion

spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️… which like, as someone in my late-30’s reading about these college students getting downnn… 🫣 I felt kinda uncomfortable! idk…

season: academic year

music pairing: your favorite workout* mix

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TEAM PLAYERS by Deanna Grey (2022)

★ ★ ★ ★ .5 - A cute & spicy m/f college hockey romance featuring the casual “no strings attached”/“you better not catch feelings” situationship trope—rep: Black MCs, bi FMC, Black author, queer SCs…

Our fingers entwined. I couldn’t tell if it was him or me who did it.

“You good?” he asked.

title: Team Players

genre/subgenre: hockey romance

“So, when I win,” Jacobs started with a smile. “What do I get?”

“When you win?” I played dumb.

She nodded. “When I prove I can sleep around casually without catching feelings and you fail at sticking with one partner—”

“So sure of yourself?” I leaned back in my seat. I was also sure of myself. Jacobs sounded like a textbook romantic. Falling for someone on the first date? Absolutely wild.

“Very sure,” Jacobs agreed. “Now, what do I get?”

I rested my arms on the table, leaning in closer. “What do you want?”

She tapped her fork on her lips. The action resulted in more whipped cream transferred onto her skin. I watched her tongue as she licked it off. A frustrated groan threatened to rise in my throat. I took a sip of water to silence it.

my thoughts:

“You know what I mean,” I said through gritted teeth.

It was something that could be more. What I felt for Aderyn was like a new door placed in my path. Whatever was on the other side could change me for worse or better.

“Maybe I do,” he agreed with a nod. “You mean you’re scared of rejection because no matter how hard you try, you can’t guarantee she’ll stick around. Hockey’s around as long as you want it. People are a different story.”

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“Dear Lord, please put me out of my misery,” she begged to the ceiling.

I looked up at the ceiling, too. “Not yet, Lord. I still need her until the end of this semester.”

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