Pucking Sweet (Jacksonville Rays, Bk. 3)
by Rath, Emily
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Overview
The instant New York Times bestseller that set TikTok on fire is back — and this time, the Jacksonville Rays' most chaotic defenseman has finally met his match.
Poppy St. James has just landed the job she's worked her entire career for: Director of Public Relations for the NHL's hottest new team, the Jacksonville Rays. She has one year to prove she belongs, and she is not about to blow it. PR is in her blood, her instincts are sharp, and her professionalism is ironclad.
Then there are the players.
Lukas Novikov is a walking PR disaster. Brash, bossy, and impossibly difficult to manage, he has a talent for dragging his teammates — particularly fellow defenseman Colton Morrow — straight into trouble. Poppy's job is to drag them back out, and she does it brilliantly, every single time. The guys can call her PR Barbie all they want. She's still the one getting results.
She has everything under control. Until she doesn't.
One phone call from home. One unguarded night. And suddenly Poppy is staring down at a little blue plus sign with zero strategy and no idea what comes next. The carefully constructed life she's built around this job — around being poised, powerful, and always professional — is about to be turned completely upside down.
This is the third installment in Emily Rath's internationally bestselling Jacksonville Rays series — a scorching, inclusive MMF why-choose romance that doesn't hold back.
Series Information
Series Name: Jacksonville Rays Hockey Series
Series Reading Order
This series is best read in the order recommended by the author, starting with the prequel novella 'That One Night', followed by the main numbered books in publication order. Although each book can be read as a standalone, reading them in order provides the best reader experience. The series is ongoing.
Prequel Novella - That One Night: A Pucking Around Prequel Novella
Book 2 - Pucking Wild: A Reverse Age Gap Hockey Romance
Book 3 - Pucking Sweet
Book 4 - Pucking Strong
Book 5 - Pucking Free
Topics and Key Themes
Narrative Tropes
Grumpy/Sunshine
Opposites Attract
Workplace Romance
Why Choose / MMF Romance
Accidental Pregnancy
Key Themes
Control shattered by a plus sign — a career-first PR queen must rebuild her life plan from scratch.
Professionalism vs. desire — managing the men she's falling for becomes impossible to compartmentalize.
Chaos as a love language — Lukas and Colton's reckless energy cracks Poppy's polished armor.
Identity beyond the job title — Poppy's sense of self is tested when ambition collides with unexpected motherhood.
Chosen family in the locker room — team loyalty and found connection deepen an unconventional love story.
Who is this book for?
Primary Genre: Sports Romance (Hockey) - MMF Why Choose
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5: Extra Spicy
All the spice. Frequent, explicit, and highly detailed scenes take center stage. Best for readers who want high heat and high intensity romance.
Fans of Kendall Ryan's high-heat hockey romances will enjoy the steamy MMF why-choose dynamics, workplace tension, and emotionally charged accidental pregnancy storyline.
About the Author
EMILY RATH is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author whose chart-topping, sex-positive, queer-inclusive novels include the Second Sons Regency romances, the Tuonela Duet fantasy novels, and the Why Choose Tiktok sensation, the Jacksonville Rays Hockey Romances. A former university professor, she holds PhDs in Political Science and Peace Studies. Emily was born in Florida, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, son, and cats. She can be found online at EmilyRathBooks.com, on Instagram @emilyrathauthor and on Tiktok @emilyrathbooks.
Similar Authors
Penelope Ward, Kendall Ryan, Lena Little
Reader FAQs
The book carries a maximum spice rating and contains explicit sexual content involving multiple partners in an MMF why-choose dynamic. It is written for adult readers and is not suitable for younger audiences.
Both feature high-heat hockey settings and emotionally driven plots, but Pucking Sweet adds a why-choose MMF dynamic and an accidental pregnancy storyline that push beyond the territory Kendall Ryan typically covers.
The romance develops under immediate pressure. An unplanned pregnancy disrupts Poppy's professional boundaries early in the story, accelerating the emotional and romantic stakes rather than building gradually toward them.
Hockey provides the professional backdrop and shapes the power dynamics, but the story centres on the characters' relationships and Poppy's personal crisis. Readers without prior interest in the sport are unlikely to find it a barrier.
Pucking Sweet balances comedic banter and chaotic energy with genuinely weighty themes around identity, ambition, and an unplanned pregnancy. The tone is warm and playful overall, but it engages seriously with Poppy's internal conflict.
Info
ISBN: 9781496752420
Published Date: September 24, 2024
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Language: English
Page Count: 564
Size: 8.25" l x 5.50" w x 1.50" h
Category
Fiction