The Olive to Your Pineapple

I loved this book so much! I both read and listened to the audiobook. This enemies to friends to lovers romance hooked me right in and was just the kind of slow burn romance I was looking for. It's filled with all of Helena Hunting's trademark wit and humor and there were so many times I burst out laughing while reading and listening to this one. This is book 2 in the series, but it can be read as a standalone. Characters from the previous book do appear though, and that is where we originally meet the heroine, Stevie, so I do recommend reading A Lie for a Lie for maximum enjoyment.

Bishop is my favorite type of hero - loyal, caring, hilarious, supportive, truly an all around good guy wrapped in a grumpy, ornery, alpha package. I loved that he didn't have some crazy history of puck bunnies and that his main concern was always for his family. The back and forth with Stevie was the best and their innuendo and banter only ramped up the anticipation. What I appreciated most though, was that Bishop listened. I really felt for Stevie and understood why she made the decisions that she did to try to escape from the shadows. Sure it was frustrating at times and I thought she was a little dense to Bishop's actions, but at the same time I can see how confusing it all could be given her history and the start of their friendship. I was disappointed to see Rook act the way he did after falling for him in book 1, but as a younger sister myself, I can see that his heart was in the right place. I enjoyed seeing Alex and Violet from the Pucked series again, but it's Kingston who has definitely piqued my interest (who wouldn't love a well mannered gentleman who drinks milk at the bar!?) I really wouldn't be upset at all if he ends up getting his own book. ;)

The casting of Erin Mallon and Jacob Morgan was fantastic. Both can perform male and female characters so well and they also deliver on all the feels. Their comedic timing is perfect for the lighter moments, but they also can convey so much emotion with the inflections of their voices. This is an amazing narrating duo and I definitely recommend enjoying this one on audio if you have the chance.

4 people found this helpful

Another winner narrated by 2 of my favs, score!

My Spoiler Free Review

I have been hoping for the past few weeks to reread Stevie and Bishop's fall into love story via my Kindle copy so I could highlight my favorite moments since I originally finished reading the audiobook format. Alas, the time to do a Kindle (re)read just hasn't been there and isn't likely to magically become available with all the activities I have on my calendar for February and March. Insert Big. Long. Sigh. Here.

What I loved most about this sports romance novel…
Page-turner / Absorbing listen | Wonderful characters | Realistic | Entertaining | Romantic | Funny | an awesome Read-Along hosted by the author | Easy-to-read / listen-to | Steamy | Happily Ever After

Format read: Unabridged Audiobook (Audible retailer)

Writing style: Dual POVs (Stevie's and Bishop's)

Cover and chapter design gush: I like these colors and the overall style of the cover. I also love the chapter titles that gave us a hint of what was coming the reader's way.

Ratings
Overall ★★★★★

Performances ★★★★★ My ears grinned in delight when I saw that two of my favorite narrators would be pulling me into this hockey romance. Erin Mallon and Zachary Webber never fail to deliver their A-level vocal acting. I always look forward to audiobooks narrated by either of them, so having the two of them cast was extra exciting.

Story ★★★★★
What else can I say that I haven't said before about a Helena Hunting novel? She consistently writes characters that I enjoy living inside of with each new novel.

Stevie and Bishop were interesting leads and the secondary characters in their lives were intriguing friends / family members that round out their lives so well. They had a rocky start / first face-to-face encounter but built from there in a realistic and entertaining way that made this one an early 2020 romance read.

•*¨*•
Coming Up Next in this series of stand-alone novels: A Secret for a Secret (All In, #3) with an expected release date of May 12, 2020. I've already pre-ordered my copy.

Worth every second

I loved this book...I loved the characters and I listened to this book on audible, and it was pure perfection. This is a must read and must listen.

the olive to my pineapple

I love the banter between bishop and stevie.
the playfulness of the story was really cute.
but also steamy chemistry is developed throughout this slow burn and Stevie comes out of hiding sorta speak.

rj is totally like any big brother in real Helena always does a wonderful job with her stories

I want to be the olive to your pineapple

Omg this is an amazing book. I would not have expected any less. I also love that even those this series can be stand alone books it brings in characters from another series. Helena Hunting is romantic funny and awkward all at the same time.

Please don’t ever stop writing about hockey..

I love this extension of the original Pucked series! Every time I think I’ve found a new favorite, you send a new perfect hockey book boyfriend. I loved RJ in the last book, but Shippy got the edge over in this one. And this was my first Erin Mallon listen in awhile and I forgot how much I love her male voice. Jacob Morgan is perfect like always. Great story and audio performances.

Loved!

I love a good Hockey Romance and Helena Hunting writes them so well!! A favor for a favor gives us so many laughs with some feels thrown in the mix. This was book was very much needed. I love a good rom com. Ms. Hunting is one of my favorites and will always be a one click author for me. Absolutely a must read/listen!

Loved it!

I LOVED this book. This one might be in my top 5 favorite books of hers. It’s fun, sexy, flirty, and well written. The MCs don’t come together very quickly and it organically moves from enemies to friends to lovers. It was really well thought out and had the perfect amount of animosity.

Stevie and Bishop had such great chemistry. I loved the banter and the flirting. I liked that both had good intentions and that Stevie calls Bishop out every time he’s being a jerk.

If I had to compare this book to her other works I’d say that it has the chemistry of Randy and Lily from Pucked Over with the relationship development of Bane and Ruby from Shacking Up. In other words, it’s fantastic.

The narration was pretty good. As usual, Jacob Morgan slayed his parts. He really is one of the best voice actors, in my opinion and not because he has a great voice. He really brings all of the characters to life and makes their feelings known with sighs and inflections not just with the words.

Erin Mallon is okay for me. She actually did a lot better in this one than in any of the other books I've listened to by her. She finally didn't sound angry all the time, which is my biggest complaint with her. What stopped this from being an "A" performance for me was how fast she read her chapters. There were times when there wasn't even a breath from one sentence to the next. It was hard to keep track of who was talking at any given moment because one second it would be Stevie and the next it would be Patty with barely a pause in between. My speed was at 1.0x so it had nothing to do with my setting. The other reason I didn't care for her narration is because of her male voice. She does not even remotely sound like an attractive man. It's almost like a real-life version of Goofy. It's really..bizarre. It made imagining Bishop as an attractive man a little difficult in her chapters and it was definitely distracting. I know a lot of people like her, so that's probably an "It's me, not you" situation.


Despite that, I highly recommend this one. I think anyone would be fine with either the read or the listen.

Amazing!! Loved Stevie and Bishop!!

Absolutely amazing this book had me laughing and falling for Bishop and Stevie! I completely loved it this is the second of the series and from the very start I was hooked and had to see what would happen for them.

The narrators were spectacular and perfect for the story they brought the words to life!

Slow burning hockey romance

“Sometimes we don’t see what’s right in front of us, though, do we?” I tip my chin up to meet his gaze. There are a whole lot of unspoken words there. Ones that need to remain that way.

From the first moment Stevie stumbles into Bishop’s world, they’re butting heads. He mistakenly thinks she’s a home wrecking puck bunny & she thinks he’s an egotistical, sarcastic & never fully dressed jerk. Well one of them’s right. I have to admit, it wasn’t love at first sight for me & Bishop. His grumbly, antagonistic attitude took a while to warm to, but he grew on me & ultimately won me over. This is definitely an enemies to lovers story, the initial loathing gradually turning to friendship as she helps him rehab from a painful injury & he helps rid her of a persistently slimy ex. There’s a lot of bickering & sexual chemistry brewing between these two on their way to finding love- it’s hot, swoony, flirty fun in the best slow burn kind of way.
The audiobook is perfectly narrated by the divine duo of Jacob Morgan & Erin Mallon.