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Verdict: A short, sweet sunshine-and-ice-queen hockey romance set at the International Games — likeable leads and no third-act breakup, but the “rivalry” barely exists, the hockey happens off the page, and readers flag typos and time skips.
Best for: Readers who want a quick, low-drama Olympic-style romance between a bold forward and a guarded captain.
Heat level: Not rated (moderate spice per readers; no romance.io steam rating)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.0/5 — a 3.36 Goodreads average across 25 ratings and 3.25 on StoryGraph from 5 reviews)
Tropes: Rivals to lovers, forced proximity (roommates), ice queen and sunshine, hockey royalty, international competition, novella length.
Checking for Love is Reba Bale’s February 2026 contemporary sapphic romance, part of her Playing to Win series of sapphic sports romances. Toni Lindstrom and Yvonne Volkova both come from hockey royalty and have never liked each other — until the International Games put them on the same team and in the same room.
It holds a 3.36 average across 25 Goodreads ratings, 3.25 on StoryGraph from 5 reviews, and 4.3 stars across 24 Amazon ratings. With only a handful of written reviews, it is an early read, and opinion is mixed.
What Is Checking for Love About?
Toni is a relentless forward who plays with heart and fire; Yvonne is the icy, controlled captain everyone respects and nobody gets close to. Rooming together at the Games, Toni finds the ice queen melting when her walls come down, and Yvonne finds Toni’s sunshine impossible to ignore.
They go quickly from enemies to friends to something more. But when the Games end, they will return to opposite sides of the rink, and one night with a rival was supposed to mean nothing. Yvonne, estranged from her parents, has more to lose than a game.
What Makes This Hockey Romance Work
- Likeable leads: Readers liked Yvonne and Toni and their relationship.
- No third-act breakup: A relief for readers tired of late splits.
- Family contrast: Toni’s supportive parents set against Yvonne’s estrangement give the story its emotional stakes.
- Quick read: At about 144 pages, it is easy to finish in a sitting.
- Series high point: One reader called it the best book in the series so far.
Book Synopsis
They are bitter rivals on the ice, but when they become roommates, things get heated. Despite both coming from hockey royalty, Toni Lindstrom and Yvonne Volkova have never liked each other. Yvonne is the icy, controlled captain; Toni is the relentless forward who plays with heart. Now the International Games have put them on the same team — and in the same room.
Yvonne has spent her career freezing out anyone who gets too close, and Toni, bold and emotional with a sunshine smile, is everything she avoids. They quickly go from enemies to friends to something more. But when the Games end, they will return to opposite sides of the rink, and risking her heart might cost more than losing a game.
My Review
There is a sweet romance here. The ice-queen-and-sunshine dynamic is appealing, the leads are easy to like, and the book avoids a third-act breakup. For a short read during an Olympic winter, it does what it promises on a small scale.
Several readers who picked it up expecting a sapphic answer to Heated Rivalry were disappointed. They say the leads do not really dislike each other, so the rivals-to-lovers billing does not hold; there is very little hockey on the page, and much of the relationship happens in time skips. One reviewer found the plot thin and predictable, with little character growth. Another was pulled out of the story by typos and by what she saw as minimal research into women’s hockey — such as a US team leaning on Russian-born players who need translation.
My honest note: Pick it up as a quick, gentle romance, not as a hockey book or a true rivals story.
| Element | In Checking for Love |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Toni Lindstrom & Yvonne Volkova — forward and captain |
| Core tropes | Rivals (lightly), roommates, ice queen and sunshine |
| Setting | The International Games |
| Heat level | Not rated — moderate spice |
| Length | About 144 pages |
| Ending | Happy — no third-act breakup |
| Content notes | Toxic parent, verbal abuse, off-page domestic abuse |
How Spicy Is Checking for Love?
Readers disagree. One rated the spice three out of five; another counted one and a half scenes and found them brief and not very hot. Romance.io has no steam rating, so we have not given it a heat score.
On content, one reader lists a toxic parent, verbal abuse and off-page domestic abuse.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a short, sweet sapphic sports romance with an ice queen and a sunshine lead. It is on our sapphic hockey romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you want real rivalry, on-ice action or a heavily edited book.
In short: Pleasant and quick, but not the rivals-to-lovers hockey book it is billed as.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a new, short indie release with a small readership; a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 20% five stars, 28% four, 24% three, 24% two and 4% one. StoryGraph has five reviews averaging 3.25. There is an audiobook listed on Amazon, but I could not find it on Libro.fm.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The leads first. Second, no third-act breakup. Third, the quick, easy read.
What readers argue about and complain about: Missing rivalry, above everything. Second, little hockey. Third, time skips. Fourth, typos and research gaps.
The comparison worth making first: If you want an ice-queen romance at the Winter Games with far more heat, A Gold Medal in Love covers similar ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Checking for Love an enemies-to-lovers romance?
It is billed as one, but readers say the leads barely dislike each other; it moves quickly from rivals to friends to something more.
How long is Checking for Love?
About 144 pages — a short, quick read.
How spicy is Checking for Love?
Moderate. One reader rated the spice three out of five; another found the one and a half sex scenes brief and not especially hot. Romance.io has no steam rating, so we have not given it a heat score.
Is Checking for Love part of a series?
Yes. It is part of Reba Bale’s Playing to Win series of standalone sapphic sports romances, each set around a major competition.
What are the content warnings for Checking for Love?
One reader lists domestic abuse (mentioned, off page), a toxic parent and verbal abuse.
If You Loved Checking for Love, Read These Next
Try Reba Bale’s Tumbling for Love, A Gold Medal in Love for another Games romance, Like a Power Play, which one reviewer recommends, or Unadulterated Something for retired rivals. For more, browse our sapphic hockey romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Checking for Love sets out to be a quick rivals-to-lovers hockey romance, and it succeeds as a sweet, short love story with likeable leads. What holds it back is how little rivalry and hockey it contains, and rough editing. For a gentle quick read, it is fine. Check Checking for Love on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Checking for Love ranks as a fair short hockey romance — pleasant leads, held back by a missing rivalry and thin sports content.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ 3.36 average across 25 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 48% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.25 on StoryGraph from 5 reviews
- ✓ 4.3 stars across 24 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Ice queen and sunshine
- ✓ Roommates
- ✓ Rivalry barely present
- ✓ Off-page development
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Likeable leads
- ✓ Family contrast
- ✓ Little growth for one reader
- ✓ Yvonne’s estrangement
Writing ★★★☆☆ 2.5/5
- ✓ Quick read
- ✓ Typos
- ✓ Time skips
- ✓ Telling over showing
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 2.9/5
- ✓ Toxic family
- ✓ Sweet moments
- ✓ Predictable
- ✓ Low stakes
Heat Level — not rated
- ✓ Three peppers from one reader
- ✓ Brief scenes for another
- ✓ Moderate
- ✓ No romance.io rating
Ending ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Happy ending
- ✓ No third-act breakup
- ✓ Quick wrap-up
- ✓ HEA vs HFN not specified
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 2.7/5
- ✓ Short
- ✓ Easy
- ✓ Little depth
- ✓ Audiobook on Amazon
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