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Verdict: A sweet, spicy, slow-burn pro hockey romance with a thoughtful bisexual awakening, real on-ice action and a fun team — but Taylor is hard to like early on, and many readers felt the book needed another round of editing.
Best for: Readers who want a sapphic answer to Heated Rivalry, fans of rivals to teammates to lovers, and anyone who enjoys a queer awakening handled with care.
Heat level: Not rated (readers call it spicy; no romance.io steam rating yet)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.3/5 — a 3.64 Goodreads average across 72 ratings and 3.1 on StoryGraph from 26 reviews)
Tropes: Rivals to lovers, teammates, forced proximity, bisexual awakening, slow burn, pro women’s hockey, series romance.
Clinching the Play is W.A. Grace’s March 2026 contemporary sapphic romance, the first book in the self-published Vancouver Vortex series. Defender Taylor Matthews has just caught her fiancé cheating, lost her best friend to another team, and learned that her replacement is Eloise Harper — her on-ice nemesis of a decade.
It holds a 3.64 average across 72 Goodreads ratings, with 56% of them four or five stars, 3.1 on StoryGraph from 26 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 26 Amazon ratings. Opinion is split: readers who love it are effusive, while a sizeable minority struggled with Taylor and the editing.
What Is Clinching the Play About?
Taylor’s week goes from bad to worse. Her fiancé is cheating, her best friend and teammate Rosie has moved teams without telling her, and the coaches have brought in Eloise to fill the gap. Taylor takes her fury out on the new arrival.
Eloise has her own reasons for being in Vancouver. She is fresh out of a long relationship, moved cities to get away, and just wants to keep her head down, earn a contract and play hockey — which is hard when Taylor sends her haywire, and harder still because she has had a crush on her for years. With the coach forcing them to get along, the two have to get close, because they share one goal: clinch the play and win the Walter Cup.
What Makes This Hockey Romance Work
- The bisexual awakening: Taylor’s slow, often funny realisation that she may not be straight — including conversations about compulsory heterosexuality — is the book’s emotional core.
- Actual hockey: One reader was pleased that they genuinely play hockey rather than using it as a backdrop, and newcomers found the hockey references easy to follow.
- Consent: Readers praise the way the book addresses a kiss without permission and makes consent explicit.
- The team: The supporting players are well drawn, and several readers want their stories next.
- No miscommunication trope: Readers were glad the book avoids the classic misunderstanding plot.
Book Synopsis
Taylor Matthews’ life is going really well. She caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her best friend and teammate Rosie has moved to a new team without telling her. And her coaches are replacing Rosie with her nemesis, Eloise Harper.
Eloise has just got out of a long-term relationship and moved cities to get away — and somehow stumbled into the same city as her decade-long on-ice rival. She wants to keep her head down and play hockey, but everything Taylor does makes her go haywire. With the coach forcing them to become friendly, these rivals-turned-teammates have to learn to get along, and get very close, because they have one common goal: clinch the play and win the Walter Cup.
My Review
At its best, this is a warm and very queer sports romance. Eloise is sweet, calm and patient; Taylor is a mess who owns her mistakes, apologises and genuinely grows. Readers loved watching her “gay panic” give way to self-acceptance, and one called the path from self-realisation to self-actualisation the heart of the book. The forced team-bonding — including a mountain-climbing outing — the celebrations and the sense of a team becoming friends all add charm. Mental health representation, a therapist who helps, and neopronouns used without fuss round it out.
The first 40% is the sticking point. Taylor’s anger at Eloise is over the top, and several readers found her mean, bratty or insufferable before she starts to change. One who struggled with her also felt her newly diagnosed ADHD was not explored well. Readers also point to clunky time jumps, disjointed writing and immature characters, and more than one said outright that the book needed another round of developmental or copy editing. It is slow to start, too: one reader said it took half the book to get a feel for the leads, though she was fully invested by 80%.
My honest note: If you can push through a prickly first act, there is a sweet, spicy and thoughtful romance waiting. If rough editing or an abrasive lead are dealbreakers, this may not be the book for you — though Kindle Unlimited makes it a low-risk try.
| Element | In Clinching the Play |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Taylor Matthews & Eloise Harper — rival defenders turned teammates |
| Core tropes | Rivals to lovers, teammates, forced proximity, bisexual awakening |
| Setting | The Vancouver Vortex, a pro women’s hockey team |
| Heat level | Not rated — readers call it spicy |
| Series | Vancouver Vortex #1 |
| Length | About 324 pages |
| Content notes | Infidelity (fiancé), sexual content, a non-consensual kiss addressed on page |
How Spicy Is Clinching the Play?
Readers describe it as sweet and spicy, with top-tier intimacy and a slow burn that becomes, in one reader’s words, incendiary once it heats up. One reader found the language in the sex scenes cringe-inducing. StoryGraph readers flag graphic sexual content. Romance.io has no ratings yet, so we have not given it a heat score.
On content, Taylor’s fiancé cheats on her at the start, and an early kiss without consent is later discussed directly as a problem.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a sapphic hockey romance with a queer awakening, you enjoy a big team cast, and you like slow burns with spicy payoff. It is on our sapphic hockey romance list.
You may want to skip it if: an abrasive lead in the first act puts you off, or you are sensitive to rough editing.
In short: A heartfelt, spicy rivals romance that needed a sharper edit.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a new self-published release with a small but engaged readership, including advance readers; a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 27% five stars, 29% four, 25% three, 15% two and 2% one. On StoryGraph, 55% call the pace fast and 77% call it character-driven. I could not find an audiobook.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The bisexual awakening first. Second, Eloise. Third, the team and real hockey. Fourth, the slow-burn payoff.
What readers argue about and complain about: Taylor early on, above everything. Second, the need for more editing. Third, a slow first half. Fourth, clunky time jumps.
The comparison worth making first: Readers keep reaching for Heated Rivalry. If that is your reason for picking this up, see our books like Heated Rivalry list for more options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clinching the Play like Heated Rivalry?
Two readers recommend it to Heated Rivalry fans: it is a slow-burn rivals-to-lovers hockey romance with a queer awakening, told between two women in a pro league.
Is Clinching the Play a slow burn?
Yes. Readers say it takes a while to get going, with the relationship moving from enemies to friends to lovers, but that the payoff is satisfying once it heats up.
How spicy is Clinching the Play?
Readers describe it as sweet and spicy, with strong intimacy once the leads get together; one reader was put off by the language in the sex scenes. Romance.io has no steam rating yet, so we have not given it a heat score.
Is Clinching the Play part of a series?
Yes, it is book 1 of the Vancouver Vortex series. Readers enjoyed the teammates and are looking forward to their stories.
Is Clinching the Play on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, at the time of writing the Kindle edition is available on Kindle Unlimited.
If You Loved Clinching the Play, Read These Next
Try Playmaker for another pair of pro rivals forced onto the same team, Power Play for more heat and friction, or Unadulterated Something for a gentler rivals romance. For more, browse our books like Heated Rivalry list, the sapphic hockey romance list, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Clinching the Play sets out to be a sapphic rivals-to-lovers hockey romance with a queer awakening at its heart, and when it works, it works: the growth is real, the team is fun and the chemistry pays off. What holds it back is a grating first act and writing that needed more polish. For readers who can be patient with Taylor, it is worth it. Check Clinching the Play on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Clinching the Play ranks as a fair-to-good hockey romance — heartfelt and spicy, held back by an abrasive start and uneven editing.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ 3.64 average across 72 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 56% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.1 on StoryGraph from 26 reviews
- ✓ 4.2 stars across 26 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Enemies to friends to lovers
- ✓ Slow-burn payoff
- ✓ Consent made explicit
- ✓ Slow first half
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Eloise sweet and calm
- ✓ Taylor grows on page
- ✓ Taylor abrasive early
- ✓ Strong team cast
Writing ★★★☆☆ 2.7/5
- ✓ Hockey easy to follow
- ✓ Fast chapters for some
- ✓ Clunky time jumps
- ✓ Needs editing
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Bisexual awakening
- ✓ Mental health representation
- ✓ Self-acceptance arc
- ✓ Hard to connect for some
Heat Level — not rated
- ✓ Sweet and spicy
- ✓ Incendiary once it heats up
- ✓ Language cringe for one reader
- ✓ No romance.io rating yet
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Leaves readers wanting more
- ✓ Series continues
- ✓ No miscommunication trope
- ✓ HEA vs HFN not specified
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.1/5
- ✓ On Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ Team stories to come
- ✓ Rough first act
- ✓ No audiobook found
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