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Verdict: A fast, heated coach-and-rookie hockey romance with an age gap and plenty of friction — readers praise the chemistry and intimacy, but the formula is familiar, the writing repeats itself and Lex’s arrogance splits the room.
Best for: Readers who love enemies-to-lovers with a power imbalance, cocky athlete leads, age-gap romance, and steamy series reads on Kindle Unlimited.
Heat level: Not rated (billed as steamy; romance.io has no steam rating yet)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5/5 — a 4.39 Goodreads average across 276 ratings, weighed against a polarising lead and repetitive writing)
Tropes: Coach/player, enemies to lovers, rivals, age gap, forbidden romance, rule-breaker and rule-follower, pro women’s hockey, series romance.
Power Play is the second book in Emily Hayes’s Phoenix Ridge Hockey series, published in April 2026. It is a contemporary sapphic romance about Mara Ellison, the head coach who has just taken the Phoenix Ridge Valkyries into the PWHL, and Lex Landry, a former international field hockey star who has switched sports and does not like being told what to do.
It holds a 4.39 average across 276 Goodreads ratings, with 84% of them four or five stars, and 4.6 stars across 411 Amazon ratings. StoryGraph’s small sample is lower, at 3.33 from ten reviews. It draws more low ratings than the next book in the series, and the critical reviews mostly focus on Lex.
What Is Power Play About?
Mara built the Valkyries on discipline, and getting them into the PWHL is the achievement of her career. She is not about to let one reckless rookie ruin it.
Lex is exactly that rookie. A brilliant, arrogant field hockey superstar chasing bigger fame and money in a new sport, she plays as if the rules do not apply. Mara demands perfection; Lex refuses to be controlled. Their rivalry is explosive from the first practice — and the attraction is worse.
What Makes This Hockey Romance Work
- Chemistry and tension: Even critical reviewers credit the early tension between coach and player.
- Intimacy: The most detailed review says Hayes is at her best writing intimacy — both the sex scenes and the quieter moments of vulnerability.
- A magnetic lead: For readers who like a masc, cocky athlete, Lex is the draw. One called her irresistible.
- Pace: StoryGraph readers rate it fast, and one Goodreads reviewer compared it to a puck after a slap shot.
- The world around them: Readers mention the supporting cast, the Lavender’s setting and realistic media pressure as part of the appeal.
Book Synopsis
She built the Valkyries on discipline. Her newest player refuses to follow the rules. Head coach Mara Ellison has finally taken the Phoenix Ridge Valkyries into the PWHL, and she is not about to let one reckless rookie ruin it.
Lex Landry is a former international field hockey superstar chasing bigger fame, bigger money and a place at the top of a new sport. She is brilliant, arrogant and completely unwilling to be controlled. Mara demands perfection; Lex plays like the rules do not apply. Their rivalry is explosive from the first practice. The attraction might be even worse.
My Review
The setup is classic: a coach whose whole identity is order and a player whose whole identity is defying it. When it works, it works because of the friction, and readers agree the tension between Mara and Lex is strong from the start. Fans describe laughing and crying, cheering for the whole cast, and a fierce on-ice game matched by the heat between the leads. One reader said she had read it three times.
Where it divides readers is Lex herself. The same qualities that make her irresistible to some make her unbearable to others: one one-star reviewer called her cruel rather than confident and was frustrated that the book treats her arrogance as attractive. Another reader felt the coach was done dirty — once Mara gives in to the romance, she seems to shrink. A two-star reviewer found the back-and-forth between player and coach so repetitive that she started skipping passages, and was also thrown by the Phoenix Ridge setting changing from a desert town in the southwest to a coastal city in the northeast between books.
Even the book’s biggest fan among the detailed reviews is upfront about the craft: the writing is repetitive, the structure follows the same formula and dynamics as the other books, and it leans into rom-com cheese toward the end. Another reader called the storyline a bit generic. Two Goodreads reviewers go further and suspect heavy AI assistance; we cannot verify that, but it is part of the conversation around the series.
My honest note: If a cocky, rule-breaking athlete falling for her strict coach is your trope, this will probably be a fun, steamy read. If you need the stronger lead to keep her edge, or you are sensitive to repetitive prose, try a sample on Kindle Unlimited first.
| Element | In Power Play |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Mara Ellison & Lex Landry — head coach and rookie player |
| Core tropes | Coach/player, enemies to lovers, age gap, rivals |
| Setting | The Phoenix Ridge Valkyries in their first PWHL season |
| Heat level | Not rated — billed as steamy |
| Series | Phoenix Ridge Hockey #2 — guaranteed happy ending |
| Length | 263 pages (Kindle) |
| Content notes | Coach/player power imbalance, media scrutiny |
How Spicy Is Power Play?
The Amazon subtitle calls it a steamy sapphic hockey romance, and readers back that up: one said this entry brings the heat, another praised the good spice, and a fan described the heat between the leads as ferocious. Romance.io has no ratings for it yet, so we have not given it a heat score.
On content, the central relationship is between a head coach and a player she has authority over, with an age gap, so expect a clear power imbalance. StoryGraph has no community content warnings for the book yet.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you love cocky athlete leads, coach/player tension and age-gap romance, and you want a steamy read with a guaranteed happy ending. It is on our sapphic hockey romance list.
You may want to skip it if: arrogant leads put you off, you want the strict coach to stay strong once she falls, or repetitive writing pulls you out of a book.
In short: Hot, fast and polarising — it lives or dies on how you feel about Lex.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a new, Kindle Unlimited release; a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 60% five stars, 24% four, 9% three, 3% two and 1% one. StoryGraph has ten reviews averaging 3.33, and every reader there rated the pace fast. I could not find an audiobook.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The chemistry first. Second, the heat and intimacy. Third, Lex as a magnetic athlete lead. Fourth, the fast pace and the Phoenix Ridge cast.
What readers argue about and complain about: Lex’s arrogance, above everything. Second, Mara losing her edge once the romance begins. Third, repetitive writing and a familiar formula. Fourth, setting inconsistencies across the series.
The series question worth asking first: Power Play follows a new couple, so it works as an entry point. The next book, Off the Ice, pairs an injured player with the team doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Power Play a standalone?
It is book 2 in Emily Hayes’s Phoenix Ridge Hockey series and follows its own couple, Mara and Lex, with a guaranteed happy ending. Characters from the wider series appear, but you can start here.
How spicy is Power Play?
It is billed as a steamy romance, and readers say it brings the heat. Romance.io has no steam rating for it yet, so we have not given it a heat score.
Does Power Play have a happy ending?
Yes. The book description promises a guaranteed happily ever after, and readers confirm a happy ending.
Is Power Play an age-gap romance?
Yes. The description lists an age gap between head coach Mara Ellison and rookie Lex Landry, though the exact ages are not given in the listing.
Is Power Play on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, at the time of writing the Kindle edition is available on Kindle Unlimited. A paperback is also available.
If You Loved Power Play, Read These Next
Stay in the series with Off the Ice, or try Like a Power Play for a college take on the coach-and-player dynamic. Calling the Shots and Stick Around are two more sapphic hockey romances we have reviewed. For more, browse our sapphic hockey romance list, the sapphic sports romance hub, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Power Play sets out to be a steamy, combative coach-and-rookie romance, and for most readers it delivers: strong tension, plenty of heat and a guaranteed happy ending. What holds it back is a formula that repeats across the series, prose that repeats within the book, and a lead whose arrogance some readers cannot get past. If the trope is yours, it is worth it. Check Power Play on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Power Play ranks as a good but polarising hockey romance — heated and fast, held back by repetitive writing and a divisive lead.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ 4.39 average across 276 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 84% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 4.6 stars across 411 Amazon ratings
- ✓ StoryGraph 3.33 from ten reviews
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Strong early tension
- ✓ Coach/player friction
- ✓ Age gap
- ✓ Coach loses her edge for one reader
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Lex magnetic to fans
- ✓ Lex cruel to critics
- ✓ Backstories thin for one reader
- ✓ Supporting cast liked
Writing ★★★☆☆ 2.9/5
- ✓ Fast pace
- ✓ Intimacy well written
- ✓ Repetitive prose and formula
- ✓ Some readers suspect AI assistance
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Readers laughed and cried
- ✓ Media pressure realistic
- ✓ Rom-com cheese near the end
- ✓ Generic for one reader
Heat Level — not rated
- ✓ Billed as steamy
- ✓ Readers praise the spice
- ✓ Heat called ferocious by a fan
- ✓ No romance.io rating yet
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Guaranteed happily ever after
- ✓ Readers confirm a happy ending
- ✓ Satisfying for fans
- ✓ A little overzealous for one reader
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ One reader read it three times
- ✓ On Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ Repetition shows on a re-read
- ✓ No audiobook found
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