Wake Up, Nat & Darcy Review — Is It Worth Reading?

Verdict: A fun premise — retired USA and Canada hockey rivals, once secret college girlfriends, forced to co-host morning-show Olympic segments — undone for a large share of readers by leads who feel immature, a relentless miscommunication loop and far less hockey than promised.

Best for: Readers who love goofy on-camera banter, second chances and US-Canada rivalry, and can forgive miscommunication.

Heat level: 4/5 (romance.io: explicit open door, 11 ratings)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.0/5 — a 3.51 Goodreads average across 2,792 ratings, with 47% at three stars or below, and 3.49 on StoryGraph from 1,606 reviews)

Tropes: Second chance, rivals to lovers, secret college relationship, forced proximity (co-hosts), fake-ish PR relationship, third-act breakup, dual timeline, series (Puck Struck #1).

Wake Up, Nat & Darcy is Kate Cochrane’s 2024 contemporary lesbian romance from Carina Adores. Natalie Carpenter has just been cut from the US team before her third Olympics. Her rescue is a guest-hosting gig on a morning show’s winter games coverage — alongside Darcy LaCroix, ex-Team Canada, now a broadcaster, and Nat’s ex.

It holds a 3.51 average across 2,792 Goodreads ratings, 3.49 on StoryGraph from 1,606 reviews, and 4.3 stars across 391 Amazon ratings — a wide split between retail buyers and reviewers.

What Is Wake Up, Nat & Darcy About?

Fifteen-odd years ago, freshman Nat and senior Darcy were college teammates in a secret relationship that ended badly; then they became bitter international rivals. Now the audience is shipping them, #PuckingHotties is trending, and they agree to lean into it for ratings.

Travelling together, filming segments where they try other Olympic sports, they find it harder and harder to tell what is for the camera and what is real. Flashbacks fill in their college history.

What Works in This Hockey Romance

The premise: Readers who loved it call the TV segments romcom-goofy and genuinely funny.
Banter: Fans enjoyed the snark and the chirping.
The rivalry: US-Canada women’s hockey fans appreciate the backdrop.
Pacing for some: Short chapters make it a fast read for readers it clicks with.
Tone: 84% of StoryGraph readers tagged it lighthearted and 68% funny.

Book Synopsis

Cut from the US women’s hockey team just before a third shot at gold, Natalie Carpenter needs a plan that does not involve moving home. A guest-hosting job covering the winter games is it — except her co-host is Darcy LaCroix, her former college teammate, ex-girlfriend and on-ice adversary.

Darcy has worked hard to build a broadcasting career, and she will share screen time with the cocky freshman who once turned her life upside down if that is what it takes. Audiences love them together. The question is how much of it is for the cameras.

My Review

The concept is excellent, and it is easy to see why readers were excited. The execution is where it splits. The single most repeated criticism is that two women in their mid-thirties behave like teenagers, circling a brief college fling and refusing to talk about it; reviewers repeatedly suggest the pair “need therapy.” Close behind is miscommunication — the same argument, on a loop — and a late separation many found forced.

Readers also flag telling rather than showing, repetition across 72 chapters, and chemistry that rests on the characters calling each other hot. And although the cover and pitch say hockey, both leads are retired: the book is mostly about other sports. Fans still exist — some call it the sapphic hockey romance they had been hunting for — but they are outnumbered in the written reviews.

My honest note: Try the sample first; if the banter does not charm you in the opening chapters, it will not later.

Element	In Wake Up, Nat & Darcy
Central relationship	Natalie Carpenter (ex-Team USA, mid-30s) & Darcy LaCroix (ex-Team Canada, broadcaster)
Core tropes	Second chance, rivals to lovers, co-hosts, PR romance
Setting	A US morning show’s winter games coverage; flashbacks to college
Heat level	4/5 on romance.io — explicit open door
Length	347 pages; 10 h 35 min audiobook
Series	Puck Struck #1 — happy ending after a third-act separation
Content notes	Sexual content, abandonment issues, parental pressure (famous hockey father)

How Spicy Is Wake Up, Nat & Darcy?

Romance.io rates it 4 of 5, “explicit open door,” from 11 ratings, and one reader counts three spicy scenes. It is steamy in places without being heat-driven.

Content is light: sexual content, emotional baggage around abandonment, and Darcy’s complicated relationship with her famous hockey-father’s name.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a silly, banter-heavy second-chance romance with a US-Canada rivalry. It is on our sapphic hockey romance list.

You may want to skip it if: miscommunication or immature leads drive you up the wall, or you want real on-ice hockey.

In short: A great pitch that many readers found frustrating on the page.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 16% five stars, 35% four, 34% three, 11% two and 2% one. On StoryGraph, only 61% found the characters loveable, and 87% said the characters’ flaws are a main focus. The Harlequin audiobook is narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker; one listener calls it really good.

Prefer audio? Listen to Wake Up, Nat & Darcy on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The premise first. Second, the funny TV segments. Third, the banter. Fourth, US-Canada rivalry.

What readers argue about and complain about: Immature leads, above everything. Second, miscommunication. Third, too little hockey. Fourth, telling not showing.

The comparison worth making first: For another USA-Canada hockey romance with a lower-angst couple, try Unexpected Goals. For a hotter one, try Pretty Pucked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there much hockey in Wake Up, Nat & Darcy?

Less than many readers hoped. Both leads are retired, and most of the book follows them trying other winter sports for a morning-show segment. Several reviewers say it needed more hockey.

How spicy is Wake Up, Nat & Darcy?

Open door. Romance.io rates it 4 of 5, “explicit open door,” from 11 ratings; one reader counts three spicy scenes.

Is there a third-act breakup?

Yes. Readers describe a misunderstanding-driven separation late in the book before a happy ending, and several found that final conflict forced.

Is Wake Up, Nat & Darcy on Kindle Unlimited?

Not at the time of writing — the Carina Adores Kindle edition was listed at $9.99. The Harlequin audiobook, narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker, runs 10 hours 35 minutes.

Is Wake Up, Nat & Darcy a second-chance romance?

Yes — they were secret college teammates-turned-girlfriends before becoming Olympic rivals. Many readers felt that brief college relationship was too slight to carry fifteen years of hurt.

If You Liked Wake Up, Nat & Darcy, Read These Next

Try Unexpected Goals, Pretty Pucked or Unadulterated Something for more sapphic hockey. For more, browse our sapphic hockey romance list, our sapphic sports romance hub, or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

Wake Up, Nat & Darcy sets out to be a banter-fuelled second-chance hockey romcom, and the pitch is irresistible. What holds it back is leads many readers could not root for and a conflict that goes in circles. Worth sampling, not a sure thing. Check Wake Up, Nat & Darcy on Amazon →