Audiobook Review: The Pucking Wrong Rookie (Pucking Wrong, #5) by C.R. Jane. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Pucking Wrong Rookie by C.R. Jane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An NHL star could never fall for a girl like me…

I never wanted this life, but the choices I made led me here—caught in a world I can’t escape. Then Logan York, the Dallas Knights’ rookie sensation, spots me in the crowd.

When I refuse to date him, he hires me and promises I’ll fall in love with him.

Arrogant. Reckless. Completely impossible.

I tell myself it’s just another job, that I can keep my heart out of it.

But as the lines blur and the stakes get higher, I wonder if being his is the only choice I ever really had.

Logan isn’t just any man, though.

He’s relentless, possessive, willing to tear apart the world to keep me close. He tells me I’m his obsession, his only priority, and I want to believe him.

But the shadows of my past are always lurking, and Logan doesn’t play fair when it comes to keeping what’s his.

He says he’ll save me, even if he has to destroy everything in his path.

And maybe, just maybe, being his feels so wrong that it’s the only thing that’s ever been right.

*Note: Logan York is a morally grey antihero who is obsessed with his girl and will do anything to keep her. This is a darker hockey romance.
The Pucking Wrong Rookie

Emotional Depth Meets High-Stakes Hockey Heat

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚🩷
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋😀😍☺️🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

🧍‍♀️ The Heroine – Sloane
Sloane’s childhood was a carousel of foster homes and grief after losing her mother. At sixteen, her wealthy uncle Everett swept in like a fairy godparent with limousines and private jets, moving her into a Dallas mansion. She hoped it was salvation—but feared the glitter masked a price.

📚 Plot Snapshot
On the cusp of eighteen, Everett told Sloane her time in his world had expired. He claimed he’d given her “tools to live”—but on her birthday, he offered a choice so coercive it felt like a trap. Haunted by memories of hunger and helplessness, she chose survival over autonomy. That night altered her path forever.

Fast forward four years: Sloane is a high-class escort with Everett pulling the strings. Her clients are wealthy, powerful, and fly her across the globe, yet the luxury feels like a cage. Her latest gig? A week-long date with a cocky hockey player during the Stanley Cup playoffs—a man she’s met before and never wanted to see again.

🏒 The Hero – Logan
Rookie phenom Logan plays for Dallas in the Stanley Cup Finals. Tough on the ice, emotionally bruised off it, he’s still nursing wounds from a college betrayal. Seeing Sloane—striking, mysterious, and on the arm of his nemesis—ignites a fire in him. He wants her, not for the conquest, but to rescue something precious he sees flickering behind her guarded eyes.

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🌟 What I Loved

• The Squad Goals: Logan’s teammates—Lincoln, Walker, Camden, and Ari—bring comic relief and camaraderie that anchor the story.
• Hero Falls First: Logan’s instant infatuation is heart-melting. Famous and emotionally sincere, he sees Sloane not as broken, but breathtaking. His unconditional admiration is a balm to her shame.
• Power Shift: I ached for Sloane to reclaim her agency and face off with Everett. The tension builds beautifully toward an overdue reckoning.

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💔 What Fell Flat for Me

• A Tired Trope: Sex work as a plot device is tricky. Sloane’s backstory makes it understandable, but I longed for more agency and less helplessness from her.
• Distractions on Ice: Logan’s romantic spiral derailing his playoff focus stretched believability at the beginning.
• Dirty Play: The drugging subplot—Logan orchestrating a low-blow scheme against Tyler—felt unnecessarily cruel and out of character.

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🎙️ Audiobook Performance
Dual POV, dual narration. Troy Duran delivers as always—his rich, velvety tone adds gravitas to Logan’s inner world. Alexis Paige matches him with expressive flair; her voice is grounded, emotive, and suits Sloane’s resilience perfectly.

Quotes

“I forgot an important lesson that I should have already learned. That sometimes, when everything feels too perfect, like a dream you’re afraid to wake from, it’s because the cracks were hidden just beneath the surface, waiting to remind you that nothing that good ever comes without a cost.”

“She was sitting there serenely, with no idea that I was out here losing my mind over her. It felt weird that I could be feeling so crazy and she didn’t even know I existed.”

“I know I’ll never stop looking at you like I’m in love, because every time I see you, it feels like the whole world is holding its breath, waiting for you to steal it over and over again.”