Big Stick Energy: A New York Legends Hockey Romance

Sarina Bowen

Jun 2026 · Sold by Forever

About this ebook

A hockey team captain and a bubbly staffer mix business with pleasure when they start fake dating through the wedding season in this hot sports romance perfect for fans of Mariana Zapata​ and Elle Kennedy. 

Darcy Kendrick is used to putting out fires. As an overworked admin to a hockey team, she’s seen it all. But nothing prepares her for accidentally DMing her very private, very NSFW fantasy to the subject of this fantasy: team captain Eric Tremaine. Nobody actually dies of embarrassment. Right?

But when a wedding invite puts them on a collision course with her chaotic family and his emotionally fraught past, Eric suggests a plan: they fake-date their way through the “Wedding Experience.” It’s mutually beneficial. Totally strategic. And definitely not real. Except between mini tacos, slow dances and lingering glances, Eric starts to wonder if the sharp-tongued assistant with a bottomless to-do list might be the one person who truly sees him. And for Darcy? The fire in her heart might be the only one she can’t put out.

It’s supposed to be fake. It’s supposed to be temporary. So why is it so hard to walk away?

Ratings and reviews

Okay, these two were big on the cluelessness and the heat! The drama and angst didn’t come from each other, it came from their families, and how they acted and reacted to them. A mistaken DM starts the ball rolling, and then we are onto noticing, commonality, and fake wedding dating. They work through dealing with their families, and as such, get closer emotionally they normally would have. A little bit of heat ignites, and then all bets are off.

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was so entertaining and fun from the very first page, and of course there is hockey! Eric and Darcy are such wonderful characters who each have their own certain qualities that make them so special and likable. I think I know the moment I fell hopelessly in love with Eric though, it was when he quoted Taylor Swift to Darcy. So Awesome!

About the author

Sarina Bowen is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her books have been on "best of" lists at Goodreads, Audible, The New York Public Library and Amazon. In her free time she takes figure skating lessons. Sarina's hockey fandom started in college, cheering on the Yale University team and wishing they'd let her drive the Zamboni.