The Game She Hates by Ella Marie: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

Zane has had his fair share of a tumultuous childhood, and on the ice as the center of the Glaciers, he releases pent-up anger and frustrations from the relentless blows life has dealt him.

Off the ice, he avoids his teammates and dismisses anyone who tries to show him affection, especially women who are only drawn to his fame. But everything changes when he meets Pearl. Instantly captivated, he sets aside all his reservations and pursues her relentlessly, despite her clear rejections and disdain for hockey.

Pearl desperately wants marriage, commitment, and a man who shares her faith—definitely not a handsome, charming athlete like Zane who doesn’t believe in God and has women all over town swooning over him.

She is done using dating as a mission to convert guys to Christ, only to end up hurt.

As Zane persists in trying to maintain a 'just friends' relationship with her, he begins to question whether healing and grace can be his portion too?

Meanwhile, Pearl struggles to fully trust God and His will as she continues to grapple with past disappointments.

Will their “friendship” blossom into love? Or is the distance between them too vast to bridge?

The Game She Hates is a Christian hockey romance that intricately weaves an inspirational love story with strong themes of hope, healing, forgiveness, and the transformative power of grace.

The Author

Ella Marie is a pen name of a wife to the man of her dreams, and a mama to a cute little boy. Jesus is her Lord and personal Savior, guiding her in all aspects of life. After publishing her first clean and sweet romance series, God put it on her heart to share the greatest gift in her life—Jesus—in her love stories.

All her future books will not only be heart-melting but will also point readers toward the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Expect to see broken characters finding healing, faith, hope, and of course, love in each of her Christ-centered love stories.

Her greatest prayer is that her books will encourage readers to live out their faith boldly, deepen their relationship with Jesus, and remember that no other book is to be cherished like God’s letter to us— the Bible.

If you want to follow along with her journey, check out her author page on Instagram @ella_marie_author.

Book Review

The Game She Hates is a beautiful love story combining hockey and faith... what could be better than that? This is Ella Marie's first Christian romance, and she absolutely nailed it! If you're looking for a romance with minimal Christian content--- well, this isn't it. While I certainly enjoy books without it too, I did really enjoy seeing a romance that truly kept Christ at the very center of the story. The romance aspects were absolutely wonderful, and I really enjoyed Zane and Pearl together. Their chemistry was really fun and evident right from their initial meeting. But it was watching their journeys of faith that really stood out to me the most in their stories. They both had some struggles in their pasts that they needed to work through, and I enjoyed seeing them do just that. If you love hockey romances and are looking for a faith-based romance with strong Christian content, this is absolutely one worth checking out. 

While the overall story had a great message of redemption and forgiveness, there are references to topics that could be difficult to some readers such as death of a parent, neglect and abuse and alcoholism. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/3zxuFiI