The Hotshot

By: Piper Rayne

Many thanks to Valentine PR for the ARC of this book!

We’re back in “The Nest” series universe. The falcon hockey players have moved out of the nest, and the Colts baseball players have moved on in! Hayes Carlisle is the catcher for the Colts. He had a terrible year last year and needs to fix his image and his game. Leighton is his sister’s best friend. Her cousin and her husband passed away and now she has custody of their three underage children. With the kids’ aunt and uncle contesting guardianship, Hayes and Leighton begin “fake” dating. But does it stay fake? And how can he really be in all in when he’s gone half the time?

I LOVED being back in this universe; there is something special about it. There were a few mentions of the falcons, but it wasn’t overkill. Ruby of course is in this one too! Now we have baseball players as our main focus. And this one was a really great one to start off this new series. While Leighton is a little hesitant about things with Hayes, Hayes is all in and ready to do whatever it take to be with Leighton.

I especially loved how he didn’t hesitate with the children. He and a few teammates would spend time doing things with the children. And the children looked up to him. I appreciated that the children acted their ages, especially Lake. With their parents passing away, I do feel like we could have gone a little deeper with a few discussions.

I never expected Leighton to find the things she did when she cleaned out her cousin’s bedroom. I knew cleaning it out would be hard, but I can’t imagine how you thought about people who are now deceased could be changed that much (at least by me!). I also wish the guardianship petition went a slightly different way. (I don’t want to say too much because I refuse to give anything away!).

Hayes and Leighton had really great chemistry, and he was just so sweet. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Publish Date: February 17, 2026
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