Bad Intentions by Mila Kane

Bad Intentions is the first book in the ‘Hellions of Hade Harbor’ series by Mila Kane. This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and I’m excited to see where this series goes.

*I received a free, advanced copy of this book for reviewing purposes.*

Lily

Lily is the classic good girl. An unexpected pregnancy caused her parents to change their life plans and cost her father a career in the NHL. Lily was brought up being reminded of the sacrifices that her parents’ made for her, and her biggest worry in life is disappointing them. She doesn’t want to feel guilty for the directions her parents’ lives took, but she puts it on herself. She’s terrified of her parents resenting her to the point where she doesn’t even tell them she’s applied to colleges in California – far away from her Maine hometown.

When her father, the hockey coach at her high school, brings one of his players to stay with them, Lily finds herself living in close-quarters to the new kid in town.

Lily’s father brings him on to his team at the high school so that he can increase the teams’ chances of making it to nationals. Which, would hopefully help the coach secure himself a coaching position at the local college. Which of course, is where her parents have decided that Lily will be going next year. Once her Dad learns of Cayden’s horrific home situation, he brings him into his home as a foster kid.

Cade

Cayden is the new kid in town who is already adored for his hockey abilities. He has a secretive past and doesn’t talk about his old school with anyone. He’s semi-popular, but all of the interactions he has with other students or teammates are just surface-level interactions. Lily is the only one he has any sort of meaningful moments with (and occasionally her father).

Cade and Lily first interact when she accidentally bumps into him on the street. This innocent mistake is enough to make them exchange heated words and create a strong hatred for one another. Immediately when Cade enters her home, Lily finds herself at his mercy as he decides he will make her life miserable. Little did he know, she already was pretty miserable, thanks to her parents’ expectations and treatment of her.

Thoughts and Questions

Overall, Bad Intentions is a 3-star read for me. The overall plot was entertaining and was pretty spicy. The tension between Cade and Lily is exactly the kind of slow burn that I love reading. When I first started reading, I was unsure of how a high school romance would sit with me. I’ve never had a problem with college romance, or even fantasy romance that is set in high schools. But, it took me a minute to get past the fact that this was high school.

I also can’t help but have a lot of unanswered questions. One of them being, how oblivious are Lily’s parents? Did they really not know what was happening downstairs, or did they just pretend they were unaware so that they didn’t have to deal with it? My guess is the latter. And if her Dad was the coach and at the school all day like Lily and Cade were, how did he not hear the gossip? Or better yet, see the two of them interacting? I just wanted more.

Final Verdict on Bad Intentions

One thing that I could not get my head around is ‘The Ice Gods.’ It is completely believable that a couple of better than the best athletes would be labeled in some way. Naming them ‘Ice Gods,’ was a bit too much for me. The players referred to themselves that way a couple of times, as do other students. But when the coach and other adults called them that too… ick. If they were named something else, it most likely wouldn’t have bothered me at all. But hearing the coach mention ‘scouts are coming to the game to watch all of the Ice Gods,’ was just… nope.

Bad Intentions isn’t my favorite hockey romance, but I did enjoy it. It’s not even close to my ‘worst’ read of this year. I’m definitely curious to see how the rest of the series will play out. If you’re looking for an easy read with dark elements and intense spice, this is for you.

Have you read this book or other Mila Kane books? Leave your recommendations in the comments!

Are you a sucker for a good hockey romance like I am? Find out which hockey books I’ve reviewed here.