Meet Your Match by Kandi Steiner

Meet Your Match follows Maven King and Vince Tanev, two individuals with opposite upbringings and a whole lot of chemistry.

When Kandi Steiner announced an upcoming hockey romance series, I freaked out. Hockey romance is my preference when it comes to sports romances. My TBR list for that specific trope gets longer every day. Plus, my new obsession/interest in hockey as a sport and the Seattle Kraken, only makes me enjoy these books more. (Check out this post to hear more about that new interest of mine!)

*I used my personal paid subscription to Kindle Unlimited to read this book.*

My Expectations vs. Reality

I admit, I had extremely high expectations for this book. As soon as I saw that the main male character’s last name is Tanev, the bar was set impossibly high. There are two players in the NHL with that last name Tanev (brothers). Since Brandon Tanev is a player on the Kraken, I’ve learned a lot about him over the past year. I have no idea if Kandi Steiner based her character off of either one of the real-life hockey players. But, it did influence the way I thought about the book prior to reading it.

Before I began reading, real-life Seattle Kraken #13 was Vince Tanev in my mind. Luckily for my sake, the writing and character development is so strong that my ‘casting’ left my mind quickly. But, I did have a specific image and personality already in my head. And I do think it effected my enjoyment of the book to some degree, so I wanted to mention it.

Initial Thoughts

Maven King is a girl with big plans. Her upbringing gave her a strong need to help others. Working in social media lets her showcase people that are trying to make a difference in their own communities. Then, she’s given a work assignment for 1 month with full, unfiltered access to Vince Tanev, Tampa’s hotshot rookie. Maven suddenly finds herself in extremely close proximity to a man she thinks she knows and hates. Little does she know, there’s a lot more to Vince Tanev.

Any woman who wasn’t smiling and laughing and being amicably pleasant was a bitch. I wore the insult with pride.

Maven King

Then there’s Vince “Cool” Tanev, the rookie living his wildest dreams. He has access to a more luxurious lifestyle and all the women he could ever want. But, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He knows his dream can be taken away just as quickly as it happened for him. So he works his ass off every day to make sure that it lasts. He always has goals for himself. ‘Good’ is never enough for Vince. His incredible discipline is just one of the things that shocks Maven once she gets to know him.

I was hooked right from page one. Not only are the two main characters entertaining, but the ‘supporting cast’ is just as fun. The team had me smiling like an idiot each time that group was on my kindle screen. Carter and Jaxson are the perfect partners in crime for Vince. I loved that, along with the entire team, they made an effort to include Maven in their conversations or whatever they were doing. It’s a tiny detail that made me smile. And then of course there’s the goalie, ‘Daddy P.’ Out of all the team members, I’m looking forward to his story the most.

Final Thoughts on Meet Your Match

Putting aside the mental hurdle I created for myself that I mentioned in the beginning, I absolutely loved Meet Your Match. The book used a surprising amount of hockey ‘lingo,’ something I was not expecting. I couldn’t help but think ‘hey I know what that is!’ each time something came up. The details describing penalties, Carter being sent down to the AHL, or Vince’s goal to be named Rookie of the Year, all made the book feel real. Without a doubt, it was the most ‘technical’ of all the hockey romances I’ve read. And I didn’t know how much I wanted those details until now.

Maven does try to keep her feelings for Vince hidden because of a past relationship with someone from an affluent family. And while her experience is understandable, it does feel like it gets brought up one time too many. At one point while reading, I couldn’t help but think ‘yeah your ex sucks, I get it.’ It did get annoying, but I also can’t relate to her situation at all, so that’s probably just me.

The chemistry between Vince and Maven is fabulous. If you’re a fan of the slow burn, this book has you covered. The ‘will they, won’t they’ aspect only intensified as the book went on. And so did the way they taunt each other does. I did see several reviews that disliked the amount of times Vince tries to make Maven jealous. I wasn’t happy with him as a character when he did that. But, I did think it was realistic for who he is as a character.

If you’re looking for a close proximity, tense hockey romance where the man falls first, this book is a must-read! Vince Tanev may not beat out Clay Johnson (from Kandi Steiner’s Blind Side) for me, but he is still a character that I wish I knew in real life. So if you happen to find him, tell him to DM me.

Looking for more Kandi Steiner books? Check out my review of Washed Up here!

Want more hockey romance? Here you can find all of my hockey-related book reviews!