Forecheck, Backcheck, Heartcheck
(2025)(The first book in the Private Playbook series)
A novel by Raven DeNoir
Jordan meets Kris at a gas station at midnight. He's blasting SZA's "Snooze" from his G-Wagon. She's a single mom and romance author driving home in her red QUEEN MADE hoodie. He's a 6'7" Swedish NHL player who's tired of being just a number on a jersey.
The chemistry is instant. But Jordan has a three-year-old son and rules about who she lets into their life. Kris has a hockey schedule that keeps him on the road for weeks at a time. Her ex-husband chose his career over their family. His body is aging out of the only thing he's ever known how to be.
This is about two people who've learned to protect themselves trying to figure out if they're brave enough to let each other in.
He cooks pasta the way his Swedish mother taught him. She writes love stories but stopped believing in them for herself. He brings her a warm cloth after sex. She tells him exactly what she needs and he listens. He says "I want to watch your face while I make love to you" and means it. She says "my son comes first, always" and he says "I know."
It's explicit. It's honest. It's about consent and communication and what it costs to trust someone when you've been left before. It's about showing up, not just showing off. It's a Black single mom and a white Swedish hockey player figuring out if different worlds can hold the same love.
Spicy. Grounded. Real as hell.
Tropes: Single mom romance, athlete x author, he falls first, slow burn with immediate heat, interracial romance, soft dominance, found family
Genre: Romance
The chemistry is instant. But Jordan has a three-year-old son and rules about who she lets into their life. Kris has a hockey schedule that keeps him on the road for weeks at a time. Her ex-husband chose his career over their family. His body is aging out of the only thing he's ever known how to be.
This is about two people who've learned to protect themselves trying to figure out if they're brave enough to let each other in.
He cooks pasta the way his Swedish mother taught him. She writes love stories but stopped believing in them for herself. He brings her a warm cloth after sex. She tells him exactly what she needs and he listens. He says "I want to watch your face while I make love to you" and means it. She says "my son comes first, always" and he says "I know."
It's explicit. It's honest. It's about consent and communication and what it costs to trust someone when you've been left before. It's about showing up, not just showing off. It's a Black single mom and a white Swedish hockey player figuring out if different worlds can hold the same love.
Spicy. Grounded. Real as hell.
Tropes: Single mom romance, athlete x author, he falls first, slow burn with immediate heat, interracial romance, soft dominance, found family
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Raven DeNoir's Forecheck, Backcheck, Heartcheck