Release Date: August 22nd, 2025

Series: Rixton U

Genres: New Adult/College

Tropes: Stepbrother, Grumpy x Sunshine, College Hockey, Small Town, Prequel

​​

Blurb

A small-town stepbrother romance by Brooke O’Brien about a girl trying to stay in control and the grumpy hockey player who still remembers the night she ran—and what it did to him when she didn’t look back.

​

I never expected to see Willow Anson again—not after the way she left.

​

No warning. No goodbye. No explanation.
 
She was the girl who got under my skin.

The one who kissed me like she meant it… and disappeared like none of it mattered. I’ve spent every day since convincing myself it didn't.
 
Now she’s back in Rixton, staying at her family’s lodge while her dad recovers from surgery. And thanks to our parents’ surprise wedding, we’re stuck under the same roof.
 
She’s off-limits. My new stepsister. But the way she looks at me says she remembers everything.

And the tension between us? It’s anything but frozen.
 
I’ve trained my whole life to handle pressure—on and off the ice. The last thing I need is a distraction in the middle of a season that’s already falling apart.
 
Games are being thrown. Players are faking injuries. And Willow’s holding on to the photos that could expose everything.
 
They’re watching. Threatening. Waiting for us to slip.
 
But I’m not just playing defense anymore.

​

I’m fighting for the truth. For my team.

​

And for the girl I never stopped wanting.

​

BONUS! Preorder or purchase on release day and get access to an exclusive bonus scene.​

​

The Pucks We Freeze is a prequel in the Rixton U series—a set of interconnected standalones featuring the hockey players of Rixton University and the women who flip their world upside down. While each book includes a swoony romance with a HEA, the suspense arc unfolds across the series, making this novella the perfect place to start before diving into The Players We Hate.