Sarina Bowen’s Thrown for a Loop is the first entry in her new New York Legends series, and it introduces readers to a sports romance that leans into second chances, personal growth, and the quirky collision of hockey and figure skating. At its core, it’s a story about two people whose past refuses to stay buried—and forces them to skate right back into each other’s lives.
🧊 Plot & Premise: Where the Past Refuses to Stay Buried
Zoe Carson was once a competitive figure skater with a promising future. Years later, her life looks very different. When she accepts a job as a skating coach for the New York Legends—an NHL team hoping to sharpen its on-ice performance—she doesn’t expect her past to be waiting in the locker room.
That past arrives in the form of Chase Merritt, a star hockey player and the boy she fell for during a formative summer skating camp ten years earlier. Their reunion is anything but warm. Old wounds resurface, misunderstandings linger, and neither of them is eager to revisit what went wrong.
When a long-forgotten video of their skating routine goes viral, team management pushes them into close proximity again. What starts as a professional obligation slowly turns into an emotional reckoning neither of them planned for.
💔 Characters: Flawed, Guarded, and Believably Human
Zoe is written with quiet strength. She’s competent, emotionally cautious, and still wrestling with the fallout of choices made too young and explanations never given. Her growth doesn’t come from dramatic reinvention but from learning to trust herself again.
Chase, meanwhile, fits the hockey-hero mold at first glance—stoic, intense, emotionally reserved—but Bowen gives him depth beneath the surface. His anger isn’t performative; it’s rooted in loss, confusion, and years of silence.
Their chemistry feels earned rather than forced. The attraction is undeniable, but it’s tempered by realism. This is not a story about instant forgiveness—it’s about understanding.
🕰️ Structure: Two Timelines, One Emotional Core
The novel shifts between the present day and flashbacks to Zoe and Chase’s teenage years. These glimpses into their past relationship are tender, awkward, and full of youthful intensity.
Rather than slowing the story down, the dual timeline strengthens it. Knowing how deeply they once connected adds weight to their present-day distance. Every cold exchange carries subtext, and every small moment of warmth feels significant.
🏒 Tone & Pacing: A Thoughtful Slow Burn
Thrown for a Loop takes its time—and that’s one of its strengths. The romance simmers instead of exploding, allowing tension to build naturally. The pacing mirrors real emotional healing: uneven, hesitant, and occasionally frustrating in the best way.
There’s plenty of sports-romance flavor—locker-room banter, team dynamics, and on-ice details—but the story never loses sight of its emotional focus. The intimate moments feel meaningful rather than performative.
🌟 What Works—and What May Not—for Every Reader
What works well:
- A genuinely emotional second-chance romance
- Strong character development rooted in realism
- A seamless blend of hockey and figure-skating worlds
- Supporting characters that add humor and warmth
What may divide readers:
- The slow pacing may test those who prefer faster romantic payoff
- Some may wish for more time spent on the final emotional resolution
🏁 Final Verdict: A Graceful Start to a New Series
Thrown for a Loop doesn’t rely on grand gestures or exaggerated drama. Instead, it tells a grounded, emotionally resonant story about two people confronting who they were—and deciding whether that past still has a place in their future.
For readers who love sports romances with depth, second-chance love stories, and characters who feel authentically human, Sarina Bowen’s latest offering is well worth the read. It’s a novel that glides rather than rushes—and trusts the emotional landing.
