★Simone, Naima. Played. Montlake. Sept. 2024. 300p. ISBN 9781662519628. pap. $16.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Adina, a firefighter just going through the motions of life a year after her fiancé died, knows that she should not read the journal she finds during one of her company’s firefighting efforts but finds herself spellbound by the author’s thoughts on his own grieving process. She gets why Solomon, a professional hockey player, is upset when he learns that a stranger read his private thoughts related to the loss of his wife, but she doesn’t appreciate the scorn he heaps on her when they meet. Although that initial introduction is an ongoing source of tension and they don’t expect to be in each other’s lives for long, they find in each other an understanding and lack of judgment that is absent from their other relationships. As they navigate this new connection, Adina has to manage a work environment where she is simultaneously coddled by her relatives and harassed by colleagues, while Solomon has to deal with unexpected professional fallout when his personal choices are not approved of by his relatives. VERDICT This touching, funny, sexy novel from Simone (Ravaged) is a joy to read and is sure to be popular where contemporary sports romances and multicultural fiction circulate well.