Delayed Penalty
Seattle Serpents • Book 3
by Teagan Hunter
Why You'll Love This
A grumpy hockey player who can barely keep his own life together suddenly has a kid, a live-in nanny, and absolutely no defenses left.
- Great if you want: forbidden tension with unexpected emotional depth and family stakes
- The experience: fast-paced and warm with sharp moments of real vulnerability
- The writing: Hunter balances banter and heartbreak without letting either feel cheap
- Skip if: nanny-next-door setups feel too familiar to hold your interest
About This Book
When a Seattle Serpents player already skating on thin ice is suddenly handed guardianship of his seven-year-old niece, the last thing he needs is chaos—which is exactly what the new nanny brings with her. Quinn Benson is warm, unpredictable, and impossible to ignore, and the longer she lives under his roof, the harder it becomes to pretend she's just an employee. Teagan Hunter builds a story around two people who want very different things from life and somehow can't stop wanting each other, wrapping genuine emotional stakes around the slow unraveling of a man who has convinced himself he doesn't deserve softness.
What makes this one worth settling in for is Hunter's balance of sharp wit and real tenderness. The banter crackles without tipping into exhausting snark, and beneath the slow-burn tension sits a surprisingly earnest story about family, responsibility, and learning to trust yourself. The pacing earns its 432 pages—there's room here for characters to actually develop rather than simply react—and the Seattle Serpents world feels lived-in enough to reward readers who've followed the series while still welcoming anyone arriving at book three first.