Heart Check (Varsity) by Emily Charlotte *Dent and Ding*

This dent and ding book has some very slight corner bending/wear from shipping.

Stats

Format: Paperback (sprayed edges)

Pages: 304

Published: November 18, 2025

Estimated spice: Romantic

Goodreads rating: 4.1+

Fable rating: 4+

Publisher description

For the first printing only! This paperback features stenciled sprayed edges while the special edition supply lasts.

A star hockey player and his biggest critic must reexamine their assumptions about each other when forced to work together at an after-school job in this feel-good young adult rom-com debut about breaking the ice.

Luke Dawson and Harper Braedon could have been friends. They trade shifts at the same diner, share classes at school, and are driven by their greatest passions: hockey for Dawson and jewelry-making for Harper. But some things aren't meant to be. Dawson thinks Harper is stuck-up, too good for anything resembling school spirit. Harper thinks Dawson is a self-centered jock, a perfect fit for a hockey team that seems to absorb all the budget away from the arts departments.

When his beloved hockey coach gets fired for misallocation of funds, Dawson is terrified that all his plans for impressing scouts are vanishing before his eyes. A rumor goes around that Harper was the one who got him fired, and suddenly she’s public enemy number one.

But even with their mutual dislike at an all-time high, Harper and Dawson can’t escape splitting shifts forever. Can forced proximity help them find some common ground, or will long-held grudges finally succeed in bringing them both down?