How to Read The Puck Boys of Brooks University
Written by contemporary romance author Hannah Gray (sometimes published as Hanna Gray), The Puck Boys of Brooks University has become a staple of the collegiate sports romance genre. Set in a fictional, hockey-obsessed Michigan university, the series delivers a satisfying blend of electric on-ice tension, emotional character growth, and high-heat romance.
Because every book in the series centers on a different couple, all of the main novels are written as interconnected standalones. You can technically jump in anywhere, but reading them in publication order is highly recommended. The characters are teammates, best friends, and roommates who make frequent cameos in each other’s stories. Reading in order allows you to watch their friendships develop and avoids minor spoilers for previous couples' happily-ever-afters.
The Puck Boys of Brooks University Publication & Chronological Order
The main series was published rapidly between 2023 and 2024. The chronological timeline matches the publication order exactly, making it straightforward to follow.
1. Puck Boy (2023)
Main Couple: Cam Hardy & Addison LaConte
What it's about: The series opens with Addison, a resilient single mother who is also the head hockey coach's daughter. Wary of athletes due to a painful past, she tries to keep her distance from Brooks University's resident playboy, Cam Hardy. However, a single passionate night together sparks a deep connection. Because of her father's strict rules against dating his players, they must navigate a high-stakes forbidden romance while learning to build real trust.
2. Broken Boy (2023)
Main Couple: Link Sterns & Tate Tracy
What it's about: Link and Tate are childhood best friends whose history is complicated by unresolved feelings and past misunderstandings. Reunited at college, their dynamic shifts into a classic friends-to-enemies-to-lovers setup. This second-chance romance explores how two people can heal old wounds when forced back into each other's orbits.
3. Filthy Boy (2023)
Main Couple: Brody Collins & Bria Collins
What it's about: Both Brody and Bria carry significant emotional baggage from troubled pasts. When they cross paths, they attempt to establish a low-stakes, friends-with-benefits arrangement to avoid complications. Naturally, the lines quickly blur as their physical chemistry develops into deep, protective emotional intimacy.
4. Chosen Boy (2023)
Main Couple: Hunter Thompson & Sutton Savage
What it's about: Sutton and Hunter's families have been locked in a bitter, long-standing feud. When they are thrown together and forced to fake a relationship for a high-profile charity event, they expect mutual misery. Instead, the fake-dating charade chips away at their mutual hostility, revealing a fiery connection neither anticipated.
5. Lost Boy (2024)
Main Couple: Cade & Haley
What it's about: Moving into heavier emotional territory, this installment follows childhood friends Cade and Haley. Tackling sensitive themes of trauma and addiction recovery, the story focuses on the vulnerability required to move from friends to lovers while supporting a partner through their darkest moments.
6. Perfect Boy (2024)
Main Couple: Watson Gentry & Ryann Denver
What it's about: Watson is a dedicated Brooks University hockey player paired with the spirited Ryann Denver for a charity dance competition. Forced to practice together, their classic opposites-attract chemistry takes center stage, blending lighthearted banter with underlying emotional depth.
7. Last Boy (2024)
Main Couple: Walker James & Poppy Wilson
What it's about: Walker and Poppy share a complicated, painful childhood that has left them with a rocky, love-hate relationship in adulthood. As they confront their shared history and navigate college life, their defensive walls begin to crumble, leading to a passionate and emotional reconciliation.
8. Ruthless (2024)
Main Couple: Hudson Hercules Hale & Briar James
What it's about: While technically listed as Book 8 in the expanded Brooks University universe, Ruthless represents a major stylistic shift. The book transitions from new adult sports romance into a dark, suspenseful bodyguard/mafia romance. The plot centers on Briar James (sister to Walker James from Last Boy), who is trapped in an arranged marriage set up by her dangerous uncle. Hudson Hale, a brooding widower and undercover FBI agent, is hired as her security guard. As their forbidden attraction grows, Hudson must protect Briar from the criminal underworld.
The Extended Universe: Connecting the Bay Sharks
One of the most exciting aspects of Hannah Gray’s romance universe is how she bridges her different series. While the first seven books of the Puck Boys of Brooks University focus strictly on college life and collegiate hockey, the eighth book, Ruthless, acts as a crossover bridge.
Through the characters in Ruthless, the Brooks University crew is directly linked to Gray’s professional hockey series, the New England Bay Sharks. If you finish the college series and want to keep reading within the same universe, the recommended progression is to move directly to the Bay Sharks books:
- Tell Me Lies
- Shoot Your Shot
- Fool Me Once
- Bite Your Tongue
- Wake Me Up
Additionally, fans of college sports romance can check out Gray's Florida East University series, which focuses on college football players and features the same high-heat, emotional storytelling, starting with Playing Dane.
What to Know Before You Start
- Standalones with Spoilers: While each book features a self-contained story with a guaranteed Happy Ever After (HEA) for the main couple, the tight friendship groups mean that characters from earlier books appear frequently as happy, established couples in later installments. If you dislike spoilers, stick to the numerical order.
- Tonal Shift at the End: Be prepared for the shift in Book 8. While Books 1 through 7 are contemporary new adult college sports romances with tropes like fake dating and forbidden love, Ruthless introduces mafia elements, age gaps, and suspense.
- Trigger Warnings: Several books, particularly Lost Boy and Last Boy, deal with heavy topics including drug addiction recovery, physical and emotional trauma, and difficult family histories. Readers who prefer purely lighthearted sports romances may want to review trigger warnings for these specific titles.