Mile High (Windy City Series Book 1)

I don’t give a lot of 5 star reviews—5 star to me means that the characters were well developed and diverse, there was a good and fulfilled plot and I would buy this book, read it over and over and never get sick of it because that is how much I love it.

I feel like many books I’ve read the FMC is petite, “curves all in the right places”, and quirky. Stevie is more curvy than anything and she’s strong, bold, giving and smart. I absolutely loved that she was not written to be like other main characters and her diversity is not only included but celebrated.

I loved this book and Liz has a great writing style. The characters were perfect.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

Hi it’s me, buying another physical copy of a book I read for free on KU but loved and need it for my shelves 😌😌

Mile High by Liz Tomeforde

I hadn’t seen anything about this series at all on booksta until I saw @exercise_read_repeat post about their favorite series and I knew I needed to give it a shot!

A couple things to know before diving in— this book is like 7000 pages. But I’ll say once you hit like the 25-30% mark you won’t be able to put it down. Also, the banter…😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 sooo perfect, just right and not overly dramatic!

Give it a go if you’re into: ✈️ pro hockey player + flight attendant ✈️ bad boy vibes ✈️ guy falls first ✈️ forbidden romance ✈️ down-to-earth, curvy FMC ✈️ the angsttttt ugh 🫣😮‍💨🔥 ✈️ mental health representation

This was so much for than a good sports romance story! I loved the tension, the authentic characters that had real-life problems and had to work through their own struggles. Zander’s was my cup of tea ☕️ Also, shoutout to the author for giving us a story with amazing body positivity!!! Love to see it.

I plan to read the next in the series next month and I’ve seen amazing things about that one too. It’s Ryan and Indy’s story who were both awesome side characters in this one! 💙

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

this was just as good the second time around omg!!

the way Liz Tomforde knows how to make me CRY like wtf. I’ll be invoicing her for tissues and ibuprofen asap! idk what it is but the way she writes just speaks to me.

stevie’s relationship with her body is so relatable and gut wrenching at times. the mirror scene with her and zanders?!? god stevie made me cry in that scene. wow. the body image issues and mental health representation in this book is incredible and I think there is something in this book for everyone.

but also can we talk about just how good of a romance this is!?!?! the tension, the banter, the friendship, the love and the found family is just chefs kiss zanders is so sweet and loving with the perfect mix of arrogant and sarcastic thrown in there and stevie is so confident and insecure and has her own perfect brand of sarcasm while also being so sweet. ugh. I just love them. and the individual growth in order to be the best version of themselves for the other?! YES

it’s funny. it’s swoon worthy. it’s emotional. it’s hot. it’s perf.

thank you liz, my queen 👑🧎🏻‍♀️

You ever read a book and at the end of it completely fall in love? Immediately, you go to recommend it to a friend and they ask, “Why did you love it?” Ummm… well … Was it the characters? Yes, superb. Was it the story? Absolutely, I felt all the feels. Was it the world they created? For. Sure. If I could invade a group of friends immediately, this would be it. But, like, what exactly was it that I loved about this story?

I can’t pinpoint you to a specific thing about this story that turned it into one that I’ll never forget. If I told someone that it was “the vibe” of the story, they’d probably laugh. But for me, that was it. The story, the characters, the world - they all felt real to me. I never rolled my eyes at something too cheesy, I didn’t want to take a break because I was tired of reading, and I never once wasn’t rooting for the characters to truly find themselves and the love they deserved. I’m excited for this series and I’m hoping that each story holds me like this one did.

Why hello there new favorite sports romance series!!!

This kicked this sports series off with a bang! I'm so insanely happy to have found yet another sports romance series that just consumes me. These characters were AMAZING. I had heard lots of amazing things about this book and it totally lived up to the hype!

I LOVE myself a hockey romance and this was just so good!!! I adored these characters and their story. The flight attendant plot was SO fun and unique and I've never read a book with that plot and now I know I adore it.

The tension between Stevie and Zee was off the charts! You could feel it from their very first interaction and that spark never died out through the whole book. Not to mention the spice in this book was A++++++. SO GOOD.

Stevie dealing with body insecurities spoke directly to me. I felt so seen with the way she viewed herself and how it affected her on a daily basis. The way Zee handled it though? Pure perfection. I adored him for the way he cared for her and took care of her and never got impatient with Stevie's feelings about herself. He just worked as hard as he could to make sure she knew he thought she was beautiful and desirable and so loved. I LOVE HIM.

Liz Tomforde just has such an incredible writing style. It's fun, engaging, beautiful, and I adored it all. I loved that this book had so many parts to it. There was obviously the romance between Stevie and Zee, but they each had such depth to their personalities and character. The side characters were EVERYTHING. There was so much more going on than just the romance and I loved it all. It was written out like it could easily be a movie and it easily played like one in my head while I read.

Back to those side characters... I have a feeling Indy and Ryan's book is going to RUIN me. And be a new favorite... I just have this big hunch and my gut rarely fails me when it comes to reading lol.

Overall, this book was so fun to read and I loved it. I absolutely can't wait to read the next one and I can't wait for more books in this series because there's so many side characters I could see having a book and I want them all!!! Lol. Such a great start to a new favorite series!

🛑SPOILERS🛑 ⭐️: 4/5

This is my first hockey romance read, and I can say I was enthralled. When it comes to sports romances, hockey has been the number one book released. As a person who doesn't watch or know anything about hockey, I was not interested in reading a book about it.

But Mile High has been on my TBR for over a year. As a person in a book slump, I needed a book to read that I have dragged on to read.

Zanders and Stevie were everything. I loved the representation and the fact they were opposites.

I will say first this book was too long to me. Romances should be no longer than 350 pages unless it is a fantasy book or a book that chronicles a story over time, including a time jump. When it comes to that, it can be a maybe. But it was too long, and at times, lines seemed repetitive, and scenes seemed like filler.

Also, I cringed at times when Stevies hair was always brought up to describe her. I love the representation, but when curly haired girl or curly hair flight attendant kept being used to describe her, I was becoming slightly annoyed.

What I didn't like was the third act breakup. In books, breakups are not always neccesarry, and Zanders reason for leaving Stevie was unnecessary. For Zee to not see that his agent was screwing him over was surprising because I knew his agent was low down and drity from the beginning. A well accomplished player not getting offered a contract doesn't even sound trustworthy.

But other than that, I enjoyed the book!

I loved the representation of Stevie being plus size. As a plus size women I understand the insecurities that come and the drive to become small. I have learned, however, that it is not about weight but health. I loved seeing her gain her confidence. She was an overall sweet person who eventually stood up for herself against her mother, ex-boyfriend, and even Zanders at times. I ❤️ everything about Stevie, especially her love for dogs as well.

Zanders.

He is a man I would go to the ends of earth to find. From being a hockey player who was incapable of love to becoming the person to fall first, it was satisfying to see. I didn't know he would fall first, but seeing that happen was amazing. The way he treated Stevie should make some men come our and take notes. My favorite scene is when she goes over the things she doesn't like about herself, and he tells her why he loves it instead 😍🥹. It was heartwarming. Also, watching him go to therapy and interact with the people around him, I couldn't get enough of that. We as society deem men to go to the therapy weak, but Zanders proved that wrong. Seeing him have panic attacks always reminded me of mine, and they were written exactly how they happen. If you know how to handle them like Zanders, they will happen, but the goal is to control it and not let it control you. Zee is one of my favorite male characters in a book. I loved his team, sister, father, and the positive company he kept around him. I was glad when he told his mom off. Facing your triggers head-on is how to combat mental health at times.

This book was great! I can't wait to read Indy and Ryans' story because I heard that is the best book out of the series. A book I really want to see is with Rio he is hilarious with his boom box. But this is my first read by Liz Tomforde, and it will not be my last.

I recommend this book to all. It has a clear message. Love youself and love others who deserve it!

Somehow I have missed the boat on the playboy turned one lady man until now. I REALLY liked this book. It has been on my tbr book for a WHLIE (as have most of them at this point LOL). At first I thought that this seemed kind of long for a sports romance, but it was really so much more than that. There were a lot of insecurities addressed between and among the main characters. I LOVED how much mental health was discussed openly and proudly in this book. If you haven't picked up this series yet, I definitely recommend. I plan on continuing book 2 AFTER I binge HOFAS!!!

Zanders has a role in Chicago. He is the bad boy of hockey. Him and his best friend/found family have a role to play that Zanders has been ok playing for a LONG time. He is the guy that protects his team. he leaves the arena with a different girl on his arm every night. He does not get involved or let girls linger but of course ALLLLL of that changes when he meets her. Stevie. The team's new flight attendant for when they are on the road. She doesn't seem to be like a normal puck bunny chomping at the bit to get his attention. If anything she seems beyond unaffected by his awesomeness which she makes very clear on their first plane ride together. This is also where he decides to make it his mission to remind her that she does in fact work for him. His thoughts have changed though. When he goes to a new city instead of reaching out his normal hook ups, he can't seem to stop running into a curly haired beauty or stop thinking about her. She has consumed his thoughts. Maybe one night will get her out of his system? At least that's what Zanders tells himself until she deviates from what all of the other girls usually do and actually leaves right away their night of magic. Now he is thinking he wants more. He wants to prove himself to her that he can be who she wants him to be. That he isn't this bad boy that everyone thinks he is. Will she let him in? Will she open her heart to someone like him?

Stevie has decided no more athletes in her life. She had a horrible break up with one of her brother's best friend's who made her that much more aware of how different her body is from other women's. Her confidence ebbs and flows. She knows she is different and sometimes she owns it but other times like when her mom talks to her, she just gets crushed. This seems to change when she meets Zanders. The "bad boy" of hockey who takes time on his weekend to see his niece. The man who has a slew of ladies he could call to hang out but seems insistent on it being her. The man who offers her ONE night to get it out of their system which they do and all of her instincts want her to stay and cuddle and be more to this man BUT she holds out and leaves. That's when she really gets surprised. He pursues her. He wants to talk to her about personal things. Things he doesn't to anyone about but his BF. He wants to spend time with her and she finds herself wanting to spend time with him. She finds herself saying yes to a date and then being his girlfriend. The caveat is that they have to keep it a secret because if her job finds out she will get fired. But what will happen if word about her gets out? Will she be able to handle all of the media attention that follows Zanders around? Will their feelings for each other be strong enough to overcome what people think?

Yall this book was GREAT! Once again I loved the character development. The spicy scenes were spicy but I really enjoyed when they talked and hung out and really got to know each other. When Zanders got to show Stevie the real him. I will say that the third act breakup BROKE my heart but don't they all do that?? I am very excited for book 2 which is Ryan (Stevie's brother) and Indy (Stevie's new BF who just broke up with her BF). I am looking forward to meeting more characters and am honestly even thinking about reading the first 2 books books by Liz and Eli and Logan- has anyone read those??

This was a great read. I loved the emphasis on mental health. Both Stevie and Zanders were dealing with issues from childhood and I loved that it wasn’t glossed over.

Zanders was a seemingly arrogant playboy who was hiding years of hurt. He had a small circle of people who knew the real him, and that was working for him until he met Stevie. Zanders really worked to gain Stevie’s attention. At first it seemed a little like a childhood playground where he pestered Stevie and metaphorically pulled her pigtails. But I ended up loving their banter.

Stevie was the flight attendant for the NHL team Zanders was on and was forbidden from fraternizing with anyone related to the team. She struggled with body image and being in the shadow of her professional basketball playing twin. I wasn’t really a fan of the forbidden/secret relationship aspect. I thought with her insecurities it didn’t really make sense, but it did seem to bring Stevie and Zanders closer while they lived in their little bubble.

Both Stevie and Zanders wanted to be loved for who they were and that gave them a common ground. They may have had different reasons for needing that, but it ultimately gave them a deeper connection. As much as I hated the third act break up, I think it was necessary in both their healing processes. They were able to figure out what they wanted and go after it with a more level head.

I loved all the secondary characters. The author did a good job of giving a cast of characters that didn’t overshadow Stevie and Zanders’ relationship.

⭐⭐⭐/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️️🌶️/5

“And wearing your hand around my throat like a necklace is my favorite piece of jewelry.”

My first book from this author, and it won’t be my last (also because it’s the first book of the series lol). It took me a while to finish this book only because holidays and going crazy with chaos. But the times I had to myself; you better believe my time was in this book.

Stevie the FMC is my hero. Battling insecurities like every woman does. I loved everything about her character. Coming from a curvier woman myself, I totally understand what she was going through. ESPECIALLY THE BATHROOM SCENE. I want to be her best friend. Volunteer at the dog shelter and just have a fun time. All she wanted was to be first. And I think everyone deserves to be chosen first.

ZANDERS. MMC. Does he have to be always at 100 when it comes to wearing the high-end designer stuff? Lol. Like I get it, has to play the part but his character was getting kind of Eh. Don’t get me wrong, he was hot. I could have done without the whole Tom Ford suit and such. I wanted to hate him, but also rooted for him to get his girl.

SPICE was there. It was very descriptive, and I loved every part of it. Kudos Liz, this was a good solid 3.