---
title: Hat Trick, the Hockey Romance With an Amputee Hero, Returns in a Collectible Edition With a Bonus Chapter
description: Hat Trick, book four of Chelsea Curto's DC Stars hockey romance, is out from Atria with character art and a bonus chapter. Plot, series order, where to buy.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-13T06:44:12.128Z
updated: 2026-11-13T06:44:38.819Z
canonical: https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/hat-trick-the-hockey-romance-with-an-amputee-hero-returns-in-a-collectible-edition-with-a-bonus-chap
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/rich-books-hat-trick-card-16x9.webp
categories: Fiction
content_type: News
publication: Rich Books
schema_type: Article
---

### Book: Hat Trick
*A Novel*

The fourth book in Chelsea Curto's DC Stars hockey romance series. Back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Riley Mitchell loses his right leg in a car accident and has to work out who he is without the ice. Lexi Armstrong, the DC Stars athletic trainer assigned to his rehabilitation, refuses to let him give up, and a one-night deal between them turns into something neither planned. This collectible paperback edition from Atria Books features full-colour character art and a bonus chapter that has not been published before.

[Waterstones](https://www.waterstones.com/book/hat-trick/chelsea-curto/9781037402579)

Riley Mitchell has won the Stanley Cup two years running. Then a car accident costs him his right leg, and with it the only life he has ever known. *Hat Trick*, the fourth novel in Chelsea Curto's DC Stars hockey romance series, follows him through the hardest season of his life. On 10th November, Atria Books published it in a collectible paperback with full-colour character art and a bonus chapter readers have never seen.

## From Self-Published Hit to Atria Edition

Curto first published *Hat Trick* herself in May 2025, and it spread fast among romance readers online, with tens of thousands adding it to their reading lists. Atria Books, [an imprint of Simon & Schuster](https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/the-favorite-girl-monica-arya-s-self-published-dark-thriller-arrives-in-a-sprayed-edge-simon-schuste), then signed Curto to a deal that brings her independently published titles into bookshops with extra material. The new paperback runs to 528 pages. In the UK, Pan Macmillan published its own edition on 22nd October, also with an exclusive bonus chapter.

## Riley Mitchell and Lexi Armstrong

Riley has no idea who he is away from the ice. Lexi Armstrong, the DC Stars athletic trainer assigned to his rehabilitation, refuses to let him give up. She is independent, proudly single and sharp-tongued, and she sets out to rebuild his confidence as well as his strength.

Late nights and easy banter lead to a deal: one night, no strings, no complications. One night turns into many, and Riley falls first and falls hard. Both of them then face a choice between pretending it is only physical and risking everything on a future that looks nothing like the one he lost.

## An Amputee Hero in a Hockey Romance

Romance heroes rarely lose a limb in the opening chapters. Curto puts Riley's grief, his anger and his slow recovery at the centre of the book, and readers have praised the care she took over his story, from her research into amputation to her use of sensitivity readers and the Paralympic athletes she looked to for inspiration. The cover shows Riley on a treatment table with his prosthetic leg in full view, and Lexi leaning over him like a trainer with no intention of going easy.

The book is spicy and written for adult readers, and Curto lists content warnings at the start. The audiobook from Podium uses duet narration by Aaron Shedlock and Erin Mallon.

## Where Hat Trick Fits in the DC Stars Series

The DC Stars books follow the players of a fictional Washington, DC, hockey team, and each novel pairs a different couple. *Hat Trick* comes after *Face Off*, *Power Play* and *Slap Shot*, and *Sin Bin* follows it. Each story stands on its own, so you can start here and meet the earlier players along the way.

If you like your romance with banter, heat and a hero who has to learn to win in a completely new way, *Hat Trick* gives you all three. For readers who loved the first edition, the bonus chapter is a reason to buy it again.

## Buy Hat Trick

[Hat Trick on Waterstones](https://www.waterstones.com/book/hat-trick/chelsea-curto/9781037402579) / [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hat-trick-chelsea-curto/1147486239)