Finnish debut novelist turns hockey frustrations into romance

Marianne Suntio has combined a romantic story with her experiences of the ice hockey world in her debut novel, Yle reports. Yhden kesän pelisuunnitelma is one of the first Finnish hockey romances and addresses issues including poor behaviour and the position of women in the sport.

As a woman in her twenties, Suntio wanted to write about women’s ice hockey. Instead, she became a journalist for the hockey-focused Jatkoaika website and later worked for Iltalehti.

In hockey circles, she encountered a sense of community and memorable personalities, but also situations that stayed with her. At one unfamiliar ice rink, for example, male colleagues were allowed in without difficulty while Suntio had to explain what she had come to do.

“I was first told that ‘the sausage sellers go through the other door,’” Suntio recalls.

She began processing her thoughts through creative writing. The texts were not originally intended for publication, but when Suntio was in her thirties, she returned to them and decided to see whether the story set in the hockey world could be developed for readers.

Publisher S&S released Yhden kesän pelisuunnitelma in early July. The book is one of the first Finnish hockey romances. Another work in the genre is Annukka Salama’s young adult novel Sulamispiste, published by WSOY in 2025.

“Yhden kesän pelisuunnitelma is my view of where we are in Finnish hockey circles and how female and male hockey players compare with one another. A little romance has slipped in among all that,” Suntio says.

Hockey romance gains popularity

When Suntio began working on her debut novel, hockey romances had already started gaining popularity on the other side of the Atlantic.

The trend has been visible in the 2020s on TikTok, where hundreds of thousands of videos have been posted under the hashtag hockey romance. Canadian hockey romances including Ella Kennedy’s Off-Campus and Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry have also become streaming hits.

In hockey romance, one or both parties in the romantic relationship play ice hockey. The books often take an aware approach, highlighting issues such as consent and diversity among the characters. The sports community also has an important role, comparable to that of a family or group of friends, according to Helena Mäntyniemi, a doctoral researcher at Tampere University.

Mäntyniemi says romance literature has numerous subgenres, and not every international trend reaches Finnish literature. Finnish writing is nevertheless influenced by international literature.

“When a phenomenon becomes better known, it is also easier to get it published,” Mäntyniemi says.

Other romance subgenres gaining ground in Finland include romantic fantasy, or romantasy, represented by S. K. Rosted’s Varjojen valtakunta series. Mäntyniemi says dark romance is also entering Finnish literature. It is typically characterised by morally questionable characters and power dynamics in relationships.

Hockey romance often represents a more aware side of romance literature, emphasising consent and diversity among the characters. Several hockey romances feature relationships between male players.

Sport at the centre of the story

Suntio’s book follows two professional hockey players, Ilona and Jonas. Ilona has been injured at the Olympics and is trying to return to the ice. Jonas, who plays in the NHL, flees to Finland after a previous relationship caused a media storm.

Although the book is a romance, Suntio wanted to put sport at the centre rather than use it merely as a backdrop for a wealthy and handsome male character.

“I am interested in the rules of hockey. How the season progresses, what is prioritised and what is not. When a hockey player is sidelined by an injury and when he plays with a ruptured spleen,” Suntio says.

The book also addresses the hockey world’s attitudes towards sexual minorities. Suntio is already preparing two sequels to Yhden kesän pelisuunnitelma.