Toronto Star bestsellers: From baseball to hockey with Becka Mack's new romance 'Breathe With Me'

Mack told the Star in September that “If they’re not already a hockey fan, I don’t think readers understand just how inherently sexy hockey is.

“It’s fast, it’s aggressive, it’s sweaty, and hockey players are incredibly skilled with their hands.”

In “Breathe With Me,” the fifth book in Mack’s “Playing for Keeps” series, hockey power couple Emmett Brodie and Cara Hunter contend with infertility.

And in the realm of factual hockey books, we have James Duthie‘s “Certified Beauties,” at No. 2 on original non-fiction and No. 1 on the Canadian list. 

It’s subtitled “More of Hockey’s Greatest Untold Stories,” in which Duthie shares tales he’s gathered in his time as a TSN sportscaster.

It’s not just hockey that’s infiltrating Canadians’ reading, however.

Soccer earns a berth at No. 4 on the original fiction list with Ana Huang‘s “The Defender,” the third in her “Gods of the Game” series: it’s a steamy romance between the captain of the Blackcastle Football Club in England and the daughter of his coach. 

Finally, breaking into the Canadian non-fiction list at No. 8, wrestler Nattie Neidhart shares her story in “The Last Hart Beating: From the Dungeon to WWE.”

Neidhart, the longest serving female wrestler in WWE history, writes about her chaotic upbringing as part of the legendary Hart family — her father was Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, her uncles Bret and Owen Hart — and her two decades as a professional wrestler.

ORIGINAL FICTION

1. The Black Wolf, Louise Penny, Minotaur (2)*

2. Bonds of Hercules (deluxe edition), Jasmine Mas, Canary Street (1)

3. Breathe With Me, Becka Mack, Simon & Schuster (1)

4. The Defender (deluxe edition), Ana Huang, Bloom (1)

5. The Widow, John Grisham, Doubleday (2)

6. The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown, Doubleday (8)

7. Always Remember, Charlie Mackesy, Penguin (3)

8. Alchemised, SenLinYu, Del Ray (6)

9. The Intruder, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen (4)

10. Final Orbit, Chris Hadfield, Random House Canada (3)

ORIGINAL NON-FICTION

1. Nobody’s Girl, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Knopf (2)

2. Certified Beauties, James Duthie, Collins (2)

3. That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You, Elyse Myers, William Morrow (1)

4. 1929, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Viking (3)

5. Vanished Beyond the Map, Adam Shoalts, Allen Lane (4)

6. The Uncool, Cameron Crowe, Avid Reader (1)

7. Finding My Way, Malala Yousafzai, Atria (2)

8. Last Rites, Ozzy Osbourne, Grand Central (4)

9. Breaking Point, Darrell Bricker, John Ibbitson, Signal (1)

10. Future Boy, Michael J. Fox, Nelle Fortenberry, Flatiron (3)

CANADIAN FICTION

1. The Black Wolf, Louise Penny, Minotaur

2. Breathe With Me, Becka Mack, Simon & Schuster 

3. Final Orbit, Chris Hadfield, Random House Canada

4. The Spirit of Scatarie, Lesley Crewe, Vagrant

5. Finding Flora, Elinor Florence, Simon & Schuster

6. Pick a Colour, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Knopf Canada

7. She Didn’t See It Coming, Shari Lapena, Doubleday Canada

8. The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny, Minotaur

9. A Season for Spies, Iona Whishaw, TouchWood

10. One Golden Summer, Carley Fortune, Viking

CANADIAN NON-FICTION

1. Certified Beauties, James Duthie, Collins

2. Vanished Beyond the Map, Adam Shoalts, Allen Lane 

3. Breaking Point, Darrell Bricker, John Ibbitson, Signal

4. Future Boy, Michael J. Fox, Nelle Fortenberry, Flatiron

5. Elbows Up!, edited by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, McClelland & Stewart 

6. The Smiling Land, Alan Doyle, Doubleday Canada

7. John Candy, Paul Myers, House of Anansi

8. The Last Hart Beating, Nattie Neidhart, Simon & Schuster

9. Enshittification, Cory Doctorow, MCD/FSG

10. Against the Grain, Terry O’Reilly, Collins

CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT

1. Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #20), Jeff Kinney, Amulet

2. Secret Santa, Sophie Jomain, Manon Bucciarelli, Éditions et Diffusions Auzou

3. Darkstalker: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire), Tui T. Sutherland, Jake Parker, Graphix

4. A Heart for Christmas, Sophie Jomain, Manon Bucciarelli, Éditions et Diffusions Auzou

5. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter (Baby-sitters Club #18), Ellen T. Crenshaw, Ann M. Martin, Graphix

6. Warriors (The Prophecies Begin #3), Erin Hunter, Natalie Riess, Sara Goetter, HarperAlley

7. Big Jim Believes (Dog Man #14), Dav Pilkey, Graphix

8. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch, Sheila McGraw, Firefly

9. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle, Penguin Young Readers Group

10. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry, Clarion

BUSINESS AND PERSONAL FINANCE

1. The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel, Harriman House

2. Atomic Habits, James Clear, Avery

3. Strong Ground, Brené Brown, Random House

4. The Art of Spending Money, Morgan Housel, Portfolio

5. Wisdom Takes Work, Ryan Holiday, Portfolio

6. Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Plata

7. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho, HarperOne

8. The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier, Page Two

9. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, Sean Covey, Jim Collins, Simon & Schuster

10. Start With Why, Simon Sinek, Portfolio

*Weeks on list

The bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.