galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
READ: Aug 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary romance, Ezra is an out-and-proud player in the NHL who lives up to his fuckboy image on a near-daily basis, while Anton is only privately out to the important people in his life plus his team, avoiding a media persona that would have nothing to do with his skill on the ice. Their rivalry in the rink, however, is fair game to the gossip rags and surrounded by speculation and chatter. When a post-game encounter turns into a heated hookup, the boys get caught up in a clash of egos; they don’t want to admit they want more, but Ezra doesn’t do commitment, and Anton doesn’t share.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4 / 5⭐
You want rivals-to-lovers sports tropes? We’ve got ‘em all here for you! Clashing competitiveness on the ice, sizzling chemistry off of it. Unexpectedly being forced to work together as a team. Guy-one climbing his way to the top while guy-two was born into the sport with natural talent. Hookups affecting the gameplay, superstition keeping things rolling along. And naturally, you can’t have a sports romance without The Big Tournament on the line. All of this leads to the fact that I’ve read this same story half a dozen times already, under different titles and by different authors.
Tropeyness aside, what this book has going for it is a very memorable main character with personality for days. Ezra is a big ego with an unapologetic, live-out-loud lifestyle, who shines both on and off the ice. He gets blasted by the media for his antics and behaviour, but it’s worth all the ridicule in the world if just one queer kid can see gay representation in big league sports and feel a sense of support and belonging. Sex and hockey fill the hole left behind from an upbringing devoid of affection, and Anton’s no-sharing rule makes for a challenge in reining Ezra’s needs in; or rather, hyper-focusing said needs onto the man capable of rocking his world.
Anton is a bit more reserved than Ezra in his public image, but he has an ego of his own that can hold its ground, with him preferring to be talked about for his skill in the rink rather than who he gets caught sleeping with. He started from nothing and worked his way up, making it into the NFL off of merit and determination alone. To the detriment of Ezra’s wild ways, Anton has a possessive streak a mile long and will not tolerate a partner with divided attention. Ezra might never offer him anything more than a good time, but at least Anton can demand Ezra’s full focus for as long as this thing between them lasts.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.25 / 5⭐
It’s a good read. I don’t think this book accomplishes anything within the genre that others haven’t already done, but the characters and the chemistry are well-written and enjoyable. Even the on-ice action is written well enough to not completely lose me. One big pet peeve of mine, though, is cross-series cameos, and this book was absolutely riddled with them. Some couples are from the author pair’s CU Hockey series, and some are from Finley’s Fake Boyfriend series, both of which I’ve only read one or two books from – and not any time recently. The single cameo I was actually capable of recognizing, I wound up missing entirely just due to time and distance.
I was not even one chapter in before deciding that Cendese absolutely kills it with his narration in this book. Toma is certainly pulling his weight with a great performance of his own, but Cendese’s energy is on a whole level of its own and extremely difficult to match. The guy can read.
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 4.25 / 5⭐
Did it change my life? No, but I can still understand why this book gets the level of hype and attention that it does. It’s extremely well-produced on all fronts, it’s well-paced, spicy hot, and other complimentary notes. As each book trickles into my library’s availability, I’m likely to continue on with this series whenever that mood strikes for sweaty, competitive sportsmen getting hands-on with each other.
This book has representation for gays and, ostensibly, bisexuals. There is little else in the way of diversity.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Spoiler
This book contains: mention of sexist behaviour/toxic masculinity; alcohol use; mention of homophobia; reference to deaths of parents in a fatal car accident; punching/assault, mentions of fighting and in-game violence; and, strained family relations (emotionally unavailable parents).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Car accident, and Homophobia
tragicgloom's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was kinda obvious that this book was written by two cis het women. No queer man would say "I'm on PrEP. You don't need a condom..." when there are hundreds of different STIs besides HIV(PrEP is only for HIV).
Also, I didn't really like the main characters for the first half of the book. They were too annoying and childish for men in their late 20s. But later on they kinda grew on me and I enjoyed the second half of the book.
Also, I didn't really like the main characters for the first half of the book. They were too annoying and childish for men in their late 20s. But later on they kinda grew on me and I enjoyed the second half of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Violence, and Misogyny
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