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nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
Sports based stories are not usually my thing, but Hazard was pretty good. I liked the world that the author created and the story for all that there wasn't a complicated plot (join team, learn control, defeat enemy etc) was fairly fast paced. The beginning and ending were also very nicely balanced. To be honest, Random's keeping of secrets, for lack of a better way of putting it, was very irritating. He had a phenomenal support system which he only accessed when he absolutely had to. And this lack of confiding caused so many problems. I know he's young (but not really) and eventually he did get his head out of his ass, but some of his choices/actions were incredibly aggravating.
bookish_notes's review against another edition
4.0
This book was SO good and I read this all in one sitting. Why did no one tell me this book is ALL hockey? I love a good sports book, and this adds another level to it all because it’s about a wizard who gets kicked out of the NHL and joins the paranormal hockey league. He’s the first wizard in the league and there are cat and dog shifters, as well as those known as “sensitives” or people who are more attuned to magic.
I wouldn’t say this was a sports romance, but there IS a romance element to it. This is m/f but I didn’t really care for the romance in this book? It’s more of a side story that felt like it got shoved in than what you’d expect from reading romance books.
The sports element was A++ and I loved that the MC, Random, lived and BREATHED the sport. His mother handed over guardianship of him when he was younger and he has lived with his best friend, Duncan, and his mom and dad ever since. I loved the brotherly friendship between Duncan and Random, and can’t wait to see more of them in the next book!
I wouldn’t say this was a sports romance, but there IS a romance element to it. This is m/f but I didn’t really care for the romance in this book? It’s more of a side story that felt like it got shoved in than what you’d expect from reading romance books.
The sports element was A++ and I loved that the MC, Random, lived and BREATHED the sport. His mother handed over guardianship of him when he was younger and he has lived with his best friend, Duncan, and his mom and dad ever since. I loved the brotherly friendship between Duncan and Random, and can’t wait to see more of them in the next book!
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Devon Monk is one of the few authors that is on my get-now list. As soon as I hear she has a new one out, it's in the shopping cart or loaded on the Nook. There are a few that I have on the shelf that I am doling out slowly to savor so I haven't read everything she's written. Yet. Savoring.....
Anyway this is a fun, fairly mellow UF by a favorite author and I am looking forward to the next one. I hope it comes out soon. I don't even dig hockey, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of this book. It was the magic that drew me in. The way it's described. Magic is music and color. How it affects Random when he channels it even though he's been hiding his ability pretty much his whole life.
I liked the way he felt guilty for using magic, for hiding magic from his family, for feeling the way he did when he got knocked out of his dream and had to take a substitute. Watching him accept his life, protect his family and friends and teammates and learn how to use his magic.
Really looking forward to the next in the series. I hope it's out soon, Devon!!
Definite recommend for this book and author!
Anyway this is a fun, fairly mellow UF by a favorite author and I am looking forward to the next one. I hope it comes out soon. I don't even dig hockey, but it didn't stop my enjoyment of this book. It was the magic that drew me in. The way it's described. Magic is music and color. How it affects Random when he channels it even though he's been hiding his ability pretty much his whole life.
I liked the way he felt guilty for using magic, for hiding magic from his family, for feeling the way he did when he got knocked out of his dream and had to take a substitute. Watching him accept his life, protect his family and friends and teammates and learn how to use his magic.
Really looking forward to the next in the series. I hope it's out soon, Devon!!
Definite recommend for this book and author!
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
4.0
A review from my own personal copy.
Devon Monk has been a favorite of mine for years and now that a new series popped up I just had to read it. Random Hazard is a wizard... only for years he has suppressed it so that he can play in the normal NHL. After saving someone from death with his magic, his dreams of playing in the NHL are crumbled. Left now with his only option to play with West Hell league, but he still comes out amazing.
What did I like? This was a fun read which all of this author's books are fun. Not to mention unique as hell. Random was a super fun character and his sidekick Duncan made me laugh with little effort. There's also a tiny bit of romance for Random with a cute girlfriend Genevieve. It also looks like we will be getting Duncan's book next.
Would I buy this book? Yep, done. Bought a paperback too. I have bought pretty much every book by this author. I'm not lucky enough to become an advanced reader...
Thoughts for the author? The ending was abrupt in this book, and I felt like I needed more which I'm guessing your giving with another book. Still your a fav author!!
Devon Monk has been a favorite of mine for years and now that a new series popped up I just had to read it. Random Hazard is a wizard... only for years he has suppressed it so that he can play in the normal NHL. After saving someone from death with his magic, his dreams of playing in the NHL are crumbled. Left now with his only option to play with West Hell league, but he still comes out amazing.
What did I like? This was a fun read which all of this author's books are fun. Not to mention unique as hell. Random was a super fun character and his sidekick Duncan made me laugh with little effort. There's also a tiny bit of romance for Random with a cute girlfriend Genevieve. It also looks like we will be getting Duncan's book next.
Would I buy this book? Yep, done. Bought a paperback too. I have bought pretty much every book by this author. I'm not lucky enough to become an advanced reader...
Thoughts for the author? The ending was abrupt in this book, and I felt like I needed more which I'm guessing your giving with another book. Still your a fav author!!
bayerischer_buecherdrache's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
Sports based stories are not usually my thing, but Hazard was pretty good. I liked the world that the author created and the story for all that there wasn't a complicated plot (join team, learn control, defeat enemy etc) was fairly fast paced. The beginning and ending were also very nicely balanced. To be honest, Random's keeping of secrets, for lack of a better way of putting it, was very irritating. He had a phenomenal support system which he only accessed when he absolutely had to. And this lack of confiding caused so many problems. I know he's young (but not really) and eventually he did get his head out of his ass, but some of his choices/actions were incredibly aggravating.
bananatricky's review
4.0
Fantastic start to a new series about a hockey league for 'Marked'.
Random Hazard has everything he ever wanted within his grasp as he is a rookie drafted into the NHL, until a potentially fatal accident forces him to reveal his magic in order to save a fellow rookie's life. Excluded from the NHL Ran is tricked into trying out for the Portland Thunderbirds, a hockey league for shifters, sensitives and other magical beings.
Imagine Harry Potter as a twenty-two year old hockey player, a magical novice with immense talent, an anomaly, fighting his magic and you have may some idea of how this plays out. It's part bildungsroman, part sports romance, part urban fantasy with great characters and a fascinating piece of world-building and exploration of magic use. This promises to be a great series.
Random Hazard has everything he ever wanted within his grasp as he is a rookie drafted into the NHL, until a potentially fatal accident forces him to reveal his magic in order to save a fellow rookie's life. Excluded from the NHL Ran is tricked into trying out for the Portland Thunderbirds, a hockey league for shifters, sensitives and other magical beings.
Imagine Harry Potter as a twenty-two year old hockey player, a magical novice with immense talent, an anomaly, fighting his magic and you have may some idea of how this plays out. It's part bildungsroman, part sports romance, part urban fantasy with great characters and a fascinating piece of world-building and exploration of magic use. This promises to be a great series.
kaje_harper's review
5.0
This is a very entertaining book about an alternate universe where wizards and shape-shifters live among humans, for the most part amicably. Of course, there are places that are human-only, because the paranormals have some real physical advantages, and one of those is in the top tier of professional sports, including hockey. Random Hazard has dreamed of the NHL since he was small, and he's only used his magic twice in his life, always fighting off the urges and conveniences it would offer, in order to be human and play in the human league. But a moment of choice, between outing himself as a wizard or letting a teammate be badly injured or killed, shows Hazard's true nature.
He's out, and sent to the league where the supernatural "freaks" still mix play and threat and fighting at a whole different level. For Hazard, it's the end of a lifelong dream. But his almost-brother, a wolf-shifter, is there, and some of his new team are good guys, and maybe he can make a new life out of it.
I really enjoyed the characters, the friendships, and the world-building. Hazard is straight, and there's a light touch of female romance interest, but it is more about his friendships with his teammates and rebuilding his life (and some external threats) than about romance. I'm really looking forward to another book in this series.
He's out, and sent to the league where the supernatural "freaks" still mix play and threat and fighting at a whole different level. For Hazard, it's the end of a lifelong dream. But his almost-brother, a wolf-shifter, is there, and some of his new team are good guys, and maybe he can make a new life out of it.
I really enjoyed the characters, the friendships, and the world-building. Hazard is straight, and there's a light touch of female romance interest, but it is more about his friendships with his teammates and rebuilding his life (and some external threats) than about romance. I'm really looking forward to another book in this series.
owlsreads's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars!
*
Hazard is a fast paced and action packed Sports novel with a really cool world-building and an amazing set of characters. The story starts with a bang and the pace holds steady throughout the story, even as it moves through twists and new obstacles. There is also a little bit of romance, but this is very much a book focused on the main character, Hazard, and his love for hockey.
Devon Monk creates an intriguing universe with this series. The combination of magic and hockey is really well done and compelling. The humor, when combined with the characters’ relationships, truly makes the story shine. A really nice and unique read.
First things first, since this really threw me off halfway into the book because I’m so used to queer hockey novels I just assumed Hazard would fall in love with one of his male teammates: the little romance that is sprinkled through the plot is heterosexual! No male hockey players smooching each other in this novel. And there is very little romance at all, since the story very much focuses on the sport and team dynamics. :D
I really really loved all of the characters. Monk does an incredible job with writing them all as complex and layered individuals. There is quite a bit of mystery surrounding more than one character, and I really enjoy how it’s all explored throughout the story. Hazard is also a good narrator, if a bit terrible at making choices at times, and the internal conflict he goes through as he develops as a character is really well written.
The magic aspect, especially regarding Hazard, is also really interesting! I wish we’d gotten a little bit more info on just how powerful Hazard is, though. Even so, the way it seamlessly threads together with hockey is such a delight. Monk really does make this a unique and creative setting for the characters, especially with the way Hazard’s magic manifests.
Overall, Hazard is an unique and pretty entertaining read. The humor and amazing characters are amazing to read about, especially when combined with a plot filled with action and twists. There is little romance, but a lot of familial and platonic relationships that fill the novel with great and touching scenes. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for unique Urban Fantasy stories!
*
Series: #1 in the West Hell Magic series.
Beings: Wizards and shifters!
POV: Told from Hazard’s POV.
Content Warnings:
Instalove:
Cliffhanger: No.
HEA:
Up Next: Spark.
*
It would save him. Save him.
Hazard is a fast paced and action packed Sports novel with a really cool world-building and an amazing set of characters. The story starts with a bang and the pace holds steady throughout the story, even as it moves through twists and new obstacles. There is also a little bit of romance, but this is very much a book focused on the main character, Hazard, and his love for hockey.
Devon Monk creates an intriguing universe with this series. The combination of magic and hockey is really well done and compelling. The humor, when combined with the characters’ relationships, truly makes the story shine. A really nice and unique read.
First things first, since this really threw me off halfway into the book because I’m so used to queer hockey novels I just assumed Hazard would fall in love with one of his male teammates: the little romance that is sprinkled through the plot is heterosexual! No male hockey players smooching each other in this novel. And there is very little romance at all, since the story very much focuses on the sport and team dynamics. :D
I really really loved all of the characters. Monk does an incredible job with writing them all as complex and layered individuals. There is quite a bit of mystery surrounding more than one character, and I really enjoy how it’s all explored throughout the story. Hazard is also a good narrator, if a bit terrible at making choices at times, and the internal conflict he goes through as he develops as a character is really well written.
The magic aspect, especially regarding Hazard, is also really interesting! I wish we’d gotten a little bit more info on just how powerful Hazard is, though. Even so, the way it seamlessly threads together with hockey is such a delight. Monk really does make this a unique and creative setting for the characters, especially with the way Hazard’s magic manifests.
Overall, Hazard is an unique and pretty entertaining read. The humor and amazing characters are amazing to read about, especially when combined with a plot filled with action and twists. There is little romance, but a lot of familial and platonic relationships that fill the novel with great and touching scenes. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for unique Urban Fantasy stories!
*
Series: #1 in the West Hell Magic series.
Beings: Wizards and shifters!
POV: Told from Hazard’s POV.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
None.Instalove:
Spoiler
Yup, but it’s really not the focus of the story.Cliffhanger: No.
HEA:
Spoiler
I’d say so!Up Next: Spark.