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A review by lmrivas54
Anton by Brenda Rothert
4.0
Another hockey romance but this one hardly had any action on the ice, it was all about the love story. Twins Anton and Alexei Petrov were brought from Russia when they were five years old to live with an American family and train in hockey. Alexei is the natural athlete, with the highest scores, and Anton is the highest paid, both captains of their teams. They don’t play together because they play the same position in a team. This leads to friendly competitive squabbles between the twins. As can be expected, Alexei is the rowdy twin, loves to drink and party, while Anton is the serious twin, and lives a quiet life. Since Anton doesn’t have the natural talent his brother does, he substituted with tenacity, discipline and insistence. He eats well, sleeps well, exercises constantly, all in order to play at the top.
Anton is called Father Anton because of his celibacy, in contrast to his teammates’ constant hookups. The reason is that for the past two years, he’s been in love with the wife of a team mate, Adam Marceau. He was felled as if by striking two years ago when she first appeared at a team event. Disgusted by Adam’s constant cheating on his wife, when he chances upon her tending bar in Southside Chicago, he approaches and offers friendship.
From the start, Mia gave me the impression of an abused wife. She has no friends, is separated from Adam and wishing for a divorce but can’t afford one, penniless and living a hand to mouth existence. She’s working and studying to get a better future and take care of her Gramps. Anton is as much a serious guy as a caring and generous person, and when he sees the object of his love going through a bad time, he offers help without expecting anything in return. His sole purpose is to make her life easier.
You could say that Anton is a stodgy fellow, but he’s so caring and so giving that he’s excused. The fact that he only eats chicken or salmon with veggies is almost a sin, but it’s forgivable also. He’s relentless in his effort to help Mia, same as in the care of his obnoxious adopted uncle Dix. When Mia accepts a job taking care of Dix is when the best dialogues and fun times we have in the book. Mia is at times a spitfire and other times a scaredy cat who is afraid of the future because she has so few options. When her roommate had a meltdown, she came to the rescue and organized their lives so her friend could get ahead of her troubles. This gave me the idea of all she could be, if she had the resources. She’s a great character, just very down in her luck.
I liked that this time the hero is not a playboy or a cocky athlete, but a serious and dedicated man, responsible and tenacious. The book is somewhat predictable but the characters are so endearing that you can’t help but like the story.
Anton is called Father Anton because of his celibacy, in contrast to his teammates’ constant hookups. The reason is that for the past two years, he’s been in love with the wife of a team mate, Adam Marceau. He was felled as if by striking two years ago when she first appeared at a team event. Disgusted by Adam’s constant cheating on his wife, when he chances upon her tending bar in Southside Chicago, he approaches and offers friendship.
From the start, Mia gave me the impression of an abused wife. She has no friends, is separated from Adam and wishing for a divorce but can’t afford one, penniless and living a hand to mouth existence. She’s working and studying to get a better future and take care of her Gramps. Anton is as much a serious guy as a caring and generous person, and when he sees the object of his love going through a bad time, he offers help without expecting anything in return. His sole purpose is to make her life easier.
You could say that Anton is a stodgy fellow, but he’s so caring and so giving that he’s excused. The fact that he only eats chicken or salmon with veggies is almost a sin, but it’s forgivable also. He’s relentless in his effort to help Mia, same as in the care of his obnoxious adopted uncle Dix. When Mia accepts a job taking care of Dix is when the best dialogues and fun times we have in the book. Mia is at times a spitfire and other times a scaredy cat who is afraid of the future because she has so few options. When her roommate had a meltdown, she came to the rescue and organized their lives so her friend could get ahead of her troubles. This gave me the idea of all she could be, if she had the resources. She’s a great character, just very down in her luck.
I liked that this time the hero is not a playboy or a cocky athlete, but a serious and dedicated man, responsible and tenacious. The book is somewhat predictable but the characters are so endearing that you can’t help but like the story.