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A review by bitchie
Power Play by Avon Gale
5.0
I loved this! Loved Max and Misha, and getting to know a whole new team. For those of you readers out there who are worried about this being a book 3, it can totally stand on it's own. The MCs from book 2 make a very quick appearance near the end of the book, otherwise, it's a whole new team, whole new state, and all new characters.
I'm not gonna recap the story, that's what the blurb is for. Misha has felt guilty for years about what happened, even though it wasn't really his fault, it's just something that happens in sports. Max never blamed Misha, which I thought was great. Max was adorable, so happy and positive, considering what happened to him. I also loved his family, they were great. Misha has much more of a dark past, growing up in Russia with a pretty hardcore gangster father, and Misha did what he had to do to get away from that life.
I do have some nitpicks, but that's only because I'm actually from the area where this book takes place, so I had a few issues with the logistics. I've actually gone to some shows at the Bon Secours arena, it's around 30 minutes from my house, and I'm in the area all the time. So my nitpicks are as follows(spoiler tagged, so you don't have to see it if you don't wanna, but it doesn't spoil the story at all):
Second was the alcohol. I might have read it wrong, but it was implied that Max bought the vodka in a gas station, and that Max's dad bought vodka in a grocery store. In South Carolina, hard liquor is ONLY sold in "package stores", not gas stations or grocery stores. You can get beer and cheap wine, but that's it. You also can't buy liquor after 7 p.m. Gotta love those Blue Laws!
There actually IS a hockey team that plays out of Bon Secours. It's called the Swamp Rabbits, which I don't understand, we're inland, not many swamps around here. Not surprised the author went with a fictional team.
But other than those nitpicks, that NO ONE that isn't from the area will ever even notice, I loved this book, and can't wait for the next one. Although would it be terrible of me to offer my knowledge of the area to the author?
I'm not gonna recap the story, that's what the blurb is for. Misha has felt guilty for years about what happened, even though it wasn't really his fault, it's just something that happens in sports. Max never blamed Misha, which I thought was great. Max was adorable, so happy and positive, considering what happened to him. I also loved his family, they were great. Misha has much more of a dark past, growing up in Russia with a pretty hardcore gangster father, and Misha did what he had to do to get away from that life.
I do have some nitpicks, but that's only because I'm actually from the area where this book takes place, so I had a few issues with the logistics. I've actually gone to some shows at the Bon Secours arena, it's around 30 minutes from my house, and I'm in the area all the time. So my nitpicks are as follows(spoiler tagged, so you don't have to see it if you don't wanna, but it doesn't spoil the story at all):
Spoiler
Bon Secours arena is in Greenville, not Spartanburg. Different counties, right next to each other, that share an airport, called Greenville Spartanburg Airport, or GSP. Spartanburg has Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, which is a much smaller arena. Oh, and Columbia is downstate, so you'd say you lived/played "down in Columbia", not "up in Columbia".Second was the alcohol. I might have read it wrong, but it was implied that Max bought the vodka in a gas station, and that Max's dad bought vodka in a grocery store. In South Carolina, hard liquor is ONLY sold in "package stores", not gas stations or grocery stores. You can get beer and cheap wine, but that's it. You also can't buy liquor after 7 p.m. Gotta love those Blue Laws!
There actually IS a hockey team that plays out of Bon Secours. It's called the Swamp Rabbits, which I don't understand, we're inland, not many swamps around here. Not surprised the author went with a fictional team.
But other than those nitpicks, that NO ONE that isn't from the area will ever even notice, I loved this book, and can't wait for the next one. Although would it be terrible of me to offer my knowledge of the area to the author?