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A review by bee_thebibliophile
Home Ice Advantage by Ari Baran
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Home Ice Advantage is the twist on hockey romance that I never knew I was missing until I read this book!
Ryan (Sully) Sullivan is a retired hockey phenom with Stanley Cup wins, MVPs and the Hall of Fame all under his belt, but since retiring, he’s been just as obsessed with hockey as he was while he was playing, tearing his marriage apart. When the opportunity comes up to coach his hometown Boston NHL team, he can’t pass it up even though returning to Boston means opening a new can of worms with his family. He’s a new head coach, trying to work with a broken team while also establishing his own coaching style. Sully is a smaller guy but has a huge presence, is incredibly positive most of the time and is honestly a little oblivious when it comes to his love life.
Eric Aronson is also a retired hockey player, but one with a lot less accolades but with lots of experience under his belt and a reputation for fighting. He’s been coaching in Boston for years, trying to work his way up to the head coach position, something he gets passed over for in favor of Ryan. Eric is a bit of a loner and doesn’t have many friends in Boston but he’s very close to his mother, despite their physical distance. He’s a quiet guy but he has a lot of opinions and isn’t afraid to share them when he thinks he’s right. Eric has spent years hiding his sexuality, but isn’t afraid to go after what he wants.
These two are like oil and water when they first start working together - they just don’t mix. Eric wanted the head coach job but was passed up for inexperienced, golden boy Ryan, something he made known he wasn’t happy about. But, once they figure out their attraction to each other, things begin to change. They start opening up, working better together, communicating more, turning things around for the team…all while slowly falling more and more in love with each other every day. While things weren’t perfect between them at work, they made space for each other in their lives, supporting each other, meeting each other’s families and genuinely just making each other happy, something I loved to see.
I really enjoyed this book and honestly didn’t want it to end. Really looking forward to more stories like this from Ari Baran in the future!
Ryan (Sully) Sullivan is a retired hockey phenom with Stanley Cup wins, MVPs and the Hall of Fame all under his belt, but since retiring, he’s been just as obsessed with hockey as he was while he was playing, tearing his marriage apart. When the opportunity comes up to coach his hometown Boston NHL team, he can’t pass it up even though returning to Boston means opening a new can of worms with his family. He’s a new head coach, trying to work with a broken team while also establishing his own coaching style. Sully is a smaller guy but has a huge presence, is incredibly positive most of the time and is honestly a little oblivious when it comes to his love life.
Eric Aronson is also a retired hockey player, but one with a lot less accolades but with lots of experience under his belt and a reputation for fighting. He’s been coaching in Boston for years, trying to work his way up to the head coach position, something he gets passed over for in favor of Ryan. Eric is a bit of a loner and doesn’t have many friends in Boston but he’s very close to his mother, despite their physical distance. He’s a quiet guy but he has a lot of opinions and isn’t afraid to share them when he thinks he’s right. Eric has spent years hiding his sexuality, but isn’t afraid to go after what he wants.
These two are like oil and water when they first start working together - they just don’t mix. Eric wanted the head coach job but was passed up for inexperienced, golden boy Ryan, something he made known he wasn’t happy about. But, once they figure out their attraction to each other, things begin to change. They start opening up, working better together, communicating more, turning things around for the team…all while slowly falling more and more in love with each other every day. While things weren’t perfect between them at work, they made space for each other in their lives, supporting each other, meeting each other’s families and genuinely just making each other happy, something I loved to see.
I really enjoyed this book and honestly didn’t want it to end. Really looking forward to more stories like this from Ari Baran in the future!