A Barb Release Day Review: Empty Net (Scoring Chances #4) by Avon Gale

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Spartanburg Spitfires’ goalie and captain Isaac Drake ended last season with an unexpected trip to the playoffs. He’s found a home and family with his coach and mentor, Misha Samarin, and he’s looking forward to making a serious run for the Kelly Cup. But things take an interesting turn when Isaac’s archnemesis, Laurent St. Savoy, is traded to the Spitfires. After Laurent’s despicable behavior in the playoffs last year, Isaac wants nothing to do with him – no matter how gorgeous he is. But that changes when Isaac discovers the reason for Laurent’s attitude.

Laurent St. Savoy grew up the only son of a legendary NHL goalie in a household rife with abuse, constantly treated like a disappointment on and off the ice. When a desperate attempt to escape his father’s tyranny sends him to the Spitfires, the last thing Laurent wants is to make friends. But there’s something about Isaac Drake that he can’t resist, and Laurent has an opportunity to explore his sexuality for the first time, but he’s cracking under end-of-the season pressures. When facing the playoffs and a rivalry turned personal vendetta, Isaac’s not sure he’s enough to hold Laurent—or their relationship—together.

Please be advised: This book does contain some non-graphic references to past childhood physical/emotional abuse as well as issues relating to ED (bulimia and restricted eating, disordered thoughts about eating).

From the beginning, Laurent St. Savoy, the character I thought for sure I would hate, burrowed into my heart and found his home.  Oh, that poor young man! My heart just bled for him.  The author did an excellent job sketching his character immediately and then filling it in with details of his history of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, famous hockey player and now coach of the Asheville team, Denis St. Savoy. 

Laurent developed strong defense mechanisms in his early years and learned never to show his true feelings. We didn’t know last year, when he spit on Isaac in the playoffs, he was really dying about it on the inside. When he’s traded to the Spitfires as Isaac Drake’s backup goalie, the rivalry should be intense, but instead, after an early flare-up, Isaac discovers one of Laurent’s secrets.  Laurent has scars—on his back and in his mind—scars that are not so easy to explain.  But Isaac feels an innate need to comfort Laurent, and together they begin to explore what Laurent needs. 

Along the way, his eating disorder is discovered, his emotional abuse at the hands of his father, and his hatred for hockey—all unexpected and all difficult to overcome, but not impossible to work through.  With Isaac by his side, Laurent begins to make baby steps toward recovery. 

This story has so much going for it, including a lot of air time for Misha and Matt, Isaac’s coaches and the men he boards with. We see new sides to Misha and to their relationship as well as being present for Laurent’s discovery of sex and that what was missing all along was an emotional bond with another person.  The author explores disordered eating and provides information on therapeutic treatment, both in the story, and in the Afterword. 

The road to emotional health is long for Laurent, and it’s a huge struggle to make the strides he makes over the course of this story. The author gives us a very easy-to-hate character in Denis St. Savoy, but she also gives us an opportunity for revenge as Laurent takes his final step to break his relationship with the man who treated him so despicably during his life. 

To be honest, the whole series is amazing. Each book has brought unique characters in unique situations and a warm and satisfying ending. This one is no different in that way, but it is just so much more.  It’s more intense, more emotional, and more memorable, IMHO.  It’s certainly one I can easily recommend without any hesitation at all.

The cover by Aaron Anderson is also one of the most attractive I’ve seen all year.  Blue-tinted, it depicts an empty hockey net surrounded by ice and with lightning strikes in the background.  When I squint my eyes, I can see ghostlike outlines of players in the lines formed by the lightning—whether intentional or just my imagination, I’m not sure, but the overall effect is very impressive. 

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Book Details:

ebook, 200 pages
Published September 2nd 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634775856 (ISBN13: 9781634775854)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesScoring Chances #4