Rating: 4🌈
“Fisher Cats’ Hale and Brewer Engaged: College Sweethearts or Fake Relationship?”
Faked engagement, best friends to lovers , bi-sexual awakening, hurt/comfort m/m hockey contemporary romance time! That’s a lot of tropes for a novel, and it’s not even close to covering the best elements that Vaughn includes in The Waiting Game.
This is the third in Brigham Vaughn’s Relationship Goals series, and I really enjoyed the two previous stories.
The Waiting Game has some great elements woven into its characters and narrative as well as some things I found a bit problematic.
Let’s dive into the positive aspects of this story first.
Korean Canadian history and culture that’s been used for the background and creation of Jonah Brewer , a Canadian Korean hockey player with a strong sense of community and a heartwarming grandmother who’s a great central figure in the novel. From the Korean food his grandmother, Jonah and Felix fix, to the house and gardens that mean home, the Korean culture is well established within the storyline.
Next is the story thread of Felix’s drunk driving, his temporary suspension from the team, and his ongoing treatment for alcoholism. Vaughn’s created in Felix a man still very much in the beginning stages of his recovery. This is Felix dealing with his sobriety and his alcoholism by going to his AA meetings, making those calls to his sponsor, Ismael, when he needs help, and generally within Felix’s storyline, making his journey as realistic as possible. His stress, fears, and doubts are all understandable.
Jonah too has some huge emotional baggage. His parents died in a plane crash when he was young and his life was uprooted from one culture to another. Loss upon loss. That deep seated fear of losing loved ones comes through, especially with his relationship with his remarkable Grandma Ji-min. The author’s making use of the three of them as the heart of this book is a great decision because as a family unit they are the best aspect of the story.
Now to the next part, the issues. It’s the romance that I feel wasn’t working as well. At least for about 20% of the book. From the 45 percent to about 65 percentage or over, where there’s almost no communication between them about what is happening between them, the book would have lost me except for Grandma Ji-min.
It was a great framework and friendship up to that point. Then fake engagement which was strange the way it was handled. Then more avoidance about talking. Then finally exploring new bisexuality and going forward at around 70 or so percent. When the romance felt grounded and believable.
There was, naturally, a several dramatic elements towards the end, and then moments to pull everything back together. That was terrific , and some of it was very moving.
But for me, that large passage of non communication almost derailed it. Which was a shame because, as I said, there’s so much that’s absolutely wonderful here.
The Waiting Game is a good book in the series, although not my favorite. I’m recommending it and it’s great to see diverse representations in hockey .
Great cover.
Relationship Goals:
✓ The Husband Game #1
✓ The Head Game #2
✓ The Waiting Game #3
◦ The Home Game #4 – June 2024
Buy link
The Waiting Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 3)
Blurb:
Fisher Cats’ Hale and Brewer Engaged: College Sweethearts or Fake Relationship?
On the eve of their first playoff game this post-season, the Toronto Fisher Cats organization sent out a press release announcing the engagement of their top D-pair.
The release insinuates the childhood friends may have been involved as far back as college and makes it clear the front office supports the relationship. “We are confident that such a longstanding relationship will be nothing but beneficial to Felix in his recovery.”
Reactions are mixed.
An anonymous inside source stated, “Legit? No way. This whole thing’s a PR stunt to soften the public’s perception of Hale.”
One fan commented, “Hale & Brewer have always been so adorable together! It’s great they finally feel comfortable being out about their relationship!”
While many fans are similarly supportive, others speculate that the announcement is tied to the Cats’ shaky play of late. “We all know they’re not gonna make it past the first round,” one fan stated. “It’s just an attempt to distract from how weak the team is.”
Adding fuel to the controversy, Hale shared an image of the players naked in bed together and captioned, “Pre-game nap with Jonah before we take on the Montreal Lynx. Go, Cats!”
PR stunt or happily engaged couple? Only time will tell.
TRIGGER WARNING: Frank discussion of alcoholism, past death of parents, and emotionally neglectful parents.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 