Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
Changing on the Fly features four M/M stories about hockey players falling in love on – and off – the ice. It includes the following stories:
1. Head in the Game by Jeff Adams
Rating: 2.5 Stars out of 5
Roger Jacobson is having a hard time getting his head in the game following his disastrous breakup, when things start looking really bad he turns to his roots for help in the form of Coach Barker. What Roger wasn’t expecting was the distraction in the form of Dylan Barker. Can Roger fix his game and his heart?
This story didn’t have any impact on me. It is a nice little unassuming tale but it lacked the depth that makes a story memorable. It’s hard to pin-point what exactly didn’t work in this story because on the surface everything works. The story has a nice premise and the writing is good but nothing about this story left an impression.
In fact on second thought, I felt like things just weren’t hard enough, I don’t know, this story needs a little bit more fight in it. Personally, I was just never that invested in these characters for their story to mean something to me. Otherwise, it is a good read but extremely forgettable.
2. Second Chance at Love by Heather Lire
Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
Zach needs a break after the crazy couple of months that see his hockey career end and see him elected as Mayor of Holiday, Vermont. He ends up in Costa Rica ready for a relaxing vacation only to find out that he is sharing his beach house with Tony, his best friend from High School. Will this surprise reunion ignite something new between these two friends?
The one thing I have to mention in regards to this story is that it features no hockey in it, like at all, which was kind of weird and technically doesn’t even feature a hockey player. It features an ex-hockey player. I kind of picked up this anthology for the hockey so that was a bit of a disappointment but then I kind of reset my expectations because even the following story didn’t have much hockey in it.
This story does have my favourite troop friends-to-lovers but it really fails to develop on it. This story is very hot and heavy and I feel like the sexual development kind of occurs at the altar of everything else (like character and story development). So when things do happen they feel a little rushed, especially in regards to that Epilogue. I personally didn’t get to know the characters enough to know for sure that they would end up like they did in the epilogue.
Overall, this is a hot and heavy quickie but not much in the way of story development.
3. Rookie Moves by V L Locey
Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
Riley and Keiffer have made it despite all odds, but now Keiffer finds himself under the spotlight. Will Keiffer be able to get a hold of his life and be able to figure out what he wants to do with his life, or will he crumble under the media blizzard?
I liked this story quite a lot. In fact, I liked it so much that I read the prequel to this one as well after finishing this one.
Riley and Keiffer make an incredible couple. At times it is hard to imagine that such a couple could actually work but then you see them interact and they click so well together that you can’t figure out the doubts you had. Of course, at the core of their relationship is balance Riley has an insurmountable amount of power over Keiffer given that Keiffer is completely dependent on Riley for everything and as of yet can’t support himself and at times that power dynamic does err on the wrong side. If things unbalance even a bit this story could be a mess but for the most part, the author has the balance between these two figured out because these two need solid boundaries between pushing and demanding.
But on the whole, I loved this story as it follows Keiffer. We see him grow into himself and finally figure out what he wants to do with his life which coupled with the amazingness of Riley and Keiffer makes for one hell of a story.
4. Secrets by RJ Scott
Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
Benji is a skater on the Colchester Colts and he is used to being chirped on for his short height, especially from Avery Lester, the defenseman for the Carlisle Rush. When Benji makes a single inappropriate comment about Avery’s ass, it has an unexpected outcome.
Avery comes to Benji for guidance, to figure out how to be a gay man in a hockey league, while Benji wants to help he also needs to guard his heart. Will Benji succeed or fail, miserably?
This story was my most favourite of the lot. I loved it, like so, so, so much.
God, it was amazing! I loved Benji and Avery so much, they like completely made my day. God these two were so adorable together and it was just so heartrending to have Benji trying to protect his heart but failing, so spectacularly. Like there was just something about Benji falling in love that had me so emotional.
Avery and Benji were amazing characters and I think the thing that really worked for their story was all that focus on hockey. Their story really tied in with Hockey as a concept and as a game and was used amazingly to further the plot.
God! This one was amazing, and I am not very good at expressing just how good it was but it was amazing. It is not only one of my most favourite stories from this anthology but this is like one of my most favourite stories ever.
Cover Art by Jen Needles which I really liked.
Sales Link: Amazon
Book Details:
Charity Anthology\All proceeds from the anthology will be donated to a charity that supports inclusiveness in athletics.
The anthology will be available starting in October 4, 2017, for a limited time only.
ebook
Published October 4th 2017 by Gone Writing Publishing
ISBN139781370424719
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 