Tag: LGBTQIA hockey romance

Review:  Possessive Puckboy (Puckboys Book 8) by Eden Finley, Saxon James

Rating: 4.25🌈

Possessive Puckboy is Connor Kikishkin’s redemption story. He’s been a secondary character to his brothers books and a problematic one at that.  One of the four Kiki hockey players, Connor’s the one who has been the most controlling of his brothers lives, personal and professional. He’s come off as a bully and a bit of a homophobe. 

It got to the point in the last book that his brother, Easton and his best friend, Knox, hid their relationship and Easton who plays on the same NHL team, Colorado, now wants a transfer out. 

The beginning of Possessive Puckboy has a man who was horribly bullied in the same high school as the Kiki siblings by the football players buying the hockey team. 

 This is a true enemy to lovers, reformed bully, secret relationship, bi-awakening journey story.  There’s even more elements here packed into dense emotional baggage stated above. Deep family expectations, self awareness and realization, and one thing I thought should have been talked about more clearly, rage management.  

But there was already a lot narratively on the table here for the authors to explore with their characters. 

The relationship between gay IT billionaire/owner Parker Duchene, the man who was horribly bullied in high school, and the straight Connor Kikishkin, the jock who stood by and did nothing, is a very engaging one. It’s tough, hilarious in parts, emotional and smartly executed.

Connor is a mess. So to have him immediately improve is unlikely. And he doesn’t. 

It messes with his head as well as his game. And his other relationships and team dynamics.  As it should.

Parker too is slow to find his way as an owner, making plenty of mistakes. 

 All those aspects of the story really work together to bring a believable sense of a growing relationship. 

What I missed was the authors exploring how Connor reached the stage where he was so rigid in his own life and outlook that he was drowning in it.  That the lack of empathy and communication between him and his family, his parents who pushed him into the role and kept him there, and his siblings who didn’t talk to him enough to make him understand, none of that is really covered.

Instead it’s a quick conversation and done.  Which really removes an entire accountability and aspect of reality to his own redemption arc. 

Anyway I enjoyed this, and it’s onto Stubborn Puckboy , where a certain new Russian character we just met gets his own romance. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him!

Check this one out!

“Cover Illustration Copyright © Story Styling Cover Designs Photography by Wander Aguiar

Puckboys:

  • Egotistical Puckboy #1
  • Irresponsible Puckboy #2
  • Shameless Puckboy #3
  • Foolish Puckboy #4
  • Clueless Puckboy #5
  • Bromantic Puckboy #6
  • Forbidden Puckboy #7
  • Possessive Puckboy #8
  • Stubborn Puckboy #9 – July 31,2025

Buy link

        Possessive Puckboy (Puckboys Book 8)

    

Blurb 

Connor

Finding out those closest to me don’t see me as the great guy I think I am not only kicks me in the gut, it makes me question everything.

Until that happened, I didn’t think I had many regrets in my life. Now, I have nothing but regrets. And when my NHL team is bought out, and the new owner makes his presence known, my existential crisis kicks up a notch. Because he might be my biggest regret of all.

Parker Duchene.

I made his life a living hell in high school, and now he’s inserting himself into my career to repay the favor.

With everything in my personal life already on the line, I can’t risk hockey too. I need to figure out a way to play nice with the new owner.

Parker

I bought Colorado’s NHL team to honor my late father. I did. Only reason.

Emotionally playing with one of my many high school tormentors is a nice bonus though.

Connor Kikishkin may be the one who made me the target for years of name-calling, but I’ve always wondered if my hatred for him bordered too much on the obsessive side to truly be classified as hate.

Infatuation is probably the right word for it.

Now his whole life is in my hands, and I can’t wait to see him beg for my mercy. Seeing Mr. Popular find his humility will definitely ease the grief from losing my dad … right? Because right now, that’s all I have, and I need to hold on to it so I don’t crumble.

  • Publisher: Sadenverse Books (March 27, 2025)
  • Publication date: March 27, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 308 pages

Review: Defending the House (Watkins Glen Gladiators Book 2) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4🌈

V.L. Locey’s low angst, contemporary hockey romance series, Watkins Glen Gladiators, continues with Defending the House. It’s a very sweet story, comprised of 30 something Carson Dries, Captain of the Gladiators, a caretaker for his grandfather and owner of a peke a poo , and a younger Criswell Dobbs, waiter and guardian of his high school genderqueer brother .

I’m trying to find a way to describe exactly how low key this story is. Because if you are going to expect a romance with some real obstacles or barriers that appear, or major problems or issues that arise that the main characters have to overcome, this isn’t that story.

Some tales are like small rivers or streams. They have eddies, pools of varying depths, currents that rush over small areas, falling rapidly, only to find a pool and calm itself before moving smartly on .

But Defending the House is more like a canal. One without locks. It’s a smooth, gentle, relaxed ride from start to finish. No obstacles, nothing to get concerned about. A fun, quick, enjoyable experience.

Carson Dries “meets cute” Criswell Dobbs over a spilled bowl of onion soup. A romantic relationship quickly ensues. Criswell has a teenage genderqueer sibling, who’s getting bullied in school. Carson has a grumpy grandfather and a quirky adorable dog.

Locey, who writes both hockey and families so well, has crafted two here in need of each other. And gently, without any drama, lets them be together.

My only quibble is that the story just sort of ends. Spoiler alert. They agreed to move in together and meld families.

And that’s it. No epilogue. No scenes afterwards.

So for me it feels a bit unfinished. A shame because I like the characters. I just needed something more. Maybe a chapter to see how the families were doing together.

But this is sweet, and romantic.

If you’re a fan of the author and the series, grab it up .

Watkins Glen Gladiators:

✓ Between the Pipes #1

✓ Defending the House #2

Buy Link:

Defending the House (Watkins Glen Gladiators #2)44Kindle Edition$4.99

Description:

It’s far from smooth sailing into love for this pair of polar opposites.

Carson Dries is the ultimate team captain. Seasoned, amiable, humble, understanding, outgoing, and good-looking. He’s also really darn lonely, but his searches for Mr. Right have all turned into producing Mr. Wrongs. Having just turned thirty, Carson isn’t sure if dating is even worth the hassle anymore. Maybe he should just devote his time to his team, his grandfather, and his Peke-a-Poo, Penelope. Feeling a little blue, he heads to a Gladiators’ fundraiser to while away another night alone when one of the cutest guys he has ever seen runs into him—literally. Pity the adorable ginger is carrying a bowl of piping hot soup. While the mortified server is trying to dry off Carson’s ruined tux, Carson is getting rather lost in a magical combination of freckles, bright eyes, and kissable pink lips.

Criswell Dobbs is so getting fired. Or beaten up. Or maybe both. One does not dump French onion soup down the front of a behemoth of a man—a hockey player at that—and not get punched in the nose. Losing his job would be terrible. He loves being a member of the waitstaff on the Seneca Starlight paddleboat. The tips are amazing, his coworkers are fabulous, and the free dinners are keeping him fed. Knowing he and his little brother relied on this job, he’s got to do whatever it takes to stay employed, so apologizing profusely while offering to pay for dry cleaning seems the right course. When the hulking hunk of a man in the soaking wet tux unexpectedly asks him out, Criswell is flabbergasted, to say the least. Shocked yes, but not too stunned to write the Gladiator captain’s seemingly sincere request off completely. There is something about a tall, dark, handsome man in a tux. Even if that tuxedo smelled of onions…

Defending the House is a low angst, opposites attract, gay hockey twink/jock romance starring a sexy team captain, a bubbly but clumsy waiter, lots of nautical nonsense, on-ice action, off-boat shenanigans, yo-ho-ho a few bottles of rum, and one fair weather happy ending.

Review: Blade (Boston Rebels Book 5) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 5🌈

Blade, the 5th novel in the Boston Rebels series, is absolutely my favorite story to date. Even with the issues I’ve mentioned when reviewing some of the preceding books still present, the storylines, the outstanding characters, and their quietly remarkable romance shine so strongly that everything else is forgotten.

We are given two main characters, with different traumatic events in their background. Both stem from catastrophic events.

For former Boston Rebels hockey player, Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk, it’s a plane accident that has left him a depressed amputee without his team and unable to go forward.

Cooper Harvey, inventor and billionaire, was orphaned at a early age in an volcanic explosion, that came close to taking his and his uncle’s. A brilliant inventor as well as owner of a enormous company which uses his inventions in multiple ways, Cooper is autistic which makes relying on a special circle of people necessary in order to navigate life .

In every way, through dialogue, detailed scenes, the authors knowledge of people who have or are struggling with PTSD, adjusting to life as a amputee, the loss of a lifetime passion and love of hockey, depression, the challenges someone who is autistic faces throughout their lifetime, from bullying in school to prejudice in the board of directors.

It’s such a deeply honest and emotional display of men at their most raw and flayed. Watching Dunny rebuild his life with the help and love of Cooper is so heartwarming, so heartfelt that you want to reread passages as soon as you finish them.

I laughed at Cooper’s jokes, and cried with Dunny at each step forward he made. And together, they were quietly unstoppable.

I wasn’t ready for their story to finish. As I’ve remarked before, this really isn’t about a team as it is the men leaving it. I have zero feelings about the Rebels. But about Dunny and Cooper? They are everything!

I could see a series about a sled team. Now THAT would be something to read about.

I’m highly recommending Blade (Boston Rebels Book 5) by RJ Scott and V.L. Locey. It is easily the finest book in the series or contemporary romance I’ve read lately.

https://www.goodreads.com › showBlade by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Boston Rebels:

🔹Top Shelf #1

🔹Back Check #2

🔹Snowed #3

🔹Royal Lines #4

🔹Blade #5

Synopsis:

Love doesn’t have a formula. It’s messy, unpredictable, and impossible to control for the autistic billionaire inventor and the hockey player who believes he’s lost everything.

Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk has a passion for life. A robust outdoorsman, lover of life, and one of the Boston Rebels fan favorites, Dunny has always embraced excitement and the drive to try new things. During his inaugural flight behind the controls of a small plane, the fates decide to test his mettle in a way that he had never envisioned. When everything crashes down around him, he’s lost in depression and alone in his cabin, facing an existence that is nothing like the one he previously led. Desperate to find some hope, Dunny reaches out to The Harvey Foundation who might be able to help, and he soon finds himself being lifted out of the pit of darkness he’d fallen into one shy uplifting smile at a time.

Accidental billionaire and inventor Cooper Harvey is only happy in the seclusion of his lab, creating new and wonderful things he is sure will make the world a better place. Being on the spectrum, he knows being autistic means he’s different to others, but it’s in a good way, and it only makes him better at what he does. Other than being blackmailed into spending every fourth Sunday at his PA’s house for dinner, he avoids the chaos of the world, and if that means no social life, then he’s okay with that. In the most splendid isolation money can buy, he escapes the complicated and difficult emotions surrounding attraction, and his single-minded focus means that sex and love have never appeared on his list. When his latest invention reaches the testing stage, he would normally hand it over to his development team, but a chance meeting with the test subject makes him rethink. Something about the hockey player who’d lost it all makes him think life isn’t all about measured chemical reactions, and sometimes it’s just about the craziness of love.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Deke (Fake Boyfriends #3) by Eden Finley

Rating: 4.5🌈

“Deke”

Verb: to fake an opponent out of position (hockey)”

— Deke (Fake Boyfriend Book 3) by Eden Finley

It the run for the Stanley Cup and my team is out of it. So it’s time to bury myself in hockey romances and storylines.

What better time to catch up on Eden Finley’s Fake Boyfriend series which figures around pro athletes, many NHL players, coming to terms with their sexuality and their careers as pro athletes.

Many of these stories were written several years ago, and while some pro sports , like the NHL, have become more accepting of LGBTGIA people, the fact is, still very few male players have yet to feel comfortable and safe being out.

Until the books I read and present day reality finally mesh, it’s authors like Finley and others who’s love for both the sports they write about and the players involved leave me happy and connected to both worlds.

Deke is a great story about a player who, while not hiding his homosexuality from his family and friends, isn’t out to his team and the “outside” world.

Ollie Strömberg’s life is one of hockey, family, and a constant stress and pressure on him about his sexuality. That Ollie’s stayed in the closet to protect himself and his career from the notoriety and bigotry of a out NHL hockey player would garner has cost him a long-term relationship. And more.

Then there’s Lennon, the sport’s journalist, who happens to run into the Strömberg family celebration (a huge undertaking with 5 boys, now giant men) at a restaurant/bar at a time when Ollie’s under fire, again, by his too supportive family for his closeted life and lack of a relationship.

The way Findlay is able to instantly connect these men to each other in a matter of scenes, make it realistic and easy for us too see it. Well, it’s great.

The chemistry is working right there, a few bumbles, the perfect amount of humor, and I’m totally engaged.

A sports journalist, with not a lot of hockey knowledge (he covers football and baseball), and a hockey player who’s drawn to a man who is demonstrating he actually sees him, through the family dynamics playing out over the dinner antics.

Lennon, aka Clark, his alias at the family dinner, is a man of ethics. Even if he’s not familiar with the sport he’s been assigned to cover, he’s trying his best . While coming to care for a man he sees living under extreme pressure, not just from his team but unexpectedly from his family.

The story is tender, hot, funny, and full of believable characters, and real moments that you’ll read and connect with. Whether it’s within the family context or on the ice.

I throughly enjoyed Deke and can’t wait to work my way through the rest of this series.

I’m highly recommending this and the author.

Fake Boyfriends series:

🔹Fake Out #1

🔹Trick Play #2

🔹Rebound #2.5

🔹Deke #3

🔹It’s Complicated #3.5

🔹Blindsided #4

🔹Winning You #4.5

🔹Hat Trick #5

🔹Final Play #6

🔹Fake Boyfriends Breakaways

https://www.goodreads.com › showDeke (Fake Boyfriend, #3) by Eden Finley – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ollie

Word of advice: don’t come out to random guys in public restrooms. Even if they’re charming and adorably nerdy and offer to help.

My family believe I can’t be happy if I’m not out to the world. I have a bitter ex-boyfriend and an unstable NHL career to show for it. A fake boyfriend seems like an easy and quick solution to get my family off my back, and this guy is volunteering. I take him up on it without asking his name.

I really should’ve asked for his name.

Lennon

Word of advice: learn how to introduce yourself properly.

In my defense, I don’t recognize Ollie Strömberg right away. I cover football, not hockey.

I’m not supposed to see him again, and he’s never supposed to find out I’m a reporter.

That all changes when my editor reassigns me.

It’s a lesson I should’ve learned by now. Nothing’s changed since high school. Jocks still hate nerds. But even worse, athletes hate journalists. Especially ones who know their secret.

*Deke is a full-length MM novel with a HFN/HEA and no cliffhanger*

Review: Irresponsible Puckboy (Puckboy #2) by Eden Finley and Saxon James

Rating: 4 🌈

Irresponsible Puckboy is the second in Eden Finley and Saxon James’ hockey romance series, Puckboy.

This time it’s a good friends to lovers, fake marriage trope story. I was looking forward to it as Tripp Mitchell, one of The Queer Collective, was a interesting character in the first book. The rest of his friends were on him about his one-sided love for his dimwitted best friend and fellow Vegas teammate .

How was that going to play out?

Much as you would expect it seems.

Tripp’s a well defined character, his pain over the years of hiding his passion and love for Dex is almost awkward to read. Especially when Dex is so hugely oblivious as well as admittedly being not the sharpest tool in the shed.

It’s a two person POV, which helps because while you immediately connect with Tripp, trying to find a way to make a case for someone who’s basically a Golden on the low scale of perception, gets trickier.

Make no mistake ,you believe Dex is a person of little self reflection, with zero concept of life outside of food, and hockey, uh, the basics. But that’s a puppy or a toddler who can skate.

And having to read about Dex as he painfully navigates mentally through the most rudimentary concepts and ideas gets a bit annoying. At one point, after he lets himself into Tripp’s penthouse unannounced, he actually throws himself between Tripp and the man he’s had a one night stand with, the next morning. Dex , while he’s in bed with the naked couple, whines about his girlfriend, and wonders why Tripp’s not exactly thrilled to see him.

Yes, there’s many other questions this scene brings up but you get my issues here.

Once they “fake marry” , the lack of communication in some areas as Dex decides to try on being gay brings up a bunch of issues as well.

It’s no wonder The Queer Collective has so many doubts about them.

Part of this story is Dex’ journey to pansexuality and coming out. But as the character was written, he just never felt layered enough or as complete as Tripp.

I’m probably not in the majority here. But this book and couple didn’t strike the same sparks as Ezra and Anton, either on or off the ice.

It was just a little bit lacking on one side.

The business end when dealing with the fallout of their marriage, the press and their managers, and even how the team handled it. That felt believable. Team dynamics are a funny thing , and it’s elements like this or certain teammates that can throw a season.

I’m anticipating the next book. I’m hoping it will feature a real bad boy of the Collective. Oskar. Won’t that be delicious!

If friends to lovers, and fake marriage tropes are your thing. If cute dim boyfriends are part of the storyline? This is the book for you. It’s got a sweet HEA.

Check out the series.

Puckboy series:

🔹Egotistical Puckboy #1

🔹Irresponsible Puckboy #2

https://www.goodreads.com › showIrresponsible Puckboy – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Tripp

The worst part of being in love with my straight best friend is the fact he’s too oblivious to see it.

Years of pining have left me exhausted, and I need a break from Dex. I need space to get over my feelings. But when his relationship falls apart and he turns to me for comfort, I cave immediately.

If there’s one thing I hate more than being hurt, it’s seeing Dex struggle. I can’t leave him in a time of need, even if my friends say it’s my biggest downfall.

They say Dexter Mitchale is my weakness, but if that’s true, I don’t want to be strong.

Dex

I’ve always been the dumb one. It’s what I’m known for, and usually I don’t let it get to me.

I have hockey, and I have my best friend, Tripp. What more do I need? To settle down? No thank you. Marriage? Hard pass. According to ex-girlfriends, that makes me “irresponsible.”

But the solution I come up with to get over my fear of commitment might be my dumbest idea yet. Not only does it have team management breathing down my neck, but it puts a strain on my friendship with Tripp.

This PR nightmare could lose me the only person I’ve ever loved. Losing girlfriends is nothing. Losing Tripp? It’s not an option.

I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him.

Review: Role Model (Game Changers #5) by Rachel Reid

Rating: 5🌈

I was getting ready for the release of The Long Game, the 6th in Rachel Reid’s fabulous hockey romance series, when I figured out I hadn’t read the 5th story yet!

Somehow I’d missed Role Model. Now was the time to fix that oversight! I’m so happy I did because Role Model is such a fantastic story.

It’s a standout in a truly great series of books as Rachel Reid gives a two remarkable men on a slow path to love and happiness. But the journey is about redemption for one, courage to recognize and acknowledge your true self, and the heart and passion another will give to understand and support him.

Troy Barrett is an incredible character. He’s so conflicted, full of pain, and we meet at at perhaps a time when everything he thought he had in his life that was solid and positive has been lost. His closeted boyfriend has dumped him, his best friend has turned out to be a monster who Troy has now reviled in public, and a team who he thought would support him has traded him to the lowest winning team in the league.

We feel everything this man is thinking, he’s numb, and stumbling.

We’re with him, certain he’s going to grow, just not sure how.

Then we meet the utterly engaging, Harris Drover, team media expert, and we see where Troy’s journey will begin. Harris is open, smart, people oriented, and openly gay. He’s also compassionate and sees in Troy an underlying pain that not immediately apparent to others. He also realizes Troy needs a friend. It’s the start of something beautiful.

They build their relationship over a puppy, a family, cider, so many elements… it’s amazing to be a part of this sexy, thoughtful romance. It’s added by a certain Russian player who also helps Troy see that living as a closeted gay man is denying himself a true life.

I have so much praise for Reid’s writing and characters here. They are relatable. The conflicts they face , within and without, are ones so many other members of the LGBTQIA community face , from themselves, their families, and their own societies.

It’s within the sports world or just a person trying to figure out their sexuality. Reid’s emotional turmoil and thoughtful communication has the ring of truthfulness to them.

I believe in Troy and Harris. I was emotionally connected to them throughout their story and I wanted to stay past the ending, a typical feeling for me on a Rachel Reid book , especially this series.

If you haven’t read Role Model yet I’m highly recommending it as well as the entire series. I’ve listed it below. The 6th is almost out.

Until then, check out and see if you’re caught up before The Long Game arrives!

Happy Reading!

Game Changers
Book 1: Game Changer
Book 2: Heated Rivalry
Book 3: Tough Guy
Book 4: Common Goal
Book 5: Role Model
Book 6: The Long Game

https://www.goodreads.com › showGame Changers #5 – Role Model – Goodreads

Synopsis:

The highly anticipated fifth novel in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series sees a grumpy professional hockey player meet his match in an out-and-proud social media manager…

The hits just keep coming for Troy Barrett. Traded to the worst team in the league would be bad enough, but coming on the heels of a messy breakup and a recent scandal… Troy just wants to play hockey and be left alone. He doesn’t want to be in the news anymore, and he definitely doesn’t want to “work on his online presence” with the team’s peppy social media manager.

Harris Drover can tell standoffish Troy isn’t happy about the trade—anyone could tell, frankly, as he doesn’t exactly hide it well—but Harris doesn’t give up on people easily. Even when he’s developing a crush he’s sure is one-sided. And when he sees Troy’s smile finally crack through his grumpy exterior, well… That’s a man Harris couldn’t turn his back on if he wanted to.

Suddenly, Troy’s move to the new team feels like an opportunity—for Troy to embrace his true self, and for both men to surrender to their growing attraction. But indulging in each other behind closed doors is one thing, and for Troy, being in a public relationship with Harris will mean facing off with his fears, once and for all.

Review: Rivals (Harrisburg Railers #11) by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.75🌈

Our favorite hockey players head to China, well not really, but in a well imagined story, Ten, Jared, Stan, Tate, Ryker, Colorado, Bryan, and Vlad all end up heading to Bejing for the Winter 2022 Olympics.

Thanks to Covid, the NHL players and committee ended up pulling out of this year’s Olympics but in Rivals, all the teams went forward!

The authors mention that the hosting nation is not a one where LBGTQIA+ rights are recognized or welcome . That heavy burden is then worked into the stresses the characters here endure among the obvious ones of Olympic level play, world wide telecast, and the even more… playing against family and teammates who are close friends.

It’s all done realistically and without making any political platform within the story. Honestly so many could have, but they avoided it by using beloved characters as examples of what happens under such conditions, and their ability to go forward with love.

It was great having Colorado use his unique perspective to guide Ten through some worrying moments when Jared, as a Canadian teammate couldn’t help.

It also made me aware, as someone who loves her Caps which is made up of nationalities, how it must feel during international competition to face players who are normally your teammates. And friends.

The hockey was intense and exciting, as I expect from both authors. So amazing. The emotional impact high and lasting. What an incredible group of characters these men are that they remain such long standing favorites! Of mine included.

The ending was lovely and extremely satisfying. But I’m always hoping for more of these couples and series. They are just too wonderful for us to ever say a lasting goodbye.

I’m highly recommending Rivals. Read it and enjoy!

Harrisburg Railers: 15 books

http://vllocey.com › category › rj-sc…RJ Scott – VL Locey

http://vllocey.comV.L. Locey Romance Author

https://www.goodreads.com › showRivals by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Playing for their country in the Winter Olympics is the highest of all honors, but when family members are pitted as rivals and a dark specter from the past turns up in Beijing, tensions run high, and abruptly, it’s not all about the hockey.

Jared is torn—assistant coach for Team Canada, with Ryker on the team; he bleeds red and white and wears the maple leaf with pride. Only Ten is now a rival, and not only that, but the country they’re all playing in frowns on his marriage and keeps him and Ten apart. Jared wants to win gold for his country and his son, but he’d be so proud if Ten were to win. He’s confused and concerned, but when a face from their past turns up to play, he’s furious.

Being picked for Team USA is one of the things Tennant dreamed of when he was a little boy. All of his other aspirations have come true through hard work, determination, and pure talent. Now he’s about to represent his country in front of the world, and the pressure is starting to build. He’s also just come face-to-face with a hated rival from a dark period in his past. Add in the burden of squaring off against his husband and stepson, and Ten is feeling the pressure to be perfect.

Family becomes rivals—but love always wins.

Review: Loving Layne (A Hockey Allies Bid #2) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.25🌈

Hockey, V.L. Locey, age gap…done well and hot? Plus an intelligent nerd with a thing for great hats, Mel Tormé, and a classic car? I’m all in!

Part of a 6 book-series, Hockey Allies Bid M/M Romance Collection from six different authors, Loving Layne is V.L. Locey’s addition to this terrific series.

A fan both of the game, the players, and LGBTQIA+ hockey romances, I loved a series about a group of Hockey Allies at a charity event and the romances that sprang from it.

Locey didn’t disappoint with two amazing characters here.

Roman Kennedy, a journalism major, who’s very background oozes ink for the presses, is on a mysterious road-trip with his college roommate and best friend to Chicago.

Ah , Roman. He’s the one with the beloved newshound grandfather in his past. The one who left him the stylishly older fashioned hats Roman wears, the music tracks and vinyl of music he listens to, and the classic car Roman inherited that he drives. Roman is that character you adore immensely.

The other main character is Layne Coleman, NHL hockey player, one year away from retirement. A ten year age gap but actually mentally and emotionally… no separation. They click! Like two pieces that immediately get each other.

Locey writes them as two souls who as they talk , it’s not just physical chemistry, but a meeting of two like minds… and hearts. So the reader is so on board with their romance and relationship.

Roman and Layne are great together. I love their section of this story.

There’s a drama that plays our quickly and a mystery that most will have figured out almost immediately.

The elements that I find , well if not likable, but then perhaps less dimensional, are Dillon, Mrs. Coleman, and Mrs North.

Maybe they have just less “page time” but whatever the reason they come across as less fleshed out then the main couple. Especially Dillon. He’s nothing but action and emotion. There doesn’t seem to be any real depth to him.

Which was fine, it was Layne and Roman I really cared about and they had a wonderful ending. I could even do with another story about them. I liked them that much!

Here’s another hockey romance winner from a author who’s great at both writing hockey and romance.

Grab it up and enjoy!

Here’s the entire series:

Hockey Allies Bid M/M Romance Collection:

◦ Guarding Garrett #1 by R.J. Scott

✓ Loving Layne #2 by V.L. Locey

◦ Keeping Kyle #3 by Jeff Adams

◦ Scoring Slater #4 by Susan Scott Shelley

◦ Absolving Ash #5 by Chantal Mer

https://www.goodreads.com › showLoving Layne by V.L. Locey – Goodreads

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Sometimes the last thing you expect to happen might turn out to be what you needed all along.

Roman Kennedy’s first trip to the Windy City isn’t going quite as planned. Mysteries intrigue him, and his best friend Dillon seems to be sitting on a whopper. So, with his grandfather’s favorite hat on his head and his notebook in hand, the journalism major starts digging. Sadly, getting his bestie to spill the beans on what the secret is isn’t as easy as Roman had hoped.

Now, through no fault of his own, he’s stuck in an expensive hotel attending a bachelor auction of all things. He’s surrounded by lumbering jocks who, he’s sure, are just waiting for the chance to poke fun at the skinny, gay Jewish guy. Imagine his surprise when one of the big lugs sits down with him and talks Bernstein and Woodward.

Layne Coleman is sexy as sin, smart as a whip, considerably older, and has the same passion for investigative journalism as Roman does. His deep blue eyes and dark hair make concentrating on anything but the soft kisses they’re now sharing difficult. Roman’s keen instincts are understandably clouded by romance, so when Dillon reveals his secret in a highly public way, it’s hard to say who is more stunned—Roman or Layne, the man at the center of it all.

Review: Two-Man Team (Stick Side #5) by Amy Aislin

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Kris Xappa’s getting ready to make his post season retirement announcement. On top of that, there’s the eminent launch of the charity youth foundation, Forward Thinking, he started with his two long time best friends but nothing is going according to plans.

In trying to stop a fight at a friends bar, Kris comes off looking like the instigator in a vid someone posted to a media account that went viral. That’s had a huge negative effect on every part of his life.

Additionally , there’s his teammate, Rory Stanton ,who’s also the younger brother of his best friend. Rory is injured and and in need of his assistance.

What more could go wrong? Ah yes, mutual attraction and Kris ‘s sexuality which has always been identified as “straight “ to his fans and team.

Once more Aislin has given us complicated men in hockey, off the wall chemistry, a great story, and a romance to sigh over.

Hockey romances are my jam and Aislin’s Stick Side series is just one amazing book after another. Each managing to loosely connect the characters and their stories to each other’s by their teams and struggles with their sexuality and battles to navigate homophobia within and without their sport.

Each character is layered, individualist, and nuanced. From the main couple to everyone who supports them, all feel believable and relatable.

When Kris is feeling the intensity of the exposure from the media and the unfairness of the slights against his character, which he’s not allowed to push back against, it’s such a real situation that the reader feels absolutely in his corner.

Everything in the book will connect you to these men and their journey towards love and happiness.

It’s a pleasure to join them on the road to HEA and whatever their future may hold. Have i said how much I adore this series?

I truly do. Indeed I do. Including Two Man Team.

Highly recommended. All of them.

Stick Side Series:

On the Ice #1

Christmas On the Ice #1.5

A Valentine’s Trade #1.7

The Nature of the Game #2

The Nature of Christmas #2.5

Shots On Goal #3

Risking the Shot #4

Calder & Lacroix #4.1

Two-Man Team #5

Two-Man Team

Synopsis:

NHL team look bad. Now, with orders to keep his head down, the last thing he needs is to develop feelings for his younger teammate—and best friend’s brother. The fact that he can’t stop thinking about their one illicit kiss doesn’t mean anything.

Rory Stanton is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and doesn’t need his brother’s best friend keeping an eye on him. Sure, he likes having Kris’s attention, but he’d rather have it for entirely different reasons. Too bad that one kiss they shared wasn’t enough to convince Kris to take a chance on him.

When an injury lands Rory in Kris’s care, will these teammates be able to see past the obstacles to become a two-man team?