I’m just me—plain, boring Theo. Everyone’s friend but no one’s boyfriend. Dating apps don’t work for me, and the one time I try to change my image is a total disaster.
All I want is someone to come home to and hold hands with. A boyfriend who’ll love me. It doesn’t help that I have this silly crush on Jaxon Polaris, our sexy, gorgeous, district attorney. He’s a flirt who’s never without a date. No matter how nice he is to me, I know the truth. A man like Jaxon would never be interested in someone like me.
JAXON
I love being the district attorney of Appleton Falls, but I definitely have dreams of sitting on the bench. When the leader of the party approaches me, suggesting I run for a judgeship, I’m thrilled…until he tells me my image as a party boy might hurt me with small-town voters. I can’t deny it—I’ve had more than my share of lovers, and I’ve never hidden my desire to remain single. His suggestion? Find a nice guy and make him my boyfriend.
Problem is, I don’t know any nice guys…except shy, quiet Theo Sweeny.
Reluctantly, Theo agrees to my boyfriend proposal, and the man proceeds to challenge me at every turn. Shy? He’s stubborn and feisty. But his kisses are so sweet, and I can’t stop thinking about him. Being with Theo means I’ll have to tell him my truth—a secret that could prevent me from achieving my dreams. But the more I get to know Theo, the more I come to realize: Win or lose the election, what I’m searching for might be right here by my side.
I could not adore Theo any more than I do. He is so sweet, a bit shy, but not a pushover when it matters to him. My heart breaks thinking about the abuse he experienced at his father’s hands and how it helped make him so unsure of himself. Then years of being overlooked by men … add a crush on sexy, confident, relationship adverse Jaxon and *sigh*
While Jaxon may have all the swagger and feel like he doesn’t need anyone, that’s before he lets Theo get close. No one is immune to Theo’s charms 🙂 But as much as I felt for Theo I felt just as much for Jaxon. He was done dirty at pivotal times in his life and it’s impressive that he’s as good of a man as he is.
These two are fantastic together. Jaxon helps Theo gain confidence in himself & his place with those around him and Theo shows Jaxon what life can be like when he truly shares it with someone else. It’s a bumpy road to get them there but not one that’s overly angsty and it is so satisfying for them to get to that HEA.
Julian Langley has everything a man could ever want—a sprawling Manhattan townhouse, a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, and ownership of the New York Vipers, one of the most coveted franchises in professional hockey. What he doesn’t have, and will never allow himself, is anyone who matters too much. Carrying a devastating loss that completely reshaped him, Julian has since built his life around the certainty that nothing will ever cost him that dearly again.
Harper Hawthorne isn’t looking for a billionaire. She’s looking for a way to keep the lights on. Single-handedly holding her world together since she was a teenager, Harper works two jobs, lives in a rent-controlled apartment on the Lower East Side, and sacrifices everything for her younger brother. When an unexpected phone call lands her a chauffeur job behind the wheel of Julian’s car, she takes it for exactly what it is: a paycheck.
Julian notices everything about her. Harper tries not to notice anything about him. What begins as a professional arrangement starts to crack at the edges when Harper proves, repeatedly and effortlessly, that she’s unlike anyone Julian has ever encountered before. She’s too sharp to ignore, too genuine to keep at arm’s length, and entirely unimpressed by his world in a way that makes it impossible for him to stop thinking about her.
Julian doesn’t do commitment. Harper doesn’t believe in fairy tales. But some collisions are inevitable and some people are worth every risk you swore you’d never take again.
Julian is a slow-burn hockey romance about a guarded billionaire, the woman who got under his skin without trying, and the long road back to trusting that a second shot at love is always worth the leap.
This is a cute Cinderella type story. Harper is trying so hard to keep her head above water and I admire her gumption. The way she hustles and the care she gives to her brother. But who can blame her for being swept off her feet by Julian. The man actually pays attention and that is so sexy! Moments spent together, conversation and quiet meals, leads to a sweet slow burn romance between them.
Overall, it’s low angst, and deliciously sexy, but things aren’t completely smooth sailing. And, while I really enjoyed it and liked the two of them together, Julian really needed therapy for his grief. He seems so put together and understanding that you would expect him to have talked to someone about the way he’s handling his past. It would really have done a lot for him.
It’s been a while since I’ve read one of Bennett’s hockey romances and I gotta say she’s still got it. Julian is spicy, sweet, and easy-to-read. I’ve always loved her characters (while I adore Harper and Julian, it’s Percy that steals the show in this one) and the smooth way her love stories play out. I’m guessing we’ll get Tanner’s story next and I’m curious to see what depths he might be hiding behind his charm.
*****
Author Info:
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.
A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.
If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).
Bill Keenan played hockey at Harvard University from 2005 to 2008 and professionally in Europe from 2009 to 2012. After completing his MBA at Columbia Business School, he worked for two years in Deutsche Bank’s investment banking division. He currently serves as COO of Graydon Carter’s Air Mail.
I planned on coming out in the NHL. I didn’t plan on having to switch teams to survive it.
With the New York Rush, keeping my head down should be safe—until rookie defenseman Finn Baran shows up. Finn is talented, determined, impossible to ignore. Every late-night conversation and every stolen glance on the ice pulls me closer to a line I swore I’d never cross.
Falling for my teammate was never part of the playbook.
Finn
After going undrafted, I thought my hockey dreams were over. A last-minute tryout with the Rush gives me one more chance—and puts me face-to-face with Selwin Kirkland, a player I’ve admired for years.
Our chemistry is undeniable. The timing couldn’t be worse.
As friendship turns into something more, we have to decide if protecting our careers is worth losing the one thing we never saw coming: each other.
Rookie Attraction is a bi awakening, friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort MM hockey romance. Book 1 of the NY Rush series—where love doesn’t play by hockey rules.
It took me about half a chapter to be hooked on these two! I absolutely loved Sel and Finn together. Poor Sel whose coming out did not go at all how he expected. The heartbreak and tension in those first few days … ugh! But I love that he was able to find a supportive home with the Rush. It’s not smooth, but it is definitely so much better.
Running into Finn again is a complication that he never planned on. Finn who is so adorable with his enthusiasm, chattiness, and the way he embraces everything that comes his way. No way that Sel (or me) was going to be able to resist him 🙂 Together they warm the heart and heat up the sheets – whew!
I feel like Olsen handled things well – with Sel’s coming out, Finn being demisexual, and what it means for them to be together. There were some obvious places that the story could have gone but I think that what we got worked and I appreciated that it got only a little angsty. We also get a hint at what comes next and I’m all here for the trouble that Kirkland brother #2 brings!
(This is my first book from this author and while there are characters from other books that make an appearance it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book.)
*****
Author Info:
Ava Olsen writes steamy and dreamy contemporary romances filled with heartwarming characters, cheeky banter and swoony moments.
Can a Marine on a mission handle Hollywood’s hottest star? The sparks on the action movie set are nothing compared to the ones flying between them…
Olivia Quinn succeeds through simplicity and discipline, whether she’s dominating in the gym, or serving as a Marine. But when her director brother unexpectedly makes her the military consultant on his latest action film, her structured plans go out the window and she’s thrown into an unfamiliar and unpredictable world alongside hotshot action star Chris Blackstone. The cocky actor is everything she can’t stand, with his chiseled, self-important abs, condescension, and charm—for to everyone except her.
Chris is determined to make Desert Strike the blockbuster hit his new production company needs. A fake PR romance with his popular co-star keeps the public’s attention on the movie and distracts the media from his messy family drama. The last thing he has time for is clashing with a disturbingly hot, no-nonsense Marine consultant who sees right through his act. And he definitely can’t afford to fall for her.
Staged explosions give way to sizzling chemistry neither of them can ignore. But when Chris’s ghosts and the paparazzi twist their connection into a media firestorm, he faces a brutal choice: Will he protect the career and image he works so hard for—or fight for the woman who makes him feel like a real person? And under the burning spotlight, Olivia must decide if a lifetime of building strength means she’s strong enough to be honest with herself and open her heart to the vulnerability of love.
This is the first for me by this author and I quite enjoyed it. It was a fast read and, while somewhat predictable, all the characters we meet are enjoyable and I liked Chis & Olivia together. I loved Olivia’s strength but she also has a vulnerable side. One that wants to be chosen, especially by Chris. Between his career and his family, Chris has trouble trusting people and letting them in to his life. Which of course means their issues are going to bump against each other at some point, causing problems with their relationship. And while I kinda wish it had been explored a little differently (because really it was something that they should have known was going to happen and handled better), it does work and gets resolved well. It looks like this is a relatively new author and I’m looking forward to seeing where her books continue to take us.
*****
Author Info:
Jaime got hooked on romance novels at an inappropriately young age. She’s a New England dairy farm kid turned Wyoming cowgirl turned cattle genetics writer, turned romance writer. Jaime lives with her former US Marine husband and spends her days wrangling their four children and numerous farm animals, reading or writing romance novels, binging on romance-related podcasts, and adding more things to her to-do list than she could ever possibly get done.
Sometimes you have to break all the rules to find everything you never knew you wanted.
Come along for the fun, sexy ride as billionaire Fitz Silver pursues his biggest challenge yet—taming wild child Jennifer Stone. Loaded with heat, humor, and heart, this steamy, small-town, standalone romance is unputdownable. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a happily ever after that will leave you thinking about it long after you read the last page.
Silver Island’s golden boy Fitz Silver keeps his business dealings clean, his affairs private, and fulfills every promise he makes.
Infuriatingly so. He’s six-plus feet of gentleman in the streets and an unrelenting alpha in the sheets. I should know. I enjoyed a single scorching night in his bed over the summer. But contrary to Fitz being every woman’s fantasy, he’s my worst nightmare.
I’m a risk taker, a rule breaker. I wasn’t looking for more than a little vacation fun, but that passionate night knocked me off my feet.
When a chance encounter brings me face-to-face with the man who ruined me for all others, I know better than to land in his bed again. Unfortunately, outside my job as a high school principal, I’m not known for my good decisions. Once again I plan to leave Mr. Silver and our surprising connection behind, but he’s annoyingly unforgettable…and then two pink lines change everything.
I’m not usually a fan of the accidental pregnancy trope, or black cat heroines for that matter, but I know that pretty much anything in the hands of a good author is going to work. And Foster is one of my favorites so I didn’t hesitate to jump right in. She proved me right because I really fell for Jennifer and Fitz together.
Jennifer has been hurt in the past, majorly, and it has cause her to build up some pretty big walls. Fitz on the other hand has always been kind of a gold child, the “good one”. He’s also a natural carer, a nurturer at heart. One with the patience and understanding to wait out Jennifer’s fears and concerns after they reconnect and spend a wonderful week together. The man sets out to woo her, even if she doesn’t (understandably) make it easy. An unexpected baby just gives him an easier time to show that he’s the man for her.
I gotta say I was a little worries when I looked down and saw that I was about 60% of the way thru the book and things were looking really good for these two. With that much story left … third act breakup? Some kind of trouble for them? But Foster handled the rest with the same care as the beginning of their story. None of their troubles were just there to add angst, they were understandable concerns and issues that the two needed to work thru together. I loved their deepening relationship and the life they were working on creating together.
And it wouldn’t be a book about the Silver Island group without some shenanigans but it’s handled with good humor and fun. Like with everything, they live big, laugh big, & love big and that applies to Jennifer and her family as well. I always get giddy when a new Foster book comes out, to revisit this boisterous caring group, and this was no exception.
*****
Author Info:
Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, & USA Today bestselling author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and new adult romance with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented–perfect beach reads for contemporary romance lovers who enjoy reading about wealthy heroes and smart, sassy heroines.
Cozy and steamy, this is a small-town contemporary romance of forced proximity and one snowed-in night, where a sharp-tongued librarian and the town’s newest bad boy get stranded in the dark together.
Hazel Anderson braves a blizzard to check on the library’s resident tortoise, but being snowed in with Evergreen Cove’s newest bad boy was not on her BINGO card…
Lynx Dane is no one’s hero. He’s in town for a fresh start—and a fresh cup of coffee, which is when he bumps into the town librarian. Hazel’s sharp tongue, red hair, and freckles sweep every thought from his head. Before Lynx knows what hit him, he offers to see her safely to her destination.
Hazel knows Lynx’s brother, so trusting him to escort her for a few snowy blocks shouldn’t be a big deal. But as the storm worsens, the power goes out, leaving them stranded in the dark library together until morning.
Between flashlight confessions and shared drinks, the night heats up faster than a malfunctioning generator—leaving them to wonder whether what they found in the dark was ever meant to survive the light of day.
Perfect for readers who – Snowed-in forced-proximity small-town romance – A sharp-tongued librarian and a reformed bad boy – Cozy, steamy, one-night-to-forever heat – Fresh starts and second chances
*****
Review:
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Lemmon book and this one was a good pick to jump back in. It was short (a little too short but only because I enjoyed it & wanted more), fun, and satisfying. I liked that Hazel was sassy and smart and willing to give Lynx a hard time. I liked Lynx who is ready to grow up and find himself, wanting to step out of his brother’s shadow and make his own way. Drawn together at first sight and forced to spend the night together when they get snowed in at the library, they have a chance to explore that connection. While I would have loved more – more of them learning about each other, more of them discovering themselves, more of … well, them – I enjoyed the glimpse we’re given. Maybe we’ll see more of them in future books 🙂
Ten years ago, my world shattered when I lost not only my best friend, but the man I loved. Colt’s brother was my best friend, and his death took two people from my life in a single moment. One I lost to tragedy, and one I lost to grief.
I waited for Colt to come home and grieve with the rest of us after his brother’s death, but after the first year passed, it became painfully clear he wasn’t coming back to River Falls.
I did what I had to do to keep moving forward. I pushed every thought of Colt out of my mind. If only my heart had known how to loosen its grip on him. Instead, I poured myself into building a career as a farrier, supported my family’s ranch, and watched one sibling after another find their happily ever after while I stood still, holding on to someone who wasn’t there.
Eventually, I realized that if I was ever going to find my own happiness, I had to stop waiting for it. I had to take control of my future.
And just when I finally believed I had everything figured out, Colt returned to River Falls, and my carefully built life fell apart all over again.
Colt
After ten years away, I’m back in River Falls, not entirely sure where I fit anymore.
I left after my brother took his own life, drowning in guilt and convinced I was responsible. I couldn’t face my family. I couldn’t face Ensley. So, I ran and stayed gone far longer than I ever intended.
I told myself time would make it easier. It didn’t.
The moment I see Ensley Wilde sitting in a chair beside my father’s hospital bed, everything I buried comes rushing back. Including the guilt I’ve never managed to outrun.
For years, we’ve all carried our own version of what happened to Grady, and the guilt that came with each version. But when the truth finally comes to light, will it be enough to heal what’s broken between us, or will it destroy what’s left entirely?
Can I earn my parents’ trust again?
And more importantly… is there still a chance to win back Ensley Wilde’s heart, and the life I left behind? Can I finally give her the future she’s always dreamed of?
Dear Reader,
Before you begin this story, I need to let you know that it deals with the sensitive subject of suicide.
If you need emotional support or have a loved one you think may need it, please call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
There is also an organization to help as well called, Reasons To Stay.
(Wilde Hearts is the fourth book in the Love is a Cowboy series. While each book can be read as a stand alone, I highly suggest reading them in order for a better reading experience.)
This was a such a fast read for me. It sucked me in and before I knew it I was almost done. I totally was in with Ensley on the mad-at-Colt train because that man did her dirty. I get that he was young and dealing with a lot of grief and guilt and all but running out on her … whew. And once we get his side of things, it makes it a little better but I’m not sure I would have been so quick to forgive 🙂
They were dealing with a lot of heavy things tho. And, as someone who hasn’t experienced it that closely myself, I felt like it was handled with care? I see every POV, including Grady’s, and it is heartbreaking. I do wish that there had been discussion of getting professional help, even at their current situation, because I feel like there needed to be some resolution for a lot of their feelings. But they are there for each other and help every way they can.
I appreciate the big, loving family that is the Wildes. They are supportive and caring and open. The love and advice they give each other is powerful and I like that they believe in Colt enough to give him the chance to explain things. But now I am definitely looking forward to Gatlin’s story because even with his big heart there’s a bit of an ornery streak and I gotta know who is gonna bring him around!
Tropes: Childhood crush, star player x physiotherapist, secret injury, forced proximity, forbidden workplace romance, jealousy triangle
Spice level: High / explicit
Blurb:
My childhood crush is my injured captain… and I’m the physio secretly keeping him on the pitch.
Rafe Calder is everything I learned not to want: flashy, reckless, adored, and far too beautiful. He is also hurt, lying about it, and somehow mine to fix.
I catch the limp no one else sees, then make the dumbest deal of my life. Private rehab, locked rooms, my hands on him daily, and one rule I keep pretending still matters.
At first, he pushes because he hates being handled. Then he listens when pain scares him, lets me see the lonely man under the captain’s armband, and looks ready to break when Donovan Reid makes me smile.
Somewhere between treatment lights, late-night checkups, and one reckless after-hours mistake that turns into more, I fall. Not for the fantasy I used to worship, but for the man who finally stops performing.
Then his injury truth explodes, and protecting him could cost me everything.
I watch every second of that embrace. Her face when he lifts her off the ground, her laughter, the ease of it. Nothing between Tess and me has ever been easy.
He was a good player. I said that myself. But tonight he saved the game in my place, and thirty thousand people cheered him while I stood there feeling like a man who had started the match and somehow still lost it. Then I see him holding Tess, my Tess, and she’s smiling up at him like she doesn’t know exactly what that does to me.
I find her in the hallway outside the locker room. She doesn’t slow when I fall into step beside her, but I catch the way she worries at her lip.
“Great game,” she says.
“Is that what you said to Reid when he had his hands all over you?”
Her head jerks toward me. “I thanked him for the hug, yes.”
I stop her with a hand around her wrist. “I saw the way he looked at you.”
“He was thanking me. I cleared him to play on a calf knock.”
My throat tightens. “I saw the way you looked at him.”
Her expression hardens. “And what about you? What about the pictures of you with that woman? So it’s fine for you to do whatever you were doing, but I can’t accept a thank-you hug from a player I treated?”
“That was weeks ago,” I snap. “Before you and I—”
“I saw you at Halo.” Her voice goes cold. “The night after I came to your house.”
I stare at her. “I was with the lads. We go for beers all the time.”
“From where I was standing, you had a woman on your arm. Then you went off with her afterward. And you’ve got the gall to stand here and act jealous over three seconds in a football stadium?”
“Why were you watching me at Halo?” I demand.
“I was out with Donovan and Layla,” she says sharply. “I wasn’t stalking you.”
The room seems to tilt. “You were out with him?”
“With him and Layla. As friends.”
That lands like a punch. She steps closer and jabs a finger into my chest, and I let her. “Besides, you have no claim over me. You said mine into a mirror after a quick fuck in the gym and then showed up in the press with some other woman. And you know what? You’re right. We’re nothing, officially, so don’t stand here making me feel guilty for doing my job.”
“Don’t say nothing,” I say.
“What are we then?”
The anger in her face cracks for a second, and there’s fear underneath it. “I’ve been lying to my employer about you. I’ve filed false assessments. I’ve let you into places that were supposed to be professional, and you—”
“I haven’t touched anyone else,” I say. “Not since you.”
That stops her.
“The photos were nothing,” I tell her. “What you saw at Halo was nothing.”
Tears gather at the corners of her eyes. “You told me—”
“And I meant it.”
I cup her cheek. “You’re mine, Tess.”
She shudders when I kiss her. She lets me pull her against the wall, lets me kiss her hard enough to make the hallway disappear. But then she presses a hand to my chest and pushes back, just enough to stop me.
I break away, breathing hard. “I haven’t wanted anyone else. Not once.”
Her jaw tightens. “You’re injured, Rafe. Publicly now. I have to file a real assessment this week, and whatever this is, I can’t let it affect that report.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“It already does,” she says quietly. “Every decision I make about your hip, your minutes, whether you play the Founders’ Cup or Donovan does—it’s all compromised because I have feelings. About both of you. And I can’t fix that, so I need you to give me some room.”
Room. For him, too.
I take a step back. Then another.
“Okay,” I say.
Her face flickers. “Rafe—”
“I heard you.” I keep backing away. “Do your job, Montgomery.”
She turns and walks off, leaving me standing in the corridor with the feeling that I’ve just done the right thing, and somehow lost anyway.
*****
Author Info:
Trading boardrooms for bedrooms (of the fictional kind!), Peyton Lux is now fully dedicated to writing steamy workplace romance that leaves readers utterly satisfied.
Her former life in marketing taught her how to craft compelling narratives – a skill she now devotes entirely to her steamy workplace romance novels.
Peyton lives and breathes romance, infusing her stories with undeniable heat and fiercely earned happily-ever-afters.
She isn’t supposed to care about a ranch. She definitely isn’t supposed to fall for the foreman. And his six-year-old son is absolutely, definitely not supposed to capture her heart.
Lainey Brown is not ranch material. She’s a city girl who landed on the legendary Wallace Ranch to give the place a fresh coat of branding—and get her career back on track. She’s got no interest in cowboys, cattle, or the infuriatingly gorgeous foreman who clearly wants her gone.
Colton Wallace has spent every day since losing his wife building something worth leaving his son: a spotless reputation, a thriving operation, and a life with no room for complications. The last thing he needs is a firecracker from Austin with a sketchbook full of big ideas and a smile that makes him forget every reason he swore off wanting things he can’t keep.
But somewhere between their very first fight and a Texas night sky that stretches on forever, something shifts. Lainey stops counting the days until she can leave. And Colt stops pretending he wants her to.
The ranch has always been the Wallace legacy. But Colt is starting to wonder if the best thing that’s ever happened to it—and to him—just walked in wearing city shoes.
There were parts I really enjoyed and some parts that I wished we could have seen a little more of. I appreciate that Lainey came to terms with her family dynamic but I felt like maybe we need some actual resolution with them together. She accepts herself and what that means in relation to how different she is from her parents but I really wish there’d been a conversation at least with her mom. I do like that both Colt & Lainey have a therapist because I think that positive mental health rep is important in these kinds of situations. But I feel like we don’t really know where she stands now with her family.
You can’t beat the positive example that the Wallace’s show her on a healthy family interaction tho. They love each other big but that includes fighting big too. And then making up. Because even when they are hurt by each other, it make take a little bit, but they come back together to address it. Which reinforces that disconnect that Lainey already feels with her own family.
Colt has some hurt that he is carrying still. Those that read Ryder know how upset he was by his sister’s relationship with his best friend (although it isn’t really required reading because we get enough of Colt’s side to understand) and it takes him a little bit to come to terms with it. But that’s because he’s been lied to and betrayed in the past and that’s a pressure point for him. Totally understandably so and it makes him react poorly at first. His past also makes him prickly sometimes and unfortunately Lainey gets most of the fall out from it.
Lainey isn’t one to take it lying down tho and she goes toe to toe with the super hot, super grumpy cowboy. It is more dislike than enemies and there’s definitely a sense of foreplay to their interactions because as much as they argue they also are enjoying it. Sometimes a little too much … a little hate f-ing sure does seem to do them good 🙂 But before long, that dislike turns to something more as they spend time together and start to share a little of themselves with each other.
This is a slow slide from butting heads to lust to falling in love. Loved the banter between them, their version of flirting, and the way that they carry that through even once their feelings start to change. Peterson definitely brought the spice with this one but she also gives readers cute moments & emotions as well. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series and seeing the other Wallace’s get their HEA.
There’s nothing Ethan Barnes has wanted more than to play hockey with his brothers. Avery, Charlie and Ethan have been dreaming about uniting the Barnes brothers on one team since they were barely old enough to hold a hockey stick.
Starting his rookie season on the New York Bandits, Ethan’s finally going to get the chance to play with his brother Charlie. But while Charlie’s great—a fantastic roommate, a better teammate, and a damn good forward—it turns out the guy Ethan’s really interested in doesn’t have a last name of Barnes.
Hank Tucker’s been working his ass off for two years to make the Bandits opening roster as one of their starting defensemen. What he needs is determination, hard work and focus.
What he doesn’t need is a rookie forward with a famous last name, who, since the first time they met at development camp last year, has permanently moved into his thoughts with his rumpled curls and magnetic smiles and killer body. No matter how grumpy Hank is or how determined he is to shake him, Ethan’s sunshine ends up buried deep under Hank’s skin.
Hank’s always been sure he was straight. But Ethan tempts him and entices him and ultimately, makes himself so irresistible Hank’s got no shot at holding back.
Especially when it turns out that Ethan’s not just been working hard to make a spot on the Bandits’ roster but in Hank’s bed, too.
Tropes: double bisexual awakening, player x player, black cat x golden retriever, grumpy x sunshine, pining/yearning
There’s a connection between Ethan and Hank from the moment they meet. And they slowly build on that as they go their separate ways for the season. Because Ethan is going to do everything he can to get his guy and I love that for him. Not that Hank is exactly adverse but it’s definitely Ethan that gets things going.
It has a real feel to it tho as Hank especially comes to terms with their sexuality. They go at a pace that works for both of them which doesn’t involve jumping right in to anything sexual and keeping their evolving relationship private. It’s so much slow burn and so much yearning as these two spend a lot of time separated due to hockey 🙂
It’s also the first in a new series so we get some time being introduced to the world inhabited by the Barnes siblings. I think it’s going to be more of a mood read because you kinda have to just sit back and let the story come to you. But I did enjoy Ethan and Hank and I liked the glimpses of the other Barnes siblings we get, their dynamic and the pressure they are under to be no just good but extraordinary.
