Posts Tagged With: Sports – Hockey

Book Review: Benoit by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Benoit
Authors: R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey
Series: Owatonna U Hockey #3
Heroes: Ethan/Ben
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 192 Pages
Publisher: Love Lane Books Unlimited
Release Date: May 17, 2019
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When the lines between career and love blur, will Ethan and Ben find a way to create a future that will work for both of them?

Senior year is here, and everything is on the line. Benoit’s time to shine in the crease is now, and he’s going to do everything he can to make sure those professional scouts take notice. He’s earned a great reputation for his skills in the net, and his laid-back demeanor is his key to maintaining his cool when things get heated in the goal crease.

As the Eagles roar into a new season, Ben’s laser-sharp focus is shattered by his attraction to Ethan Girard, the team’s new defensive consultant. Trying his best to ignore the budding friendship that’s taking a hard, fast turn into something far more passionate, Ben is determined to keep his mind on the sport he loves and not let his feelings for the handsome older man creep into his performance. But love, like hockey, is wildly unpredictable, and soon Ben finds that he’s unable to distance himself from Ethan who is slowly and surely working himself into his heart.

Famed Boston defenseman, Ethan Girard, isn’t stupid. Celebrating his thirty-second birthday in the emergency room after breaking his leg, and with a warning that healing will be a long process, he knows he has to think about his future. He was drafted at eighteen, and he’s never known anything but hockey, but with no contract in place yet for the new season he considers that maybe it’s time for him to hang up his skates for good.

Volunteering to help out with the Owatonna Eagles fills his time, but from the moment he lays eyes on goalie Ben, he knows his world will never be the same again. Falling in lust is as easy as stealing his first kiss, but Ben refuses to engage. Has Ethan finally met his match?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Scott by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey

Reviewed by Susan65

scottTitle: Scott
Authors: RJ Scott & V.L. Locey
Series: Owatanna U Hockey #2
Heroes: Scott & Hayne
Genre: MM Contemporary YA
Length: 152 Words
Publisher: Love Lane Books Limited
Release Date: March 27, 2019
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: What happens when you try to fix the past and end up threatening your future?

Scott is struggling. Grieving the loss of his brother, carrying the weight of his father’s expectations, and getting his ass kicked in the rink, he’s in a downward spiral. He needs a solution and fast, but when his steroid use is exposed, he’s close to losing his place at Owatonna and more importantly, on the Eagles Hockey team. Thrown out of his house, with nowhere to go and no future in sight, he only has one choice; agree to mandatory counseling, random drug tests, and get his act together. Only then will he have a chance at normal. Meeting Hayne, a senior connected to the world through his art, is a shock to the system. Moving in with him is his only option, but falling for the shy artist leaves Scott in an impossible situation, and one he can’t escape.

Hayne has always been that quiet, creative kid who sat in the back of class drawing instead of listening to the teacher. A talented artist, the shy and sensitive young man is struggling with the loss of his childhood friend. Seeing his sadness reflected in his usually colorful paintings, he decides to attend grief counseling and meets Scott, a lost soul in desperate need of light and color in his life. Taking in a homeless hockey player certainly was never part of his carefully orchestrated ten-year plan. But now that Scott is in his life, he’s discovering the joy of this man’s loving smile and tender touch is one of the most beautiful palettes on earth.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2019, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Heated Rivalry
Author: Rachel Reid
Series: Game Changers #2
Heroes: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 310 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: March 25, 2019
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Nothing interferes with Shane Hollander’s game—definitely not the sexy rival he loves to hate.

Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.

Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.

As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ryker by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Ryker
Authors: R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey
Series: Owatanna U Hockey #1
Heroes: Ryker/Jacob
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 181 Pages
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Release Date: September 26, 2018
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: This New Adult book is the first in the Owatonna U Series, a spin off from the best selling Harrisburg Railers Hockey Series.

Ryker is hockey royalty, Jacob is a poor country boy. Can two vastly different people find common ground and become the men they want to be?

Ryker comes from a long line of championship-winning hockey players. Playing college hockey to develop his game is his only focus, and nothing will stand in the way of him working to become the best player. He has no room for relationships, people that point out his flaws, or anyone who calls him on his dreams. He certainly has no place for love, and meeting Jacob is nothing but a useful distraction on the side. After all trying to get his Owatonna Eagles teammate into bed is less work and more play. When tragedy rocks his family, his charmed life crumbles, and the only person he can turn to is the same one who claims to hate him.

Jacob Benson has only known hard work and stifling conservative values his whole life. Born and raised in the small rural community of Eden Crossing, Minnesota, he’s the only son of a hard-working but struggling dairy farming family. Jacob is using his skills in hockey to finance his way to an agricultural science degree. These four years at Owatonna U. will probably be the only time he has to enjoy life, gain acceptance about his sexuality, and live openly before his inevitable return to the farm. Running into a pretty rich boy like Ryker Madsen is putting a damper on his enjoyment of life away from home. Ryker’s flip, conceited, carefree attitude grates on Jacob’s every nerve. So why, if Ryker is everything he dislikes, does he want nothing more than to explore the sinful dreams that his annoying teammate stars in every night?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Coach’s Challenge by Avon Gale

Reviewed bySusan65

Title: Coach’s Challenge
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Series: Scoring Chances #5
Heroes: Troy Callahan/Shane North
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 50 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 26, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds out the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression—especially when Shane’s rough good looks have Troy thinking inappropriate thoughts about a player, even if he’s set to retire at the end of the season.

Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon, and with a team that doesn’t trust him, Troy, or each other. Despite his determination not to get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff, out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Power Play by Cara Dee

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Power Play
Author: Cara Dee
Heroes: Abel/Madigan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 276 Pages
Publisher: Cara Dee
Release Date: January 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: I was my own worst enemy. For as much as I depended on order and a structured life to easier manage my bipolar disorder, fire was irresistible and indisputably my favorite toy to play with. On the ice, it turned me into a hotheaded hockey player. In the bedroom, my attitude was my last defense, a front I wanted to see tumbling down. But lately, all I got was burned.

Love sucked. Correction: it sucked when you were in love with your parents’ closest friend and he didn’t feel the same. I admitted my feelings for Madigan Monroe over a year ago, and I was still waiting for a response. Now my balance was gone. My anxiety was all over the place, my fits of rage had just earned me a suspension from the team, I questioned myself at every turn, and being home for two weeks was gonna make it impossible to avoid Madigan.

I used to be his Abel, his sweetheart, his trouble. It’d been the two of us against the world since I was a kid. I’d even discovered we had kink in common! On paper, I was seemingly perfect for him. Maybe that was why his nonverbal rejection hurt so much. Or maybe it was because, recently, he seemed hell-bent on us “being friends” again.

Whatever. I was a loser, and I couldn’t resist him for crap.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2018 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Off the Ice by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Off the Ice
Authors: Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
Series: Hat Trick #1
Heroes: Tristan Holt/Sebastian Cruz
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 283 pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: October 30, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf:  Goodreads

Blurb: Tristan Holt is nothing if not pragmatic. Despite a flourishing career as a defenseman for the Atlanta Venom, Tristan knows he can’t play hockey forever. One day he’ll retire—if an injury doesn’t force him to hang up his skates first. His backup plan? Finishing his business degree. But he doesn’t count on a very inappropriate attraction to his standoffish sociology professor, Sebastian Cruz.

Sebastian is on the bottom rung of the Sociology Department at Georgia State. He has his sights set on tenure, and he can’t afford to be distracted, especially not by a sexy student with a body straight out of Sebastian’s dreams. No matter how much Tristan tempts him, that’s one line Sebastian won’t cross. At least not until summer classes end. After that, everything is fair game.

But Sebastian lives loud and proud, and Tristan is terrified of being the first out player in the NHL. Neither of them can afford to risk their hearts when they can’t imagine a happily ever after. The problem is, unlike hockey, when it comes to love, there are no rules.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: Empty Net by Avon Gale/Scott R. Smith

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Empty Net
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Series: Scoring Chances #4
Heroes: Isaac Drake/Laurent St. Savoy
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 38 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: 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).
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Two-Man Advantage by Leigh Carman

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Two-Man Advantage
Author: Leigh Carman
Series: Players of LA #3
Heroes: Viktor Novak/Bowen Miller
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM
Length: 220 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 7, 2017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A hockey star skating on the edge of a catastrophe.

A PR specialist so adept, he’s called “the Fixer.”

Working together will be the biggest challenge of both their careers.

The LA Vikings hockey team is fed up the violent outbursts of its huge, intimidating enforcer, Viktor Novak. Hounded by a homophobic and domineering father, Viktor takes out his frustrations by spilling blood—on and off the ice. Now he has one last chance to clean up his image, or his career is over.

That’s where Bowen Miller comes in.

Bo has taken on the hardest cases and succeeded—by micromanaging every aspect of a client’s life—at the expense of his own happiness. But in the stubborn, hot mess that is Viktor, Bo might have met his match—both in and out of the bedroom. One man is out of control, and one controls everything. But when sex and attraction come into play, those roles are open to negotiation.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audio Review: Power Play by Avon Gale

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Power Play
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Series: Scoring Chances #3
Heroes: Max Ashford/Misha Samarin
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 6 Hours, 22 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 10, 2016
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident.

After spending years guilt ridden for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them.

Not only must they navigate Misha’s remorse and a past he’s spent a lifetime trying to forget, but also a sleazy GM who is determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets a player, Misha revisits his darkest days, and that might cost him and Max the beginning they’ve worked so hard to build.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment