virgoreader

★★★★★ An opposites attract hockey romance between a young, starry eyed rookie and a cantankerous veteran villain. 

Oh my gosh, I absolutely loved this book! It’s a third person, dual POV, MM sports romance.

First of all, the characters: Lane is young and new to the minor leagues. He's so endearing - awkward, brutally honest, and doesn't read social cues well. He's also gay but closeted, and a virgin. He was just drafted by the NHL to a minor league team, and he's starry eyed about playing the game. He also gets off on the wrong foot with his teammates because he says he doesn't think he'll be spending much time in the minors before he's called up... yikes. Which is how he meets Jared.

Jared is over a decade older than Land, and in the tail end of his career in the minors. He's been cast as a villain of minor league hockey, and is known as a bruiser and fighter on the ice. He's also on the rival team to Lane's. 

In order to make a better impression on his teammates since they aren't playing well with him (passing or protecting him), Lane decides to pick a fight with the much bigger and more experienced Jared. He's pretty much bitch slapped, but he gets some respect from his teammates and meets up with Jared after for a beer.

I get worried sometimes with sports romances that there will be homophobia, and while there was a little (mainly a misunderstanding and misguided worries from parents of their son being a target for homophobes) - it was surprisingly low angst. 

Lane is eager, honest. Jared is enthralled with him. The two are long distance but their teams play each other 60 times a year. They’re opposites but Jared begins to change as he’s inspired by Lane’s openness and love for the game. 

I was just having a BLAST while reading it. And there were so many funny bits. This is after both come out to their teams and are embraced as a couple but ragged on-ice still. (Ryan and Riley are on Lane’s team.) 

Zoe was there with Ryan, who had skated by Jared a few weeks before and said, “Keep your hands off my captain’s ass, you fucking cocksucker.” Then he laughed maniacally and stole the puck from him. Jared responded by knocking into Lane on the ice — hard. Then Jared scored a goal on Riley after telling him, “My boyfriend thinks you should blow me.” 

The friendship among their teams - especially during competitions - was a highlight I wasn’t expecting. 

CW: hero was groomed and had consensual sex with his coach, he was an adult at the time but in a vulnerable position; some homophobia