This was such a cute, heartwarming and fun add-on to the Hockey Ever After series, telling the story how Grady and Max from the third book got engaged.

I absolutely adore the Hockey Ever After series! The stories are kind of independent, but the characters from the previous books make appearances and I truly recommend you to read all of the books in the series, simply because they’re absolutely worth it! They are all such wonderful and sweet mm hockey rivals to lovers romances, with the perfect amount of steam and lovable characters with an absolutely sizzling chemistry!

One of my favorite books in the series is the third one, Unrivaled, so I was so happy when I learned there was a short extra story to the romance between Grady and Max. They started off as archenemies who hooked up by accident and who then found out that they had a surprisingly good time together. Soon they kept meeting up for more, with the fighting on the ice as foreplay… After a big hiccup in the third book, and the extra strain with Max’s team beating Grady’s team to the Stanley Cup, they are back on track and ready for summer vacation in this lovely extra novella.

Grady and Max are such an amazing couple! I rooted for them both already from the start in the third book and I really appreciated the slow burn from loathing each other to slowly beginning to open up and getting to know each other with all their vulnerability and insecurities, and from there on letting the attraction take them even further.

I loved this lite cute novella, with them both having the same idea about proposing and all the missed opportunities and hilarious situations. I also adored the way the Lockhart family took Grady to their heart and let him have a family again after losing his parents at a young age. And it was so wholesome getting more of Dante “Baller” gossiping and meddling into everyone else’s business.

All in all, this was such a sweet and adorable bonus story that gave me the pleasure of spending more time with Max and Grady, and made me smile throughout it all, and warmed my heart!

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
5 stars

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​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James

This was such a cute add-on to the Hockey Ever After series, full of festive season vibes, telling the story how Gabe decided to retire and how he and Dante became parents.

I absolutely love the Hockey Ever After series and its sweet, slowburn mm romances! This fourth book had more of an age gap aspect than the rivals to lovers trope in the previous books, but also a bit more fun, playful vibe, with all the shenanigans and banter. And even more steam!

The books in the series are all independent, even though there are some much appreciated cameo appearances. But nevertheless, I’d still recommend you to read all of the books in the series, simply because they’re absolutely worth it!

In this fourth book, we get to meet veteran defenseman Russ Lyons and rookie Liam Bellanger. Where Liam is openly gay and a big flirt, Russ is keeping himself in a “glass closet” - i.e. his friends and family knows he’s gay, but he’s never had any serious relationships worth letting the world know of his sexuality. Not until trouble with a capital T comes along as Liam’s flirting breaks through his shell and casual sex turns into something a lot less casual…

I loved the witty, flirty banter and the burning attraction! I read most of this book with a smile on my face, Liam and Russ were just so adorable and fun together. The age gap trope isn’t usually my thing, but here it was done in such a sweet and good way. Liam was such a natural, hilarious flirt that kept pushing and challenging Russ, but he was also so vulnerable and sweet. And Russ was older, but not always wiser, and a had a lot of doubts and insecurities.

Their chemistry was absolutely sizzling, and there was a lot of steam in this book. Some parts were perhaps a bit too explicit/advanced for my personal taste, it’s definitely the book with most smut in the series, but it was still a very sweet and heartwarming story.

I also rooted for many of the secondary characters, with the supportive (but teasing) team mates and family members, and it was so wholesome to see so much of Dante (Baller) and Gabe from the first book in the series again. Baller is so wonderfully shameless, funny and outspoken! And with his heart in the right place. Baller and Gabe are definitely my favorite couple in this series, and it was so adorable to see Baller support and make fun of Liam and Russ and help them get their sh*t together.

All in all, this was such a heartwarming and addictive age gap romance about allowing yourself to be vulnerable for a chance to find true love.

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4.5 stars rounding up to 5

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Add on Goodreads

​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James

I absolutely adore the Hockey Ever After series! This third book is independent of the previous ones (there are some cameo appearances but no real plot crossover) but I’d still recommend you to read all of the books in the series, simply because they’re absolutely worth it! They are all such wonderful and sweet mm hockey rivals to lovers romances, with the perfect amount of steam and lovable characters with an absolutely sizzling chemistry!

In this third book, we get to meet the two hockey players Grady and Max, who are longtime rivals from different teams. Even though Grady is normally the quiet, sensible one, Max has a way of getting under his skin to make him see red and they have been in uncountable fights over the years. But when they hook up by accident, they have a surprisingly good time together. Soon they keep meeting up for more, with the fighting on the ice as foreplay…

I truly rooted for both Grady and Max, and I really appreciated the slow burn from loathing each other to slowly beginning to open up and getting to know each other with all their vulnerability and insecurities, and from there on letting the attraction take them even further. The enemies-to-lovers trope is my absolute favorite one, but lately I’ve read a lot of books where the enemies-part has been over way too fast and I’ve felt a bit deluded from the blurbs, but not here! Here, the trope was perfectly executed! I loved the witty banter, the burning attraction and the love/hate relationship. I read most of this book with a smile on my face, Grady and Max were just so adorable and fun together.

I also rooted for many of the secondary characters, with the supportive (but teasing) team mates and family members, and it was so wholesome to see glimpses of the characters from the first two books again.

All in all, this was such a heartwarming slowburn romance and a truly sweet and addictive reading experience!

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4.5 stars rounding up to 5

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Author links
Amazon

​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James

This second book in the Hockey Ever After series was even more addictive and wonderful than the first book! The pace was even faster, the characters even more lovable and the chemistry even hotter, and I loved meeting some of my favorite characters from the first book again. This book truly warmed my heart!

Both books in the Hockey Ever After series are set in the NHL hockey world, but each book can be read as a standalone as they focus on different characters. But I really loved the way Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James gave us glimpses of the characters from the first book, and how some of the characters were even part of the story in the second book but with new positions.

Scoring Position takes place about seven years after the events in Winging It, and follows the openly gay hockey player Ryan Wright, who gets traded to a new team in an attempt to support the struggling would-be superstar Nico Kirschbaum with his lack of results.

Twenty-six year old Ryan is known for his fun and laid-back attitude and for being the go-to-friend for any struggling team mate. So even though he might not be the world’s best hockey player on the ice, he’s highly regarded as an asset in creating a winning team spirit.

Twenty-one year old Nico on the other hand has the potential of becoming a truly great player, if only he could learn to control his performance anxiety and stop cracking under pressure, but find a way to deal with the demands from himself and his famous former hockey-player for a father. He certainly does not appreciate that management traded for another openly gay player and told them to make friends, treating him like some kind of trouble kid in need of a baby sitter. He’ll solve his problem on his own with hard work, not by bonding with the class clown.

Ryan knows his future on the ice depends on how well he succeeds in the locker room and in finding a way to set Nico’s mind straight. But convincing Nico to let him help means getting closer than is wise for Ryan’s heart, which has already been broken and made him afraid of any kind of deeper commitments.
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Just like the first book in this series, Scoring Position was such a wonderful and sweet mm hockey romance, with the perfect amount of steam and two lovable main characters. I truly rooted for both Ryan and Nico, and I really appreciated the slow burn from loathing each other to becoming friends and getting to know each other, to slowly letting the attraction take them further. I also loved the witty banter and all the humor.

Another favorite part was to meet the characters from the first book again, with rookie Yorkie from the first book now being captain in the Fuel team and with Kitty still being very much Kitty. And of course, the scenes with Gabe and Dante, which just melted my heart… So wholesome! It was also so sweet how Ryan, but especially Nico, were thankful for Gabe having paved the way to make it easier for them to be out and proud, and how Nico could tell his homophobic father off by showing him an openly gay hockey player in NHL.

Compared to the first book, I also felt that there was a better balance between the actual hockey parts and the more human/relationship parts, and that the story had a great focus on character developments and mental health issues.

All in all, this was such a heartwarming slowburn romance and a truly sweet and addictive reading experience. I read it in one sitting as it was completely unputdownable until the very end!

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4.5 stars rounding up to 5

Get your own copy:
Author links
Amazon

​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James

This was such a wonderful and sweet mm hockey romance, with the perfect amount of steam and two lovable main characters with an absolutely sizzling chemistry! It was so addictive that I binged it all in just a few hours!

Winging It follows closeted hockey star Gabe. As a person he’s very low key and he has no intentions of coming out or making waves. All he wants is to be Gabe, the hockey player—not the gay hockey player—and to win the Stanley Cup. He’s told two of his closest teammates, but other than that, he holds back from the team and the parties to not risk exposure. Getting involved with one of his teammates is of course out of the question, even though he can’t help having feelings for the cocky, larger-than-life, Dante “Baller” Baltierra.

But when his scorned ex sells a photo of the two of them to the tabloids, Gabe no longer has a choice. Being thrown out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world, his game suffers. Surprisingly, it’s Dante who helps him out of it—and then drags him into something else—when Dante takes on a journey of selfdiscovery of his own, when realizing that he’s bisexual.

I read this book in one sitting, it was so addictive and I rooted so much for all characters that I just couldn’t bear to put it down until the very end! It was not just Gabe and Dante who stole my heart, but so many of the wonderful secondary characters too, like the team captain Flash and his family, Dante’s parents and Gabe’s dad, and of course Kitty with his vodka apology! I loved the slow burn and the relationship angst, as well as how Dante was always so true to himself and how he pushed Gabe out of his comfort zone.

Spoiler:
My only issues were that the reasons why Gabe kept Dante at a distance didn’t fully make sense and that the relationship misunderstanding/break-up at the end that felt out of character and like it was there just for the sake of the drama than really adding anything to the story.

There was also perhaps a little too much focus on the actual hockey games. While I do enjoy the thrill of the game and both the sports part and the romance part in sports romances, this book could be a bit too heavy on the hockey for many readers.

But all in all, this was such a heartwarming and romantic story about accepting and being proud of who you are, and about allowing yourself to be vulnerable and taking chances with the risk of getting hurt, but potentially to get find love and a happy ever after.

Thank you to Gay Book Promotions for the free review copy and blog tour invitation! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

Get your own copy:
Author links
Amazon

​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James