Scoring Position by Ashlyn Kane and 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
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​Author info:
Ashlyn Kane
Morgan James