Piper Vaughn

As someone who has never played any sport in my life, I still can’t figure out my fascination for sports romances, especially hockey because I hardly know anything about it. But they just make me insanely happy and this book was no different.

I remember reading the first book in this series and liking it but it’s been a while, so I didn’t go in with a lot of expectations. I just wanted to have fun and this author duo gave me that. I haven’t read any other books by Piper Vaughn but I show more have really enjoyed other hockey romances by Avon Gale and this one has a very similar feel. The writing is so easy to get through right from the beginning and I flew through the book in a single sitting. The authors do such a wonderful job making us root for this enemies to lovers to friends to more romance and I just couldn’t get enough. There is also a lot of focus on the game itself, it’s pressures, the camaraderie of the team etc and I loved reading about it all. Even the conflict felt very realistic and made me all emotional. This love story has more like an HFN but it feels very organic to the characters themselves and I also liked that coming out was never a point of contention.

Its amazing to see two protagonists of color in a sport like hockey which is majority white. Ryu is Japanese American who is very reserved, driven, a perfectionist who expects too much from himself. Emmitt on the other hand is Black, who has a faced a lot of prejudice but has never let it get to him and has finally arrived at the NHL. He is also supremely confident, a bit cocky and loves posting shirtless selfies on his insta. They are just so different from each other and competing for the starting goalie puts them at odds, but there were too many sparks flying to be ignored. I loved how they slowly became friends and realized they had feelings for each other despite not wanting to. It was kinda sweet watching them together, bringing out the best in each other on the ice, and also bonding over the immense parental pressures they have faced.

I absolutely loved the team camaraderie here too. Even though I don’t remember much from the first book, it was cool seeing Tristan and Seb together, just being all sappy and adorable. Tristan is the nicest guy ever and Seb is a force of nature and I really wanna reread their book now. Morley is another defenseman who was a prominent side character and he was annoying at first with his typical dudebro attitude and just making offensive jokes all the time. But I quickly realized he is a great friend, just with a puerile sense of humor. He is also not a fan of labeling his sexuality but doesn’t seem to discriminate between genders and I didn’t expect him to be so open and accepting about it. I have a feeling he is going to be the protagonist of the next book and I can’t wait.

To conclude, this was a fun, intense and emotional love story which had both hockey and romance in equal measures and I loved it all. I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want it to end - what more can I expect from a lovely book. If you like sports romances, then I definitely recommend this book. This works perfectly well as a stand-alone too but I think you should also read the first. I hope the wait for the next book in the series won’t be as long as this time. show less

As funny and imaginative as the first story about prickly hedgehog shifter Avery and his protective wolf shifter mate Dylan, this sequel also focuses on the unsolved mystery of the disappearance of a young female werewolf. Her having vanished still bothers Avery, and now that he has his own issues with loan sharks and petty criminals resolved and is firmly mated to Dylan, he can focus on the case. Dylan, for his part, isn’t really happy about Avery putting himself in danger, but for the show more sake of a peaceful relationship he tried to control his protective streak. Not very successfully…much to my amusement. The humor is as good in this second volume as in the first, the characters are even more fun since I now know them, and the mystery adds an element of suspense and danger that had me thoroughly engaged in the story.

Avery has come a long way. No longer stuck-up, an arrogant snob, or a naïve, spoiled brat. He still has his moments, but he now has a job he is interested in and a mate he loves with all his heart. Becoming a PI is not easy, and Avery still has lots to learn, but he clearly has a talent and the determination to make it. His main interest remains the vanished female werewolf, and figuring out what happened there, then catch the kidnappers, keeps him busy. So busy in fact, that Dylan feels neglected, and keeping him happy is the other main challenge for Avery. He has to learn to balance his professional and his personal life, and that is an entirely new challenge for the former “rich son”. Avery also struggles with his stuck-up family and their lack of acceptance of his mate, but his newfound pride in who he is and what he does help him deal with their stupidity. Way to go, Avery!

Dylan hasn’t changed that much on a personal level – he’s still pretty dominant and protective – but he has learned how to be in a relationship and become a supporter for Avery’s ambitions. But Dylan has his limits – and “never” seeing Avery because he always works late is one of them. The fact that he almost always shadows Avery when he is on a dangerous assignment may add to the stress – not that Dylan would admit this. Compromising ids not in Dylan’s nature – but then Avery is no champion of that particular ability either. Between the dangers of the case, various interfering and supportive friends, and Dylan’s feelings for his mate, he definitely has his hands full!

If you liked Avery in Dylan in book one and want to know how they’re doing, if stories about unusual shifters and dangerous mysteries are your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is fast-paced, adventurous, emotional, and hilarious in turn, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. I laughed my head off – again - and hope the next sequel will be published soon.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. show less

Jeremy probably hasn't taken his job as seriously as he could have and has hit his third strike as far as his manager, Shawn, is concerned. But as much as Shawn isn't keen on Jeremy's job performance, he clearly has an attraction for the man he doesn't seem willing to admit. But Shawn is still surprised when Jeremy offers himself up as a trade-off in order to keep his job. Shawn, being ethical, has to decline, but is willing to give Jeremy the same last chance he would give any other show more employee. But was Jeremy's offer simply to keep his job? Is this all just some ruse to get under Shawn's skin? Or is there maybe something there for Jeremy, too, that he just never expressed before.

This is a short and fast-paced story. It moves quickly, and I found it to be very engaging. There's obviously some complexity here in terms of Shawn's decision-making and trying to sort out just exactly what Jeremy is up to. But despite the pace, none of that is really glossed over and it seems authentic. I definitely would have like to know more about these two and how things develop after the end of the story. show less

What will you get if you take:

- 2 swoony heroes
- an ungodly amount of sexual tension
- some drama!
- SPORTS

An absolutely cracking romance, that’s what.

Ryu and Emmitt have insane chemistry. Their initial conflict makes earlier encounters scorching hot, but in the third act becomes absolutely heartbreaking. Both of them are completely sympathetic and you understand where each of them is coming from. All of the drama is completely warranted, and you desperately want for them to work through show more their situation, because they’re incredible together. When the love confession happened, it melted me into a puddle.

Loved it! show less