Updated content warnings after reread

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

Kids and rookies are a fact of life, and you need that energy and vitality on a team, but it had been a long time since I was this surrounded by so much teenager.

I have yet to read a book by Tal Bauer that I didn’t love. It doesn’t matter what he writes about, because it’s always so freaking beautiful, romantic and emotional. He writes good chemistry like no one else, and it’s always scorching when the MCs finally get together. The road there isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it.

I shifted back to Shea just in time to spy Shea’s eyes traveling slowly up from my chest to my lips. Caught, his cheeks turned as pink as a peony.

This is another one of those where it’s not particularly angsty, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy read. I dealt with it fine, but there are some heavy themes in this, which I thought was handled beautifully.

Home Depot didn’t open until 5: 00 a.m., and I was parked outside ten minutes before the doors unlocked. They shouldn’t have sold to me. I looked unhinged: beard going scruffy, deep hollows beneath my eyes, my long hair escaping the knot at the back of my neck, fury and purpose in all of my movements. No one buys a chainsaw before dawn with good intentions.

I also want to commend Tal for writing rugged athletes that aren’t afraid of being vulnerable and showing their emotions. It’s so refreshing to read about men crying, hugging and helping each other through hard times. And let’s not forget about writing women as bosses, leaders, trainers, coaches, etc. The real NHL is starting to catch up, but it’s a really slow process. The NHL is a notorious old-white-man’s club, so it’s nice to pretend that Tal’s league is the real league, only for a moment.

He resettled himself, getting comfortable, and then laid his cheek on my shoulder. His eyes slipped shut as I frowned. Was he… Yeah, he was. He was really going to do it, was going to use me as a pillow.

I play and follow hockey, so I normally avoid hockey romance books. I can’t shut off the part of my brain that knows a little too much about how things work (or don’t work), but I thought Tal did a fantastic job. I had faith after reading Gravity. Sure, I had to suspend belief a couple of times, but nothing too awful. The book dragged slightly a little after halfway through for me, but it picked up again not long after.

I didn’t think anything could be worse than that night when I was fifteen, but this was. Oh, this was. It was worse because I was responsible. I’d done this. I was the one who made it hurt.

Morgan and Shea fit so well together, and it was lovely, and at times a little heartbreaking, to see them become friends and eventually more. There were so many fantastic side characters, but none more so than Brody. Whenever he called Morgen ‘dad’, I melted completely.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Virgin MC
Hockey romance
Found family
Co-captains
Teammates
Strangers to friends to lovers
Backwards baseball cap
Hands-free orgasms
Size difference
Waiting for true love
Crying after sex (happily)
Enthusiastic rimming

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
SC referring to past suicidal plans and thoughts
SC physically and mentally abused (details)
SC sexually assaulted (past, off page, details)
Details of physical, verbal, mental and emotional bullying and abuse (by SC)
Physical violence (past and present)
Manipulation and threats (by SC)
Injured MC (physical attack by SC)
Explicit sexual content
Details of verbal and physical parental abuse (past)
Details of domestic abuse (past, MC’s parents)
Abuser controlling food and eating
MC severely injured (run into with car, compound fractures)
SC severely injured in car wreck
Car driving into crowd (minor injuries, off page)
Graphic injuries
MC hospitalized
Mentions and details of surgery and wounds
MC affected by pain killers (on page)
Homophobic slur
Mentions of drug use (SC, off page)
Alcohol consumption

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, single
Genre: Sports romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 24 and 21
Series: Standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 419
Happy ending: Yes




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