Reviews

Trade Deadline by Avon Gale, Piper Vaughn

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bookschaosnart's review against another edition

4.0

While still a hockey book, this one is very different from the previous books in this series. While not completely a stand alone, it definitely doesn't require full knowledge of the previous books in the series. I enjoyed the main character very much and I appreciated his story line of falling out of romantic love with his wife, even though they were still close friends. It allowed for one of my favorite tropes (second chances) to proceed with out feeling like his previous relationship was one of the main sources on conflict in the story. The other main character Micah is sweet and lovely. I appreciated how even though Daniel is an athlete it didn't focus so much on a season where his team is winning and everything is focused on a championship because it meant the story broke from the traditional athlete story line. Overall, Trade Deadline is worth a read especially if you are fans of the authors, hockey, or second chance romances.

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

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3.0

Voici donc le troisième tome de la série Hat trick, cette fois consacré à Bellzie (Daniel), joueur star et désormais ex capitaine des Venom. Au début du roman, il revient sur les terres de son enfance, et est transféré dans l'équipe de Miami. Le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est qu'il chute brutalement de son petit nuage et sort de sa zone de confort en intégrant cette équipe qui est très loin d'avoir le niveau des Venoms !

De l'autre côté, nous avons Micah, le geek/nerd par excellence, biologiste marin de son état et accessoirement meilleur ami (et premier baiser !) de Daniel lorsqu'ils étaient ados. Évidemment, il va être tout émoustillé à l'idée de retrouver son ami de l'époque ...

Les autrices vont donc exploiter ici le thème du friends to lovers/des retrouvailles, avec ce combo entre un sportif et un nerd., ce qui donne en fait lieu à un roman est assez ... banal et finalement assez plat. Les personnages sont mignons, leur romance est gentillette, mais l'ensemble est quand même fort basique. Ce n'est pas un "mauvais" livre, ni une histoire "nulle", c'est juste que j'ai trouvé qu'il n'y avait pas beaucoup d'enjeux dans la romance, et le versant sportif de l'histoire est super frustrant

Spoiler

(et même temps, ça change de ne pas avoir une énième version de l'outsider qui revient en force et fracasse tout sur son passage).

Typiquement, ce n'est pas le livre qui m'a donné des papillons dans le ventre, et purée, j'ai vraiment besoin de ça quand je lis une romance, même un minimum ...
Une lecture un peu décevante donc. :/

dpit's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

my_personal_escape's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

2.75

heabooknerd's review against another edition

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4.0

I was surprised in the previous books to find out that Venom Captain, Daniel Bellamy, was getting divorced but this created the set up for TRADE DEADLINE which finds Daniel single and rekindling a friendship with Micah -- the same friend he shared a first kiss with at 13 years old. I've liked Daniel from the very first book in the series and that hasn't changed. He's a natural leader and mentor and he cares deeply about those in his life. Even though Daniel and Tabby are no longer married, they still love each other as friends and they co-parent their two young children. Tabby even moves with the kids down to Miami when Daniel signs his new contract. Daniel has also been very open all his life about being bisexual, so unlike the first books, there's no angst or drama about coming out in TRADE DEADLINE. Though I did notice that Daniel never really introduces Micah as his boyfriend on page; it's always just assumed, already known, or happens off page.

Micah is a new character and I came to love him just as much. He's fun, sweet, and even though he's never really watched hockey he dives in with both feet to be a part of Daniel's life. His work at the aquarium was really interesting and he has no issues making a connection with Daniel's kids and even starting a budding friendship with Tabby. Daniel and Micah have a very sweet (but still sexy) relationship and for the most part they easily transition from reunited friends to lovers. Most of the complications come from Daniel's new team struggling to win a game and Micah's worry that Daniel might leave for another team at the end of his contract.

Even though TRADE DEADLINE takes us away from the Venom, we still get some appearances from the previous books' couples and I especially enjoyed seeing Tristan and Sebastian again. Overall, this was a really fun and enjoyable read with a low-angst relationship and minimal drama. I'm looking forward to the spin-off book about Morley.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review