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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well there's a book with a summary that is entirely true yet tells you none of the things you need to know.
Mike has so many issues and due to character growth manages to deal with maybe like 2.5 of them. Unfortunately by that point that's not the only problems their (not!)relationship has anymore.
The first half of this is frustrating and extremely depressing. And then the last fourth I mostly spend crying.
I also want to say that I appreciate what this book wants to do. It's an important message. But it means if you were expecting any happy hockey things you are reading the wrong book.
Mike has so many issues and due to character growth manages to deal with maybe like 2.5 of them. Unfortunately by that point that's not the only problems their (not!)relationship has anymore.
The first half of this is frustrating and extremely depressing. And then the last fourth I mostly spend crying.
I also want to say that I appreciate what this book wants to do. It's an important message. But it means if you were expecting any happy hockey things you are reading the wrong book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
Career ending injury, PCS
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This broke my heart. Several times. And I have yet to read it with ut crying. But it also made me smile and laugh and trust in love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this at lunch today, weeping into my salad, hoping that none of my co-workers would comment on my red eyes.
This book followed Mike and Liam in relationship for years to and through HEA. I like this kind of story, where I see characters weather difficulties and continue loving each other.
This book followed Mike and Liam in relationship for years to and through HEA. I like this kind of story, where I see characters weather difficulties and continue loving each other.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
I stayed up late reading this one, and just started an immediate reread. The main character's narrative voice is spot on, and the story rolls along with a glorious inevitability. I was captured, from the moment Mike, big, thirty-year-old defenseman enforcer on the Oilers, thinks "No, bad rookie!" at Liam, eighteen-year-old five-foot-eight talented center who is making it clear that what he wants most off the ice is Mike. There is humor and heat, understated love and pain, from the first meeting of veteran and rookie to the slow, wonderful, bittersweet ending.
Mike knows that Liam isn't right for him - too young, too innocent, too enthusiastic, and too talented to stay for long. Mike shouldn't put his hands on him. But Liam pushes and wheedles and pouts, and Mike doesn't actually want to say no. He's twice Liam's size. If he wanted to make his No stick, he could. Instead, he'll take what he can get, for however long it lasts, but he won't let Liam turn it into more than it is. No more than two guys having a good time together. Even if he hasn't looked at anyone else since the brash rookie walked into his personal space and refused to go.
This book follows these two men over many years, over Mike's fumbling attempts to do the right thing, and the slow build of a relationship that will last. Over Liam's journey from enthusiastic teenager to a strong adult man. Over the highs and lows of a life in professional sports. There are joys, and there is real sadness, all vivid despite (or perhaps because of) Mike's expletive-laden stoic understatement.
And as we reach the end, we're also asked to think about the toll that sports can take on the people who play them for our entertainment. It's not an easy topic to get a grip on, and of course it sits amid a wider topic of what responsibility we have to those who make our lives easier. From the slave and child labor that produces much of our big-brand chocolate, to the boxers whose job it is to entertain us by getting repeated, concussive head injuries, our fun comes on the back of risk and trauma to others.
So how do we mitigate harm? How far should we go? Football players get post-traumatic brain injury disorders at a high rate, with sometimes devastating consequences. We could make football into flag-football and eliminate almost all head trauma, at the price of changing the sport, and probably causing unemployment for 95% of today's players as the talent needed changes. We could outlaw quad jumps in figure skating and significantly reduce compression spinal fractures in male skaters.
Who makes that call? Should the players themselves decide on safety rules? If safety rules change the talent needed to succeed (eg. fast football players instead of big football players) would current players ever vote themselves out of a job? At the pro level, our male major sports stars are well paid for the risks they take - is that enough justification, or does the lure of a lift out of poverty induce kids at the lower levels to take on risks they shouldn't face, grabbing for that gold ring?
You don't have to work through those philosophical issues to enjoy this story. You can just take this slow ride along with Mike, loving the man and the way he faces the good and the bad as it comes to him. You can take the little fist to the heart at the end, and come out saying the love was worth the pain.
But the book ends with that difficult question, and it's worth some thought.
Mike knows that Liam isn't right for him - too young, too innocent, too enthusiastic, and too talented to stay for long. Mike shouldn't put his hands on him. But Liam pushes and wheedles and pouts, and Mike doesn't actually want to say no. He's twice Liam's size. If he wanted to make his No stick, he could. Instead, he'll take what he can get, for however long it lasts, but he won't let Liam turn it into more than it is. No more than two guys having a good time together. Even if he hasn't looked at anyone else since the brash rookie walked into his personal space and refused to go.
This book follows these two men over many years, over Mike's fumbling attempts to do the right thing, and the slow build of a relationship that will last. Over Liam's journey from enthusiastic teenager to a strong adult man. Over the highs and lows of a life in professional sports. There are joys, and there is real sadness, all vivid despite (or perhaps because of) Mike's expletive-laden stoic understatement.
And as we reach the end, we're also asked to think about the toll that sports can take on the people who play them for our entertainment. It's not an easy topic to get a grip on, and of course it sits amid a wider topic of what responsibility we have to those who make our lives easier. From the slave and child labor that produces much of our big-brand chocolate, to the boxers whose job it is to entertain us by getting repeated, concussive head injuries, our fun comes on the back of risk and trauma to others.
So how do we mitigate harm? How far should we go? Football players get post-traumatic brain injury disorders at a high rate, with sometimes devastating consequences. We could make football into flag-football and eliminate almost all head trauma, at the price of changing the sport, and probably causing unemployment for 95% of today's players as the talent needed changes. We could outlaw quad jumps in figure skating and significantly reduce compression spinal fractures in male skaters.
Who makes that call? Should the players themselves decide on safety rules? If safety rules change the talent needed to succeed (eg. fast football players instead of big football players) would current players ever vote themselves out of a job? At the pro level, our male major sports stars are well paid for the risks they take - is that enough justification, or does the lure of a lift out of poverty induce kids at the lower levels to take on risks they shouldn't face, grabbing for that gold ring?
You don't have to work through those philosophical issues to enjoy this story. You can just take this slow ride along with Mike, loving the man and the way he faces the good and the bad as it comes to him. You can take the little fist to the heart at the end, and come out saying the love was worth the pain.
But the book ends with that difficult question, and it's worth some thought.
I finished this book a few hours ago and I couldn't get my shit together enough to form coherent sentences. I cried non-stop at the end of the book then proceeded to retell the story to my husband and cry all over again. I think I have it together now...maybe.. I can't promise that I won't be reduced to tears thinking about this amazing book enough to write a review. So I will keep it short and sweet.
Thrown Off the Ice was EVERYTHING. it was recommended to me by a trusted book friend and I hate her and love her for it. It took me a chapter or two to get use to the writing style, since it's a little different from the norm, but once I was in there was no stopping. This book ripped my heart out and threw it across the room. I will probably compare all future couples to Mike and Liam . Mike is gruff and grumpy, Liam is a sweetheart , and together they are hot as hell. You go through all the emotions with this book, frustration every time Mike pushes away , laughter when Liam acts like a ridiculous puppy, and love and anguish as their relationship grows into something beautiful.
Thrown Off the Ice is definitely one of my top reads of the year. An age gap, MM , hockey romance that is guaranteed to break your heart. This book is worth every penny and I wish like hell it was available in physical form, so I could add it to my shelves.
"Wait , are you still up because you were worried about me?"Liam asks.
"Going to bed," Mike says
"That's so sweet," Liam says, following him up the stairs like an annoyingly gleeful shadow. "You're so sweet."
"You want to sleep in the bed too, you might want to stop there," Mike says.
"You are probably the only person alive who would make someone sleep on the couch for calling them sweet."
******Also Follow Me On : Blog
Thrown Off the Ice was EVERYTHING. it was recommended to me by a trusted book friend and I hate her and love her for it. It took me a chapter or two to get use to the writing style, since it's a little different from the norm, but once I was in there was no stopping. This book ripped my heart out and threw it across the room. I will probably compare all future couples to Mike and Liam . Mike is gruff and grumpy, Liam is a sweetheart , and together they are hot as hell. You go through all the emotions with this book, frustration every time Mike pushes away , laughter when Liam acts like a ridiculous puppy, and love and anguish as their relationship grows into something beautiful.
Thrown Off the Ice is definitely one of my top reads of the year. An age gap, MM , hockey romance that is guaranteed to break your heart. This book is worth every penny and I wish like hell it was available in physical form, so I could add it to my shelves.
"Wait , are you still up because you were worried about me?"Liam asks.
"Going to bed," Mike says
"That's so sweet," Liam says, following him up the stairs like an annoyingly gleeful shadow. "You're so sweet."
"You want to sleep in the bed too, you might want to stop there," Mike says.
"You are probably the only person alive who would make someone sleep on the couch for calling them sweet."
******Also Follow Me On : Blog