cherryblossomreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Abso-effing-lutely brilliant! Jeg elsker den her. Den er rå, ubarmhjertig og samtidig så fuld af kærlighed og varme. Den rammer lige ind i en tone af alvor og humor, som er helt perfekt til indholdet og formår at balancere tunge følelser og tanker med håb og glæde.
Slutningen kunne godt have været længere - historien blev rundet fint af, men med tanke på, hvor meget der er kredset for detaljer og følelser igennem bogen, så savnede jeg lidt mere. Mest er jeg dog bare glad for, at jeg ikke blev holdt hen i uvidenhed med alt muligt. Og så kommer der jo en toer, så mon ikke vi får liiidt at vide om Mike og Danny også, selv om det er to andre spillere, der er i fokus.
Slutningen kunne godt have været længere - historien blev rundet fint af, men med tanke på, hvor meget der er kredset for detaljer og følelser igennem bogen, så savnede jeg lidt mere. Mest er jeg dog bare glad for, at jeg ikke blev holdt hen i uvidenhed med alt muligt. Og så kommer der jo en toer, så mon ikke vi får liiidt at vide om Mike og Danny også, selv om det er to andre spillere, der er i fokus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
missanniewhimsy's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
God I feel like I need to send Ari a thank you note. I don’t read romance as much as I used to, and I miss it constantly. Something about the ennui of the times, the reading for comfort, reading to feel good not being as fulfilling. It’s a me-problem, I’m being pretentious, I know, but it doesn’t stop the disappointment each time I pick up a book and it’s not only unfulfilling, but it’s unfulfilling in the exact same way that the last three books I tried were. It’s part of why I stopped reviewing, stopped requesting ARCs. I’m sorry. This is a positive review, I promise. I’m out of practice. I just want the time I’m taking on books to matter, I want the journey the characters are taking to mean something, to feel fulfilling, and god did this deliver. Fucking finally.
I kept coming across things that had bothered me recently in other books and not minding them, to be reminded that it wasn’t the trope, just bad writing before, and a relief to see it done so well here. (No, I don’t dislike the miscommunication trope, I just get annoyed when they’re so goddamn stupid about it). This book is written (and edited--I don’t get to say this very often!) so fucking well. The sex is hot, obviously, no one needs to worry about that. The hockey is super well-researched. Full disclosure, part of the reason I wanted to review this was because I’d heard the author talk about how much, and what kind of research they did for it (I’m a librarian, I couldn’t resist!), and it shows.
This story is so lovely because the relationship, the sex is the easy part, but the conflicts are perfect and horrible because no one can know but the other person. Like why it’s so hard to discuss work woes with a partner in an entirely different career field. No one but another hockey player could understand the need to be on the ice in spite of everything, the horrible justification for a dependence on alcohol and pain meds to keep going, the fear and isolation of feeling like there are no other options. It’s devastating to read, and I kept repeating “it’s a romance, it has to have an HEA” like a mantra during the worst scenes, because I’m a hockey fan and you see these stories play out constantly in real life.
This story is so lovely because the relationship, the sex is the easy part, but the conflicts are perfect and horrible because no one can know but the other person. Like why it’s so hard to discuss work woes with a partner in an entirely different career field. No one but another hockey player could understand the need to be on the ice in spite of everything, the horrible justification for a dependence on alcohol and pain meds to keep going, the fear and isolation of feeling like there are no other options. It’s devastating to read, and I kept repeating “it’s a romance, it has to have an HEA” like a mantra during the worst scenes, because I’m a hockey fan and you see these stories play out constantly in real life.
But my favorite is the character development. It progressed so naturally and realistically! These characters are all so good and well-developed, even the side characters. Danny is devastating, and I adore his weird little overeager and earnest rookies, Landry and Gears, I hope to see them again. His relationship with his sister and niece give great insight into the isolation he’s feeling, Mäkelä and Bee being there for Mike in such distinct ways, and of course Mike, who I’m irreversibly attached to at this point and will protect to the death. His growth wasn’t as dramatic as Danny’s maybe, but god I loved being in his head for it. “It was one of those months where he was having more than one emotion at the same time for more than one day and that alone kind of made him furious.” Like you come out just feeling so proud of him, because Garcia gets through it because he has Mike, but Mike gets through it because he decides it’s the only option. He’ll help Danny out of pure determination, out of spite, out of love.
I came out of this book wanting to keep reading and I can't think of a higher compliment than that.
I came out of this book wanting to keep reading and I can't think of a higher compliment than that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racism and Sexual assault
_isabel_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Well, this was absolutely gripping.
Angst-filled, tough and complex, "Game Misconduct" stole my heart; and Mike Sato stole my soul.
This isn't a light-hearted read: Mike and Danny's romance, their road to a much-deserved HEA (although, I admit, it's more of a HFN), is filled with rage and doubt and pain and addiction, but it's also fueled by care and deep, wonderful, helpless affection and the joy of slowly discovering one another after years of rivalry and violence.
There's nothing I love more than enemies to lovers, and since I absolutely adore hockey romances, I knew (and I hoped) I was going to love their story from the very first chapter.
Mike and Danny's relationship wasn't easy, and their whole dynamic was volatile from the very start: don't go into this book expecting sweetness, because these two, at least in the beginning, have an obsessive, toxic dynamic; and yeah, punching and slapping each other is their own form of foreplay.
To be fair, the (non-negotiated) kinky aspect of their relationship stays rough and violent, but it's also intersected by the love and affection they slowly develop for one another.
Needless to say, they were absolutely explosive together and I loved them, so much.
And actually, their romance does get sweeter and softer, and that is solely down to the utter gem, the disastrous, precious boy, that is Mike Sato.
Mike Sato stole my heart and soul: he's angry and hurt and confused and unsure, but he's also so damn sweet and eager and needy and starved for affection that I literally wanted to jump into the book and cuddle him to death. He's so unexpectedly sweet and unsure and soft at times, so damn thoughtful, I kept myself from sobbing through sheer will. His character growth was exceptional: I have to applaud the author for how they handled Mike, and his wonderful growth throughout the book.
So yeah, I loved Mike to bits, and I also thought, maybe uncharitably, that he deserved better than what he got. Or at least, he deserved a good ol' grovel from Danny near the end.
So yeah, while I did love Mike and I did love Danny in the beginning, after a bit I got really frustrated with how Danny was acting. I know, addiction isn't easy; I know, he was going through hell and he was in constant pain. I know I'm being unreasonable here, but still!
I think that's the reason I can't give this book the full five stars it would have easily deserved. I think I kept expecting them to reach a breaking point or, in the very least, a third act break-up: yes, I know, I shocked myself too. I usually don't like them, but I feel like it would have been justified here and it would have made Danny and Mike's HEA much more sweeter and definitive. And yeah, a grovel scene would have been welcome too. I kept waiting for something like that, so I was disappointed there wasn't.
Anyway, apart from this minor thing, I loved this book and I absolutely adored the writing: it's relentless and emotional and vivid.
I also loved the side characters to bits: from Bee to Celi, to all their other teammates. I'm very excited to see if there will be another book of Ari Baran's about certain two oblivious, BFF teammates: I sincerely hope so.
In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend this book: it was wonderful.
TWs/CWs: alcoholism, drug abuse, injury, rough sex, suicidal thoughts, SA (brief description), homophobia and racism (mentioned).
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Angst-filled, tough and complex, "Game Misconduct" stole my heart; and Mike Sato stole my soul.
This isn't a light-hearted read: Mike and Danny's romance, their road to a much-deserved HEA (although, I admit, it's more of a HFN), is filled with rage and doubt and pain and addiction, but it's also fueled by care and deep, wonderful, helpless affection and the joy of slowly discovering one another after years of rivalry and violence.
There's nothing I love more than enemies to lovers, and since I absolutely adore hockey romances, I knew (and I hoped) I was going to love their story from the very first chapter.
Mike and Danny's relationship wasn't easy, and their whole dynamic was volatile from the very start: don't go into this book expecting sweetness, because these two, at least in the beginning, have an obsessive, toxic dynamic; and yeah, punching and slapping each other is their own form of foreplay.
To be fair, the (non-negotiated) kinky aspect of their relationship stays rough and violent, but it's also intersected by the love and affection they slowly develop for one another.
Needless to say, they were absolutely explosive together and I loved them, so much.
And actually, their romance does get sweeter and softer, and that is solely down to the utter gem, the disastrous, precious boy, that is Mike Sato.
Mike Sato stole my heart and soul: he's angry and hurt and confused and unsure, but he's also so damn sweet and eager and needy and starved for affection that I literally wanted to jump into the book and cuddle him to death. He's so unexpectedly sweet and unsure and soft at times, so damn thoughtful, I kept myself from sobbing through sheer will. His character growth was exceptional: I have to applaud the author for how they handled Mike, and his wonderful growth throughout the book.
So yeah, I loved Mike to bits, and I also thought, maybe uncharitably, that he deserved better than what he got. Or at least, he deserved a good ol' grovel from Danny near the end.
So yeah, while I did love Mike and I did love Danny in the beginning, after a bit I got really frustrated with how Danny was acting. I know, addiction isn't easy; I know, he was going through hell and he was in constant pain. I know I'm being unreasonable here, but still!
I think that's the reason I can't give this book the full five stars it would have easily deserved. I think I kept expecting them to reach a breaking point or, in the very least, a third act break-up: yes, I know, I shocked myself too. I usually don't like them, but I feel like it would have been justified here and it would have made Danny and Mike's HEA much more sweeter and definitive. And yeah, a grovel scene would have been welcome too. I kept waiting for something like that, so I was disappointed there wasn't.
Anyway, apart from this minor thing, I loved this book and I absolutely adored the writing: it's relentless and emotional and vivid.
I also loved the side characters to bits: from Bee to Celi, to all their other teammates. I'm very excited to see if there will be another book of Ari Baran's about certain two oblivious, BFF teammates: I sincerely hope so.
In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend this book: it was wonderful.
TWs/CWs: alcoholism, drug abuse, injury, rough sex, suicidal thoughts, SA (brief description), homophobia and racism (mentioned).
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Racism
booksandbreadcrumbs's review
4.0
I actually quite enjoyed this book. I was a little worried in the middle when I was 30% into the book and still in the second chapter, but aside from that and a few other chapters that were just way too long, I really liked this. Definitely the more I read, the more invested I was and by the time I reached the end, I was really into it.
I also loved that this version of the NHL has at least one female player.
I also loved that this version of the NHL has at least one female player.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
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