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4.5 read via KU. It took me a few chapters to get into the story but when I did I was hooked and wasn't ready for it to end.
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Tao’s writing is beautiful. The story dragged a bit in the middle for me personally. But then I cried through the last 1/3 of the book.
Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars) and a rocket pop (Montreal jersey)...repping Montreal Étoiles
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
Took me a bit to get into this one, but once I did I couldn't stop.
I LOVE hockey and this was done well. There were some things I was "eh that's not likely" but only a few.
The reason this is marked spoiler is b/c I want to say when Bryce took that puck to the neck and the description of what went on in the trainers room had me literally covering my eyes as I read as if I were watching it happen.
When I watch hockey and there is a bad hit/fall/injury I will cover my eyes and have the family tell me when it is safe to watch again. I don't do well with injuries. Yes I could have skipped over this part, but I wanted to read it. So I read between my fingers. So silly of me.
I loved all the little times of them together.
I LOVED the ending where they took the thing places.
I hope this is set to not far in the future where teams and media don't go apeshit over two people in love on the ice. I also hope that Seattle doesn't become the new Boston Bullies.
I LOVE hockey and this was done well. There were some things I was "eh that's not likely" but only a few.
The reason this is marked spoiler is b/c I want to say when Bryce took that puck to the neck and the description of what went on in the trainers room had me literally covering my eyes as I read as if I were watching it happen.
When I watch hockey and there is a bad hit/fall/injury I will cover my eyes and have the family tell me when it is safe to watch again. I don't do well with injuries. Yes I could have skipped over this part, but I wanted to read it. So I read between my fingers. So silly of me.
I loved all the little times of them together.
I LOVED the ending where they took the thing places.
I hope this is set to not far in the future where teams and media don't go apeshit over two people in love on the ice. I also hope that Seattle doesn't become the new Boston Bullies.
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
Black holes. Emptiness. Loneliness. My name etched into eternity is a cold comfort. I cannot sleep beside the Cup. I cannot wrap my arms around it and feel its heartbeat, or feel its breath move through my hair. I may love this sport, and love the chase of this championship, but it will not love me back.
I think this was my fourth time reading this book. The chemistry between these characters is through the damn roof. The kind that gives you butterflies, makes your cheeks ache from smiling so much, and makes you kick your feet like a silly teenager. It’s oh-so good.
It’s a beautiful, relatively uncomplicated sexual awakening, where the focus is on how to reach your dreams and live up to (massive) expectations, while also being true to yourself and finding that someone who can be there outside of the sport. Hunter and Bryce find that perfect fit with each other. It is also just straight up adorable that Hunter 100% fangirls over Bryce the first time they meet.
Holy shit, he knows my name.
I could faint. I could also puke, right onto the ice, right between his skates. “Hi,” I squeak. “I wear your number.” “Enchanté.” Bryce's grin grows. “I wear your number, too.”
There’s not a lot of relationship angst, and the book will lull you into a false sense of security, and then kick you in the teeth - true Talbert style. It’s so worth it though.
Obviously, as it’s a Tal Bauer book, the writing is freaking gorgeous. I can’t say anything about the accuracy of the French-Canadian phrases, but I do know there’s *a lot* of it, so definitely have a means of translation handy while reading.
I projected my dreams onto the curve of his smile and the warmth of his shoulder when he leaned against me and laughed.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Hockey players
Sexual awakening
Secret relationship
Fan to friends to lovers
Size difference
Great chemistry
Closeted MC
French-Canadian MC
First times
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Severely injured MC
Hospitalization
Unsafe sex
Graphic injury
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary sports romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 22 and 26
Pages: 273
This is the man I have been missing. Not my hero. Not the man from the posters on my teenage walls. The real Bryce, the man from midnights and empty drives and lonely rivers, and the man who looked me in the eyes and dared to risk everything because, somehow, I made his heart beat faster.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Black holes. Emptiness. Loneliness. My name etched into eternity is a cold comfort. I cannot sleep beside the Cup. I cannot wrap my arms around it and feel its heartbeat, or feel its breath move through my hair. I may love this sport, and love the chase of this championship, but it will not love me back.
I think this was my fourth time reading this book. The chemistry between these characters is through the damn roof. The kind that gives you butterflies, makes your cheeks ache from smiling so much, and makes you kick your feet like a silly teenager. It’s oh-so good.
It’s a beautiful, relatively uncomplicated sexual awakening, where the focus is on how to reach your dreams and live up to (massive) expectations, while also being true to yourself and finding that someone who can be there outside of the sport. Hunter and Bryce find that perfect fit with each other. It is also just straight up adorable that Hunter 100% fangirls over Bryce the first time they meet.
Holy shit, he knows my name.
I could faint. I could also puke, right onto the ice, right between his skates. “Hi,” I squeak. “I wear your number.” “Enchanté.” Bryce's grin grows. “I wear your number, too.”
There’s not a lot of relationship angst, and the book will lull you into a false sense of security, and then kick you in the teeth - true Talbert style. It’s so worth it though.
Obviously, as it’s a Tal Bauer book, the writing is freaking gorgeous. I can’t say anything about the accuracy of the French-Canadian phrases, but I do know there’s *a lot* of it, so definitely have a means of translation handy while reading.
I projected my dreams onto the curve of his smile and the warmth of his shoulder when he leaned against me and laughed.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Hockey players
Sexual awakening
Secret relationship
Fan to friends to lovers
Size difference
Great chemistry
Closeted MC
French-Canadian MC
First times
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Severely injured MC
Hospitalization
Unsafe sex
Graphic injury
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary sports romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 22 and 26
Pages: 273
This is the man I have been missing. Not my hero. Not the man from the posters on my teenage walls. The real Bryce, the man from midnights and empty drives and lonely rivers, and the man who looked me in the eyes and dared to risk everything because, somehow, I made his heart beat faster.
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr