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emilyexmas's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A very solid 4*. What would have earned it the extra star? Well, either get rid of the prologue, or write a fleshed out chapter or two covering not only the trade, but key events in the following two years setting up the best friendship, as we get none of that relationship building and jump straight to best friends.
I normally don’t go in for friends to lovers, but these two were stupidly in love and just refused to admit it to themselves. It made for hilarious internal monologues. ‘Everything is fine.’
I normally don’t go in for friends to lovers, but these two were stupidly in love and just refused to admit it to themselves. It made for hilarious internal monologues. ‘Everything is fine.’
anintrovertrambles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bookschaosnart's review against another edition
5.0
I normally save my sports romance and especially hockey romance for the summer aka not in season both because I’ve got to get my sports fix somehow and rarely do authors truly get hockey correct. I know it’s fiction and adjustments to move the story forward but again that’s why I read them out of season. For some reason though I decided that Delay of Game couldn’t wait until the off season. It’s my first read by Ari Baran and it definitely won’t be my last.
Delay of Game’s melding on relatively realistic nhl hockey, friends to more, and main characters that are multi dimensional both within their relationship as well as outside of it made this one of my favorite reads this year. The tension, friendship, romance, and addressing some of the things that make hockey difficult for those that play it as well as realistic handling of anxiety, low self esteem, alcohol and drug use as individuals as well as with the added pressure of a profession athlete were extremely well done.
The major conflict stemming from miscommunication which is normally one of the things I hate most in books was so well done I can’t explain why I normally dislike it. Very much not a rom-com this biawakening romance still has its soft moments and is worth a read.
Thanks to @carinapress and @netgalley for the ARC.
Delay of Game’s melding on relatively realistic nhl hockey, friends to more, and main characters that are multi dimensional both within their relationship as well as outside of it made this one of my favorite reads this year. The tension, friendship, romance, and addressing some of the things that make hockey difficult for those that play it as well as realistic handling of anxiety, low self esteem, alcohol and drug use as individuals as well as with the added pressure of a profession athlete were extremely well done.
The major conflict stemming from miscommunication which is normally one of the things I hate most in books was so well done I can’t explain why I normally dislike it. Very much not a rom-com this biawakening romance still has its soft moments and is worth a read.
Thanks to @carinapress and @netgalley for the ARC.
tenou0's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
juanitaf312's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
moll_ereads's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 - not even Cooper North could convince me to finish this book.
pinkcowlandreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.0
dsauriol1991's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid hockey romance! I love a good friends to lovers story and this one definitely delivered. Zach & Nate are so so good together, at least they are when they communicate properly! They have great banter and the chemistry is so so good. My only criticism was that I spent a good chunk yelling at these two knuckleheads to talk to each other! I also felt that Nate’s experiences with anxiety were very well done.
ericawrites's review against another edition
3.0
Delay of Game starts in the wrong place. I was listening to it on audiobook, and I thought I had spaced off when the book jumps three years and immediately gives us the best friends relationship between Nate and Zach. It was so jarring. It also made all of Zach's growth from a very good hockey player, yet a disaster bisexual party boy, to a responsible team member who wants to be a model player and win his captain the Stanley Cup. I spent too much time also trying to figure out the timeline and how it worked with the first book Game Misconduct, given that Nate and Zach are on the same team as Mike. (Since I didn't read these back-to-back, I wasn't keeping track of side characters that well.)
The second half of Delay of Game lived up to the quality of the first book, but it never shook the rocky start. This seemed like something a developmental editor would've worked through with Baran.
There's a really great long sex scene that functions so perfectly to show how Zach has learned to love Nate and give him what he doesn't even know how to ask for. Nate's anxiety problems and his pressure on himself were well-done.
While there is some homophobia, anti-Jewish slurs, and racism used as "insults" on the ice during games, this version of the NHL is more progressive than the real one. It is interesting that our now 4 queer players are open with their teams, but not out in the greater world, and that it doesn't slip out. Every industry has "open secrets" (looks at Hollywood), but that also makes fodder for tabloids and outsiders.
I was glad the guysdidn't kiss and thus out themselves when they won the Stanley Cup, as that's become a bit of a trope in hockey romances. I am looking forward to reading the 3rd book in this series that comes out in June.
The second half of Delay of Game lived up to the quality of the first book, but it never shook the rocky start. This seemed like something a developmental editor would've worked through with Baran.
There's a really great long sex scene that functions so perfectly to show how Zach has learned to love Nate and give him what he doesn't even know how to ask for. Nate's anxiety problems and his pressure on himself were well-done.
While there is some homophobia, anti-Jewish slurs, and racism used as "insults" on the ice during games, this version of the NHL is more progressive than the real one. It is interesting that our now 4 queer players are open with their teams, but not out in the greater world, and that it doesn't slip out. Every industry has "open secrets" (looks at Hollywood), but that also makes fodder for tabloids and outsiders.
I was glad the guys
zaza_bdp's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 ⭐
J'avais eu un coup de coeur pour le 1er tome, notamment pour la qualité de la plume de l'auteur, du coup, j'étais impatiente de lire la suite, consacrée à un autre couple. Malheureusement, l'essai n'a pas été transformé, et j'ai eu bien du mal à aller au bout de ma lecture.
On est dans un classique friends-to-lovers, avec deux meilleurs amis et coéquipiers qui se mettent à fricoter ensemble sans trop se poser de questions (enfin en leur for intérieur si, mais entre eux, c'est des "bro" et des "buddy" à la pelle, galipettes en guise de porte bonheur avant les matchs et bières/pizzas sur le canap une fois leurs petites affaires conclues).
Si dans le 1er tome, j'avais été bluffée par la plume de l'auteur, et par la différence de caractère entre les personnages qui transparaissait à travers l'écriture, là ça a été tout le contraire, je n'ai vu aucune différence entre les pov, et bien souvent, je confondais les deux personnages, qui ont des personnalités et des peurs assez similaires et finalement interchangeables.
C'est dommage, parce que le pitch, bien que classique, est sympa, et c'est une dynamique que j'aime encore assez bien lire, mais la magie n'a pas opéré pour moi. Et puis une partie de l'histoire nous est dite, mais pas montrée, et ça, c'est vraiment quelque chose que je n'aime pas. Je lis une romance pour voir la relation évoluer, pas pour qu'on me dise (ou laisse sous entendre) qu'il s'est passé des choses, sans me les montrer.
Une déception donc ...
J'avais eu un coup de coeur pour le 1er tome, notamment pour la qualité de la plume de l'auteur, du coup, j'étais impatiente de lire la suite, consacrée à un autre couple. Malheureusement, l'essai n'a pas été transformé, et j'ai eu bien du mal à aller au bout de ma lecture.
On est dans un classique friends-to-lovers, avec deux meilleurs amis et coéquipiers qui se mettent à fricoter ensemble sans trop se poser de questions (enfin en leur for intérieur si, mais entre eux, c'est des "bro" et des "buddy" à la pelle, galipettes en guise de porte bonheur avant les matchs et bières/pizzas sur le canap une fois leurs petites affaires conclues).
Si dans le 1er tome, j'avais été bluffée par la plume de l'auteur, et par la différence de caractère entre les personnages qui transparaissait à travers l'écriture, là ça a été tout le contraire, je n'ai vu aucune différence entre les pov, et bien souvent, je confondais les deux personnages, qui ont des personnalités et des peurs assez similaires et finalement interchangeables.
C'est dommage, parce que le pitch, bien que classique, est sympa, et c'est une dynamique que j'aime encore assez bien lire, mais la magie n'a pas opéré pour moi. Et puis une partie de l'histoire nous est dite, mais pas montrée, et ça, c'est vraiment quelque chose que je n'aime pas. Je lis une romance pour voir la relation évoluer, pas pour qu'on me dise (ou laisse sous entendre) qu'il s'est passé des choses, sans me les montrer.
Une déception donc ...