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A review by beereadsqueerromance
The Head Game by Brigham Vaughn
5.0
Not having read The Husband Game, book one of Brigham Vaughn's Relationship Goals, I still found myself drawn into The Head Game from the first pages. This book is solidly in the "the way we wish the world worked" in an ice hockey/pro sports setting, but it still felt believable and, ultimately, joyful.
Things I liked: no on-page homophobia/slurs, no particular sense that the main characters struggle with being insulted a lot beyond the understood norms of the environment being described, nuanced use of honesty versus lies and how choices about when and how to be honest can play out, great personal insight from lots of the characters including the main couple, fun use of the enemies to lovers and roommates tropes.
I didn't love that there are a few times in the book when Nico and August don't do as much to avoid being photographed as I would expect them to do, especially given the rules they know are at play. That said, it's a minor quibble and didn't bother me much.
The Head Game is a sexy and sweet page-turner. Now I need to catch up on book one before book three comes out (I sure hope there are more books in the series still to come!)
Update (audiobook review): I read The Head Came when it first came out (actually before I read book 1 in the series, The Husband Game!) and LOVED it, so I was excited to listen to it. James Edward Jones is a fabulous narrator and the book was even better than I remembered it. Nico and August are great enemies to lovers; the snark factor is at 100! Things that really struck me the second time through: how much Nico has to learn about himself to get through his recovery, how hard August has to work to figure out his own life, and how much the whole story is about self-discovery, and taking risks. I'm loving working my way through this series and can't wait to listen to the other books.
Things I liked: no on-page homophobia/slurs, no particular sense that the main characters struggle with being insulted a lot beyond the understood norms of the environment being described, nuanced use of honesty versus lies and how choices about when and how to be honest can play out, great personal insight from lots of the characters including the main couple, fun use of the enemies to lovers and roommates tropes.
I didn't love that there are a few times in the book when Nico and August don't do as much to avoid being photographed as I would expect them to do, especially given the rules they know are at play. That said, it's a minor quibble and didn't bother me much.
The Head Game is a sexy and sweet page-turner. Now I need to catch up on book one before book three comes out (I sure hope there are more books in the series still to come!)
Update (audiobook review): I read The Head Came when it first came out (actually before I read book 1 in the series, The Husband Game!) and LOVED it, so I was excited to listen to it. James Edward Jones is a fabulous narrator and the book was even better than I remembered it. Nico and August are great enemies to lovers; the snark factor is at 100! Things that really struck me the second time through: how much Nico has to learn about himself to get through his recovery, how hard August has to work to figure out his own life, and how much the whole story is about self-discovery, and taking risks. I'm loving working my way through this series and can't wait to listen to the other books.