Take a photo of a barcode or cover
shahittosarmat 's review for:
Double Shifting
by Michaela Grey
Normally, I am not a fan of the amnesia trope. Add pining, becoming accidental husbands to get into the hospital room that becomes the story to be told to the rest of your team, and then to the person who has amnesia, and that person having to play along, while not remembering anything about you - and suddenly we're off to the races at how quickly the story changes from what you first thought it would be.
Rory and Dima are teammates, and for most of it, Rory has had feelings for Dima that Dima shut down after Rory overheard him say that the two of them would not work out together as a couple so they have remained great friends ever since. After the accident that causes Dima to lose his memory, he doesn't remember who Rory is, only knowing that Rory is his husband who has stayed by his side in the hospital. As the rest of the team slowly learn the lie (which their GM is insisting they keep for his own reasons) Dima and Rory begin to put on a performance, while also ensuring that Dima recovers slowly enough to return on the ice with his memories. As he asks Rory for some help in getting those memories back, Rory also has to reel in his emotions, while also being terrified that Dima will regain his memories and know that they are not married - and that Rory lied, for reasons that (apparently) Dima will not know why.
Per any amnesia trope that mixes with friends to lovers (though I think idiot to lovers is more apt) the angst grows, even for a hockey mm romance, and I found it enjoyable (if predictable) how the characters and the events play out for the rest of the novel. While the angst and the re-discovery of the two were great pulls, I did feel at times that the pacing and the narrative were disjointed and kind of seperate from each other.
As I read more of Grey's backlist and see her interconnected novels (that are not part of a series unless otherwise specified - I can start to see where her strengths and weaknesses lie.
Rory and Dima are teammates, and for most of it, Rory has had feelings for Dima that Dima shut down after Rory overheard him say that the two of them would not work out together as a couple so they have remained great friends ever since. After the accident that causes Dima to lose his memory, he doesn't remember who Rory is, only knowing that Rory is his husband who has stayed by his side in the hospital. As the rest of the team slowly learn the lie (which their GM is insisting they keep for his own reasons) Dima and Rory begin to put on a performance, while also ensuring that Dima recovers slowly enough to return on the ice with his memories. As he asks Rory for some help in getting those memories back, Rory also has to reel in his emotions, while also being terrified that Dima will regain his memories and know that they are not married - and that Rory lied, for reasons that (apparently) Dima will not know why.
Per any amnesia trope that mixes with friends to lovers (though I think idiot to lovers is more apt) the angst grows, even for a hockey mm romance, and I found it enjoyable (if predictable) how the characters and the events play out for the rest of the novel. While the angst and the re-discovery of the two were great pulls, I did feel at times that the pacing and the narrative were disjointed and kind of seperate from each other.
As I read more of Grey's backlist and see her interconnected novels (that are not part of a series unless otherwise specified - I can start to see where her strengths and weaknesses lie.