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A review by bee_thebibliophile
Goaltender Interference by Ari Baran
medium-paced
4.0
This book is quite the journey - Aiden Campbell and Matt Safaryan have an emotional history and this second chance brings up a lot of feelings and tackles a lot of heavier topics.
Retiring from playing professional hockey leaves Aiden feeling directionless, leading to him struggling with his mental health since so much of his life was built around The Routine he created for himself to play optimally. Not only does he have to adjust to life without playing hockey, but he also finds himself face-to-face with his former boyfriend and fellow professional hockey player, Matt, after years apart. The chemistry between these two is palpable and the way Matt strives to take care of Aiden even when he’s not totally sure how to best help him was the sweetest. This second chance romance was full of ups and downs, with both Aiden and Matt learning more about themselves and each other to help them become the best versions of themselves for starting a relationship again, 10 years later.
Ari Baran has a knack for writing MM hockey romance with a different twist to it than any others I’ve read and this one really hit the spot - it was emotional but full of character development and promise for the future of their relationship. I just wish we got to see more of them happy together instead of just a quick epilogue about what they did once they were both retired from playing. But, looking forward to seeing what’s next from this author!
Retiring from playing professional hockey leaves Aiden feeling directionless, leading to him struggling with his mental health since so much of his life was built around The Routine he created for himself to play optimally. Not only does he have to adjust to life without playing hockey, but he also finds himself face-to-face with his former boyfriend and fellow professional hockey player, Matt, after years apart. The chemistry between these two is palpable and the way Matt strives to take care of Aiden even when he’s not totally sure how to best help him was the sweetest. This second chance romance was full of ups and downs, with both Aiden and Matt learning more about themselves and each other to help them become the best versions of themselves for starting a relationship again, 10 years later.
Ari Baran has a knack for writing MM hockey romance with a different twist to it than any others I’ve read and this one really hit the spot - it was emotional but full of character development and promise for the future of their relationship. I just wish we got to see more of them happy together instead of just a quick epilogue about what they did once they were both retired from playing. But, looking forward to seeing what’s next from this author!