Take a photo of a barcode or cover
onceandfuturebooknerd's Reviews (1.02k)
Extra 0.5 star for that final reveal that slayed me, thank you, NOT π A lot of things make sense now in the book but I really wish they didn't. π
I can't believe I am currently writing a review for the last (maybe not?? Ari, please tell me you have four more up your sleeve??) book in the Penalty Box series, Goaltender Interference. I have been dying to get my hands on this book since the start of 2024 and now I've literally devoured it in two days. I had extremely high expectations for this book and it flew past every single one of them. So let's get into it, shall we?
Goaltender Interference is a second chance hockey romance following two hockey players at the end of their careers. Aiden Campbell, hotshot hockey star has just retired when he stumbles across his ex lover, Matt Safaryan on the night out in NYC ten years after their relationship broke apart. And not only did it break apart, but it did so in a spectacular fashion, leaving them both bruised and battered yet still deeply in love with one another. And now, one passionate night later, they are hooked on each other again, determined to make this relationship work. But Aiden is sinking deeper and deeper into darkness and Matt is pushing himself through chronic injuries and doing his best to keep them both afloat. Will their stars align this time or is it time to say goodbye for good?
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START! I knew this was going to be angsty, but this was angsty times a hundred. Pain and lack of direction and fear permeated every single page of this story and it somehow made it even better. I felt for both Matt and Aiden and their separate struggles, but Aiden especially burrowed deep into my heart. I'm not exactly a 37-year-old retired hockey player, but I feel like lack of direction and subsequent fall into a pit of despair is somehow a universal experience (or not? Maybe it's just me and this year). It felt like you struggled along with him, like you knew his struggles but were about as good at articulating them as Aiden himself. Communicating and exposing the most vulnerable, most unsure parts of yourself can be harder than anything, especially when those defenses have been up for a while and for a very good reason. So it's pretty obvious that those things are a problem for our MCs, but because they show their love and appreciation through sex, it takes a while for those unresolved things to bubble up to the surface.
That's why their second chance love story oftentimes felt like a ticking bomb - I kept waiting for one or both of them to just bolt. And when it finally happened, it felt like I can breathe again but it also broke my heart. (like, actual tears) When you are reading this book, you see the signs - the despair, the slow descent into even thicker darkness, lack of smiles.
I love how their love story progressed and how it all made sense - from meeting again after ten years of glimpsing each other during hockey games and never progressing past that, and falling in so easily again (because in all honesty, they never stopped loving each other), to it all shattering because it was something that was bound to break sooner rather than later. And, in the end, finally realizing that being together, if they both work on the relationship but also on themselves, is the only way. Like how can you be normal about a love story like this?! About two broken, messy men who are bad at expressing their feelings but who show each other that they are in love with every touch and kiss and item of clothing discarded. Romances where "I love yous" are not thrown around plenty (because the characters are simply not used to it or don't believe that words can properly express what they feel, but actions can) are rare, but I absolutely adore them. Sometimes a gentle look or doing something the other person needs, speaks much louder.
And to touch on some other parts of the story ...
I loved the therapy rep and how it showed that you can have the best therapist in the world, but they won't be able to help you if you don't decide to do something yourself. Goaltender Interference delicately portrayed the ins and outs of therapy and I loved to see Aiden's therapy sessions.
ALSO we have another love-sick puppy of a side character whose love is unrequited and I am gonna start screaming soon, because Ari loves to do that and then leave us a bit heartbroken for those poor saps as well - I am thinking of you, Gabe, and I hope we get to see your happily ever after at some point as well ahhh.
ALSO ALSO we got a cameo of Zach Reid and I went a little bit feral, not gonna lie. I am lowkey mad at Matt for not taking him up on the double date offer, smh.
All in all, this was another stunningly painful Ari Baran book, filled with messy hockey players, even messier feelings, and the softest (not in the kinks department though haha) love story. Ten out of ten, absolutely.
Goaltender Interference is a second chance hockey romance following two hockey players at the end of their careers. Aiden Campbell, hotshot hockey star has just retired when he stumbles across his ex lover, Matt Safaryan on the night out in NYC ten years after their relationship broke apart. And not only did it break apart, but it did so in a spectacular fashion, leaving them both bruised and battered yet still deeply in love with one another. And now, one passionate night later, they are hooked on each other again, determined to make this relationship work. But Aiden is sinking deeper and deeper into darkness and Matt is pushing himself through chronic injuries and doing his best to keep them both afloat. Will their stars align this time or is it time to say goodbye for good?
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START! I knew this was going to be angsty, but this was angsty times a hundred. Pain and lack of direction and fear permeated every single page of this story and it somehow made it even better. I felt for both Matt and Aiden and their separate struggles, but Aiden especially burrowed deep into my heart. I'm not exactly a 37-year-old retired hockey player, but I feel like lack of direction and subsequent fall into a pit of despair is somehow a universal experience (or not? Maybe it's just me and this year). It felt like you struggled along with him, like you knew his struggles but were about as good at articulating them as Aiden himself. Communicating and exposing the most vulnerable, most unsure parts of yourself can be harder than anything, especially when those defenses have been up for a while and for a very good reason. So it's pretty obvious that those things are a problem for our MCs, but because they show their love and appreciation through sex, it takes a while for those unresolved things to bubble up to the surface.
That's why their second chance love story oftentimes felt like a ticking bomb - I kept waiting for one or both of them to just bolt. And when it finally happened, it felt like I can breathe again but it also broke my heart. (like, actual tears) When you are reading this book, you see the signs - the despair, the slow descent into even thicker darkness, lack of smiles.
I love how their love story progressed and how it all made sense - from meeting again after ten years of glimpsing each other during hockey games and never progressing past that, and falling in so easily again (because in all honesty, they never stopped loving each other), to it all shattering because it was something that was bound to break sooner rather than later. And, in the end, finally realizing that being together, if they both work on the relationship but also on themselves, is the only way. Like how can you be normal about a love story like this?! About two broken, messy men who are bad at expressing their feelings but who show each other that they are in love with every touch and kiss and item of clothing discarded. Romances where "I love yous" are not thrown around plenty (because the characters are simply not used to it or don't believe that words can properly express what they feel, but actions can) are rare, but I absolutely adore them. Sometimes a gentle look or doing something the other person needs, speaks much louder.
And to touch on some other parts of the story ...
I loved the therapy rep and how it showed that you can have the best therapist in the world, but they won't be able to help you if you don't decide to do something yourself. Goaltender Interference delicately portrayed the ins and outs of therapy and I loved to see Aiden's therapy sessions.
ALSO we have another love-sick puppy of a side character whose love is unrequited and I am gonna start screaming soon, because Ari loves to do that and then leave us a bit heartbroken for those poor saps as well - I am thinking of you, Gabe, and I hope we get to see your happily ever after at some point as well ahhh.
ALSO ALSO we got a cameo of Zach Reid and I went a little bit feral, not gonna lie. I am lowkey mad at Matt for not taking him up on the double date offer, smh.
All in all, this was another stunningly painful Ari Baran book, filled with messy hockey players, even messier feelings, and the softest (not in the kinks department though haha) love story. Ten out of ten, absolutely.
Catherine Cloud truly writes the most devastatingly beautiful love stories ever ππ«Άπ»
