peristome's reviews
111 reviews

Blindsided by Eden Finley

4.0

This is my favorite book in the series by far. I really loved the friends-to-lovers dynamic here. I can't give it a full five stars because I think the freak-out that one of the character has at the end felt out of character and like it came out of nowhere. But it's not such a huge deal and it got resolved in a very sweet way, so I can say it didn't take away much enjoyment for me. 

This is the only couple that I want a sequel from (so far). Not that I didn't enjoy the other couples, but I actively got invested in this one whereas the others I wasn't really feeling either way. I hope the next (and final) couple can live up to Talon and Miller.

Deke by Eden Finley

2.5

I found this book truly average. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Unlike the other books in this series which I found (mostly) inoffensive, there was some stuff in this book that pissed me off more than the others, which is why I'm giving it a lower rating. Maybe it's because I've read a lot better hockey romances than this one, or maybe it's because I found Lennon more annoying than any other character in this series (so far).

Seriously, Lennon doesn't want to be with Ollie at first because he doesn't want to be in the closet, then turns around as says he doesn't want to be in a public relationship with him when he does come out. Then, Lennon gets fired from his job for something that is in no way Ollie's fault, but blames him for it and lashes out. Even if Ollie hadn't come out with Soren, Lennon would have lost his job because he told his boss he wouldn't out someone in an article. LITERALLY NONE OF THAT IS OLLIE'S FAULT. Ollie didn't even mention Lennon at all during the press conference, so it's not like he revealed anything he shouldn't have.

Lennon wouldn't have annoyed me so much if he had actually apologized for this, but he gives a generic "I'm so sorry" to Ollie and then it's never brought up again. I just found it really weird, considering the care the book takes in every other issue

(like Ollie's family trying to force him to come out)

.

To be honest, if all you're looking for is a gay hockey romance, you can probably skip this one. I'm glad I read this because I'm trying to catch up on all the "lore" for the Puckboys series, but if you just want some good hockey romances, read the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid.

Trick Play by Eden Finley

3.5

Honestly, I feel the same way I did about this book as I did Fake Out, the first book in the series. It is cute and fun, but nothing super special. I liked it just as much as the last book. 

However, I was surprised there wasn't more "sports" in this one. Considering the last book featured a "retired" player, it made sense that sports weren't such a huge focus, but here, one of the main characters is an active football player

and they win the Super Bowl at the end

, so you'd think the focus would be on that a little more.

Fake Out by Eden Finley

funny lighthearted

3.5

Once again, this is situation where I don't have too much to say either way about this book. It's not bad, but it's not some masterpiece I'm going to stay obsessed with. If you're looking for a cute, low-stakes fake dating romance, then this will do the job quite reliably. I thought Maddy and Damon were cute, and I did enjoy this better than some other sports romances I've read.

Three Is the Luckiest Number by Catherine Cloud

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

This is not a bad book. It's... fine. I have nothing truly bad to say about it, but it was kind of boring, and the story ends off on a cliffhanger (be warned, it's definitely a HFN situation, not a HEA). It felt like the book should have been longer, like we're missing the part where we get to actually see them together. Blake, one part of the main couple,

never tells Elliot that he loves him

. We definitely should have seen that at least.  

I also feel like the "three is the luckiest number" thing

(in which Elliot kisses Blake three times for good luck)

is surprisingly insignificant to the story. It happens maybe twice that I can remember, and Elliot doesn't really care about the number 3 outside of it. It's not that big of a deal, but it is strange because that's what the book is literally named after.

I don't think this book is bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I also think there's much better second chance/gay hockey romances out there, even by this author.

Caught Off Guard by Catherine Cloud

4.0

This was a really charming story. I really loved the focus on the friendships in this book, which is not something you always get in romance books. I honestly don't have that much else to say about it, though—the book is cute, the romance is adorable, the friendships are wholesome. But, contrary to the title, I wasn't caught off guard at any point during my read. It was predictable, but that's not always a bad thing. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book.

If any of that sounds like something you'd enjoy, especially with hockey on top of it, then you should read it. It's worth it.

Unrivaled by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

funny lighthearted

4.5

If you're like me, love Heated Rivalry, and are always looking for something to fill the Shane/Ilya void in your heart, this will do a fantastic job. Rivals-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes and it doesn't disappoint here. Grady and Max have amazing chemistry. The sex scenes are also the best in the series, they are scorching hot. 

The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is that I feel like the conflict between them got resolved too quickly and cleanly to be realistic. They hash it out over a single phone call when I believe it was something that needed to be done in person, and some of the conflict was never truly explained or resolved. Max just kind of... gives up on being angry. And the ending, while fine, felt a little abrupt.

I wish we got to see the conclusion of the Cup finals, at the very least. but I would have loved a little more time with them, happy and in love, chilling on a beach somewhere.

I highly recommend this for all my other gay hockey romance lovers out there.

Scoring Position by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

emotional hopeful lighthearted

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Nico and Ryan are my favorite couple of the series so far. They are adorable. You'd think that I'd want to rate this book higher than the last one, but in the case, I feel like I have more problems with this book than the last one, which evens out of the scores for me.

My biggest problem is how it feels like some parts of the book are missing. For example,

when Ryan is apologizing to Nico for how he handled things, Ryan talks about how he knew that Rees and Coach V were in cahoots or whatever, but we're never actually shown Ryan figuring out this information or what he does with it.

As readers, I feel like we really needed that scene–and that's not the only instance of something like that "missing" from the book either. It was a little frustrating for me.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this story. The glimpses we got of Gabe and Dante were really sweet, and I loved that Yorkie and Kitty were present in this book again. And then we have Nico and Ryan, who like I said, are my favorite couple of the series so far. I loved them together and I'm actually glad they didn't get back together right away after their huge blow up. It was sweet.

This series has really surprised me. I haven't liked a lot of other hockey romances besides the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid, so if you're like me and wanting more books to give you similar feelings, pick this one up.

The Winging It Holiday Special by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I thought this novella was really fun until I got about 80% of the way through. Once the whole pregnancy thing happened, I got pissed off and couldn't enjoy the story anymore. Still, the first 80% is worthy of 3 stars, so I won't rate it any lower. Now for my rant (spoiler warning):

First of all, yes, "Rob" was a shitty boyfriend, but just because he got you pregnant doesn't mean he lied about having a vasectomy. Vasectomies are not a 100% guarantee (you don't shoot blanks immediately after having them) and they can be done incorrectly or even reversed (sometimes the body can just reverse them naturally). Second of all, Michelle wants to have the baby, not because she is Catholic or even wants the child, but because her mom is Catholic and she doesn't want her mom to think she's going to hell. If that's the case, why are you having a baby out of wedlock and then giving that baby to a gay couple. THOSE THINGS WOULD MAKE YOU GO TO HELL TOO? SO WHAT THE FUCK?

AGAIN, Michelle is willing to put her body through a pregnancy she doesn't want, for a baby she won't keep because it would "always remind her" of her shitty ex-boyfriend, all because she doesn't want her mom to believe she might go to hell. WELL YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT ANYWAY IF WE'RE GOING BY THE CATHOLIC PLAYBOOK. It makes no damn sense to me.

It's obviously a plot point so that Gabe and Dante can adopt a child, but like... there's so many other ways the authors could have done that. The choice to have that be the way they got their baby was baffling and felt oddly moralizing for a book series about gay hockey players.

Winging It by Ashlyn Kane, Morgan James

4.0

This was such a cute book and one of my favorite gay hockey romances that I've read so far. I think Gabe and Dante are so adorable, and even though the book was short, their romance didn't feel rushed. It was paced very well, which is something I always look for in my romance books. The characters were also really fun. I enjoyed reading about them, which is not something you can always say. 

I do have to say, the liberal use of ellipses was a bit hard to get used to, but that was the only "quirk" I really disliked while reading the book, and it was easy enough to get used to. 

If you're looking for a quick, charming hockey romance read, give this one a go.