Can Tennant show Jared that age is just a number, and that love is all that matters?
The Rowe Brothers are famous hockey hotshots, but as the youngest of the trio, Tennant has always had to play against his brothers’ reputations. To get out of their shadows, and against their advice, he accepts a trade to the Harrisburg Railers, where he runs into Jared Madsen. Mads is an old family friend and … an old family friend and his brother’s one-time teammate. Mads is Tennant’s new coach. And Mads is the sexiest thing he’s ever laid eyes on.
Jared Madsen’s hockey career was cut short by a fault in his heart, but coaching keeps him close to the game. When Ten is traded to the team, his carefully organized world is thrown into chaos. Nine years his junior and his best friend’s brother, he knows Ten is strictly off-limits, but as soon as he sees Ten’s moves, on and off the ice, he knows that his heart could get him into trouble again.
Word Count: 57,000
more
This is romantic, intense and entertaining. Mads is tough, caring and stubborn. Ten is bold, impatient and determined. And Stan provides some very funny comic relief. When Ten ends up on the team that his brothers friend coaches, he is stunned by his instant attraction to Mads. Mads is dismayed to find himself drawn to Ten, because there are so many reasons why Ten is off limits for him. Unfortunately for him, Ten is determined to not take no as an answer. They are an amusing and heartwarming couple, they’re perfect for each other. The steam and drama build as one obstacle after another presents itself. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May/December romance with a bit of an edge…
AhMazing narration + Fantastic story = Outstanding Audiobook!
I was sucked into this story with just a few sentences and between the way Ten’s situation was written and then conveyed with the narration, I was completely enthralled. I enjoyed the back and forth and getting to see the story unfold from both Ten and Jared’s point of view. I loved the slow burn between them and how their love story was set at the perfect pace. These two were oh so very sexy and Sean Crisden was the perfect narrator to tell the story.
I hold my hand up, I know nothing about sport any sport except maybe Olympic swimming and Diving! However I love reading about them, I think I could become a fan of Ice Hockey, Ten and Mads are a really engaging and enjoyable couple finding each other in a climate where their experience is how it should be received, possibly not from reading social media How it would actually be received. The secondary characters and the relevant family members are delightful. This is the start of a new series and I’m looking forward to the rest.
This ARC was received from the authors, and its my pleasure to offer my humble review.
The sign of a good book for me is when the ending comes upon you without you realising you’ve got through the whole narrative without wondering how long it is.
This book did just that for me. I’m a fan of RJ Scott anyway, this was the first I’ve read of VL Locey (although I have her Point Shot series on my Kindle waiting to be read) and together they put down a very good ice hockey romance.
I loved the fact there actually was ice hockey in this book! Games happened on the ice, training happened, it wasn’t all off the ice with the relationship being the only story. I liked the complexities of the two main characters’ families.
The age gap element was well done, never felt like a big deal and – while everything goes swimmingly with very little angst and is perhaps a touch unrealistic – you know what, I didn’t care. I don’t want to read about the horrors of a sportsman or woman coming out because that shit already happens in Real Life and it makes me incandescently angry.
That Mads and Ten could just be themselves with only a few hiccups made me happy. As this is book one in an interconnected series, it may be that some of that side of the story still has to come and I’m happy with that too.
KU. I’m a fan of May/December and this was executed well. Lots of laughs, which I really needed today. There was a LOT of hockey in this book (neither good nor bad, just an FYI that there’s *actually* sports in this sports romance.)
I loved how Ten’s family reacted to his coming out. Each member reacted uniquely, but it felt very authentic.
I enjoyed watching Mads & Ten’s relationship blossom. I think it would have been nice to read a little more of their time together. Mads wanted to take it slow, but the author sort of just *told* that a few months went by without any kind of dates, convos, etc to establish it.
I enjoyed that there wasn’t a lot of relationship angst. No back n forth or torturing each other. All the angst was external (coming out in various steps as gay and as a couple as well as the jerky grandfather).
I’m looking forward to the next book.
This is the first book in The Harrisburg Railers Series. A sensational book the writing was good. The plot was entertaining and it was steady throughout the book. I found the story and characters likeable. The characters were developed and thought out. Jared Madsen and Tennant Rowe are the MC’s of this book. There was humor, hockey, friends and family, practice, secrets, sex and so much more in this book.
Here is a quote from the book, “Stan’s deep voice jerked me harshly from my angry daydreams. There were ten of us gathered in my hotel room. A late season tropical depression had blown into North Carolina. Traveling had been called off until the swirling storm moved on overnight, so here the Railers sat, playing Pokémon Evolutions and dreaming about getting on the line they wanted or getting laid. I downed another can of Mountain Dew Code Red. It was my fourth. I felt like I could scale the walls like Spider-Man.”. There is more but you will need to read the book which I can recommend this book as a good read. I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book for an honest review.
First time reading any book by this author and I’m happy to say I can’t wait for more. This was mostly a great book,it had a roach beginning that became more better as the story progressed. You’ll get the steamy slow building bonding before they start to have sex, there will be emotions from crying to angry and a load of laughter. Tannant is a closeted gay man that sneaks his lovers into his apartment, Mads is an outted bi man with a son with his high school girlfriend when they were 15, the kids is now 17 with a tough mother that is married with 3 little kids, her father a legendary hockey player that puts Mads down in front of Ryker (Mads Son) bad mouthing Mads a lot. The old man is also forcing a q7 to drop out of school and sign to an agent and get in the Canadian hockey league no matter what Mads said on the subject, Mads wants the opposite, stay in school, graduate got to college and work on his training, (Ryker has raw hockey talent) that’s why Mads what’s him to have what Mads didn’t.
Ten’s brothers are older and the oldest will cause some anger in both Ten and Mads. Ten starts out childlike in the beginning and grows over time, he will still act out at times but nothing immature, and Mads will become less hidden towards his fells as Ten gets u Ten gets under his skin.
NO power play between the MCs, no bdsm kinks, a safe sex for the whole story, no triggers happening the only affection Mads will show towards his son’s mom is a comforting hug and a peck on the cheek, there is no painful pasts for the ex couple, just friendly co parenting. No cheating, but the MCs will keep their relationship secret. U til the end that leads to the next story with the guys’ attorney.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was quickly swept into this story and couldn’t put the book down. I liked these characters and following along on their journey. Some of the secondary characters are pretty great and hopefully, they will be in future books. This is a great start to this series.
The good storyline and the very likable characters, Tennant and Jared, kept me totally engaged throughout the entire book! As the pages were turned I was being drawn deeper and deeper into Tennant and Jared’s story and I was totally captivated as their relationship evolved!
I loved this story. I loved Tennant and Mads. They just had this chemistry. This sexual heat that went throughout this story. I loved the dialogue and the hockey scenes. The sex was well written. I loved the chemistry between the main characters and the minor characters. I liked the russian goalie the best out of all the minor characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Where to begin? Everything about this book was wonderful. The humor was off the charts! The scenes with the brothers and how they interact with each other, with my experiences with my own brothers, was spot on. Name calling etc. The connection between the MCs , Mads and Ten, was adorable and hot and all kinds of feels, all over the place! Mom and Dad? Oh my goodness I loved them too! There is one bad apple in this but He is nothing but a pesky fly, soon squashed I hope. There is one paragraph in particular that had me laughing so hard and loud, my cat came running in the room to see what was up.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about this story.
These two authors are perfectly matched and I have already preordered the next book in this series!
Do yourself a huge favor and buy this…now! You will not regret it!
Sean Crisden is rapidly becoming one of my favorite voice actors, more than a story narrator. The reader/listener will soon forget that he is reading the story to you and fall into the pages of the book. His characters are realistic and there is nothing that pulls your attention from the story which, to me, is the mark of an expert voice actor/narrator.
The cover designed by @MeredithRAuthor is perfect and I absolutely recognize Mads and Ten!
Sports romance is hot, a favorite of mine and authors Scott and Locey are well known for their mastery of sports/hockey stories. Add in the age gap, the dynamic of older brother’s best friend and the taboo nature of a relationship between a hockey player and the coach and you have the recipe for a great story.
This story has meat with multi-generational complex family dynamics involving both main characters. Tennant has always been compared or at least compared himself to his pro hockey star brothers so his move to an expansion team was a big one and not favored by his family. He needed to spread his wings and not just in his sport. Coach Jared Madsen is raising a teenage son and his attention is split between his team and his son’s development as a young man and a hockey player in the family tradition. He has no time to devote to more than a coach-player relationship with his former teammate’s brother although his mind and heart return to Ten.
This was a great start to the Harrisburg Railers series and the characters we meet here are interesting and a bit fun as well. This, again, left me wanting much more.
The sizzle rating is ‘hot’ – “4 out of 5”
My rating for the narrator is 4.5, exceptional!
The story 4.5 stars – a top pick!
This age gap, single dad romance was sweet and swoony. With Mads bringing both the swoon and sweetness while Ten brought the steam and fun. The very real obstacles they had to overcome to be together in the professional sports world was tough but with almost every romance, they get their happily ever after in the end. This was the perfect book to start out the series.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted the audio version of this book.
I came across this pair of authors when asked to read the Owatonna U Hockey series. THIS series is before that series, and so I know some of what happens here ahead of time.
Tennant is the youngest brother of three, and they are all hockey players. Tennant wants to do his own thing, so bucks against what his brothers want him to do and joins the Harrisburg Railers. Jared is one of the coaches to the team and Ten’s big brother’s best friend. Jared also pushes all of Ten’s buttons and is 9 years his senior. Jared can’t touch Ten, can he?
For the most part, I did enjoy this book. Like I said, I knew there was a happy ever after and I knew what would happen to Jared’s son, Ryker (book one, Owatonna U Hockey, who is 17 here) so it was more a matter of HOW they got there, rather than if.
I liked that Jared made Ten wait, and that boy did struggle in the beginning with that, but once he saw WHY Jared wanted to make him wait, he saw, he really did, the beauty of that.
Both Jared and Ten have a say, in the first person. Each voice is distinctive enough to know who is speaking if left mid chapter, but I have something to say about the narration in a little bit.
I would have liked more conflict, I think! Ten is in the closet and NO one knows, not even his parents. Coming out to Jared changes things for Jared, cos he thought Ten straight. The conflict I think I wanted was with the team, and the aftermath of his coming out and what that meant to ten and Jared. There is SOME fall out, with the team’s bosses and what they do after, but when Ten was musing over things I was expecting MORE, you know??
Sean Crisden narrates.
I have listened to his work a couple of times before, and I think I prefer his work when only a single character has a voice. Here’s why.
Doing two voices alternately has to be difficult. Ten is far younger than Jared and has a higher voice that I had no trouble with. Switching then to Jared’s voice, which is low and deep? HIS voice is the one I struggled with. Crisden dips his voice when Jared is thinking, and is emotional, and I struggled, with my dodgy hearing to keep up. I missed some of Jared’s musings because of that.
There was also some long drawn out, detailed descriptions of hockey matches and I kinda tuned out at those points. Had I been reading, I would have skipped ahead, but you can’t do that when listening. Sorry, but great details about sports is really not my thing, even if stories about the sports players is.
4 solid stars for the book
3.5 for the narration
Rounded up to 4 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
This is the start of the Harrisburg Railers series, and if this first book is anything to go off of, it’s going to be great! When Tennant gets news that he is getting traded to the Railers, he is at first unsure what to think, but he is optimistic that it will work out in the end. Jared Madsen shifted from pro NHL player to coaching, not that it was his choice, but one that his body made for him. Jared has known Ten and at one point in time was great friends with his brother. Now, the two work for the same team, and when a mishap ends up with Ten revealing that he is gay to Jared, Jared is thrown for a loop, now it makes it even harder to maintain his distance from Ten. When Ten goes one step further and tells Jared that he wants him… Jared has no clue what to think. Before the two can even venture into a relationship, there are things that have to be done, people to be told. Will Ten get the support he is hoping for? Can the two make a relationship work even though there are so many things working against them?
This was a great intro story into this series, Ten and Mads are amazing and have such great chemistry! There is drama, hockey, funny bits, and some really steamy naughty parts. I give this 4 stars and am ready for the next book.
4.25 stars
I rarely pick up sports books but I love RJ Scott and wanted to try this series out. I am glad I did because this book was great. While there is definitely a fair amount of hockey talk that went right over my head, the plot was interesting and I really enjoyed Ten and Mads as MCs.
There was little angst in this book between Ten and Mads. It was really about navigating a new team for Ten and him coming out. We see Mads and Ten opening themselves up to each other and how that affects their team and family lives. It was truly a pretty easygoing book. I liked that Mads was a little older and had a son and how that played into his decisions. I do love drama in a book, but it was nice that everyone was pretty understanding and accepting of Ten and Mads. Also, Ten was just super endearing because of how eager and genuine he was. The way Mads treated him was lovely. I am excited to keep reading this series.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
I received this book with the understanding that I could leave a voluntary and honest review.
In this book we meet Tennant “Ten” Rowe and Jared “Mad” Madsen. Ten is the youngest of the Rowe brothers which means he has been fighting for people to see him and him and not who his brothers are. What makes it worse is they are all hockey players. Ten wants people to see him and cheer for him because he is a great player not the brother of Brady or James. So when he gets a chance to play for a team that could showcase him for just being him he jumps. It is not without problems though. Jared was benched permanently from the game of hockey do to a problem with his heart. However his heart was still in hockey. So to stick with the game he loves he becomes a coach. When Mad sees ten he realizes he is just the kinda guy he would want to spend more time with. These two wonder can there be more between them or with all the past history is it more than either wants to try for?
This is a great story. It will have you emotionally connecting in ways you never planned. It does have its ups and downs I really want to tell you about. However I don’t want to ruin the story for any other readers. I will say this book will have you hooked from the first word to the very end. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
They are great hockey players and brothers. He is the youngest one and he accepts a trade to another team. His new coach is attracted to him. What on earth is going on? Will they fall for each other? See what will happen
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Anyone who loves Hockey or Falling in Love will love this book. The story of Tennant Rowe and Jared Madsen is a sweet love story. We follow the story as Ten comes to new Franchise and Mads an older family friend is a Coach. Coming out of the Closet for Ten in this book is lovely and emotional.
I’ve never been a big hockey person but this story has definitely changed my mind. Tennant crushing on Jared his coach who is also his brother’s friend had me anticipating the sparks that were going to ignite between these guys. I was not disappointed and you won’t be either. Highly recommend and can’t wait for the next installment in this series
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.