USA Today bestselling author Catherine Gayle presents another novel in the emotional Portland Storm hockey romance series.He’s becoming a Game Breaker on the ice.With the playoffs right around the corner, Nate “Ghost” Golston is focused on only one thing—getting the Portland Storm to the Finals so he can finally hoist the Cup. But when opposing teams’ fans start getting under his skin, he can’t … start getting under his skin, he can’t ignore the ridicule that’s suddenly all over the Internet. With each degrading word slung over the boards, he strains to keep his focus on the ice. Now, everything he’s worked for is in jeopardy.
She’s facing off with the Game Makers.
Stunning sports reporter and aspiring filmmaker Anne Dennison is determined to use her smarts to get ahead in a male-dominated career. Producing a behind-the-scenes web series brings Anne up close and personal with skilled, sexy Nate. Sparks fly, putting her plans in danger. For Anne to succeed, she has to capitalize on Nate’s struggles.
Wanting to be together, they know they must bend for each other before one of them breaks. If they can’t, it’s Game Over.
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4.5 stars
Nate “Ghost” Golston is fast and skilled on the ice. But he has recently gained media attention for more than that. He’s the only black man on is team and in a world where racial tension is high, he finds himself subjected to it.
Anne Dennison is producing the Storm’s new web show. She is a female reporter in a male dominated sports world and is dealing with sexism and scrutiny in the public media. She’s sassy, tenacious, stubborn and independent-minded. But she also has deep insecurities and anxiety stemming from her upbringing.
They’ve flirted for a couple of years, but now their interest is beginning to get stronger. They are compatible and have chemistry, but it could be considered a conflict of interest. Starting a relationship is dangerous for her career and just brings more media attention. And Nate is a protective, caring, self-sacrificing type so he worries about her. Are the risks they are taking, worth the possible rewards?
This installment focuses on some very current and polarizing topics–racism, sexism, homophobia, cultural differences, and violence. It illustrates the importance of respect and tolerance, and how media plays a big part in public opinion. It also shows strength in various characters willing to fight for what they believe in, stand up to criticism, and promote acceptance, tolerance, and love versus hate.
So this is a love story centered around hockey, but also a story about the troubled and often volatile times we are living in. It was told in both points of view that allowed us to understand their feelings personally and about larger topics. This shows the trickling down effect that these hard issues have on individuals, couples, families, and teams. This really hits home because these are topics that are flooding the news and media and impacting all of our daily lives.
I love getting cameos from other characters from this series and seeing them more in their daily lives with their families and friends. I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Harry and R.J. who have books coming up in the series. And I would love to see more with Colesy and Luke Weber in the future as well. They really touched my heart in this one with their individual struggles. Fans of Catherine Gayle and the Portland Storm will enjoy this installment that focuses on the team as a family, but also has important messages about hope, love, and trying to make our world better. And at the center of it is a sweet and romantic somewhat forbidden love story.
**I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Catherine Gayle has done it again with Nate and Anne and another wonderful addition to the Portland Storm series! This book completely had me at the Dedication and Acknowledgements. Make sure you read those as Catherine so eloquently speaks about the less than tolerable state of our society these days, which also happens to be very relevant to this story.
Amidst this love story about hockey player Nate Golston, Ghost as he is called by his teammates, one of the few colored athletes in hockey and Anne Dennison, one of the few females in the sports broadcasting world; this is also the story of how ignorant people sometimes react to both of those scenarios.
Anne has been hired to produce a web series about what goes on behind the scenes of the Portland Storm. She and Nate have a history of flirting for the last two years that goes back to her days as a reporter. The flirting gradually turns into much more and I love how slow their relationship develops because of all the other issues going on around them. They are so good for each other.
We see how Ghost has to deal with racial slurs and tension and how Anne, besides having to deal with obvious sexism by her superiors, has to deal with a mother who is from another culture and doesn’t like Anne’s career choice or that Anne has adopted more of the style of her American father. But even though Anne is more Americanized, her mother’s words have hurt her in many ways and have made her very closed off sexually and I just love how Nate handles that. He is everything I hoped he would be and more.
Catherine shows us throughout their story how Nate and Anne, the players on the team and their families are affected by the racism directed at Nate as well as the racial violence going on outside the arena. We see how difficult it is for a woman in a “man’s world” who is also facing her own issues because she is not behaving Indian enough for her mother. We even get to see how for another athlete, how “coming out” has become such a media circus. But the way his family handled it was just beautiful. So relevant at this time and all told in such a touching way by Catherine.
I really love how through Anne’s job, we are able to touch base with all of the players we have come to know and love including Eric Z who is with Tulsa now. I was so happy to get more of Soupy but sorry for all of his injuries. It is an awesome gift when an author can somehow seamlessly intertwine the lives of the characters we have met in her other books into the current story. I feel as though this was a very unique way of doing that and was grateful for that glimpse.