This New Adult book is the first in the Owatonna U Series, a spin off from the best selling Harrisburg Railers Hockey Series.
Ryker is hockey royalty, Jacob is a poor country boy. Can two vastly different people find common ground and become the men they want to be?
Ryker comes from a long line of championship-winning hockey players. Playing college hockey to develop his game is his only focus, … develop his game is his only focus, and nothing will stand in the way of him working to become the best player. He has no room for relationships, people who point out his flaws, or anyone who calls him on his dreams. He certainly has no place for love, and meeting Jacob is nothing but a useful distraction on the side. After all trying to get his Owatonna Eagles teammate into bed is less work and more play. When tragedy rocks his family, his charmed life crumbles, and the only person he can turn to is the same one who claims to hate him.
Jacob Benson has only known hard work and stifling conservative values his whole life. Born and raised in the small rural community of Eden Crossing, Minnesota, he’s the only son of a hard-working but struggling dairy farming family. Jacob is using his skills in hockey to finance his way to an agricultural science degree. These four years at Owatonna U. will probably be the only time he has to enjoy life, gain acceptance about his sexuality, and live openly before his inevitable return to the farm. Running into a pretty rich boy like Ryker Madsen is putting a damper on his enjoyment of life away from home. Ryker’s flip, conceited, carefree attitude grates on Jacob’s every nerve. So why, if Ryker is everything he dislikes, does he want nothing more than to explore the sinful dreams that his annoying teammate stars in every night?
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O M G ….. a spin-off series, an absolutely fantastic start, Ryker Madsen and Jacob Benson, opposites do attract!! I loved this entire book, start to finish. The writing was superb and the storyline was awesome!!!!
Ryker goes to Hockey camp to refine his skills, to learn, to get faster, learn more but when it’s over he has to go back to Leicester College, where the team just doesn’t gel! He is rooming with Jacob Benson. He’s farmer, trying to get a degree to help save his family’s farm, on scholarships and working two jobs, Owatonna College is where he is playing hockey. They come from two different backgrounds, different goals and different lives.
Things start to change, then it’s time to go back to real life, separate colleges. It’s time for goodbye. Or is it?
Reading these guys was truly enjoyable, the struggles they both have, the love from their parents and family, falling in love, I would give this book 100 stars if I could!!! These authors are truly fabulous!!!
I really enjoyed this book. The familiarity of the Railers team but seeing into the side of Mads’ kid, Ryker and his experience navigating the college aspect of it all was refreshing. It also gave us a bit more into Ten’s present status.
Overall good read. I would have perhaps fleshed out a few things a bit more myself but I see why things were done as they were as well. (There’s a few chapters where the skip sort of takes me by surprise as I half-expected to be reading more into something that was glossed over, if that makes sense.) But I sincerely enjoyed the story and I do recommend it! I powered right through it as I’m doing with the Railers books, too!
I loved this new series off the Railers Hockey series. It’s cool to see a story about the hockey kids. I liked Ryker and Jacob’s story. It’s nice to read about a cocky hockey player becoming more than his reputation or his family’s reputation. And I love the steadfastness of Jacob. They are a great combination and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their story. I definitely recommend this book.
This is the first book in a new spin-off series from the Harrisburg Railers set in the world of college hockey and it stars Ryker, who is the son of Jared Madsen, Railers’ coach and former hockey player. If you’ve read the Railers series then you will have come across Ryker previously, and I’ve been waiting for his story in some form or another ever since he declared he’d fooled around with guys as well as girls.
Hockey, family, and young characters have all been written, and written well, by these authors, so I had faith that these aspects of the story wouldn’t disappoint me. And they didn’t.
There’s (not quite) enemies to lovers, and a lot of emotional immaturity as you would except from lads this age. It’s very much an ‘opposites attract’ story, with Ryker being Hockey Royalty and the money that provides, and Jacob being a country farm boy, using his hockey scholarship as a means to earn his agricultural degree.
There are mentions of an event that happened in Railers 6, so if you haven’t already read that you may want to read that first. Not because it doesn’t make sense in this story, it does, the authors have made sure of that. But the emotional impact of that event lies in book 6 of Railers. These terrible moments really show how much Ryker has come to rely on Jacob, how far their love has come. Because, forget hockey, and farming, and college, ultimately this is a tale of that first blinding love, and it is told beautifully.
It ends on a HFN, but I suspect this series will develop in the same way as the parent series and we will catch up with previous couples as we move through the series.
First thing that came to mind after I finished this story was CUTE. Everything about these men was cute. From the way how they tried to avoid each other…well Jacob more than Ryker..to the way they loved one another.
The slow burn at the beginning was killing me. But the wait was worth every second because once they got together?!?Magic
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
Great ice hockey story. Main characters are Ryker and Jacob. Both from different backgrounds and both still in college. They met at a summer camp for ice hockey and love blooms after many strong talks. Lots of side characters that will get their own story in this series.
This brand new spin-off series from the Harrisburg Railers features Ryker! You fell in love with this kid in Jared and Ten’s story and now we get to see him fall in love with his complete opposite, Jacob. The sparks fly between them and continue to fly throughout the entire book. A lively and energetic new adult romance!
Hockey has been in Ryker’s blood since the day he was born. With a top player turned coach father and the hottest player on the current ice as his father’s better half, Ryker is destined for greatness. But will this be more of a hindrance than a help while he continues his college hockey career? Jacob loves playing hockey, but with the family farm being a responsibility that also takes up his time, something has to give. Can the privileged one and the farm boy sync on and off the ice? Will the initial feelings that they have for each other blossom into so much more? I was locked into this story from the opening pages. Not only do we finally get into Ryker’s thoughts and motivations but also get a glimpse of how Jared and Ryker as well as Ten’s family and teammates worked through Ten’s injury. These characters feel like family members as the reader has been invested in the relationships since the first book and this was a great continuation of the team. I cannot wait for more!!
This was a good book, engaging characters, interesting storyline. However it felt like the author write the required number of words for the manuscript and abruptly ended the story. VERY disappointing ending, pretty much wrecked the whole book for me. Not sure I will read another by this author. Three stars, because the storyline and characters were well done, Two stars off for the ending.
Where to begin? This was a book I have been waiting for. We all have, those who follow The Railer’s series. We met Ryker when he was younger and loved him and wanted him to have a HEA of his own. Once he got old enough of course.
I loved how we got to see into Jacob’s life , meeting his parents and seeing the dynamic of his relationship with his dad. We see it before meeting Ryker, during his time @ both camp and college and at the end of the book. Jacob and Ryker are perfect for each other in every way. We all know, those that follow the Railer’s series, quite a bit about Ryker’s family. But we get to see and learn even more in this , his story.
I like a good conflict , at first, when characters are fighting how they feel. Their emotions, conflicts, friends and families were so very believable as well. This story did not disappoint. So much going on in these pages that I will not give away, for to do that, would ruin the surprises.
So once you get this..sit back, grab some tissue..you just might need some, and enjoy the amazing ride Rj and Vicki takes you on.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
**This review will be short, I really dislike writing the three star reviews!**
Ryker is hockey royalty, coming up as 4th generation championship winning players. Jacob works his family farm with his mum and dad. Both end up at hockey camp for the summer, and are polar opposites in most things. Sharing a room brings them closer, then camp is over and they are on opposite sides of the country. When Ryker switches college to be closer to Jacob, will Jacob let him?
I can’t put my finger on why this one didn’t work for me, and ya’ll know how much that does my head in! So, here’s what I DID like.
Both Jacob and Ryker have their say, so we get both sides of the coin. Both voices are clear and very different, and their voice is in the first person. Each change is clearly headed, and comes as the chapter changes.
I saw no spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading.
I tagged it as a short read, because it does NOT seem as long as the billed 196 pages! One sitting read, too.
There are some characters from the series this one spins off, and that makes me want to go back and read THEIR series, or at least, Jared and Ten (Ryker’s dad and step dad) stories.
I just . . . .DON’T know what didn’t work!
Or at least, that was what I thought when writing this review. Now I’m typing it up, I *think* it might be Ryker himself. I dunno, maybe. Possibly.
So, gonna leave it at that.
3 good solid but maybe not for me, stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Ryker is a generational hockey player, and even though he is still in college, he is destined for the NHL. The fact that his dad and step-dad are famous hockey players has had its benefits, but Ryker has still had to work hard to get where he is. When he goes to a summer conditioning program to hone his skills, he is unsure whether or not to stay at the school he is in, and feeling pressure from all sides. He is gonna use this time, to just focus on hockey, and figure out what his next step will be. He doesn’t imagine that the roommate, Jacob, would hate him just for who he is. But Ryker is determined, he is going to win Jacob over. For Jacob nothing has come easy, he works two jobs to help cover college costs. The time not spent in class, studying, or at work, is spent on hockey. So getting to room with Ryker Madsen is not his idea of a great time. But slowly but surely Jacob starts seeing things about Ryker that make his initial judgement wrong. The two end up feeling more for each other than just friends, but when this camp is over their relationship has to be over too…. doesn’t it?
OK, so I loved most of this. I loved the fumbling moments between the two, that this wasn’t a typical romance where the naughty bits were amazing for both. No, their naughty times were hot but also at times a bit comical as they were both learning. Nothing worse than having a book where people that have no clue whats going on, but yet rock the other persons world. I did feel like I should have read Ryker’s father’s book before this, or that series I should say. Just feel like it would have flowed better. I did hate the ending, we are left just BANG, hanging with a HFN, no glimpse into the future nothing. But all in all, drama, promise of other stories from the cast of characters introduced, some really funny bits, nice naughty times, I give this 4 stars.