What happens when you try to fix the past and end up threatening your future?Scott is struggling. Grieving the loss of his brother, carrying the weight of his father’s expectations, and getting his ass kicked in the rink, he’s in a downward spiral. He needs a solution and fast, but when his steroid use is exposed, he’s close to losing his place at Owatonna and more importantly, on the Eagles … on the Eagles Hockey team. Thrown out of his house, with nowhere to go and no future in sight, he only has one choice; agree to mandatory counseling, random drug tests, and get his act together. Only then will he have a chance at normal. Meeting Hayne, a senior connected to the world through his art, is a shock to the system. Moving in with him is his only option, but falling for the shy artist leaves Scott in an impossible situation, and one he can’t escape.
Hayne has always been that quiet, creative kid who sat in the back of class drawing instead of listening to the teacher. A talented artist, the shy and sensitive young man is struggling with the loss of his childhood friend. Seeing his sadness reflected in his usually colorful paintings, he decides to attend grief counseling and meets Scott, a lost soul in desperate need of light and color in his life. Taking in a homeless hockey player certainly was never part of his carefully orchestrated ten-year plan. But now that Scott is in his life, he’s discovering the joy of this man’s loving smile and tender touch is one of the most beautiful palettes on earth.
more
I’m not going to discuss the plot of this amazing book, since I think the description provided and other reviewers have done that very well. Instead, I want to say that this is one of my favorite pairings ever. Scott and Hayne seem to be opposites in many ways, but they fit each other’s needs perfectly. I love that Scott is fascinated with Hayne from their very first meeting, and he never finds Hayne’s wild painting or his rambling as something negative. And even though Hayne has been bullied by jocks for years, he gives Scott a place to stay and a chance at his heart. I love the other hockey players who support this couple, and I am so glad the series has more stories coming about them. I also want to listen to Hayne’s painting music, to see if I can be inspired to greatness, too. What a wonderful couple. What a wonderful story!
I have been looking forward to reading this ever since I heard it was in the works!
Meeting Ryker’s teammate Scott fully and getting to know his story can sure change an impression. To see all he went through and continues to go through just made me want to go all “Momma Bear” on his behalf.
Then getting to meet the wonderfully talented and amazing all around, Hayne. Even though he has a wonderful mom and Mimi, I felt the Momma Bear come out for him as well.
Watching as these two figured things out, dealt with the nastiness they sometimes came across and seeing they had each other’s backs , just made me love them even more.
Did they have issues to get over. Of course!
Did they have to have friends or family get them to see things they couldn’t see clearly? Yes!
Did I love everyone in this book? Pffft! NO!
Was I happy for all the changes that happened and did I , at one point say out loud “Omg I loved seeing that!” ? Yes I did.
I am not going to give all of it away . However ,for different parts of this book, have tissue ready, a fan blowing on you and /or be prepared to enjoy a little pay back . Just sayin’!
As always Ms. Scott and Ms. Locey took me on an amazing ride. Emotions flying all over the place.
We get to meet other players on Scott and Rykers team, catch up with Jacob and…well I won’t ruin the surprise. All I will say is at one point, I yelled “Yes!Yes! Yes!”.
I was VERY excited .
So do yourself a huge favor and get this book!!
I am so looking forward to the next book starring Ben!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book two in the Owatonna U Hockey trilogy, but you don’t need to have read book one first. I have though, and found THAT book not really to my liking.
THIS one, however, I enjoyed far more.
Scott is suffering, since his brother died, and decides to self medicate with illegal steroids. After punching his best friend in the face, Scott is suspended for a whole 12 months, and is quite literally, chucked out his home. With nowhere to go, he happens to meet Hayne at a mandatory counselling session. Hayne, for reasons he cannot fathom, takes pity on Scott and the pair become inseparable. They each have their own demons, but together, they just might be able to overcome them.
Like I said, a MUCH better read, for me anyway, that Ryker. And much of that is because I didn’t much care for Ryker in his book and I’ll come back to that in a minute, though.
Hayne is a free spirited artist, in his final year at college. He is terrorised by his tenants, and spends all his time in his room, trying to paint his final piece. Meeting Scott, who turns out to be the muse he was missing, wasn’t planned, but Hayne runs with it. Helping Scott get back to hockey seems the right and best thing to do. That Scott helps Hayne is a much added bonus.
Hayne is LOVELY!! So sweet, I wanted to punch his housemates! And the fact that he really sees Scott helps. Scott is trying to be the son his father wants, but he isn’t his brother Luke. He will NEVER be Luke. His father pushes Scott away, and it takes his mother, who has been self medicating in the bottom of a bottle, to pull HER big girl panties up, and make her husband and son see that they are BOTH suffering and TOGETHER they can make some semblance of a relationship again.
Loved Hayne’s mum and Mimi! Loved that they took Scott in when he needed someone the most, Hayne aside.
Back to Ryker. I did not like him in his book, but he does redeem himself somewhat here! While Scott is hiding, his friends, the ones he thought hated him, were planning an intervention, and Ryker is foremost at getting Scott to see that his friends don’t hate him, they just didn’t see how much he was suffering.
It does carry some darker story lines, grief, bereavement, alcohol and drug abuse, but they are all part and parcel of Scott’s story, and they are very well written.
Oh, and you’ll need tissues. I cried a LOT with this book!
Can’t QUITE get past the first person to stretch to 5 stars, but a much better than book one:
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
2nd Book in this series and I thoroughly enjoyed the story between Scott and Hayne. Don’t get me wrong it is an emotional book that will run you through the gambit of emotions, but a great addition to the Owatonna U series.
Both characters were well written and both had issues in their past that they were trying to deal with. It was great to hear about the other characters from the previous books. Even though Scott was suspended from the team his teammates/friends were still there to help him as much as he would let them.
Trying not to post any spoilers so I’m leaving some items out of my review. Cannot wait for the next book in the series.
ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review
I am a sucker for a sports themed romance. And although this story revolves around a hockey player and the love of the game, there really isn’t a lot of time devoted to actual hockey playing. However, the characters are beautifully passionate, and the storyline is written with heartbreaking emotion.
This book is about the pain of loss, and what that grief can lead a soul to do to mask the pain. It is about hitting rock bottom and losing what you have been battling the grief to keep. It is about seeing the truth of what you are capable of, and determining how you want to live your life from this point forward.
Scott is a starting player on the hockey team. But the death of his brother weighs him down with guilt and grief. The pressure he feels to live up to his brother’s talent leads him to some ill-fated choices that end up costing him a season on the ice.
Hayden is a small artist who has been bullied all his life; especially by jocks. He lost his best friend to cancer the previous semester, and has been attending the school provided grief counseling sessions. When a huge jock yells at him to hold the door in the middle of a snow storm, he stops and battles with the man to get the door open. However, he’s not sure if he should be frightened or not; after all, the big guy did show him a kindness. After an awkward conversation, he leads Scott, as he now knows, to the grief counseling session.
After the session ends, Hayden makes an unexpected proposal. Since Scott really has no other choice, he accepts, and Hayden cannot believe what he has done. Now, he is going to have a stranger, a JOCK, no less, sleeping on his floor.
Whether it’s due to their shared grief, or Hayden’s emotional connection to his art, or something else, there is an insta-attraction happening in the shared attic space.
While Scott tries to work through his issues, he and Hayden become closer. Hayden gives Scott a new outlet for his emotions, and helps him get back to himself little by little. When an acquaintance of theirs tries to ruin Scott, he almost succeeds. But, with a little help from Hayden’s Mimi and Mom, Hayden is willing to listen to his heart.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were some sexy times, and they were very sweet. But don’t go into this looking for a scorcher; that’s not what this is, and I think it would have taken away from the story. I’m sure we’ll see more of these two in the series, but as side characters rather than the MCs.
Happy reading!
* I received an ARC of this book. *
This was such an emotional read. Both Hayne and Scott are having to deal with their loss and grief, especially Scott as it permeates every aspect of his life. They’ve both gone through so many ups and downs but by meeting they each find someone to travel that bumpy road with. All in all a very enjoyable read, I absolutely loved it and I’m already looking forward to Ben’s story.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book*
I got lost in this story from page one! Scott and Hayne are so multidimensional and rich with flaws, hope, grief, history and love. Each has their own grief to deal with. When they come together in friendship they both begin the healing process.
I loved how supportive of each other they were. While each is dealing with their own issues they truly give love and unconditional faith to each other.
I am loving this series and can’t wait for Ben’s story!
Oh my goodness, the awful things these two young men have been through. I read this on the edge of filling up for a good portion of it. There were smiles in there too though. There is no wonder Scott went off the rails but Hayne is the sweetheart that’s going to lift him. Well they lift each other! I do think Craig got off too easily!
Rj Scott and V.L. Locey have a wonderful world built here and it’s great to see characters from the main Raiders series pop up.
I totally loved Scott. What a great book in the Owatonna U series. I liked that neither Scott or Hayne were perfect. Their story was so sweet with a slow burn. Who knew painting and hockey could go so well together. I totally recommend this book and I look forward to Benoit.
After the death of his brother, guilt and misguided love from his parents have caused Scott to crash and burn. Thrown off the hockey team due to drug abuse ends up being the last straw and Scott finds himself thrown out of the house and left to deal with life on his own. But a brief interaction with a stranger becomes the lifeline he needs to start a new beginning. But will the help from this unlikely soul, artist Hayne, be the bright light in a dull sky? Can you really start over and find out what really matters in the big scheme of things? With beautifully written characters and a storyline filled with raw emotions and pain this was a fabulous read. I think Scott is one of the most complex characters written in the series that the reader will instantly fall in love with.
We saw a tiny bit of Scott’s self-destruction in Ryker but we don’t get the full extent of how far gone he is until this book. Scott had been living in his brother’s shadow for most of his life, and when his brother died their father then started to push Scott in all things hockey. When the pressure and the guilt get to be too much, Scott turns to coping mechanisms: I.E. drinking and steroids. Once he is found out and suspended for a full year, his father proceeds to throw him out and tell him he doesn’t want to see him again. Scott is on his own, has nothing and feels like he has nobody. When he runs into Hayne on the way to the mandatory grief counseling sessions, his finally gets somewhat of a break as Hayne ends up giving him space on his floor to sleep. Hayne is quiet and focused on his art, and while his brain is telling him not to help Scott, his heart is breaking for Scott and how lost he is. The two both have their own issues, and when the inevitable happens and they fall for each other at first they are on cloud nine. But the real world calls, and when Hayne sees just what type of person Scott is, will Hayne be able to trust Scott not to hurt him?
So, this was not my fav R.J. Scott book, it’s still good don’t get me wrong, but I felt a bit let down with this story. Maybe I just didn’t see the connection between Hayne and Scott and there wasn’t much as far as naughty bits go. I did feel for both characters, their pain at losing someone they loved, the stresses of trying to figure out life, all things that were truly relatable. In the end I give this 3.5 stars, and I hope this was just a fluke.