*Warning: I use a lot of profanity including a discussion of the C-word below!*
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I decided to DNF this book at 28% because I just *could not* anymore. After the like 10 pages of a useless "house tour" that gave us absolutely NOTHING in the way of character interaction and development, followed by the set of this completely ridiculous living situation (Oliver doesn't even really WANT to do this memoir, so why is he? He has a lot of life left to live AFTER hockey. Wouldn't it be more prudent to wait a year or two after his retirement to do it?)

Not to mention the fact that while the writing itself has improved from the first one (just not in the right way... MORE DIALOG, LESS INTROSPECTIVE PLEASE), Henry continues to basically foist feminine habits onto her male characters that make *no sense*. The point where I finally sighed and said "Oh fuck this" was an unsolicited hug from Jordan to Oliver.

Did Oliver need a hug? Probably. I feel like this guy could probably use some really good snuggles. BUT A DUDE DOES NOT JUST RANDOMLY HUG ANOTHER DUDE WITHOUT ASKING. Even a gay one!

I also really don't understand Oliver and Abbey's (failed) marriage. It seems like the two didn't even genuinely like each other, muchless *love* each other, so why? Just to look good? That makes no sense. Given the marriage, which apparently wasn't sexless (not including extra marital affairs), seeing as how Oliver does mention "we don't have kids (...which, fucking *duh*) I can assume that sex did happen at some point. Why not make him bi or pan? Like, the author is aware there are other identities under the umbrella, right? That felt very dismissive.

The last thing that I really, really hated as Oliver's use of the word cunt. Not just once, but at least 3 fucking times within a few pages. As an American, I hate that word. I have only ever used it in reference to 1 person my entire life and *not* felt bad about saying it. It's basically the absolute most abhorrent curse word you can use where I'm from. I'd much rather he'd just said bitch, which I'm sorry --is NOT interchangeable.

Mostly, I'm just disappointed that I thought I'd found this really great new author who, after that first book, has basically crashed and burned for me. Maybe I'll give this another shot in the future, but for now...I'm just too sad.

Oliver & Jordan

I love Hannah's writing so much. It's always like sitting down in a cozy chair by a roaring fire with a warm blanket and a glass of peppermint tea.

Oliver was an injury prone hockey player. A final debilitating injury takes him out of the game. He decides to write his memoir and in doing so, he'll be coming out. In this world that Hannah has crafted there are already a handful of queer athletes but not a large amount. Jordan is a former beat reporter, now laid off, that was always very favorable to Oliver when he wrote about him. So, Oliver hires him to ghost write his memoir. They move in together for a month so that Jordan can get Oliver's story and start writing. You can guess where it goes from there :)

To the background of their love story, it's a tender story about not quite meeting the expectations others and yourself put on you. It's also a story about dealing with chronic pain and how some people treat you like an inconvenience and some treat you like it's just a part of you. Jordan never once treated Oliver like anything other then himself.

Usually, when Oliver was in a black mood, people gave him a wide berth. Jordan was the only person who had ever stepped into the storm to weather it with him.

AND

Oliver had a pretty serious case of resting bitch face, but when he saw Jordan, that melted away.

Hannah is very good at writing domestic sweet love stories. Jordan and Oliver cooked a lot in this book, not much else to do when you're stuck in a mansion together to write a memoir. And it kind of became how they showed their love to one another. A beautiful example of their love languages merging. And as always, I laughed a lot because Hannah is funny without really trying to be funny. Oliver is one of my favorite kinds of characters, gruff and a bit grumpy but also so very funny in his observance of life.

Either way, I recommend this if you're looking for a low-angst, fluffy, easy story about two guys that meet at the right time and fall in love. You can't ever really beat that

This was so sweet! One of my favorite kinds of characters are the ones who are a little rough around the edges, a little snarky, and a little bit of an asshole but then sweet as can be to the ones they love and Oliver absolutely fit the bill. Oliver has a lot of frustration due to a hip injury that has made him unable to play hockey anymore. He's basically suffering from a broken heart and decides he wants to write a memoir about his pain and also come out. He hires Jordan who was recently laid off from his job as a beat reporter for a different hockey team. Jordan is one of the only reporters who had never written anything mean about Oliver which is why Oliver chooses him.

Throughout the book Jordan shows such patience and kindness toward Oliver, which is something Oliver hadn't gotten a lot of before. Oliver and Jordan were surprisingly good at communicating with one another. I only say it's surprising because I feel like miscommunication trope is overused in a lot of romance books so it was refreshing to see two characters who were very straightforward with their own emotions. Their scenes together were so sweet - their sex scenes were written with so much care and tenderness.

I definitely think this is my favorite book of the series so far!

Cannot wait for the next one!


*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest review*

I’ve been telling all of my romance reading friends to read this one!! I love how Hannah Henry humanizes her characters. It keeps all of her stories very grounded. And I absolutely love a sports star / journalist romance trope!! Slowly falling in love while sharing very intimate information about your life? Sign me up.